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Dear Editor:

I am writing to raise awareness on the vulgar and insulting performance by Outkast at the Grammys. I am offended beyond belief.

When I heard the sound of a powwow song playing I became sort of confused. And then the fake tipi, then the drummer in the head dress, then the stage became full of people dressed like the green giant, feathers everywhere, and then, this green fairy with green feathers, twitching uncontrollably on stage. Blabbering what I guess is singing...hey ya, hey ya.

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Editorial

In the five hours that former prime minister Jean Chretien was on the stand in the Victor Buffalo versus the Crown civil action on Feb. 23, we got a rare glance into the attitudes that have shaped Indian policy in this country over the last 40 years.

It was like sitting around the Cabinet table and seeing how the minds worked and the decisions were reached. What we saw was not malevolent, but it was disturbing.

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As long as there is snow, there will be snowsnake in Iroquois country. Snowsnake is a traditional Iroquois winter sport dating back hundreds of years. In early times, the snowsnakes were thrown wherever there was an accumulation of snow. In the last hundred years, tracks were built to house the fast moving pieces of wood.

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Negahneewin College of Indigenous Studies, which operates in and as part of Confederation College in Thunder Bay, has recently taken another step forward in providing a quality education within an Aboriginal cultural context.

When the Ontario government recently implemented a new type of community college program known as an "applied degree program," Negahneewin College got on board fast. Negahneewin is the first and only college in Ontario to obtain approval for an Aboriginal applied-degree program, which it will have up and running in September 2004.

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Steven Saddleback is the youth co-ordinator for the National Aboriginal Capital Corporation Association, which is putting on its first symposium for young entrepreneurs next month.

The focus will be on self-assessment and self-development for young people embarking upon a business venture or business career. The event targeting 19-to-30-year-olds also will include a trade show and career fair-related displays.

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A two-year initiative launched by the Construction Sector Council (CSC) and the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Council of Canada (AHRDCC) will provide job opportunities in the ironworker trade for Aboriginal youth across Canada.

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Vancouver was the host city for the National Aboriginal Diabetes Association (NADA) third annual conference on diabetes and Aboriginal peoples, held the end of January. Entitled Creating a Vision for Our Future, the onference was to provide information, practical solutions and education on all facets of diabetes pertaining to First Nations people.

Type 2 diabetes was the focus, as it is this form, along with gestational diabetes, that most dramatically affects the Aboriginal population.

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Native commercial fishing boats returned to traditional fishing grounds of Owen Sound and Colpoys Bays in early January to mark more than three years of successful management of the fishery around the Bruce Peninsula.

Under a co-management agreement signed by the Saugeen First Nation, the Chippewas of Nawash, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the federal government in June of 2000, the Saugeen Ojibway brought in biologists and technical experts to research the fishery, said Nawash Chief Ralph Akiwenzie.

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Although their most recent recruitment drive for volunteers netted about one-third Aboriginal candidates, the Victim Crisis Assistance and Referral Service (VCARS) in Thunder Bay says recruitment will be ongoing all this year.

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A northern Ontario community has pledged to take its fight for custom elections directly to the new Minister of Indian Affairs, Andy Mitchell.

A spokesman for the M'Chigeeng First Nation estimates the community has lost more than $4 million in revenue during an unresolved court battle with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC).