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Ontario artists had their share of success at this year's Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards (CAMA).

Of the 17 awards that were up for grabs at the Nov. 28 event at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, seven trophies were taken home by musicians with Ontario connections.

Leading the way was Tru Rez Crew, a 10-person, Six Nations-based outfit that captured a pair of awards.

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The Aboriginal Peoples Council of Toronto, which has been operating informally for about two years to represent the Aboriginal people of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), held its first election at the end of October and has already embarked upon ambitious strategic planning to further urban Aboriginal interests. Roger Obonsawin, a well-known businessman, community activist and an outspoken advocate for Native rights was elected president for a three-year term.

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Clement Chartier has been involved in Metis politics for more than three decades, working at the local, provincial, federal and international levels. Now, after two terms as president of the Metis Nation -Saskatchewan (MNS), Chartier has been chosen to head up the organization he helped to form, the Metis National Council (MNC).

"I come from a small town, a Metis community in Northwest Saskatchewan," said the lawyer from Buffalo Narrows, Sask. "And of course we faced a lot of issues. And basically I just got caught up in the discussions and the debates on that."

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Aboriginal entrepreneurs were recognized at an awards ceremony Nov. 6. Ceremonies sponsored by the Waubetek Business Development Corporation of Birch Island were held at Casino Rama on Mnjikaning First Nation.

Waubetek's chairman Harvey Trudeau paid tribute to the First Nation businesses that provide essential services and jobs.

Iroquois Cranberry Growers, operated by the Wahta Mohawks, received the Business Achievement Award. The Bala-based business started out modestly in the 1960s with just one-half acre of cranberries and eventually grew to 68 acres.

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Some up-and-coming lacrosse stars once again displayed their skills at a big-time venue.

About 50 youngsters participated in an amateur lacrosse skills competition held on Nov. 29 at SkyDome. The event was part of the Canadian Aboriginal Festival.

This marked the fourth straight year a lacrosse competition has been held in conjunction with North America's largest multi-disciplined arts event.

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Louis Riel Day was celebrated in Toronto on Nov. 16 with two events: a flag-raising and sunrise ceremony at Toronto City Hall, and a commemorative march and moose-meat feast at Queen's Park, the site of the provincial legislature. It was the 10th year of the Toronto gathering, and the 118th anniversary of the Metis leader's execution by the government of Canada.

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Aboriginal people must have the ultimate say on how and when research is conducted in their communities and they must be full participants in any process that affects their culture, participants at a recent University of Ottawa meeting decided.

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An innovative project on Manitoulin Island may produce the next generation of traditional healers. The M'Skwaa Miikan traditional medicine program is in its fourth year of operation in M'Chigeeng First Nation.

The purpose of the program is to ensure that knowledge of medicinal plants is not lost. Apprentice youth are taught to harvest the healing herbs and to create extracts and concentrates. Community members who wish to avoid Western medications and treatments have access to the alternative medicine.

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The Search for self often found in solitude

There's a rather special hill just inside the boundaries of the Sarcee reserve. Looking at it you wouldn't think that this small weather beaten rise with its sparse grove of trees held any significance to anyone. Yet, it will always occupy a very warm spot in my heart and mind. It was here, not all that long ago, that this hill helped introduce me to a stranger ? myself.

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Editorial

The initial victory by the Mohawk Indians of Quebec to have the broken-nosed false face mask removed from the Spirit Sings exhibition at the Glenbow museum sets the stage for other bands to reclaim their religious artefacts.