Media.Knet.Ca

It seems that more than the lawyers are now trying to contact residential school survivors to try and get their compensation payments before they are even available.

From http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/Top%20Stories/268750.html

Keeping compensation cheques out of scam artists’ hands - Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Man. Security Commission and RCMP create plan of attack - By Leighton Klassen - The Daily Graphic - Thursday November 16, 2006

Indian residential school survivors are being warned money-hungry scam artists are on the prowl for their federal compensation.

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Manitoba Secur-ities Commission and RCMP detachments across the province are teaming up to keep federal cash in the pockets of its recipients.

“Our concern is that this is public knowledge and there’s a lot of money (distributed to survivors) and that’s when investment scam artists have their ears up,” said Ainsley Cunningham, education officer for Manitoba Securities Commission.

Jennifer Wood, residential schools policy analyst for AMC, said survivors are vulnerable.

“It’s important that the elders are not taken advantage of,” Wood said yesterday. “They’re very vulnerable people and naive .… They don’t know much about fraudulent measures.”

The fear stems from the amount of money Ottawa is distributing as compensation for the suffering experienced at residential schools.

On May 10, the federal Conservative government approved a proposal on a settlement of $10,000 per student, plus an additional $3,000 for each year spent in school. Currently, survivors 65 years old and over as of May 30, 2005, are receiving $8,000 as a first payment, and the remaining $2,000 as a second.

That includes Marina James, 69, who attended Portage Residential School from 1942-51. She said she’s not worried about being scammed because she has close family who watches over her, but she does fear for other survivors.

“It’s terrible that some people don’t realize that there is people like that who try and sell you different things and see how much money you have,” she said from her home on Dakota Tipi First Nation.

She is also aware of how the elderly are often taken advantage of.

“I know this one guy who had a car and he asked a couple of kids to get him stuff from the store,” she explained, adding the man lived alone. “They took off with his money and car.”

The chief of Dakota Plains First Nation, a reserve about 30 kilometres southwest of Portage, is also a residential school survivor. Orville Smoke attended Portage Residential School in 1962. He said he’s well-educated about scams, but fears for the six elderly survivors living on the reserve.

“I’m going to be making an effort to make sure to look out for the elders,” he said yesterday.

Wood said AMC and the securities commission will collaboratively develop information packages that will be distributed to all First Nations.

The brochures, which will likely be ready by the end of the month, will include information on the characteristics of scam artists’ tactics such as the absence of documents or paperwork or an offering of low rates at a high return.

“It will be basic protection messages,” Cunningham said.
And time is of the essence. Wood expects the federal government will approve payments for all ages of residential school survivors, through the common experience payment, later this month. That means a lot of people will be receiving a lot of money.

“It’s for everyone and that’s why this is important,” she said. “There’s 80,000 survivors across Canada.”

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From http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2006/11/15/school-scam.html?ref=rss

Residential schools' ex-students get help against scams - November 15, 2006

Winnipeg RCMP and the Manitoba Securities Commission are joining native leaders to help prevent former residential school students from getting scammed out of thousands of dollars in federal compensation.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said Tuesday it welcomes the expertise of both groups as students of residential schools wait to receive payments ranging from $25,000 to more than $250,000.

"Then we have a collective effort, and that's what we want," said Jennifer Wood, the assembly's residential school compensation co-ordinator.

"We want to show it's a concern on every level because it is out to very fragile individuals, the elders."

"History in the past has shown that scam artists, they don't take very long figuring out who's getting money," said Cpl. Sue Downs of the RCMP's commercial crimes unit in Winnipeg.

"Hurricane Katrina, the flood of '97 here in Manitoba … it seems that scam artists target communities they know that are getting large sums of money."

Downs said she hopes to arrange antifraud workshops on reserves. As well, the assembly will include material from the RCMP and the commission in any information packages it sends out.

Operations already popping up: former student
Former student Ray Mason said he has already heard of one new company based in Edmonton that offers to lend money, with interest, to former students who are expecting large compensation payments.

Mason, chairman of Spirit Wind, a Manitoba-based organization of residential school survivors, said he expects such a company to charge large amounts of interest as students wait months for their cheques.

"That person could lose a good chunk of their compensation claim," Mason said.

As well, he fears the number of similar operators will only grow.

Wood said the large settlements many elderly former students will receive can make them prime targets for scam artists.

"You know, they're not street smart, they're not out here in Winnipeg [or] living in an urban centre. They're living in a community, and they have probably been for most of their lives. The elders are a very vulnerable targeted group of people," she said.

Earlier this fall, former students gave their input on the proposed $1.9-billion federal compensation package in hearings held across Canada, including one in Winnipeg.

If approved, the proposed package would compensate up to 80,000 former students for abuse suffered in the schools and for their loss of language and culture.

Under the proposed settlement package, which was approved by the Conservative government in May, any former student is offered a lump sum of $10,000, plus $3,000 for each year spent in the schools. Former students can seek more compensation if they can prove sexual or physical abuse.

Youth workers from 25 different First Nations across northern Ontario came together this week in Sioux Lookout to further develop their IT skills. Lead by Angus Miles (Fort Severn) and Jesse Fiddler (Sandy Lake) this week's training workshop provided everyone with the opportunity to meet each other and share their stories and experiences.

Click here to check out the pictures from this gathering.

Click here to visit the Youth Workers online training and sharing meeting space. (requires registration)

The IT Youth Worker employment project is coordinated by Keewaytinook Okimakanak's K-Net Services with funding support from Industry Canada's First Nations SchoolNet program and HRSDC. Marie Carson, Darlene Rae and Jeannie Carpenter are working together to support the Youth Workers and the training coordinators from across Ontario.

Participants in this week's training workshop include:

• Attawapiskat Nation - Jean Okimaw
• Bearskin Lake First Nation - Yvonne Kamenawatamin
• Constance Lake - Norman J Sutherland
• Deer Lake First Nation - Curtis Rae
• Fort Severn First Nation - Lyle Thomas
• Garden River First Nation - Lisabeth Boissoneau
• Iskatewizaagegan #39 Independent First Nation (Shoal Lake No 39) - Kelly Blackhorse
• Kasabonika Lake First Nation - Allison Anderson
• Keewaywin First Nation - Jason Kakegamic
• Kingfisher Lake First Nation - Terry Mamakwa
• Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation (Big Trout Lake) - Robinson Hudson
• Lac Seul First Nation - Adam Gordon
• M'Chigeeng First Nation (West Bay FN) - Richard Debassige
• New Slate Falls Nation - Desmond Roundhead
• North Caribou Lake Nation (Weagamow Lake) - Derek Kanate
• North Spirit Lake First Nation - Corey Rae
• Ojibways of Onigaming First Nation - Shawn Kelly
• Pikangikum First Nation  - Gavin Turtle
• Poplar Hill First Nation - Zachariah Suggashie
• Sachigo Lake First Nation - Angus Miles - Trainer
• Sachigo Lake First Nation - Maria Mckay
• Sandy Lake First Nation -  Curtis Drake
• Sandy Lake First Nation - Jesse Fiddler - Trainer
• Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation - Tim Gardner
• Webequie First Nation - Leah Wabasse

WORLD TELEVISION PREMIERE! on APTN

The Gift of Diabetes

Tuesday, November 21st - 10pm ET/PT
repeating Wednesday, November 22nd - 1am ET/PT and 2pm ET/PT

In 2001, complications from advanced diabetes left filmmaker Brion Whitford with only 50 percent kidney function and blood sugar levels that were spiraling out of control. The Gift of Diabetes follows Brion's struggle to regain his health by learning about The Medicine Wheel, a holistic tool grounded in an Aboriginal understanding of the interconnectedness of all dimensions of life: the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

"The film is a very powerful teaching tool and will go far in educating all in the struggle of living with diabetes."
National Aboriginal Diabetes Association

For more information on THE GIFT OF DIABETES visit - www.nfb.ca

To join the NFB Film Club visit - www.nfb.ca/nfbfilmclub

The recently published Coming Home: The Story of Child and Family Services is earning high praise from First Nations leaders and child welfare specialists.

The 276-page book, published by Tikinagan Child and Family Services in mid-September can now be purchased from the book's recently launched website, www.ComingHomeTikinagan.com .

"Coming Home ... not only helps bring to light the challenges our Frist Nation poeple have endured in the past, and continue to endure," said Chief Donny Morris, KI. "It also illuminates the resilience of our people in continuing to strive for a better life in the face of such hardship."

“It is a chance for all of us to learn from Tikinagan’s experience and to celebrate the resilience and strength of First Nations families and communities,“ said Cindy Blackstock, Executive Director, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada.

“It is rare that I read a child and family welfare book with information and insights that I’ve not encountered before. Coming Home is such a book,” said Gary Cameron, Professor and Lyle S. Hallman Chair in Child and Family Welfare, Faculty of Social Work, at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON.

“In telling the story of the devastating exposure of the people of Tikinagan to residential schools and to child protection services, Coming Home tells a story relevant to First Nation history across North America and abroad. It does so in an easily accessible manner with compassion and power,” said Cameron.

Kathy Poling and Phil Vinet are the new mayors for Sioux Lookout and Red Lake respectively as a result of the municipal elections held yesterday.

From http://www.ckdr.net/news/index.php

Municipal Election Unofficial Results
Posted by Mike Ebbeling on November 13, 2006

Atikokan

Mayor - Dennis Brown

• Council
  • William Bell
  • Mike Shusterman
  • Bud Dickson
  • Sherwin Durand
  • Charlie Viddal
  • Marj Lamkin

Dryden

Mayor - Anne Krassiliowski

• Council
  • Gwen Keefe
  • Brian Collins
  • Mike Wood
  • Dennis Wintle
  • Gary Case
  • Mel Fisher
• Public School Board - Ed Arnold

Ear Falls

Mayor - Ron Bergman

• Council
  • Kim Thain
  • Robert Doyle
  • Stan Leschuk
  • David Wilson

Ignace

Mayor - Lionel Cloutier

• Council
  • Kimberley Crossley
  • Dianne Loubier
  • Sherrill Musclow
  • John Taddeo

Machin

Mayor - Garry Parkes

• Council
  • Stannis Montgomery
  • Laurie Huffman
  • Linda Anderson
  • Paul Kelly
• Public School Board - Barbara Gauthier

Sioux Lookout

Mayor - Kathy Poling

• Council
  • Ward 1 - Donald Fenelon
  • Ward 2 - Susan Williams
  • At Large
    • Ben Hancharuk
    • Joyce Timpson
    • James Brohm
    • David Gordon
• Public School Board - Bob O'Donohue
• Northwest District School Board - Cathy Bowen

Red Lake

Mayor - Phil Vinet

• Council
  • Anne Billard
  • Ken Forsythe
  • Donna Malloy
  • Brian Larson
  • Paul Parsons
  • Debra Shushack

THIS POWERFUL PLACE airs Thursday, November 16th at 9.pm. on the CBC radio program Ideas. It's the story of a clash of world views over a piece of land that Aboriginal and corporate cultures consider valuable.... for different reasons.

Jody Porter, CBC Radio reporter in Thunder Bay and former Wawatay News editor, produced this special one hour documentary. In her own words she describes the show as follows ...

This Powerful Place is about a dispute over High Falls near Beardmore Ontario, back in the early 1990s.

First Nations people in the area (mostly Poplar Point Ojibway Nation) protested when they learned a hydro dam was going to be built at the falls.

But the development went ahead.

In the process, the remains of a 400 year old medicine man were unearthed. The project halted for a brief time so the archeology could be done. The white people thought if they just re-buried the bones somewhere else it would solve the 'problem' of the land being sacred to the Ojibway people.

It didn't.

NAN's Education Committee lead by Deputy Chief Terry Waboose and Education Advisor Dobi-Dawn Frenette, hosted a meeting with INAC's Regional Education team on Thursday, Nov 9 in Thunder Bay. INAC representatives attending this meeting included:

• Katherine Knott; Director, Education; (519) 751-2243
• Connie Charlie; A/Junior Program Officer; (807) 624-1566
• Cheryl Kylander; Sr Education Officer; (807) 624-1522

Topics discussed during this day long meeting included:

• Education Priorities: Nishnawbe Aski Nation
• Education Priorities: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
• 06/07 Funding
• 07/08 Funding
• Education Authorities
• National Working Groups
• Education Policy Framework/Systems and Jurisdiction
• Special Education
• Provincial/Federal Relations
• Intergovernmental Relations
• Post-secondary (including ISSP)
• Data sharing
• Nishnawbe Aski Nation Education meeting
• Moving Forward

Other issues:

• Ojibway Cree Cultural Centre
• Northern Nishnawbe Education Council
• Keewaytinook Internet High School, presentation
• Information Technology & Broadband Connections (First Nation SchoolNet Program)

Jim Teskey, KO Education Advisor and Brian Beaton, K-Net Coordinator attended this meeting and did presentations about KiHS and the First Nations SchoolNet initiatives.

From http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061111.RMACKENZIE11/TPStory/?query=%22first+nation%22

Court makes 'huge' ruling on pipeline - Says Ottawa failed to consult Dene Tha

DAVID EBNER AND SHAWN MCCARTHY - Posted on 11/11/06 - The Globe and Mail

CALGARY, OTTAWA -- The beleaguered Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline was hit with yet another setback yesterday when the Federal Court ruled that Ottawa failed to consult with the Dene Tha First Nation.

The Dene Tha's home is in northern Alberta, at the terminus of the proposed 1,200-kilometre pipeline that would connect natural gas in the Mackenzie Delta with Canadian points to the south.

"The court's conclusion is that the [federal] ministers breached their duty to consult the Dene Tha in . . . the creation of the regulatory and environmental review process," Mr. Justice Michael Phelan of the Federal Court wrote in his decision.

The decision was called "huge" by the Sierra Club of Canada, but it is not immediately known what implications it has for the $7.5-billion Mackenzie project.

The court ruled that the joint review panel, which is assessing the project's social and environmental impacts, cannot file its final report until the court has another hearing to decide on remedies for the Dene Tha.

The remedies hearing is an unusual step and will be the forum for all sides to discuss what should be done. The court said it is a late stage to begin consultations, but added that a "chief consulting officer" could be appointed to work with the Dene Tha.

The court also ruled that the joint review panel couldn't consider any issues related to the Dene Tha until the case is concluded.

The court further suggested that the joint review panel process, which has been running since February, could be restarted, if necessary.

The Dene Tha had argued they were excluded from the creation of the joint review panel. Several Ottawa ministries were respondents in the case, including Indian and Northern Affairs.

The joint review panel is working until next April and had been expected to file a report several months thereafter to the National Energy Board.

Bob Freedman, counsel to the Dene Tha, said the ruling gives his clients "breathing room" to prepare for consultations with Ottawa.

"Our clients are thrilled with the decision and very much hope this will finally press the [federal] government to sit down and work with us, which is what we've been pushing for all along," said Mr. Freedman, a lawyer at Cook Roberts LLP in Victoria. "The court sent a very strong message."

Mr. Freedman said he expects a remedies hearing to occur fairly soon.

Imperial Oil Ltd., the project's main proponent, is also behind schedule, saying this week it won't have a revised cost estimate and plan for the pipeline until some time next year, rather than by the end of this year.

Imperial said it is assessing the ruling.

"We have to understand what the decision means and what the rationale was and what implications it could have for the regulatory process," said Pius Rolheiser, an Imperial spokesman.

A spokesman for Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said yesterday the minister had not had an opportunity to review the ruling and would not comment.

Nicholas Girard, a spokesman for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, said the government must review the ruling before commenting.

Ottawa could appeal and ask for a stay pending the appeal, but the cabinet has not yet determined a course of action.

The Dene Tha represent about 2,500 people in northern Alberta. They filed their suit in May, 2005, and Federal Court agreed to hear the case last December. The case was heard earlier this year.

Press release from the International Diabetes Federation (www.idf.org)

November 14th is World Diabetes Day (www.worlddiabetesday.org)

BRUSSELS, Belgium, Nov. 11 - World Diabetes Day is celebrated every year on 14 November. The date commemorates the birthday of Frederick Banting, who, along with Charles Best, is credited with the discovery of insulin in 1921.

In almost every country of the world, diabetes is on the rise. The current number of people with diabetes stands at over 230 million. The disease is a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, amputation, heart attack and stroke. It is one of the most significant causes of death, responsible for a similar number of deaths each year as HIV/AIDS.

President of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Professor Pierre Lefebvre outlines the facts: "Over a fifty year period, diabetes has become a global problem of devastating human, social and economic impact. The total number of people living with diabetes is increasing by more than 7 million per year. If nothing is done, the global epidemic will affect over 350 million people within a generation. Unchecked, diabetes threatens to overwhelm healthcare services in many countries and undermine the gains of economic advancement in the developing world."

The theme chosen by the IDF and WHO for this year's World Diabetes Day is 'diabetes in the disadvantaged and the vulnerable'. Diabetes representative organizations worldwide are drawing attention to diabetes health inequalities and promoting the message that every person with diabetes has the right to the highest attainable healthcare that their country can provide.

Diabetes hits the poorest hardest

Contrary to the widely held perception that diabetes is a disease of the affluent, studies show that the economically disadvantaged are at higher risk. The global picture reveals that within 20 years 80% of all people with diabetes will live in low- and middle-income countries, in many of which there is little or no access to life-saving and disability-preventing diabetes treatments.

In affluent countries, people who are relatively poor are at greater risk of type 2 diabetes. In the USA, for example, households with the lowest incomes have the highest incidence of diabetes.

A cruel choice

The impact of diabetes on these individuals and their families is often devastating. It is estimated that poor people with diabetes in some developing countries spend as much as 25% of their annual income on diabetes care. As IDF President-Elect Martin Silink puts it, "For some, the consequences of diabetes can be merciless. The economically disadvantaged are pushed further into poverty and face a terrible choice: pay for treatment and face catastrophic debt, or neglect their health and face disability or premature death."

The elderly, ethnic minorities and indigenous communities are all disproportionately affected by the diabetes epidemic. In developed countries, people over the age of 65 are almost 10 times more likely to develop diabetes than people in the 20-40 year age group. In the United States, it is estimated that one in two people from ethnic minorities born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes during their lifetime, compared to one in three for the general population. In Canada, the prevalence of diabetes among First Nation peoples is three to five times higher than that of the general population in the same age group. The same is true among Australian Aborigines.

To do nothing is not an option

The diabetes epidemic threatens to be one of the greatest health catastrophes the world has ever seen. To coincide with November 14th this year, the International Diabetes Federation is calling on the global diabetes community to rally behind the campaign for a United Nations Resolution on diabetes by signing an online petition at www.unitefordiabetes.org and passing a virtual version of the blue circle that has come to symbolise diabetes.

Note to Editors:

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) is an organization of over 190 member associations in more than 150 countries. Its mission is to promote diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide. IDF leads the campaign for a UN Resolution on diabetes. See www.unitefordiabetes.org.

World Diabetes Day is an initiative of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Visit www.worlddiabetesday.org for further information.

For further information: Kerrita McClaughlyn, IDF Media Relations, office +32-2-5431639, mobile +32-487-530625, kerrita@idf.org.

From http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1163247918568

Buffy's full life, blacklist sorrow
The lady doth protest too much, decided LBJ minions. `It broke my heart.' By Greg Quill - Nov. 12, 2006

Regrets? Not really ... I don't do things I don't like doing, and I have a very full life."

But the glint in Buffy Sainte-Marie's eye suggests otherwise, and her answer to the final question about making the documentary Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life — airing Tuesday on Bravo! at 8 p.m. — rings hollow.

The documentary by Toronto filmmaker Joan Prowse fully examines, within the limits of an hour, the life of the 65-year-old Saskatchewan-born, U.S.-raised Native American singer, artist, teacher, social activist and inductee to both the Canadian Music and Canadian Songwriters Halls of Fame.

It's an affectionate portrait from her birth in the Piapot Cree reserve in the Qu'Appelle valley, through her string of popular protest songs in the 1960s and '70s ("The Universal Solder," "Up Where We Belong," "Now That The Buffalo's Gone" and more, recorded by Elvis, Barbra Streisand, Cher, Janis Joplin and Joe Cocker among others) and her years on TV's Sesame Street.

The film visits the Pacific island ranch where Sainte-Marie has lived for four decades, creating music and computer-generated digital art, painting and nurturing her Cradleboard Teaching Project, an Internet-based educational system that imparts alternative versions of "official" history, geography, social studies and spirituality to American Indian children.

What's missing? What's to regret?

"I only wish I could have been more effective in the U.S.," says Sainte-Marie in the Toronto office of her Canadian agent Gilles Paquin. "It would have been nice to succeed as a musician at the level of someone like Sting, or to get taken on by some big-time manager, like Dylan and Joan Baez were."

Instead, for the sin of speaking her mind in topical songs and speeches about the Vietnam war and native rights, Sainte-Marie found herself shut out of the mainstream just as she was peaking, her concerts and TV spots cancelled and her recordings mysteriously absent from record stores.

"I was blacklisted," she says. "And so were Eartha Kitt and Taj Mahal, and quite a few others who were speaking out against the war and civil rights abuses, and didn't have a high enough profile or skilled management."

She has seen the FBI files — censored with "the fattest black marker you've ever seen" — that chronicle the Lyndon B. Johnson administration's deliberate campaign in the late 1960s and early '70s to dampen U.S. radio play and distribution of her recordings.

She was in the dark "till 10 or 12 years later, when I was professionally dead. At first I was flattered, in a way, to learn so much effort had gone into crushing this ... mosquito. Seeing those files also helped me make sense of a lot of mysteries. I thought I was just a victim of a natural decline in popularity.

"It broke my heart to know that someone had worked so hard to make sure my medicine didn't get to where it was needed. Ever since, my career has been on the periphery of show business. I've never had a proper tour.

"In the long run, it didn't make me less effective (except) in America. When I was young, hanging out in New York clubs, I never thought my career would last more than six months anyway."

A trained educator with a second major in Oriental Studies, Sainte-Marie is presented in A Multimedia Life as a restless creative soul who has never observed traditional artistic boundaries.

"I knew about Buffy's work in music and in promoting aboriginal traditions, but I had no idea when I started working on this film about her pioneering work in computer technology, art and formal teaching," said the director Prowse.

"It impressed me that she always seems to be in on the beginning of important cultural shifts — the songwriter movement, the application of computers in art and music, education via the Internet. She was sending music files to her record producer in London in the mid-1980s via modems.

"Her computer-generated art, which no one took seriously 20 years ago, is now in some of the world's major galleries. And she spends most of her spare time writing curriculum for Cradleboard, and setting up guidelines for teachers. She never stops, except to feed the livestock on her farm. Nothing's an obstacle to her. Creativity is problem solving."

On a personal level, Sainte-Marie looks half her age, and shares an active life on her secret island with a shaggy blond, muscular local in his 30s.

"I work out, I don't drink ... I'm almost a complete vegetarian," she confided. "Just don't ask me about psychedelics ... "