Media.Knet.Ca

Justin Beaver, a grade 9 student at Nibnamik Education Centre is the recipient of the Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers award from the Ministry of Citizenship & Culture.

Each year the Ministry acknowledges and honors youth in the province of Ontario for their contribution in their respective communities. 

Justin will be receiving one of  Ontario's  five offical medals on Saturday, June 9, 2007 at Queen's Park, Ontario.  The Honurable James K. Bartleman, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario along with the Honorable Mike Colle, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration will be presiding over the ceremony.

Justin was nominated & elected as Junior Chief by the student body of Nibinamik Education Centre.

From Wawatay News Online ...

Kakegamic now a doctor
Wawatay News - May 31, 2007

Artist, educator, political leader and activist are all words that describe Goyce Kakegamic.

Now, doctor can also be added to that list.

The recently retired former Nishnawbe Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief was awarded an honourary doctorate from Lakehead University May 25.

“I would like to begin by telling you how humbled and honoured I am by the recognition you have bestowed on me today,” Kakegamic said, in offering the convocation address. “I would like to thank all of those who played a part in the nomination and conferring of this award.”

Lakehead president Frederick Gilbert introduced Kakegamic, before helping him into his graduation robes on stage.

“(Kakegamic) is a multi-talented individual who has made important contributions in … art, education and political leadership,” Gilbert said. “Goyce is an accomplished artist whose work can be found in private collections around the world.

“Goyce has been a leader in promoting excellence in First Nations education.”

Kakegamic also spent three terms as deputy grand chief from 1997 to 2006.

“With quiet determination, he has worked at forging mutually beneficial partnerships between First Nation government and their municipal, provincial and federal counterparts.”

Kakegamic said it’s been a long journey to present day from where he was born and grew up in Keewaywin.

“I was brought up on the land with my extended family,” he said. “My parent’s generation was the last to have lived their lives in our traditional territory. My parents and grandparents were caring and loving and their lessons and values have carried me throughout my lifetime.”

Kakegamic is a residential school survivor. He doesn’t speak at length about the abuses he suffered, nor does he dwell on the past. Instead he rose above,  earning bachelor of arts and bachelor of education degrees from Lakehead in 1986.

Kakegamic said more work is necessary to create cultural understanding between First Nation people, urban society and vice versa.

“The challenges faced by all residents of northwestern Ontario cannot be effectively addressed by a continuation of Native and non-Native solitudes,” he said. “I firmly belief reaching accommodations and understanding between cultures in northwestern Ontario will be one of the most significant challenges as we begin this new millennium. I also believe very strongly multiculturalism requires that each of us gain an understanding and knowledge of other cultures to bridge the gap.”

James Thom — jamest@wawatay.on.ca

For more information about the NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION - June 29 - visit the Assembly of First Nations web site at http://afn.ca/nda.htm to find out how you can get involved.

From Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs ...

SOLIDARITY FOR ABORIGINAL JUSTICE
MARCH AND RALLY
June 29, 2007

The March will start at
12:00 Noon
from
Vancouver Art Gallery
to Library Square (300 West Georgia Street )

The NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION is a time for First Nations and Canadians to stand together in the spirit of unity to demand the Federal Government to deal honourably with First Nations Title and Rights and to call for an end to First Nations poverty.

(604) 684-0231
NDOA@ubcic.bc.ca

+++++++++++

From Toronto Star ...

Indian Summer
 
Jun 02, 2007 - Sandro Contenta - Staff Reporter

By Terry Nelson's calculations, Canada's security forces don't stand a chance if the summer turns hot and nasty.

The native leader figures that in Winnipeg, the car theft capital of Canada, there's no shortage of abandoned vehicles to set alight across train tracks that haul resources to the United States.

"There's 30,000 miles of railway lines in this country and more than 50,000 miles of (oil and gas) pipelines," says Nelson, chief of the Anishinabe First Nation, south of Winnipeg.

"The reality is that there's no army that can actually protect all of that. Not the United States army, not the Canadian army, not any."

That kind of talk would get the attention of intelligence agencies in most countries and Nelson says he's already had talks with Canadian Security and Intelligence Service officials. But nothing they've said has made him back off his threats.

Nelson, 53, has been at the forefront of calls for militant action on June 29, when First Nations across the country will protest decades of poverty and neglected land claims.

He's a controversial figure, denounced by some in his own community for racially charged attacks against the "white man" and the "Jewish-controlled media." But he's also been re-elected chief three times and his tough talk commands a strong following.

This week's report on the inquiry into the shooting of Dudley George by an OPP officer in 1995 in Ipperwash warns of the continuing schism between Canada and its aboriginal peoples.

No one knows how many of Canada's 630 First Nation communities will opt for barricades rather than peaceful marches on June 29. A minority of elected band council chiefs are calling for militant action, but young men are increasingly prepared to take matters into their own hands.

"There's a growing number of young people who feel they don't have any hope," says Maurice Switzer, spokesperson for the Union of Ontario Indians. "And whether that happens in downtown Winnipeg or the Gaza Strip, young angry men are not a good thing to have."

Ontario seems especially susceptible, with recent occupations that stopped housing developments in Caledonia and Hagersville, and a barricade near Kingston in April that blocked Via Rail service to Toronto for 30 hours.

Much depends on federal Native Affairs Minister, Jim Prentice. He has promised to announce an overhaul of the land claims process, which resolves disputes at a snail's pace, before the First Nations' national day of protest.

Even Nelson says he'll call off his blockade if Prentice's plan allows his community to quickly negotiate an expansion of its reserve by almost 6,000 acres, a dispute that has dragged on for 125 years.

Nelson vows his band members will block the railway line that cuts through their reserve. He calls the trains stacked with lumber and minerals "the getaway car." The resources come from traditional native lands, he insists, and Indians are owed a share of the wealth.

With anger and desperation running high, Nelson warns that the one-day protest could spiral out of control and jeopardize Canada's revved up economy.

He says native people have been left with little choice. Years of appealing for justice have led nowhere.

"If I talked about native poverty, nobody would give a damn," he says.

Given the desperate state of affairs on many reserves, where unemployment can reach 80 per cent, native people have largely shown remarkable patience. Switzer, a former publisher of the Winnipeg Free Press, partly attributes the current media focus on potential unrest to the Hollywood image of rampaging Indians.

"Some people really do think that we will scalp them," he says.

But warnings are also coming from moderate and independent voices.

On Thursday, an Ontario inquiry into the 1995 police shooting death of an unarmed native protester in Ipperwash concluded that the "flashpoints" that led to the confrontation are as intense as ever.

The biggest source of distrust and anger is the failure of governments to deal quickly and fairly with breaches of treaties and land claims, said Justice Sidney Linden, who headed the inquiry.

Ipperwash is a particularly stark example. The federal government took the land from the Kettle and Stoney Point people in 1942 to set up a military base. Native people occupied the provincial park in September 1995 to demand its return. Linden said racism played a role in the Ontario Provincial Police raid that killed protester Dudley George.

"The immediate cost of conducting relations with aboriginal people through confrontations and over the barricades is very high," Linden said. "All Ontarians risk even more if we leave long-simmering disputes unsettled until they boil over."

An estimated 900 specific land claims – those involving alleged breaches of treaties – currently remain unresolved. At the present rate, it's expected to take 100 years to settle them all.

In this slow-motion universe, barricades are increasingly being seen as the only way to get results.

The occupation 15 months ago of a Caledonia construction site by members of the Six Nations community stopped the housing development and brought the federal and provincial governments to the negotiating table.

On Wednesday, federal negotiators offered $125 million to settle the 20-year-old land claim. It was rejected by some Mohawk leaders, but few would dispute that barricades fast-tracked the claims process.

But progress has come at a price. The barricades split the community and highlighted the kind of local infighting that complicates attempts at speedy land claims solutions.

Poverty and hopelessness has fueled a spiritual revival in many native communities. At Six Nations, some have turned to a traditional, consensus-based form of government that in the 1920s was suppressed by police, which imposed a federally sanctioned and locally elected band council.

Hazel Hill, a representative of the once-outlawed Haudenosaunee government, said attempts by Ottawa to restrict native representation to elected band councils in a reformed land claims process is doomed to failure.

But the elected Six Nations chief, David General, says people are "sick and tired" of renegades holding land claims negotiations, and the whole community, hostage.

General calls for peaceful protests on June 29, insisting that blockades and barricades make Canadians less sympathetic to the cause of First Nations.

"We're not going to get anywhere by continuing to be angry," he says.

But he admits that his own elected council is split on what action to take June 29. Some want to shut down Brantford casino and Highway 6, which runs through their community south of Hamilton.

Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, feels similar pressures.

He's made diplomacy and negotiations a hallmark of his leadership. He notes that the majority of chiefs at an assembly meeting last month saw education and peaceful demonstrations as the best way to inform Canadians of the plight of First Nation peoples later this month.

Yet the assembly passed a resolution that "acknowledged the plans of Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation to block railway lines on June 29." And it called on CN and CP rail to shut down parts of their operations that day – a move the companies have rejected.

CN spokesperson Mark Hallman says the company has pressed the federal government to speed up land claims. But it will take legal action against natives who disrupt its transports.

Fontaine says CN should inform Canadians that its rails run through expropriated native land.

"I don't think there's anyone that can calm down chief Nelson or anyone else that wants to engage in barricades," he says.

"The anger is building and people are getting more frustrated. And they question the approach that we've been advocating for a long time. Sometimes we (also) question whether that is the right way," he adds.

Fontaine says his preference for negotiation took a serious hit when the minority Conservative government scrapped an accord that former Prime Minister Paul Martin and the 10 premiers agreed to in 2005. Known as the Kelowna accord, it targeted $5.1 billion toward improving education and housing on reserves, and reducing youth suicides and infant mortality rates.

First Nation chiefs want an apology for a federal policy that tried to assimilate generations of native children by placing them in church-run residential schools until the 1970s. Many suffered physical and sexual abuse.

Fontaine also calls for a land claims system that is fast and independent. Currently, the federal government acts as ultimate judge and jury of claims that it has violated its treaties and legal obligations.

Native chiefs see land control as the basis for raising reserves out of poverty. They want compensation for past resources extracted from their traditional lands, and profit sharing agreements for future exploitation.

Land is the basis for getting natives out of a patronizing federal relationship where half of the estimated $10 billion funding for aboriginal affairs goes to pay the salaries of federal bureaucrats, Fontaine says.

"Discussions with Prentice give me cause for optimism," he says. "There's a glimmer of hope that something significant will happen in the next while that will give people I represent reason to celebrate."

Switzer warns this optimism had better bear fruit.

"If nothing happens after the Ipperwash inquiry from either the provincial or federal levels, I think it's going to be a hot summer," he says.

Flash Points
Hagersville: Six Nations upset because retirement complex is being built on what's known as the Haldimand tract while talks on contested land are continuing.

CALEDONIA: Six Nations force construction to a halt on Feb. 28, 2006, claiming 200-year-old treaty proves land is theirs. Since then, protests continue.

DESERONTO: Mohawks in the Bay of Quinte paralyze freight and passenger rail traffic with a blockade on a busy Toronto-Montreal line near Deseronto in April.

How blockade hurt one developer (http://www.thestar.com/Article/220688) - No one has to tell developer Dan Valentini that aboriginal blockades can have a direct impact on the economy.With a national day of protest slated for June 29, native groups across Canada are weighing the merits of action over negotiation

++++++++++++++++++++++

From Cornwall Standard Freeholder ...

Mohawks plan June protest

May 31, 2007

CORNWALL — Akwesasne Mohawks will be organizing a large protest at the base of the Seaway International Bridge in June to raise awareness about First Nations issues.

The protest, scheduled for June 29, is part of a national "day of action" sponsored by the Assembly of First Nations (AFN).

While the event is still in its planning stages, Chief Larry King of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (MCA) was firm that there were no plans for a blockade of the bridge.

"The agenda is not to be ... militant, for lack of a better term," said King. "This is all about awareness."

The AFN has outlined a number of issues that the Canadian government has been dragging its heels on, including settling land claims and ensuring First Nations communities have access to clean drinking water.

King said he hoped the City of Cornwall would take an active role in the protest.

Mayor Bob Kilger said he would be waiting to see the MCA's official plans for the protest before making a commitment.

From CBC News Online ...

Video game lets users rewrite Canadian history
May 31, 2007

A video game simulation based on Canadian history is launching Thursday with high hopes the youth-friendly technology will make the country's past come alive for students.

HistoriCanada, developed by Toronto media firm Bitcasters, runs on the platform of the well-established Civilization III strategy game. Thomas Axworthy, HistoriCanada co-creator, said he hopes the game will engage Canadian youth in their own history.

"Canadian history is sometimes portrayed as dull as dishwater, and there's a perception that history is only interesting if there are a lot of battles," said Axworthy, the chair of the Queen’s University Centre for the Study of Democracy.

"But one of the things about civilization is that it's not just a war game, and that there's a complex interaction of economic, religious, social and military choices."

By putting those choices in the gamers' hands, Axworthy said, the new game will allow players to reshape Canadian history in a more interactive "what if?" approach.

"One of the most appealing elements of the game is anyone can win. If you are a skilful player playing as the Mi'kmaq, Atlantic Canada can be yours. And that's an important thing, because too often we tend to look at history as inevitable. But if you looked at a map in 1640 it sure didn't appear that way," he said.

Gamers can play as either the English, French, Ojibwe, Huron, Mohawk, Algonquin, Montagnais, Mi'kmaq or Abenaki. The first episode focuses on the years between 1525 and 1763. Two more episodes are expected to be released in the coming months, taking players to the year 1896, through Confederation and the expansion to the West.

While players will have the option to rewrite history and take the country in a new direction, the game developers say that understanding the real history will enable players to be more successful. Historical resources including the Canadian Encyclopedia are built into the software.

After players complete each episode, the HistoriCanada website can rate their performance and provide background into what actually happened in Canada's history.

The game can currently be downloaded for free from the website, provided users already have Civilization III and the popular game's Conquests expansion pack on their computers. But the full game, including Civilization III, will be available early next week.

Bitcasters CEO Nathan Gunn said he expects the game to be a success, in large part because it is fun to play. And he also thinks educators are increasingly starting to realize the value of injecting fun into teaching methods.

"Games that teach are becoming more accepted now," he told CBC News online. "I think the worm has turned and we've gone beyond the idea of video games as Duke Nukem first-person shooters."

There are plans in the works to distribute 100,000 free copies of the game bundled with the Civilization III software.

The million-dollar project has been 10 years in the making, with active development for the past two years. Funding has been provided by Telefilm Canada and supported by Historica and Canada’s National History Society.

3rd Train-The-Trainer  2007

Sioux Lookout - June 25-29, 2007

• Are you a community worker seeking training?
   
• Are you committed to promoting healthy communities?
   
• Are you committed to deliver a workshop/s in  your community? 

If so, this is the training for you..

Equay-wuk is able to cover all related costs for 2 delegates per community.  Priority communities are those serviced by Equay-wuk (Women's Group).

Workers who should attend:

• family violence prevention workers
• family support workers
• shelter/healing centre staff
• NNADAP workers
• mental health workers
• community health representatives
• other front line workers

For more information, contact:

Jennifer or Felicia

(807) 737-2214

or toll free

1-800-261-8294

From The Edmonton Journal ...

Reconciling the truth

Making amends; Although the Indian residential schools program was abandoned more than 10 years ago, much of its legacy remains unresolved. Advocates hope a Truth and Reconciliation Commission can start the healing
Catherine Rolfsen, Vancouver Sun, June 03, 2007

It's hard to picture Robert Joseph, hereditary chief of the Gwawaenuk First Nation and special adviser at West Vancouver's Indian Residential School Survivors Society, at age six. But his grey crewcut and boyish grin hint at the child who was shipped off to St. Michael's residential school in Alert Bay decades ago.

He didn't know why he was taken from his community, or why he wasn't allowed to speak the only language he knew. He is still struggling to figure out why, 10 years later, he "staggered out of St. Mike's already a full-blown alcoholic."

A lot remains unclear for survivors of Indian residential schools. Although the institutions are now closed -- the last shut its doors in 1996 -- much of their legacy remains unresolved.

Chief Robert Joseph, a survivor of the residential schools, stands on the bank of the Capilano River. He says an apology from the federal government is essential to the healing process.

Today, Joseph is more hopeful than ever that Canadians are ready to confront their history.

Much of his hope rests on a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) planned as part of the landmark $4-billion residential schools settlement agreement negotiated between the federal government, churches involved in running the schools and the Assembly of First Nations.

Although it likely won't begin until early next year, there are already high hopes that the project -- in which survivors of residential schools will tell their stories on a national stage -- will turn over a new leaf between First Nations communities and the rest of Canada. But there's also skepticism as to whether a TRC is the way to reconcile and whether Canada is ready.

The very fact that Canada has resorted to a TRC -- a model used internationally to deal with genocide, civil war and apartheid -- is an admission that the fallout from residential schools requires extraordinary measures.

Since South Africa's ground-breaking commission began in 1994, TRCs have been an increasingly popular way to deal with widespread human rights abuses. At least 40 have been set up in places such as Sierra Leone, East Timor and Chile.

Those involved in planning Canada's say a TRC is an ideal way to address the legacy of residential schools, institutions overseen by the federal government to break up aboriginal communities by assimilating their children.

Bob Watts, the interim executive director of the TRC, said the project can help turn the page on a shameful past. The former chief of staff to the Assembly of First Nations grand chief Phil Fontaine said he hopes that, through the commission's work, "the trauma and the legacy and the negative effects that our communities are feeling will end."

It's a tall order for five years work and a $60-million budget. The TRC will host seven national events across the country followed by many more community events. Anyone affected by residential schools will be encouraged to tell his or her story.

"I'm sure there will be people there that will tell their story that have never told it to anybody before. Never told it to their family," Watts said.

Over more than a century, 130 residential schools were built across Canada, most run jointly between the federal government and churches. The AFN estimates that 150,000 children attended the institutions -- which means that about nine out of 10 aboriginal people know a survivor.

Physical and sexual abuse were rampant. More than 19,000 claims for these and other abuses have been filed against the government by former students. But survivors also blame the schools for loss of language and culture, substance abuse and depression.

The residential schools settlement sets aside $1.9 billion for a "common experience payment" of $10,000 for the first year and $3,000 for each additional year spent at school, available to all eligible survivors. Additional money is available for those who suffered sexual and physical abuse. Survivors now face the decision of whether to claim their compensation -- forfeiting the right to sue in the future -- or to opt out of the settlement.

But negotiators say individual payments aren't the only answer for the estimated 80,000 living former students. The settlement also promises $225 million -- $100 million of which is to come from the churches in "cash and services"-- to go toward healing initiatives.

The TRC is an attempt to set the record straight on the past. Much of the history of residential schools is still contested -- for example, the mortality rate in schools is undetermined, but estimates ran as high as 50 per cent in the early 20th century.

In April, Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice announced he would strike a special committee to investigate these deaths and examine why little was done to improve the overcrowding, disease and underfunding that plagued the schools.

Diaries and letters kept by former school employees are being unearthed, and an archive and research centre about residential schools are planned, all to fulfil the commission's first mandate: truth.

Reconciliation is the hard part. How does a country get past its history?

It's a question Paulette Regan has spent a long time thinking about. As a former resolution manager for Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada, a federal department devoted entirely to resolving the legacy of the institutions, she was on the front lines of the effort to mend the relationship between aboriginals and the federal government. She said the first step toward reconciliation is for survivors and the Canadian public to start talking.

"It's one thing to know about the schools," Regan said. "It's another thing to truly understand their impacts. And I think the only way you truly understand is in dialogue with survivors and communities and families."

But not everyone thinks a TRC can achieve reconciliation. Stephane Leman-Langlois, an expert on the South African TRC at the University of Montreal, is not convinced the model makes sense in Canada.

The South African TRC was set up to address the vast number of human rights abuses during apartheid, Leman-Langlois said. The commission even made the controversial move of granting amnesty to about 1,000 perpetrators in exchange for full confessions.

But the Canadian TRC will avoid acting like a courtroom. It will not have the power to grant amnesty or subpoena former school employees, many of whom are dead anyway. For their own protection against lawsuits, those testifying will not be allowed to name abusers unless allegations have been proven in court.

If survivors want to name names -- or to testify in private for any reason -- they will be able to choose an in-camera hearing. But those names won't end up in any final reports.

So there will be little individual accountability in the Canadian TRC. But those involved say that's not the point. "We have a criminal justice system here in Canada that can do that work," Watts said.

Rather than laying blame, Watts said the TRC is about uncovering the roots of residential school policies and reconciling the relationship between aboriginals and the rest of Canada.

But Leman-Langlois is skeptical that a TRC can do the job. "You can't really institutionalize reconciliation. That's a very personal thing," he said. "It's kind of a pointless political, rhetorical exercise to call it a truth and reconciliation commission."

Those involved admit that a TRC is not a sure-fire formula for reconciliation.

"They're not a magic bullet or anything," acknowledged Kathleen Mahoney, the lawyer who negotiated the settlement agreement for the Assembly of First Nations. "They have to be worked at and it could very well not succeed."

For Mahoney, an international human rights lawyer and professor at the University of Calgary, success means raising public awareness about the legacy of residential schools.

"Hardly any of my students know anything about residential schools, notwithstanding the fact that it's the largest human rights violation in the history of this country, ever," Mahoney said. "Canada's right up there with the worst violators, but nobody knows that."

But Mahoney said the TRC will be a failure if all parties are not involved. She said a lack of public participation would be "another slap in the face to the survivors."

Mahoney is confident that churches, aboriginal leaders and government bureaucrats are motivated to see the TRC work. However, the commission will not have the power to subpoena, meaning participation is purely voluntary.

But Mahoney is uncertain that all federal politicians share a commitment to reconciliation.

Until recently, Prentice had stonewalled calls by opposition members, churches and aboriginal leaders for an official apology for the schools. Recently, he expressed support for a Liberal motion calling for an apology in the House of Commons but suggested the government would wait until after the TRC's findings.

"It is my sincere hope, as happened in South Africa, that this matter will be dealt with, that the whole issue of apologies, the whole issue of how this country is to find a way forward will be dealt with by the truth and reconciliation commission," Prentice said in a House of Commons debate May 1.

In 1998, then Liberal Indian affairs minister Jane Stewart's "statement of reconciliation" acknowledged the government's role in the schools, and said the government was "deeply sorry" for those students who were physically and sexually abused at the schools. But she stopped short of apologizing to all survivors.

Several churches have offered apologies and "confessions" for their part in the schools, including the Anglican church that ran St. Michael's.

Joseph has seen a lot of healing since his time at St. Michael's, but the hereditary chief said an apology from the federal government is "absolutely essential" to reconciliation.

"A government would be absolutely remiss not to extend that apology, because there has been some good work done, and a lot of healing has started, and reconciliation is just within our reach and we don't want to lose that," Joseph said.

But he said that neither an apology nor the TRC will be the end of his healing and his work with aboriginal communities.

"I know that having received the last cheque, having heard the last apology, having had the truth commission, it won't be the end of it," Joseph said. "It will be the beginning. The real beginning."

APTN press release ...

APTN To Host National Aboriginal Solidarity Day Celebration

Aboriginal Day Live, the first annual Aboriginal Solidarity Day celebration hosted by Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), will broadcast live across the nation from the network’s Winnipeg headquarters June 21st, 2007. Aboriginal Day Live will begin at 1 pm ET (12 pm CST Manitoba, 11 am CST Saskatchewan, 11 am MT, 10 am PT) and will repeat at 7 pm ET/PT.

Ray St. Germain, Native Communications Incorporated (NCI) radio personality, and APTN National News: Daytime host Cheryl McKenzie will emcee the hour-long concert featuring high-profile Canadian Aboriginal talent, including “Fiddle Master” Donny Parenteau, the Asham Stompers, champion hoop dancer Lisa Odjig, Juno award winner Leela Gilday, Nunavut’s own Lucy Idlout, Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award nominees Dead Indians and the internationally renowned band CWeed.

The celebration is open to the public. A special children’s tent will be set up introducing the new APTN Kids on-air host, with free giveaways for the younger attendees.

“APTN is proud to showcase some of the finest Aboriginal talent in the country for all to enjoy on this very special day,” says Jean LaRose, APTN Chief Executive Officer. “As Canada’s only national Aboriginal broadcaster, it is our honour and privilege to host Aboriginal Day Live, through which we join the nation in celebrating the uniqueness and diversity of our Peoples.”

Aboriginal Solidarity Day was first called for in 1982 by the National Indian Brotherhood (Assembly of First Nations). The date of June 21st was chosen due to the cultural significance of the summer solstice, the first day of summer and longest day of the year. National Aboriginal Day, now in its 11th year, was designated by the federal government in 1996 as a special day for all Canadians to celebrate the unique heritage, cultures and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in Canada.

After the live broadcast, APTN will air encore presentations of the 2006 Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards, the 2007 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards and back-to-back broadcasts of the Hillerman Trilogy, starring critically acclaimed actor Adam Beach.

About APTN:
September 1, 2006 marked the seven-year anniversary of the launch of the first national Aboriginal television network in the world with programming by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples to share with all Canadians and viewers around the world. APTN is available in over 10 million Canadian households and commercial establishments with cable, direct-to-home satellite (DTH), telco-delivered and fixed wireless television service providers.

APTN does not receive government funding for operations but generates revenue through subscriber fees, advertising sales and strategic partnerships. APTN broadcasts programming with 56% offered in English, 16% in French and 28% in Aboriginal languages. For program schedule or for more information, please contact APTN at (204) 947-9331 or toll-free at 1-888-278-8862, or visit the website at www.aptn.ca.

On May 29, INAC minister presented the Main Estimates of his department to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. He stated, "The current 2007–2008 Main Estimates includes $6.3 billion for my department." This figure includes the dollars required to support on and off reserve programs, Metis, Inuit and Northern programs (click here for his presentation). As well, the Assembly of First Nations published a report last year called The $9 Billion Myth Exposed: Why First Nations Poverty Endures. Still the conservatives continue to spread what has now become their 10 billion dollar myth. A more appropriate question that Chief Maracle asks at the end of the following articles is, "how much is spent per capita on non-native Canadians?" (federal, provincial and municipal government combined)?

From the Belleville Intelligencer ...

NDP's aboriginal critic calls Kramp's figures 'a disinformation campaign'
Samantha Craggs - June 02, 2007

An aboriginal affairs critic for the New Democratic Party is using words like "irresponsible" and "disinformation" to describe a recent mail-out by MP Daryl Kramp about funding for native communities.

The Prince Edward-Hasting MP's recent mail-out to constituents bears the heading "Getting things done for aboriginal people" and says the Conservatives will spend $7.4 billion for First Nations citizens on reserves.

But the NDP's Jean Crowder said the flyer is oversimplified to the point of being misleading.

"Several people faxed or e-mailed it to me because they were so concerned about it," said Crowder, who represents a British Columbia riding. "When people put out simplistic pieces of information that say people are getting plenty of money, it really is a disinformation campaign."

Kramp's mail-out says the federal government will spend about $10.2 billion in 2007-08 to fund programs directed toward aboriginal people. It says $7.4 billion will go to programs and services on reserves, an increase of $600 million the year before. That translates to $16,465 per person, said Kramp's flyer.

It also says $850 million is forecast for claims resolution and implementation and $2 billion will go to Metis, Inuit and First Nations people living off reserve.

Crowder disputes those figures, which she said include bureaucratic costs such as the minister's salary for Indian and Northern Affairs (INAC) rather than direct service. Programs funded by that money include dollars spent on any program with the word "aboriginal" in it, rather than money transferred to band councils, she said. Those figures also include lawyer salaries in land claim negotiations, and 15 per cent fees paid to third-party managers, she said.

Kramp was said he was surprised by the allegations and baffled at how Crowder could dispute the statements, saying he has budget information to back up all three of the dollar figures on his mailing. Administration costs account for four per cent of the $7.4 billion program and services costs, and INAC's total administration costs are $250 million, which includes management, human resources and legal costs, he said. The INAC budget has increased $1.1 billion since last year.

"Regretfully, maybe she takes offence to what we put out, but it's factual data," he said. "I'm certainly not here to mislead anyone. I'm disappointed with the fact that she considers it a disinformation campaign. This is department information and she should have access to it. That's why it confuses me ... If there's a reason, I'll take my knocks, but in this case, there really isn't." Wording on the mailing is concise and spare, deliberately devoid of complexities of the issues, he said, in order to make it clear to those reading it. The mailing included a poll style question: "Do you think Canada's government is getting things done for aboriginal people?" with check boxes for "yes! I think the government's efforts are a good start" and "no! the government is not on the right track." The question is included so the general consensus of those in the riding can be gauged, which is imperative to better understanding how future policy decisions can be made, Kramp said.

Meanwhile Crowder said the NDP and her counterparts in the Liberal party believe the only real way to properly fund First Nations is to follow through on the Kelowna Accord, a deal signed between First Nations and the federal Liberals in 2005. The accord had full support from the New Democrats and it would have added $5 billion to funding for First Nations over five years. In March, the majority of MPs voted in favour of it, with most of the governing Conservatives voting against. The Conservatives dismissed the accord as having been too vague about specific application of federal funds.

Chief R. Donald Maracle of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ) said Kramp's government should honour Kelowna. The accord, he said, was signed after months of discussions with government and native officials and the MBQ want to see it enacted.

"The question that should be asked is if people believe that the honour of the Crown should be upheld between the government and the First Nations people?" he said. "That's really what's at issue."

Maracle said Kramp's mail-out statements also raise questions, such as how many land claims $850 million will settle, and how much is spent per capita on non-native Canadians?

On May 19, two babies were successfully delivered after local health care professionals who found themselves working with the mothers and a doctor on call located in Sioux Lookout. The Community Telehealth Coordinators in Lac Seul and Mishkeegogamang worked with the local health team to successfully connect with the doctor and support the mother and staff throughout the birthing process. In Kejick Bay, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine student was called upon to provide support to the mother during the birth. Everyone involved are happy that all went well and the babies and mothers are reported to be well.

CONGRATULATIONS to everyone involved but especially the mothers and babies!!

NEWS FROM MISHKEEGOGAMANG TELEMEDICINE

I AM VERY THRILLED TO SUBMIT THIS NEWS FROM MISHKEEGOGAMANG TELEMEDICINE

On, Saturday May 19, 2007 at about 9:00 a.m. the nurse on call called me in to hook up the telemedicine workstation with the Sioux Lookout emerge.  I was still in bed sleeping when the call came in, we got back at 3:00 am from Dryden, that was a long ride.  It was snowing and raining.  The roads were very slushy and we had to slow down to 40 to 50 km/h. We almost went off the road.

I was surprised to hear that it was for a prenatal in labor, I wasn’t expecting to hear that kind of news that early in the morning (still half asleep).  I told the nurse to send the medical driver up for me, still in my p.j.’s and no morning coffee. 

There were two nurses on call, they tried communicating to the doctor over the phone but had difficulty in describing what was happening. As soon as the doctor came on over the video, it was easier for her to know and show the nurses what to do. It was amazing to see the doctor and nurses working together in delivering the baby.

It was a very exciting and emotional experience witnessing life exiting the womb and entering the world ... 4th time again but the first via -Telemedicine.  I don’t know where I got the energy from, to coach and help mom.  The newborn boy arrived at 11:18 am. After the delivery I thanked God for being there, watching over mom and baby and guiding us through this situation.

I was happy and relieved to hear that both mom and baby were fine and healthy, they returned home the next day. The experience was great for me.  Wow, amazing how technology has come a long way.

Darlene Panacheese
Telemedicine Coordinator

Here is the Nurse’s point of view.

Highlight for me, I did my first delivery on May 19, 2007. What a rush that is. 

Here are the pictures of the final result!! A gorgeous baby boy born at 11:18, what an amazing experience from a whole different place when you are not the one giving birth. Amazing absolutely amazing!!

Neither Nicole or I have ever delivered anyone and Nicole is presently pregnant so it was gonna be me to do the delivery!  Well thank the good Lord above, everything was good and no complications.  As a result it was a very positive uplifting experience.

Here are the pictures of the beautiful baby boy, Nicole's and my first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lori

From the Sudbury Star ...

Medical school wise to work with natives

The Sault Star Editorial - May 30, 2007

We look to The Northern Ontario School of Medicine as one way to solve the doctor shortage in this region. However, the school's mandate goes beyond that.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is based on a model established in Australia for medical students, largely from rural areas, to train and eventually work in those settings. The Australian program paid special attention to the health care of aboriginals. Likewise, NOSM pays special attention to our native communities.

When we talk about the list of native issues that must be addressed, health is the most important.

The troubles native communities face with diseases, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, are well documented as are issues such as substance abuse, suicide rates and poor diets.

As part of their studies, NOSM students must do placements in aboriginal communities.

"It gives them a better insight and perspective into the cultural aspects of the communities they're involved in. They're immersed in culture, lifestyle, tradition and the people," said registered nurse Maxine Lesage, health services supervisor at the Garden River Wellness Centre.

Two students praised the centre, which offers a wide range of services, including a physiotherapist, dietitian, counselling and foot-care clinics. Such services are not available at many more remote native communities.

There's more to supporting the native communities in their health-care needs than providing new equipment and medicine. Understanding the culture is critical.

We often express concerns about throwing money at various native problems without seeing any results. This is the case when non-natives adopt a we-know-what's-best approach that ignores the opinions of natives and their unique situation. When it comes to something as personal as health care, sensitivity to cultural realities is a must.

By working closely with native health-care workers, NOSM students are addressing this matter. In doing so they are laying the foundations for a health system that will be effective for our native communities.