Learn ceremonial etiquette and protocols of First Nations

Growing up on the Big River First Nation, Sylvia McAdam experienced first hand the culture and rich heritage of traditional Cree family life. Between the ages of seven and 13, she was skinning rabbits, plucking ducks and spending weeks at a time out on the trapline with her family.

“It was truly a wonderful life. When I went to university I thought everyone had experienced these same quiet and ceremonial times as I had growing up,” she said.

“When I discovered that wasn’t the case, I thought how these folks had missed out on so much.”

McAdam went on to get a degree in human justice from the University of Regina and a bachelor of laws from the University of Saskatchewan before joining the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre (SICC) in Saskatoon. Her latest project at the centre melds both academic training and her First Nation knowledge in a new book, Cultural Teachings: First Nations Protocols and Methodologies.

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You can purchase a copy and create a review of Cultural Teachings: First Nations Protocols and Methodologies (and help support this site!).

Russian skaters extend gesture of goodwill with help from First Nations

VANCOUVER - World ice dance champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin hope a gesture of goodwill from First Nations leaders in B.C. brings them good luck at the Vancouver Olympics.

The Russians won the compulsory dance Friday at the Pacific Coliseum and sat draped in traditional native blankets, a gift from Canada’s Four Host First Nations.

“I think we will become friends and that is why we wear it today,” Shabalin said. “We want to show that we are open to friendship for everyone.”

Domnina and Shabalin caused a furor at the European figure skating championships last month with their original dance program they modelled after Australian Aborigines.

Clad in dark-skinned costumes covered with leaves and feathers, and skating to music that included a didgeridoo riff, the Russians were called out for cultural theft by Aborginal leaders in Australia and First Nations leaders in B.C., who requested a meeting with the skaters. The Russians obliged.

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A great story of how Aboriginal cultures from two different countries help members of a third country gain understanding and appreciation. You can read the full story here.

Prominent Aboriginal Whistler Olympic venue carver found dead

Bruce Edmonds, a band councillor, was found dead in his car on Tuesday night.

Edmonds had been chosen by Vanoc to carve cedar doors for one of the buildings at Whistler Olympic Park. The park is in the Callaghan Valley, which is the traditional territory of both the Lil’wat and Squamish people — two of the four host nations for the Olympic Games.

He is from a large and respected family in Mount Currie and his tragic death comes as the Lil’wat were experiencing a renewed sense of pride in their culture and traditions because of their connection with the Olympics and greater hope for the future.

The community of 2,000 is poor. Nearly half of the adults are unemployed. And many are suffering through a hungry winter. Salmon is a mainstay of the Lil’wat diet, supplement by deer. But last summer, the Fraser River sockeye fishery was closed because there were no fish.

Still, last Saturday, close to 500 people celebrated not only the torch relay, but the opening of their new community centre. Everyone who spoke there talked about things getting better.

Read the full story here.

17th Annual National Aboriginal Achievement Awards

(I watched some episodes of Rabbit Fall — it scared the wits out of me! – moniyaw)


Red Works Studio photography

Hosted by Andrea Menard (The Velvet Devil, Rabbit Fall) alongside Raoul Trujillo (True Blood, Apocalypto), the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards (NAAA) continue the mission of celebrating Aboriginal Canadians who have made a profound positive impact in their communities, across Canada and worldwide. This year’s awards reception will be held in Regina, Saskatchewan on Friday, March 26th, 2010. Get your tickets NOW!

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A Russian figure-skating duo who wore an aboriginal-themed outfit at a recent competition in Europe are skating on thin ice with natives in British Columbia.And when ice-dancing stars Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin arrive in Vancouver next month to compete at the Olympics, Tewanee Joseph, the CEO of the Four Host First Nations, hopes to talk to the couple about Canada’s indigenous culture.

Domnina and Shabalin — favoured to win a medal in Vancouver — made headlines last week with their performance at the European championships. The two were criticized for a dance routine on Thursday that offended Australia’s aboriginal people.

Read the full story here.

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