North Spirit Lake First Nation Constructs a New School

Posted May 7, 2010 By tansi

North Spirit Lake First Nation Logo

NORTH SPIRIT LAKE FIRST NATION, ONTARIO (May 6, 2010) – Greg Rickford, Member of Parliament for Kenora, on behalf of the Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, today, with the North Spirit Lake First Nation, celebrated the start of construction of the community’s new school.

“Investments in school infrastructure projects will help ensure First Nation learners have a strong and productive educational experience,” said MP Rickford. “Today’s sod turning event moves us one step closer to fulfilling the commitment that the Government of Canada made to ensure the First Nations youth attend school in a healthy environment.”

North Spirit Lake First Nation Chief Rita Thompson said, “I am pleased to see the Government of Canada delivering on its promise to strengthen education, and to provide greater hope and opportunity for the youth in this community. The new Victoria Linklater Memorial School is important to supporting student success.”

Through the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, an investment of approximately $16 million is building the new Kindergarten to Grade 9 facility that will accommodate 90 students. Construction of the school is expected to be complete in 2011.

This project is part of the $200 million for new schools and major renovations included in the $1.4 billion investment for Aboriginal peoples under Canada’s Economic Action Plan.

The Government of Canada is taking action to improve the lives of First Nation peoples and stimulate economic growth in First Nation communities through targeted infrastructure investments. Investments in school infrastructure projects will help ensure First Nation students have a strong and productive educational experience, which starts with access to quality infrastructure that is conducive to learning.

News from INAC.

Categories: Education, First Nation, Youth
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Warning youth about diabetes through hip-hop music

Posted April 24, 2010 By móniyáw

After John Henhawk graduated with a business degree from Brock University last year, he faced a crisis: try to make lots of money or use his talents to help his people.

He chose the latter, but never imagined he’d do it through music.

Henhawk, 25, is Haudenosaunee, or as he calls himself, one of the People of the Longhouse. After finishing an honours degree in October 2009 in business administration in just three years, he had some hard decisions to make.

. . .

Henhawk had to work, but he didn’t want to distract himself by taking on something for the short term. A friend suggested he seek the Creator’s guidance, and Henhawk prayed by ritually burning tobacco.

“And then this job came to me,” Henhawk says.

He’s now youth project coordinator for the Southern Ontario Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative. The province funds the agency to provide programs and services to Aboriginal communities, which have rates of diabetes three to five times the national average.

His job is to oversee the production of a hip-hop album that lays bare the deadly effects of diabetes on Aboriginal people. Henhawk has posted videos of the making of the album on YouTube.

The article goes on and names a number of groups that are involved in using music and medicine to promote healing and wellness. You can read the entire news article here.

Categories: Arts, Music, Youth
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Reaching Out to Native American Youth to Inspire Reading, Studying, and Higher Education

Posted April 19, 2010 By móniyáw

2009 Young Native Writers First Place Winners: Mariah Oney, Helena Cross, Craig Merrick, Robert Boling, Kelsey Proctor

The Young Native Writers Essay Contest is a writing contest for Native American high school students and is designed to encourage young Native Americans to think about the critical issues impacting their tribal communities today.

The voices that emerge from this program honor the legacy of every Native American who has ever lived. Add your words to the thousands submitted through this project – all writers receive a Certificate of Honor for their submissions.

The Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation’s goal of promoting education and creating new opportunities for youth has inspired this essay contest. Partnering with Holland & Knight in this endeavor is the National Museum of the American Indian.

More information here.

Categories: Education, Youth
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Improving health of Aboriginal Children and Youth

Posted April 15, 2010 By móniyáw

Ontario has appointed John Beaucage as Aboriginal Advisor to the Minister of Children and Youth Services Laurel Broten. Mr. Beaucage will help improve services for Aboriginal children and youth, both on and off reserve by providing advice on Aboriginal child welfare issues for a period of one year. He will also be available as an expert resource to the Commission to Promote Sustainable Child Welfare.

A former Grand Council Chief of the Anishinabek Nation and current Chief Executive Officer of the Lake Huron Anishinabek Transmission Company, Mr. Beaucage is a strong advocate for First Nations health, environmental responsibility and child welfare.

The appointment of an Aboriginal Advisor continues Ontario’s efforts to improve supports for Aboriginal children and youth to ensure they have every opportunity to succeed.

“By reaching out to Aboriginal communities and continuing to build trusting relationships, we will find solutions to strengthen services and supports for Aboriginal children and youth. I am looking forward to working with Mr. Beaucage and our Aboriginal communities to ensure we have the supports in place to help Aboriginal children and youth reach their full potential.” – Laurel Broten, Minister of Children and Youth Services

A quote from the end of this article:

QUICK FACTS
· Aboriginal children and youth account for approximately 35 per cent of the Aboriginal population in Ontario
· The Aboriginal Advisor will facilitate discussions with Aboriginal leaders on Aboriginal child welfare issues, and provide advice on Aboriginal child welfare policy matters
· Approximately 21 per cent of Ontario’s 9,000 Crown wards are Aboriginal children and youth of Indian or native heritage
· Six Aboriginal children’s aid societies (CASs) provide Aboriginal child protection services in Ontario. Aboriginal children may also be served by non-Aboriginal CASs.

The entire article is here.

Categories: First Nation, Health, Youth
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John Beaucage to advise on needs of aboriginal youth

By móniyáw

For the first time, Ontario has appointed a special advisor to the government on the plight of aboriginal youth.John Beaucage, former grand council chief of the Anishinabek Nation, will be the aboriginal advisor on child welfare, reporting to Children and Youth Services Minister Laurel Broten.

“This is a very important step and reflective to the significance we place on finding solutions to the very challenging issues that do exist, both in the north but also in our urban centres,” Broten told the Star.

Staggering youth suicide rates in remote northern communities and funding problems among First Nations children’s aid societies will be a focus for Beaucage. His one-year appointment coincides with an ongoing review of the Child and Family Services Act. The review hones in on the situation of aboriginal kids.

It would be a mistake to believe all the problems among First Nations children could be solved in a year, said Beaucage. Children in the north often grow up in Third World conditions, coping with poverty, substance abuse, inferior education and despair. Those problems often follow aboriginals off the reserve and into the cities.

The entire post is here.

Categories: Health, Youth
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Government of Canada Supports Aboriginal Youth

Posted April 12, 2010 By móniyáw

CALGARY, April 12, 2010 – On behalf of the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism and Member of Parliament (Calgary Southeast), today announced funding for the Métis Calgary Family Services Society.

This funding will help support the Society’s Aboriginal Students Program, a year-round stay-in-school initiative for urban Aboriginal youth aged 15 to 18. The Program involves weekly workshops, recreational activities, tutoring, one-on-one counselling, and cultural activities that include traditional teachings by elders. In the summer, the Program will also offer young people the chance to participate in a media literacy project in which they will create a public service announcement.

“Our Government is committed to providing Aboriginal youth with the skills and tools they need to help them achieve their goals,” said Minister Moore. “We are proud to support an organization that helps today’s urban Aboriginal adolescents succeed in school and in life.”

“By ensuring that our young people are engaged and motivated to excel in school, we are ensuring their long-term success and giving them hope for a positive future,” said Minister Kenney. “I am proud that our Government is supporting the Métis Calgary Family Services Society in instilling confidence, pride, and strength in our youth.”

“Métis Calgary Family Services, through its Aboriginal Students Program, has been fortunate to witness first hand the unlocked potential of an entire generation of urban Aboriginal youth,” said Mark Laycock, C.E.O. Programs, Métis Calgary Family Services Society. “This contribution from the Government of Canada will allow the aspirations of these young people to grow, flourish, and contribute to our popular culture.”

The Métis Calgary Family Services Society, established in 1991, is a non-profit Aboriginal organization. It provides culturally appropriate services to urban Aboriginal families and children by providing free programs and services that address the needs of the urban Aboriginal population of Calgary and surrounding area. The Society also encourages educational completion and attainment, increases participation in a wide variety of health, cultural, and recreational activities, and increases participation in community life as a positive alternative for youth.

The Government of Canada has provided funding of $167,800 through the Cultural Connections for Aboriginal Youth initiative (formerly known as the Urban Multipurpose Aboriginal Youth Centre Initiative) of the Department of Canadian Heritage. This program provides Aboriginal young people aged 10 to 24, living in urban settings across Canada, with programming that incorporates Aboriginal values, cultures, and traditional practices in projects and activities designed to improve their social, economic, and personal prospects and to strengthen their cultural identity.

Categories: Education, First Nation, Youth
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Sto:lo ‘healing village’ opens

Posted April 10, 2010 By móniyáw

The long-held vision of Sto:lo leaders for a village to heal at-risk aboriginal youth opened today in the Chilliwack River Valley.Starting in May, 10 aboriginal girls between 13 and 17 years of age will stay at the Stehiyaq Healing and Wellness Village for up to one year while they make positive changes in their lives.

B.C. Children’s minister Mary Polak said it’s important for aboriginal people to “design and deliver their own services in their own ways” and the village-like healing centre will deliver a unique treatment program for aboriginal youth struggling with addictions and physical or emotional trauma.

. . .

Located on the site of an ancient Sto:lo village, and in more contemporary times the Centre Creek youth detention centre, the property was transferred two years ago to the Ch-ihl-kway-uhk Tribe Society by B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell.

The province provided about $5-million in land and cash for the village, and the society invested about $1.5 million in renovations. The Children’s ministry is also providing $350,000 annually for operations.

“Two years ago, Premier Gordon Campbell empowered us to take responsibility for the health and well-being of our children,” said Chief Frank Malloway, chairman of the society. “Today, we are doing exactly that.”

Review the entire news post here.

Categories: Health, Youth
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Government needs to take a stand and protect Aboriginal women at risk

Posted March 24, 2010 By móniyáw

The head of a national Aboriginal women’s group urged a police task force looking at the deaths of missing and murdered high-risk Manitoba women to review suspicious deaths as well.Jeannette Corbiere-Lavell, president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC), was in Winnipeg on Tuesday to speak about violence against women.

RCMP headquarters in Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Police Service announced a seven-officer joint task force this August, bolstered by two civilian analysts. It’s reviewing 84 unsolved deaths and missing persons cases where foul play is suspected, dating back to 1926.

The task force does not have a mandate to examine deaths that are initially classified as suspicious but are not ultimately determined to be homicides.

For example, the task force is not examining the April 2009 death of Nicole Daniels, 16, who was found in a Transcona parking lot with a condom in her pocket and high amounts of alcohol in her system.

. . .

The organization estimated as of November 2008 there were 510 cases of missing or murdered Aboriginal women and girls, and put that number at more than 520 by early this year.

Corbiere-Lavell said leadership of Native communities – who are mostly men – must treat the issue of violence against women as a governance issue, not a social problem.

She said violence against First Nations is not simply an “internal problem” for the community.

The limited scope of the task force makes sense when you consider there is a larger problem that goes beyond Winnipeg and Manitoba. The government needs to take action and begin working to protect Aboriginal women at risk in Canada. From the short sentence given to Nicole Daniels above, the reader might decide this is the story of a teenager who drank too much, but the real story is much more disturbing and begs the question: why are the authorities not investigating the case of Nicole Daniels as murder? A young girl of 16 years is found dead, bruised, with large amounts of alcohol in her system and the authorities say the case is closed? Why does the Winnipeg Free Press feel it is necessary to mention that Nicole had a condom in her pocket?

You can read the full story about the task force here and learn more about Nicole Daniels here.

Categories: Crime, Women, Youth
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St. Thomas University working to address the needs of First Nations

Posted March 23, 2010 By móniyáw

Chris George, director of aboriginal education initiatives at STU, is just getting his feet wet as he manages $1 million in provincial funds not only to attract native students to the university, but to help them complete their educations.

“There seems to be a large (number of dropouts) after the first and second year. Part of the job is to diagnose the problem and then try to find solutions to it,” George said. (more…)

Categories: Education, First Nation, Youth
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Students celebrate native culture, and no doubt help overcome prejudice and ignorance.

Posted March 12, 2010 By móniyáw

Almost 250 students gathered at Wallaceburg District Secondary School on Tuesday for a Youth Cultural Symposium celebrating First Nations culture.The special event — organized by the Lambton Kent District School Board (LKDSB) in partnership with Unlimited Scripts, a student group dedicated to learning and sharing First Nations culture — welcomed students from across Lambton Country and Chatham-Kent.

“The main reason we’re here is to bring First Nation and non-native students together to celebrate the traditional and contemporary successes of aboriginal people,” said Denise Helmer-Johnston, Aboriginal Liaison For LKDSB.

. . .

The full article is here.

Categories: Culture, Education, Youth
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