Alberta Native News - Digital Edition - February 2018

Volume 35 Number 02 February, 2018

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Cover art: Medicine Walk Š by Brenda Morency. reprinted with permission of Seekachees Aboriginal Art. See story page 2.

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Alberta Native News

February, 2018

Artist Brenda Morency merges her talent with culture and education

by John Copley Brenda Morency, aka Seekachees, is an artist, an educator, an entrepreneur, a student and a member of the Swan River First Nation, a Treaty 8 community located 47 km west of Slave Lake at the hamlet of Kinuso, Alberta.

Her beautiful creation “Medicine Walk” is featured on the cover of this month’s Alberta Native News.

Making her home in Fort Saskatchewan with husband Jean, Brenda is also a mother and a grandmother of eight who works hard to maintain her busy schedule. A University of Alberta student, Morency is currently in her fourth year of a five-year combined degree program where she is earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Native Studies (majoring in Cree) and her Bachelor of Education degree.

An educated and experienced middle-aged woman,

“manitohiskotew” (Creator’s Flame) by Brenda Morency.

Morency has never taken the easy way out when it comes to moving ahead in life. As a young person she worked in a variety of jobs as a clerk, cashier and sales person, each one providing lessons and lasting experience you can only get by doing.

“The only thing I was lacking was a complete Brenda Morency showcases her beautiful paintings at Indigenous Markets and education,” she explained, other events in Edmonton and the surrounding area. For information visit her on noting it was partially Facebook / Seekachees Aboriginal Art. corrected in 1989 “when I earned my diploma as a that certifies she is able and capable of speaking with Legal Secretary from Alberta College.”

In the years after completing her diploma program Indigenous Elders and transcribing their stories.

Once she’s finished her program at the U of A, Brenda Morency went to work for various companies and like to teach Cree and Native Studies and hopefully would organizations, including the Métis Association of Alberta work on language curriculum and development. and Metis Child and Family Services.

“It’s a busy time right now,” she said, noting that once Morency has long known the value of a good education this year of classroom work is complete she’ll be moving and that knowledge has helped her develop a keen interest on to do her practicum. “I’m really looking forward to in teaching, something she first fell in love with during her my studies because once I do I’ll be returning completing time as a volunteer at the Gibbons School (220) and her to the classroom, though in a different capacity.” more recent seven years working with the Alexander First But education isn’t Brenda Morency’s only area of Nation’s Kipohtakaw School. she’s also a talented, self-taught artist who’s interest; “Wonderful experiences - and I gained a lot of beginning to turn some heads as she inches her way slowly experience as well,” she smiled. “At Alexander I was able forward building a successful niche in Alberta’s art scene. to fill in for secretaries and teachers and even spend some Her beautiful work, in both watercolour and acrylics, can time as a Teacher’s Aide in Grades 10 to 12. I was also be seen online but if you keep an eye out you might just fortunate to teach some math classes under the guidance find her at a local market or at an Indigenous conference. and with the help of the math teacher.”

If you don’t find exactly what you like, the artist also Brenda has also completed the Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute’s Continued on page 10 (CILLDI) Community Linguistics Certificate, a document

February, 2018

Alberta Native News

Alberta government meets with 60s scoop survivors

by John Copley On February 1, 2018 the 60s Scoop Indigenous Survivors Society of Alberta (SISSA) joined the Alberta Government at Blue Quills University (nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills) near St. Paul and met with more than one hundred 60s Scoop survivors in the second of six engagement sessions being held across Alberta. The sessions are an effort to gather information on the best way for government to deliver a meaningful apology to those who were victimized between the late 1950s through the 1980s. During that period of time nationally recognized as ‘The Sixties’ (60s) Scoop’ era child intervention services across Canada took Indigenous children from their families and communities, often by force, and placed them in non-Indigenous homes.

The first session, which took place at the Belle Petroleum Centre in Peace River on January 18, heard the stories of about 75 survivors from the Peace region. The third and fourth sessions took place at the Quality Hotel and Conference Centre in Fort McMurray on February 7 and Sandman Hotel in Lethbridge on February 14. The last two sessions are scheduled for Mount Royal University in Calgary on February 21 and in Edmonton at the Amiskwaciy Academy on March 1.

Alberta Children’s Services and Alberta Indigenous Relations are both working with SISSA and 60s Scoop Survivors and both Minister Danielle Larivee and Minister Richard Feehan have been attending the events.

“The Alberta Government,” assured Minister Larivee in her opening comments at Blue Quills, “is very focused on working together with Indigenous people in the spirit of reconciliation. As soon as we became engaged in this effort we knew that the only path to a meaningful and effective policy was to hear from those who have been hurt and impacted,” by the 60s Scoop initiative. “We set out to create a safe, respectful and private place where survivors could share their thoughts and their feelings and tell us what a meaningful and well-constructed apology by government would look like to them.”

Larivee told the gathering that “healing can only begin when the full impact of the wrongs are fully acknowledged and addressed. Saying the words ‘I’m sorry’ is one thing but offering a meaningful apology is something else altogether. To apologize and take action we must understand what happened and to do that we must first hear from you. It takes courage to open your hearts and relive your pain. I thank you and admire you for your words and thoughts. A meaningful apology is just the beginning of our work toward healing and reconciliation; in it we will address the wrongs and commit to doing better.”

Adam North Peigan, president of the Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta said that an apology cannot change the past, but it does present yet another important step toward reconciliation.

“An apology is an important step,” he said. “But it needs to be

3 During his introduction emcee Dave Ward said “the Alberta government has done what no other government in Alberta has been willing to do until now - they’ve engaged in a partnership with the 60’s Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta and together they have worked hard to develop a process that honours survivors and their families and when complete will form a meaningful apology.”

accompanied by a serious commitment that will give survivors the ability to heal and to move forward in their lives.”

During the sessions survivors gather in sharing circles with facilitators who listen to their stories and watch as recorders write down (on large sheets of paper) the information and suggestions that come from each circle of survivors. These notes will be used in helping to determine how the apology will be formed.

Each sharing circle was asked to answer four main questions: How has being a Sixties Scoop survivor impacted you or loved ones? What does a meaningful apology look like? When someone says "I'm sorry" what does that mean to you? and What desires/hopes do you

have coming out of an apology?

North Peigan said that so far, the meetings have been well attended and most people he’s spoken with have a good idea about what they’d like to see in an apology.

“Everyone I have spoken with,” he assured, “wants to see much of the same thing - a meaningful apology with depth, not just for the survivors, but for families and Continued on page 15

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Alberta Native News

February, 2018

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Volume 35, Number 2, February 2018 ISSN #08294135 www.albertanativenews.com EDITOR: Deborah Shatz ADVERTISING: Sales 780-421-7966 Alberta Native News is published monthly for distribution to Native Bands and Metis Settlements across Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Northwest Territories.

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Justice was not served (ANNews) - Hundreds of people marched through the bitterly cold Canadian Streets this month to support the family of Colten Boushie, a young Cree man who was killed in 2016.

On February 9, 2018, a Saskatchewan jury acquitted Gerald Stanley, a white Saskatchewan farmer, in the death of Boushie, a 22-year-old Cree man from Red Pheasant First Nation. He was shot in the back of the head after an altercation on Stanley's farm in August 2016.

Stanley testified that he shot Boushie by accident.

Indigenous leaders across the country are outraged at the astonishing not-guilty verdict and calling for an immediate appeal. They are also calling for an examination and overhaul of Canada’s justice system, and, in particular, the jury selection process which resulted in no Indigenous members sitting on the jury.

Tony Alexis, Chief of the Nakota Alexis Sioux Nation said that the decision and the outcry represents a call to action to create real justice for Indigenous peoples. He stated, “We have arrived at the moment in Canadian History, that as the Indigenous Peoples, the First Peoples, that a true Nation to Nation relationship is imminent.

Our country that we share with settlers, is facing the moment that demands real actions to bring lasting, positive change and achieve fairness - the full recognition of the Rights of the First Peoples.

“With the verdict laid yesterday in Colten Boushie’s case, an anger and hurt has risen again. But, we are a resilient people who have always overcome adversity. We will overcome this too.

“This is a call to action. As a Chief, I urge our governments, our judicial systems, and our educational institutions to take this opportunity to take REAL action in creating justice for all. It is only change within these systems that we will eliminate injustices.

“Mr. Prime Minister, I am calling upon your government to answer our call for a Crown Meeting.

That we can join in our leadership to lead our nation forward, together.”

“

Other Indigenous leaders also expressed solidarity with the family of Colten Boushie and with First Nations people in Saskatchewan after the shocking outcome of the trial, claiming that the verdict, and the way it was reached, makes a mockery of justice for First Nations people across Canada.

Upon hearing the verdict, Grand Chief of the Cree Nation of Eeyou Istchee Abel Bosum stated: "I am in shock and disbelief, the same shock and disbelief that I saw on the face of Alvin Baptiste, Colten's uncle, after the verdict. That this verdict could be reached in Canada in this way in 2018 is a national disgrace. It is a stain on the entire justice system in this country. It is a wrong that must be righted, urgently, if Canada's commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples is to have any credibility at all.

“The Cree Nation Government is outraged at the blatant miscarriage of justice in this case, starting with the selection of the jury. It is shameful that Indigenous persons were excluded from the jury for no reason other than the fact that they were Indigenous. The jury selection process is broken for Indigenous people, and it must be fixed, right away.”

Wilton Littlechild, Grand Chief of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, with years of experience in the Canadian legal system stated, “I stand beside my fellow Chiefs in Saskatchewan during these days ahead as we come to grip with what appears to be a miscarriage of justice in the Colten Boushie case.

“Having chaired the previous commission on First Nations, Metis Peoples and Justice Reform in Saskatchewan, I am very disheartened by the outcome of the verdict. A decade and half ago the Commission was established following deaths of Indigenous men in what became known as the “starlight tours”.

The Commission made recommendations to the Government of Saskatchewan to support and encourage First Nations and Metis people on juries with provision of resources. While some very progressive work to improve the justice system has been evident in ) (K-6 9-1222 E Saskatchewan, this now C 8 PEA 780 4 OF brings us a giant step back t / Y e LAD Avenue .ecsd.n ) 9 R to one of the reasons the U K e ( O 10 ac ARE 0 11-1 dyofpe L commission was 9 C 5 .

1 la -236 – ST .our established. We had BE 80 471 www O R F t / 7 t L already made A e C .n ee BEN -64 Str e.ecsd recommendations to the b o 33 10 118 encalfr 0 government to ensure 2 ) .b 426 0-12 www access to justice on an H (1 t / 780 P E JOS 9 Stree .net equal basis with others. .

T S 0 sd ) 30-1 eph.ec K-6 34 "The TRC Calls to ( 8 I 0 1 s 6 IS .stjo ASS 0 476-7 w Action promoted F w O w 8 CIS e / 7 d.net N reconciliation but the Truth A u s n c FR ST. 29 Ave fassisi.e commission of Canada ) 4-1 so (7-9 4-2434 661 tfranci also made several calls to E .s 8 OR www S M 780 4 et action for the improvement A M / sd.n THO eet of the justice system. We ST. 165 Str ore.ec Y sm 0CTL a 1 E called, for example, upon 6 m R I 9 o D N .stth OLS TION O w the federal government to O w H w A C E S FORM SSING H develop a national plan on T U N B L I CAL ORE N AND the criminal victimization M O I FOR STRAT I of Indigenous peoples G E R Continued on page 11

This will keep happening until we all stand up and see each other not as fools or monsters, but as neighbours and family.

”

- Edmonton City Councilor Aaron Paquette

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February, 2018

Alberta Native News

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Alberta Youth Advocate brings humanity to child welfare reviews

By John Copley Before Alberta’s Office of the Child and Youth Advocate (OCYA) became an independent office of the Alberta Legislature in 2012, it didn’t have a mandate to conduct death reviews for adults or children. There have been some changes over the past six years but legislation still doesn’t require the Youth Advocate’s office to carry out the type of five-year review recently completed by Provincial Child and Youth Advocate Del Graff.

“Every province has its own legislation and very few do reviews at all on children,” Graff explained in a recent interview. “We aren’t required by legislation to do this kind of review but we’ve been receiving reports over the past five years and we thought it was prudent, we thought there were some things we could learn from taking an overall look to see what these circumstances are telling us.”

The review, he noted, did find specific themes which “seem to be fairly consistent when we look at the grouping of all the circumstances.”

The review identified six emerging themes, including the importance of thorough and ongoing risk assessment and the need to pay greater attention to youth suicide and the risk factors that contribute to the growing numbers of suicide. Another theme indicates the need to develop strong on-going supports for both children and families during and after DCS intervention takes place.

Caseworkers, the report notes, are too often in a position where they have to make important decisions with inaccurate or incomplete information. Other themes include the need for improved transition planning, the vulnerability that young people face when it comes to being victims of violence and the need for better information sharing throughout the system.

By its very nature the report brought with it some disturbing information, not the least of which is the fact that the numbers of fatality and serious injury incidents among youth continue to escalate. For example, the number of reports received by OCYA in 2016-17 were more than three times the number when the province’s child and youth advocate began tracking the status of children in care in 2012-13, when 20 reports were received. In 2014 that number grew to 35 and in 2016-17 it more than doubled to 76.

Of the 252 notified incident reports that involved serious injuries and/or deaths received by Graff’s office between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2017, 20 involved children between seven and 11 years of age and 85 involved youth aged 12-17. 37 reports dealt with youth or young adults over the age of 18. The most staggering number of all involves the most vulnerable in our society, infants and children under seven years of age. In all 28 investigative reviews were completed by OCYA. A troubling factor is that of the 252 notifications received, 156 came from the Ministry of Children’s Services and involved young people in care or receiving intervention services (not including adoptions). 96 cases were from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME); each had received intervention services within two years of their death.

Though 60 per cent of the deaths were classified as accidental or medically related, 21 were a result of violence and nearly half involved children under the age of six years. The report noted that “infants are at an increased risk of violence during their first year due to their physical vulnerability and the presence of stressors experienced by parents or caregivers.”

The report also included information on 35 reported suicides, of which 25 were Indigenous youth. Graff’s report stressed the need for better suicide prevention programs and strategies.

“It is imperative,” he noted in the report “that young Indigenous people feel connected to their culture, community and have a strong sense of identity.”

Graff made it clear that the reported 252 notifications are at “the extreme end of the continuum” and that it doesn’t necessarily reflect an irreparable child welfare system that, “for the most part” does a good job as it “protects children from harm” in numbers that add up into “the thousands.”

Del Graff has been providing the Alberta Government and the Ministry of Children’s Services ongoing recommendations since he first became the province’s Provincial Child and Youth Advocate in 2011. Over the years some of his recommendations have been followed

up on and in some cases have been changes implemented as a result, but the overwhelming majority have received little attention. In a 2016 Alberta Child and Youth Advocate Del Graff interview Graff said that despite the fact that only a taking place on reconciliation. small number of recommendations brought positive He said then that he remained cautious because change he was “more optimistic than ever” because of the Continued on page 7 change in government and the “broader public discussion”

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Alberta Native News

February, 2018

Pîkiskwe-Speak art installation on display at Galerie Cité

by Regan Treewater (EJNews) - On a bitterly cold Edmonton evening, as the city’s urban arteries were clogged with hockey-fans and those bound for MacEwan University to attend the Prime Minister’s address, a sizeable group of dedicated art enthusiasts packed into the Galerie Cité’s theatre venue.

Featured along with this year’s annual Flying Canoö Volant Festival, the gallery is thrilled to be hosting Pîkiskwe-Speak A Cross-Canada Touring Art and Film Installation. The crowd reflected a diverse gathering of minds all wanting to partake in an intellectual dialog through art – the topic: reconciliation.

Acclaimed interdisciplinary artist Lana Whiskeyjack and celebrated documentary film-maker Beth Wishart MacKenzie graciously greeted many familiar faces and an even greater number of new ones, as visitors filed into a packed theatre for a special screening of Lana Gets Her Talk Back. The thirty-seven-minute documentary follows Whiskeyjack’s creative journey exploring and reclaiming her cultural identity through memory.

“I first met Lana in 2012 while filming Gently Whispering the Circle,” explained MacKenzie. “I met Lana during that project, and she showed me her sculpture Lost My Talk. It was so powerful, even at that early stage of its inception. I realized that it was going to be an important teaching piece, and I thought that a documentary would be a beautiful way of bringing this forward.”

MacKenzie’s camera was there as Whiskeyjack assembled the materials of spiritual, cultural and historical significance that served as the building blocks for Lost My Talk, which eventually developed into a mixed-media triptych. The three panelled, textured work is part sculpture and part painting and designed to hang vertically in suspension. It tells the tragic story of Whiskeyjack’s late uncle, George. The images are both mesmerizing and vividly haunting. The centre panel is a clay portrait of George mounted on a piece of discarded wood that Whiskeyjack salvaged from the site of the residential school where her uncle was interned in his youth.

Whiskeyjack comments in the film that “it looks like a coffin.”

“I was fascinated with the way Lana used tradition – she was drawing on her culture and was successfully

translating this into the ‘now.’ She managed to revalidate what had been lost: culture, language and identity.

She really engages with the tools of her heritage to express herself in the modern explained world,” MacKenzie.

While watching artistic Whiskeyjack’s process and hearing her narrate the story of her inspiration and need to create, one is struck by the honesty of her pain, but also by the sincerity of her wit. As she works with the piece, the camera follows her disciplined hands as she tells the story of how her uncle first earned his nickname – High Tower.

Top: "Lost My Talk" by artist Lana Whiskeyjack is on display at Galerie Cité until humorous and This March 31. Below: Lana and film maker Beth Wishart MacKenzie at the opening of endearing story about the touring art and film installation 'Pîkiskwe-Speak.'

George resisting arrest while perched atop a water Although the documentary is filmed almost entirely in tower and Whiskeyjack’s most precious recollections of Whiskeyjack’s studio, the closing sequence shows Lost her handsome and charismatic uncle drinking tea with her My Talk arriving at the Galerie Cité in a fitting poeticallyin her grandmother’s cozy livingroom are balanced by the meta finale. chronicling of George’s painful journey through life. The The exhibition will remain at the Galerie Cité until piece is simultaneously a celebration of an extraordinary March 31, admission is free, and patrons will have the man, and a raw unveiling of generational injustices. opportunity to watch Lana Gets Her Talk in addition to “One of the reasons I sought Lana out, is because I like viewing Lost My Talk and many other captivating pieces. my work to open people to greater understanding. I try to The show will tour across Canada thanks to the Canada bring major issues to audiences in a way where they hear Council for the Arts’ New Chapter Program. concerns rather than close their ears to them, really “The upcoming venues for Pîkiskwe are very diverse. drawing us all together to work towards healing.”

We’ve reached out to galleries, libraries with gallery “It's fantastic to see an audience enthralled by a thirtyspaces, community groups – basically anywhere where seven-minute film about a woman in one room. People we can continue conversations about reconciliation,” don't actually need things to be fast paced in order to be MacKenzie elaborated. “We are still working on ways to engaged,” observed MacKenzie with amusement. better engage remote and rural communities, there’s a real need for stories like Lana’s to be told without the confines of borders.”

Whiskeyjack says that Lost My Talk is a deeply personal expression and that she always intended to keep it following its Canadian tour. However, thanks to MacKenzie’s film, audiences will continue to be able to engage with Lost My Talk long after it has returned home.

February, 2018

Alberta Native News

Youth Advocate

cont. from p 5

commitments have been made before and never followed through on.

“Certainly there is that history of there being some calls to action, and then those calls to action not actually being implemented,” he said, noting that “that’s been the history of Aboriginal stakeholders in Alberta.”

That history came via four decades of Conservative rule, a political party that almost every Indigenous person in the province, if not the country, knows has seldom introduced any meaningful change that promotes Indigenous Canadians, their cultures, their traditions or their hopes for the future.

In Alberta’s current political scene, however, Graff said that he has seen some promising changes when it comes to child welfare, though the process is slow because it takes time to change a structure that’s been embedded for decades.

“Organizational cultures are difficult to change and they take a lot of time,” he said, “but the more sustained a focus is on change, the more likely change is to happen.”

Changes within the ministry have been making a difference, he said, noting that “the ministry has put forward an agenda to say ‘we are going to make sure there’s some sort of cultural awareness training for all of our case workers.’ They are doing that as a system - it’s helpful when it is sustained over time and does help shift workers’ perspectives about the client groups they are dealing with. At the same time there is so much more to do.”

Graff said one change that would make a difference would be a shift in the way child welfare works with Indigenous communities “There are different world views, there are different perspectives about how to raise children and the more closely aligned the child welfare system can be with those natural ways that Indigenous people raise children, the more likely there’ll be better outcomes for kids,” he said.

“The more connected kids are to their families, communities and identity as Indigenous peoples, the more able they are to deal with the adversities they face in life.

There are many things that could be done but the system changes ever-so-slowly - not fast enough for us, but changing nevertheless.”

In an interview, Alberta Children’s Services Minister,

Danielle Larivee, said she was “very thankful for Del and the work that he does in hi-lighting issues. We’ve sat down and had specific conversations about where we need to go and what we need to do. There is still work to be done and some ways to go in terms of what we need to do and where we need to go. We have already made substantial progress in reducing the numbers of kids brought into care and we’ve introduced a new family focused program model that focuses on keeping the families together. It focusses on creating a safety plan and pulling whatever resources are available to keep families together.”

An example, she noted, would be helping and supporting an addicted client locate and enter a treatment facility - with continuing support.

“Instead of being told that, ‘hey you’re addicted; you’re going to lose your kid,’ or ‘I’m taking your kids and you might not get them back,’ we are working to include safety nets with extended family or the other partner or to create a plan to bring in workers” doing the treatment period “so that family can stay together.”

“This type of practice-ship,” she emphasized, “takes a long time to become implemented in every single case, but it is being utilized in social services and we are seeing progress and a substantial reduction in the numbers of children coming into care.”

Minister Larivee also noted in a statement to media that the most urgent issue raised in the five-year report is the disquieting overrepresentation of Indigenous children and youth in the child intervention system.

“We must do more to address this issue, in partnership with Indigenous people and Indigenous leaders,” she said.

At the end of his five-year report Graff expressed his personal views, gave credit where credit was due and made it clear that he remains as he has since the first day he took office - optimistic.

“Although we spoke in this report about numbers of children, I do not want us to ever forget that each and every one is a precious child, a son or a daughter, a sister or brother, a grandchild, a cousin or niece or nephew. The tragedy of their loss will last a lifetime for those who loved them. There is immense suffering for families, for relatives, for friends, and others who love a child who passes away. To those who have suffered the loss of a child you love, I do not think there are words for what you have to endure. I sincerely hope you find comfort and solace with the loved ones in your life.

“For those who work with vulnerable children and

7 families, I believe you do this work because you care deeply about children and families, and you want to make a positive difference.

Whether you are a youth worker, a foster parent, or a child intervention worker, we know from our experience with you, that you too mourn the loss of a child.

We know it is hard, and that you significantly are impacted when a child you are involved with passes away, or is seriously injured.

“In my role as the provincial Child and Youth Advocate, I have the privilege of hearing about the experiences of young people and making recommendations that I believe will make a difference for vulnerable children and youth.

It is critical that the focus of my reviews is on learning and influencing systems to make improvements for the young people they serve. But it is important to remember that every day, people who work in the Child Intervention system are doing good and honourable work, most of which the public never hears about. Regrettably, that message is not always as clear as I would like it to be, given the tragic circumstances that result in an Investigative Review.

“My staff and I have learned a lot over the years. Most importantly, we have learned that each circumstance is about a child, the life they lived, the people who loved them, and those whose lives they touched. These are the people who share so generously with us. And with what we learn, we must all make sure we do whatever we can to prevent further tragedies for children and families in Alberta.”

A 38-page summary of the Child and Youth Advocate’s report can be found at ocya.alberta.ca.

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Alberta Native News

February, 2018

Irving K. Barber Award recipient Cody Isaac is leading by example Cody Isaac is focused on sharing his positive energy with young people the world over. He’s moved closer to achieving that goal courtesy of an Aboriginal Student Award he’s recently received from the Irving K. Barber BC Scholarship Society.

Cody is one of 457 people to receive more than $1.3 million in awards from the society that go to Indigenous students in British Columbian to support their studies at public post-secondary institutions throughout the province.

When Cody got laid off in 2007 from the Okanagan sawmill where he had been working, he never dreamed that five years later he’d be running a school in China.

“After losing my job at the sawmill and not really seeing any outlets in the small town of Vernon, I looked to broaden my horizons and see what the world had to offer,” says the enterprising 32-year-old.

After making a few fact-finding phone calls and completing his Teaching English as a Second Language certification, the young man headed west, teaching for four years at a local school in Zhejiang province before partnering with the school’s administrator to open and operate his own school.

It was a perfect fit for a kid who’d always dreamed of making a career helping other people. “After teaching two or three years and seeing the progress of the children and seeing them grow up and use the language that they were learning, I was like, whoa,” Cody says. “It was such a rewarding job.”

While in China, Cody also volunteered every week at a school for blind children, teaching them English through smell, touch, taste and sound. He was instrumental in a driving a fundraising campaign, too, to rebuild an earthquake-devastated school in rural Yunnan; the fundraising paid for the school, a teacher, and hot lunches for the children for an entire year.

But when his brother Jamie died in 2013, Cody felt the pull of home once again. “I just knew that it was the time I needed to go,” he says, “not only for myself but for my

family’s sake. Because I knew that they were going to need help. I felt that we were going to need to be together to heal and process as a family.”

He packed his bags and returned to the Okanagan in 2015, where he gathered his people close and turned his thoughts to how he could create a meaningful career closer to home. “I would really like to make an impact on my local community and on the kids that are growing up now,” he says. “Their parents are like my friends. I would like to be a part of their education.”

And so in 2017 he embarked on his Bachelor of Arts at the University of British Columbia (Okanagan), working toward a Bachelor of Education by 2022. He is grateful for the support of the Irving K. Barber British Columbia Scholarship Society for his schooling, having received a $2000 Aboriginal Student Award in 2017. “I found out [about the award] through my cousin Stacy, who’s a nursing student going to BCIT,” he says.

At university, Cody is specializing in the elementary route, having found it so rewarding to work with grade four and five children while he was teaching in China.

“They’re like little sponges, so full of energy,” he says.

“They really take it all in. If you’re an energetic teacher, the kids respond to that.”

Energetic is just one of many words that describe Cody.

Positive and uplifting are a couple others — qualities he shares freely with whoever is around. On more than one occasion, Cody’s instructors have drawn him aside to comment on how he brightens everyone’s day with his presence and engagement. “I’ve discovered as I’ve gotten older that I think it’s just my nature — my friends describe me as ‘glass three-quarters full’,” he laughs. “You can’t get caught up on small things, the shoulda coulda wouldas.

You have to keep moving, and putting your best foot forward.”

The Society’s Aboriginal Student Awards program is funded from the returns on an endowment fund established by the Province of British Columbia. It was created to assist in removing barriers to higher education

Scholarship recipient Cody Isaac

for Indigenous peoples. Awards of $1,000 to $5,000 each are issued every year through a competitive process to students studying at all post-secondary levels, from trades training to doctoral programs.

The Indigenous population in British Columbia is growing at more than triple the rate of the non-Indigenous population, with nearly 45% under the age of 25.

“The Society that bears the name of Irving K. Barber was formed in part to give students from Indigenous communities in British Columbia the same opportunities to grow and succeed as those in other communities,” said Rajiv Gandhi, Chair. “The Society is honoured to be the steward of the funds used to create these tremendous possibilities.”

The Irving K Barber BC Scholarship Society provides scholarships and awards to students attending public postsecondary institutions throughout the province and internationally. Since its inception, nearly $15 million has been distributed to B.C. students from its six scholarship and award programs. The Victoria Foundation provides administrative support to the Society.

For more information and to see if you quality for an Irving K. Barber BC Aboriginal Student award visit ikbbc.ca. The deadline is March 31, 2018.

Alberta Native News reaches your target audience!

To advertise your business or community event contact Dan at 780-421-7966 or natnews@shaw.ca.

Visit us online at albertanativenews.com

February, 2018

Alberta Native News

9

2018 BBMA scholarship applications due Mar. 31

by John Copley The Belcourt Brosseau Métis Awards (BBMA) gala will take place at the Edmonton Inn and Conference Centre at 11834 Kingsway in Edmonton on Saturday, September 22, 2018. If you are a serious Métis student who needs financial assistance in order to begin or complete your education, now is the time to get your application in; the deadline is March 31. Last year’s event saw nearly 300 applications arrive by deadline date; more than 150 students received an award.

“We’re expecting a large number of applications again this year so it would be a good idea to get yours in as soon as possible,” assured BBMA Communications Coordinator Theresa Majeran, noting that this year’s recipients would qualify for educational awards.

To qualify for an award BBMA applicants must be an Alberta Métis (any age), have a financial need that prevents them from attaining a post-secondary education on their own and have a connection to their Métis community. Applicants are evaluated on a number of criteria, including but not limited to: likelihood of improved opportunities through education, connection to their Métis community, financial need, and personal circumstances. Two current references are also required.

BBMA awards range from $1,000 to $10,000 for the applicant’s current school year and are for tuition and fees only. Students can apply each school year for an award.

The September 22 awards gala and banquet is the highlight of the year for the organization, which has been celebrating the achievements of deserving Métis students by providing award funding that will enable each recipient to continue his or her post-secondary education in the college, university or trades program campus of their choice.

The annual BBMA awards ceremony, noted Majeran, has four main goals: “helping students connect with their culture and each other as alumni; providing a sense of identity to enhance success rates in both educational endeavours and subsequent careers; offering our sponsors the opportunity to network and engage with recipients for future employment opportunities and encouraging

corporate Alberta to become more involved.”

Other objectives include success “showcasing stories within the Métis community and increasing awareness of the BBMA program among potential applicants and sponsors BBMA Founders and Board Panel. Back Row (L-R) Barry Belcourt,Georges and through honouring the Brosseau Founder, Brenda Bourque-Stratichuk and Kathryn Brosseau Chairperson. educational achievements Front Row (L-R) Harold Robinson, John Brosseau, Orval Belcourt Founder and Lisa of Métis students in their Higgerty. journey to be part of Alberta's strong economic former BBMA students are now contributing to their future.” communities and their professions; their success also Since its inception in 2001 more than 1,500 awards have provides role models for their communities and been provided to help Métis people with an opportunity to mentorship for their peers.” complete their varied educational goals and realize their Established in 2001 at the Edmonton Community full potential.

Foundation (ECF) offices by then-directors of the During the past 17 years the organization, in partnership Canative Housing Corporation, Orval Belcourt, Dr. Herb with the Edmonton Community Foundation, has Belcourt (deceased) and Georges R. Brosseau Q.C., the presented Métis learners with awards totalling more than Belcourt Brosseau Métis Awards initiative has awarded $6.7 million dollars. more than 1500 awards to more than 1100 Metis learners “Thanks to the ongoing support of our many partners,” in more than 200 different post-secondary programs noted Majeran, “Alberta’s Métis students are breaking throughout Alberta. new ground and setting new precedents as they achieve The Founder’s Vision when establishing the endowment their educational goals and move into the next phase of was “to help Métis Albertans realize self-sufficiency life. Many of our graduates have become leaders in their through post-secondary education and skills communities and their province. BBMA awards recipients development.” have gone on to become doctors, lawyers, nurses, The BBMA Panel comprises Métis Albertans who share engineers, veterinarians, and much more. Our graduates the vision of the three Founders and are committed to are also getting the recognition they deserve from many of maintaining and developing the program’s enduring our sponsor organizations, who not only hire them but also legacy. Awards Panel members Kathryn Brosseau continue to support this worthy initiative.”

(Chairperson), Orval Belcourt (Founder), Georges Majeran noted that in 2016 statistics indicated that more Brosseau Q.C. (Founder), Harold Robinson and Dr. John than “96 per cent of award recipients completed their Brosseau are joined by three new Panel members this year funded year” of studies, adding that “hundreds of our as Lisa Higgerty, Brenda Bourque-Stratichuk and 2004students are now employed across the province in all Continued on page 10 professions. With a strong foundation of education,

10

Alberta Native News

Morency

cont. from p 2

accepts commissioned work and will work with you to create the image you seek.

Morency said she’s never developed “a particular style” and she’s always been “artistically creative.” Even as a young girl she liked to draw and paint, but she's lacked self-confidence and as a result, “I just never got around to showing it; I think it was a lack of self-esteem that held me back.”

But that was then, and time, experience and educational goals achieved have changed much of that. Morency’s self-confidence really took an upturn in October 2016 when she decided to enter her first art exhibition.

“I really didn’t know what to expect,” she said, “but my work was well received and, in the end, I made friends, sold my art and have continued my relationship with Precision Imaging ever since. They held the art exhibit that my work was first showcased in.”

That initial experience of showcasing her work inspired Morency to continue creating her art; the treatment she received from Precision Imaging and owner Lewis Dawson gave her the “ideal place to have my art framed and so much more. They digitally photograph my work and then put the work on a high-quality artist lithographic paper using archival ink.”

Everyone loves beautiful art but not everyone has the budget for the usually high-ticket items created by renowned artists. Morency’s unique talents and her reputation for producing quality art are beginning to attract a growing audience; there’s no time like the present to invest in her creations.

“I want to create art that will look beautiful, have meaning and be enjoyed by all who see them and own them and I want them to last for many years,” she explained. “To accomplish this, Precision takes my art and creates giclée canvas prints. The art is then displayed on a beautiful canvas that wraps around the sides of the frame and delivers a stunning display that can be showcased in almost any room or space.”

Morency doesn’t like to part with her original canvases

BBMA awards

cont. from p 9

2006 BBMA Recipient Michelle Poirier join the Panel.

Each year past and present recipients, their families, the Métis community, and corporate sponsors are invited to the annual BBMA Awards Gala, a cultural celebration that honours students and their ongoing success.

“The BBMA Panel and Edmonton Community Foundation would like to acknowledge and thank the many long-time sponsors who’ve shown ongoing commitment as we make this journey together,” said Majeran. “These include such long-time sponsors as Enbridge, Shell, Scotiabank, Syncrude, Alberta Indigenous Relations and many others. We’d also like to thank one of our newest partners, the City of Edmonton.

We appreciate and are very grateful for all the support we receive from individuals, companies, corporations and governments each and every year.”

BBMA Chairperson, Kathryn Brosseau, credited the donors and sponsors for the success of the program,

February, 2018

and in fact has only sold one when she was commissioned to create a painting for The Family Centre in Edmonton. She has about 20 pieces of work that she’d like to one day display in a local gallery, library or museum.

“I do have a nice selection and a pretty good stock of my work on giclée canvas,” she noted. “I like to be prepared when the opportunity to show and sell my work becomes available. I’m having success at some of the local art markets. I’m still gaining knowledge when it comes to creating and selling my work and I’m always meeting new people; one day I’d like to participate in a major show.”

In the meantime, Morency has been very busy participating at various events and in some cases completing some unique work, including a beautiful painting: “manitohiskotew” (Creator’s Children's illustration by Brenda Morency Flame) to highlight Professor Tracy Bear’s Indigenous Erotica class. spent teaching beginner Cree and working alongside full “manitohiskotew” was so popular that it also appeared time Cree Language teacher, Dorothy Thunder. on the cover of last summer’s Sixth Edition of Red Rising “I was recently employed for 3 sessions by the Faculty Magazine - REVOLT. of Native Studies, University of Alberta, as a Teacher’s Morency’s work also appeared at the National Assistant for NS 152 Introductory Cree,” noted Morency.

Gathering of Elders Conference last September. In “Dorothy teaches all forms of Cree, beginner, intermediate November she showcased her work at the Indigenous and advanced and it’s a real joy being around her and Artisans' Holiday Market and was a panelist for learning from her. My Cree has really improved since I Indigenous Resilience and Resistance in the Arts on Feb 1, began taking the course, though I still have some goals to 2018. meet in that area.”

“If you’d like to see what I do you’ll have the Thunder’s expertise in the Cree language is currently opportunity on April 3 if you come out to the St. Peter blending with Morency’s multi-faceted artistic talents as Apostle School in Spruce Grove. I’ve been invited by the two work together creating illustrated children’s books.

Indigenous Education Coach Etienna Moostoos-Lafferty Though they have two books in progress at the moment, to set up a table and showcase my art during a district-wide the first to be finished is entitled: “Maskimotisak Professional Development Day taking place at the kiskinwahamakewin.” school.”

“The books will all have little lessons in them,” she Morency’s artistic inspiration comes from ‘kayâs explained. “They’ll be in Cree with English translations âcimowina’ and other Indigenous inspired stories that and will impart important knowledge and lessons about remind her of the importance of being able to speak and make good choices, maintaining good health, getting understand one’s own language. As well as learning in the plenty of exercise, eating right and so forth. We are really classroom, Morency’s time at the U of A has also been looking forward to seeing them in print.” noting: “The donors help grow our endowment fund, which enables us to fund more students with higher awards; the sponsors also provide the funding for our annual awards presentations and evening gala event, which allows us to bring students from across Alberta to Edmonton to receive their Métis Sash and meet with their larger Métis family.”

The Edmonton Community Foundation (ECF) has been a partner with the BBMA for 17 years, about a decade after ECF began working to create and maintain a strong, vibrant community by acting as a bridge between donors’ wishes and the needs of charities in the greater Edmonton area. By pooling contributions from individuals and organizations, ECF creates permanent endowment funds that provide long-term support for a wide range of local charitable organizations and causes, while helping donors maximize the impact of their charitable giving. To date the Foundation has allocated more than $190 million to enhance and strengthen the community.

BBMA alumni Ambrose Cardinal and Samantha Gibbon performed at last year's gala.

Questions about the awards program, the BBMA gala or the application process can be directed to Communications Coordinator Theresa Majeran at 780977-5515 or by email to communications@bbma.ca.

February, 2018

Alberta Native News

11

Must see musical "Children of God' opens in Edmonton: March 3-24 (Edmonton) - Children of God - a new musical written and directed by Corey Payette whose cast is predominantly made up of Indigenous performers is coming to Edmonton's Citadel Theatre from March 3-24, 2018. The Citadel is offering a special price for readers of Alberta Native News on performances from March 3-18.

Just use the password PAYETTE when you order your tickets from citadeltheatre.com to get the special $20 rate.

A work of immense beauty in music and story, Children of God is a powerful musical that has drawn national attention for its message of resilience and redemption.

Children of God has its share of heartache as it tells the story of an Oji-Cree family torn apart when the children are taken away to a residential school in Northern Ontario.

In it, we meet Rita, a mother who was never let past the school’s gate, and her kids, Tom and Julia, who never knew she came. In its fierce beauty and honesty, Children of God blends ancient traditions and contemporary realities, above all celebrating the resilience and power of the Indigenous cultural spirit. The Globe and Mail called Children of God “must-see theatre for Canadians.”

Children of God is an important story of reconciliation, connecting us all as we strive to honour the past while moving forward together.

The musical Children of God, written and directed by Oji-Cree artist Corey Payette, was developed in collaboration with English Theatre at the National Arts Centre. The show had its World Premiere at the York Theatre (The Cultch) in Vancouver in May 2017 and at the National Arts Centre. After its run at the Citadel Theatre, the production will move to Western Canada Theatre in Kamloops, B.C. Payette is the Artistic Director of Urban Ink Productions and founder of Raven Theatre in Vancouver. He has worked as a playwright, actor, composer, and director across Canada, with credits that include Moonlodge (Urban Ink); A Christmas Carol (National Arts Centre); and La Cage Aux Folles (Vancouver Playhouse). This is his first time directing at the Citadel Theatre.

Inspired by First Nations music, Payette’s profoundly moving score also includes echoes of provocative Broadway masterpieces such as Fun Home and Next to Normal.

Justice

cont. from p 4

related to homicide.

“As recently as August 2017, I appeared in front of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination where I addressed a disturbing pattern of violent forms of racial discrimination targeting First Nations people. From individual acts of violence, such as the shooting death of Colten Boushie in Saskatchewan to suspicious deaths and disappearances of First Nation youth in Thunder Bay, among others. The CERD in responding to our interventions called on Canada to develop a concrete action plan to implement the TRC ninety-four Calls to Action in consultation with Indigenous peoples.

“We support and uplift the independence of justice institutions including Indigenous juridical systems. The international Human Rights community recently also concluded, “there can be no rule of law without access.”

How many more Indigenous people have to die before the needed justice system reform happens? As Elders stated to the Commissioners during the work involved with the 2004 Saskatchewan Justice Reform Report, ‘We have had enough words now – what we need is positive action.’ I echo their words and call upon Canada to follow their advice.”

The First Nation Summit leaders stated, “The outpouring of frustration and anger resulting from the Stanley verdict clearly illustrates that much work is yet to be done in reconciling the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. The only solutions remain in working together to move forward to fully implement human rights instruments such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action.

“The First Nations Summit extends deepest sympathies to the Boushie Family as they continue to seek justice and closure following Colten Boushie’s senseless death. It is only through our collective efforts, that together we can ensure that Colten Boushie’s life was not lost in total vain.”

The production features a cast predominantly made up of Indigenous performers, including Dillan Chiblow as Tom/Tommy, Sandy Scofield as Rita, and Cheyenne Scott as Julia. The show features set and costume design

by Marshall McMahen, original sound design by Kris Boyd, sound design by Kyra Soko, lighting design by Jeff Harrison, and musical direction by Allen Cole.

Children of God runs at the Citadel in the Shoctor Theatre March 3-24, 2018. Following each performance, a facilitated talk-back will take place in the theatre.

For more information or to purchase tickets visit citadeltheatre.com or call 780.425.1820. Tickets start at just $20 plus fees and GST for Alberta Native News readers. See the details in the ad below.

From: Children of God - a new musical written and directed by Corey Payette. Photo by Emily Cooper Photography.

12

Alberta Native News

February, 2018

Important Indigenous consultation conference takes place this month

by John Copley The Canadian Institute’s 11th Annual Western Indigenous Consultation & Engagement (WICE) conference gets underway next week at The Sutton Place Hotel in downtown Edmonton and it’s the one conference you don’t want to miss this year.

The Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 20-21 conference has been expanded this year to give participants more opportunity for interactive learning, improved networking opportunities and tools with which to build stronger relationships. On Thursday Feb. 22, a series of three PostConference Workshops will take place at the hotel and will include the topics: Duty to Consult Breakdown; Building Concrete Impact Benefit Agreements and Other Contracts and Dispute Resolution: Appreciating the Relational Heart of Indigenous Practice.

The consultation landscape in Western Canada has been evolving with revamped policy from the Alberta Government, promises from the Federal Government and slow progress on the implementation of the United Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Conference Producer Desiree Finhert said the Institute’s 11th annual event is particularly important this year because though 2018 marks “the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Canada is still trying to figure out how to adopt it, how to make this document part of the legal framework in Canada. It’s not an easy task, but this conference presents an ideal opportunity to participate in the conversation and thoroughly understand what’s going on.

“This conference will provide participants with a nonpartisan platform for making meaningful connections and getting conversations started. Make this event part of your consultation strategy by learning government process from government representatives. Hear from industry experts how major projects are affecting the natural resource sector, and engage with Indigenous leaders to forge or reignite relationships.”

Sponsored by The USAND Group and supported by Aboriginal Business Quarterly, ADR Institute of Canada, Alberta Native News and the Canadian Mining Industry, WICE will include interesting panels, dismantled talking table, keynote speakers, a world cafe and an impressive line-up of experts that will include the President of the Indigenous Bar Association and Chair of the Law Society of Alberta’s Indigenous Initiatives Liaison, Koren Lightning-Earle; Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Treaties and Aboriginal Government for Indigenous and

Northern Affairs Canada, Joe Wild; Alberta’s Assistant Deputy Minister of Indigenous Relations, Stan Rutwind Q.C. and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) Manager of Aboriginal Policing, Brian McGuigan.

“Indigenous consultation is a controversial topic that has a way of stirring peoples’ emotions,” noted Finhert, “but it is always encouraging when people come together to talk about why consultation isn’t working, and how they want to change the system. Attend this conference and listen to an important Keynote Address from Alberta’s Indigenous Relations Minister Richard Feehan. Other important highlights include equally important messages from Alberta ADM Stan Rutwind, who will talk about the changes to Alberta’s consultation policy and INAC’s Joe Wild who will address the gathering in a conversation that embraces Nation-to-Nation partnerships.”

When you attend this important conference you will, among many other things, hear how the review will affect your operations and getting answers from the province; find the most significant takeaways from precedent-setting Indigenous legal cases of the year; calculate the cost effectiveness and Return-on-Investment of engaging early and learn how to obtain regulatory certainty by ensuring that consultation is sufficient.

Topics will include a keynote address by Joe Wild: Building Nation-to-Nation Partnerships in Alberta; Boosting Your Company’s Indigenous Relations Profile

by Siksika Resource Nation General Manager, Shane Breaker; Emergency Preparedness for Protecting the Resource Sector by Dana Woodworth, Vice-President of NOR-EX Engineering; Traditional Knowledge and Land Use Studies by Darryl Sowan, the Consultation Unit Manager for the Swan River First Nation and many others.

Attend this conference and you have the opportunity to meet Chiefs and Councillors from the Indigenous communities; municipal, provincial and federal government leaders; policy analysts, environmental planners and many other stakeholders including key personnel from the oil and gas, agriculture and forestry and mining and exploration sectors. When you attend the WICE conference you’ll hear how federal, provincial and community consultation policies interact and learn how to build concrete Impact Benefit Agreements. You will also be able to discuss consultation, engagement and building lasting relationships in an intimate group format. Ask the experts everything you want to know about the resource sector in an inter-active setting.

The Canadian Institute (CI) is the founding company of

the global C5 Group. Canadian owned and operated, CI is responsible for the creation of over 1,700 conferences since its inception in 1985.

Based in Toronto, the organization is both a conduit and stimulus to cutting edge thinking and market trend development. CI acts as a barometer for Canada’s everevolving industrial and professional landscape, serving a vast array of sectors including Oil/Gas, Pharma/Healthcare, IT, Public Sector, Legal and Financial Services. CI has forged close ties with industry specialists, lawyers and other professionals within each community.

“Over the past three decades,” notes the Canadian Institute’s website, “we have been guided by our core philosophy: growth and success occurs when the power of people and the power of information come together. We have developed new ways for our communities to engage, network and problem solve. And, crucially, we also listen.

We seek out feedback and dialogue. We listen to the market and we evolve our formats, topics, speakers, and interactions based on delegates’ needs.”

To download a comprehensive brochure and learn more about the 11th Annual Western Indigenous Consultation & Engagement conference see the website at: CanadianInstitute.comthen click on ‘Conference by Location’ to find this important February 20-21 event.

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February, 2018

Alberta Native News

13 How the muskrat got its tail is provided by the Lac La Ronge Band, Curriculum Resource Unit who are dedicated to providing quality educational resources to all the people of the First Nations.

How the muskrat got its tail Collected and illustrated by: James Ratt Told by: Percy McKenzie It was evening, Wesuhkechahk had just removed a cauldron full of delicious soup from the fire. But the soup did not cool fast enough, at least not for Wesuhkechahk. He had been too busy all day to stop for a midday meal.

Now he was dead tired and hungry. The soup was still too hot when he noticed a muskrat swimming a few metres from the shore.

Sometimes the muskrat swam on the surface of the lake, sometimes diving and disappearing further away. “Hey! Little sister! Come here quick! Listen, little sister!” said Wesuhkechahk.

The muskrat obeyed and hobbled along, threading its way through the grass.

“What is it, big brother?” she asked.

“Will you do me a favour? My soup is too hot and I am dying of hunger. Will you plunge it into the cold water of the lake for me?”

“Gladly!” she answered.

Wesuhkechahk emptied the soup into a moose hide vessel which he tied with a cord. The muskrat plunged under the water bearing the precious burden.

However, just at the moment when the vessel was going to disappear under the water, the cord gave way and the animal’s tail received a shower of boiling soup. The vessel disappeared and the soup mixed with the waters of the lake.

In an angry rage, Wesuhkechahk stormed and fumed. Wuchusk, the muskrat, came out of the water with a scalded tail! Wesuhkechahk saw that all the hair was gone from its tip.

He made a vow that no hair would ever grow or cover the tail of a muskrat from one generation to the next.

To this day, Wuchusk has a naked tail!

14

Alberta Native News

February, 2018

METIS MUTT with Sheldon Elter is live at The Roxy until March 4 (ANNews) - Edmonton audiences are in for a real treat as Theatre Network presents “Metis Mutt,” a One Little Indian Production from February 13 – March 4, 2018 at the The Roxy on Gateway Blvd. in South Edmonton.

The play is written and performed by the tremendously talented Sheldon Elter.

In this hilarious and heartbreaking one-person show, we follow a young Métis man on his journey out of a destructive cycle. In dynamic shifts between storytelling, stand-up comedy, and multi-character vignettes; this personal tale unfolds to expose the impact of family dysfunction, internalized racism, and the significance of embracing life’s choices.

“The main thing I hope people will understand is that through my own unique, Indigenous experience - despite the harsh realities of history and oppression, loss of culture and identity, dysfunctional family life as a result of intergenerational trauma, and the present-day society's inherent need to define me through colonial measurements - at the very least I can take responsibility for my own actions and create positive change for myself one day at time to overcome all odds,” remarks Elter.

Métis Mutt has a long history with Theatre Network.

The show first was developed as part of Nextfest in 2001 and then came to the Roxy stage in 2003 as part of The Roxy Performance Series. In 2017 Sheldon performed the

show in Toronto as part of Native Earth. Theatre Network is honoured to host One Little Indian Productions and Sheldon Elter for a Mainstage run at The Roxy on Gateway.

The play features Sheldon Elter. The director is Ron Jenkins, set and lighting designer is Tessa Stamo with sound direction from Aaron Macri and projection design from Erin. Gruber.

Sheldon is no stranger to Edmonton audiences. He is a Métis actor, writer, stand-up comic, musician and director originally from Northern Alberta. As a stand-up comic, he has emceed and been host at both Breaker’s, and Dave’s Comedy Saloon, and has toured western Canada twice as the opening comedy act for Hypnotist, Marc Savard. Sheldon was also a Top 14 finalist on Canadian Idol in 2006.

TV credits include: Hank Williams’ First Nation, Caution: May Contain Nuts, (Gemini, and Canadian Comedy nominated writer) and Delmer and Marta (APTN, writer, co-star, and Co-Executive Producer), Hell on Wheels, (AMC). He is also a core-member of the ukulele rock band sensation, The Be Arthurs.

His theatre credits include: Crazy For You (Citadel Theatre), Hair: The Musical (Mayfield Dinner Theatre), Alice Through the Looking Glass, Evangeline, One Man Two Guvnors (Citadel Theatre), Bears (Pyretic

Muriel Stanley Venne is named Honourary Skirt 2018 This year, on International Women's Day (March 8), SkirtsAfire Festival kicks off with Opening Ceremonies at the Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts (9225 118 Ave), from 5 - 7 pm. SkirtsAfire is pleased to welcome Carola Cunningham, Executive Director of Niginan Housing Venture and Ambrose Place, to lead a Smudge Ceremony followed by the official Skirt Cutting of the winning 2018 Skirt Competition design. Honourary Skirt, Muriel Stanley Venne will perform the cutting tribute.

The SkirtsAfire Festival, March 8 - 11, 2018, is a 4-day multidisciplinary arts festival held in various venues along Alberta Avenue (118 Ave) in Edmonton. Celebrating diversity, SkirtsAfire Festival empowers, develops, supports and showcases women-identified artists.

Each year, SkirtsAfire Festival recognizes an Honourary Skirt; an outstanding woman, who is accomplished in her work and community, and who inspires greatness in other

women. This year, SkirtsAfire is thrilled to announce the Honourary Skirt for the 2018 festival, Muriel Stanley Venne. Previous Honourary Skirts include Linda Duncan (2017), Marguerite Trussler (2016) and Premier Rachel Notley (2015).

As President and Founder of (IAAW) the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women, Muriel Stanley Venne works tirelessly on the issues confronting Indigenous Women. Muriel along with Vice President Marggo Pariseau, created the Esquao Awards, a province wide recognition for Indigenous Women.

Muriel is one of the most decorated Aboriginal women in the province, receiving the Alberta Human Rights Award in 1998, the Queen’s Medals in 2002 and 2012, the Indspire Justice Award in 2004, the Alberta Government Centennial Medal, as well as the Governor General’s Commemorative Medal in honour of the Person’s Case and the Order of Canada. In 2017, Muriel was recognized

Through stand-up comedy, songs and brilliant vignettes, Métis Mutt recounts Sheldon Elter’s coming of age under extremely difficult circumstances.

Productions), Tartuffe, Sound of Music, ENRON (National Arts Centre), It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s Superman! – The Musical, Fiorello, Ankles Aweigh (Plane Jane Theatre), Marvelous Pilgrims (Teatro La Quindicina) The Crackwalker (Kill Your Television Theatre), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Shear Madness, The Buddy Holly Story and The Full Monty (Mayfield Dinner Theatre), Beowulf (Workshop West Theatre), L’Homme (L’Unithéâtre), Hroses: An Affront to Reason (Maggie Tree Theatre), Nevermore (Catalyst Theatre).

The Roxy is located at 8529 Gateway Blvd. in Edmonton. Visit TheatreNetwork.ca for tickets and information. Tuesday 2 for 1 – Feb. 20 & 27. Tues – Sat at 8pm | Sunday Matinees at 2pm | No Show on Mondays by the Province of Alberta when she became the first Metis woman to have a government building named after her, the “Muriel Stanley Venne Provincial Centre.”

This VIP event is catered by Otto Food and Drink and also includes a performance by motivational speaker, musician and actress Stephanie Harpe, and the exhibit The Wombs We Come From, curated by Lana Whiskeyjack.

SkirtsAfire Festival is also thrilled to present Maria Dunn, headlining the Women's Choir Festival at St. Faith's Church (1725 93 St.) on March 10, 2018. Maria and the choir will be joined by featured instrumentalists, Shannon Johnson and Jeremiah McDade.

A true preserver of the spirit of folk music, 2017 Juno nominee Maria Dunn is often compared to Woody Guthrie for her keen social awareness and unvarnished songs about ordinary people. Her sixth album Gathering (2016) celebrates love - love of family, community, humanity that fires our actions to make the world a better place.

In this special performance, Maria, Shannon and Jeremiah will be guest artists at the Women's Choir Festival beginning at 7 pm. The Maria Dunn Trio will then perform their own show, beginning at 8:30 pm, for an unforgettable evening of music.

Entry to festival events is by donation. SkirtsAfire is pleased to once again feature a mainstage show, The Romeo Initiative, March 1 - 11. Tickets for The Romeo Initiative prior to the official festival dates can be purchased at Tix On the Square. For more information and a full festival schedule, please visit skirtsafire.com.

February, 2018

Alberta Native News

15

Igniting the Warrior Spirit (ANNews) - Dennis Cameron is a visionary event planner whose company is aptly named Visionary Planning, Development and Management Group. He refers to himself as “a hybrid” of mixed Nationhood Swampy Cree from Opaskwayak Cree Nation and Saulteaux/Anishinabe from Tootinaowaziibeeng Treaty Reserve.

Overall, he has 27 (winters) years of direct experience working directly with First Nation communities within a variety of programs that promote overall well-being and facilitate the journey to Self- Determination.

Dennis is currently coordinating a conference and wellness gathering entitled “Igniting the Warrior Spirit” dedicated to promoting Indigenous men’s health and wellness. The conference is being held in several locations across Canada and will be held in Edmonton on Feb. 2728 and in Kamloops on March 21-22, 2018.

During his journey, Dennis has worked in many diverse roles and capacities, starting as a volunteer and progressing to a Coordinator, Coach, Supervisor, Director, President, Board of Director, and Chief. These experiences have given him valuable insight and the skills

60s Scoop

cont. from p 3

communities that were impacted by the 60s Scoop. As a part of that apology they are also looking for a commitment from government, whether it be provincial, federal or a partnership between the two, that promises an ongoing commitment to continue the partnership with SISSA in facilitating healing programs, community gatherings and other initiatives that promote and work toward reconciliation.

“People want true reconciliation and all that it entails but that recognition begins with an apology that recognizes the trauma and the ongoing harm that children faced by being removed from their homes and communities. That trauma continues today and will continue until each survivor has had an opportunity to heal. Minister Larivee is correct when she says that the words ‘I’m sorry’ don’t mean anything without appropriate action and we’d like to see that action include a commitment that things are going to change, in the way that government delivers Indigenousspecific programs and services to children and families.

Even today, large numbers of First Nation and Métis children are still being apprehended by Children’s Services and many are still being placed with nonIndigenous families. Most of those participating in the sharing circles have similar wishes and first and foremost is that government stop being reactive and instead start being proactive through the development of preventive programs, services and initiatives that involve Indigenous Albertans.”

In an interview Minister Feehan referred to the sessions with 60s Scoop survivors as “the mid-point in a longer

needed to plan and conduct these workshops.

The gathering will focus on the unification of Indigenous men.

“There is such diversity that exists, with our many Nations, yet, we all have a common goal and objective of building and sustaining our Nations,” remarked Dennis.

“The approach will be male specific with the overall intent, purpose and objective, of this event to have the issues, needs and directives that are required to be utilized and contribute to ensuring and enhancing our Warriors’ overall personal health, well-being, Dennis Cameron's 'Igniting the Warrior Spirit' will be at the development and preparing them for the Edmonton Inn and Conference Centre on Feb. 27-28. journey in: IGNITING THE WARRIOR of Giving Back.”

SPIRIT.” “I look forward to partaking and walking this journey There is no funding supporting this event, however Dennis is calling on Indigenous Communities, with all who will be a part of this event as we strive to Organizations, Businesses and Individuals to contribute in IGNITE THE WARRIOR SPIRIT with the intent of a true any way possible. “We as an Indigenous Nation(s) can do sense of vision, unity and pride.”

For more information and to register, visit this with our combined efforts,” he assured, “as it will signify and showcase one of our most valuable teachings indigenousmensgathering.com. journey” and said that “people understand that an apology isn’t going to cure things and somehow make everything better. People want us to be very clear about what we are apologizing for; not just the individual who was taken away but also for the families and communities that experienced the loss of their members. They also want to see a commitment to working with the communities to really improve things in the future.”

Feehan has sat in many of the sharing circles during the sessions held to date and has been moved by the stories he’s heard.

“Every story I’ve heard is unique in terms of what specifically happened - the event that occurred that led them to coming into care. The losses they experienced after are certainly unique; there is a strong cohesive theme across the stories about loss and about the experiences of grief they share. There is a deep sadness in the loss of connection to family, culture and community and that’s what has made life hard ever since.”

Survivors, noted Feehan “do not seem to have any unrealistic expectations but they do want the apology to be meaningful; they want the Premier to be able to say ‘we have listened because we wanted to understand.’ When we understand, then the apology is indeed for what actually happened to people and our role in the pain and hurt that happened as a result of our actions at a government level.

No one has unrealistic expectations; it’s about ensuring that everyone in the room understands what happened so that when we move on we do so with common understanding

WINNIPEG

(MANITOBA)

and a common purpose.”

Mr. Feehan said that any benefits to come out of these sessions will only become truly visible once the apology has been made.

“Once the apology has been made,” he assured, “we will work together to really make lives better for every Indigenous person in this province.”

North Peigan said he’s “very pleased with the participation” he is seeing from 60s Scoop survivors and he’s “also very pleased with the process that has been unfolding” since he first sat down to speak with Minister Feehan last March “Both SISSA and 60s Scoop survivors from across Alberta are very pleased to see two of Rachel Notley’s cabinet ministers participating in this effort. This is very encouraging and it is sending a strong signal that the Premier’s office takes this issue very seriously and is very committed to reconciliation for Indigenous people throughout the Province of Alberta.”

Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta is a nonprofit society formed to represent survivors in Alberta, create dialogue and engagement and develop true reconciliation. Board members include representatives from Treaties 6, 7 and 8, and from both the Inuit and Métis communities.

EDMONTON

(ALBERTA)

THUNDER BAY

(ONTARIO)

KAMLOOPS

(B.C.)

FEB. 8-9, 2018

FEB. 27-28, 2018

MARCH 2018

MARCH 21-22, 2018

(VENUE LOCATION Tba)

Edmonton Inn & Conference Centre

(VENUE LOCATION Tba)

Coast Hotel and Conference Centre

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Alberta Native News

February, 2018