Sweetgrass September 2014 final by Paul Macedo

Alberta Sweetgrass - September 2014 WHAT'S INSIDE:

Oral Aboriginal tradition to be considered by NEB in pipeline expansion

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Page 3 Study finds Edmonton, Calgary heavy on racist tweets Page 4 SEPTEMBER 2014 VOLUME 21 • NUMBER 10

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Mural, totem pole symbols of needed change

Les Cardinal, of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, wrote “Enough is enough” as his contribution to a mural that has travelled along with a totem pole that was erected at the Beaver Lake Cree Nation in September. The Lummi people, based in Washington State, gifted the totem pole as a symbol of shared responsibility to BLCN on the front lines of the expansion of the Canadian tar sands. Cardinal was among a handful of people at the Alberta Legislature on Sept. 5, when the group stopped in Edmonton. “There’s a lot of truth in this mural when you actually look at it. A lot of people’s hearts are going into it, a lot of people’s feelings,” said Cardinal. “When it comes right down to it, it’s time to stand up and say, Enough is enough.’”

Strong opposition to province-guided consultation process By Shari Narine Sweetgrass Contributing Editor EDMONTON

More than half of the First Nations in Alberta will not be meeting with the provincial government to discuss the new Aboriginal consultation policy. “We want to be clear, this is not about being against resource development. This is about policies that directly affect our First Nations being created for us without meaningful participation. We are leaders, elected officials that govern our unique territories. It’s 2014 and our people and sovereign governments are still being treated with a paternalistic hand. Today is about us saying, it’s time this stops,” said Treaty 8 Grand Chief Richard Kappo. Chiefs from Treaty 8, which numbers 25 First Nations in the northern part of the province, missed an engagement meeting with Aboriginal Affairs Minister Frank Oberle on Aug. 28 and said they remain opposed to the new structure the government has implemented in order for industrial development to take place on First Nations lands. “It is a violation of our human and constitutional treaty rights,” said Driftpile Cree Nation Chief

Rose Laboucan. “We need to eliminate the paternalistic view that someone has to speak for us. We can speak for ourselves.” Samson Cree Nation Councillor Patrick Buffalo says he “respects” the position Treaty 8 Nations have taken. But Buffalo goes a step further in condemning the province. “There is a fictional world created and (the provincial government) plays a major role in that fiction (and) that includes the consultation process. It’s a fiction. They think it’s real. But it’s a fiction. What authorizes them to govern over us?” asked Buffalo. “Absolutely nothing. They have no jurisdiction over us.” He says Treaty 6 Chiefs recently met to discuss strategy and how to address the province’s consultation process. Chiefs across the province expressed concern with the province’s Aboriginal Consultation Levy Act when the government announced its intentions almost two years ago. The government released the final version of its guidelines on Consultation with First Nations on Land and Natural Resource Management at the end of July. These guidelines and policy on

Consultation with First Nations on Land and Natural Resource Management, 2013, replace the former 2005 policy and 2007 guidelines. The changes for consultation and development centre around the creation of an Aboriginal Consultation Office, which, among other factors, would determine if consultation is required. If consultation is required, the ACO determines the amount of consultation. Guidelines determine the timeline that is to be followed, which also includes sector-specific consultation matrices. The First Nation is required to provide information and meet deadlines. As well, the ACO would distribute fees, collected from companies who plan to develop on Crown land, to First Nations or Aboriginal groups to enable their participation in consultation. Liberal Leader Raj Sherman and NDP critic Deron Bilous both expressed concerns over the Aboriginal Consultation Levy Act saying it gave too much power to the Aboriginal Affairs minister. “Consultation is the government’s role in dictating their laws to us and I’m saying our position is we have our laws and it’s time our laws were heard,”

said Buffalo. Chief Trevor Mercredi, who is Treaty 8 Portfolio Chief of Livelihood, says the government has not responded to letters of concern from the First Nations. “At the same time the government qualifies our participation at these sessions as consultation on the issue. If our participation can’t change the process, why are we asked to participate? The complex nature of consultation cannot be addressed in one group meeting, (the province) must meet with our Nations individually,” said Mercredi. One of the guiding principles for the consultation policy states, “Alberta will consult with honour, respect, and good faith, with a view to reconciling First Nations’ Treaty rights and traditional uses with its mandate to manage provincial Crown lands and resources for the benefit of all Albertans.” “The extreme irony of the Aboriginal Consultation Levy Act is that it was created without adequate or meaningful Aboriginal consultation and the regulations have been no different,” said Kappo. The chiefs want the legislation rescinded. If it isn’t, they say they

will take legal action. Buffalo says he would like to see the issue go to the world stage as Samson Cree Nation has exhausted all domestic avenues. “We have sued the government. We lost. We appealed the decision. We lost. We went to the Supreme Court. We lost. So what’s the next step? It’s the world court. That’s the only action I see,” he said.

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Alberta Sweetgrass - September 2014

ALBERTA NEWS begins in her position immediately.

Voices silenced in LARP concerns

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Tragedy claims East Vancouver inspiration Slam poetry performer Zaccheus Jackson Nyce (fourth from left backrow) was struck and killed by a train in Toronto on Aug. 27. A member of the Piikani Nation, Nyce, 36, was in the midst of a solo tour of Canada. Nyce ended up living in East Vancouver, battling a drug addiction. He found a way to overcome when he hit it big entering a slam poetry competition in 2005 and going on to win a spot on the Vancouver Poetry Slam Team that would compete nationally. He turned that success and his experience into working with youth. His death has been ruled accidental. In a statement to CBC, his family said he was “a free spirit” and an artist. “Like most successful artists, he needed life experiences to bring him inspiration.”

Ermineskin lawyer named VP for CCU Ermineskin Cree Nation lawyer Danika Billie Littlechild has been named vice president of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. Littlechild practices law with Indigenous peoples in several areas of expertise: governance, Indigenous legal systems, environment and international law. She has been a member of the CCU for more than a decade, serving as chair and vice-chair in various positions between 2003 and 2012. The CCU serves as a forum for governments and civil society to promote the participation of organizations and individuals in the areas of education, natural and social sciences and humanities, as well as culture, communication and information. Littlechild

The Alberta government has directed the panel reviewing the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan to not consider concerns raised by the Athabasca Chipewyan, Fort McKay, Onion Lake, Cold Lake Cree, Mikisew Cree, and Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nations, and Fort McKay Métis as they are not directly harmed by LARP. The province has also said that treaty rights do not fall within the purview of the panel. Alberta argues Aboriginal consultation will take place on frameworks within the plan dealing specifically with everything from biodiversity to air and water quality. But two years after LARP was introduced, few of those frameworks have been developed. “By restricting the scope of First Nations involvement to discrete lower-level decisions, the LARP fundamentally misunderstands what is required to meaningfully involve First Nations people in land planning,” says Onion Lake in a written submission. The panel has until June 22, 2015, to file its recommendations.

No recommendations from suicide death A two-day fatality inquiry into the suicide death of Billy Joe Crowshoe, 32, at the Drumheller Institution has resulted in no recommendations. Crowshoe hanged himself on Sept. 21, 2010, in his prison cell while serving his sentence. He made a noose out of his bed sheet, attaching the sheet to the wall 10 feet above the ground. Presiding over the inquiry was Provincial Court Judge Michael C. Dinkel.

Additional funding for root causes The provincial government’s new Family and Community Safety program has $20 million to deliver to local agencies to help end child abuse, family violence, sexual assault and bullying, and to support children’s mental health. The fund will build on the work that is ongoing in communities and strengthen it by supporting new and innovative programs. “This funding will be instrumental in ending and preventing the root causes of social issues. Community partnerships will play a huge role in having these new projects come on stream to make

sure that children and families are kept safe,” said Human Services Minister Manmeet S. Bhullar, in a news release. The funding is in support of the government’s commitment to address the root causes that bring children into care, take action to support vulnerable Albertans, and keep children healthy and safe.

Tuberculosis poses multi-drug resistance Tuberculosis rates are highest among First Nations residents, and immigrants and refugees who arrive in Alberta from countries where tuberculosis is widespread. Cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis are on the rise in the province, according to a new surveillance report, which examined the cases between 2010 and 2012. However, the office of the province’s chief medical officer of health, says the figures are no cause for alarm. Among the 500 cases reported, 47 were resistant to at least one of the first-line treatment drugs and 10 were resistant to multiple drugs needed to treat tuberculosis. Provincial health officials remain vigilant for such cases, said Dr. James Talbot, Alberta’s chief medical officer. Alberta’s tuberculosis rates remain relatively low overall. While the 196 cases reported in 2012 are the highest number since 1996, the annual figures are considered in step with population growth, according to the report.

Human Services signs on with Australian approach Alberta signed a Memorandum of Understanding via videoconference with Child Protection for Western Australia to formalize a partnership to exchange knowledge, research collaboration and a potential caseworker job exchange. Australia has been leading the implementation of the Signs of Safety model. It focuses on tools to help workers determine a family’s strengths and resources to reduce the risk to the child and to create a safer healthier environment. Currently, five Delegated First Nations Agencies and all Child and Family Services regions are using Signs of Safety. The approach, used in over 200 jurisdictions in 13 countries, empowers families and holds them accountable for identifying approaches that will keep children safe. Improving the child intervention practice is a key component of Human ( Continued on page 5.)

NEWS

Alberta Sweetgrass - September 2014

Oral Aboriginal tradition to be considered by NEB in pipeline expansion By Shari Narine Sweetgrass Contributing Editor EDMONTON

First Nations and Métis are not taking lightly the opportunity they have been given to talk to both the National Energy Board and Kinder Morgan representatives. And they want to ensure that neither the NEB nor the pipeline company take their responsibility to listen lightly either. “So we see negative impacts of development like this and we have relayed important information to you to consider in making this decision. It is only when our concerns are meaningfully addressed before — beforehand that we will be willing to consider if this is viable,” said Norine Saddleback, consultation coordinator for the Samson Cree Nation. “Any decision to move forward with this project without our concerns being fully studied or accommodated is going to be problematic for you and the Harper government that supports this project.” The Samson Cree Nation was joined by the O’Chiese, Sunchild, and Michel First Nations along with the Gunn Métis Settlement in providing

PHOTO: SHARI NARINE

Samson Cree Nation delegation (from left) Councillor Pat Buffalo, Henry Lightning, Lawrence Saddleback, and Bison Dolphus Saddleback appeared before the National Energy Board to provide oral testimony in respect to Kinder Morgan’s proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

oral traditional evidence to the NEB, which is considering Kinder Morgan’s expansion proposal for the Trans Mountain pipeline. The presentations, made between Aug. 27-Sept. 4, were the first oral traditional evidence gathered by the NEB. The $5.4-billion Trans Mountain Expansion project would roughly triple the capacity of an existing oil pipeline between Strathcona County and a Burnaby, B.C., marine terminal

to 890,000 barrels per day. Approximately 994 km of new pipeline will be built and 193 km of pipeline reactivated. Twenty new tanks will be added to existing storage terminals, including five in Edmonton. The proposed new pipeline, which includes a stretch between Edmonton and Hinton along Highway 16, will carry heavier oils. The Trans Mountain pipeline first began operating in 1953 and since then has seen a

number of expansions. The NEB heard that the proposed pipeline construction would occur close to Aboriginal homes as well as cross waterways, ceremonial grounds, and possible burial sites. Presenters also made it clear that boundaries which marked their lands and reserves were artificial. They talked about how they once gathered medicines, hunted, fished, and camped in areas that are no longer available to them because the lands have been impacted by industry or now sit as private property. They talked about how their people were buried where they died and there was concern that construction could unearth graves. They talked about their spiritual connection to the land. They talked about advocating for the fish and the wildlife. They talked about leaving something good to pass on to the next generation. “I guess this is one of the reasons why we say we want to work with Kinder and Morgan with the proposed pipeline. We want to be on the front lines and to say and to show the company hey — and to say, “Hey, you can’t go through here. This is a sacred ground for our ancestors and for ourselves.” We want to protect us. We don’t want this to

be disturbed,” said Edwin Frencheater, councillor with Sunchild First Nation. “Our community members have many concerns of the potential spill, as they have experienced it, its repercussions firsthand,” said Gunn Métis Local President Murleen Crossen, referring to the 2005 CN Rail derailment and dump of oil and chemicals into the lake. “This pipeline’s proposed site is, in some locations, amazing close to the waters of Lake Wabamun. Many of our people are not overly comfortable with this prospect.” Developing buffer zones or changing the path of the pipeline was suggested as solutions to address sensitive areas. “I think their demands are very reasonable and I hope for once an energy board actually listens to the interveners and rethinks the locating of this line,” said Edmonton-Strathcona ND MP Linda Duncan, who attended the presentation made by Gunn Métis Local. The NEB panel has three more sessions scheduled, all in British Columbia later this year, to gather further Aboriginal oral traditional evidence. The NEB panel’s final report will be released by Jan. 25, 2016.

NEWS

Study finds Edmonton, Calgary heavy on racist tweets By Darlene Chrapko Sweetgrass Writer EDMONTON

Throughout the months of June, July and August in 2013, Irfan Chaudry, a University of Alberta sociology PhD candidate, tracked tweets in six major cities, including Calgary and Edmonton, and discovered that racism is being expressed through the use of Twitter. “In Canada, we sweep it under the rug and don’t like to talk about it,” he said. “Twitter provides a different avenue to understand it or to express it.” On his website, twitterracism.com, Chaudry describes his methodology. “The words chosen represented the most common racist terms associated with specific racialized groups,” he noted. Chaudry was surprised to discover that the term “Native,” not usually a racist word, was used negatively on twitter, so he included it as a key term of the data set. He used the social media platform Hootsuite to search for tweets that contained racist words used in a negative context, including “Native” and “Natives.” Although Chaudry admits

that his sample is small, consisting of 750 tweets out of the 2,000 he read over a threemonth period, it is telling and has raised interesting discussion. The highest number of negative uses of the word “Native,” emerged in cities with a higher number of Aboriginal residents, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg. The results resonate with public perception studies, says Chaudry, citing a 2010 Environics study on urban Aboriginals that agreed that people from Alberta faced the most discrimination. In Edmonton, of the 60 tweets deemed racist, 27 referenced “Natives.” Of the 62 tweets considered racist in Calgary, 30 were directed at “Natives.” In many instances people were responding to a physical situation on a bus or transit, for example. Chaudry concludes that heritage limits inclusion. “People don’t understand how the online and offline worlds are coalescing and it’s difficult to separate the two,” said Chaudry. Tweeting gives a false sense of anonymity as people are behind a phone or computer. “You don’t see the person that

you’re communicating with and the person doesn’t know what’s being said about them.” Tweeting appears to create a safe space for individuals to showcase different types of hate speech, he adds. Many people hold the view that they are entitled to express their opinion as freedom of speech. Or they don’t understand the full implication of their actions. “What’s the big deal? I just tweeted it, they say.” Chaudry believes people need to take responsibility for what they say on twitter. Twitter is engaging more mechanisms to allow people to report abuse, but abusers find different ways around it, by creating another profile or another account, he says. That these issues are emerging has a positive aspect. “People are openly talking about issues of race, both positive and negative. Discussions are happening and creating more awareness of the issue.” Chaudry believes he has only scratched the surface and will delve deeper in his next project in which he plans to track and analyze the missing and murdered women hashtag across the country.

Numerous changes in 75 years By Julie MacIsaac Sweetgrass Writer KIKINO MÉTIS SETTLEMENT

It was 1940, in the dog days of summer, less than a year after the Kikino Métis Settlement – then known as Good Fish Lake Colony Number Seven - was established on March 29, 1939, near Lac La Biche. “I remember when we came over those hills on the old trail, and we saw the houses in the hamlet,” said Raymond Bellerose, then a 16 year-old boy traveling with his family. “There were just a few homes at that time, and they were all log cabins.” There were 24 families living in Kikino when it was established. People cleared the land themselves, using the timber to build their houses and keeping their families warm on the long, dark winter nights. Logging was the only employment in the settlement and the founding families supplemented their income by hunting and trapping, and their diet with produce from their gardens. Floyd Thompson, Kikino’s current Council chair, and a 44year veteran of the Métis political scene, remembers the early days, too. “I still remember vividly, every time somebody built a house, once they got four walls, there’d be an open air dance. And if there wasn’t a house being built next week, there

would be a cake with a nickel in it, and whoever got the nickel had to host the next dance. I used to get chased home to bed because I was too little,” Thompson chuckled. “So I learned to sing because I knew I’d be welcome.” Thompson started his political career on Kikino council in 1972 and served on the Métis General Council from 1994 to 2000. He worked on the Métis Settlement Accord in 1988, and sat on the Legislative Council for the Métis Settlement Act in 1990. He was also integral to the planning of last year’s Métis Settlement Amendment Act— legislation that saw more support from the province for Métis self-governance. According to Thompson and Bellerose, it was access that brought the first major change to the settlement. The two-lane gravel highway that was constructed in 1963 connected the community to Highway 36, and gave Kikino the opportunity to expand. Since then Kikino has grown. The saw mill is long gone, but the community continues to develop the local economy. Kikino runs a successful tourist attraction—the Silver Birch Resort, which hosted its 25 annual rodeo this year—a game ranch and a gravel operation, along with holding the surface mineral rights to their land. Thompson insists that the years of change have been good for his hometown. Kikino was renamed by the community in

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Council Chair Floyd Thompson presents Kikino Metis Settlement’s eldest citizen, Raymond Bellerose, with his Citizen of the Year plaque. Bellerose has lived in the community since he was 16, and shared his 90th birthday this summer with Kikino’s 75th.

1942. The Cree word means “our home.” There are now100 or so families with a population of over 1,100. “My dad always told me,” Thompson said. “In your lifetime, you’re going to see a lot of change, and a lot faster than when I was a boy. Change can make you bitter, or it can make you better, but don’t ever stand in the way of it. If you can accept and work with change, you and your community will only get better.”

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Alberta Sweetgrass - September 2014

Alberta Briefs ( Continued from page 2.)

Services Minister Manmeet S. Bhullar’s five-point plan announced in January. “Signs of Safety is changing our child intervention practice. It gives our workers tools to help determine what is good and safe in a family instead of what it is wrong and taking a child into care as a result,” said Bhullar.

DiCaprio is one more voice blasting oilsand development Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was in Fort McMurray for a few days to tour the oilsands for an environmental documentary he is working on, reports CBC News. DiCaprio wanted to see the oilsands firsthand and learn more about their impact. He currently serves on the board of the World Wildlife Fund and Natural Resources Defence Council and started his own environmental charity foundation in 1998. DiCaprio narrates the recently released video Carbon, which warns about climate change and depicts the fossil-fuel industry as a robotic monster stomping over the Earth. DiCaprio’s visit to the oilsands was met by criticism by the Alberta government and the oil industry. “It was a great boon for the community,” Eriel Deranger, communications co-ordinator for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, told the Globe and Mail. “It’s a reflection that we are getting our message across, and I’m happy to see a slew of celebrities showing concerns for what is happening in the region.” While there, DiCaprio also took part in the ALS ice bucket challenge, calling out Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper has already made donations to ALS. Also taking part in the ice bucket challenge were ACFN Chief Allan Adam, who challenged Dave Collyer president of Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, and Mikisew Cree Nation Chief Steve Courtoreille, who challenged Shell CEO Ben van Beurden.

Compiled by Shari Narine

Alberta Sweetgrass - September 2014

EDMONTON

Aboriginal company strong on Alberta’s theatre scene By Paula E. Kirman Sweetgrass Contributor EDMONTON

PHOTO: PAULA KIRMAN

Dance, dance, dance Dancers were among the offerings from the Aboriginal Pavilion hosted by the Canadian Native Friendship Centre at this year’s Heritage Festival. Visitors to the annual event were able to steep themselves in culture and Native food, which included bannock, bison bannock burgers, buffalo skewers and mint tea.

Homeless count scheduled for October Oct. 15 and 16 will mark the homeless count in Edmonton. Headed by Homeward Trust Edmonton, the two-day count is a point-in-time count of Edmonton’s homeless population and serves to provide a snapshot of the current overall homeless population, enabling organizations like Homeward Trust to examine how this population changes over time. The count will be followed on Oct. 19 with Homeless Connect, which is an opportunity for the homeless population and those at risk of homelessness to get services from the professional community. The one day event will take place at the Shaw Conference Centre and is expected to help over 1,000 people.

Award winning novelist Boyden headlines STARFest Novelist and short-story writer of Irish, Scottish and Métis descent, Joseph Boyden is headlining STARFest, St. Albert Readers’ Festival, Oct. 17-Nov.3. Boyden’s most recent novel, The Orenda, won Canada Reads, and was also nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award for Fiction. “We have been trying to get (Boyden) in our Readers’ Festival lineup for quite some time, and we have finally done it – and in the year he wins Canada Reads! With a couple of months to go before his appearance, we are already seeing great ticket sales – I think people recognize this is a great opportunity to meet one of today’s literary giants,” said STARFest Director Heather Dolman. Boyden will present Oct. 23 at the Arden Theatre.

Call for artists for Boyle Street exhibit The Quarters Arts Society and Boyle Street Community League have partnered to develop a visual art exhibition program at the new 101 Boyle Street Plaza. Visual artists from the Quarters, Boyle Street, Riverdale and McCauley will be featured and provided with an opportunity to sell their work. Artist’s biographies and contact information will be displayed with the work and sales will be encouraged and supported. Artists’ work may be selected for one or more walls at the Plaza from a total of five feature walls. Exhibitions will run for up to four months.

Potatoes to be harvested for food bank The large field of potatoes planted by Buffalo Head Prairie School at Fort Edmonton Park will be harvested later this month and the vegetables donated to the Edmonton Food Bank. The school from the Fort Vermilion School Division made use of the area in front of the Hudson Bay Garden. Plant a Row, Grow a Row builds on the long-standing tradition of gardeners sharing their harvest with others. It is a people-helping-people program to assist in feeding the hungry in their own communities, says Judy Yawney, Food Hub Coordinator with Edmonton’s Food Bank. “We are proud to be able to offer our clients and affiliated agencies beautiful, fresh produce thanks to our incredible donors.”

Artist’s work displayed in Saskatoon Work by Edmonton Métis artists Heather Shillinglaw is on display as part of the City of Saskatoon’s Public Art Placemaker program. The art will be shown for two years. It is the first time Shillinglaw has had her art displayed in Saskatoon. It is installed at the entrance to Cosmopolitan Park at the top of the University Bridge and end of College Drive. Shillinglaw describes the piece as “Métis flag inspired entitled ‘Sweetgrass Sway’ in an infinity position placement. (This) is to share my personal pride being Métis and drawing a subject that First Nations people identify with.”

Compiled by Shari Narine

Old Earth Productions, an Aboriginal dramatic collective, is producing plays about social issues, featuring Aboriginal themes and actors. “Old Earth Productions utilizes theatre as a tool for creating social change,” said Executive Director Darlene Auger. “We are interested in gathering and telling the stories of local Native people, to create public awareness on pressing issues.” Auger explains that the need for an Aboriginal theatre company was felt in 2005 when the Walterdale Theatre held auditions for the play The Rez Sisters by Tompson Highway, a First Nations playwright - the first time ever that an Aboriginal play was being placed in the Walterdale’s line up. “Apparently, there was some concern about whether the play could be cast by Aboriginal actors and if the production could be sold,” she said. “Nearly every show of 10 shows was sold out! The eight actors who were cast for this production realized that Edmonton and Alberta was in need of a Native theatre company that would produce and present the stories of local Native people.” As a result, Old Earth Productions was born in 2006, when the eight actors created a

PHOTO:NANCY SANDERCOCK

Darlene Auger and Roxanne Blood in an Indian residential school scene of two little girl.

collective to perform The Rez Sisters for that year’s Fringe Festival. In early 2008, six of the original eight members registered the collective as a society. The latest production from the company is the original play A Musta-Be: Maskihkiy Maskwa Iskwew, about the intergenerational effects of institutionalization on Native women and their daughters including Indian residential school, jail, Indian hospital, and child welfare. In 2008-2009, member Christopher Grignard was a doctoral student when Yvonne Johnson was brought into a University of Alberta classroom as a guest speaker. Johnson, an Aboriginal woman serving the

last of a life sentence at the Edmonton Institute for Women, was shackled and handcuffed. “She spoke about her experience in prison and put a call out to the people to do something about the intergenerational incarceration of Aboriginal woman and their daughters,” Auger explained. “Christopher came back to the collective and we decided to take up Yvonne’s call.” Members began engaging Native women, including others incarcerated at the Edmonton Institution, to share their stories and members also contributed their own personal stories as intergenerational survivors of institutionalization. Johnson became the key informant. (See Aboriginal on page 7.)

CALGARY

Alberta Sweetgrass - September 2014

Groundbreaking study examines women Chiefs By Darlene Chrapko Sweetgrass Writer CALGARY

“The difficult was easy, the impossible took a little longer,” said Father Paul Hefferenan in his 1995 eulogy to Canada’s First Female Indian Act Chief, Elsie Marie Knott of the Curve Lake First Nation in southeastern Ontario. Chief Knott, elected in 1952, who served for eight years in this pioneering role, is the touchstone of Cora Voyageur’s groundbreaking study of First Nations Women Chiefs, Firekeepers of the Twenty-First Century. Voyageur, from the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, is professor of sociology at the University of Calgary and also leads the Indigenous Women in Leadership program at the Banff Centre. In this first academic study of women chiefs in Canada published in 2008, Voyageur interviewed 64 of 90 women chiefs to understand their experiences. “Nobody really knows what a Chief does,” said Voyageur, describing the role as “a combination of CEO and mayor.” That many families on the reserves are related or know one another personally presents an additional complexity. In the study she was surprised to discover that three-quarters of the women were from political families. “They also learned about politics at an early age and became accustomed to the political realm of reserve politics,” she writes. “Many believed that they had been groomed, however unknowingly, for their present positions.” Voyageur also discovered that most had strong educational backgrounds. It was not surprising to learn that women chiefs face the same obstacles as all working women. Voyageur writes, “They deal with household chores, children, spouse, and the never-ending

PHOTO: PROVIDED

Over 20 First Nations and non-Aboriginal performers, dancers, musicians and poets are featured in the World Premiere of Making Treaty 7.

Making Treaty 7 world premiere

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Cora Voyageur: University of Calgary professor and leader of the Indigenous Women in Leadership program at the Banff Centre.

struggle to maintain a balance between work and the rest of life.” Unlike other working women, however, “as Chiefs they are also expected to be jacks of all trades and experts in many different areas.” These include a host of different issues including fisheries, mining, resource development and social issues. Of greater consequence, women chiefs must not only deal with racism and discrimination, but also sexism. “Some believe that women are incapable of making hard decisions and base their deliberation on emotion rather than logic,” Voyageur writes. “The most effective women have formal education, know issues, and are effective, caring and honest leaders,” she said. She also found that women leaders are more willing to do tedious work. Voyageur concludes that women chiefs face many professional and personal concerns. “These professional concerns include trying to improve living conditions on the reserve through increased

employment, educational attainment, better housing, and expanded infrastructure. On the personal side, women chiefs must overcome sexism, racism, and self-doubt, maintain a balance between work and life, sustain family relations and friendships and try to find time to care for themselves.” While conducting her study, Voyageur was asked continuously about the difference between men and women. “Is the experience of male chiefs different than women chiefs?” She has begun to explore this question in a recently launched follow-up gender-based study that will survey the experiences of all 600 plus Canadian chiefs. Along the way, she hopes to continue to dispel some of the deeply held myths and stereotypes that characterize leadership in Aboriginal communities, particularly the view of corruption the media often latches onto. “There are bad apples everywhere,” she said.

Aboriginal company strong on Alberta’s theatre scene (Continued from page 6.) “We learned that Yvonne’s Cree name is Maskihkiy Maskwa Iskwew and she is a descendant of Chief Big Bear. During our interviews with Yvonne, she often said “it’s a musta be” in relation to things that she believed are meant to happen or must happen,” said Auger. With the assistance of playwright Jane Heather, A Musta Be: Maskihkiy Maskwa Iskwew was produced in 2010.

“The name of the play is in reference to the ‘medicine’ of introspection - the gift of personal acceptance and love that all the women in the play touch and eventually hold,” said Auger. The play has been performed several times over the years at the Timms Centre for the Arts in Edmonton, most recently in June, and just toured throughout Alberta. “People that see the play have told us that it is a very powerful play that tells the painful truth

of many current issues that are hurting Native people today. People tell us that they can relate to the characters and the stories in the play and that it is so amazing to see these stories unfold on a public stage!” said Auger. Now, organizations are asking Old Earth Production to write or present plays on other social issues, such as homelessness. Currently, a play about the Sixties Scoop and another production of The Rez Sisters is in the works.

Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society launched its theatrical presentation at Calgary’s Heritage Park Historical Village on Sept. 11, 13 and 14. “We Are All Treaty People” marks 137 years after the signing of Treaty 7 at Blackfoot Crossing between the Plains Indians and the Queen, covering southern Alberta, and explores the ramifications of the signing of the Treaty from both a historical and contemporary perspective. “All cultures are expressed through their connection to ‘place.’ Making Treaty 7 is the story of the land we live on, that we cultivate, harvest and build our cities on. It is also the story of who each of us are, where we came from, and why we are here today. Looking forward, it is the story of how we hope to live here together in the future,” said executive and creative producer Michael Green. Among the performers are Gemini award winning actress Michelle Thrush and Calgary’s former poet laureate and musician Kris Demeanor. Presented as part of Heritage Park’s 50th anniversary celebrations, the idea began in Calgary 2012, with multiple partners: Heritage Park Historical Village, the Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society, One Yellow Rabbit, The Banff Centre and Alberta Aboriginal Performing Arts. Following two years of consultation with Treaty 7 First Nations Chiefs Association and Treaty 7 community Elders, the production continues its evolution approaching Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017.

ASIRT investigates police handling of disappearance of Crowshoe The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team has been brought in by the Calgary Police Service to investigate interactions CPS members had with 18-year-old Colton Crowshoe, prior to his disappearance, and allegations by Crowshoe’s family of breach of trust in response to the missing person’s investigation. On July 24, Crowshoe’s body was found in a pond in Abbeydale in northeast Calgary. ASIRT’s mandate is “to effectively, independently and objectively investigate, as directed by the Director of Law Enforcement, matters of a serious or sensitive nature related to the actions of a police officer in Alberta.” On July 2, CPS took Crowshoe into custody. He was released that day in the early morning. On July 6, Crowshoe’s family reported him missing. He was believed to have been last seen on the evening of July 3.

CPRA enhances support of Missing Children Society The Calgary Police Service and the Calgary Police Rodeo Association continue expanding support of the Missing Children Society Search Program. For the past 10 years, the rodeo has donated over $75,000 to MCSC. Some of these funds were used to develop the search program, which uses technology to activate individuals, employees and law enforcement as soon as a child goes missing. Powerful communication tools such as CodeSearch garner an immediate response and active search using geo-targeted alerts and newsfeeds as they happen. The World’s Most Valuable Project uses social media to spread instant awareness and public alert of a missing child. Individuals ‘donate’ their social feeds to MCSC, which in turn uses social media to spread the word. The viral effect of social media can reach hundreds of thousands of Canadians in mere moments. In effect, Valuable Project is the first online search party in the world. Several Calgary corporations, including WestJet, are on board, involving their employees to respond instantaneously to missing children. The CPS will ask its 2,100 members with workissued smart phones to register with CodeSearch. The rodeo hoped to raise an additional $10,000 at their Aug. 10 annual fundraising event.

RCMP cruiser stolen at Checkstop On Aug. 16, a Cochrane RCMP cruiser was stolen at an impaireddriving Checkstop. Police were running a Checkstop along Horseshoe Drive, north of the Stoney Casino, when they took Lorenzo Anthony Bearspaw into custody. Officers were dealing with individuals and damaged vehicles at the scene when they noticed the police cruiser departing. A warrant was issued for Bearspaw, 25, on three charges: theft of a motor vehicle, impaired operation of a motor vehicle and escaping lawful custody. On Aug. 19, Bearspaw, a member of the Stoney First Nation, was arrested in Calgary. Air and ground searches were conducted on the Stoney First Nation to recover the stolen police cruiser.

Alberta Sweetgrass - September 2014

COMMUNITY

Lacrosse player has big plans for his future in the sport By Sam Laskaris Sweetgrass Writer EDMONTON

Elek Himer finally managed to bring home some hardware from a prestigious lacrosse competition. Himer, a 15-year-old who has Cree and Mohawk ancestry, was a member of the Alberta entry that captured the bronze medal at the national boys’ under-16 field lacrosse tournament. The six-team event, which was called the Alumni Cup, concluded on Aug. 31 in Edmonton. Himer, who lives in Innisfail, was the only Aboriginal player on the Alberta entry. His squad defeated Saskatchewan 19-5 in the bronze-medal match. Ontario downed British Columbia 12-4 in the goldmedal contest. Nova Scotia and Manitoba also fielded clubs at the nationals. Earlier this summer Himer competed with the Alberta entry at the North American Indigenous Games in Regina. He was a member of the under-

19 squad that placed fourth. Himer also had a pair of other fourth-place finishes to show from his previous national championships, while he was at the Peewee and Bantam levels. Understandably, he’s thrilled to have captured a medal at his most recent Canadian tournament. “A big weight was lifted off my shoulders,” he said. “I’m glad the team effort came together.” Himer, who plays the attack position, contributed offensively by racking up 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in six tournament games. He said he was confident his side would be among the top three finishers in Edmonton. “I knew our team could pull it out,” he said. “But I don’t think of the outcome. I play the game and see whatever happens. I play for my Creator and my Kokum.” Himer, a Grade 10 student at Notre Dame High School in Red Deer, has been playing lacrosse for seven years. This year he played box lacrosse at the Midget level with

the Red Deer Chiefs. He also played field lacrosse with the Red Deer Orangemen. Himer plans to continue playing both box and field lacrosse, ideally graduating to the professional ranks some day. He’s hoping his lacrosse skills eventually land him an athletic scholarship at an American university. Then he wants to play pro in the National Lacrosse League, a box lacrosse circuit, as well as the Major Lacrosse League, the highest calibre field circuit around. Since his high school does not offer a lacrosse program, Himer is hoping to suit up for several other teams this school year. Right now he’s a fullback with the Notre Dame varsity football squad. Himer has the ideal size for a fullback, packing 230 pounds onto his 5-foot-10 frame. He is also hoping to suit up for his school’s basketball, volleyball and golf teams this year. Despite being thrilled he was the only Aboriginal player on his team at the nationals, Himer was

PHOTO: MANDY HIMER

Elek Himer, 15, helped lead his team to a bronze medal at the nationals with 15 points.

not trying to make a big deal out of this fact. “I wasn’t going out there repping (Aboriginals),” he said. “But I was showing people there’s Natives still playing the sport. I was very humble about it - keeping it calm and cool.”

Though he was the only Aboriginal player on the Alberta club, Himer was not the only team member with an Indigenous connection. Roy Payne, a Métis who lives in Edmonton, served as the team’s assistant coach.

COMMUNITY

Alberta Sweetgrass - September 2014

Turtle awards return with strong showing By Susan Solway Sweetgrass Writer RED DEER

After taking a year off in 2013, the organizers of the 5thAnnual Turtle Awards came back fully excited to recognize

Aboriginal achievement in Central Alberta. “It’s really important to me to acknowledge the support of the community. It really is a celebration of Aboriginal people by the community, and this year was all about looking

forward,” said Tanya Schur, executive director of the Red Deer Native Friendship Society. Eighteen awards in various categories were handed out at the end of June, 11 of which were sponsored by outside sources. The Native Friendship Society sponsored awards for youth, Moosom, education, and service provider. The youth nominations were received from various schools in an area spanning up to the

Leduc County and down to the edge of Airdrie, including the First Nations of Maskwacis, O’Chiese, and Sunchild. The youth award recognizes not only academic achievement but substantial leadership attributes and cultural promotion. “As we continue to encourage our kids to stay in school and do their best, these are not necessarily academic awards. They are awards that recognize the good hard work that our youngsters do. Some of the criteria we look for are those who are good ambassadors of their culture and their community within their schools,” said Schur. Chelsey Southcomb was one of four youth award winners for the 12-24 year old category, recognized for her role as a mentor and a powwow dancer with the Red Deer Aboriginal dance troup, something that she has done for a number of years. Métis Elder Berry Nielson took home this year’s Moosom award for his continuous efforts and overall involvement in the lives of his own children and in supporting the Métis Local in Red Deer. Berv Martin was the recipient

of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which traditionally has recognized those who have spent their lives promoting Aboriginal culture and working within Central Alberta. Martin has also been with the Red Deer Friendship Society movement since the beginning. “Berv said so herself, that it really is an honour to have your community recognize the work you’ve done in your lifetime because the work is really hard but it’s also really important,” said Schur. To coincide with the event, a silent auction was held with the proceeds going toward the friendship society’s programming and also to the newly planned ASOOAHUM Centre, which is now gearing up to break ground. This new friendship centre will also serve as a housing development. According to a Cree Elder who named the new infrastructure, the Cree naming of ASOOAHUM is “crossing” and Schur sees it as a new Aboriginal neighbourhood that will help people cross over to a good life and the opportunity to experience the culture.

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Alberta Sweetgrass - September 2014

CAREERS & TRAINING

Art-based program helps to improve student-learning By Sam Laskaris Sweetgrass Writer FORT MCMURRAY

A Royal Conservatory of Music program that has dramatically increased academic engagement and success of First Nation, Métis and Inuit students is being expanded. For the past six years Learning Through the Arts Youth Empowerment Program has been operating in numerous Fort McMurray schools. Developed by The Royal Conservatory in 1994, it uses arts-based activities to help engage students as they learn key subjects in their curriculum. “The gains the students achieved were pretty spectacular,” said Shaun Elder, the executive director of the Royal Conservatory’s program. “All of a sudden the kids were engaged. They didn’t have that before.” Recently released test results, showing Provincial Achievement Test scores in math, science and social studies, demonstrate just how successful the program has been, especially among Aboriginal students. The 2013 PAT score for science shows that 74.2 per cent of Aboriginal students achieved the provincial standard, a significant increase from the 54.2 per cent from the 2010-12 results. During this same period, 66.1 per cent of Grade 9 Aboriginal students met the acceptable provincial standard, up from an average of just 44.7 per cent. All parties are thrilled with the results. “We can’t say our program was 100 per cent responsible for it,” Elder said. “But (officials from) the school district told us ours was really the only new initiative in the curriculum.” The program brought in Conservatory-trained dramatic and visual artists, musicians, dancers and writers to work

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creatively with teachers and students, in the hopes of engaging the latter to take more of an interest in their studies. Bringing in a local Elder to help teach also generated more engagement from Aboriginal students. “I knew the test results would be better because I saw the student engagement in the classroom,” said Program leader Shelley MacDonald, who is Métis. The program operated in 15 Catholic schools and seven public schools in Fort McMurray. MacDonald had a sense the program would be successful, even before it was implemented as some Aboriginal students had a say in how it would operate. “We had visioning sessions before the program was launched,” she said. “We really

felt it was important for the students to be involved with that as well. And they were very much a part of the visioning.” When the program first started it was working only with Grade 6 students. But grant dollars from the Alberta government has allowed the program to expand the past three years. “What that (grant money) allowed us to do was to work with students who were in Grades 7-9 as well,” Elder said. A total of 3,000 students have benefitted from the program. MacDonald said some of the Fort McMurray schools feature enrolments of about 50 per cent Aboriginal students. And now the program will be expanded to other northern Alberta communities thanks to a

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Alberta Sweetgrass - September 2014