Indigenous Alberta

The Kainai and Siksika Nations have filed letters with the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, arguing a coal company is misrepresenting their relationship with it, the Canadian Press reports.

Approximately 80 per cent of Indigenous households in Alberta compared to 54.4 per cent Canada-wide do not have access to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) target speeds for Internet.

Calgary’s Glenbow Museum’s first director of Indigenous engagement and reconciliation says the position is important for the museum industry, which has historically been insensitive to Indigenous concerns.

“It’s really important to share the culture and my artwork is definitely inspired by it, and me being an Indigneous man, it totally reflects and affects my work,” said Carter, who hails from Little River Cree Nation south of the Caribou Mountains.

“I don’t want anything to happen to anybody. It’s very bad. We lost some band members. It’s preventable if we all do our part and get our vaccination,” said the chief. 

“Money does not mean justice. However, it signals that we are on the healing path forward as we finalize long term reform to ensure we meet our vision of children surrounded by the love and care of their families, living in safe and vibrant communities.”

“Wherever my members may be … we are gonna have to help them because they’re still our members.”

The Oblates operated 48 of the forced assimilation institutions, including Saskatchewan’s Marieval School and the school in Kamloops, B.C., where the unmarked graves of 215 children were uncovered.

The Chief expects the Women’s Shelter to be finished by April as a community hall with similar square footage and structure was built within that time frame. The facility will have six units and be able to house at least 20 people.

First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children are disproportionally represented in Alberta’s child welfare system, making up 64 per cent of the overall provincial caseload.