Indigenous Alberta

The leaders of Indigenous communities downstream from oilsands developments say many of their questions about releasing treated tailings water into the Athabasca River have gone unanswered by the federal government and industry groups.

“The pandemic has further highlighted the negative impact of systemic racism and inequities on the health and development of children and youth,” says the report that was released last Friday.

“What we are trying to do for them is create the experience and understand Indigenous history, understand the importance of it because it was lost," said Angela Woods, the education and support services coordinator with ATC.

A statue was unveiled in honour of missing, murdered, Indigenous women and girls, located near the Mannawanis Native Friendship Centre in St. Paul, on Dec. 15.

“There is a need for Indigenous medical practitioners — physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, RNs, dentists and others — to help address the needs of First Nations peoples,” Alexis said, who also mentioned some of the obstacles First Nations people faced in the health-care system, such as Elders for whom English is not a first language.

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.