Spring is coming!!!

Hello Everyone!

Well, spring may finally be on its way after a long, cold, trying winter.

Many things have happened for Aboriginal people in the last little while- with many of those events focusing on Aboriginal Education specifically!

The First Nations Education Act (FNEA) was formally announced in Blackfoot territory in February. For highlights of the announcement and information on how this will affect First Nations education in the future, please see http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2014/02/07/first-nations-control-first-nations-education-act

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada will be wrapping up their National Events in Edmonton, Alberta on March 27-30. For details and information on attending, see http://www.trc.ca/websites/alberta/index.php?p=766

For residential school survivors that received a common experience payment (CEP), there is a new option for funding assistance to attend school. The Personal Credit program provides up to $3000 for educational programs and services provided by universities, colleges, trades or training schools, Indigenous institutions of higher learning of which relate to literacy or trades as well as programs and services related to Aboriginal identities, histories, cultures, or languages. These credits can also be transferred to children, grandchildren, spouses or siblings. For more information, please visit www.residentialschoolsettlement.ca 

AARN has a new logo courtesy of Del Beaverbone:

We will be using the circular logo on letterhead and emails from now on, and this larger graphic for presentations and wherever else we can. Special thanks to Kathy Davis at Macewan for facilitating the design of this logo. Hope you like it!

As always, if you have any events you would like AARN members to attend, please contact us at aboriginal.recruitment.alberta@gmail.com

See you on the road!

Tori and Amber

October is upon us!

Hi Everyone!

Well October is almost over and it is time to break out the costumes for Halloween! Cultural appropriation can be a big issue at Halloween so we thought it is a great time to share information about a victory. Halloween often means seeing traditional Native American cultural practices misappropriated as a costume (headdresses, buckskin outfits, face-painting, etc.). One of the biggest misappropriations facing Aboriginal people is that of sports teams named things such as "Redskins". In Canada, Ian Campeau launched a Human Rights complaint over the use of this name for the Nepean football league. Recently, the Nepean Football organization agreed to change it's name. This is a big victory in educating people as to why cultural appropriation is harmful. It is also a great opportunity to work with Aboriginal students and encourage them to be proud of their heritage and culture. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/19/a-tribe-called-red-nepean-redskins-change-name_n_3956010.html

In Calgary, Alberta on November 4 and 5, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will be hosting "Share Your Truth". These events will be hosted at the Executive Royal Hotel 2828 23rd St. NE from 9-5 each day. This is a great opportunity to learn more about and bear witness to the legacy of the Residential School system. For more information contact George Calliou, Executive Director-Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary (AFCC) 403-270-7379 or gcalliou@afccalgary.org Health Support Workers will be available on-site.

James Anaya, the UN Special Rapporteur for Indigenous Rights visited Canada for six days in early October. He visited First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities and made recommendations to the government about how to engage with Canada's Indigenous people in a respectful manner. One of the issues he spoke on is the First Nations Education Act- a new piece of legislation from the Conservative government that is being met with a significant amount of distrust. For more information on the outcome of Mr. Anaya's visits and the First Nations Education Act, see http://globalnews.ca/news/903556/un-investigator-urges-ottawa-not-to-rush-first-nations-education/

We hope you are having a great fall, and as always- if you have any questions or want to share an Aboriginal career fair or invite AARN members to your community, please contact us!!

Cheers,
Tori and Amber