By Frank Larue

Newly elected grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba chiefs Derek Nepinak served as chief the Pine Creek First Nation before he was nominated grand chief. The band was having financial problems when he arrived; they were in third-party management and had several garnishees filed against the Band. Within nine months, Chief Nepinak took the Pine Creek First Nation out of third-party management and settled the garnishees. He raised $4 million in new housing investments, and when he stepped down as chief, the Band was financially secure and had no debtors knocking on their door.

Derek received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alberta, a law degree from the University of Saskatchewan, and the Aboriginal Governance master’s degree from the University of Manitoba. He also attended the Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, where he completed the Aboriginal Lands, Resource, & Governance program. Following his tenure as chief of Pine Creek, he was the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs co-chairman for consultation and accommodation and was chairman of the West Region Tribal council. He has built a reputation as a strong negotiator with leadership qualities and his educational background brings a wealth of legal knowledge to his new position. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs represents 59 First Nation Bands with a population of 128,000 Natives. “The Assembly serves as advocates,” Derek said. “Our advocacy is built on the foundation of inherent rights and treaty rights. We don’t lobby; we have a more fundamental relationship with Canada.”
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By Kelly Many Guns

Since winning the 2011 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role, Michelle Trush’s life hasn’t been the same. The First Nation actress, who was raised and lives in Calgary, says she is touched by the overwhelming response received from fans that watch the series Blackstone on APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network). Thrush plays Gail Stoney, a woman suffering from alcoholism, and uses humor to numb the pain she feels, including the loss of her daughter who committed suicide. “I was really super surprised that I won. I was not expecting to win,” says Thrush. “This award has changed my whole life.”

Thrush says the award was a great surprise after taking a break from filming Blackstone’s second season to fly to Toronto for the awards telecast. “I meet so many people that say ‘I have a Gail Stoney in my family’ and that the series has affected their lives,” says Thrush. “I know that in the Aboriginal community, humor is something that we all relate to, and I wanted that trait to be a part of Gail.”
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By Lynn Calf Robe

Wacey Rabbit, a 25-year-old professional hockey player from the Kainai Nation, now calls Texas home after being signed to the San Antonio Rampage with the American Hockey League (AHL) in the 2011/2012 season. An avid hockey fan, Rabbit has been playing hockey for 22 years and looks forward to his sixth season as a professional hockey player. His illustrious hockey career has taken him across Canada and the United States, as well as Europe where he played in the Kontinental Hockey League. Last season, Rabbit played with Medvescak Zagreb in the Austrian Elite League. He has also played for the Milwaukee Admirals (2009-10) and Providence Bruins (2006-09). His Western Hockey League career included time with the Saskatoon Blades (2001-06) and the Vancouver Giants (2006-07).

Rabbit says his biggest accomplishment so far has been winning the Memorial Cup Championship with the Giants in 2007 and being drafted into the NHL by the Boston Bruins. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, 154th overall. He enjoys other sports, like golf and basketball, but hockey has been his passion since childhood. “All of my older cousins and friends were playing, so I wanted to play as well,” he says. “My parents wanted to get me active, so hockey was the easy choice.” Rabbit is definitely active. He goes through about 20-25 hockey sticks in a season. “I am very picky about my sticks, any scratch or crack, I get a new one.”
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By Bernie Bates

How stupid is the world? Some of the brightest minds on the planet are going to waste – while some of the dimmest people are sitting in the halls of power. It’s been ten years since the terrorist attacks on September the 11th. Since then trillions of dollars and trillions of bullets have been spent – and you helped pay for it – doesn’t that make you sick to the pit of your stomach?

I agree that we should have bombed the crap out of Afghanistan; but not with explosives, but rather with knowledge. We, the so-called civilized people of the world should have bombed them with real books, computers and cell phones. Even an ignorant a-hole like Hitler realized that the wrong reading material was a threat to his Aryans only club. So he burned works of art and books that he deemed to be blasphemous.
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By Clint Buehler

Audrey Poitras defeated a single opponent in elections September 6th to win her sixth consecutive term as provincial president of the Métis Nation of Alberta. The final unofficial tally was 1,380 for Poitras and 644 for Calgary businessman Donald McCargar. The contest for provincial vice-president was much tighter, with Toby Racette unofficially collecting 992 votes to 955 for her only opponent, former Region 4 vice-president Sharon (Letendre) Pasula. A request for a recount is expected. Tellingly, only slightly more than 2,000 of the Métis Nation of Alberta’s 36,000 members voted in this election.

Races for regional offices resulted in a mixture of old and new faces elected to Provincial Council, with one seat filled by acclamation and another left unfilled because no candidate came forward. In the race for Northeastern Alberta president, Willie Lindstrom unofficially narrowly defeated incumbent Bill Loutit 279 to 276. There will definitely be a recount. The battle for vice-president was also close with incumbent Diane Scoville defeating challenger Daniel Cardinal 293 to 250.
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By Reuel Amdur

What will the Conservatives’ Safe Streets and Communities Act mean for Aboriginals? In short, it will mean more Aboriginals in custody for longer. The rate of Aboriginal incarceration is high and going up. This bill will increase the number even more.

Statistics Canada indicates approximately 3% of the population is Aboriginal, and the custody statistics are alarming. From 2008-2009, Aboriginal people accounted for 27% of admissions to provincial and territorial custody, as well as 18% in federal custody and 21% to remand. Of all women in custody, 37% are Aboriginal, as are 28% of women in remand. In comparison, 20% of remanded men and 25% of men sentenced to custody are Aboriginal. The bottom line is that the prisons are more and more populated by Aboriginals, and the numbers continue to rise.
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