National Aboriginal
Achievement Awards
COVER:
Thomas
Prince
Canada's
Forgotten Aboriginal War Hero
NATIONAL ABORIGINAL
ACHIEVMENT AWARDS:
Dr. Freda Ahenakew
Mariano Aupilardjuk
Roman
Bittman
Dr Harold Cardinal
Dr. Lindsay Crowshoe
Tomson Highway
Fred House
Zacharias Kunuk
Richard Nerysoo
Lance Relland
Nicholas Sibbeston
Mary Thomas
Dolly Watts
BUSINESS:
Bankers Call Shots
A bank is calling the
financial shots on one of Manitoba's largest First Nations
CULTURE:
Debate
Rages Over Native Alcoholism
Gwishalaayt
The Spirit
Wraps Around You
EDUCATION:
Agreement Solidifies Ties Between Valley Schools and First Nations
Education Critical to Moving Forward
Education is Failing Aboriginal Students
MODERN TREATIES:
Atlantic
Chiefs Demand Action on Template Agreements
...the
Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs are demanding a meeting
with DFO minister Herb Dhaliwa...
Cash-strapped Tribal Police Winding Down Operations
First Nations communities
in Cape Breton will no longer be policed by their own...
HUMOUR:
Support Your Local Native
OBITUARY:
Chief Simon Baker
POLITICS:
One
Dead Indian
Referendum
Circus Coming Soon to Your Town
20,000 Survivors of Residential Schools to Seek Compensation
Mariano Aupilardjuk
Heritage and Spirituality
To
charter a successful course across the barrens and on into the future,
Canada's Inuit need bridges that reach from their timeless and honoured
past.
Over a life that has spanned seven decades, Nunavut's Mariano Aupilardjuk
has himself become a bridge. A respected Elder in Rankin Inlet, an isolated
community that hugs Hudson Bay, Aupilardjuk is widely recognized by the
Inuit. They look to him for his wisdom, his teachings and his healing
abilities. Aupilardjuk's commitment to sharing Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit
- traditional knowledge - is total and it is complete.
"Mr. Aupilardjuk speaks of values and the use of traditional knowledge
in a way that links the past, the present and the future of Inuit people
in Nunavut," Kivalliq Inuit Association President Paul Kaladjak says without
hesitation. "Throughout his life, he has counseled and advised many people,
from local community residents to high-profile politicians on how to best
utilize those teachings of traditional ways into how they could be used
in modern society."
In talks at local elementary and secondary schools and through presentations
at Arctic College and across Canada, Aupilardjuk has offered his wisdom
without hesitation, asking for nothing in return.
He teaches youth traditional Inuit land skills, advises the RCMP, speaks
frankly to Government of Nunavut ministers and civil servants, and facilitates
community and pan-territorial healing services. Aupilardjuk has participated
in numerous Nunavut oral history projects and has helped ensure his people's
story-telling tradition will go on forever.