Indigenous Alberta

For Walsh, promoting Indigenous languages is part of reconciliation. The municipality’s recent announcement that new traffic signs will include Cree, Dénesųłiné and English are a good way to raise awareness of Indigenous languages.

“Trading is just one small piece of the systems we had in place before settler arrival,” said Croucher. “Through trading, we’re hopefully teaching the broader community about how part of Indigenous culture is about including everybody.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa on December 5 that Bellegarde has been a tireless leader and advocate for First Nations.

“It’s quite an honour for everyone here,” Crawford said. “It felt really, really good because it’s such a team effort. It’s not just one person, it’s the whole Nation."

“We have done everything possible to keeper numbers down, our active, our positive cases down and to make sure we are super conscious and super conscientious about doing things that will make sure that people feel safe and are safe,” Evans said.

Students recognized for embracing their gifts, strengths and potential, while celebrating their culture

The UN declaration affirms the rights of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination and also spells out the need for free, prior and informed consent from Indigenous Peoples on anything that infringes on their lands or rights.

“They can have a chance to increase their tools— Driving that’s a need that’s essential especially because we live in a. Remote community,” Young said. “Driving is something we do almost every day.”

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), three-quarters of Indigenous languages in Canada are “definitely,” “severely” or “critically” endangered.

This is the first time IKWC has administered the grants, which are provided by Indigenous Services Canada and directed by the Assembly of First Nations’ National Indian Education Council.