New stats on Aboriginal youth sport and culture activity

Earlier this month, StatsCan released a study entitled “Participation in sports and cultural activities among Aboriginal children and youth.” Based on the 2006 Aboriginal Peoples Survey, the report drew on a total of 11,940 respondents, representing nearly 170,000 children. First, the overall picture: over 65% of Aboriginal children participated in sports at least once a […]

Digital Tools for Learning & Preserving Indigenous Languages

Aniin!  Interested in learning an Indigenous language?  Here are two digital tools that might make it easier: The folks over at the Miyo Wahkohtiwin Community Education Authority have taken their Online Cree Dictionary and turned it into an iPhone/iPad app, free of charge. Not i-based but still just as cool is Isadore Toulouse’s dimdim-based Anishinabemowen (Ojibway) virtual […]

First Nations Funding: A System Built to Fail?

During our recent sit-down with outgoing Chief Marcel Balfour, it wasn’t long before the discussion turned to Canada’s infamous ‘2% funding cap.’ That’s the cap Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) places on annual increases to First Nations’ budgets. According to a report hosted on the department’s own website, this “2 per cent funding cap […]