Shawn Atleo becomes National Chief to the Assembly of First Nations
Shawn Atleo, the hereditary chief of the Ahousaht nation on Vancouver Island, was elected July 23rd as National Chief of Canada’s Assembly of First Nations. The new chief campaigned on a four-pillar strategy with emphasis on families and communities, treaties and rights, the economy and environment, and First Nation governance. (more…)
Tuff stuff out of the post-industrial ghost-lands of Buffalo, NY
Filmmakers Marc Moscato and David Gracon are in Nanaimo on Wednesday July 22nd to present Tuff Stuff From the Buff, a collection of underground and defiantly independent videos about their hometown of Buffalo, N.Y. Their Do-It-Yourself media arts community focuses on contemporary works that blur the lines between video art, personal documentary and media activism. [Source: Nanaimo News Bulletin] (more…)
Two artists talk about mental illness, mental health, and the creative path
The experimental link between creativity and mental illness is well-documented, and now a new study out of Hungary has discovered what could be a genetic link between the two. In dicussing his findings, Dr. Szabolcs Keri also suggested that people with mental illness can express themselves a lot better through visual and musical forms of communication. [Source: The Edmonton Journal] (more…)
Paddling opens the door to culture, self awareness, and healthy lives
Tribal Journeys is a high profile annual event for the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Youth on a Journey is a related program which helps to prepare youth for participation in these Tribal Journeys. Dozens of Cowichan youths are preparing to paddle to Suquamish as participants in the 2009 event. The Youth on a Journey crew has been planning and preparing since last years event in Cowichan. (more…)
Homeless men share their experiences and hopes in a book club setting
In the fall of 2007, outreach nurse Donna Kelly recognized that books had often become the common ground between her and her homeless patients. From her original idea, a book club was developed for residents at the 2100 Lakeside Shelter for Men in Cleveland, Ohio and later in Joseph’s Home, a transitional shelter for homeless people. The homeless health literacy book club was the first of its kind in the U.S. “Sometimes healthcare isn’t just about passing out pills,” Donna told The Christian Science Monitor. (more…)
