AI renderings of Inuit Nunangat University circulating online not legitimate: National Inuit association
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Renderings of Inuit Nunangat University made via artificial intelligence (AI) are not based on any official plans made by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) for the campus in Arviat, the national Inuit organization has confirmed. ITK shared a rendering online of what the university might look like, but that is just a conceptual image. “It has not been determined what the university will look like,” said Sarah Newell, senior policy advisor for ITK. “ITK does not have any renderings that we are making available to media.” AI renderings on social media of the future Inuit Nunangat University have obvious misspellings, incorrect names and cartoon-like imagery. Facebook pages Canada Connections, Canada Daily Updates and Oxygen Canada News all shared AI renderings of...
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U.S.-Despite recent gains, tribal citizens descended from slaves face disparate treatment
By Savannah Peters And Graham Lee Brewer MCLOUD, Okla. (AP) — Tribal citizens whose ancestors were enslaved by citizens of several tribal nations in Oklahoma are starting to see more inclusive access to Native American health care, education and other social services, but barriers remain. Federal and tribal agencies have worked in recent years to clarify eligibility requirements and train on-the-ground staff, but a report released by the Government Accountability Office ahead of Black History Month shows there is more work to be done when it comes to the treatment of Freedmen descendants. The COVID-19 pandemic helped to lift the veil on what longtime activist Marilyn Vann called disparate treatment of the descendants. She pointed to high-profile cases in which people were denied vaccines and financial aid while the virus...
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With only 3 women left, an Amazon tribe faced extinction. An unexpected birth now brings hope
By Gabriela Sá Pessoa SAO PAULO (AP) — Pugapia and her daughters Aiga and Babawru lived for years as the only surviving members of the Akuntsu, an Indigenous people decimated by a government-backed push to develop parts of the Amazon rainforest. As they advanced in age without a child to carry on the line, many expected the Akuntsu to vanish when the women died. That changed in December, when Babawru — the youngest of the three, in her 40s — gave birth to a boy. Akyp’s arrival brought hope not just for the Akuntsu line but also for efforts to protect the equally fragile rainforest. “This child is not only a symbol of the resistance of the Akuntsu people, but also a source of hope for Indigenous peoples,” said Joenia...
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Funding secured for Black History Month feast in Kuujjuaq
By Dominique Gené, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News Kuujjuaq is getting its first Black History Month event. After weeks of planning and outreach, Jephthé Sylvestre has secured funding to host a community feast on Feb. 28, aimed at bringing Black, Inuit and other residents together through food and music. For the past 30 years in Canada, February has been designated as Black History Month. Makivvik along with two general stores, Newviq’vi and Co-op, are sponsoring the celebration. Notre Dame de Fatima, the Catholic church in Kuujjuaq, is opening its doors for the event. Sylvestre said there will be a wide range of cuisine from across the Black diaspora including ackee and fish, a national dish in Jamaica made from salt cod and ackee fruit. Haitian comfort food staples will...
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Poilievre calls for all-party working group on renewing trade deal with U.S.
By Sarah Ritchie Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre laid out his vision for the Canada-U.S. relationship on Thursday, directly denouncing U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about Canada while insisting on a stable relationship with our southern neighbour. “The lesson in this moment is simple: the path to sovereignty is focusing relentlessly on what is within our power,” Poilievre said in a speech at the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto. Poilievre called for the creation of an all-party working group on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade as the two countries begin a review of the deal. He pledged to work with the Liberal government, while noting the Official Opposition has “a constitutional and patriotic duty to scrutinize the government.” The Conservative leader did find common ground with the Liberals on Thursday,...
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Brantford police investigating jewelry store robbery, seeking public’s help
BRANTFORD,ONT-The Brantford Police Service (BPS) is seeking the public’s help after a robbery hit a jewelry store Monday, February 23, 2026, at about 4:25 p.m.. BPS said four men, wearing masks, entered a jewelry store located inside the Lynden Park Mall, smashed glass display cabinets and stole a large quantity of jewelry. The suspects are described as follows: Suspect #1: Male, white, thin build, approximately 5’7” – 5’9” tall, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and black pants Suspect #2: Male, black, approximately 250 lbs., between 5’8” – 5’10” tall, wearing all black clothing Suspect #3 & 4: Male, black, approximately 5’7” – 5’9” tall, thin build, wearing all black clothing Employees and patrons were within the store at the time of the incident; however, no physical injuries were reported. Anyone...
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Olympic hockey fans slow court network as sexual assault trial gets underway
By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince George Citizen The men’s Olympic hockey quarterfinal in Milan, Italy briefly threatened to delay the start of a sexual assault and indecent assault trial in Williams Lake on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Irvine Francis Charleyboy, the 80-year-old former Alexis Creek Indian band chief, pleaded not guilty in BC Supreme Court to charges dating back to 1980. Last November, Charleyboy was acquitted of charges dating back to 1974. Before the trial began, Justice Kevin Loo agreed to allow a court-approved support worker to sit near a complainant while she testified behind a screen. As she made the application, Crown prosecutor Paola Konge remarked that her computer was “exceptionally slow” in accessing documents. “There’s unfortunate connectivity issues happening of late,” Konge said. Loo had the...
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Changing Trails: Nunatsiavummiut losing traditional routes as climate change wreaks havoc in Labrador
By Heidi Atter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Independent A brook has opened up near Rigolet. There is thin ice near Postville. An early snowfall slowed ice growth near Nain. Traditional snowmobile routes aren’t safe near Makkovik. Throughout Nunatsiavut, a warming and less predictable climate is changing ice patterns Inuit have used for centuries. Glen Sheppard, a former AngajukKak of Postville, is worried it’s just a matter of time before someone goes through the ice on their snowmobile/ski-doo. “We’re facing huge, huge changes,” he says. Sheppard serves on Postville’s volunteer Search and Rescue team. He recently travelled out of the community to cut firewood, something many Inuit rely on for heat in the winter months, when he found “slob” ice—when ice softens and turns to slush—and even open water. “It’s...
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Feds earmark $1.55 billion to ensure equal services for First Nations kids
By Alessia Passafiume Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty is expected to announce $1.55 billion in federal funding today to support Jordan’s Principle, a legal principle that states First Nations children must have equal access to social and health services. MPs unanimously passed a motion in 2007 committing the government to ensuring First Nations children get necessary services without delays caused by jurisdictional squabbles between governments. The funding, which will last until 2027, comes as Gull-Masty faces criticism for not repealing an operational bulletin released last year that limited the scope of services covered by Jordan’s Principle. Child welfare advocate Cindy Blackstock says she wants Gull-Masty to walk back those changes and explain what she’ll do if the funding runs out before year’s end. Citing a backlog of some 130,000 Jordan’s...
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Montreal metro constable charged with armed assault against Indigenous person
A special constable working in Montreal’s metro system is facing assault charges against an Indigenous person. Quebec’s police watchdog says the 39-year-old constable has been charged with armed assault and assault, with the case returning to court in May. Charging documents filed in Quebec court say the alleged offences occurred in the Berri-UQAM metro station on Jan. 13, 2025. The alleged victim was a member of the Cree Nation and was not badly injured. The watchdog — Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes — is mandated to investigate criminal allegations targeting police officers, including all cases where the alleged victim or complainant is Indigenous. In 2021 inspectors with the transit agency became special constables — the status of peace officer subject to Quebec’s Police Act. This report by The Canadian Press was...
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Brantford Police Make Arrest in two decade old Baby Parker Investigation
BRANTFORD,ONT- After 21-years the Brantford Police Service (BPS) have arrested and charged a woman in the death of Baby Parker. A 39-year-old woman, who was from Brantford at the tme of the incident, is a facing a series of charges The charges come after a citizen discovered the deceased body of a full-term newborn baby boy July 28, 2005, in the area of the walking trails near Dufferin Avenue and Parkside Drive in Brantford. BPS launched an extensive investigation into the identity of the unknown infant who became known as Baby Parker. Until now, neither the child’s mother nor father had been identified. Police have been able to identify the mother of Baby Parker with the assistance of the Toronto Police Service, and the use of new DNA technologies and...
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Judge says he will order Greenpeace to pay an expected $345 million in oil pipeline protest case
By Jack Dura BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota judge has said he will order Greenpeace to pay damages expected to total $345 million in connection with protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline from nearly a decade ago, a figure the environmental group contends it cannot pay. In court papers filed Tuesday, Judge James Gion said he would sign an order requiring several Greenpeace entities to pay the judgment to pipeline company Energy Transfer. He set that amount at $345 million last year in a decision that reduced a jury’s damages by about half, but his latest filing didn’t specify a final amount. The long-awaited order is expected to launch an appeal process in the North Dakota Supreme Court from both sides. Last year, a nine-person jury found...
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Overcrowded housing in First Nations ‘nothing new’: Regional Chief
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY — Ontario First Nations leaders continue to push for resources to improve housing. That’s according to Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict, who helped open the 23rd edition of the First Nations Housing Conference on Tuesday. “Before the tariff war that has impacted … the economy in different ways, the Government of Canada was grappling with a housing shortage,” he said. “And, sadly, for many of our communities, the housing shortage, inadequate housing, overcrowded housing is nothing new.” “We’ve had a crisis in our communities for a very long time.” The conference brings together community leaders, housing managers, government funding agencies, builders and maintenance people, industry representatives and more to work to improve housing in First Nations through an Indigenous-led lens....
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Feds decide against impact assessment on Ring of Fire mine
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SNnewswatch.com NESKANTAGA — The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) has decided not to conduct an assessment of the Eagle’s Nest mine project in the Ring of Fire, and at least one First Nation chief in the region is unhappy with the decision. A thorough impact assessment must be done because Eagle’s Nest “is not an overnight project, it’s pretty much a lifetime project,” Neskantaga Chief Gary Quisess said Wednesday. Quisess said an impact assessment for the proposed mega-mine “should be done properly — you know, it should not be rushed.” “The Ring of Fire is a very historical area,” he added. “That’s our culture, our ancestors, where we survived from.” Quisess said he was too busy dealing with a recent death in...
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Mi’kmaq treaty rights organization Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn gets new director
By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post The long-time executive director of the Mi’kmaq treaty advocacy group known as Kwilmu’kw Maw‑klusuaqn (KMK), Janice Maloney, is stepping down and taking on a new position after 20 years. She is being followed in the position by Mi’kmaq rights advocate Nathan W. Sack of Sipekne’katik. The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs (Assembly) made the announcement this week. Janice Maloney served as executive director for 21 years. She is moving on to a new role as senior strategic negotiator for KMK and the Made-In-Nova Scotia Process. The Made-in-Nova Scotia Process is the forum for Mi’kmaq, Nova Scotia and Canada to resolve issues related to Mi’kmaq treaty rights and Aboriginal rights, including Aboriginal title and Mi’kmaq governance. The process involves the...
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After years of legal wrangling, Enbridge begins rerouting pipeline around Wisconsin reservation
By Todd Richmond MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Energy company Enbridge has finally started work on rerouting an aging oil pipeline around a tribal reservation in northern Wisconsin after seven years of legal wrangling, moving ahead despite two new lawsuits that still could delay the project indefinitely. About 12 miles (19 kilometers) of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline runs across the Bad River Band of Lake Superior’s reservation along the shores of Lake Superior. The tribe sued Enbridge in 2019 to force the company to remove the section from its land, arguing land easements allowing operation expired six years earlier and the 73-year-old pipeline was prone to a catastrophic spill. A judge in 2023 gave the company until this June to remove the segment from the reservation. The Bad River and conservation...
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Child poverty rose for third consecutive year: Campaign 2000 report
By Nicole Thompson An organization that campaigns to end child poverty says a growing number of children are living in households that struggle to pay bills and buy food. The 2025 report card from Campaign 2000 says 30,000 more kids fell into poverty in 2023, the latest national data available. That means the child poverty rate climbed for the third year in a row, which the advocates say shows that efforts to reverse the trend are not working. The report says 1.4 million kids now live in poverty, with single-parent households particularly at risk, according to family income data. That’s a child poverty rate of 18.3 per cent. It says 45 per cent of children in lone-parent families live in poverty, compared to 10.1% in couple families. The organization says...
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Wikwemikong Police chart new path rooted in culture, prevention and community care
By Jacqueline M. St.Pierre, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Manitoulin Expositor WIIKWEMKOONG—On an Island where the roads braid through cedar and lake mist, where ceremonies outlast sirens, the Wikwemikong Tribal Police Service (WTPS) is rewriting what safety looks like. Their 2026–2029 strategic plan is less a bureaucratic ledger than a promise: protection braided with compassion, enforcement tempered by ceremony, and a steady pivot from reaction to prevention. In a community of more than 8,000 citizens, where the weight of colonial policy still echoes through housing shortages, addictions and justice inequities, the plan acknowledges the hard truths — then gets to work. The drumbeat of change does not always sound like thunder. Sometimes it is the steady footfall of officers walking the bush trails at dawn, the murmur of Elders guiding...
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Waste plan concerns including First Nations transportation issues go to NWMO
By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal Potential impacts on ground-water, tourism, mental health, as well as the prospect of truck crashes involving radioactive materials, are among a myriad of concerns being formally raised in response to a proposed underground nuclear waste storage site near Ignace. The concerns are included in the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada’s “summary of issues,” which it compiled from feedback it received on an initial project description document put forward by the waste site’s proponent, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). The public had until Feb. 4 to submit feedback after the NWMO’s lengthy initial project description was made available for review over a 30-day period. “The proponent is required to provide a response that sets out how it intends to address the...
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New bill increases fines, enforcement powers for illegal cannabis in Nova Scotia
The Nova Scotia government has tabled legislation to strengthen cannabis enforcement amid its crackdown on illegal dispensaries across the province. Justice Minister Scott Armstrong says his bill increases fines and allows peace officers like constables and conservation officers to enforce cannabis rules alongside police. The bill also introduces a new offence for landlords who knowingly allow unregulated cannabis dispensaries to operate on their property. The provincial government issued a directive on Dec. 4 for police to prioritize the enforcement of illegal cannabis and penned a letter to 13 Mi’kmaw chiefs asking for their co-operation. The directive has prompted criticism that Premier Tim Houston’s government may be interfering with law enforcement to target First Nations communities. Provincial law strictly controls the sale of cannabis, which is done through Nova Scotia Liquor...
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