Paternalistic Indian Act is not the way forward
By Jathinder Sandhu, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Megaphone Magazine The Indian Act of 1876 has been used as an “instrument of oppression” against Indigenous peoples throughout history, according to Bob Joseph, author of 21 Things You May Not Know About The Indian Act. As Canada marks National Indigenous History Month (June) with June 21 designated as National Indigenous Peoples Day, it is important to remember that this legislation is not something in our country’s distant colonial past. It still remains the foundational legal framework for addressing Indigenous Peoples and issues in Canada. Today, despite undergoing many amendments since 1876, the Indian Act still shapes political and socio-economic reality for many generations of Indigenous Peoples. A federal law, it sets the legal framework for the government’s relationship with First Nations people,...
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‘Aukkauti’ play begins Nunavik-wide run in Kuujjuaq
By Dominique Gené, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News A play that retells the tragic story of Aukkauti, one of Nunavik’s most enduring oral histories, is touring communities across the region. Following its premiere at the Puvirnituq Snow Festival in March 2025, the production will begin its regional tour Saturday evening in Kuujjuaq. Organizers and partners launched the tour at a press conference Friday. Produced by Aaqsiiq Inuit Theatre, Aukkauti follows a man of the same name who accidentally shoots his friend’s son, setting off a tragic chain of deaths. “It’s a difficult story. I think what [this play] can bring is a sense of resolution for people, but also a celebration because there are funny bits, there are emotional bits,” said Taqralik Partridge, Aaqsiiq’s newly appointed executive director, in...
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Heart of the Youth Community Pow Wow returns to celebrate culture and inclusion
By Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince Albert Daily Herald The Heart of the Youth Community Pow Wow returned to Kinsmen Park to celebrate culture and inclusion on Friday afternoon. Organizing committee member Alex Powalinsky said the Heart of the Youth Community Pow Wow is about giving youth different opportunities. “It allows our dancers and our youth drummers to showcase the work that they’ve been putting in to prepare for powwow season (and) for them to share their gifts with the community,” Powalinsky said. “Then it also provides an opportunity for intercultural sharing and learning as well. “We have people from all different backgrounds and 4,000 youth typically who come to our powwow. It’s really amazing to watch them learn and share with one another and to celebrate our...
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Two men found guilty of second-degree murder in random roadside shooting near Calgary
By Bill Graveland The wife of an Alberta man gunned down in a roadside shooting east of Calgary shared an emotional hug with the prosecutor after a jury found two men guilty of second-degree murder Saturday. Jurors deliberated for 14 hours before concluding Arthur Penner and Elijah Strawberry shot and killed Colin Hough, 45, an employee of Rocky View County, on Aug. 6, 2024 on a rural road. “I love you,” Laurie Hough said to prosecutor Photini Popadatou as they embraced after the verdict. Neither Penner or Strawberry seemed surprised at the court’s decisions, standing with their hands clasped in front of them as the verdicts were read. Both men were also found guilty of two counts of armed robbery including stealing Hough’s vehicle and attempting to take the vehicle...
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First Nations haven’t been consulted on clean drinking water legislation: lawyer
By Alessia Passafiume A lawyer who represented First Nations in a class-action lawsuit against Ottawa says his clients still have not been consulted on promised clean drinking water legislation — even though the lawsuit settlement directed the federal government to work with First Nations to develop the legislation. Michael Rosenberg, who represented some 260 First Nations in the class action settled in 2021, said those communities are being shut out by Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty and have not seen a draft of legislation meant to ensure those same First Nations have access to clean drinking water. “It’s just completely unacceptable to our clients that they’re left in this vacuum where there’s nothing that actually governs water on-reserve, and there hasn’t been for some time,” Rosenberg told The Canadian Press....
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Landmark Indigenous languages office under audit, $10M spent hosting conference
By Brittany Hobson and Alessia Passafiume The federal government has ordered a financial audit into transactions and activities at a landmark Indigenous languages office after receiving anonymous complaints. Canadian Heritage didn’t elaborate on the allegations against the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages, an arm’s-length office set up five years ago after it was recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. “Canadian Heritage has made the commissioner of Indigenous languages aware that we have received anonymous allegations and has contracted an independent third-party firm to conduct a special examination under the Indigenous Languages Act,” the department said in an email. It said the review can look at whether the office’s “books, records, systems and practices” are complying with standards in the legislation. It didn’t give a timeline on when...
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‘The perfect trap’: Archeologist reflects on decades at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
By Bill Graveland Renowned Alberta archeologist Bob Dawe has stood at this spot, near the windy, windswept craggy sandstone cliff of the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump in southern Alberta, thousands of times during his career. But his mind always goes back to what it was like at the site of what was basically an early abattoir for thousands of years. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is about 150 kilometres south of Calgary. The silver ribbon of the Oldman River, an integral water source for the Blackfoot people, is just a couple of kilometres away. The jump was used for thousands of years by Indigenous people to channel bison herds and send the animals stampeding over an 11-metre-high cliff to be killed and harvested. “I don’t know how many times I’ve stood up here...
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Indigenous families call for permanent search team in Thunder Bay
By Jon Thompson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ricochet Indigenous searchers are calling for the creation of a permanent search and rescue team in Thunder Bay, where the bodies of four missing persons have been found over the past two weeks. Meanwhile, Thunder Bay’s police chief and the region’s First Nations leaders traded barbs on social media, amid criticism of the force’s actions during the search. Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler and Thunder Bay Police Service chief Darcy Fleury exchanged critical social media posts on Wednesday and Thursday. Fiddler accused the police of instructing searchers not to look in a set of abandoned grain elevators. Searchers found the bodies of 25-year-old Nodin Skunk and 23-year-old Ashlynn Bottle from Mishkeegogamang First Nation in those elevators three days later. Fiddler said...
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Quebec moves ahead with AI cultural databank project
By Frédéric Lacroix-Couture Quebec’s national library is moving ahead with plans to create a database of cultural and government content that could be used to train artificial intelligence systems and improve their understanding of Quebec society, culture and Indigenous languages. Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, or BAnQ, the province’s national library and archives institution, has launched the experimental phase of its proposed government and cultural databank in French and Indigenous languages after completing a feasibility study earlier this year. The project aims to address concerns that major generative AI systems often struggle to provide reliable information about Quebec society, economy and culture because of the limited amount of Quebec-related data available to them. “All scenarios are a little bit on the table right now,” Valérie D’Amour, who led the...
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Human rights panel accuses Canada of genocide against Indigenous population
By Erika Morris An international panel of human rights experts has accused Canada of committing genocide against its Indigenous population. The Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal reached the preliminary conclusion following a week of hearings in Montreal. The panel says Canada had historically adopted a series of policies that it deemed were crimes against humanity with genocidal intent. The panel says these included the introduction of Canada’s system of residential schools and policies that forced the sterilization of Indigenous women. The Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal judges, from left to right, Seanna Howard, Frances Webber and Valmaine Toki give preliminary conclusions following a week of hearings in Montreal on Friday, May 29, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi Survivors at the hearings held onto each other and wiped away tears as three tribunal members read...
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Appeal campaign launched after N.B. Mountie found not guilty of assaulting former Eskasoni woman
By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post A picture tells a thousand words. And photos posted by Eskasoni band member Christina Gillis following her call to police in New Brunswick for help with her daughter unleashed a vigorous letter-writing campaign in the wake of the acquittal on May 1 of a Woodstock, N.B., RCMP officer. The New Brunswick Prosecutor’s Office had 30 days after the court decision to appeal the acquittal of an RCMP officer who left an Eskasoni woman’s face battered and bruised. Justice Christa Bourque found Cpl. Andrew Whiteway of the RCMP’s Western Valley Region detachment in Woodstock, N. B. did not use excessive force during arrest when handing down her decision at the beginning of this month. Despite his own court testimony that he...
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Gov. Gen. Simon launches mental health project for North, Indigenous communities
By Sarah Ritchie Outgoing Gov. Gen. Mary Simon has launched a project to fund community-based mental health services in Northern and Indigenous communities. The legacy project will be run with support from the Rideau Hall Foundation. It is called Ajuinnata, an Inuktitut word that means “never give up.” The project will begin in Inuit Nunangat. Simon launched a mental health learning and listening tour in 2024 as one of her priorities in the viceregal office. She said the people she met made it clear the shortage of stable services in the North is an acute problem. “Relying solely on non-Indigenous professionals sent from the South on a temporary basis makes it very difficult to build the trust that effective mental health support requires,” she said at a ceremony honouring her...
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Air quality advisory issued in north as Lobstick fire not contained
By Nicole Goldsworthy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SaskToday.ca PRINCE ALBERT — Environment Canada has issued a special air quality statement for 14 areas in north-central Saskatchewan, warning that smoke conditions can shift rapidly and pose increasing health risks as concentrations rise. The advisory includes the City of Prince Albert, the District of Lakeland, including Emma Lake and Anglin Lake, and several surrounding rural municipalities and First Nations communities. According to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, the Lobstick fire started May 25 in the Nisbet Forest, located between Duck Lake and MacDowall. The SPSA has listed the fire as not contained. As of May 29, the Lobstick fire was estimated at 13,000 hectares. The SPSA has identified the cause of the fire from lightning. The advisory includes the City of Prince...
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Change ahead with transformative First Nations child welfare deal
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SNnewswatch.com OTTAWA — Big changes are ahead in child and family services on First Nation land, Bobby Narcisse said Friday after the implementation ceremony for the Ontario Final Agreement. “There are going to be significant changes, and we’re working with many of our communities,” the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) deputy grand chief from Aroland First Nation told Newswatch. Narcisse said the nine-year agreement “is going to mean more investments to existing programs” and “investments in capital and IT and emergency funding” and many other areas. “And we’re working with each of our communities,” he added, “and I know specifically many of our communities are making leaps and bounds. They hit the ground running.” NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said the regional organization’s 49...
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Kanesatake students bring home 41 medals
By Fern Marmont, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door The First Nations Education Council (FNEC) Inter-School games wrapped up this weekend, with students and staff from Rotiwennakéhte Elementary School and Ratihén:te High School returning from Quebec City tired but triumphant. Rotiwennakéhte Elementary School brought home 38 medals, including a silver for volleyball, and the Ratihén:te High School students won three more, bringing the total to 41 medals for Kanesatake. “It was amazing,” said Amber Simon, Rotiwennakéhte student life animator and volleyball coach. “We’re blown away by our athletes and the amount of dedication and effort they showed, and bringing back so many medals for our community. It was overall just really an amazing trip and experience for everyone,” said Simon. Simon said the strong results reflected months of preparation,...
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Supreme Court refuses to hear Indigenous title claim appeal
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Daily Gleaner The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal of a ruling that prevents the Wolastoqey Nation from getting back privately held land in their massive title claim for more than half of New Brunswick’s territory. As is tradition, the nation’s highest court did not provide reasons on Thursday for not granting leave to appeal in the case. Joseph Robertson, a retired justice of the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick, said people shouldn’t assume that the dismissal meant the Supreme Court agreed with the lower court’s ruling. But he said there were at least two plausible reasons why the top court might have dismissed the application. The retired judge pointed out that neither the province nor Ottawa...
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Ontario to designate Toronto island airport special economic zone after land takeover
By Liam Casey Ontario will soon designate Toronto’s island airport as a so-called special economic zone in an effort to fast track its expansion now that the province has taken over the land, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said Thursday. The province passed into law Thursday a bill that allows it to take over all the land on the Toronto Islands where Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is located. The province has said it will not take over the entirety of the Toronto Islands despite the language in the legislation, and will work with the city to only use the land needed to make the airport bigger. Premier Doug Ford wants to expand the airport, which he calls a “crown jewel,” to allow jets to take off and land there. The...
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Wildfire forecast anticipates high risk for new wildfires in B.C., Prairies, N.W.T.
This year’s wildfire season has been slow compared with 2025, but the overall risk remains high in certain parts of Canada because of warm and dry weather conditions. Federal officials told reporters on Thursday that the levels of burning are not anticipated to be as harsh as 2023 or 2025, the worst and second-worst on record, but above-average wildfire conditions are being forecasted into summer. “We should just be prepared for the worst, I think, at all times,” said Eleanor Olszewski, emergency management minister. “We need to be fully prepared … in terms of detection, in terms of suppression, being ready for evacuations, being ready for recovery. We need to be ready for all of those things.” Federal officials say the start to this year’s wildfire season has been slow...
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R.T. Thorne’s post-apocalyptic thriller ’40 Acres’ dominates Day 1 of Canadian Screen Awards
By Craig Macrae and Nicole Thompson R.T. Thorne’s post-apocalyptic thriller “40 Acres” dominated the first day of the Canadian Screen Awards, winning nine statuettes on Thursday night. The film, which centres on a Black-Indigenous farming family fighting off a marauding group of cannibals in a famine-stricken future, took home the prize for best original screenplay and best directing. Its haul also included a best first feature win for Thorne, as well as awards for achievement in cinematography, art direction, sound editing, music, stunt co-ordination and casting. The Canadian Screen Awards are being handed out at a series of galas this week, culminating in a televised ceremony featuring the marquee awards, which will be simulcast on several TV stations and streaming services on Sunday night. At Thursday’s event, when most of...
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Calgary jury being asked to solve the “puzzle” of the fatal shooting on Alta highway
By Bill Graveland The jury in a second-degree murder trial in Calgary is being asked to put the puzzle pieces together on whether two men shot and killed a man along a roadside highway in southern Alberta in 2024. The Crown says nobody other than Arthur Penner and Elijah Strawberry could have been responsible in the fatal shooting of Colin Hough on Aug. 6, 2024. “When you examine all the evidence as a whole, you must ask yourself, ‘Are there any other reasonable explanations?’” prosecutor Photini Papadatou said to the jury during closing arguments Thursday. Penner and Strawberry have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and to two armed robberies relating to a roadside shooting where Hough was killed and Matthew Andres was injured. “In some ways, I feel like...
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