More workers, heaters headed to Manitoba First Nation struggling with frozen water
More workers and heaters and are on the way to a beleaguered First Nation in northern Manitoba, where thousands have been forced out due to frozen pipes and sewage backup. A day after politicians travelled to Pimicikamak Cree Nation, the community announced additional heaters are expected to arrive Monday and 30 more tradespeople are to follow suit. Chief David Monias says the extent of damage to more than 1,300 homes remains unclear, nearly two weeks after a power outage led to the failure of critical infrastructure. He says many holding tanks in homes remain frozen and testing will need to be done on water lines once they’re thawed. Federal, provincial and First Nations leaders toured the community Wednesday and saw flooded homes with buckled ceilings and cracked pipes. The federal...
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Name change? Mi’kmaq included 100 years later in Cabot Trail plans
By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post As plans for the 100th anniversary commemoration of the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton unfold, they’re promising to bring some changes. Among new infrastructure and stopping places, will be signage of place names that have been forgotten by all but cultural historians. “So much history has been erased and we’re trying to help with education and awareness about that,” says Robert Bernard, executive director for the Nova Scotia Indigenous Tourism Enterprise Network (NSITEN). “We hope our work will help to build a stronger relationship with the different cultures that are here on this island. For example, when people say Cape Breton, they don’t realize that it was Unam’aki (Land of the Fog) before.’ “These traditional names have a place and...
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Civil case against estate of Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau is dismissed
The lawsuit brought by a British Columbia man against the estate of acclaimed Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau alleging he was sexually assaulted by the painter has been dismissed. Mark Anthony Jacobson filed the lawsuit last year, seeking $5 million from the estate in general, aggravated and punitive damages. He claimed Morrisseau reached into his pants and touched him on the buttocks after Morrisseau’s assistant suggested he could heal Jacobson’s back pain. In response to lawsuit, the estate said Morrisseau “was in no position to be physically or socially aggressive” at the time of the alleged 2006 assault, that he “had no libido,” was held upright in a wheelchair by straps, and was in the advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease before dying the next year at the age of 75. The...
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Kashechewan First Nation planning evacuation after water system failure
By Cassidy McMackon A remote First Nation in northern Ontario says it is looking to evacuate the entire community in the coming days due to multiple failures in its water supply and wastewater systems. Kashechewan First Nation, a fly-in community on the western shore of James Bay, says its water level has significantly dropped, triggering an automatic shutdown to avoid damages to an already fragile system. A news release adds the community has been plagued with pump failures in the sewage lift stations due to an overworked system that is now more than 30 years old. It says the situation is causing an urgent public health and safety problem, as sewage is creeping into people’s homes and contaminating fresh water systems. The community does not have a timeline for when...
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Kinew, leaders visit Manitoba First Nation dealing with frozen water crisis
By Brittany Hobson Politicians travelled to get a look at a First Nation in northern Manitoba that’s scrambling to clean up and fix up after a frozen water catastrophe buckled ceilings, swamped homes in sewage and forced thousands out. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, federal Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak were among the delegation that toured Pimicikamak Cree Nation on Wednesday. With them came renewed supplies of bottled water and food. But the biggest need? Plumbers. Todd McConnell, a plumber brought into Pimicikamak, said it could take months to make repairs to the estimated 800 damaged homes. “We’re trying to get everything fixed one house at a time,” McConnell said. “We have come across some homes that have been...
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Man who held himself out as Native American activist sentenced to 46 years for serial rapes
By Martha Bellisle SEATTLE (AP) — A man who held himself out as a Native American activist was sentenced Wednesday to 46 years in prison for drugging and raping women in a case that inspired calls for changes in Washington state law to prohibit defendants who represent themselves from directly questioning their accusers. Redwolf Pope, who had apartments in Seattle and Santa Fe, New Mexico, was arrested in 2018 after guests at his Seattle apartment gave police videos from his iPad that showed him raping several women who appeared to be unconscious, court documents said. Police also found a secret camera in Pope’s bathroom that was used to capture video of women in the shower. “I’ve had the horror of witnessing the scale of violence Pope inflicted on multiple women...
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West Moberly First Nations seeks delegates for annual youth leadership conference
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca MOBERLY LAKE, B.C. — A northeast B.C. First Nation is urging the youth voices in its community to express interest in an annual Indigenous youth leadership event. The Gathering Our Voices conference is an annual showcase seeking to “provide Indigenous youth with the tools to empower and inspire,” both in their communities and the world, according to the event’s website. West Moberly First Nations (WMFN) issued a Facebook post on Tuesday, January 6th encouraging its members between the ages of 14 and 24 to submit letters of interest for their delegation. Brittany Knott is the recreation coordinator for WMFN, and says candidates will benefit from the experience. “It shows all our youth what amazing opportunities there are out there,” said Knott. “Not...
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First Nations chiefs alarmed by feds’ lack of commitment to protecting source water
By Alessia Passafiume Some First Nations chiefs say Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty’s recent refusal to commit to source water protections in a promised clean water bill shows the government is sidelining the health of Indigenous communities in its push to build up the economy. Two provinces — Alberta and Ontario — objected to clean water legislation introduced by former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government that failed to pass before Parliament was prorogued last year. Gull-Masty said last summer she was committed to reintroducing the bill. The minister vowed at the time the legislation would affirm First Nations’ human right to clean drinking water. She did not explain how that might work after the passage of legislation in June that speeds up the approval timeline for major infrastructure projects and...
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Kashechewan First Nation planning evacuation after water system failure
By Cassidy McMackon A remote First Nation in northern Ontario says it is looking to evacuate the entire community in the coming days due to multiple failures in its water supply and wastewater systems. Kashechewan First Nation, a fly-in community on the western shore of James Bay, says its water level has significantly dropped, triggering an automatic shutdown to avoid damages to an already fragile system. A news release adds the community has been plagued with pump failures in the sewage lift stations due to an overworked system that is now more than 30 years old. It says the situation is causing an urgent public health and safety problem, as sewage is creeping into people’s homes and contaminating fresh water systems. The community does not have a timeline for when...
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Ex-Listuguj police officer faces charges after Quebec police watchdog investigation
A former officer with the Listuguj Police Department is facing criminal charges following an investigation by Quebec’s police watchdog. Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes says Cass Barnaby is facing charges of extortion, non-consensual publication of intimate images, and harassing communications. The charges are related to alleged offences in 2024 in the Mi’kmaq community of Listuguj, a First Nation on the Gaspé Peninsula near the border with New Brunswick. The watchdog says Barnaby was arrested in early December and appeared in court in Carleton-sur-Mer, Que., on Dec. 18. It says 38 peace officers have been arrested after investigations by the watchdog since the agency was created in 2016. The agency investigates serious incidents involving police officers in the province. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2026....
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Indigenous businesses ‘stabilizer’ of economy
By Sandi Krasowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal The Indigenous business landscape in Northwestern Ontario has seen a year of business formation and diversification, which is moving beyond the traditional resource service model. Jason Rasevych, president and founder of Anishnawbe Business Professional Association (ABPA), said 2025 was a year of qualitative growth with a surge in technical trades, creative arts and professional services. There were success stories of small operations growing to secure major government contracts and newly established retail hubs for Indigenous culture. Attawapiskat First Nation, for instance, now supports 12 local businesses. “The release of the Indigenous Economic Impact Analysis confirmed that Indigenous spending and business now contribute $1.55 billion annually to the Thunder Bay economy,” Rasevych said. “The data is now undeniable — Indigenous business is...
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Fitness program has roots in Indigenous teachings
By Emily Plihal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, South Peace News It’s the new year and it’s time to kickstart healthy habits to ensure your body is in tip-top shape for health and vitality. Women from Peace River and surrounding areas are being urged to participate in a free fitness and nutrition program for women tentatively to start on Jan. 26 and running for 15 weeks. Makoyoh’sokoi (Blackfoot word for Wolf Trail) will be a 15-week holistic wellness program that will include Indigenous cultural and spiritual foundations. “It’s a great chance to learn about health and to participate in different activities to get people moving,” says Elder Priscilla Lalonde. “It teaches women how to walk a good life using cultural tools and foundations,” she adds. The program was developed by the...
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Why Greenland is strategically important to Arctic security
By Danica Kirka And Stefanie Dazio Location, location, location: Greenland’s position above the Arctic Circle makes the world’s largest island a key part of security strategy. Increasing international tensions, global warming and the changing world economy have put Greenland at the heart of the debate over global trade and security, and U.S. President Donald Trump wants to make sure his country controls the mineral-rich island that guards the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America. Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally that has rejected Trump’s overtures. Greenland’s own government also opposes U.S. designs on the island, saying the people of Greenland will decide their own future. The island, 80% of which lies above the Arctic Circle, is home to about 56,000 mostly Inuit people...
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Fulmer says B.C. Conservatives must be a grand coalition as he enters leadership race
By Wolfgang Depner Yuri Fulmer said the Conservative Party of B.C. needs to be a “grand coalition” that refrains from “undisciplined” behaviour if it wants to govern, as he becomes the first high-profile candidate to run for the party’s leadership. Fulmer, the chancellor of Capilano University who made his fortune with fast food franchises, said that means that the Conservatives have to “welcome a lot of people” into the party who don’t feel comfortable there now — including former B.C. Liberals. “Let me be very clear,” he said in an interview. “I’m running to be the leader of the B.C. Conservatives. I am a Conservative. What I will do, though, is welcome into the Conservative tent people who are conservatively minded, and they may have called themselves B.C. Liberals in...
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Federal, provincial leaders visit First Nation in Manitoba hit by power outage
By Brittany Hobson Federal, provincial and Indigenous leaders are meeting with the chief of a beleaguered First Nation crippled by a frozen water system due to a days-long power outage. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak are part of the delegation visiting Pimicikamak Cree Nation today to survey damage that has prompted the community to declare a state of emergency. Damage to critical infrastructure has forced thousands out from the nation, about 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg, with no timeline on when they can return. Chief David Monias has said it’s unclear how many of the more than 1,300 homes in the community have been affected by pipes bursting and sewage seeping in because there...
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‘Bombarded’: Number of large projects worries First Nations group chair
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com GRASSY NARROWS — The chair of a group of six First Nations says the latest step for a proposed nuclear waste site is yet another cause for concern. Rudy Turtle, with the Land Defence Alliance, says it’s the newest bit of news that’s worrying Indigenous communities concerned about the environment and the long-term future of the lands and water in northern Ontario. “We’re just surrounded by resource development and this is a difficult fight we’re facing,” he told Newswatch in a phone interview. “There’s mining north of us here in Red Lake, and there’s more mining coming in.” “It won’t be long.” The alliance consists of representatives from Grassy Narrows, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Muskrat Dam, Neskantaga, Onigaming and Wapekeka. Turtle is a former...
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First Nations chiefs alarmed by feds’ lack of commitment to protecting source water
By Alessia Passafiume Some First Nations chiefs say Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty’s recent refusal to commit to source water protections in a promised clean water bill shows the government is sidelining the health of Indigenous communities in its push to build up the economy. Two provinces — Alberta and Ontario — objected to clean water legislation introduced by former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government that failed to pass before Parliament was prorogued last year. Gull-Masty said last summer she was committed to reintroducing the bill. The minister vowed at the time the legislation would affirm First Nations’ human right to clean drinking water. She did not explain how that might work after the passage of legislation in June that speeds up the approval timeline for major infrastructure projects and...
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‘We were kind of duped’ on New Brunswick mine, says Indigenous leader
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Daily Gleaner The deal is so old, the references to “Maliseet Nation” seem from a different era. In January 2017, New Brunswick’s provincial government and the six chiefs of what is now called the Wolastoqey Nation signed an accommodation agreement for the proposed Sisson Mine — a project that has barely inched ahead over the last nine years. Two of those chiefs have been replaced, and New Brunswick has had its third premier since then. On top of that, Wolastoqiyik people no longer accept the term Maliseet, a word from the neighbouring Mi’kmaq people that pokes fun of the way they speak. Nevertheless, the eight-page agreement is being dusted off. Prime Minister Mark Carney has cited the Sisson Mine about 100 kilometres...
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Meet Six Nations’ first baby of 2026!
Six Nations’ First Baby of the year is a girl! By Lynda Powless Editor Meet Six Nations’ first citizen of 2026… little Georgia Thomas! Georgia is the daughter of Rory Thomas and Eilaya General and was born at Brantford General Hospital Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026 at 9:08 a.m. Eilaya says while everything went well with the birth it was both an exciting and nervous time for the young couple. “I woke up at 3 a.m. with contractions,” she said from her hospital bed at Brantford General. “I didn’t know at first that I was even having contractions,” she says laughing. Eilaya, and a very nervous Rory, went to the hospital at about 8 a.m. Dec 31st and despite the nerves said everything went well. “I was pretty nervous,” Rory said....
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Gull-Masty reflects on first months of job Indigenous leaders were wary of her taking
By Alessia Passafiume When Mandy Gull-Masty took up the role of Indigenous services minister last spring, one question loomed over her appointment: why would a Cree woman want to administer the Indian Act, when another First Nations woman before her turned down the role? Gull-Masty was named to the cabinet job in May after being elected as a member of Parliament for the first time in April. She told The Canadian Press she was willing “to take the risk” even as some said the government was “setting (her) up for failure.” Others, she said, pointed to a pathway she can help create for the people she once worked alongside, and make progress on the files she knows intimately: clean drinking water, housing and child welfare. “I’ve had the opportunity to...
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