Crown-Indigenous Relations outlines how it will deliver $4 billion in housing investments
By Kody Ferron, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yellowknifer Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty travelled to Behchoko on April 24 to announce how the Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy would deliver on its promise to build homes for Indigenous communities. The Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy, created in Budget 2023, which allotted $4 billion over seven years starting 2024-25, was founded to support Indigenous housing in urban, rural and Northern communities. The Canadian government says its strategy is built on a “balance of Indigenous-led funding agreements and open, project-based funding for Indigenous housing projects.” An estimated $1.7 billion will be delivered by Build Canada Homes, the federal agency launched in September 2025, to build affordable housing in Canada. Almost $2 billion will be allocated for “distinctions-based agreements”...
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Kanesatake council attends education meeting
By Hadassah Alencar, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door Last week, caretaker council member Serge Otsi Simon and Kanesatake Education Center (KEC) education director Watsenniostha Nelson attended the First Nations Education Council’s (FNEC) annual general meeting in Quebec City, where they discussed ways to fund and strengthen Indigenous education. At the meetings on April 21 and 22, the FNEC revealed it is attempting to secure a 10-year funding agreement with the federal government, double the current five-year term. “I feel like 10 years would give a little bit more time for all of our communities to really settle in and then really get things done without having to go back and start renegotiating again so quickly,” said Nelson. Current funding ends in 2027, said Nelson. However, while supportive, Simon...
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PIB marks Denim Day, ‘A refusal to stay silent’
By Keith Lacey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Penticton Herald More than two dozen members of the Penticton Indian Band proudly wore denim to observe the global campaign held during Sexual Assault Awareness Month to protest against victim-blaming and show solidarity with survivors of sexual violence. The PIB members recognized 2026 Denim Day on Tuesday with a hearty meal, followed by speeches from social workers about the importance of this day, which began in 1999 following a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court that overturned a rape conviction after judges reasoned that because the victim wore tight jeans, she must have consented. Outraged, millions of Italian women wore denim as an act of solidarity. A huge Denim Day event was held in Los Angeles in 1999 and has since then become...
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Years in Brooklyn / Tsi Niiohserá:ke Ne Brooklyn Nonkwá:ti
By Arthur Diabo The Eastern Door I really didn’t want to go to Brooklyn; that’s a rite of passage at 12 years old. At the time, I was leaving the formative years. I lived life on the reserve but now I’m in the big city. Everybody’s trying to hustle you and take your money and whatever you have on you. I was in my teens when I grew up there. We lived in a little area, called Little Caughnawaga. There were Indians everywhere in downtown Brooklyn. We didn’t live next to each other, but we all lived in a big area. There were a lot of other Mohawks there and I knew them. They were my friends from Kahnawà:ke. I met one close friend in the lunch line at school....
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Hyggen exhibit spotlights threatened northern muskegs
By Nicole Goldsworthy Local Journalism Initiative Reporter/SASKTODAY.ca HUMBOLDT — A new exhibition at the Humboldt and District Gallery is bringing northern Saskatchewan’s muskeg landscapes into focus, highlighting both their ecological richness and the risks they face from resource extraction. “ôma askiy âpacihcikâtîw (this land is in use)” by Vanessa Hyggen runs May 1 to June 23, at the gallery, located on the second floor of 601 Main Street. The Humboldt Gallery said the body of work explores the diversity, beauty and importance of muskeg ecosystems, while drawing attention to the growing threat of peat and strip mining in northern regions. Peat mining typically involves draining water from muskeg areas and removing vegetation, including species such as sundews, pitcher plants, Labrador tea, black spruce, birch, willows, alders and various berry plants....
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Man charged in Edmonton officers’ deaths being used a scapegoat: defence
By Daniela Germano A man charged with manslaughter for selling a gun to a teen who killed two Edmonton police officers is an easy scapegoat in a case the Crown hopes can be used to expand criminal liability for gun violence, his lawyer argued Thursday. Court of King’s Bench Justice John Little heard closing arguments in the case against 21-year-old Dennis Okeymow, who faces more than a dozen charges from the shooting that claimed the lives of Const. Travis Jordan and Const. Brett Ryan. The trial heard that the officers were killed while responding to a domestic violence call in March 2023. Roman Shewchuk, 16, had strangled his mother until she lost consciousness. When she woke up, she ran to a nearby apartment building where she called police. Jordan and...
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Elite coaches from the Netherlands provide soccer expertise to North Shore First Nations
By Abby Luciano, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, North Shore News Members of local First Nations communities recently received a rare opportunity to learn about the beautiful game from some of the best in the world. On Wednesday coaches from səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) Nation wrapped up a five-day training program with the Royal Netherlands Football Association’s WorldCoaches initiative at the new Tsleil-Waututh Sports Field. WorldCoaches is an international program that brings professional coaches into communities in an effort to elevate coaching skills and stress the importance of other sporting benefits such as social development, managing emotions, learning empathy and critical thinking. “By teaching coaches how to recognize these skills in specific training and match situations, we try to make the link to social issues that children face within certain...
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A citizen campaign returns iconic kiwi birds to New Zealand’s capital after a century-long absence
By Charlotte Graham-clay WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The kiwi, New Zealand’s sacred national bird, vanished from the hills around Wellington more than a century ago. Now the capital’s residents are waging an improbable citizen campaign to return the endangered flightless birds to the city. “They are a part of who we are and our sense of belonging here,” said Paul Ward, founder of the Capital Kiwi Project, a charitable trust. “But they’ve been gone from these hills for well over a century and we decided as Wellingtonians that wasn’t right.” On a hill wreathed in mist above the dark sea that runs between New Zealand’s North and South Islands, Ward and others crossed rugged farmland late on Tuesday night, carrying seven crates in silence by dim red torchlight. Inside...
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Upper Nicola program a ‘gold standard’ in effort to save B.C.’s burrowing owls
By Aaron Walker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com A decade after the first burrowing owls were released onto its reserve lands, the Upper Nicola Band is marking what leaders and partners describe as a rare conservation success in a province where the species remains on the brink. On April 22, community members, knowledge keepers, and conservation partners gathered on the Douglas Lake reserve to release six more captive-raised burrowing owls as part of an ongoing recovery effort that has quietly become one of the most productive breeding sites for the species in British Columbia. Since 2016, the program has produced 125 wild-born fledglings, with both captive-born and wild-born owls returning annually to breed — a key indicator of long-term viability. “The program has exceeded all our expectations,” said Loretta Holmes,...
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Banks expanding further into Indigenous financing as project push accelerates
By Ian Bickis As Indigenous ownership in major projects is increasingly framed as a way to help ensure they go ahead, banks are working to expand their offerings to help make such equity deals happen. RBC is the latest to expand its capacity, announcing Thursday that it is launching an advisory service to help Indigenous groups buy into major projects. The practice adds to efforts like BMO’s launch of the first labelled Indigenous bond last October, and Scotiabank’s backing of investment dealer Cedar Leaf Capital Inc. to open more doors to financial services for Indigenous groups. “The banks recognize that this is a growth area,” Mark Podlasly, chief executive of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, said at a conference in Toronto on Thursday. Indigenous people in Canada already have...
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Former Tsay Keh Dene manager sentenced for insurance fraud
By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince George Citizen A former human resources manager with the Tsay Keh Dene First Nation pleaded guilty April 22 to defrauding an insurance company of almost $18,000. Nelson Ugonna Onwuliri administered the band’s employee benefits plan and created accounts in the names of band members, ultimately using the accounts to file fraudulent claims with Sun Life Insurance for medical services from Dec. 1, 2022, to May 4, 2023. A total of $17,742 from those claims was directed to one of Onwuliri’s personal accounts. Sun Life, the victim of the fraud, recovered $13,200 from Onwuliri’s accounts. Court heard that the company confirmed in the past week that the outstanding amount of $4,542 was paid. Associate Chief Judge Paul Dohm agreed to a joint Crown...
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Manitoba shuts down landfill search site, crews still looking for victim at another
By Brittany Hobson Manitoba says it has officially decommissioned the search site at a Winnipeg-area landfill where the remains of two slain First Nations women were found last year. The province says the final cost of the seven-month search at the Prairie Green landfill came to $18.4 million. It had been estimated to take up to three years and cost as much as $184 million. After the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran were discovered, the search moved to Winnipeg’s Brady Road landfill for another victim. The search continues there for the remains of Ashlee Shingoose. The remains of Rebecca Contois were discovered in a Winnipeg garbage bin and at Brady Road landfill in 2022. Serial killer Jeremy Skibicki was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2022 deaths of...
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Membertou resets cannabis law creation for community
By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post Membertou First Nation’s chief and council are resetting the cannabis law process they have been working on for several years because they feel it needs more community participation and perspectives. Retired senator Dan Christmas, whom Chief Terry Paul asked to lead the original process in 2023, says the chief and band council want to make sure the path forward reflects what the community members want and need. Originally, the plan under the now-defunct Cannabis Law Working Group was that a plebiscite community vote would be held this year for adult voters over the age of 18. It would have to pass before it would be brought into Membertou law by the chief and council. Consultation workshops were held during 2025...
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Inuit languages streaming service Iipitiki TV launches with 180 videos
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News An early childhood education Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun streaming service called Iipitiki TV launched on April 10, featuring 180 animated videos ranging from 47 seconds to just under an hour. The Qikiqtani Inuit Association, non-profits the Unaaq Cultural Society and the Nunavut Bilingual Education Society, along with Inuit film company Taqqut Productions are behind the service. “We heard from Inuit educators and community members that Inuit children are not exposed to enough rich oral Inuktitut in their home, at playgrounds and throughout the communities. This lack of early exposure to oral language is contributing to language erosion in Nunavut,” said Don MacDougall, senior project manager at the Nunavut Bilingual Education Society. The organizations wanted to give parents and schools Inuktitut and...
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RBC establishing practice focused on Indigenous finance as project push accelerates
-CP-RBC says it is launching an advisory service to help Indigenous groups buy into major projects as Canada moves to accelerate development on numerous fronts. Speaking at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition conference in Toronto, RBC chief executive Dave McKay said that with most major projects on or next to Indigenous lands, it’s critical that Indigenous partnership is at the centre of this development push. McKay said Indigenous groups face barriers to access the capital needed to become partners, and while banks are still learning how to operate in this space, they can play a meaningful role in boosting Indigenous equity. Mark Podlasly, chief executive of the FNMPC, says banks recognize that Indigenous financing is a growth area as Indigenous people in Canada already have about $120 billion in...
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Good Roads conference offers valuable insights, says councillor
By Joe O’Grady, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Temiskaming Speaker TEMISKAMING SHORES – City staff in Temiskaming Shores deserve to take a bow for the work they do in making big projects happen. That’s the view of Temiskaming Shores councillor Nadia Pelletier-Lavigne, reporting back from her attendance at the recent Ontario Good Roads Association annual conference in Toronto. Pelletier-Lavigne said the keynote speaker for the event was author Dan Gardner, who spoke about what it takes to get projects done on time and on budget. “The markers for that are is it done on time, is it done on budget?” she said in her verbal report at city council on April 21. “I feel like the city is good at this. So I wanted to just give kudos to the directors...
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Ballet tackles endless wildfires and the fear of cultural burn teachings
By Crystal St.Pierre, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn, a full-length narrative contemporary ballet, will be presented by Ballet Kelowna May 1 and May 2 at the Kelowna Community Theatre. The original piece by Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe explores Indigenous fire stewardship and cikilaxʷm, meaning prescribed fires, related to the restoration of the land and community through traditional practices. “We have been working with Cameron since 2021 when we commissioned the first piece from him for Ballet Kelowna called taqəš,” said Simone Orlando, artistic director and CEO. “Cameron has worked closely as an artist-in-residence for our 20th anniversary season and there were a couple of other works that were developed during that year and he has continued as our associate artist.” Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn is the fifth piece Fraser-Munroe...
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Carney says clean electricity strategy promised weeks ago is still on its way
By Nick Murray The federal government still has not announced its clean electricity strategy, despite Prime Minister Mark Carney saying it would land weeks ago. At a news conference in Halifax on March 26, Carney told reporters the government would be releasing “next week” a strategy to expand the electricity grid through hydro, nuclear and renewable energy. When asked on his way into a caucus meeting Wednesday for an update on the electricity strategy, Carney said only, “It’s coming.” The Prime Minister’s Office told The Canadian Press it had nothing further to add. In the spring economic update released on Tuesday, the government said it was planning to issue a “discussion paper” to seek input from provinces and territories on how to modernize the grid. The economic update did say...
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Violence prevention program to be implemented in all Dilico communities
By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY – Dilico Anishinabek Family Care is rolling out a culturally-grounded anti-violence program to all First Nations the organization serves. MPP Kevin Holland held a press conference on Monday to announce that the province is allocating $200,000 over the next two years to fund delivery of the 12-week Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin (I am a Kind Man) program. “This funding is to get into the communities and help people that are having difficulties with interpersonal violence, domestic violence, to make sure that we can support them in a cultural way to work towards healing and being accountable for the actions that they’ve taken towards their intimate partners” said director of substance health and special projects, John Dixon. “We believe that we can...
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Community workshop builds replicas of decades-old Inuit kayak
By Dominique Gené, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News Two kayaks that replicate a 60-year-old model built by an elder are being reconstructed at a community workshop in Kuujjuaq. The event, scheduled to run April 20 to May 1, was originally designed for eight participants aged 17 to 30. However, due to strong interest, the organizers have opened it to all Inuit, said Alice Roy, a psycho-social worker with Nurrait — Jeunes Karibus, which offers on-the-land programs for youth. “This workshop is a place where people can gather, talk about kayaks but also where these organizations can be in contact with the community,” Roy said. In 1968, the Canadian Museum of History commissioned Tuumasikallak, an elder from Kangirsuk, to create a kayak. It construction was documented by Bernard Saladin D’Anglure,...
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