Sault delivers opening welcome at national organization’s 40th anniversary celebrations
By Sam Laskaris Writer Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation chief Claire Sault was among those who helped a national Indigenous organization celebrate a milestone anniversary. Sault provided the opening welcome at the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) 40th anniversary celebrations this past week. A pre-event opening night reception was staged on May 27. That was followed by a two-day business forum, including various panels and interactive networking sessions on May 28-29. These events were held at The Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto. It should be noted that on the last day of the anniversary celebrations it was announced that the CCAB was changing its name. Its new moniker is the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB). “CCAB has made consistent progress and fantastic inroads for Indigenous business...
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MPP makes history at Queens Park
Some Six Natins Elected Council members were on hand when MPP Sol Mamakwa made history at Queen’s Park by speaking Anishininiimowin (Oji-Cree). Six Nations officials were there to show their support. Mamakwa, an NDP MPP for the riding of Kiiwetinoong, is the only First Nations MP in the legislature and on May 28th he asked Premier Ford when the 76 long-term care beds his riding was promised would come, in Anishininiimowin. It was the first time a language other than English and French was spoken in the legislature. “It was very moving watching that,” Elected Chief Sherri Lyn Hill said. “When he first saw us he just hugged me. He thought only people from his own riding and community would come. He thanked Six Nations for being there to support...
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Two First Nations bring court application to review $510M lawyer bill for treaty work
Two First Nations have launched a court application against lawyers who helped bring forward a $10-billion settlement with Canada and Ontario, saying the $510 million they’re set to be paid is too much. “I do want to say we’re very grateful for the results that were achieved by lawyers, and we believe that the lawyers should be well-awarded for their services,” said Atikameksheng Anishnawbek Chief Craig Nootchtai. “But we do not agree that a ($510-million) legal fee is fair and reasonable.” The Robinson Huron Treaty settlement, reached last year, sought to remedy unpaid treaty annuities for 21 First Nations. The First Nations said the $4-per-person annuity had not increased since 1874, which breached the treaty because resource extraction projects have used their land for generations, generating profits that far exceeded...
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Kayanase greenhouses are packed and ready for spring planting
By Austin Evans Writer Residents came out to Kayanase from 2 to 6 pm on May 30 to participate in a property-wide scavenger hunt. As they patrolled the turtle garden, greenhouse, and orchard, they learned about all the new services being offered at Kayanase. Kayanase opened their greenhouse for the season at the beginning of May, and already there were an assortment of new features for people to check out as they completed the scavenger hunt. We’re working on building our ecotourism department, said Kayanase operations manager Dan Werner. As you go out to the property, you’ll see the winterized yurts. And we have a pavilion with an outdoor kitchen. We’re building the foundations of providing ecotourism programming. At the moment, we’re building the facility. We’ll be hopefully hiring staff...
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OMSK emerges victorious in seven school tournament
By Austin Evans Writer Oliver M. Smith-Kawenni:io Elementary took first place with a 4-1 victory against I. L. Thomas Odadrihonyanita Elementary during Wednesday’s junior lacrosse tournament. Following the previous week’s primary and intermediate tournaments, seven schools across Six Nations sent students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 to compete in the junior league tournament from 9 am to 3 pm on June 5. This single tournament took as long as the last two combined, partly due to a rain break but mostly thanks to the number of players that came out. “It’s because we have more teams in the junior division,” said event organizer and Kawenni:io teacher Alex Henry. “There are seven schools on the reserve and the juniors were the only ones that could provide all seven teams. With...
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Six Nations Elected Council fails again…
The Chiefs of Ontario opened their controversial meeting at Six Nations in front of an unusually small crowd. A meager 46 out of 133 First Nations in Ontario were on hand at the surprise meeting taking place this week in the arena where along with the parade of chiefs, elders and flags who made their way into the small area curtained off for the meeting a handful of people were on hand to watch. But it all went off without a hitch. A hitch meaning no mention of the squabble between the provincial organization and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) who only learned of the meeting a few days before the arrival. The COO knows Six Nations is an actively politically split community with two governing bodies. The organization...
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Six Nations Polytech gets $75,000 in student transportation aid
Six Nations Polytechnic is getting $75,000 in funding from the Ontario government ot help students get to school. The Ontario government is providing the $75,000.00 to help moe than 200 students with transportation to Six Nations Polytech. The funds will help students with daily inter campus transportation between the school’s Six Nations and Brantford campuses. It will provide for daily inter-campus transportation, stipends for academic placements and gas vouchers. “Having access to safe and reliable transportation is crucial for connecting people to schools, jobs, housing and other opportunities,” Brantford-Brant MPP Will Bouma. sad in announcing the funds. “Our government will continue to provide funding that meets the individual needs of Indigenous communities and organizations across Ontario for generations to come. The funding comes through the Indigenous Transportation Initiatives Fund (ITIF)...
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Local relative provides details of Tom Longboat’s life during keynote address
By Sam Laskaris Writer It was only when she herself expressed an interest in participating in Six Nations’ annual Tom Longboat Run more than a couple of decades ago that Cindy Martin found out she was related to the famed runner. The 51-year-old Martin, who lives in Oshweken, is Longboat’s great great great niece. She was in Calgary this past Friday to deliver a live virtual keynote titled Storytelling Series: Celebrating Indigenous Sport Heroes with Cindy Martin. The event was part of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame commitment to highlight the contributions of Indigenous hall of famers during June, which is National Indigenous History Month. “Growing up we know our family, from our grandparents to our cousins, to our aunts and uncles,” Martin said. “But I didn’t know that I...
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Indigenous administrator to be inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame
By Sam Laskaris Writer A longtime Indigenous sports administrator is among those who will be inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame this year. Hall officials announced on Wednesday morning that Alex Nelson, a member of the Musgamaqw-Dzawada’enuxw First Nation in British Columbia, will be one of the 2024 inductees. Nelson will enter the hall via the Builder category. Induction ceremonies are scheduled for Oct. 23 in Gatineau, Que. “I am really honoured to be a part of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame 2024 (class),” Nelson said. “And I just wanted to say that it is a complete, complete honour and a wonderful surprise.” Dr. Guylaine Demers from Quebec, who has been instrumental in advocating for gender equity in sport around the world, is also being inducted into the hall...
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Sports Briefs: Attack drop two
By Sam Laskaris Writer Attack drop first two games If the first two games of its season are any indication, the Grand River Attack will need to provide a bit more firepower to challenge some of the league’s best squads. The Attack opened its Women’s Major Series Lacrosse (WMSL) season this past Saturday. And the local squad dropped both of its matches. For starters it was downed 5-3 by the Mimico Mountaineers. The Attack was then beaten 7-1 by the Whitby Rush, the defending WMSL champions. Both Whitby and Mimico are expected to be among the top clubs in the 10-team WMSL this season. All league entrants were in action this past Saturday. And all of the league matches were held at McKinney Arena in Whitby. The WMSL will resume...
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Haudenosaunee Chiefs tell Chiefs of Ontario they do not support their presence at Six Nations
The Haudenosaunee flag was removed from the Chiefs of Ontario annual meeting at Six Nations today and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs delivered a message to the assembly that they have shown “disrespect” to the the HCCC. The COO did not approach the HCCC before coming to Six Nations of the Grand River. MORE TO COME...
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Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs read statement to Chiefs of Ontario..they do not support the event
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Iconic B.C. museum reopens after ‘cutting-edge’ 18-month seismic upgrade
The Canadian Press 11/06/2024 Working on the $40-million seismic upgrade for one of Canada’s most prominent museums was an intensely personal experience for architect Nick Milkovich. He started his career under renowned architect Arthur Erickson and worked on some aspects of the award-winning concrete and glass design of the Museum of Anthropology on the University of British Columbia campus before the building opened in 1976. After an 18-month closure to implement “cutting-edge” base-isolation upgrades for the Great Hall, Milkovich said he felt an immense responsibility to carry forward his mentor’s vision in preserving the iconic structure’s design through the entire process. “His studio gave me the opportunity to become a decent architect,” Milkovich said of Erickson at the museum on Tuesday. “So, it’s gratitude, and it’s also an obligation to...
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Woodland Cree, Obsidian Energy resolve northern Alberta standoff
The Canadian Press 11/06/2024 An energy company says a First Nations blockade and standoff that kept it from using an oil lease road has been resolved. Calgary-based Obsidian Energy says it has reached an agreement in principle with the Woodland Cree First Nation. Woodland Cree began blocking the road in February over concerns Obsidian wasn’t keeping it informed about expansion plans on its traditional territory. The band was also concerned about earthquakes linked to Obsidian’s activities. Obsidian countered that it was being strong-armed into granting the First Nation a monopoly on work at the company’s sites. Obsidian was granted a court injunction to remove the blockade but local RCMP didn’t move in to enforce it. “The company and the (First Nation) engaged in extensive discussions with the help of a...
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Federal Court judge finds minister took too long in case of endangered spotted owl
The Canadian Press 11/06/2024 A federal judge says it’s “difficult to fathom” how it could be reasonable for Canada’s environment minister to take more than eight months before recommending an emergency protection order for British Columbia’s northern spotted owl. The ruling from Federal Court Justice Yvan Roy in Ottawa sides with the Wilderness Committee, a B.C.-based environmental group that filed a petition arguing Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault took too long to make his recommendation to cabinet. Roy found the timing meant Guilbeault did not meet his responsibilities under the Species at Risk Act for what is believed to be B.C.’s last wild spotted owl. The judge described the owl as a “highly endangered” species. There is only one known wild spotted owl, a female, in the area of B.C.’s Fraser...
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‘Finally getting started’: Plan approved to search landfill for women’s remains
The Canadian Press MANITOBA-The Manitoba government has given environmental approval to a planned search of a landfill for the remains of two slain First Nations women. For some family members who have been fighting for a search for more than 18 months, the news was a welcome relief. “They’re going to be starting right away, hopefully by the end of summer or something, and they can work right through winter. So it’s good,” Donna Bartlett, the grandmother of Marcedes Myran, said after meeting with Premier Wab Kinew on Tuesday. “We still have a long road ahead of us, but we are finally getting started,” read a message posted on social media by Myran’s sister Jorden Myran. Police believe the remains of Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris are in the...
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Chiefs of Ontario issue apology to Haudenosaunee Confederacy for dropping in without notice
Chiefs, elders and others walked into the opening of the Chiefs of Ontario annual general assembly at Six Nations of the Grand River’s arena Tuesday (Photo by Jim C. Powless) By Lynda Powless Editor SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER-The Chiefs of Ontario (COO) have apologized to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs’ Council (HCCC) for failing to follow “proper protocol” in the hosting of their annual meeting at Six Nations of the Grand River while clarifying they are not a governing body but an organization. In a letter to the HCCC today ( June 11, 2024) Tracy Antone, the COO Chief Operating Officer offered the organizations “deepest apologies for not following the proper protocol in hosting the Chiefs of Ontario Annual Chiefs Assembly” in HCCC territory. She said it was...
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Indigenous consortium enters deal to purchase Northwestel for $1 billion
(Canadian Press) Bell Canada says it is selling Northwestel Inc. to Sixty North Unity, a consortium of Indigenous communities from the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut, for around $1 billion. It says in a press release that Northwestel, which provides phone, internet and television services in Canada’s north, will become the largest telecommunications company worldwide with full Indigenous ownership. Sixty North Unity says it is planning significant capital investment to double fibre internet speeds, expand high-speed availability and bring critical resiliency to safeguard against wildfires and other natural disasters. The consortium is planning to maintain Northwestel’s leadership team including its president, Curtis Shaw, while increasing Indigenous representation in the workforce. Bell says it will maintain a strategic partnership with Northwestel after the transaction closes through ongoing operational support. The telecom...
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Result in sight for long-delayed water law
By Matteo Cimellaro Local Journalism Initiative Ottawa is one step closer to awarding First Nations control and power over their water supply as a First Nations water bill is headed to committee this Wednesday. Last week, Bill C-61, the First Nations Clean Water Act, was passed by the House through a unanimous motion and is now destined for the Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee. Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services, was enthusiastic about the “happy news” following what she referred to as “obstruction” from the Conservative caucus. Hajdu has repeatedly referred to the bill as “another tool” for First Nations to have sovereignty over their waters, empowering them to fight against environmental racism. It is a legacy bill for the Liberal government and sits alongside their promise to lift all...
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