Ontario chemical plant subject to provincial, federal orders, permanently closing
The Canadian Press 11/06/2024 15:05 A plastics plant in Sarnia, Ont., that has been subject to recent orders and regulations from both the provincial and federal governments over benzene emissions says it is permanently shutting down. Ineos Styrolution says its decision to close the Sarnia site by June 2026 was made irrespective of the current regulatory situation, rather it is due to economic considerations. Ineos says the company has made significant investments in the site for many years to ensure safe and reliable operations, but it is no longer an economically viable operating asset. The site temporarily shut down in April shortly after the neighbouring Aamjiwnaang First Nation recorded high benzene emissions and said people there were falling ill. Ontario imposed new conditions on Ineos that it had to fulfill...
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5 things to know about the new Indigenous placemaking site at Orangeville’s Island Lake Conservation Area
Local Journalism Initiative 11/06/2024 14:59 After years of developing and planning, Island Lake Conservation Area in Orangeville is now the location for a new Anishinaabe clan site. Here are five things you should know about the new space: The Crane Gathering Space is the first of seven Anishinaabe clan sites for Indigenous placemaking to be created on the Credit Valley Trail (CVT). Credit Valley Conservation Authority, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, CVT Indigenous Roundtable and more came together to develop this space and bring Indigenous culture and experiences to the trail. The project created opportunities for Indigenous-owned business by working with Indigenous architects, landscape architects, fabricators and artisans to supply critical components of the Crane Gathering Space’s design and construction. The new Crane Gathering Space, at Island Lake Conservation...
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Indigenous language learners share their bright hope for language revitalization at symposium
By Odette Auger Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The theme of the 30th annual Stabilizing Indigenous Languages Symposium (SILS) was “Kinship, Connections, & Leadership in Indigenous Language Revitalization.” The international conference was held June 5 to June 7 on WSÁNEĆ and lək̓ʷəŋən territory in Victoria, B.C. and hosted by NEȾOLṈEW̱̱ Research Partnerships with the University of Victoria (UVic). SILS has been bringing together language workers, learners and community members to share and learn language teaching strategies and practices for language revitalization. Workshops highlight “emerging and promising” teaching methods, along with holistic approaches, community-led interventions, and the pivotal role of technology, reads the symposium website at https://web.cvent.com/event/77ec82fd-2a46-40a5-8f16-335bfe352904/summary. Dr. Onowa McIvor (Swampy Cree) is a language learner. She is a professor of Indigenous Education at UVic and the project director of NEȾOLṈEW̱...
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Reported birth of rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone park fulfills Lakota prophecy
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The reported birth of a rare white buffalo in Yellowstone National Park fulfills a Lakota prophecy that portends better times, according to members of the American Indian tribe who cautioned that it’s also a signal that more must be done to protect the earth and its animals. “The birth of this calf is both a blessing and warning. We must do more,” said Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and the Nakota Oyate in South Dakota, and the 19th keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe and Bundle. The birth of the sacred calf comes as after a severe winter in 2023 drove thousands of Yellowstone buffalo, also known as bison, to lower elevations. More than 1,500 were killed,...
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Families of victims of serial killer push for landfill search as trial concludes
By Canadian Press WINNIPEG MANITOBA-Dozens of people, many clad in red, held hands as they formed a round dance on the streets outside of Winnipeg’s law courts on the concluding day of the trial of an admitted serial killer. At the centre of the circle, a group of women, including the sister of one of Jeremy Skibicki’s victims, stood together as they drummed and sang. The daughter of another victim carried a shovel painted red with the words Search The Land Fill drawn on it. The families made it clear that although Skibicki’s trial has wrapped up, their fight to bring home their loved ones is not over. “My cousin needs to come home. It’s been over two years. I don’t even know why we’re still sitting here anymore,” Melissa...
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Electronic voting worries security experts. Nevada touts safeguards as it expands it to tribes
The Associated Press SCHURZ, Nevada (AP) — Members of the Walker River Paiute Tribe have watched the boundaries of their land recede over time along with the waters of the lake that are central to their identity, threatening the cultural symbol that gave the tribe its name — Agai Dicutta, or Trout Eaters. Not wanting to cede their voice, tribal leaders have been making a push for expanded voting rights. That effort includes filing a lawsuit on behalf of all Nevada tribes seeking polling places on tribal lands and access to early voting. “Tribes shouldn’t have to keep filing lawsuits just to vote on their own lands,” said Elveda Martinez, 65, a tribal member and longtime voting advocate. “It should be more accessible.” The state has now granted the Walker...
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Verdict next month for admitted Winnipeg serial killer Jeremy Skibicki
The Canadian Press A Winnipeg man who admitted to killing four women but wants a trial to find him not guilty of murder because of mental illness is to learn his fate July 11. Justice Glenn Joyal set the date after hearing final arguments from Crown and defence lawyers in the case of Jeremy Skibicki. Skibicki, 37, is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of the four Indigenous women in 2022. His lawyers have admitted that he carried out the slayings but argue he should be found not criminally responsible. A forensic psychiatrist for the defence testified Skibicki was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the killings. “Delusions are driving a lot of what (Skibicki) is doing,” lawyer Leonard Tailleur told the trial Monday. Court has heard Skibicki...
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B.C.’s Eby frustrated at Quebec immigration money ‘at the expense’ of Western Canada
The Canadian Press Federal immigration money is being “showered down” on Ontario and Quebec “at the expense” of Western Canada, British Columbia Premier David Eby said. Eby told a news conference to mark the end of the annual Western Premiers’ Conference on Monday that Ottawa’s offer of $750 million to Quebec to help pay for a surge in temporary residents there is frustrating, and B.C. should also get a share. Eby said there are 10,000 people coming to British Columbia every 37 days, refugees have to stay in homeless shelters and international students don’t have support. “And so to see a single-province agreement with Quebec, is an underlining of a sense of frustration that I heard around the table,” he said. “I won’t put this on anyone else, but I’ll...
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Nunavik singer Elisapie honoured with Canada Post stamp
By Cedric Gallant, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Nunavik singer-songwriter Elisapie says she was “in disbelief” after she learned she will be getting her own stamp. Canada Post announced her inclusion in a new stamp series meant to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day, in a news release June 5. “It is a big deal,” Elisapie Isaac, who is known professionally as Elisapie, said in a phone interview. “Canada Post has been part of our lives [as Inuit] since we were first moved to a town, relocated from nomadic life.” She said the post office represents institutions that have led to major changes in Inuit history. To be honoured by one of these institutions is a “weird feeling, a very proud moment,” she said. “It feels like a sweet victory.” She added...
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Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs accuse Chiefs Of Ontario of “disrespect” says process rooted in “assimiliation”
By Lynda Powless Editor SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER- The Chiefs of Ontario (COO) may be descending on Six Nations of the Grand River today (Monday, June 9, 2023) but it will be without the support or approval of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chief’s Council (HCCC), the traditional governing body of Six Nations. The Chiefs of Ontario, (COO), with the support of the Six Nations Elected Band Council, plans to open its annual general meeting at the Six Nations arena Tuesday, but the HCCC didn’t learn of the move until receiving a letter, dated May 31st, last week accusing the COO of “disrespecting” the Confederacy. The HCCC sent out a notice Friday ( June 7) warning the COO they will neither support or endorse their event telling the COO ”...
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Closing arguments to be heard in Winnipeg trial of admitted serial killer
The Canadian Press 10/06/2024 Lawyers are expected to give closing arguments today in the trial of a Winnipeg man who has admitted to killing four women. Jeremy Skibicki has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the 2022 slayings. His lawyers admit he killed the women but say Skibicki should be found not criminally responsible due to mental illness. Crown prosecutors say the killings were racially motivated and Skibicki preyed on the Indigenous women at homeless shelters. The month-long trial has heard graphic details of how Skibicki assaulted the women, strangled or drowned them and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins in his neighbourhood. A forensic psychiatrist testified for the defence that Skibicki was suffering from schizophrenia, while a court-appointed expert said Skibicki didn’t have a major mental health...
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What to know about Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier’s first hearing in more than a decade
The Associated Press 10/06/2024 Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, who has spent most of his life in prison since his conviction in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents in South Dakota, has a parole hearing Monday at a federal prison in Florida. At 79, his health is failing, and if this parole request is denied, it might be a decade or more before it is considered again, said his attorney Kevin Sharp, a former federal judge. Sharp and other supporters have long argued that Peltier was wrongly convicted and say now that this effort may be his last chance at freedom. “This whole entire hearing is a battle for his life,” said Nick Tilsen, president and CEO of the NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led advocacy group. “It’s time for him to...
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B.C. looks into post-fire mushroom picking rush after First Nation reports conflicts
The Canadian Press 09/06/2024 British Columbia says it is not ruling out regulating wild mushroom picking after an Indigenous community said a rising number of foragers are infringing on its land, with one case involving alleged threats of physical violence and intimidation. The provincial response comes after the Skwlax te Secwepemculecw First Nation said the areas devastated by the Lower East Adams Lake and Bush Creek wildfires last year are now sprouting large numbers of morel mushrooms, attracting many foragers who are putting new pressures on the land’s fragile ecosystem. “It’s what they leave behind that is the problem and the devastation, the damage they’re doing cutting trees down,” said Chief James Tomma. “We’re seeing the unwanted killing of the wildlife who are under a lot of stress right now...
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Colombia marks 1st anniversary of rescue of 4 children in the Amazon after their plane crashed
The Associated Press 09/06/2024 BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — Colombia marked the first anniversary Sunday of the rescue of four Indigenous children who survived a small plane crash in the Amazon rainforest in an operation that gripped the world’s attention. A small ceremony was held in a Bogota military base that included an emotional reunion between soldiers and Indigenous volunteers. But the four children, who were found in a remote patch of rainforest a year ago after fending for themselves for 40 days, still face an uncertain future as authorities wait for a case worker to decide who should be awarded custody. The siblings from Colombia’s Huitoto tribe were aged 13, 9, 4 and 11 months old when the single-engine plane they were traveling in nosedived into the rainforest’s canopy, killing...
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Conservation group, some fishers question redfish quota in Gulf of St. Lawrence
The Canadian Press Following a decades-long moratorium on redfish, East Coast fishers are expected to begin harvesting the distinctive reddish-orange colored species later this month in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The federal Fisheries Department announced last week that the fishery, which has been closed since 1995, could reopen as early as June 15 with a total allowable catch of 60,000 tonnes for 2024-25. Non-profit conservation group Oceana says while the reopening represents a new and “hopeful chapter” for the Atlantic fishery, it questions the new catch limit. Rebecca Schijns, a fishery scientist with the group, said the new quota is much higher than the minimum allowable catch of 25,000 tonnes that was announced in January. “If we are looking just at the redfish population the quota is relatively suitable...
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Murder charges laid in double homicide that put Manitoba First Nations community in lockdown
By Dave Baxter Local Journalism Initiative 07/06/2024 Murder charges have been laid in what police said was a double homicide earlier this week that left a First Nations community temporarily in lockdown. On Thursday, Manitoba RCMP announced that a 19-year-old man who was arrested on Monday in Minegoziibe Anishinabe, a community also commonly referred to as Pine Creek First Nation, has now been charged with two counts of second-degree murder. The charges come after a violent incident in the community earlier this week. Late Sunday evening around 11:30 p.m., Winnipegosis RCMP received a report of shots fired in the northern community located about 110 kilometres north of Dauphin. Police said officers responded and located an injured 34-year-old man. Life-saving measures were attempted by officers, but the man died from his...
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Reimagining the Indigenous colour wheel
By NC Raine Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 07/06/2024 Fine Art students at First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv) get an infusion of both science and traditional knowledge in an all-new course taking place on the Regina campus. Developed by Audrey Dreaver, program coordinator and assistant professor of Indigenous Fine Arts at FNUniv, with Indigenous knowledge and science lab instructor Jody Bellegarde, the never-before-offered colour theory program examines various colour theories, relationships, and understands of colour, from both Indigenous and scientific perspectives. “I want to show the importance of colour in both Western and Indigenous thought, and how it carries meaning when used in specific ways,” said Dreaver. “Artists should have a good understanding of colour.” It is also a way for students to thinkg ourside the box. “I’d...
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Sports and recreation plan a first for Kahnawake
By Miriam Lafontaine Local Journalism Initiative 07/06/2024 The Kahnawake Youth Center (KYC) and the Sports and Recreation Unit have teamed up to form a new action group that will be tasked with creating a 10-year master plan for sports and recreation in the community. Part of its mandate will also be to lead the design of an expanded or entirely new KYC facility. Roiatate Horn, director of Sports and Recreation, said it comes down to them sharing the same vision for the future of Kahnawake. Sports and Recreation was already getting ready to carry out an assessment of the town’s parks and sport facilities, while the KYC was gearing up to design a plan for a new building, Horn said. “We’re going to work together to make sure that the...
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Sale and use of marijuana permitted under ordinance Cherokees in North Carolina approved
The Associated Press 07/06/2024 CHEROKEE, N.C. (AP) — The recreational sale and use of marijuana for adults on western North Carolina tribal land could begin this summer after the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians governing board voted for an ordinance expanding approved use just weeks after its medical marijuana dispensary opened. Several months earlier, tribe members backed adult recreational use on their reservation. The September referendum, approved by 70% of voters, also required the council to develop legislation to regulate such a market. Tribal leaders spent months crafting the adult-use ordinance approved Thursday by an 8-2 vote. Plans for a medical cannabis system and the cultivation of cannabis plants already were underway before the referendum, and the tribe-owned Great Smoky Cannabis Co. within Eastern Band land known as the Qualla...
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Mi’kmaq First Nation to become majority owner of two shipyards in Nova Scotia
The Canadian Press A First Nation in Nova Scotia is purchasing two shipyards in the province, saying the acquisitions will position the band to compete for federal contracts, including those from the Defence Department. The Glooscap First Nation recently announced it had reached an agreement in principle to acquire a majority stake in the B. Boutilier Group of Companies, which currently owns the historic Lunenburg Shipyard and the nearby East River Shipyard. “This acquisition … underscores the strength and resilience of our Mi’kmaq community and is a step forward in our journey towards economic autonomy and self-determination,” Glooscap First Nation Chief Sidney Peters said in a statement. The Mi’kmaq band says it plans to establish a subsidiary called Glooscap Defence, which will focus on making the band the largest Indigenous...
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