Inuit grandmas make rap debut
By Matteo Cimellaro, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Canada’s National Observer For two Inuit grandmas, rap was always for the younger generations — until it wasn’t. Julie Ivalu and Koomook McLister made their hip-hop debuts with the song Tagvauvugut recently. The music video for the track premiered the same day on the opening night of the Asinabka Festival, an Indigenous film and media arts festival held in Ottawa. The endeavour started with a Facebook post calling for Inuit grandma rappers. McLister’s background is in throat singing. One of her most recent performances was in front of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during Devolution in Nunavut this past March. McLister’s husband read the post and tipped her off about an opportunity to try her hand at a different music genre. She initially ignored...
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B.C. landslide and flood damages cultural sites, says Williams Lake FirstNation
The Canadian Press 08/08/2024 15:11 The Williams Lake First Nation says two and possibly three Indigenous cultural heritage sites sustained extensive damage when a torrent of water breached a landslide that had blocked the Chilcotin River in British Columbia’s central Interior. The nation says two of the sites were located along the banks of the Chilcotin River near the Farwell Canyon Bridge and the third site was downstream at the confluence of the Chilcotin and Fraser rivers. A landslide south of Williams Lake that dammed the Chilcotin River last week broke free on Monday and sent torrents of water, downed trees and debris downstream to the Fraser River, which flows through the Lower Mainland to Georgia Strait. The Williams Lake First Nation says in a statement the sites were three...
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Supreme Court won’t hear appeal of trucker convicted in Edmonton hotel killing
The Canadian Press 08/08/2024 15:15 Canada’s highest court won’t hear a conviction appeal from a former Ontario truck driver in the death of a woman at an Edmonton hotel. Bradley Barton was sentenced to 12 1/2 years for manslaughter in the death of Cindy Gladue. The 36-year-old Métis and Cree woman bled to death in a hotel bathtub in 2011. As is usual, the Supreme Court of Canada did not provide reasons in dismissing the application for leave to appeal. Barton’s lawyer Peter Sankoff says he’s disappointed by the decision. He says his client is still waiting for a ruling on a sentencing appeal with the Alberta Court of Appeal. A jury first found Barton not guilty of first-degree murder in 2015. The acquittal sparked rallies and calls for justice...
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$37,500 in grants for local indigenous athletes
By Jesse Boily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 08/08/2024 12:45 After the success of the 2024 National Aboriginal Hockey Championships, about $37,500 in grants are being made available to indigenous athletes in the Grande Prairie region. The May hockey tournament had an estimated economic impact on the region of about $2 million. Successful grant writing and fundraising efforts have led to the creation of a legacy fund. The organizing society believes the funds should be distributed through the Indigenous Sport Council of Alberta (ISCA) which will then distribute it through its grant funding streams. The funds will stay local, with the requirements being monies are distributed to indigenous, Metis or Inuit residents or communities within 100 km of the city or within Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, Horse Lake First Nation or...
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New show at AGGP explores intimacy and vulnerability
By Jesse Boily Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Town & Country News 08/08/2024 13:01 The Art Gallery of Grande Prairie’s latest exhibit features artworks by Edmonton artist Brenda Draney that “delve into the complex questions around the notion of intimacy and vulnerability.” The exhibit, Drink from a River, features paintings from Draney that refer to figures and moments that have shaped her life. “The soft images in her paintings are familiar, like cars, people, and rooms with furniture, but it’s clear the people and places are close to the maker’s memory,” said Jessica Groome, AGGP executive director. “Drink from the River suggests that what is truly intimate can also be truly horrific; that what is buried away can be agonizing,” says an AGGP media release. “Oftentimes, these hauntings and sufferings can lead...
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First Nations declare opposition to nuclear waste project
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 08/08/2024 14:40 SIOUX NARROWS – The Township of Ignace has said yes to a nuclear waste repository project, but five First Nations in the Lake of the Woods area say no way. Storing nuclear waste between Ignace and Dryden would endanger the region’s ecosystem and violate their rights as Indigenous peoples, according to a declaration from the Anishinaabeg of Kabapikotawangag Resource Council (AKRC). Ignace council approved a motion on July 10 to continue as a potential host community for the deep geological repository proposed by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, a federally mandated body funded by Canada’s nuclear power producers. The Revell Lake site west of Ignace is on the nuclear body’s shortlist of two places for siting the underground repository for spent...
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Two arrested after gunshots fired
By Austin Evans Writer Two men were arrested after gunshots were heard on Indian Line Road. Six Nations police officers responded to reports of gunshots heard on Indian Line Road on August 5 at approximately 5:45 pm. Officers heard more gunshots when they arrived. They followed the noise and observed a man holding a firearm before he discarded it in a nearby house. Officers spotted a second man in the house with the gun. When ordered to leave the house, he was compliant and exited without incident. Police searched the house and seized several firearms, a prohibited weapon, and ammunition. As a result of the investigation, 36-year-old Ohsweken resident Steven Scott was arrested and charged with six criminal offenses: unauthorized possession of a firearm, knowledge of the unauthorized possession of...
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Salaries in new contract for teachers ‘astronomical’
By Mattie Macintosh Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 08/08/2024 Manitoba’s first mega-contract for public school teachers will raise general wages by more than 12 per cent and establish a standardized salary scale for 2026-27. By the end of the historic agreement, which combines 37 division-specific contracts and spans July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2026, the province’s most veteran and highly trained educators will earn upwards of $125,000, regardless of where they work. “These salary figures are astronomical. Manitoba teachers are now among the highest-paid in the country, and Canada is already known for being relatively generous when it comes to teacher salaries,” Cameron Hauseman, an associate professor of educational administration at the University of Manitoba, said. Hauseman said the new contract should entice more people to enter the teaching workforce...
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Wildfire burning near Port Alberni is being held, police arrest suspect
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 07/08/2024 19:04 A wildfire burning close to Tseshaht’s main reserve, located between Sproat Lake and Port Alberni, is being held, according to the Aug. 7 update from BC Wildfire Service, while police have announced an arrest in the incident. The wildfire was reported by BC Wildfires on Tuesday, Aug. 6 at 6:34 p.m. The latest report says the fire size has grown from 0.009 hectares to 0.5 hectares. There are no current evacuation orders in place. “The fire began on Crown land and moved into Mosaic private land,” reads an Aug. 6 bulletin posted by Tseshaht First Nation at 8:30 p.m. “Please be advised there is NO immediate danger to lives or infrastructure. The fire continues to move away from our reserve,”...
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Manitoba’s landfill search for homicide victims set to begin by end of October
By Dave Baxter Local Journalism Initiative 07/08/2024 17:41 Plans for Manitoba’s landfill search for human remains are on schedule and optimism is high after a similar search in Saskatchewan was successful, said an organizer. “I’ve always had hope and I’ve always held onto that hope, but now it just makes it that much more real knowing that it was successful there,” Melissa Robinson said on Wednesday morning after the news a three-month search of a Saskatoon-area landfill by police located the human remains of a 22-year-old Métis woman who was last seen in December of 2020. “So we’re sad for the victim and her family, but also happy they can get that closure, and I truly believe we’re next.” But Robinson also expressed anger and frustration at the fact the...
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Feds fund health study for Indigenous communities downstream of oilsands
The Canadian Press 07/08/2024 18:19 More than three decades after Indigenous leaders in northern Alberta began asking for funding to better understand if pollution from the oilsands was making their people sick, the federal government is funding a study to do just that. “This should have been done 32 years ago, maybe 40 years ago,” said Mikisew Cree First Nation Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro. “We know that there is something going on in this community. We can’t pinpoint it or anything in regards to what’s actually going on.” Studies have previously shown higher rates of cancers in the communities along the shores of Lake Athabasca. The lake is fed by the Athabasca River, which runs through the region where most of Canada’s oilsands mines are located. In 2009 an Alberta Health...
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Okanagan wildfire prompts evacuation orders, expands alerts
The Canadian Press 07/08/2024 18:41 Evacuation orders and alerts have been issued in British Columbia’s North Okanagan as a nearby wildfire burns out of control, nearly doubling in size since Tuesday. Tracy Hughes, communications co-ordinator for the Columbia Shuswap Regional District says 17 properties in the district are on evacuation order, while alerts were also expanded to 25 more properties, bringing the total in the region to 69. The neighbouring township of Spallumcheen and the Splatsin First Nation have also issued evacuation orders and alerts in response to the growing blaze. The BC Wildfire Service says the 6.7 square-kilometre Hullcar Mountain fire is one of nine wildfires of note in the province, meaning it is highly visible or may pose a threat to public safety. Taylor Shantz, a BC Wildfire...
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Inquest jury urges RCMP to review detention policies after Secwe̓pemc man died in custody
By Cara McKenna, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter and Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 07/08/2024 18:50 Content warning: This story includes detailed description of a death in police custody. Please look after your spirit and read with care. Regina Basil always did everything she could to protect her younger brother, Randy Lampreau. Their family grew up at Chu Chua in Simpcw First Nation and are also from Bonaparte First Nation. Basil said she and her siblings were raised harvesting medicines, learning about their culture and sharing with and helping one another. “(Randy) was never angry, always smiling, joking — you know, goofy,” she said. “He had a beautiful smile and he was never disrespectful. That’s not how we were brought up.” As adults, Basil and Lampreau stayed close. But in...
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Hundreds gather for water conference at Kátł’odeeche FirstNation
By Simona Rosenfield, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Cabin Radio 08/08/2024 08:00 Amid the Northwest Territories’ lowest water levels on record, hundreds of people gathered to discuss the future of clean, accessible water at the three-day Water Is Sacred conference. N.W.T. Premier R.J. Simpson attended the conference, as did Indigenous leaders such as newly elected Dene National Chief George Mackenzie, Chief April Martel of host community the Kátł’odeeche First Nation, and Dehcho First Nations Grand Chief Herb Norwegian, according to conference organizer Jesse Cardinal. The conference took place from August 1-3. Attendees were invited to panel discussions and presentations from chiefs, Elders and youth. Presenters came from across the N.W.T., B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan to discuss the need to protect water and find solutions. This summer, the North has seen some...
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Chief Taylor discusses infrastructure upgrades
By Austin Campbell Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 08/08/2024 08:00 Road improvements have been a long time coming for a remote First Nation. Dougall Media caught up with Ginnoogaming First Nation’s Chief Sheri Taylor on Aug. 6 to discuss the recently announced major infrastructure project being undertaken in her community. The project – which is mainly focused on a major overhaul of a seven-kilometre stretch of one of the main roads into Ginoogaming – broke ground on July 30. Taylor said it’s a project community leaders have had in mind since she was first involved with council back in 2019. “This project just kind of sat there because we weren’t ready for it,” she said. Ontario’s ministry of agriculture, food, and rural affairs is funding the project, but as Taylor noted,...
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Lawsuit launched by family of Indigenous woman in N.S. claims negligence in her death
The Canadian Press 07/08/2024 15:12 The mother of an Indigenous woman who died in hospital with fungal meningitis says her daughter’s race may have played a role in the allegedly negligent medical treatment she received. In response to the death of Destiny Rennie, her mother filed a lawsuit against the Nova Scotia health authority and four doctors responsible for treating the 22-year-old Mi’kmaq woman. A notice of action filed July 25 in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court says Rennie, who experienced “brain death” on Aug. 3, 2023, and was pronounced dead three days later with meningitis, was mistreated by doctors who thought she was an illicit drug user. Her family alleges that hospital staff and doctors were “generally negligent” in their supervision and monitoring of Rennie’s symptoms and slow to...
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Residents describe sound of roaring river, breaking trees of B.C.’s landslide waters
The Canadian Press 07/08/2024 16:18 Max Paulhus says he could hear wood breaking and a roaring sound before an approaching surge of water raced down the Fraser River after breaking free from a landslide upstream. Paulhus lives in Lillooet, B.C., and is one of several Fraser River community residents and business operators who described watching the power of water and debris churning from the Chilcotin River landslide towards British Columbia’s Lower Mainland. “You could hear an abnormal sound coming from the river,” said Paulhus, Lillooet and District Rescue Society chief. “You could hear that noise. You could hear branches breaking. It was almost like a roar.” Others downstream at Lytton and at the Hell’s Gate Airtram said they could also hear the river’s flow as the water and debris passed...
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Wildfire burns out of control near northern Stoney Nakoda reserve
By Jessica Lee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 07/08/2024 14:42 A wildfire continues to burn out of control near the Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation reserve of Big Horn. While the fire is about nine kilometres northwest of the community, Alberta Wildfire and local emergency officials say it poses “very limited risk” to it currently. “The fire is in a very remote area. There’s no road access, but Alberta Wildfire has been using aerial assets to attack the fire,” said Nakoda Emergency Services director Reg Fountain. “So far, weather conditions have been pushing the fire back into the mountains and away from the Nation.” The fire was initially assessed on July 23 and has grown to 4,936 hectares. It is burning on the west side of the Bighorn Range, about 20...
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Feds fund health study for Indigenous communities downstream of oilsands
The Canadian Press 07/08/2024 14:03 More than three decades after Indigenous leaders in northern Alberta began asking for funding to better understand if pollution from the oilsands was making their people sick, the federal government is funding a study to do just that. “This should have been done 32 years ago, maybe 40 years ago,” said Mikisew Cree First Nation Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro. “We know that there is something going on in this community. We can’t pinpoint it or anything in regards to what’s actually going on.” Studies have previously shown higher rates of cancers in the communities along the shores of Lake Athabasca. The lake is fed by the Athabasca River, which runs through the region where most of Canada’s oilsands mines are located. In 2009 an Alberta Health...
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As Europe reviews its rules on seal products, Canada calls for easing of restrictions
The Canadian Press 07/08/2024 13:59 The Canadian government is calling on the European Union to ease restrictions on seal products as member states review trade regulations. Ottawa says in a letter dated Aug. 6 to the European Commission’s vice-president that Canada has been given the opportunity to “provide input” on the seal trade while the union evaluates and fine tunes its rules. In 2009 the European Union limited imports for Canadian seal products, citing the “pain, distress, fear and other forms of suffering” of seals because of the way in which they are killed and skinned. Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier says in the letter that EU regulations have led to a drop in Canada’s access to global markets for seal products, with exports falling from $18 million in 2006 to...
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