Centuries-old Pentlatch fish trap panel connects K’ómoks, Qualicum people to their ancestors
By Madeline Dunnett Local Journalism Initiative 06/08/2024 16:01 This Pentlatch fish trap panel is 550 years old and would have been part of a broader fishing system used by the ancestors of K’ómoks First Nation. Photo by Madeline Dunnett/The Discourse As a child, Pamela Mitchell recalls her father telling her about the ancient fish traps on the shoreline of K’ómoks territory, near her home. As she learned about the traps, which were used over generations by her ancestors, and their corresponding posts sticking out of the water, she recalls her dad telling her, “don’t touch! They are very old!” Mitchell is Säsitla, and her ancestors joined to become the K’ómoks First Nation alongside the Sahtloot, Ieeksun and Pentlatch Peoples. Mitchell is now the culture and language coordinator for K’ómoks First...
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Landslide shows power of Mother Nature, says chief as worries now turn to salmon run
Canadian Press 06/08/2024 15:14 A massive landslide sending a torrent of water carrying large trees and debris downstream shows the power of Mother Nature, says a British Columbia Indigenous leader who has deep concerns about the rushing water’s impact on critical salmon runs. Joe Alphonse, Tsilhqot’in National Government tribal chair, said Tuesday he’s “relieved” the dam created by last week’s landslide on the Chilcotin River broke and “we hope and pray that it’s not going to cause too much damage to property and people downstream from us.” British Columbia government officials, who are scheduled to provide an update on the situation later Tuesday, say there is a risk of more landslides and bank erosion as a large lake of water flows past a landslide that blocked the Chilcotin River for...
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TC Energy lobbyist called B.C. premier’s office one day after scathing pipeline inspection report
By Matt Simmons Local Journalism Initiative Reporter and Mike De Souza 06/08/2024 The phone call to the B.C. premier’s office came on a Saturday in May 2023, one day after a scathing inspection report detailed multiple environmental infractions along the route of a major gas pipeline under construction in the province. The report, issued by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office, outlined damage to sensitive wetlands and other ecosystems on Wet’suwet’en territory in northwest B.C. It detailed howTC Energy allegedly failed to protect areas around its Coastal GasLink pipeline project from environmental impacts associated with construction and spring snowmelt. As a result, the assessment office said in its report that it would keep stop-work orders on pipeline construction in place, potentially triggering delays and driving up costs on a multibillion dollar...
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B.C. sees ‘significant amount of instability and bank failures’ after slide
The Canadian Press 06/08/2024 11:34 British Columbia officials say there is a risk of more landslides and bank erosion as a large lake of water and debris flows past a landslide that blocked the Chilcotin River for days. The latest provincial update says a “significant amount of instability and bank failures” have been observed along the Chilcotin River from the confluence of the Fraser River to the site of the massive landslide. Videos shared by the Tsilqot’in National Government show a small cabin, whole trees and chunks of the riverbank washing away in the fast-moving river. The provincial update says officials haven’t confirmed if the water flows that moved over the blockage on Monday have peaked, and it’s possible that there may be another surge as the water moves through...
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Chief says Treaty Three Police Service is committed to ‘being culturally responsive’
By Mike Stimpson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter KENORA — Treaty Three Police Service is committed to addressing the concerns of First Nations that have complaints about the quality of policing, Chief Cheryl Gervais said Tuesday. Gervais, who became chief of police last November, was speaking in particular to concerns raised by the chiefs and councils of Grassy Narrows First Nation and Wabaseemoong Independent Nations. “Treaty Three Police Service was really created to deliver culturally responsive service to our communities,” she told NWONewswatch. “I acknowledge the concerns that are brought forward by those leaders, and at the end of the day, we take these concerns very seriously. “We are committed to working with them on addressing these concerns and staying true to our mandate of being culturally responsive.” Gervais added that...
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New pilot training program launched in Saskatchewan
By Sam Laskaris Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Windspeaker.com The Saskatchewan government is investing more than $1 million into a new program that will help train Indigenous pilots in the province. Details of the initiative, called the Dziret’ái Pilot Training Program, were announced in the northern Saskatchewan hamlet of Stony Rapids on Aug. 1. A total of 10 applicants will be chosen to enter the professional pilot training program, which will start this coming January. Students who complete all requirements in the two-year program will be offered jobs as First Officers, allowing them to navigate and operate flights, with Rise Air. Rise Air is a First Nations owned airline that has its headquarters in Saskatoon. Rosalie Tsannie-Burseth, a Rise Air director, is rather excited with the new project. “Together we created...
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‘We have our answers’: Body of missing woman found in Saskatoon landfill
The Canadian Press 06/08/2024 Saskatoon police announced Tuesday they had found the remains of a missing woman in a city landfill three months after their search began. Police, dozens of searchers and a forensic anthropologist began combing through trash at the site in May in an attempt to find Mackenzie Lee Trottier. The 22-year-old Métis woman was last seen in December 2020. Paul Trottier told a news conference it had been a long and difficult time trying to find out what happened to his daughter. The 93 days police spent searching the landfill were particularly tough, he said. “Today, we have our answers. Mackenzie is home,” he said. Trottier thanked police and Métis and Indigenous groups for their support. “Our (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) family, victim services … and...
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Disaster threat from B.C. landslide’s river waters decreases, says emergency minister
The Canadian Press 06/08/2024 19:30 A “grateful” emergency management minister says the threat of a flood disaster along British Columbia’s Chilcotin and Fraser rivers appears to have been averted when a massive lake drained overtop of a landslide. Bowinn Ma said high waters similar to spring runoff conditions are being observed downstream along the Chilcotin and Fraser rivers, but dangers still exist from the powerful current carrying trees and other debris. while carving away large sections of landscape. “The risk of a worst-case scenario has drastically decreased, but we are not in the clear yet,” she said Tuesday at a news conference. “I am extremely grateful the worst-case scenario did not come to be.” The landslide last week at Farwell Canyon located about 22 kilometres south of Williams Lake dammed...
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MCFN announces four candidates for upcoming by-election
MISSISSAUGAS OF CREDIT FIRST NATION- The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation will be heading to the polls to in a by-election this month and four candidates are vyeing for the position. The councillor position was left vacant when Bill LaForme resigned in April for personal reasons. The MCFN council is mad eup of the chief and seven council members. The four candidates seeking the council position are Ellen Lorriane Coady, Ken Hughes, Ashley Sault, and Luanne Vandecamp, said a MCFN press release. A fifth potential candidate Patrick Laforme was nominated but declined . The election will be held August 17, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation Community Centre, said the release. You must be a MCFN Band member 18 and older...
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B.C. sees ‘significant amount of instability and bank failures’ after slide
The Canadian Press British Columbia officials say there is a risk of more landslides and bank erosion as a large lake of water and debris flows past a landslide that blocked the Chilcotin River for days. The latest provincial update says a “significant amount of instability and bank failures” have been observed along the Chilcotin River from the confluence of the Fraser River to the site of the massive landslide. Videos shared by the Tsilqot’in National Government show a small cabin, whole trees and chunks of the riverbank washing away in the fast-moving river. The provincial update says officials haven’t confirmed if the water flows that moved over the blockage on Monday have peaked, and it’s possible that there may be another surge as the water moves through unstable sediments....
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TC Energy eyes data centre growth as potential opportunity
The Canadian Press TC Energy Corp. is eyeing the rapid proliferation of data centres in North America as a business opportunity. The Calgary-based pipeline company said Thursday it is uniquely poised to capitalize on the rapid expansion of electricity-hungry data centres, which are being built by companies like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon to power the AI revolution. Executive vice-president and chief operating officer Stan Chapman told analysts on a conference call that of the more than 300 data centres currently under construction or proposed in the U.S., more than 60 per cent are located within 24-kilometres of TC Energy’s existing natural gas pipeline system. “We’re seeing a shift in site preferences (for data centres) from regions where big telecom infrastructure is in place to regions where energy and supply infrastructure...
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Federal aerial survey tracking beluga whale population in James Bay and eastern Hudson Bay
By Marissa Lentz-McGrath Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 06/08/2024 Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) aerial survey soars to estimate the beluga whale population in James Bay and eastern Hudson Bay. The entire James Bay area was surveyed from July 18 to 26. Eastern Hudson Bay is now being surveyed until Sept. 15. Mushkegowuk Council plans to use the survey results to create a marine conservation area in western James Bay. “It’s the ministerial responsibility of DFO to assess the stocks of the different marine mammal and fish populations across Canada,” said Caroline Sauvé, a biologist with DFO. “This is the ninth survey covering the same area using the same protocol since 1985, and what we’re trying to do is get some comparable data as time goes to build up a time...
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Reclusive tribe attacks loggers suspected of encroaching on their land in Peru’s Amazon
The Associated Press 05/08/2024 18:45 Peru’s reclusive Mashco Piro ethnic group recently used bows and arrows to attack loggers suspected of encroaching on their territory in the Amazon, according to a regional Indigenous organization. FENAMAD, representing 39 Indigenous communities in the Cusco and Madre de Dios regions, said Monday that it believes illegal logging was taking place on Mashco Piro territory and that one logger was injured in the July 27 attack. A few weeks ago, photos emerged of the uncontacted tribe searching for food on a beach in the Peruvian Amazon, which some experts say was evidence logging concessions are “dangerously close” to its territory. “It is presumably illegal because the area where the incident occurred is a forestry concession that belonged to Wood Tropical Forest until November 2022,...
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Puppies found on logging road near Ucluelet
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Ucluelet, BC – Two Rottweiler mix puppies have a safe home in Ucluelet after being found down a logging road on Ukee Days weekend, July 26 to July 28. It is unclear as to why they were on the backroads alone, but a post on social media by their rescuer (who declined to be interviewed) describes the pups as likely being abandoned. “No collars, no people anywhere to be found, covered in fleas and terrified,” reads the Facebook post on Ucluelet’s public community board. The puppies were given de flea medication and days after being found, long-term locals took them in. “It’s uncommon to find puppies out in those kinds of places. It’s more common to see stray dogs that have gotten separated...
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B.C. officials warn of dangers around Fraser, Chilcotin River banks as water tops dam
By Canadian Press 05/08/2024 The B.C. government says it’s “extremely unsafe” to be near the banks of the Chilcotin and Fraser rivers both upstream and downstream from a massive landslide after water started flowing through the slide early Monday. Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said Monday that the water breaching the dam caused by the slide will cause river bank instability, although the chances of a worst-case scenario are “decreasing.” Ma says people should stay away and off the waters as officials monitor the flow downstream of the slide, which may impact the Farewell Canyon Bridge, about 22 kilometres downstream. Evacuation alerts and orders along the rivers are not just about residential properties, she said. “It is also about people recreating on the water or along the waterways,” Ma said...
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‘It’s troubling and unfortunate’: Mississauga First Nation shuts down services over threats
By Kyle Darbyson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Mississauga First Nation’s chief and council shut down all band operations, programs and non-essential services last week due to a “planned demonstration” over Robinson Huron settlement funds. Chief Brent Niganobe told The Sault Star this demonstration, scheduled for last Wednesday’s council meeting, would have threatened the safety of MFN staff based on the information he received from local police. “A person called the police and … made threats of occupying the band office, ‘taking over the band office’ I believe was their words, and saying that they were going to remove equipment and remove council,” Niganobe said over the phone Friday. “Knowing that the band office has a lot of sensitive information regarding health and names of people and everyday administration, we didn’t...
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Peacekeepers welcome, but a long way from erasing racism, chief says
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Daily Gleaner Chief George Ginnish says an announcement that New Brunswick will fund peace officers in eight Mi’gmaq First Nations does not begin to address the grievances those communities have with the criminal justice system. The leader of Natoaganeg, or Eel Ground First Nation, near Miramichi is thankful that the Progressive Conservative government is providing $3.6 million over three years to fund peace officers in the Indigenous communities along the eastern coast of the province. But the over-representation of Indigenous people in jails and the province’s refusal to hold a public inquiry into how racism affects them specifically in the justice system are still sore points. “The report that the province eventually came up with, on systemic racism, was redacted and reduced by...
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Conservationists push to triple protected natural areas
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter New Brunswick’s Progressive Conservative government spent two years increasing protected natural areas from just under five per cent of the province’s land and freshwater to 10 per cent, a doubling that was proudly announced in December 2022. But now there’s a push from conservationists for far more: to hit 30 per cent by 2030, the vaunted “30 by 30” that the Trudeau Liberal government pledged for the country as a whole at a United Nations biodiversity forum in Montreal a couple of years ago. The local chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the Atlantic Salmon Federation recently released the results of a poll they commissioned, suggesting that two out of three respondents in New Brunswick support the bigger goal. “We’re...
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Don’t be ‘headstrong’ on title claims, says former judge
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 04/08/2024 05:59 Graydon Nicholas says it’s obvious what the New Brunswick government should do as it faces lawsuits from Indigenous nations seeking Aboriginal title to all the province’s territory. The former judge and lieutenant governor from Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation) believes the attorney general’s office also has the answer at its fingertips, dating back to a case he worked on in the early 1980s that made it all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. “Eventually, this is going to get down to negotiations,” said Nicholas, who was the first Indigenous person in Atlantic Canada to get a law degree, in 1971. “The premier is headstrong about his position. But somewhere down the road, that will have to change. It’s what you...
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‘Bringing us closer’: Greenland’s Nanook on Nunavut
By Kira Wronska Dorward Local Journalism Inititiative Reporter Nanook, one of Greenland’s most popular folk bands , was formed 15 years ago and its members have watched the evolution of Nunavut unfold while taking the opportunity to perform at home and abroad. “We’ve been to Iqaluit, I think, three or four times now,” said Christian Elsner, lead guitarist and vocalist for Nanook, speaking in the backroom of Atlantic Music Shop, his music store in downtown Nuuk. Elsner and his brother performed acoustically at the Alianait Arts Festival in Iqaluit after being invited for Nunavut Day on July 9. “Six years ago we were there for the second time. Just acoustic. Some of the [other] band members couldn’t go, but we went anyway, my brother Frederik and I. It was very good....
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