Man who held himself out as Native American activist sentenced to 46 years for serial rapes
By Martha Bellisle SEATTLE (AP) — A man who held himself out as a Native American activist was sentenced Wednesday to 46 years in prison for drugging and raping women in a case that inspired calls for changes in Washington state law to prohibit defendants who represent themselves from directly questioning their accusers. Redwolf Pope, who had apartments in Seattle and Santa Fe, New Mexico, was arrested in 2018 after guests at his Seattle apartment gave police videos from his iPad that showed him raping several women who appeared to be unconscious, court documents said. Police also found a secret camera in Pope’s bathroom that was used to capture video of women in the shower. “I’ve had the horror of witnessing the scale of violence Pope inflicted on multiple women...
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West Moberly First Nations seeks delegates for annual youth leadership conference
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca MOBERLY LAKE, B.C. — A northeast B.C. First Nation is urging the youth voices in its community to express interest in an annual Indigenous youth leadership event. The Gathering Our Voices conference is an annual showcase seeking to “provide Indigenous youth with the tools to empower and inspire,” both in their communities and the world, according to the event’s website. West Moberly First Nations (WMFN) issued a Facebook post on Tuesday, January 6th encouraging its members between the ages of 14 and 24 to submit letters of interest for their delegation. Brittany Knott is the recreation coordinator for WMFN, and says candidates will benefit from the experience. “It shows all our youth what amazing opportunities there are out there,” said Knott. “Not...
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First Nations chiefs alarmed by feds’ lack of commitment to protecting source water
By Alessia Passafiume Some First Nations chiefs say Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty’s recent refusal to commit to source water protections in a promised clean water bill shows the government is sidelining the health of Indigenous communities in its push to build up the economy. Two provinces — Alberta and Ontario — objected to clean water legislation introduced by former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government that failed to pass before Parliament was prorogued last year. Gull-Masty said last summer she was committed to reintroducing the bill. The minister vowed at the time the legislation would affirm First Nations’ human right to clean drinking water. She did not explain how that might work after the passage of legislation in June that speeds up the approval timeline for major infrastructure projects and...
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Kashechewan First Nation planning evacuation after water system failure
By Cassidy McMackon A remote First Nation in northern Ontario says it is looking to evacuate the entire community in the coming days due to multiple failures in its water supply and wastewater systems. Kashechewan First Nation, a fly-in community on the western shore of James Bay, says its water level has significantly dropped, triggering an automatic shutdown to avoid damages to an already fragile system. A news release adds the community has been plagued with pump failures in the sewage lift stations due to an overworked system that is now more than 30 years old. It says the situation is causing an urgent public health and safety problem, as sewage is creeping into people’s homes and contaminating fresh water systems. The community does not have a timeline for when...
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Ex-Listuguj police officer faces charges after Quebec police watchdog investigation
A former officer with the Listuguj Police Department is facing criminal charges following an investigation by Quebec’s police watchdog. Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes says Cass Barnaby is facing charges of extortion, non-consensual publication of intimate images, and harassing communications. The charges are related to alleged offences in 2024 in the Mi’kmaq community of Listuguj, a First Nation on the Gaspé Peninsula near the border with New Brunswick. The watchdog says Barnaby was arrested in early December and appeared in court in Carleton-sur-Mer, Que., on Dec. 18. It says 38 peace officers have been arrested after investigations by the watchdog since the agency was created in 2016. The agency investigates serious incidents involving police officers in the province. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2026....
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Indigenous businesses ‘stabilizer’ of economy
By Sandi Krasowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal The Indigenous business landscape in Northwestern Ontario has seen a year of business formation and diversification, which is moving beyond the traditional resource service model. Jason Rasevych, president and founder of Anishnawbe Business Professional Association (ABPA), said 2025 was a year of qualitative growth with a surge in technical trades, creative arts and professional services. There were success stories of small operations growing to secure major government contracts and newly established retail hubs for Indigenous culture. Attawapiskat First Nation, for instance, now supports 12 local businesses. “The release of the Indigenous Economic Impact Analysis confirmed that Indigenous spending and business now contribute $1.55 billion annually to the Thunder Bay economy,” Rasevych said. “The data is now undeniable — Indigenous business is...
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Fitness program has roots in Indigenous teachings
By Emily Plihal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, South Peace News It’s the new year and it’s time to kickstart healthy habits to ensure your body is in tip-top shape for health and vitality. Women from Peace River and surrounding areas are being urged to participate in a free fitness and nutrition program for women tentatively to start on Jan. 26 and running for 15 weeks. Makoyoh’sokoi (Blackfoot word for Wolf Trail) will be a 15-week holistic wellness program that will include Indigenous cultural and spiritual foundations. “It’s a great chance to learn about health and to participate in different activities to get people moving,” says Elder Priscilla Lalonde. “It teaches women how to walk a good life using cultural tools and foundations,” she adds. The program was developed by the...
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Why Greenland is strategically important to Arctic security
By Danica Kirka And Stefanie Dazio Location, location, location: Greenland’s position above the Arctic Circle makes the world’s largest island a key part of security strategy. Increasing international tensions, global warming and the changing world economy have put Greenland at the heart of the debate over global trade and security, and U.S. President Donald Trump wants to make sure his country controls the mineral-rich island that guards the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America. Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally that has rejected Trump’s overtures. Greenland’s own government also opposes U.S. designs on the island, saying the people of Greenland will decide their own future. The island, 80% of which lies above the Arctic Circle, is home to about 56,000 mostly Inuit people...
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Fulmer says B.C. Conservatives must be a grand coalition as he enters leadership race
By Wolfgang Depner Yuri Fulmer said the Conservative Party of B.C. needs to be a “grand coalition” that refrains from “undisciplined” behaviour if it wants to govern, as he becomes the first high-profile candidate to run for the party’s leadership. Fulmer, the chancellor of Capilano University who made his fortune with fast food franchises, said that means that the Conservatives have to “welcome a lot of people” into the party who don’t feel comfortable there now — including former B.C. Liberals. “Let me be very clear,” he said in an interview. “I’m running to be the leader of the B.C. Conservatives. I am a Conservative. What I will do, though, is welcome into the Conservative tent people who are conservatively minded, and they may have called themselves B.C. Liberals in...
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Federal, provincial leaders visit First Nation in Manitoba hit by power outage
By Brittany Hobson Federal, provincial and Indigenous leaders are meeting with the chief of a beleaguered First Nation crippled by a frozen water system due to a days-long power outage. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak are part of the delegation visiting Pimicikamak Cree Nation today to survey damage that has prompted the community to declare a state of emergency. Damage to critical infrastructure has forced thousands out from the nation, about 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg, with no timeline on when they can return. Chief David Monias has said it’s unclear how many of the more than 1,300 homes in the community have been affected by pipes bursting and sewage seeping in because there...
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‘Bombarded’: Number of large projects worries First Nations group chair
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com GRASSY NARROWS — The chair of a group of six First Nations says the latest step for a proposed nuclear waste site is yet another cause for concern. Rudy Turtle, with the Land Defence Alliance, says it’s the newest bit of news that’s worrying Indigenous communities concerned about the environment and the long-term future of the lands and water in northern Ontario. “We’re just surrounded by resource development and this is a difficult fight we’re facing,” he told Newswatch in a phone interview. “There’s mining north of us here in Red Lake, and there’s more mining coming in.” “It won’t be long.” The alliance consists of representatives from Grassy Narrows, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Muskrat Dam, Neskantaga, Onigaming and Wapekeka. Turtle is a former...
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First Nations chiefs alarmed by feds’ lack of commitment to protecting source water
By Alessia Passafiume Some First Nations chiefs say Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty’s recent refusal to commit to source water protections in a promised clean water bill shows the government is sidelining the health of Indigenous communities in its push to build up the economy. Two provinces — Alberta and Ontario — objected to clean water legislation introduced by former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government that failed to pass before Parliament was prorogued last year. Gull-Masty said last summer she was committed to reintroducing the bill. The minister vowed at the time the legislation would affirm First Nations’ human right to clean drinking water. She did not explain how that might work after the passage of legislation in June that speeds up the approval timeline for major infrastructure projects and...
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‘We were kind of duped’ on New Brunswick mine, says Indigenous leader
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Daily Gleaner The deal is so old, the references to “Maliseet Nation” seem from a different era. In January 2017, New Brunswick’s provincial government and the six chiefs of what is now called the Wolastoqey Nation signed an accommodation agreement for the proposed Sisson Mine — a project that has barely inched ahead over the last nine years. Two of those chiefs have been replaced, and New Brunswick has had its third premier since then. On top of that, Wolastoqiyik people no longer accept the term Maliseet, a word from the neighbouring Mi’kmaq people that pokes fun of the way they speak. Nevertheless, the eight-page agreement is being dusted off. Prime Minister Mark Carney has cited the Sisson Mine about 100 kilometres...
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Meet Six Nations’ first baby of 2026!
Six Nations’ First Baby of the year is a girl! By Lynda Powless Editor Meet Six Nations’ first citizen of 2026… little Georgia Thomas! Georgia is the daughter of Rory Thomas and Eilaya General and was born at Brantford General Hospital Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026 at 9:08 a.m. Eilaya says while everything went well with the birth it was both an exciting and nervous time for the young couple. “I woke up at 3 a.m. with contractions,” she said from her hospital bed at Brantford General. “I didn’t know at first that I was even having contractions,” she says laughing. Eilaya, and a very nervous Rory, went to the hospital at about 8 a.m. Dec 31st and despite the nerves said everything went well. “I was pretty nervous,” Rory said....
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Gull-Masty reflects on first months of job Indigenous leaders were wary of her taking
By Alessia Passafiume When Mandy Gull-Masty took up the role of Indigenous services minister last spring, one question loomed over her appointment: why would a Cree woman want to administer the Indian Act, when another First Nations woman before her turned down the role? Gull-Masty was named to the cabinet job in May after being elected as a member of Parliament for the first time in April. She told The Canadian Press she was willing “to take the risk” even as some said the government was “setting (her) up for failure.” Others, she said, pointed to a pathway she can help create for the people she once worked alongside, and make progress on the files she knows intimately: clean drinking water, housing and child welfare. “I’ve had the opportunity to...
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A Year-End look at Six Nations 2025
January 1 Gilbert Seth, a retiree, and Christopher Seth won $900,000 in The Bigger Spin Instant game. January 6 KPMG Auditors said the 2024 Six Nations audit was late in the year. because of staff turnover and a lack of resources at Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) January 13 Black mould continued to plague Six Nations’s buildings and homes.SNEC passed a motion to host a public meeting to address issues with the community. January 27 Six Nations Police and fire fighters began investigating the cause of a fire that gutted the Burger Barn, a popular local restaurant. The Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal called it a “suspicious” blaze. The fire came just days after shots were fired into the building. February 5 A measles outbreak near Six Nations promptedhealth...
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2026 has begun..with a closed meeting
A new year is underway with a Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) that spent an entire five minutes in an open session dealing with the community’s business. Five minutes. We counted! After a five- minute open finance community session Monday, Jan. 5th, to approve an Indigenous Services Canada funding item they shut down, going into a closed session. A move that has become almost a hallmark of the current council and an expensive one for the community. SNEC’s 2024-2025 year alone saw the council earning a total of $934,939 of the community’s money on their various expenses from travel to Life and Health insurance costs and honoraria for attending meetings…some only five minutes long, before closing shop and going into a what amounts to a private session to deal with...
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Today in History
January 4 In 2007, the Anglican Church of Canada introduced Mark MacDonald as its first indigenous bishop. In 2022, Ottawa officially announced it had reached an agreement in principle with First Nations partners to compensate children harmed by its underfunding of child welfare. The federal Liberal government said that of the $40 billion earmarked to resolve the matter, $20 billion would be designated for compensation and the rest would be spent on reforming the system over five years. In 2023, Canada marked the first National Ribbon Skirt Day, after a bill to recognize the event every Jan. 4 passed in Parliament late the previous year. It was inspired by a 10-year-old girl who wore a ribbon skirt to her rural Saskatchewan school in December 2020. Isabella Kulak wore the colourful...
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UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY: Mike Was A Beacon Of Love And Friendship
By Xavier Kataquapit www.underthenorthernsky.com I lost the love of my life Michael McGrath this past Sunday December 28, 2025. He was a bright light that shone for so many people in our families but also in a circle of friends that seemed to span the world. Mike was born and raised in Iroquois Falls into a grand Irish Canadian family that originated from the Ottawa valley. His mother Emily McGrath imparted in him her kind and gentle spirit and his grandmother Margaret Dunn, whom everyone knew as Granny, guided and influenced his life. Their home was centred around the family piano where Mike and his sister Patty were serenaded from birth by their aunts Celia, Rita, Sara and Tessie. Their family then grew to include Celia’s husband Johnny Mercier; Rita’s...
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Animal Nation series premieres on January 8 on APTN
By Sam Laskaris Writer Jesse Bochner continues to have a passion for nature documentaries. But instead of just watching them now, Bochner, a member of Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation in Manitoba, has helped create what he hopes will become a hit series. Bochner is a writer, director and producer of Animal Nation, a seven-part series that will be aired weekly on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), starting on Jan. 8. “I’ve always loved documentaries,” said Bochner, who is 54 and lives in Montreal. “And as a kid, nature documentaries were definitely one of my favourite things. So, I’ve always been interested and eager to work on an animal nature documentary.” Each episode of Animal Nation is titled after a keynote species. The inaugural episode is titled Bear. Following...
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