First Nations chief leading charge to reverse Etsy ban
By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com Chief Jenny Brake of Qalipu First Nation in Newfoundland and Labrador is hoping there is still time for the globally popular marketplace Etsy to reverse an upcoming ban. Brake is spearheading a call for the suspension of an Etsy decision that would ban the sale of natural fur products from its site effective Aug. 11. Brake was hoping to introduce a resolution at the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Annual General Assembly to advocate for the reversal or suspension of the ban. But the resolution, among others, did not make it to the floor due to time constraints at the three-day assembly, which concluded July 16 in Ottawa. Brake is now hoping the AFN passes the resolution at an upcoming meeting of...
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Canada’s aerial firefighting system is too slow, and front-line communities are paying the cost
By John Gradek Recently, as hundreds of fires burned across Northern Ontario and smoke pushed Toronto’s air quality to among the worst on the planet, Canada’s minister of emergency management defended Ottawa’s response and said, in effect, that nothing went wrong. In the same news cycle, Ontario’s minister of emergency preparedness sent a letter asking the federal government to guarantee that aircraft and crews could be deployed on less than 24 hours’ notice. However, a request for pre-agreed 24-hour readiness is, by definition, evidence that such readiness does not currently exist. You don’t ask for something you already have. In early June, I wrote in The Conversation Canada that Canada’s decision to lease a fleet of 10 firefighting aircraft for the 2026 wildfire season was a useful beginning but not...
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Indigenous veterans fought for country, but were mistreated after service new book recounts
By Shari Narine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Lynn Gehl was in her thirties when she finally started to learn the story of her great-grandfather Joseph Gagnon from Golden Lake Reserve (now known as Pikwakanagan First Nation) in Ontario. In Joseph Gagnon: An Algonquin World War 1 Veteran, Gehl outlines the way her great-grandfather suffered from discrimination when it came to Canada’s implementation of policies for Indigenous veterans. “I reconnected with my grandmother and her brother Gordon, and they told me where (Joseph) was buried and they told me that he didn’t have a gravestone,” said Gehl. In accordance with the Last Post Fund, which has been in place since 1909, no veteran is to be denied a “dignified funeral and burial, as well as a military gravestone, due to insufficient...
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Aerial photos show devastation of Ontario First Nation as wildfires burn across north
By Kathryn Mannie Aerial photographs taken above Namaygoosisagagun First Nation show the devastation wrought by a fast-moving wildfire that forced residents to flee last week as flames closed in on their northern Ontario community. The photos show scorched earth and debris where buildings once stood, and the charred remnants of trees. Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige said last week that more than 30 homes, a school and community centres were reduced to ashes as Namaygoosisagagun, also known as Collins First Nation, was swallowed by fire. The residents fled without help from the province. Dramatic photos and videos of their evacuation showed people escaping on boats as a huge wall of smoke and flames rose behind them. “My members barely escaped with the clothes on their backs. My community...
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B.C. murder suspect acquitted, confession tossed for ‘degrading’ police treatment
By Darryl Greer A British Columbia man accused of murdering his common-law wife has been acquitted after a judge threw out a confession she says was tainted by the suspect’s “degrading and humiliating” treatment by police. The judge found homicide investigators forced Frederick Charlie, an Indigenous man, to change clothes in front of officers who knew he wasn’t wearing underwear and placed him in a cell with an undercover officer who deliberately urinated on himself in front of Charlie. Charlie’s subsequent statements to police about the April 2024 killing of Vanessa Terry near Agassiz, B.C., were ruled inadmissible by the judge earlier this month, and the ruling was released on Wednesday. The B.C. Prosecution Service said Charlie was found not guilty on Monday in his...
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Grey Highlands narrowly approves creation of Indigenous land acknowledgement
By Chris Fell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, CollingwoodToday.ca By the narrowest of margins, Grey Highlands council has approved starting the process to create an Indigenous land acknowledgement for the municipality. At its meeting on July 22, council approved a resolution brought forward by Coun. Nadia Dubyk that directed staff to consult with local Indigenous community groups to develop a formal land acknowledgement to be read at meetings and events. The resolution turned out to be a controversial topic that generated a 30-minute discussion and was barely approved in a 4-3 vote with Dubyk, Deputy Mayor Dane Nielsen and Councillors Joel Loughead and Tom Allwood in favour. Mayor Paul McQueen and Councillors Paul Allen and Dan Wickens voted against. Land acknowledgements are a formal statement...
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Siksika Nation expresses concerns over lack of consultation regarding potential data centre
By John Watson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Strathmore Times Chief Sam Crowfoot of Siksika Nation is expressing concern and dissent over the handling of Diode Venture’s proposed data centre for construction in Wheatland County. He explained that despite promises to do so, Siksika Nation has not been formally engaged in the discussion yet, and though the proposed data centre is off reserve, it is still within traditional territory, and their realm of concern. “I know they (Wheatland County) are following their own processes on their own schedule and own timeline, but we need to make sure that we are not left behind in these discussions … we want to make sure that any type of development in the area is sustainable,” he said. Crowfoot emphasized the realities and challenges of...
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Manitoba Premier Kinew ‘willing to entertain’ Alberta to Ontario pipeline
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Wednesday he’s open to a west-east pipeline being pitched by his counterparts in Alberta and Ontario. Kinew, speaking to reporters at a meeting of premiers in Charlottetown, said the pipeline could make Canada stronger and that there are workers in his province who would be eager to help build it. “I love Alberta, I love Albertans, so (I’m) willing to entertain the idea,” he said. The pipeline proposal was announced earlier this month by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario Premier Doug Ford. The line would stretch 3,300 kilometres from Hardisty, Alta., to refineries in Sarnia, Ont., going through Saskatchewan and Manitoba and not crossing into the U.S. Smith and Ford have said it would move 500,000 barrels of crude per day and reduce Canada’s...
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How Kelsey Olsen Built Michif Makers Into a Home for Métis Artists
By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News What began as a practical way to pay off a car loan has grown into a thriving collective where Métis artists support one another, share their culture, and create opportunities for future generations. For Métis artist Kelsey Olsen, the beginnings of Michif Makers were surprisingly ordinary. “I started it because I have a really high loan on my car and I wanted to pay my car off early,” Olsen said. “That’s what started it.” At the time, she was working in a position where she didn’t feel her experience and knowledge were being fairly valued. “I also was working a job where I wasn’t necessarily being paid in the way that I felt was fair for the amount of knowledge...
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Herb Nakimayak elected Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada president
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Herb Nakimayak, from Paulatuk, was elected president of Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) Canada by its 13 leadership members on July 21 in Iqaluit. Nakimayak, who has served as interim president since September 2025, received 11 votes to defeat challenger Kilikvak Kabloona, who garnered two votes. Nakimayak is expected to serve as president until the next scheduled election in 2030. ICC Canada is the Canadian chapter of the international organization representing Inuit, which includes peoples in Russia (Chukotka), Alaska, the Northwest Territories (Inuvialuit), Nunavut, Northern Quebec (Nunavik), Labrador (Nunatsiavut) and Greenland. Nakimayak said he won the election by managing the organization through a turbulent period when the Arctic was becoming a global flashpoint. “The way the geopolitics are in this world,...
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Officials say 180 fires continue to burn in northern Ontario
Officials with Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources put the active number of wildfires burning in the north at 180, with seven new blazes sparked yesterday. Aerial photographs have shown the devastation in one northern Ontario First Nation as a wildfire tore through the region last week. The photos show scorched earth and debris where buildings once stood in Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also known as Collins First Nation, whose residents fled without help from the province. First Nations leaders have said the Ontario government left communities to fend for themselves without timely support for evacuations, and are calling for a public inquiry into the provincial response to the wildfires that continue to devastate swaths of forest. Earlier this week, Premier Doug Ford said his government did everything it could to respond...
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Six Nations man facing charges after colliding with police vehicle
By Alex Murray Writer SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER-The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has laid eight charges on a Six Nations man after being requested to investigate an incident at Six Nations of the Grand River. At around 3 p.m. on Tuesday (July 21) Six Nations Police (SNP) tried to stop a vehicle near the intersection of Sixth Line and Onondaga Road after receiving a driving complaint. The vehicle fled the area but was subsequently located on River Range Road where it hit a police vehicle, leading a SNP police officer to discharge their firearm. The automobile collided with several other police vehicles as it continued its attempt to flee, ultimately entering a ditch. The driver, a 29-year-old from Six Nations named Brady Longboat, was taken into custody by...
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Manitoba Premier Kinew ‘willing to entertain’ Alberta to Ontario pipeline
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Wednesday he’s open to a west-east pipeline being pitched by his counterparts in Alberta and Ontario. Kinew, speaking to reporters at a meeting of premiers in Charlottetown, said the pipeline could make Canada stronger and that there are workers in his province who would be eager to help build it. “I love Alberta, I love Albertans, so (I’m) willing to entertain the idea,” he said. The pipeline proposal was announced earlier this month by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario Premier Doug Ford. The line would stretch 3,300 kilometres from Hardisty, Alta., to refineries in Sarnia, Ont., going through Saskatchewan and Manitoba and not crossing into the U.S. Smith and Ford have said it would move 500,000 barrels of crude per day and reduce Canada’s...
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Over 100 people took to the Rainbow Bridge this past weekend
Over 100 people took to the Rainbow Bridge this past weekend to mark 99 years of Haudenosaunee border crossing rights. The 1794 Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain marks Indigenous rights to freely cross their international border. (Supplied Photo) By Alex Murray Writer With Canada-U.S. relations at a low ebb and U.S. President Donald Trump threatening more sanctions related to the wildfires in Ontario, for Haudenosaunee celebrating the Jay Treaty Border Crossing is more important now than ever. For the past 98 years, Indigenous people and allies have come together on the international Rainbow Bridge connecting the Canadian and American cities of Niagara Falls on the third Saturday in July to celebrate the Jay Treaty signed in 1794. This year’s event was held on July 18,...
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AFN Blasts Federal Response to Namaygoosisagagun Wildfire Crisis: “Absolutely Ridiculous & Disgusting”
By Alex Murray Writer The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) tabled an emergency resolution on the ongoing wildfire crisis in northern Ontario on Thursday (July 16). The resolution, titled “Support for Namaygoosisagagun First Nation,” called on the federal government to provide immediate support and commit to rebuild homes and infrastructure in the First Nation that has been one of the hardest hit by the wildfires in the area. Residents of Namaygoosisagagun, also known as Collins First Nation, fled in boats across Collins Lake as the wildfire approached last week. Some only had time to bring the clothes on their backs as the flames quickly encroached on the community. Residents said the scene went from smoke to flames in a matter of minutes. The about two dozen community members on the...
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ISC Minister Pushing to curb Second-Generation Cut-Off Legislation
By Alex Murray Writer The Minister for Indigenous Services Canada vowed to get legislation curbing the second-generation cut-off introduced to parliament by year end. Speaking to the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Annual General Assembly Minister Mandy Gull-Masty said she has accelerated ongoing collaborative consultation processes and expects to be done that work by the end of July. She also committed to pushing to introduce the legislation by the end of 2026. Gull-Masty said “we must look beyond the Indian Act” to solve the second-generation cut-off issue. “This process with second generation cut-off, which I want to be very clear, we must end, is actually an exercise that requires us to move beyond tinkering with the Indian Act,” she told the near 4,000 delegates and 400 Chiefs at this year’s...
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National chief slams federal clean water bill at AFN assembly
By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak slammed the federal government’s proposed legislation regarding clean drinking water for First Nations in her opening remarks at the AFN annual general assembly on July 14. Minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty introduced the First Nations Clean Water Act, or Bill C-37, in the House of Commons last month, alongside a $4.6-billion investment in water and wastewater infrastructure. “It’s disappointing that this new bill fails to clearly designate First Nations’ rights to clean water, because no sum of money will distract from the red flags we see in this new clean water bill,” said Nepinak at Ottawa’s Rogers Centre. According to Indigenous Services Canada, there are 38 long-term drinking water...
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AFN: Cost to close Indigenous housing gap could hit $177 billion
By Alex Murray Writer Closing the First Nations housing and infrastructure gap in Canada could cost over $177 billion according to the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Newfoundland Regional Chief. Chief Brendan Mitchell announced the staggering figure to chiefs from across the country during a housing plenary session on Day 2 of the 2026 AFN Annual General Assembly. Mitchell said if something doesn’t change, that number is only going to balloon to an even more enormous number. “My personal view is this: if the gap is $177.1 billion today, which represents this much space, by 2040 our gap is going to be this wide,” Mitchell said as he spread his hands as far apart as he could to illustrate his point. “We’re not doing enough about it fast enough to...
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Six Nations needs to update housing data, over half the population forced to live off reserve
Six Nations is questioning the federal government’s growing focus on off-reserve housing as communities continue to struggle with housing shortages while billions of dollars are being directed elsewhere. Councillor Helen Miller, who has sat on housing committees at various government levels for more than decade, toldSix Nations Elected Council (SNEC) as much as half the community’s population is living off reserve. Councillor Miller update SNEC on her work with the newly established First Nations Off-Reserve Housing Centre. She told SNEC’s July 14th meeting an Ontario-based organization has been created to administer $1.4 billion in funding for off-reserve Indigenous housing projects throughout the province. Miller said the organization has already established its board, bylaws, terms of reference and governance structure, with funding applications for “shovel-ready” projects expected to begin this fall....
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Six Nations donates to fire stricken communities
By Alex Murray Writer Apart from a few days of hazy air and an orange air quality warning from Environment Canada, Six Nations of the Grand River hasn’t felt the physical effects of the dozens of wildfires raging across Ontario like other First Nations communities have. But that doesn’t mean the community isn’t feeling empathy and sympathy for their First Nations brothers and sisters that have had to evacuate themselves without government help as wildfires bear down on their communities. To support all those flooding down from the northwest, where most of the near 200 wildfires blazing in Ontario are located, Six Nations community members came together to organize a donation drive to deliver donations to the evacuees. “We’re deeply saddened by the news of the huge loss the Northern...
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