Manito Ahbee a chance to be immersed in Indigenous culture
By Dave Baxter Local Journalism Initiative Reporter An annual celebration of Indigenous culture kicked off in Winnipeg on Thursday, and organizers say they are hoping to see both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people come to the Red River Ex grounds this long weekend and immerse themselves in that culture. “This year’s lineup is truly a reflection of the best of Indigenous culture, arts, and music,” Manito Ahbee Festival executive director Lisa Meeches said on Thursday. “We hope everyone will take the chance to come and immerse themselves in the beauty of everything Indigenous at this year’s festival and beyond.” According to Meeches, this year’s Manito Ahbee Festival, which kicked off Thursday and runs until Monday, will feature both long-running and some brand-new events and activities. Events over the weekend include the...
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Northern Ontario First Nation gathers in Toronto to launch land theft case
Deputy Grand Chief Travis Boissoneau, left to right, Knowledge Keeper Darrell Boissoneau, Chief Andy Rickard, of the Garden River First Nation, walk through the Ontario Legislature with NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa, to bring their historical land claim to Queen’s Park in Toronto on Thursday May 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young By Liam Casey THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO- Dozens of members of an Ontario First Nation gathered in Toronto on Thursday as part of their efforts to reclaim their land and prized possessions. Ojibways of Garden River First NationKetegaunseebee beat their drums in a show of strength as they entered Queen’s Park after filing a lawsuit against the province and the federal government alleging a large swath of their land was stolen. The First Nation’s leadership then surprised their Elders...
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Metis firefighter seriously injured as wildland fires rage through the province
By Shari Narine Local Journalism Initiative Reporter An Indigenous wildland firefighter is in the University of Alberta Hospital with serious injuries. Frankie Payou was injured on Sunday after a burned tree he was cutting with a chainsaw fell on him. He was involved with firefighting in his home community of East Prairie Metis Settlement in northern Alberta. According to updated information posted May 15 by Jessica Supernault for a GoFundMe campaign, Payou was airlifted to the Edmonton hospital. He remains in a coma in the ICU with bleeding in his brain, broken ribs, and liver and kidney damage. Supernault, who is Payou’s girlfriend’s cousin, initially started the GoFundMe because the family, who has three children with a fourth on the way, had lost their home on the settlement. About 40...
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Saskatchewan police chief retires after report finds neglect of duty in child death
PRINCE ALBERT, Sask.- A Saskatchewan police chief says he is retiring after a report found officers who responded to a domestic violence call didn’t check on the well-being of a toddler in the hours before the child was killed. Chief Jonathan Bergen of the Prince Albert Police Service issued a statement Thursday saying the move is in the best interest of the department and the city. Bergen said he has always held himself accountable for his decisions and been open to scrutiny. “What I did not expect from my service and the community I trust and value, is the level of aggressive personal attack and contrived character assassination of me and my leadership team, and the cruel and misdirected emotional assault on my family, orchestrated by a select few “Largely...
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Parks Canada plans major rewrite of more than 200 historic site plaques
By Bob Weber THE CANADIAN PRESS EDMONTON- They’re affixed to old buildings where someone important used to live. Or they’re mounted on a rock overlooking somewhere where something once happened. Cast in bronze or lettered on a sign, they’re sometimes the only history lesson many of us ever get. And now Parks Canada wants hundreds of them changed. “The way that many of the national historic designations are framed and positioned does not do justice to the breadth of impacts that they had on Canadian society,” said Pat Kell, the agency’s director of heritage. Parks is in the middle of a three-year program to re-examine and rewrite the plaques that the Historic Sites and Monuments Board use to point out places deemed important to understanding Canada’s past. Sites slated for...
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OPPP warn public after extortion attempt made when explicit video shared on line
HALDIMAND COUNTY, ON – The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Haldimand County Detachment is warning, and reminding, the public to be extremely careful when sharing images and videos over the internet after a Haldimand County resident met an unknown person on line and after sharing an explicit video with the individual an extortion attempt was made. Haldimand County OPP said they were contacted at about 2:17 a.m. Wednesday, May 17, 2023 by a resident reporting an extortion. OPP said a Haldimand County resident had met an unknown individual online and they began to correspond. OPP said while conversing online, an explicit video was shared with this unknown individual. OPP said the victim was then contacted by the same person who had downloaded the video to the internet and demanded money be...
Hamilton going to court to block HDI intervention in Chedoke Creek clean-up
By Lisa Iesse Writer HAMILTON – The City of Hamilton is heading to court next month pressing an ultimatum asking Ontario to block the Haudenosaunee Development Institute’s (HDI) intervention in the Chedoke Creek clean-up. The city’s new court hearing, wants Ontario to force the HDI out of the environmental consultations. The city plans to present the court with an ultimatum to exclude HDI or to extend the Chedoke Creek clean-up deadline again. Tim Gilbert, HDI’s lawyer, has said the city’s moves are unnecessary. “The Haudenosaunee people will exercise their treaty rights but will not block access to the site, prevent any dredging work, nor cause a work stoppage,” he said in a new letter to the city and the province. In the letter, HDI questioned the city’s application for a...
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Judge signals hesitance to shut down pipeline, pleads with Wisconsin tribe to work with oil company
By Harm Venhuizen THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MADISON, Wis. (AP)- A federal judge signaled Thursday he will not force an energy company to shut down an oil pipeline in northern Wisconsin, deSpite arguments from a Nativ* American tribe that the line is at immediate risk of being exposed by erosion and rupturing on reservation land. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa asked U.S. District Judge William Conley last week to issue an emergency ruling forcing Enbridge to shut down the Line 5 pipeline after large chunks of riverbank running alongside it were washed away. But Conley voiced frustration with the tribe at Thursday’s hearing for not allowing Enbridge to reinforce the land around the pipeline. “The band has not helped itself by refusing to take any steps to prevent...
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Police officers neglected duty in Saskatchewan toddler’s death: complaints commission
By Kelly Geraldine Malone in Saskatoon PRINCE ALBERT, Sask.- An investigation has found that officers who responded to a domestic violence call in Saskatchewan didn’t check on the well-being of a toddler and instead took the Indigenous mother to a police station in the hours before the child was killed. The Public Complaints Commission report into last year’s death of 13-month-old Tanner Brass says two Prince AlbertPolice Serviceofficers neglected their duty. The boy’s father, Kaij Brass, has been charged with second-degree murder and his trial is scheduled for next year. “The circumstances on the morning of Feb. 10, 2022, amount to a tragic and potentially avoidable incident,” the report found. “(Tanner) was, at all relevant times, vulnerable and in danger while inside the residence with (his father).” Kyla Frenchman, the...
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Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation endorses Sparks’ bid for Ottawa Senators
MANIWAKI, Que.- A Quebec First Nation community has confirmed it is endorsing one of the bidders involved in the sale of the Ottawa Senators Chief Dylan Whiteduck of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation said in a statement released Wednesday evening that while multiple bidders for the NHL franchise reached out, none were more proactive than the lead investors behind Los Angeles-based businessman Neko Sparks’ group. The statement says the opportunity represents a generational opportunity to secure meaningful economic, social and cultural reconciliation, and the First Nation says it has signed a non-disclosure agreement to determine the scale and structure of the investment with the community. The community said in a statement that while further consultation was necessary, the chief and council wanted to address the speculation about Indigenous involvement...
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Criminal cases for killing eagles decline as wind turbine dangers grow
By Matthew Brown And Camille Fassett THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ROLLING HILLS, Wyo. (AP)- Criminal cases brought by U.S. wildlife officials for killing or harming protected bald and golden eagles dropped sharply in recent years, even as officials ramped up issuing permits that will allow wind energy companies to kill thousands of eagles without legal consequence. The falloff in enforcement of eagle protection laws, which accelerated in the Trump administration and has continued under President Joe Biden, was revealed in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data obtained by The Associated Press. It comes amid growing concern that a proliferation of wind turbines to feed a growing demand for renewable energy is jeopardizing golden eagle populations already believed to be declining in some areas. Dozens of permits approved or pending would allow roughly...
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Delisle hopeful renewed talks on SSSL land claim will resolve impasse
By Marc Lalonde Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A new federal policy of resolving land disputes with First Nations communities by returning land to those nations instead of just compensating them with cash has given the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake hope that renewed negotiations over the Seigneury Sault St. Louis land dispute might finally come to an end. “We have a renewed hope and spirit that would also happen here in Kahnawake,” said MCK Chief Mike Delisle, who sits on the External Government Relations and the Indigenous Rights and Research committees. “Canada has changed its approach to land disputes and we have seen where Canada is giving land back instead of just money, Canada has changed its position and our hope is a renewed mandate.” Talks with the government have re-opened...
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Chiefs push for Prairie Green landfill search
By Marc Lalonde Local Journalism Initiative Reporter First Nations chiefs in Manitoba continue to push for a complete search of the Prairie Green landfill in Winnipeg in an effort to turn up the remains of a pair of Indigenous women who are believed to be buried there. Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Cathy Merrick said last week that the government needs to push forward on the search for the bodies of Morgan Harris and Mercedes Myran and that choosing not to so because of the potential price tag would be tantamount to saying Indigenous lives just don’t matter. “If a search is not carried out it will demonstrate to all nations across Canada that this government condones the despairing act of disposing of First Nation women in landfills,” Merrick...
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Tsleil Waututh, Squamish and Musqueam flags to permanently fly at Stanley Park
By Mina Kerr-Lazenby Local Journalism Initiative Reporter If there were to be such a thing as perfect flag-hoisting weather conditions, it would be those spotted on Tuesday afternoon at Stanley Park as flags representing the Tsleil-Waututh, S?wx?wu7mesh ?xwumixw (Squamish Nation) and Musqueam Nations were raised. The sky, bright blue and cloudless, set a stark backdrop to the three primarily white flags. The wind, nothing more than a light whisper of a breeze, was just enough to have them billowing, their First Nations designs fully displayed to the crowd that had amassed below. Representatives from the three Nations were joined by members of the Vancouver Park Board and a radiant flock of their friends and family members in welcoming the flags to spap?y??q Pa?piy?ek?, Stanley Park’s Brockton Point. It marked the...
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CAP’s exclusion from reconciliation committee `heartless’ on government’s part
By Marc Lalonde Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The continued exclusion of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) from a proposed federal Reconciliation Council just shows the government is out of touch from reality of life in Canada’s cities, CAP’s national vice-chief said yesterday. Now, CAP is calling on the Senate to step in. “It should be up to Indigenous people to decide who sits on the Reconciliation Council and who doesn’t,” said CAP national vice-chief Kim Beaudin. “Not the government. This government is making a decision about who they want to include and not include and they have indicated they don’t have any interest in the 80 percent of Indigenous people who live off-reserve.” CAP is calling on the Senate to ensure all Indigenous Peoples are included in the planned Reconciliation...
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Battling burnout and isolation, Labrador groups unite to tackle sexual violence
By Sarah Smellie THE CANADIAN PRESS HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY, N.L.- As burnout and high turnover plague groups that work to combat violence against women across Canada, community organizations in Labrador are trying to buck the trend. They have begun holding regular meetings in an effort to ease the emotional strain of working alone in far-flung communities, in a region with unique challenges and high rates of sexual assault. The effort has resulted in higher spirits, more hope and plans for a new counselling centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, N.L. “This is kind of like the aftercare that we all need as service providers,” said Nicole Dicker, who runs Nain Safe House, the women’s shelter in the community of about 1,100 people on Labrador’s north coast. “We can be alone together.”...
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Canada and U.S. team up to tackle nuclear waste
By Matteo Cimellaro Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The organization responsible for managing Canada’s nuclear waste and the U.S. Department of Energy have pledged to work together on the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel. On May 16, the U.S. Department of Energy and Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) signed a joint statement of intent in Washington, D.C. A key tenet of the agreement is “robust information-sharing” when it comes to science and technology programs, joint technical studies and best practices on managing used nuclear fuels, including from small modular reactors. Both countries recently highlighted the prominent role they want nuclear power to fill in terms of addressing climate change and global energy security issues exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While some governments and advocates tout nuclear power as...
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Alberta wildfires continue impact on Indigenous communities
By Jeremy Appel Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Almost a third of the 23 wildfires of note categorized by the Alberta government impact First Nations and Metis communities in Alberta. The data below was taken from the Alberta government’s wildfire dashboard and media reports. Indigenous Services Canada hasn’t provided an update on the wildfires’ impact since May 10. Early in the morning of May 16, the Alberta government issued an evacuation order for Peavine Metis Settlement, which has a 65,000-hectare fire burning out of control nearby. Almost 1,000 people live in the settlement located near High Prairie. Neighbouring Gift Lake Metis Settlement isn’t under evacuation order. A 69,074-hectare wildfire is classified as out of control near East Prairie Metis Settlement, with 300 residents evacuated last week after the fire destroyed 27...
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Seneca Nation approves school’s ‘Warrior’ nickname, logo
By Carolyn Thompson THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SALAMANCA, N.Y. (AP)- Leaders of the Seneca Indian Nation will allow a public school district located on their land to continue using its Warrior nickname and logo despite New York’s ban on schools’ use of Indigenous imagery, officials said Wednesday. In giving approval, Seneca Nation President Rickey Armstrong Sr. said the Salamanca school district represented “the most unique of circumstances” because of its location on the nation’s Allegany Territory, and large percentages of Native American students and staff. Last month, the New York Board of Regents prohibited public school districts from using Indigenous nicknames and mascots, but included an exception for districts that receive written approval from a federally recognized tribal nation in New York. Salamanca is the only U.S. city built on land leased...
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Flood warning for part of northwest B.C., other rivers rising as heat grips province
VANCOUVER- A flood watch covered the Skeena region of northwestern British Columbia Tuesday as unseasonably warm temperatures swelled rivers in many areas of the province. B.C.’s River Forecast Centre posted the warning for the Skeena and Bulkley rivers and their tributaries across Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan territories, as well as from Telkwa to Terrace. The rising waters prompted the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine to issue an evacuation order for most properties in the small settlements of Old Remo and New Remo on opposite sides of the Skeena river just west of Terrace. Flooding on the Skeena River could reach a 20-year high as early as Wednesday, the River Forecast Centre said. The ongoing hot weather is accelerating snowmelt across most of B.C., it said, estimating that the Bulkley River near Smithers...
