Part of First Nation southwest of Edmonton evacuated due to fire
By Angela Amato THE CANADIAN PRESS Wildfire danger has forced the evacuation of part of a First Nation southwest of Edmonton. Corrine Bell with the O’Chiese First Nation Emergency Management Response Team said Wednesday that 103 people have evacuated the northern area of the reserve. One home has been lost and several have smoke damage. “We’re taking advantage of the gap in weather to tend to hot spots,” said Bell, adding the community is hoping the wind won’t change directions. Bell said even O’Chiese Chief Douglas Beaverbones has been involved in the firefighting efforts on the First Nation, located about 230 kilometres southwest of Edmonton. Six nearby First Nations have also offered their fire services to help. “We’ve had an amazing support system from First Nations,” Bell said. An alert...
Evacuee numbers fall in Alberta wildfires as firefighters brace for hot weather
By Ritika Dubey and Angela Amato THE CANADIAN PRESS The number of Alberta wildfire evacuees dropped Wednesday, but thousands remain out of their homes as firefighters braced for hotter, drier conditions in the coming days. Colin Blair, director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, said the number of people out of their homes had fallen to below 18,000 from about 24,000. “Alberta continues to be under a provincial state of emergency,” he said Wednesday. Wildfire danger also forced the evacuation of part of a First Nation southwest of Edmonton. Corrine Bell with the O’Chiese First Nation Emergency Management Response Team said 103 people have been forced to leave the northern area of the reserve. One home has been lost and several have smoke damage. “We’re taking advantage of the gap...
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Six Nations woman named festival director for imagineNATIVE
By Sam Laskaris Writer TORONTO – She’s back. Six Nations’ Lindsay Monture once again finds herself working for one of the world’s most prestigious Indigenous film festivals. Monture has been named as the festival director for the Toronto-based imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival. She began her new position last Monday (May 1). “The position I’m in now is really my dream job,” said Monture, who is 34. For Monture, this is actually the third time she has worked for imagineNATIVE. She started off as a programming co-ordinator for the festival back in May of 2013. After seven months in that position she moved into a job focusing on events and outreach as well as being a tour co-ordinator for the festival. And then after six months she switched again...
Toilet paper reference to Whitecloud an insult to Indigenous people
By Dave Baxter Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Geraldine Shingoose still remembers the jokes and the ridicule she would often face as a child because of her traditional Indigenous name, and that is why she felt sadness and anger after a high-profile sports broadcaster recently ridiculed the last name of a First Nations athlete from Manitoba playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. “I was called goose, people just called me goose, and they thought it was funny, but when you’re just a young kid it really hurts,” Shingoose said. “Even back then I knew they were making fun of my name but they were also making fun of my culture, so they are making you feel ashamed about who you are.” On Monday evening, after the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the...
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Three charged after Six Nations Police seize drugs in traffic stop
OHSWEKEN, ON The Six Nations Police have charged three after conducting a traffic stop on a local taxi resulted in seizure of fentanyl and cocaine. On May 5, 2023, the Six Nations Police conducted a traffic stop on a local taxi vehicle, all of the occupants were arrested without incident. A search of the taxi resulted in the seizure fentanyl, cocaine, currency, drug packaging and cell phones. As a result, police seized approximately $7,000 in illicit drugs. Three people have been charged with the following: Edward Anthony Seery, 43 of Delhi, Ontario with Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking – fentanyl and Possession – cocaine contrary to the Controlled Drug and Substance Act. The accused was also charged with Proceeds of Crime under $5,000 and Breach of Probation (2 counts)...
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‘Not on my watch’: Seamus O’Regan rejects Liberals’ disinformation resolution
OTTAWA- Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan says the Liberal government is keen to tackle the problem of disinformation, but that will not include regulating the use of sources. Members of the federal Liberal party approved a new resolution regarding disinformation that could venture into regulating journalistic practices, but O’Regan says the federal government would never implement it “on his watch.” It calls for fighting the rise of disinformation through efforts that include holding “online information services” accountable for what they publish and barring the use of sources that cannot be traced. O’Regan says the ramifications of such a policy, particularly on freedom of the press, would not be acceptable and as such the policy is never going to happen. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also dismissed the resolution, but there is some...
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Brantford Police seeking public’s help in identifying suspect in hate-motivated incident
BRANTFORD, ONT-The Brantford Police Service are continuing to investigate a report of a hate-motivated incident and are asking the public for help in identifing the suspect. Police said on Sunday, May 7, 2022, at approximately 11:00 A.M., Brantford Police responded to a an assault and threats leveled against a man near Brant’s Crossing Riverfront Park on Icomm Drive. Police said a man on a dirt bike was driving recklessly in the area when he became involved in a verbal dispute with the victim. Police said they were told racially charged threats of death were made towards the victim. Police said they were also told the accused damaged the victim’s bicycle. Before fleeing the area, police said the accused was reported to have used his dirt bike to spin the back...
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OPP charge driver with impaired driving
HALDIMAND COUNTY, ON – On Monday, May 8, 2023, at approximately 11:06 p.m., the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Haldimand County Detachment, Haldimand County Paramedic Services responded to a report of a two-vehicle collision at a Concession 12, Walpole address. OPP said a motor vehicle and pickup truck collided at the intersection of Concession 12 of Walpole, and Sandusk Road. The driver of the vehicle was transported to hospital to be treated for minor injuries. The driver of the pickup truck did not suffer any injuries. Charged with the following offences is Ashley Logan, 26, of Oshweken, Ontario: Operation while impaired – alcohol and drugs, Operation while impaired – blood alcohol concentration (80 plus), Disobey stop sign, and Driving while under suspension. The accused is scheduled to appear in the...
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Inquest hears recommendations to improve mental health after Indigenous man’s death
An inquest into the death of an Indigenous artist who died by suicide in a Thunder Bay, Ont., jail is hearing recommendations today on how governments and the justice system can better support the mental health of Indigenous people. Moses Beaver, of Nibinamik First Nation, was 56-years-old when he was found unresponsive in a jail cell in February 2017 before being taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The inquest has heard Beaver’s family and other loved ones tried multiple times to find Beaver help for intergenerational trauma and his deteriorating mental health. Lawyers for Beaver’s family and coroner’s counsel have put forward 46 recommendations for governments and other parties on how to better support Indigenous individuals. They include suggestions that a mobile mental health clinic be created...
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Cree Nation pushes for more representation at UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
By Patrick Quinn Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Cree Nation played a prominent role at this year’s United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). The theme at the largest global gathering of Indigenous leaders, which began April 17, was a rights-based approach to human health, planetary and territorial health, and climate change. Cree Nation Government Justice Director Donald Nicholls has observed the advisory body’s vast progress since it first held annual meetings in 2002. “I’ve been going to the permanent forum since it first started and definitely you can notice the difference,” Nicholls told the Nation. “I was told there were about 8,000 people this time. We used to have the Indigenous caucus in these small rooms and now it’s much more elaborate with translation and you get much...
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Who has a say in Six Nations billion dollar land case being played out in court intervention
By Lynda Powless Editor TORONTO- In an opening salvo to the Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC)’s move to reject the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) as representatives of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chief Council (HCCC)’s intervention in SNEC’s over 20 year old land rights case, a HDI lawyer says you do not have to be a band member to benefit from the rights flowing from the Haldimand Proclamation of 1784. HDI/HCCC lawyer Jack MacDonald told the court Tuesday rights flowing from the proclamation were not dependant or inclusive to a band or a band list that did not exist in 1784. “We are saying it is not an issue that to have any rights under the Haldimand Proclamation you have to be aligned with the band,” he told an intervenor hearing Tuesday morning....
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SNEC seeking more Jordan’s Principle funds
By Turtle Island News staff Six Nations Jordan’s Principle funds have increased significantly in the last few years, but Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) may be advocating for more to ensure students have adequate support after long stints out of the classroom. SNEC approved Six Nations Health Services application to Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) for Jordan’s Principle funds for just over than $8 million at the General Finance meeting on May 1. But many councillors want to push for more including funds for tutoring, mental health support, water connections and more. Elected Chief Mark Hill said it seems like Six Nations students have suffered more than others through the pandemic and with the recent Public Service Alliance of Canada strike. That strike included federal teachers, which forced the closure of Six...
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New housing rentals coming, but no plan to help homeless
Housing wait lists continue to grow on Six Nations, but work on new units is underway to try to alleviate the strain. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) approved a multi-service agreement releasing a little more than $55,000 to pay for hydro servicing on the Harold Road expansion at its General Finance meeting on May 1. Lily-Anne Mt Pleasant, acting director of housing and finance control officer said the funds will come from the Six Nations of the Grand River Economic Development Corporation’s Economic Development Trust. The project was given $465,500 for the Harold Road expansion project, which includes a five-plex building under construction in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. It also includes an additional 12-plex. Both of the buildings and the road require hydro servicing and to bring power to...
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Police look for second man in early morning attempted robbery
OHSWEKEN, SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER- A 17-year-old Six Nations man has been arrested and police are seeking a second man after an attempted robbery at Route 54 Grocery and Convenience store on Highway 54 just after the store opened early this morning. The two men, armed with what appeared to be a firearm, entered the store just as the clerk had opened. One of the two was carrying a coffee he had stopped to pick up from a nearby coffee shop as the two walked down Highway 54 Turtle Island News was told. Upon entry to the store the two demanded cash before leaving on foot, walking down Highway 54. No one was injured. Six Nations Police, Brant County OPP, K9 and Emergency Response Team all responded to...
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Six Nations marked Red Dress Day with an exhibit at the Six Nations library
In Six Nations, in Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and all across Turtle Island family and community members face grief and frustration on a daily basis for the Missing and the Murdered. We remember them here. Taylor Marie Keizer-Douglas, 28, was last seen January 7, 2023, in the area of 6th Line & Oneida Rd. Amber Ellis went missing in Six Nations in February 2021. Patricia Diane Carpenter was only 15 years old when she was killed in September 1992. Her body was recovered from a construction site in Toronto. Paula Joy Martin was murdered on April 21, 1996 by her husband who had stalked her and then stabbed her to death in a Brantford motel room that she had fled to for temporary shelter. Dustin Craig Printemp was...
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A Red Dress Day march made its way from city hall through St Catherines
By Lisa Iesse Writer ST. CATHERINES – “We must talk about it. We must spread awareness. We must make them hear our stories,” urged one of the many women at the Red Dress Walk. On May 5, De dwa da dehs nye>s (Aboriginal Health Centre) held a Red Dress Walk for the Missing and the Murdered Indigenous Women Girls, Two-Spirit, Trans and Gender-diverse persons. They held a march from City Hall to the Marilyn I Walker building. Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit persons spoke on the steps of St. Catherines City Hall. One by one, they stepped up to the podium to speak. “My name is Alexis, in my language which is the Onondaga language, my name is Strawberry. Me introducing myself and my language is an act of resistance to...
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Across Ontario National Red Dress Day marked in Hamilton with a display of dresses and women missing
By Lisa Eisse Writer HAMILTON – From the entrance area of the library, the pathway begins. On the wall is a photo of Helen Gillings, a 19-year-old young Indigenous woman who lived in Hamilton. Her story appears on the poster. On Friday February 17, 1995, she was found in an alley near 483 King Street East in Hamilton. She had been strangled and her naked body was pushed under an overturned couch in the alley. You take another step along the pathway and sadly find another story . “Evaline Cameron, 19, was known for getting good grades and her sparkling sense of humour. On Oct. 19, 1995, she was found dead on Wabaseemoong First Nation in Ontario. She She had gone missing two days earlier after going to a house...
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Six Nations/Haudenosaunee who are they?
Everyone that has anything to say about Six Nations land rights is in court. The Six Nations Elected Council, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Council and its delegate the Haudenosaunee Development Institute. Add to that the Mens’ Fire and of course both Canada and Ontario. The actual hearing seeking intervenor status began Tuesday with the HDI/HCCC lawyers laying out the case for over 80,000 Haudenosaunee to be part of the case and represented by the HCCC, not just the members of the Six Nations Band list a list of some 30,000 people. Add to it the HCCC/HDI is arguing the community’s history underlies what happened at Grand River, what happened to the Haudenosaunee and how the Haldimand Proclamation, a treaty that will become 100 years old next year came into play. That...
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Haudenosaunee language online courses coming at Fort Erie
By Lisa Iesse Writer The sky’s the limit for emerging Haudenosaunee language degree programs expected to be up and online this August. The new Mohawk language degree program will be the largest Mohawk language degree program in the country says Sam Hill, Indigenous languages program co-ordinator at the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre (FENFC). The program is aiming to boost access, first, to Mohawk language learning resources, support, and education opportunities for a burgeoning community of Mohawk language learners, he told Turtle Island News. The program is just the first in a series of Haudenosaunee language degree programs, Hill said The new program was born aftera number of Mohawk language students taking FENFC’s language immersion program, called Kén:tho tsi kateweyénhstha: (I Study Here in Mohawk) expressed a desire to keep learning....
