Rustad’s Indigenous policy announcement adds insult to injury, say First Natio
By Rochelle Baker Local Journalism Initiative First Nations leaders are dismayed BC Conservative Leader John Rustad chose to announce his party’s proposed Indigenous policy on the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. The national holiday is a day of mourning that honours children and the survivors of residential schools, and acknowledges ongoing impacts to their families and communities. It’s not an appropriate occasion for a political leader to proclaim his agenda for how he plans to work with Indigenous peoples should he become leader, Cheryl Casimer, First Nations Summit political executive told Canada’s National Observer — particularly when that statement fails to uphold a commitment to Indigenous rights and title and the province’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). “The timing of it is what really infuriated...
Register
Army returns remains of 9 Indigenous children who died at boarding school over a century ago
CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) — The remains of nine more Native American children who died at a notorious government-run boarding school in Pennsylvania over a century ago were disinterred from a small Army cemetery and returned to families, authorities said Wednesday. The remains were buried on the grounds of the Carlisle Barracks, home of the U.S. Army War College. The children attended the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School, where thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their families and forced to assimilate to white society as a matter of U.S. policy. The Office of Army Cemeteries said it concluded the remains of nine children found in the graves were “biologically consistent” with information contained in their student and burial records. The remains were transferred to the children’s families. Most have already...
Register
Tribes celebrate the end of the largest dam removal project in US history
Associated Press-The largest dam removal project in U.S. history was completed Wednesday, marking a major victory for tribes in the region who fought for decades to free hundreds of miles of the Klamath River near the California-Oregon border. Through protests, testimony and lawsuits, local tribes showcased the environmental devastation due to the four towering hydroelectric dams, especially to salmon, which are culturally and spiritually significant to tribes in the region. “Without that visioning and that advocacy and activism and the airplane miles that they racked up … to point out the damage that these dams were doing, not only to the environment, but to the social and cultural fabric of these tribal nations, there would be no dam removal,” said Mark Bransom, chief executive of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation,...
Register
OPP charge person in family dispute
By Austin Evans Writer MISSISSAUGAS OF CREDIT FIRST NATION-A Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN) resident was arrested for possession of an illegal firearm and disobeying court orders after a family dispute. The Haldimand detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a family dispute on Ojibway Road in MCFN at approximately 12:10 pm on September 22. Police arrested a 20-year-old MCFN resident following the dispute, though they have not released any information identifying them. As a result of the investigation, the OPP charged the arrested person with assault, unauthorized possession of a firearm, disobeying a court order, two counts of possessing a firearm or ammunition contrary to a probation order, and four charges of failing to comply with a probation order. The accused is scheduled to appear...
Register
Wave of Orange hits Brantford for National Day of Truth and Reconciliation
By Austin Evans Writer BRANTFORD- While hundreds donned their orange shirts and marched through the streets of Brantford marking Orange Shirt Day, a residential school survivor says bones have been found at the former Mohawk Institute. Dawn Hill is a survivor of the Mohawk Institute Residential School and board member of both the Survivors’ Secretariat and the Mohawk Village Memorial Park. She told Turtle Island News construction on a memorial park, planned adjacent to the former school, is on hold after an archaeological assessment found bones in the ground this past spring. “First of all, we had three experts look at those bones,” she said. “One guy said they’re human bones, another guy said those are animal bones, third guy said that one’s human and these ones are animals.” Since...
Register
Six Nations own Royal Chapel of Mohawks Coat-of-Arms sparks potential talks
By Austin Evans and Lynda Powless Writer It was not only history in the making when Six Nations’ own Royal Chapel of the Mohawks became the first Indigenous Chapel in Canada to receive its own Royal Coat-of-Arms, but a hope for more dialogue was sparked. Representatives from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC), in the spirit of reconciliation, met with Canon Paul Wright, Sub-Dean of Chapels royal U.K. and the King’s personal chaplain at the Onondaga Longhouse prior to the unveiling of the Coat-of-Arms Sunday (Sept 29,2024). The rare meeting resulted in the HCCC re-opening dialogue with the Crown. The surprise move was highlighted in a brief speech by HCCC representative Colin Martin during the unveiling. He said the HCCC had met with Canon Paul Wright. “We are in the...
Register
Six Nations band hiring policy to be reviewed, band members to have hiring priority
Six Nations band members are suppose to have first priority for jobs at the band office, but more and more non-Indigenous people are filling positions. During its council meeting Sept. 24th, Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) directed CEO Nathan Wright to look at the organization’s hiring policy and ensure Six Nations members are getting a fair shake. Wright clarified that the current hiring policy does give preference to Six Nations members in job postings and they’re given additional points during interview scoring. He also plans to review the policy with Duane Jacobs, Director of Policy, Communications and Records. He said he wants to create a policy review calendar to ensure SNEC knows when policies will come up for review. The Six Nations band administration currently employs 200 non band members....
Register
SNEC approves long needed crosswalk in Ohsweken
Six Nations Community members want a crosswalk near JC Hill Elementary School, and they want it done quickly. Councillor Alaina Van Every brought the request to Six Nations Elected Council’s (SNEC) General Council meeting on September 24 to let councillors and community members know she would take the matter to the Built Environment Committee and get the situation resolved as soon as possible. “Some said it was a federal responsibility to put in a school crosswalk, other people said it’s our own responsibility to take care of our own children and it’s this government’s responsibility,” she said. She wants to see Six Nations take accountability to get this done more quickly than the federal government will to ensure the safety of their youngest members. Van Every said she found the...
Register
A day of hope and reconciliation
Across the country a parade of orange shirts took to streets to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation or Orange Shirt Day. There were speeches everywhere, marches, new statues or memorials unveiled. It was 16 years ago that former Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to Indigenous people, and the country for the horrors of residential schools forced on Indigenous children. Horrors that spanned generations. For almost one hundred years between 1867 and 1996, Indigenous children were taken from their homes, from their families. The Canadian state abducted more than 150,000 Indigenous children from their parents and forced them into these schools as part of a campaign of forced assimilation. They were subject to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and the official register says 3,213 died. But it didn’t...
Register
Weekly Cartoon
...
Register
Today in History
Today in History for Oct. 6: In 2021, Parks Canada was going to update the commemorative plaques at the graves of 16 former prime ministers to reflect changes in how they are remembered. Officials were rethinking what the panels should say to reflect how the country views its past, specifically in light of historical mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples. Today in History for Oct. 7: On this date, In 1763, a Royal proclamation sought to deal with the problem of aboriginal unrest in the west. The western boundary of Quebec was set at a line running northwest from the point where the 45th parallel crossed the St. Lawrence River to Lake Nipissing. The Appalachian watershed became the western boundary of the Atlantic colonies, blocking British settlement of the Indian lands of...
Register
Ontario marks National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Toronto opens spirit garden
The Canadian Press A monument to honour residential school survivors was unveiled in Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square on Monday, one of dozens of events in Ontario marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The new spirit garden in front of Toronto City Hall comes in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call for governments to establish publicly accessible, highly visible monuments honouring survivors and thousands of children who died in residential schools. The garden’s centrepiece is a large turtle sculpture positioned in a reflecting pool that has the names of the 18 residential schools that once operated in Ontario inscribed on its north wall. Jordan Carrier brought her children and grandchildren to the square on Monday to take part in the ceremony and for them to “learn more...
Register
Brantford police charge woman with 2nd degree murder
Brantford police have arrested and charged a 37-year-old female with 2nd degree murder after receiving a report of an injured male. Police were dispatched to a Colborne Street residence Saturday, September 28, 2024, at about 7:40 p.m., after receing reports of an injured male. Police found a man suffering froms stab wounds. The man was transported to hospital. However, despite the life-saving measures performed, the victim succumbed to his injuries. The accused was on scene and taken into custody by officers without incident. Brantford Police Service said the accused and the victim were known to each other and the incident has been classified as an Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) related homicide. No threat to public safety exists as a result of this incident. A 37-year-old female resident of Brantford has...
Register
Alberta chief demands action after death of Indigenous man in police custody
(CP)The chief of a southern Alberta First Nation is demanding a thorough, transparent investigation into the death of an Indigenous man in police custody. Blood Tribe Chief Roy Fox says the death of Jon Wells on Sept. 17 after a scuffle with police at a Calgary hotel, has brought back memories of a public inquiry in the 1980s that “underscored the cultural gap” between his community and police. The inquiry saw the Blood Tribe speak out against a growing number of unexplained deaths affecting Indigenous people. “It is disheartening that we again find ourselves in a similar situation and we are addressing these issues once again,” Fox said in a recent online video statement. “We will be filing a formal complaint against the three officers involved in Mr. Wells’s death...
Register
Both Haudenosaunee clubs capture bronze medals at world championships
By Sam Laskaris Writer Numerous Six Nations members have returned home with some hardware as they represented the Haudenosaunee Nationals at the world box lacrosse championships. Both the women’s and men’s global tournaments concluded on Sunday in Utica, N.Y. The two Haudenosaunee clubs concluded their action at the tourney on Saturday. Both squads registered convincing victories in their bronze-medal matches. The Haudenosaunee women’s club posted a 21-4 triumph over Australia. And their male counterparts thumped England 14-5. This marked the first time the women’s category had been included at the world tournament. Six Nations member Fawn Porter was the captain of the Haudenosaunee entry. Porter was thrilled to be part of the historic event. “It means so much and it’s such a big deal for this organization,” she said. “And...
Register
Montour scores goal in his home debut with Seattle Kraken franchise
By Sam Laskaris Writer The back of his jersey still had his surname and his signature number 62. But when Six Nations’ Brandon Montour took to the ice this past Friday at the Climate Pledge Arena it was the beginning of a new era for him. For Montour it marked the first time he was playing a home game, albeit a pre-season match, for the National Hockey League’s Seattle Kraken. Montour, a 30-year-old defenceman, joined the Seattle club during the off-season, mere days after helping the Florida Panthers win the Stanley Cup. Montour’s first exhibition contest with the Kraken was on the road in Vancouver on Sept. 24. The host Canucks beat Seattle 3-1. Then three nights later Montour made his home debut with the Kraken. He scored once, had...
Register
Sports Briefs: Stallions to Hawks busy sports seasons
By Sam Laskaris Writer Stallions enjoying successful season The Six Nations Stallions just might have what it takes to win this year’s Ontario Senior Men’s Field Lacrosse League (OSMFLL). Following a pair of victories this past Saturday in Brantford, the Stallions are challenging for top spot in their nine-team league. Six Nations downed the London Mollys 13-11 in a Saturday morning tilt at Brantford’s Kiwanis Field. The Stallions then edged the Toronto Blue Jays 13-12 in a match later that afternoon. With those two win the Stallions are now sporting a 5-1 record. Six Nations is occupying second place in their league standings. Only the Orangeville Generals, who are sitting in first place with a perfect 6-0 mark, are ahead of them. Orangeville defeated Six Nations 9-4 on Sept. 14...
Register
Local elementary schools take to the diamond for fun!
By Austin Evans Writer Oliver M. Smith-Kawenni:io Elementary not only went undefeated in the junior three-pitch tournament, they scored more home runs than their coach could count. The junior league three-pitch tournament brought six elementary schools from Six Nations and the Mississaugas of the Credit’s Lloyd S. King Elementary school together to play ball on September 17. Schools were split into two groups playing off against each other to determine who would go on to the championships. Kawenni:io and Oliver M. Smith-Kawenni:io (OMSK) schools each placed first in their groups qualifying to face off against each other in championship match. Going into the championships, Kawenni:io Coach Longboat said her team has improved since last year and played well together. “The team has been, I’d say, playing very well together as...
Register
Hamilton resident facing charges in fatal collision
(HALDIMAND COUNTY, ON) – Haldimand County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have charged a 26-year-old Hamilton resident after a fatal collision Sept., 13th in Hagersville. Haldimand OPP responded to a two vehicle collision on September 13, 2024, at about 12:45 p.m., at the intersection of McKenzie Road and 3rd Line, Hagersville that saw the driver and the passenger of one vehicle taken to a trauma hospital with serious injuries. OPP said the 22-year-old passenger, from Hamilton was later pronounced deceased. The driver of the second vehicle was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. A 26-year-old from Hamilton has been charged with: Dangerous Operation Causing Death Dangerous Operation Causing Bodily Harm Anyone with information regarding this ongoing investigation is asked to contact Haldimand OPP at 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to...
Register
Laurier Brantford hosts inaugural MarketFest
By Kimberly De Jong, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Around 200 residents attended Wilfrid Laurier University’s inaugural MarketFest: In Peace and Friendship event in Brantford’s One Market atrium on Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28, 2024. Darren Thomas, Laurier’s associate vice president of Indigenous Initiatives and associate professor of Indigenous Studies, said that the overall idea for the event came from the history surrounding the One Market building (formerly the Eaton Market Square Mall). “This is an idea we came up with because of the historic ties to this land because originally, this land was ceded by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy to be a public market for mutual benefit.” he said. “Somewhere along the line, the Haudenosaunee farmers were actually displaced and were no longer allowed to come and sell, and...
Register
