Walk with residential school survivors on Sept. 30 for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Monday, September 30 is Orange Shirt Day or the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is a special day for honouring residential school survivors and to remember the children that never made it home. In 1831, the Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford, Ontario became Canada’s first residential school to open. It was the longest operating residential school in the country and closed in 1970. Former Prime Minister of Canada Sir John A. Macdonald authorized the creation of residential schools in the Canadian West in 1883, according to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR). The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) concluded that residential schools were “a systematic, government- sponsored attempt to destroy Aboriginal cultures and languages and to...
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Disability rights groups launch Charter challenge against MAID law
The Canadian Press-A coalition of disability rights organizations has launched a Charter challenge against a part of Canada’s law on medical assistance in dying, calling it an “abandonment” of people with disabilities. The group announced Thursday that it had filed a notice of application to challenge what’s known as track two of the MAID law, which it argues has resulted in premature deaths. Under the law, patients whose natural deaths are not reasonably foreseeable but whose condition leads to intolerable suffering can apply for a track-two assisted death. Track one, in contrast, involves MAID applications from those whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable. The group alleges some people with disability are seeking assisted death due to social deprivation, poverty and a lack of essential supports. It argues MAID should only...
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Tribal Police officer charged with voyeurism in Whistler, B.C.
The Canadian Press Mounties in the resort town of Whistler, B.C., say a Tribal Police officer has been charged with three counts of voyeurism for allegedly filming sexual acts with women without their consent. RCMP say the man charged is a member of the Stl’atl’imx Tribal Police Service, and the alleged offences happened when he was off duty in Vancouver and Pemberton between 2020 and 2022. Mounties say there’s a publication ban on details of the case to protect the alleged victims’ identities. Sergeant Jeffrey Shore with Sea to Sky RCMP says it was a “lengthy investigation,” and he thanked those who came forward for their patience. Mounties first announced they were looking into the case in a two-sentence press release in January 2023 that said a matter had been...
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Alberta First Nation angered over lack of consultation in dam decision
CP-A southern Alberta First Nation says it will fight a government decision on a dam that it says broke promises to take its concerns into account. “The Siksika Nation will strenuously oppose this project with all resources and means available to us,” says a Sept. 25 letter to Premier Danielle Smith from Chief Ouray Crowfoot. “The Siksika Nation is deeply disappointed by your government’s announcement.” On Wednesday, Alberta’s United Conservative government said it had chosen a site for a dam on the Bow River to control flooding and aid water management. It said the Ghost Reservoir upstream of Calgary would be expanded. “Increasing water storage capacity is critical to protecting Calgary and other communities along the Bow River from future floods and drought,” Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz said Wednesday in...
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Murder suspects in fatal Alberta highway shooting will be tried together
The Canadian Press The two men arrested after a deadly roadside shooting near Calgary last month will be tried together. A manhunt began Aug. 6 following the noon-hour shooting of two men who were working along a roadway in Rocky View County, east of Calgary, when a county truck was stolen from the scene. One of the men died while the other was seriously injured. Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, was arrested in August with the help of Edmonton police and charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. The second suspect, 28-year-old Elijah Blake Strawberry, was arrested at a residence in O’Chiese First Nation earlier this month and charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder. The Crown told court in Calgary that although the two men were charged separately they will...
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Lytton wildfire sparked an ongoing food crisis in the region
By Matteo Cimellaro Local Journalism Initiative Three years after a wildfire destroyed Lytton, the disaster has left a lingering gap in food security. In response, the Nlaka’pamux Nation Tribal Council’s (NNTC), which represents five communities including Lytton First Nation, is sounding the alarm on food security in the region. “The NNTC has zero examples of recovery progress to supply food and essential household supplies for people affected by the 2021 wildfire and the loss of the local grocery store,” a press release from the tribal council said. Matt Pasco, Chief of the NNTC, is calling on provincial and federal governments to fund a relief centre for Lytton region nations. Funding for a food security hub was about to end on October 1, but was recently extended for another three months....
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Piikani Nation group opposes proposed Grassy Mountain coal mine
By Somya Lohia, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Shootin’ the Breeze 26/09/2024 13:04 A group of Piikani Nation members have voiced their opposition to the proposed metallurgical coal mine at Grassy Mountain following Crowsnest Pass municipal council’s decision to hold a vote on the issue. This decision has galvanized community members, emphasizing their commitment to protecting their ancestral lands. Adam North Peigan, chairman of the Mountain Child Valley Society, explained the depth of this opposition in an interview with Shootin’ the Breeze. “The Crowsnest Pass and Grassy Mountain are within our Piikani First Nation ancestral lands. Traditionally and historically, the area in question was a part of our gathering place,” he said. “It was a place where we had ceremonies and picked our medicinal herbs. As stewards of the land,...
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Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council Declares State of Emergency Due to Toxic Drugs
By Amy Romer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council has declared a state of emergency in all 14 Nuu-chah-nulth nations due to the devastating loss of life caused by the unregulated toxic drug supply. More funding is needed from the province and federal governments so communities along the west coast of Vancouver Island can provide their members with timely and appropriate care, without having to send people away from their community, said Cloy-e-iis Judith Sayers, president of the council, at a press conference last week. “We need everybody to be here as we wage this war against all our lives that are being taken,” Cloy-e-iis said. The Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions says it is funding eight First Nations treatment centre projects, which will replace six existing treatment...
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Alberta First Nation angered over lack of consultation in dam decision
A southern Alberta First Nation says it will fight the province’s decision on a dam location that it says was made without consultation. In a letter to Premier Danielle Smith, the Siksika band east of Calgary says it is deeply disappointed with the decision to move ahead with the Ghost Reservoir and will oppose it in every way it can. Siksika, the only reserve downstream from the proposed dam on the Bow River, says it has significant concerns over flooding and water availability. It says it was excluded from preliminary studies and wasn’t consulted at all before the decision was made. It says a negotiating group set up to discuss water concerns on the Bow River hasn’t met once. The Ghost Reservoir would be located west of Calgary and would...
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Siksika Nation Support Services, In From the Cold sign MoU
By John Watson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Siksika Nation Support Services and In From the Cold signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Sept. 19, as a means to create a relationship to improve access to shelter and housing opportunities. “Today’s MoU was a collaboration and relationship-building agreement between us and In From the Cold in order to help families facing crises that really stem from homelessness and lack of available shelter,” said Richard Sparvier, tribal manager with Siksika Nation Tribal Administration. “We realized that with the housing crisis that is currently affecting Siksika Nation members who are living in urban centers, Calgary specifically, that once they face the crisis, they tried to come home and there just was not anything available.” In From the Cold is a Calgary-based not-for-profit agency...
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NDP MP introduces bill to criminalize residential school denialism
Canadian Press An NDP MP has introduced a bill that would criminalize residential school denialism, saying it would help stop harm caused toward survivors, their families and communities. If the bill is passed, people could be charged under the Criminal Code for promoting hatred against Indigenous Peoples by condoning, justifying or downplaying the historical and lasting impact of residential schools. NDP MP Leah Gazan says the purpose of the schools was to extinguish Indigenous cultures and languages and if the government is serious about reconciliation, it needs to protect survivors and their families from hate. More than 150,000 children were forced to attend residential schools, with many survivors detailing to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission the abuse they suffered at the hands of those meant to protect them. An estimated...
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Tsleil-Waututh’s flourishing urban farm growing food to feed a Nation
By Mina Kerr-Lazenby Local Journalism Intitiative Reporter The small garden the Tsleil-Waututh Nation began a few short years ago has blossomed into a thriving urban farm. The Nation, as part of its Ćećǝwǝt lelǝm Helping House, Health and Wellness Program, has been pursuing food sovereignty to create a more sustainable and nutritious diet for its community. What began with just 17 planters almost a decade ago has expanded to comprise two gardens brimming with produce, and a 40-foot hydroponics container farm that keeps vegetables blooming long through winter. In recent weeks a smokehouse, built to store up to 200 fish, has been erected opposite the Tsleil-Waututh Cultural and Recreation Centre, ready to be booked for use by members. A second hydroponics unit is in the works and, in just a...
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Six Nations to mark National Truth and Reconciliation Day early
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER- Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) is honouring the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation early this year with another drive-thru event. SNEC’s event coordinator, Leigh Thompson, announced the schedule for the upcoming National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day, at SNEC’s General Council meeting on September 24. SNEC offices will be closed on the holiday Sept., 30. This year, the community will honor Orange Shirt Day with a drive-thru giveaway event on Friday, September 27, at the Oneida Business Park, at 50 Generations Drive. The event will continue while supplies last. In celebration of the fourth annual national day of reflection, SNEC will give away Outdoor Activity Packs filled with goodies to those who participate. Community members are encouraged to...
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Indigenous health agency calls on Quebec to join Joyce’s Principle parade
By Marc Lalonde, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A health agency mandated with taking care of Indigenous people in Quebec and Labrador is calling on the province to acknowledge the systemic racism in the province’s health-care system, almost four years to the day after Joyce Echaquan’s death. The First Nations and Labrador Health and Social Services Network (FNQLHSSC), a non-profit organization that supports First Nations in Quebec in achieving their objectives in terms of health, wellness, culture, and self-determination, recently said they are hoping to get other professional associations to join them in their fight against systemic discrimination. The Collège des médecins du Québec and the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec have already recognized the existence of systemic racism and Joyce’s Principle. “We expect the CMA (Canadian Medical Association)...
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Climate change destroyed an Alaska village. Its residents are starting over in a new town
MERTARVIK, Alaska (AP) — Growing up along the banks of the Ninglick River in western Alaska, Ashley Tom would look out of her window after strong storms from the Bering Sea hit her village and notice something unsettling: the riverbank was creeping ever closer. It was in that home, in the village of Newtok, where Tom’s great-grandmother had taught her to sew and crochet on the sofa, skills she used at school when students crafted headdresses, mittens and baby booties using seal or otter fur. It’s also where her grandmother taught her the intricate art of grass basket weaving and how to speak the Yupik language. Today, erosion and melting permafrost have just about destroyed Newtok, eating about 70 feet (21.34 meters) of land every year. All that’s left are...
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Premier offers cut of gaming revenue if chiefs abandon casino plans
By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Brandon Sun SIOUX VALLEY DAKOTA NATION — The Manitoba government has offered a cut of provincial gaming revenue to several Dakota First Nations on the condition that they do not develop casinos of their own, the Sun has learned. In a series of interviews the Sun conducted with chiefs of the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, Dakota Tipi First Nation and Canupawakpa Dakota Nation, the chiefs said they met with Premier Wab Kinew in Winnipeg on Aug. 21. At the meeting, they said Kinew pitched them a revenue-sharing agreement and asked them not to build casinos in return. “He offered a percentage of all the gaming revenues,” said Dakota Tipi First Nation Chief Dennis Pashe. “It’s negotiable, so we have to get into the negotiation...
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‘Not much has changed’: Indigenous physicians reflect on health care in Canada
The Canadian Press 26/09/2024 11:31 Dr. Michael Anderson clearly remembers a First Nations child flown into the Toronto pediatric ward where he was working 30 years ago. Standing in front of the nursing station, Anderson overheard a doctor he considered a mentor say the child’s parents will “be drunk for a week.” “‘We won’t see them. They’ll come and pick them up when it’s time for him to go home,’” Anderson, a surgical oncologist and palliative care physician in Toronto, recalls hearing. Anderson, who has Mohawk ancestry with family roots in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, says he learned to hide his Indigenous ties after that incident. “Because if they know that I’m First Nations, they’re going to be thinking about me exactly the same as they are about this family. And...
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Former MP has ‘issues’ with truth and reconciliation
By Darrell Greer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Kivalliq News Longtime Inuk politician Jack Anawak represented the electoral district of Nunatsiaq in the House of Commons from 1988 to 1997 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. During his time in the House of Commons, Anawak served first as the Liberal Party’s opposition critic for Northern Affairs and then as parliamentary secretary to the minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. He also served a term in the legislative assembly after Nunavut’s creation in 1999. But Anawak is no fan of having a special day to recognize truth and reconciliation. As far as he’s concerned, it doesn’t exist. In fact, Anawak takes issue with how truth and reconciliation is being perceived today. “When we talk about reconciliation between the...
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People with diabetes in lower-income areas at higher risk for amputations: repor
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says more than 7,000 people with diabetes undergo a leg, foot or toe amputation every year — and the majority of those procedures could have been prevented. The report issued today says people with diabetes living in the lowest-income neighbourhoods are three times more likely to have an amputation than those living in the highest-income communities. It also says people with diabetes living in remote communities are at higher risk of leg amputations than those living in urban centres. Erin Pichora, CIHI’s program lead for population health, says lack of access to a primary-care provider to help people manage diabetes is one likely factor behind the inequalities. She says disparities are also likely in access to specialists who can treat diabetic wounds on people’s...
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KIA moving toward taking big steps in region
By Darrell Greer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Impressive and important initiatives are starting to be slowly moved forward by the Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA). The association’s board of directors meeting held in Arviat from Sept. 10 to 12 went well, according to executive director Gabe Karlik, as the organization prepares for its upcoming annual general meeting (AGM) in Rankin Inlet from Oct. 1 to 3. Karlik said the meetings saw the financial non-consolidated statements be approved for presentation at the AGM. He said before the board meeting took place in Arviat, the KIA had put some initiatives together to help with relief efforts for Whale Cove after the community lost its Co-op store to a fire on Aug. 30. “We put $100,000 from the KIA towards the hamper program with...
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