Iconic B.C. museum reopens after ‘cutting-edge’ 18-month seismic upgrade
The Canadian Press 11/06/2024 Working on the $40-million seismic upgrade for one of Canada’s most prominent museums was an intensely personal experience for architect Nick Milkovich. He started his career under renowned architect Arthur Erickson and worked on some aspects of the award-winning concrete and glass design of the Museum of Anthropology on the University of British Columbia campus before the building opened in 1976. After an 18-month closure to implement “cutting-edge” base-isolation upgrades for the Great Hall, Milkovich said he felt an immense responsibility to carry forward his mentor’s vision in preserving the iconic structure’s design through the entire process. “His studio gave me the opportunity to become a decent architect,” Milkovich said of Erickson at the museum on Tuesday. “So, it’s gratitude, and it’s also an obligation to...
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Woodland Cree, Obsidian Energy resolve northern Alberta standoff
The Canadian Press 11/06/2024 An energy company says a First Nations blockade and standoff that kept it from using an oil lease road has been resolved. Calgary-based Obsidian Energy says it has reached an agreement in principle with the Woodland Cree First Nation. Woodland Cree began blocking the road in February over concerns Obsidian wasn’t keeping it informed about expansion plans on its traditional territory. The band was also concerned about earthquakes linked to Obsidian’s activities. Obsidian countered that it was being strong-armed into granting the First Nation a monopoly on work at the company’s sites. Obsidian was granted a court injunction to remove the blockade but local RCMP didn’t move in to enforce it. “The company and the (First Nation) engaged in extensive discussions with the help of a...
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Federal Court judge finds minister took too long in case of endangered spotted owl
The Canadian Press 11/06/2024 A federal judge says it’s “difficult to fathom” how it could be reasonable for Canada’s environment minister to take more than eight months before recommending an emergency protection order for British Columbia’s northern spotted owl. The ruling from Federal Court Justice Yvan Roy in Ottawa sides with the Wilderness Committee, a B.C.-based environmental group that filed a petition arguing Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault took too long to make his recommendation to cabinet. Roy found the timing meant Guilbeault did not meet his responsibilities under the Species at Risk Act for what is believed to be B.C.’s last wild spotted owl. The judge described the owl as a “highly endangered” species. There is only one known wild spotted owl, a female, in the area of B.C.’s Fraser...
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‘Finally getting started’: Plan approved to search landfill for women’s remains
The Canadian Press MANITOBA-The Manitoba government has given environmental approval to a planned search of a landfill for the remains of two slain First Nations women. For some family members who have been fighting for a search for more than 18 months, the news was a welcome relief. “They’re going to be starting right away, hopefully by the end of summer or something, and they can work right through winter. So it’s good,” Donna Bartlett, the grandmother of Marcedes Myran, said after meeting with Premier Wab Kinew on Tuesday. “We still have a long road ahead of us, but we are finally getting started,” read a message posted on social media by Myran’s sister Jorden Myran. Police believe the remains of Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris are in the...
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Chiefs of Ontario issue apology to Haudenosaunee Confederacy for dropping in without notice
Chiefs, elders and others walked into the opening of the Chiefs of Ontario annual general assembly at Six Nations of the Grand River’s arena Tuesday (Photo by Jim C. Powless) By Lynda Powless Editor SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER-The Chiefs of Ontario (COO) have apologized to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs’ Council (HCCC) for failing to follow “proper protocol” in the hosting of their annual meeting at Six Nations of the Grand River while clarifying they are not a governing body but an organization. In a letter to the HCCC today ( June 11, 2024) Tracy Antone, the COO Chief Operating Officer offered the organizations “deepest apologies for not following the proper protocol in hosting the Chiefs of Ontario Annual Chiefs Assembly” in HCCC territory. She said it was...
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Indigenous consortium enters deal to purchase Northwestel for $1 billion
(Canadian Press) Bell Canada says it is selling Northwestel Inc. to Sixty North Unity, a consortium of Indigenous communities from the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut, for around $1 billion. It says in a press release that Northwestel, which provides phone, internet and television services in Canada’s north, will become the largest telecommunications company worldwide with full Indigenous ownership. Sixty North Unity says it is planning significant capital investment to double fibre internet speeds, expand high-speed availability and bring critical resiliency to safeguard against wildfires and other natural disasters. The consortium is planning to maintain Northwestel’s leadership team including its president, Curtis Shaw, while increasing Indigenous representation in the workforce. Bell says it will maintain a strategic partnership with Northwestel after the transaction closes through ongoing operational support. The telecom...
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Result in sight for long-delayed water law
By Matteo Cimellaro Local Journalism Initiative Ottawa is one step closer to awarding First Nations control and power over their water supply as a First Nations water bill is headed to committee this Wednesday. Last week, Bill C-61, the First Nations Clean Water Act, was passed by the House through a unanimous motion and is now destined for the Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee. Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services, was enthusiastic about the “happy news” following what she referred to as “obstruction” from the Conservative caucus. Hajdu has repeatedly referred to the bill as “another tool” for First Nations to have sovereignty over their waters, empowering them to fight against environmental racism. It is a legacy bill for the Liberal government and sits alongside their promise to lift all...
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Ontario chemical plant subject to provincial, federal orders, permanently closing
The Canadian Press 11/06/2024 15:05 A plastics plant in Sarnia, Ont., that has been subject to recent orders and regulations from both the provincial and federal governments over benzene emissions says it is permanently shutting down. Ineos Styrolution says its decision to close the Sarnia site by June 2026 was made irrespective of the current regulatory situation, rather it is due to economic considerations. Ineos says the company has made significant investments in the site for many years to ensure safe and reliable operations, but it is no longer an economically viable operating asset. The site temporarily shut down in April shortly after the neighbouring Aamjiwnaang First Nation recorded high benzene emissions and said people there were falling ill. Ontario imposed new conditions on Ineos that it had to fulfill...
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5 things to know about the new Indigenous placemaking site at Orangeville’s Island Lake Conservation Area
Local Journalism Initiative 11/06/2024 14:59 After years of developing and planning, Island Lake Conservation Area in Orangeville is now the location for a new Anishinaabe clan site. Here are five things you should know about the new space: The Crane Gathering Space is the first of seven Anishinaabe clan sites for Indigenous placemaking to be created on the Credit Valley Trail (CVT). Credit Valley Conservation Authority, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, CVT Indigenous Roundtable and more came together to develop this space and bring Indigenous culture and experiences to the trail. The project created opportunities for Indigenous-owned business by working with Indigenous architects, landscape architects, fabricators and artisans to supply critical components of the Crane Gathering Space’s design and construction. The new Crane Gathering Space, at Island Lake Conservation...
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Indigenous language learners share their bright hope for language revitalization at symposium
By Odette Auger Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The theme of the 30th annual Stabilizing Indigenous Languages Symposium (SILS) was “Kinship, Connections, & Leadership in Indigenous Language Revitalization.” The international conference was held June 5 to June 7 on WSÁNEĆ and lək̓ʷəŋən territory in Victoria, B.C. and hosted by NEȾOLṈEW̱̱ Research Partnerships with the University of Victoria (UVic). SILS has been bringing together language workers, learners and community members to share and learn language teaching strategies and practices for language revitalization. Workshops highlight “emerging and promising” teaching methods, along with holistic approaches, community-led interventions, and the pivotal role of technology, reads the symposium website at https://web.cvent.com/event/77ec82fd-2a46-40a5-8f16-335bfe352904/summary. Dr. Onowa McIvor (Swampy Cree) is a language learner. She is a professor of Indigenous Education at UVic and the project director of NEȾOLṈEW̱...
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Reported birth of rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone park fulfills Lakota prophecy
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The reported birth of a rare white buffalo in Yellowstone National Park fulfills a Lakota prophecy that portends better times, according to members of the American Indian tribe who cautioned that it’s also a signal that more must be done to protect the earth and its animals. “The birth of this calf is both a blessing and warning. We must do more,” said Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and the Nakota Oyate in South Dakota, and the 19th keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe and Bundle. The birth of the sacred calf comes as after a severe winter in 2023 drove thousands of Yellowstone buffalo, also known as bison, to lower elevations. More than 1,500 were killed,...
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Families of victims of serial killer push for landfill search as trial concludes
By Canadian Press WINNIPEG MANITOBA-Dozens of people, many clad in red, held hands as they formed a round dance on the streets outside of Winnipeg’s law courts on the concluding day of the trial of an admitted serial killer. At the centre of the circle, a group of women, including the sister of one of Jeremy Skibicki’s victims, stood together as they drummed and sang. The daughter of another victim carried a shovel painted red with the words Search The Land Fill drawn on it. The families made it clear that although Skibicki’s trial has wrapped up, their fight to bring home their loved ones is not over. “My cousin needs to come home. It’s been over two years. I don’t even know why we’re still sitting here anymore,” Melissa...
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Electronic voting worries security experts. Nevada touts safeguards as it expands it to tribes
The Associated Press SCHURZ, Nevada (AP) — Members of the Walker River Paiute Tribe have watched the boundaries of their land recede over time along with the waters of the lake that are central to their identity, threatening the cultural symbol that gave the tribe its name — Agai Dicutta, or Trout Eaters. Not wanting to cede their voice, tribal leaders have been making a push for expanded voting rights. That effort includes filing a lawsuit on behalf of all Nevada tribes seeking polling places on tribal lands and access to early voting. “Tribes shouldn’t have to keep filing lawsuits just to vote on their own lands,” said Elveda Martinez, 65, a tribal member and longtime voting advocate. “It should be more accessible.” The state has now granted the Walker...
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Verdict next month for admitted Winnipeg serial killer Jeremy Skibicki
The Canadian Press A Winnipeg man who admitted to killing four women but wants a trial to find him not guilty of murder because of mental illness is to learn his fate July 11. Justice Glenn Joyal set the date after hearing final arguments from Crown and defence lawyers in the case of Jeremy Skibicki. Skibicki, 37, is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of the four Indigenous women in 2022. His lawyers have admitted that he carried out the slayings but argue he should be found not criminally responsible. A forensic psychiatrist for the defence testified Skibicki was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the killings. “Delusions are driving a lot of what (Skibicki) is doing,” lawyer Leonard Tailleur told the trial Monday. Court has heard Skibicki...
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B.C.’s Eby frustrated at Quebec immigration money ‘at the expense’ of Western Canada
The Canadian Press Federal immigration money is being “showered down” on Ontario and Quebec “at the expense” of Western Canada, British Columbia Premier David Eby said. Eby told a news conference to mark the end of the annual Western Premiers’ Conference on Monday that Ottawa’s offer of $750 million to Quebec to help pay for a surge in temporary residents there is frustrating, and B.C. should also get a share. Eby said there are 10,000 people coming to British Columbia every 37 days, refugees have to stay in homeless shelters and international students don’t have support. “And so to see a single-province agreement with Quebec, is an underlining of a sense of frustration that I heard around the table,” he said. “I won’t put this on anyone else, but I’ll...
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Nunavik singer Elisapie honoured with Canada Post stamp
By Cedric Gallant, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Nunavik singer-songwriter Elisapie says she was “in disbelief” after she learned she will be getting her own stamp. Canada Post announced her inclusion in a new stamp series meant to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day, in a news release June 5. “It is a big deal,” Elisapie Isaac, who is known professionally as Elisapie, said in a phone interview. “Canada Post has been part of our lives [as Inuit] since we were first moved to a town, relocated from nomadic life.” She said the post office represents institutions that have led to major changes in Inuit history. To be honoured by one of these institutions is a “weird feeling, a very proud moment,” she said. “It feels like a sweet victory.” She added...
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Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs accuse Chiefs Of Ontario of “disrespect” says process rooted in “assimiliation”
By Lynda Powless Editor SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER- The Chiefs of Ontario (COO) may be descending on Six Nations of the Grand River today (Monday, June 9, 2023) but it will be without the support or approval of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chief’s Council (HCCC), the traditional governing body of Six Nations. The Chiefs of Ontario, (COO), with the support of the Six Nations Elected Band Council, plans to open its annual general meeting at the Six Nations arena Tuesday, but the HCCC didn’t learn of the move until receiving a letter, dated May 31st, last week accusing the COO of “disrespecting” the Confederacy. The HCCC sent out a notice Friday ( June 7) warning the COO they will neither support or endorse their event telling the COO ”...
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Closing arguments to be heard in Winnipeg trial of admitted serial killer
The Canadian Press 10/06/2024 Lawyers are expected to give closing arguments today in the trial of a Winnipeg man who has admitted to killing four women. Jeremy Skibicki has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the 2022 slayings. His lawyers admit he killed the women but say Skibicki should be found not criminally responsible due to mental illness. Crown prosecutors say the killings were racially motivated and Skibicki preyed on the Indigenous women at homeless shelters. The month-long trial has heard graphic details of how Skibicki assaulted the women, strangled or drowned them and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins in his neighbourhood. A forensic psychiatrist testified for the defence that Skibicki was suffering from schizophrenia, while a court-appointed expert said Skibicki didn’t have a major mental health...
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What to know about Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier’s first hearing in more than a decade
The Associated Press 10/06/2024 Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, who has spent most of his life in prison since his conviction in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents in South Dakota, has a parole hearing Monday at a federal prison in Florida. At 79, his health is failing, and if this parole request is denied, it might be a decade or more before it is considered again, said his attorney Kevin Sharp, a former federal judge. Sharp and other supporters have long argued that Peltier was wrongly convicted and say now that this effort may be his last chance at freedom. “This whole entire hearing is a battle for his life,” said Nick Tilsen, president and CEO of the NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led advocacy group. “It’s time for him to...
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B.C. looks into post-fire mushroom picking rush after First Nation reports conflicts
The Canadian Press 09/06/2024 British Columbia says it is not ruling out regulating wild mushroom picking after an Indigenous community said a rising number of foragers are infringing on its land, with one case involving alleged threats of physical violence and intimidation. The provincial response comes after the Skwlax te Secwepemculecw First Nation said the areas devastated by the Lower East Adams Lake and Bush Creek wildfires last year are now sprouting large numbers of morel mushrooms, attracting many foragers who are putting new pressures on the land’s fragile ecosystem. “It’s what they leave behind that is the problem and the devastation, the damage they’re doing cutting trees down,” said Chief James Tomma. “We’re seeing the unwanted killing of the wildlife who are under a lot of stress right now...
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