Red Scarf Day!
Red Scarf Day didn’t go unmarked at Six Nations thanks to the Six Nations Dept., of Well Being. Red Scarf Day focuses awareness on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1. It’s aimed at raising awareness for HIV/AIDS. The Red Scarves are placed in public spaces, like Six Nations Veterans’ Park and are free for the taking. The Six Nations Health/Well Being department has been placing the scarves since 2016. (Photo by Jim C. Powless)...
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Indigenous women suffer from intimate partner violence
By Austin Evans Writer The Ontario Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council (IWAC) is calling upon Ontario and its municipalities to keep Indigenous women in mind when addressing intimate partner violence. The Legislative Assembly of Ontario brought Bill 173 to the provincial government with the title, “An Act respecting intimate partner violence.” The Act itself is a single sentence: “The Government of Ontario shall recognize that intimate partner violence is an epidemic in Ontario.” Intimate partner violence is abuse which occurs in a current or former romantic relationship, including stalking, psychological abuse and physical and sexual violence. In 2023, rates of police-reported intimate partner violence in Ontario were at 269 per 10,000 people. While this is the lowest rate of all the provinces, it has steadily been on the rise since 2018....
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Councillor warns legal alcohol sales could hit Six Nations
Six Nations could see legal alcohol sales cropping up in the community. That is, if Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) doesn’t oppose alcohol sales local convenience stores could apply to sell it in the community. Councillor Cynthia Jamieson told SNEC at the General Council meeting on November 26, that if they don’t want alcohol sold in the community, they need to make that clear – quickly. Jamieson attended the Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) Ontario Joint Gathering November 5 to 7 and Jeff Skye, Chief of the Anishinabek Police Service expressed concerns about the impact of alcohol sales on communities because Premiere Doug Ford’s recent change to Ontario’s alcohol and gaming regulations that allow convenience stores to sell alcohol also applies to on-reserve convenience stores. Owners are eligible to apply for...
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Man facing charges after car travelling in wrong lane
OHSWEKEN, ON) A Six Nations man is facing impaired driving charges after a car was spotted driving in the wrong lane. Six Nations Police said on Sunday Oct. 13th at about 2:05 a.m. while on patrol, officers spotted a vehicle cross the centre line on Tuscarora Road. Police said the vehicle continued to be seen being driven erratically. Police successfully initiated a traffic stop of the vehicle. An officer approached the lone male driver advising him of the reason for the stop. At the same time, signs of impairment were observed on the man. Police said the man was cooperative with police. As a result of the investigation, police have arrested and charged Eldon Hill, 24, of Ohsweken, Ontario with the following offences: Impaired Operation Alcohol per se Offence “80...
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Driver charged with suspected drug impairment
OHSWEKEN, ON- A Hagersville man has been arrested and charged with multiple offences following a traffic stop. On Thursday, October 31st, 2024, at about 11:50 p.m. Six Nations Police were on general patrol on Argyle Street in Caledonia, Ontario. Police observed a vehicle swerving within the lane, crossing the centre line. Police continued to observe the vehicle driving erratically. Officers successfully conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle. Police approached the lone male driver to advise the driver the reason for the stop. Police said signs of impairment were observed on the driver. As a result of the investigation, police have arrested and charged Adriano Ditommaso,31, of Hagersville, Ontario with the following offences: Impaired Operation by Drug Dangerous Driving The accused is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of...
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First Nations Policing hopeful Supreme Court Ruling will aid in keeping communities safe
By Lynda Powless Editor A Supreme Court of Canada ruling ordering Quebec to provide more funding to a First Nation police force will aid Indigenous Police Forces in Ontario facing court action in the new year. Six Nations Chief of Police and President of the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario (“IPCO”) Darren Montour said the decision comes just as First Nation community policing in Ontario is facing a similar battle. “This decision confirms what our communities have long known, which is that Canada and the provinces refuse to seriously consider the safety needs of First Nations. The result is conditions which would be unacceptable anywhere else in this country,” he said. “Every day, our First Nations police services in Ontario are asked to do more with less,” he added. The...
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Six Nations conference highlights community challenges with off reserve health care services
Six Nations Wellbeing Department (formerly Health Dept.,) held a conference recently to spotlight racism in healthcare for healthcare workers in surrounding communities. Councillor Amos Key virtually joined the Six Nations Elected Council’s (SNEC) General Council meeting from the conference on November 26. He said the community is making headway on its local health goals, including building Canada’s first Indigenous hospice and health hubs with wrap-around services for both youth and elders. Health director commended He also commended director of Wellbeing, Debra Jonathan for all her work. “We are on our way to creating a new health system for Six Nations with that kind of leadership,” he said. While working toward community goals, Jonathan, her staff, and the Wellbeing Committee continue to work toward equity in healthcare off-reserve. The conference, which...
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First Nations Policing isn’t about funding a program…it’s about saving lives…
In 2018, police serving Indigenous populations reported an abysmal statistic. The overall crime rate for Indigenous populations hit 30,333 incidents per 100,000 population. To make it easier to understand that amounts to three criminal incidents being reported for every 10 people. Think of 10 people you know and include yourself…now the statistic hits home. For First Nation Policing across Ontario seeking proper funding and manpower isn’t about updating a program…it’s a cry for help. Sadly, its one the province believes it can negotiate down, or are willing to put the public at risk. First Nation Policing, for whatever reason, doesn’t seem to hit the radar of politicians until there’s a disaster. This past September marked the second anniversary of the tragic mass killings on James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan....
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Weekly Cartoon
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Today in History
Nov 17 In 2023, the Canadian government announced the launch of a new $10-million program aimed at providing grants to small businesses involved in Indigenous tourism across Canada. The fund, to be administered by the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, would supply qualifying small businesses with up to $25,000 each in non-repayable funding. Nov 18 n 2021, PJ Akeeagok became the new premier of Nunavut. Akeeagok, 37, is from Nunavut’s most northern community of Grise Fiord and represents an Iqaluit constituency in the legislative assembly. Akeeagok beat out incumbent premier Joe Savikataaq and former health minister Lorne Kusugak for the job. In 2013, former northern priest Eric Dejaeger pleaded guilty in a Nunavut courtroom to eight of 76 sex-related charges he faced involving Inuit children more than 30 years earlier....
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Six Nations hockey youngster to represent Canada at Austrian international hockey tournament
By Sam Laskaris Writer A young Six Nations hockey player will be getting a taste of international hockey in Austria next June. Rato’ratseriio Hill, a nine-year-old, has been named to a Canadian under-11 boys’ team that will participate in the United World Games in the Austrian city of Klagenfurt. Rato’ratseriio is a Grade 4 student at Skaronhyase’ko:wa Everlasting Tree School in Ohsweken. And he’s currently playing hockey with the Norfolk Knights, an under-10 A squad that competes in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA). He had spent last season with the Brantford 99ers, who also take part in the OMHA. Rato’ratseriio’s hockey career started when he joined a Brantford-based program when he was just three years old. “For an opportunity to come like this, we’re really excited,” said Hill’s father...
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AFN special chiefs assembly focusing on child welfare, policing, economics
OTTAWA-CP- Hundreds of First Nations chiefs are gathering in Ottawa for three days this week to discuss economic reconciliation, reforming the First Nations child welfare system, the policing system and the carbon price at an Assembly of First Nations’ special chiefs assembly. The gathering comes after a testy October assembly that saw chiefs vote down a $47.8-billion child welfare reform deal with Canada after decades of legal fights that found the federal government discriminated against First Nations children. It also comes as chiefs grow increasingly worried about a change in government, with a federal election looming and a gridlocked Parliament that means key pieces of legislation for First Nations people are not moving forward. The assembly’s gatherings are often attended by federal politicians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose address...
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RCMP investigating death after mixed martial arts fight
Canadian Press -Mounties in Alberta are investigating the death of a fighter following a mixed martial arts charity event. RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said the man was taken to hospital after he fought Saturday at a community centre in Enoch Cree First Nation west of Edmonton. Parkland RCMP received a report of the man’s death on Monday morning, he said. “This fighter did die in hospital. However, it was immediately after the fight, so you would attribute it to the fight,” Savinkoff said Wednesday. “This is a very traumatic incident, and I’m sure it’s traumatic for those that were watching the event.” The fighter was 33 and lived in Edmonton. The organizer of Saturday’s event, Ultra Events Canada, said in an email Wednesday it was devastated to hear about the...
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Teenage girl among two killed in Saskatchewan First Nation house fire
Canadian Press-Police say two people, including a teenage girl, are dead after a house fire on a northern Saskatchewan First Nation. They say the identity of the second person killed in the fire has yet to be confirmed. The fire occurred on Clearwater River Dene Nation about 600 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. RCMP spokesperson Keely Grasser says the girl was transported to hospital, where she died, while the other person was found dead inside the house. Grasser says the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency is investigating the cause of the fire. Clearwater River Dene Nation Chief Teddy Clark posted on social media that the First Nation is putting together a crisis team to support the community and families involved. “Our hearts go out to the families affected by this tragedy, and...
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Indigenous leaders agree ‘Our Land for the Future’ initiative will have widespread benefits
By Tom Taylor, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Nahanni Butte Chief Steve Vital believes the newly signed NWT: Our Land for the Future agreement could have major benefits for his community and Indigenous people across the NWT. The Nahanni Butte Dene Band was one of 22 Indigenous governments to sign the new agreement on Nov. 14 — along with the Government of Canada, the GNWT, and private donors. The initiative unlocked $375 million to fund Indigenous-led conservation, stewardship, and economic development across the territory. “The agreement is based on the collective vision of Indigenous Leadership on sustainability, protecting and preserving our land, water, wildlife and natural resources,” Vital told NNSL Media, adding that it will help establish “a perfect equilibrium of economic development with conservation,” as “directed by the vision of...
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Ontario’s ministerial zoning order process needs overhaul, auditor general say
Ontario’s ministerial zoning order process needs to be overhauled, even after the introduction of a new framework for the land use planning tool, the province’s auditor general said Tuesday. Minister’s zoning orders – also known as MZOs – allow the housing minister to make changes to land zoning rules, override municipal decisions, and in theory, fast-track housing projects. The auditor general says the province has used the tool 114 times from 2019 to 2023 under Premier Doug Ford’s government, which is a 17-fold increase in usage from the previous 20 years. Consequently, re-zoned agricultural land rose in value by 46 per cent on average, the auditor general concluded. “We found that none of the information packages that the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing prepared for the minister during this...
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Man injured while defending wife from polar bear attack in northern Ontario: police
A man who jumped onto a polar bear that lunged at his wife has been seriously injured but is expected to recover, police in a northern Ontario First Nation said Tuesday. The Nishnawbe Aski Police Service said a couple stepped out of their home in Fort Severn First Nation before 5 a.m. to check on their dogs only to come across a polar bear in their driveway. Police said the bear lunged at the woman, who slipped on the ground. Her husband jumped onto the animal to prevent it from mauling her, and the bear then attacked the man, leaving him with serious injuries to his arms and legs. A neighbour arrived and shot the bear several times, police said. The bear took off and died in a nearby wooded...
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AFN demands national inquiry into systemic racism in policing, police-related deaths
OTTAWA-(CP)The Assembly of First Nations is demanding the federal government launch a national inquiry into systemic racism in policing and the deaths of First Nations people. A resolution penned by Chief Allan Polchies of St. Mary’s First Nation says despite 20 individual inquiries and commissions into the police and justice system since 1989, the federal government has failed to make substantive changes to address systemic racism within the RCMP and other agencies. Polchies told those gathered at the AFN’s special chiefs assembly in Ottawa that First Nations people should feel safe on their own lands, and shouldn’t be afraid of police. His resolution comes after a string of incidents between Aug. 29 and Sept. 24 that left nine First Nations people dead during or after interactions with police. “The investigations...
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Former Edmonton Elks CEO to head athlete safety committee after fighter’s death
Canadian Press-Alberta’s sport minister says the former head of the Edmonton Elks football team will lead a committee tasked with improving athlete safety in combative sports. Joseph Schow says Victor Cui’s extensive experience working with governments to establish combative sport commissions and improve athlete safety will be a vital asset. Cui, who left Edmonton’s Canadian Football League team in 2023, is also co-founder of ONE Championship, a global martial arts media organization. Schow’s announcement comes a little more than a week after amateur mixed martial arts fighter Trokon Dousuah died of injuries sustained in a charity fight at a First Nation near Edmonton. Schow says his ministry takes athlete safety seriously and is working to ensure combative sport participants can safely compete. He says he plans to meet with sports...
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Fort William chief disappointed with NWMO decision
By Clint Fleury, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter THUNDER BAY — Fort William First Nation Chief Michele Solomon said she is “disappointed” after hearing that a proposed nuclear waste disposal site will fall on Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation’s traditional territory. “The voices of opposition have not been considered in the selection process scenario. I think that they really need to go back and give the people who have opposition an opportunity to be heard and their views considered in the selection process,” Solomon told Newswatch. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) chose the Revell Lake site, between Ignace Township and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation, as their preferred site for a deep geological repository (DGR) shortly after the First Nation expressed its willingness to proceed with the project two weeks ago. The...
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