`It’s all Haida land’: Nation’s title to be officially recognized over the entirety of Haida Gwaii
By Julie Chadwick Local Journalism Initiative Reporter In a decision that has been more than 50 years in the making, “B.C.” has announced the completion of a draft agreement that formally recognizes the Haida Nation’s Aboriginal title throughout its entire territory of Haida Gwaii. Spread out over more than 200 islands strung along the province’s Northwest Coast, their homelands comprise more than 10,000 square kilometres in total. The agreement, announced March 15, lays out a framework for negotiation around how the nation and the province will work together on a transition to Haida governance and jurisdiction. Though it still needs to be finalized, this marks a milestone in “Canadian” history as the first time the province has recognized Aboriginal title via negotiation rather than being forced to acknowledge it through...
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Indigenous nation gives stranded B.C. killer whale calf name: Brave Little Hunter
ZEBALLOS, B.C. -A marine scientist says he expects rescue efforts to help coax a stranded killer whale calf from a shallow lagoon off northern Vancouver Island to continue today despite federal Fisheries Department concerns about limited opportunities due to changing tidal flows. Jared Towers, who’s with the whale research group Bay Cetology, says attempts to use recorded killer whale vocalizations to convince the calf to leave the lagoon over the past few days have not been successful. But he says other options are available, including using a large line to guide the orca out of the lagoon or setting off noise-making devices that could frighten the young killer whale out of the lagoon. Towers says the rescue team has about 30 minutes daily when the tide rises to the point...
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Doig River First Nation looking to host open houses about Dawson Creek urban reserve
By Tom Summer Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Doig River First Nation is continuing development of an urban reserve in Dawson Creek. Chief Trevor Makadahay and Band Manager Shona Nelson appeared as a delegation during the City of Dawson Creek’s March 25 council meeting to answer questions about the project. Makadahay said the urban reserve is an opportunity to build relationships with the Dawson Creek community, and noted they’re looking to host open houses and world cafes for the general public to provide information and foster understanding of their plans. 10.4 acres have been set aside in Dawson Creek for the urban reserve. A trading post or gas station were previously noted as potential uses for the land, with the nation open to seeing what business needs or services the community...
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Indigenous languages now have a place in the legislature
By Mike Stimpson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The rules of Ontario’s legislature have changed to accommodate Indigenous languages. Government House Leader Paul Calandra moved in the legislature Tuesday morning that the chamber’s Standing Order 24(a) be amended to say members may use English, French “or an Indigenous language spoken in Canada” when addressing the Speaker or chamber. After some debate, the motion carried in a voice vote. Standing orders are written rules for proceedings in a parliament that remain in place in its next session unless amended. Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford, who is minister of Indigenous Affairs, spoke in support of the motion and said he hoped “that someday we may have a broader representation of First Nations people” in Ontario’s legislative assembly. “We’ve got to start somewhere,” he...
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Alberta supporting Treaties 6, 7, 8 to keep federal funding
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Alberta government has announced its support of Indigenous efforts to keep unused federal funds from the Site Rehabilitation Program in Alberta. Launched in May 2020, the Site Rehabilitation Program has been an effort to clean up and reclaim land in Indigenous regions from abandoned oil and gas sites. “The Site Rehabilitation Program is a tried, tested and true vehicle for economic reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples,” said Rick Wilson, minister of Indigenous Relations. “It has provided meaningful job opportunities and work experience, while also reclaiming the land so the communities can use it again. We need flexibility from the federal government to continue this important work.” The province has since worked alongside First Nations communities, businesses, the Indian Resource Council, and the Metis...
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Gang and gun violence on the rise
Gang and gun violence on rise, Six Nations Police Chief says By Lisa Isse Writer Six Nation Police (SNP) are warning gang and gun violence is on the rise at Six Nations with some gang members as young as nine years old. SNP Chief Darren Montour told a crowd at the Six Nations community hall Monday night SNP is not sure why gang and gun violence seems to be growing in the community. Community testimonies alongside statistics are showng the increase, an audience of about 50 community members was told. Police Chief Montour said the age of affected youth varies, but what is common across all affected youth is a loss of cultural connection. “You have ‘young people’ as well like those up to 30 years old, he said. “They’re...
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Police flyover spots 15 stolen vehicles
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND – The first police flyover in Six Nations in eight years has recovered about 15 stolen vehicles so far. Six Nations Police (SNP) Chief Darren Montour said the results of the investigation are still pending. “I still don’t have the numbers of vehicles located during the flyover. It wasn’t a significant number, possibly 12-15 from what the officer in the helicopter advised,” SNP Chief Montour told the Turtle Island News. On March 11, SNP announced they were conducting a flyover of the Territory on March 12 “looking for stolen vehicles.” “In recent months, the police service has investigated an increase in the number of stolen vehicles being recovered on the Territory,” SNP said in the public release posted on their facebook site. Six Nations community...
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Six Nations lands caught in “obstacles” of federal policy
By Lisa Iesse Writer Six Nations Lands and Resources (SNLR) department says about 1,000 acres of the community’s land is caught in the red tape of Additions to Reserves (ATR) process. Six Nations Lands and Resources (SNLR) department hosted an info session March 20 to present information about what the ATR policy has looked like in the past, what it looks like now, and what it could be like in the future. About 20 community members attended the in-person session at the Six Nations Community Hall. SNLR is seeking community feedback on the ATR process. Lands resource director Lonny Bomberry, said the community consultation comes on the heels of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), announcing they are submitting a report on the ATR process to the federal government. The...
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Indigenous “presence” found at Norfolk cemetary
By Lisa Iesse Writer Norfolk County Council (NCC) is moving to a Stage 1 archeological assessment after “archaeological evidence of First Nations presence” was found at a local cemetery last year. The find comes two years after a county councillor charged there was no proof of Indigenous people in the county. “There was nobody here when the Europeans came here, (to) this particular area of Norfolk County within southern Ontario, in-between the lakes area,” said Councillor Chris Van Paassen at a NCC meeting on September 14, 2021. At that meeting, Councillor Van Passen also denied the current presence of First Nations in the area now known as Norfolk County. “The area of Norfolk county is not inhabited by Indigenous peoples, it has not been since before the time of European...
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Canada Post sale won’t affect Six Nations tax exemption
Canada Post has assured Six Nations despite selling off pieces of itself to private businesses Six Nations community members won’t be taxed. They’re also looking into getting Six Nations its own postal code, but says it’s not as easy as just pushing a button. Six Nations Elected Chief Sherri Lyn Hill gave an update at the Political Liaison Committee meeting on March 25 and said she met with Canada Post to discuss some issues and brought up the difficulties Six Nations faces having up to five postal codes. “The goal of the meeting was to discuss the retail sale of Canada Post and tax exemptions. There will be no sales tax and we discussed the interest for Six Nations to have its own single postal code,” she said. In January...
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Pssst…be on our side!
It was a secret. Media wasn’t suppose to find out about. But our readers know, Turtle Island News doesn’t like secrets! It was expensive. And it was likely paid for from the community’s own source revenues when the current Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) decided to host about 40 mayors from surrounding towns and cities that exist on Haldimand Proclamation lands, lands that belong to the “Mohawks and such others..” recently. Media wasn’t told. No photo ops of the 40 mayors (by the way Brantford didn’t show up) with Elected Council Chief Sherri-Lyn Hill or her councillors. It was supposed to be a quiet meeting to chat with the mayors. The glitzy gathering took place at the Gathering Place with SNEC’s land resource department explaining SNEC’s outstanding multi-billion dollar land...
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Weekly Cartoon
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ECHOES OF A MURDER – Two daughters, two parents, and echoes of a murder that rocked Indigenous activism
By Darryl Greer The Canadian Press In Halifax, Denise Pictou Maloney says the trauma and grief from the 1975 murder of her mother, Indigenous activist Anna Mae Aqaush, has never dimmed. Pictou Maloney was nine when she last saw her. In Vancouver, Naneek Graham vividly remembers American FBI agents visiting her family’s home in Yukon in the 1980s to threaten her father, John Graham, with prosecution if he didn’t co-operate with the murder investigation. Thirty-five years after the killing, Graham, a member of the American Indian Movement, was convicted of murdering Aquash by shooting her in the back of the head in South Dakota. For decades, the two families on opposite sides of Canada have been unwillingly bound by the legacy of the murder that rocked the Indigenous movement 49...
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Sports briefs: Sky Hawks capture Women’s Arena Lacrosse League title
By Sam Laskaris Writer The Ontario-based East division of the Women’s Arena Lacrosse League (WALL) crowned its 2024 champs this past Saturday. All regular season and playoff matches in the five-team league were staged at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. The Sky Hawks, who had placed atop the regular season standings with a record of 8-2-2, continued their dominance in the playoffs. For starters they thumped the Cobras 10-3 in their semi-final outing this past Saturday. And later in the day they doubled the Firebirds 6-3 to capture the WALL title. Local ALL clubs have season-ending playoff contests The three local Arena Lacrosse League (ALL) squads did not have any success in their opening-round playoff matches this past weekend. The Six Nations Snipers, Ohsweken Bears and Paris RiverWolves – who all...
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Tomahawks announce new coach and new general manager
By Sam Laskaris Writer The Six Nations Tomahawks will have plenty of new faces and not just on the floor for their 2024 campaign. The Tomahawks, who captured their provincial Senior Series Lacrosse (SSL) championship last August, were dealt a blow a couple of weeks ago. That’s because Jay Smith, who had orchestrated the team’s Ontario title by serving as the head coach and general manager of the Senior C club last season, left the organization in order to accept a role with the Six Nations Rivermen, the established local Senior B squad. Following Smith’s departure some of the Tomahawks’ training camp sessions for this year were cancelled. On Monday, however, the Tomahawks announced who will be in charge of the club this season. Chad General was named as the...
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Kilgour returning to Chiefs’ bench as assistant coach
By Sam Laskaris Writer A seven-time Mann Cup champion is returning to the Six Nations Chiefs’ fold in an attempt to help the local lacrosse squad capture back-to-back national titles. It was announced on Monday that Rich Kilgour, a former Chiefs’ player who also served as the head coach of the Six Nations club from 2010-19, has agreed to rejoin the team as an assistant coach. “I just want to be part of a team and contribute,” he said. Kilgour will primarily work with the Chiefs’ defensive players, a role that had been filled last year by assistant coach Joey Cupido. Cupido had joined the Chiefs’ coaching staff as he was recuperating from an injury. But he is expected to resume his Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) playing career this year....
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Aysanabee, Tate McRae, Tobi lead Juno Award winners
By David Friend The Canadian Press Artists from three corners of Canada’s music scene emerged as big winners at the Juno Awards industry gala on Saturday as rapper Tobi, alternative singer Aysanabee and pop star Tate McRae came out on top. Each pocketed two trophies at the invite-only event held at the Halifax Convention Centre, a precursor to Sunday’s Junos broadcast on CBC. Oji-Cree musician Aysanabee’s “Here and Now” was named alternative album of the year, while he also won the songwriter’s award for his work on the album’s tracks. While accepting one of his awards the musician, born Evan Pang, asked his fellow Indigenous artists in the room to stand up and be acknowledged, saying this year saw more Indigenous artists up for Junos than ever. Representatives for the...
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Manitoba Indigenous Summer Games revived following lengthy hiatus
By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Manitoba Indigenous Summer Games will return in 2025 following a 14-year hiatus. The Manitoba Aboriginal Sports & Recreation Council (MASRC), which is the governing body of Indigenous athletics and recreation in the province, announced details for next year’s Games at a news conference on March 18. Just two First Nations had applied to host the Games, Norway House Cree Nation and Sagkeeng First Nation. But instead of awarding the Games to one First Nation, MASRC officials opted to have the two applicants co-host the multi-sport competition. “There’s a bit of distance between the north and the south (parts of the province),’’ said Gabrielle Wishart, the MASRC’s communications coordinator. “And we thought it would make sense to split it up.’’ As a result,...
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Stranded orca was pregnant, while efforts to save her other calf turns on rising tide
ZEBALLOS, B.C.- A killer whale calf stranded in a lagoon without its mother to guide it to the open ocean off northern Vancouver Island appears traumatized as a rescue team tries to coax it to move toward a possible reunion with its extended family, a marine scientist says. Jared Towers said Tuesday the rescue team only has about 30 minutes daily when the tide rises to the point where the two-year-old orca calf can safely navigate itself out of the lagoon, near the village of Zeballos, located more than 450 kilometres northwest of Victoria. The calf’s mother, a 15-year-old Bigg’s killer whale, died Saturday when she became beached at the lagoon and could not free herself despite rescue efforts of local First Nations residents and others. Towers said they’ve tried...
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Stranded orca was pregnant, while efforts to save her other calf turns on rising tide
ZEBALLOS, B.C.- A necropsy on the killer whale that died after being stranded off northern Vancouver Island shows she was pregnant with another calf. Marine scientist Jared Towers watched the necropsy on the animal and says the 15-year-old Bigg’s killer whale was expecting another calf when she became trapped in shallow waters near the community of Zeballos. Towers, who’s with the research group Bay Cetology, says scientists, area First Nations volunteers and others are now focusing their efforts on coaxing the killer whale’s two-year-old calf out of the lagoon, but the timing of the tidal waters only offers a daily opportunity of about 30 minutes for the animal to swim out of the lagoon. He says the young whale, which has been in the area since Saturday, has so far...
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