SNEC closes doors to spend millions
Behind closed doors… Let’s say that again…behind closed doors… Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) decided to rack up what could amount to a more than $80 million bill on three projects that could tie the financial hands of future councils. And the community knows little of why the decision was made. Instead, in what amounts to a brief statement, SNEC’s CEO mentioned, by the way we are looking to spend up to $80 million and hope to find funds to help foot the bill. The money is going towards the cost to build a local school, a new lodge and a hospice. Without any doubt those are all good causes or needs but that isn’t the question. For some reason the current council went behind closed doors at its newly...
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Brandon Montour community celebration costs hit $184,000
Celebrating Brandon Montour’s Stanley Cup win cost Six Nations a lot more than it bargained for. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) had set a budget to celebrate the Florida Panthers Stanley Cup win at $54,000, but CEO Nathan Wright told council at the General Finance meeting on August 19, they spent more than three times that. “When it was determined that the numbers coming in far exceeded what the community could handle, that’s when our costs ballooned,” Wright said. The night before the parade, he anticipated the costs were “north of $125,000” and he said he “cautioned council the night before” the parade, but said the costs kept rising due to safety requirements. The total cost ended up coming in at $184,187 for the three-hour event that took place on...
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Six Nations Natural Gas board blamed for late Six Nations Elected Council audit
Six Nations Elected Council’s (SNEC) annual audit is late again this year, but should be available in the coming weeks. SNEC passed a motion to pay auditing firm KPMG $72,760 for its progress on the 2023-2024 audit during its General Finance meeting on August 19. The fiscal year ended March 31, 2024. Councillor Helen Miller asked why the audit isn’t complete yet and what the hold up is. “We were all gung ho get it done in June and now here we are and it’s almost September again,” she said. Jennifer Court, Director of Financial Reporting and Analysis laid the blame on the Six Nations Natural Gas (SNNG) board saying SNNG held up the process. She said SNNG originally submitted their draft audit and not a complete audit. “Unfortunately the...
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Six Nations Fire Gala bigger than ever
The Six Nations Fire Service is hoping hosting a larger annual gala will net them more money for the operating budget, but can’t cover the costs up front. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) passed a motion to front a little more than $33,000 at the General FInance meeting on August 19. The 2024 Fire Gala will be held at Monthill Golf and Country club but the largest cost is coming from this year’s entertainment, a charity casino run by Abbey Road Entertainment coming in at $24,908. CEO Nathan Wright said Abbey Road will set up and run casino games, people will donate a certain amount of money in return for chips, gamble those chips and use their winnings to enter draws for prizes. Councillor Audrey Powless Bomberry voted against using...
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Six Nations Rivermen goalie preparing to compete in various prestigious championships
By Sam Laskaris Writer It’s already been an award-winning season for Six Nations Rivermen goaltender Drew Hutchison. But the 26-year-old could add several more accolades to his list of 2024 accomplishments in the coming weeks. “It could be a busy fall,” Hutchison said. “We’ll just keep moving on and hope for the best.” Hutchison already knows that he will be part of the Rivermen contingent that will compete in the Presidents Cup, the national Senior B lacrosse tournament, that starts this Sunday in British Columbia. He’ll also represent the United States at the world men’s lacrosse tournament that will be held next month in Utica, N.Y. And there’s also a chance he will play in the Mann Cup, the Canadian Senior A tournament, with the Peterborough Lakers next month. For...
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Pro lacrosse player from Six Nations included among Haudenosaunee U-20 coaching staff
By Sam Laskaris Writer There will now be even more Six Nations representation on the Haudenosaunee Nationals men’s Under 20 lacrosse squad that will compete at next year’s world tournament. Six Nations member Delby Powless had previously been named the general manager of the club that will participate at its world tourney, next July in South Korea. This past Thursday, however, club officials announced its coaching staff. Among those selected to help guide the team is Blake Gibson-McDonald, a pro player from Six Nations, who will serve as an assistant coach with the squad. Gibson-McDonald, who is 28, plays professionally with the Las Vegas Desert Dogs. The Desert Dogs are one of 15 clubs that compete in the National Lacrosse League. “I am incredibly honored and grateful to be named...
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Father and son to represent different squads at national lacrosse tournament
Local Journalism Initiative As it turns out the father-and-son duo of Jay and Layne Smith will be participating in this year’s Presidents Cup, the national Senior B men’s lacrosse tournament. But in a bit of an odd twist, the Smiths, members of the Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario, will be representing different clubs at the Canadian tournament, which begins Aug. 25 in Delta, B.C. Jay Smith is the rookie general manager and an assistant coach with his hometown Six Nations Rivermen, who qualified for the Presidents Cup by winning the Ontario Senior Lacrosse (OSL) title. As for Layne Smith, he started off the 2024 campaign with the Rivermen, the team he has also suited up for the past several seasons. But once there was an appealing offer...
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Six Nations Chiefs need to rally to host Mann Cup
SPORTS BRIEFS By Sam Laskaris Writer CHIEFS REQUIRE MASSIVE RALLY The Six Nations Chiefs need to quickly return to their winning ways if they wish to maintain their hopes of hosting and capturing the Mann Cup at home this year. The Chiefs are the defending national Senior A lacrosse champs as they won the 2023 Mann Cup in British Columbia. They beat the host New Westminister Salmonbellies 4-1 in a best-of-seven series last September. The Six Nations squad, however, has now dug itself into a bit of a hole as it lost the first two games of its Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) best-of-seven championship final series versus the Peterborough Lakers. The eventual MSL champs will earn the right to host this year’s Mann Cup series, starting on Sept. 6. The...
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Six Nations man facing theft charges
By Austin Evans Writer A repeat thief was charged with assaulting an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer. Haldimand OPP officers responded to a reported theft from a business on Argyle Street, Caledonia on August 18 at approximately 1:40 pm. OPP said a man entered the store twice, both times taking items and leaving without payig. Haldimand OPP arrested the man a short distance away Colin Porter, 31, of Six Nations is facing six charges including : assaulting a peace officer, obstructing a peace officer, resisting a peace officer, possessing property obtained by crime under $5000, and two counts of theft under $5000. He remains in custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Cayuga on August 22, 2024....
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Manitoba First Nations call for alcohol restrictions after violence prompts curfew
The Canadian Press-First Nations chiefs in northern Manitoba are calling for restrictions on alcohol purchases following an uptick in violent crimes, including a series of stabbings in one community over the weekend. “When someone goes into a liquor store and they purchase a case of 60-ounce bottles … they’re obviously bootlegging,” Acting Grand Chief Angela Levasseur, with Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, said Tuesday. “Where is the regulation? Why is the government aiding and abetting bootleggers by allowing people to purchase these mass quantities of alcohol without a permit?” The advocacy group for some northern Manitoba First Nations said it has seen a 40 per cent increase in violent acts in the communities it represents since 2021. Levasseur is calling on the federal and provincial governments to stop the flow of illicit...
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Manitoba chiefs call for PM to rescind Charles Adler’s appointment to Senate
The Canadian Press First Nations chiefs in Manitoba are calling for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to rescind the appointment of veteran broadcaster Charles Adler to the Senate. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs says Adler’s past comments toward Indigenous Peoples are “grossly offensive” and perpetuate stereotypes. In 1999, while working on a radio show in Winnipeg, Adler called Indigenous leaders “uncivilized boneheads” and “intellectually moribund,” among other names. Grand Chief Cathy Merrick questioned how Adler, who was appointed to the Senate to represent Manitoba on Trudeau’s advice on Saturday, could advocate for First Nations in a respectful way given his previous words. “For comments like that to be made from someone that is going to be appointed into the Senate is not acceptable because you carry those thoughts,” she said. “It...
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Brantford man and woman facing drug charges
By Austin Evans Writer BRANTFORD,ONT- The Brantford Police Services (BPS) has seized over $24,000 in illicit drugs in just two arrests. Members of the BPS conducted an investigation to locate and arrest an unnamed 23-year-old Brantford man wanted for multiple offences. The investigation was led by members of the BPS High Enforcement Action Team and the BPS Tactical Intelligence Generated Enforcement and Response Unit. As a result of the investigation, members of the BPS Emergency Response Team and the BPS K-9 Unit arrested the man at Colborne Street and King Street at approximately 5:45 pm on August 14. Officers searched him and found a concealed and loaded handgun, roughly 79 grams of suspected Fentanyl, a digital scale, multiple cell phones, and a large amount of cash. An unnamed 33-year-old Brantford...
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A B.C. First Nation burned down — now it’s building back bigger
A year ago, a wildfire tore through a First Nation in the interior of British Columbia, destroying 32 structures. And yet, Skwlāx te Secwepemcúl̓ecw is celebrating. James Tomma, Kukpi7 (Chief) of the First Nation that sits around 60 kilometres east of Kamloops, told Canada’s National Observer that there was a sense of despair right after the climate catastrophe during last year’s historic wildfire season. Skwlāx was one of more than 90 First Nations who were evacuated last year. Tomma lost his own home to the fire. He and his brothers tried to stave the fire off of their old family home, but it too burned to the ground. Community members whose homes were also lost were housed across the region, some in towns 45 minutes away, including in nearby Kamloops...
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Manitoba chiefs call for PM to rescind Charles Adler’s appointment to Senate
Canadian Press 20/08/2024 14:46 First Nations chiefs in Manitoba are calling for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to rescind the appointment of veteran broadcaster Charles Adler to the Senate. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs says Adler’s past comments toward Indigenous Peoples are “grossly offensive” and perpetuate stereotypes. In 1999, while working on a radio show in Winnipeg, Adler called Indigenous leaders “uncivilized boneheads” and “intellectually moribund,” among other names. Grand Chief Cathy Merrick questioned how Adler, who was appointed to the Senate to represent Manitoba on Trudeau’s advice on Saturday, could advocate for First Nations in a respectful way given his previous words. Adler wrote on social media that being criticized is nothing new for him, and that he expects the same while serving in the Senate. Assembly of First Nations...
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Criticism of new Senate appointment includes that of a federal cabinet minister
Canadian Press The appointment of longtime broadcaster Charles Adler to the Senate is being criticized in some quarters, including by a member of the federal cabinet. Adler, who spent decades hosting talk-radio shows, was named to the Senate on the weekend by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and will represent Manitoba. Dan Vandal, the minister of northern affairs, has issued a brief one-sentence statement that says there are many Manitobans better suited to represent the province. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is calling on the prime minister to revoke the appointment and is accusing Adler of having used grossly offensive language about Indigenous people on air. Adler declined an interview request and said he would not comment. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs complained in 1999 about Adler using terms such as...
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Tseshaht officials urge households to be prepared for emergencies
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Port Alberni, BC – When a wildfire broke out near Tseshaht’s main reserve on Aug. 6, elected Councillor Leisa Hassall says she could almost instantly smell the smoke. “My house is actually 1.6 kilometres away,” said Hassall. “We have infrastructure that is close too, like the Maht Mahs (Gym), the NTC building and a few other buildings are all within less than two kilometres (of the fire).” Thanks to the quick response from BC Wildfire, the Sproat Lake Volunteer Fire Department and Mosaic Forest Management, the wildfire was unofficially classified as ‘being held’ the same night it was reported. “We ended up with three different bodies responding to this one fire, which is fantastic. As far as I know, Mosaic remained on site...
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B.C. police drop surnames in missing person alerts to avoid ‘negative lasting impact’
The Canadian Press It could be a weekend teenage runaway. An elderly loved one, lost and disoriented. Or it could be the first indication of murder. The first call to a police department to report a missing person sets in motion a series of investigative and public actions to find them, then, once found, protect their identity from becoming part of a permanent public record, said Insp. Drew Robertson of the Saanich Police Department. The department that polices Greater Victoria’s largest municipality recently moved to exclude surnames from public alerts requesting help finding missing people, in a bid to avoid causing them future harm. In so doing, it joins a growing number of law enforcement agencies across Canada, and has drawn praise from British Columbia’s privacy commissioner. Others, including the...
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Indigenous fisher from Maine claims treaty rights after arrest
By Andrew Bates, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter An Indigenous lobster fisher from Maine is claiming treaty rights after being charged with illegally fishing in Passamaquoddy Bay. Erik D. Francis, 54, of Perry, Maine, is charged with Coastal Fisheries Protection Act offences relating to two incidents in November 2022 and September 2023 where he is accused of fishing from a foreign vessel in New Brunswick waters. In a statement, Fisheries and Oceans Canada spokesperson Lauren Sankey, fisheries officials arrested and released one person on Nov. 15, 2022, after seizing 36 lobster traps during a patrol of Passamaquoddy Bay. The same person was charged with two others on Sept. 20, 2023, after 12 traps were seized during patrol of the bay, Sankey wrote. According to court documents, Francis asserts constitutional rights to...
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Kenzie Allen’s debut poetry collection a treasure trove of pop culture references
Scattered throughout Kenzie Allen’s debut poetry collection are familiar names: Indiana Jones, Pocahontas, Yoko Ono. “The pop culture figures are not just fun, weird foils for me, which they are, but they’re also a shared reference point,” she said. For a long time, she said, she felt like she had to include those reference points in her work – to name the stereotypes about Indigenous women so she could challenge them. “I felt like I couldn’t speak to lived experience — true lived experience — without speaking to those stereotypes first.” The Toronto-based Haudenosaunee poet said her poems are a way for her to reclaim her Indigeneity from those who labelled her too much or not enough — people in the publishing industry who encouraged her to move the more...
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