Turning Sun Solar Breaks Ground
By Carol Baldwin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Wakaw Recorder Located on the traditional territory of the Ocean Man Nakoda Nation, the Turning Sun Solar project is one of the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in the province of Saskatchewan and one of the largest renewable energy projects currently under construction in Canada. The Turning Sun Solar Project includes 10 percent Indigenous ownership through the partnership with the Ocean Man First Nation. At the groundbreaking ceremony on June 5, MP Terry Duguid, on behalf of the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced $15 million in federal funding for the project provided by the Government of Canada’s Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREPs). This $4.5-billion program is designed to support the deployment of grid modernization, energy storage...
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Nuu-chah-nulth artists speak out against AI-generated art and fashion models
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa From a shared house in Medellín, Colombia, Koyah Morgan-Banke from the Toquaht and Secwépemc First Nations says all her career aspirations are going to be impacted by AI. The 20-year-old is spending the summer in South America after signing with a modelling agency. The Ucluelet Secondary School graduate also specializes in Indigenous formline design and is studying Neuroscience at the University of British Columbia (UBC). In science, AI excites me because data analysis is so much easier now. In every other facet, specifically creative, it’s horrifying. It’s very, very scary,” said Morgan-Banke over Facetime. When it comes to the modelling industry in 2026, Morgan-Banke says she is competing with computer generated models for gigs, and she has to be vigilant when signing...
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HBC Royal Charter welcomed in ceremony at Manitoba Museum
By Ian Bickis A 356-year-old document that granted the Hudson’s Bay Co. control over roughly one-third of Canada is now in public hands. The HBC Royal Charter was unveiled Thursday at the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg in a ceremony that was both a celebration of the new life of the document and a reflection on the troubled legacy it created. “In 1670, a king, sitting across the ocean, claimed authority over our lands,” said Ovide Mercredi, former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. “Through the so-called right of discovery, vast territories were granted to the Hudson’s Bay Company, as if our lands and territories were empty. But our lands were not empty, our nations were here.” Canada later bought the lands from the company, without recognizing the ancestors...
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Affordable housing breaks ground for off reserve residents
By John Watson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Strathmore Times Siksika Off Reserve Affordable Housing (SORAH) hosted the official groundbreaking for the Erin Woods Indigenous Housing Development, June 8, in Calgary. “This project, which is going to see the construction of 60 town homes and a welcome centre here in Erin Woods, is the continued hard work of the people of Siksika Nation, my very supportive board members from the City of Calgary Indigenous Housing Committee, and the urban Indigenous here in Calgary,” said Max Lloyd, general manager of SORAH. “In most cases, they are going to be forever homes. Some people will be living here for a short period of time by their choosing, and maybe they are going to be transitioning to other housing which would better suit their...
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Alberta files appeal on court decision to throw out separatist referendum petition
By Jack Farrell Alberta’s government filed on Thursday its appeal of a judge’s decision to quash a petition looking to force a vote on the province quitting Canada. Premier Danielle Smith criticized the ruling last month, calling it “anti-democratic,” and promised to appeal. Court of King’s Bench Justice Shaina Leonard found the referendum petition shouldn’t have been issued under provincial law and that Smith’s government neglected its duty to consult First Nations. Leonard’s decision effectively threw out the petition, which organizers submitted to Elections Alberta at the beginning of May. The campaign’s leaders have said almost 302,000 Albertans signed their names. A group of Alberta First Nations challenged the petition and Elections Alberta’s decision to issue it. In the appeal filed in Edmonton court, the province says it plans to...
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Statement from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on the Anniversary of the Apology to Former Students of Residential Schools
June 11, 2026 Ottawa, ON – The Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition and the Conservative Party of Canada, released the following statement on the Anniversary of the Apology to Former Students of Residential Schools: “On this day in 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered a long-awaited apology to the Indigenous community, finally acknowledging the government’s role in the Residential School system which, in Harper’s words, ‘was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country.’ “For over a century, motivated by the desire to assimilate Indigenous peoples and destroy their cultures, thousands of children were torn from their families and stripped of their language and traditions. “Over 150,000 children went through the system, far too many did not return. Those who did often...
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OPP officer killed in line of duty
Procession Escort from Forensic Sciences and Coroner’s Complex ORILLIA, ON – A procession to escort Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Provincial Constable Tarun Bali from the Forensic Sciences and Coroner’s Complex (FSCC) in North York to Thornhill will take place on Friday, June 12, 2026. On Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at approximately 12:30 p.m., members of the James Bay OPP were attempting to stop a vehicle as part of an ongoing investigation. During the attempted apprehension, an officer was struck by the vehicle. The officer, OPP Provincial Constable Tarun Bali, was seriously injured and was later pronounced deceased. An 18-year-old male from Hearst was charged with first degree murder in relation to this investigation. The procession transferring Provincial Constable Bali from the FSCC to the funeral home will depart the FSCC...
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Imperial Oil penalized $120K for substantial wastewater spill near Fort McMurray
Imperial Oil has been penalized $120,000 for a wastewater spill at its Kearl oilsands mine near Fort McMurray, Alta. Alberta’s energy regulator laid nine charges against the company last year in connection to the 2023 spill, which saw about 5.2 million litres of wastewater overflow from a drainage pond. An agreed statement of facts shared Thursday by the regulator says the company agreed to plead guilty last month to one of the offences: releasing substances from the mine to the surrounding watershed without approval. The other charges were withdrawn. They included failing to report the spill as soon as it was known and releasing a substance that “caused or may have caused a significant adverse effect.” The court document says the pond contained wastewater from bitumen processing, precipitation and seepage...
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Alberta files appeal on court decision to throw out separatist referendum petition
By Jack Farrell Alberta’s government has filed its appeal of a judge’s decision to quash a petition looking to force a vote on the province quitting Canada. Premier Danielle Smith criticized the ruling last month, calling it “anti-democratic,” and promised to appeal. Court of King’s Bench Justice Shaina Leonard found the referendum petition shouldn’t have been issued under provincial law and that Smith’s government neglected its duty to consult First Nations. Leonard’s decision effectively threw out the petition, which organizers submitted to Elections Alberta at the beginning of May. The campaign’s leaders have said almost 302,000 Albertans signed their names. A group of Alberta First Nations challenged the petition and Elections Alberta’s decision to issue it, arguing that separation would violate treaty rights and that the petition process was unconstitutional....
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Indigenous author presents award-winning bilingual book
An Indigenous children’s author’s bilingual book is a recent recipient of the Richard Allen Chase Memorial Award, named after a former Lethbridge teacher and librarian. Jennifer Leason, from the Minegoziibe Anishinabe-Pine Creek First Nation, paid a visit to Lethbridge to talk with elementary students about her award-winning book Hummingbird Aamo-binashee, followed by a book signing at Analog Books. The book, both written and illustrated by Leason, was written in honour of her mother in 2013 and is her second published work — each in both English and Anishinaabemowin. Leason says languages help people feel connected to each other and with Mother Earth. “The importance of learning and talking about the language is that it’s this connection to the land, to place and to Mother Earth, and requests really respecting and...
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Province boosts funding for Indigenous community safety, including training for Squamish Nation
By Ina Pace, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Squamish Chief An additional $3.1 million has been made available for Indigenous-led initiatives which seek to protect women, girls and two-spirit+ people from violence. The government of B.C. is investing in safety-planning for Indigenous communities. A further $3.1 million has been allocated by the province to help Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit+ people against violence. According to a government press release, $600,000 will go towards the development of a pilot notification system regarding missing Indigenous people—this will be developed with Indigenous partners, including Elders and knowledge keepers—whilst over $1 million will go to non-profit organization the Path Forward Community Fund. “Ending violence against Indigenous women and girls requires collective action, accountability and solidarity,” B.C. minister of Indigenous relations and reconciliation Spencer Chandra...
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B.C. firm ‘over the moon’ about contract to chart Canada’s role in lunar explorati
By Nono Shen Shaun Riddell is “over the moon” — figuratively, if not quite yet literally — since his Langley, B.C., firm was named among three companies hired by the Canadian Space Agency to lay the groundwork for human and robotic missions to the lunar surface. Riddell, the CEO of SpaceDirt, says he was “blown away” by the awarding of the $500,000 contract, given the competition for the national grant. SpaceDirt makes technology for autonomous robotic resource development on Earth, aimed at predicting where to drill and making discovery faster, safer, and more cost-effective in extreme environments. Riddell says the long-term vision for the company’s robots is to be the “dump trucks” of the moon, while the current project will draw a road map on how “Canada will contribute to...
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New full-length rock album a reflection of growing up Indigenous in urban Alberta
By Crystal St. Pierre, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com Midnight Sparrows, a Vancouver-based hard rock group, has released full-length studio album Arrows, Arrows, Arrows. The release follows debut album Rock & Roll City (2020) and six-song EP Born in the City (2022). Blair Bellerose (Métis, Cree, Dene), lead singer, guitarist and songwriter, is a member of the Fort McKay First Nation in northern Alberta. He grew up though in St. Albert near Edmonton. “I would say it leans towards hard rock, reminiscent of music from the 70s, 80s and 90s,” said Bellerose of Arrows, Arrows, Arrows. “Songs range from tunes that lean almost country sounding to more of a heavier rock sound. There are 10 songs on the album and it’s fairly diverse.” Bellerose wrote the 10-tracks on Arrows, Arrows,...
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Children’s series inspired by Cree lessons during pandemic
By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com A pandemic educational journey has blossomed into the latest project for Vancouver filmmaker April Johnson. A member of Muskoday First Nation in Saskatchewan, Johnson has produced a children’s series titled Kokum & Dot. The TELUS series will have its broadcast debut on June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day. Kokum & Dot features acclaimed Peguis First Nation actor/musician Renae Morriseau, who plays Dorothy. Her granddaughter Dot is a puppet voiced by Kellie Haines. Season one of the series features eight episodes, 11 minutes each. It has already been greenlit for a second season even though the first episode has yet to air. Each episode begins with Dorothy asking her granddaughter how her day is going. New Cree words are introduced in every episode....
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Six Nations Elected Council joins men’s group in lawsuit against Six Nations Confederacy Council’s development institute
Six Nations Elected Council joins men’s group in photo after signing onto their class action lawsuit (SNEC Photo) By Lynda Powless Editor SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER-Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) has joined forces with a local men’s group to launch a class action lawsuit against the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Council’s development arm, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI). Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) and representatives of the Six Nations Men’s Fire have formalized an agreement to work together in a proposed class action seeking accountability and transparency regarding funds received by the HDI on behalf of the community. Elected Chief Sherri-Lyn Hill announced that SNEC passed a motion to join litigation initiated by Men’s Fire with representatives Bill Montour and Wilfred Davey at the General Council meeting on June 9. ...
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Senator, MP, advocate call on Ottawa to pass Indian Act status law before break
By Alessia Passafiume First Nations MPs and senators are calling on the federal government to pass legislation changing the rules on status under the Indian Act before they leave Ottawa for the summer break. The legislation, S-2, was amended by senators to remove what is known as the second-generation cutoff and permits the transfer of First Nations status to a child if one of their parents is registered. It’s being studied by the House of Commons committee on Indigenous issues and a Conservative MP moved a motion today for debate to end. Sen. Paul Prosper, who put forward those amendments, says there is overwhelming support for the changes from some 500 First Nations across the country. He says it appears the federal government does not want to change status requirements...
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HBC Royal Charter welcomed in Winnipeg ceremony at Manitoba Museum
By Ian Bickis A historic document that granted the Hudson’s Bay Company control over roughly one-third of Canada is now in public hands. The HBC Royal Charter has been unveiled at the Manitoba Museum in a ceremony with members of Indigenous groups that included a pipe ceremony and the lighting of a traditional Inuit oil lamp. King Charles II issued the charter in 1670 based on the misguided premise that the lands were vacant and free for the taking. Kevin Tacan, who performed the pipe ceremony, said the document will be an important part of teaching history to children, and to ask where the country goes from here. The artifact was sold to the Weston and Thomson families for $18 million last year after the fur-trading-company-turned-department-store’s collapse. The two families...
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A lost kelp forest, found in a box of old photos
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer The kelp forest in the northern Salish Sea was gone before anyone knew how much had been lost. Then Brian Timmer opened a box of 1972 photographs. The photos were part of roughly 14 boxes of field notes, reports and aerial images left behind by the late researcher Alan Austin in the University of Victoria archives. They had been taken to map red algae but also captured another story: a coastline dark with bull kelp near Comox, Denman Island and Cape Lazo. In some places, kelp stretched more than a kilometre offshore and ran for kilometres along the coast. Timmer said the photos matched stories from people who remember fishing above dense kelp beds as children, including one account of...
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NEWS ALERT-Six Nations Police shut down non-Six Nations owned tobacco plant operating on Seneca Road
By Lynda Powless Editor Six Nations Police have shut down a section of Seneca Road as part of an multi-police force raid of an illegal tobacco plant being operated by non-Six Nations people. Six Nations Police Chief Darren Montour told Turtle Island News the business is being operated by an “outside criminal element” from the Hamilton area with no employees from Six Nations or any Six Nations involvement. Six Nations residents will see a heavy police presence in the area including both Six Nations Police and OPP who are assisting. Motorists should avoid Seneca Road that is closed between Townline Road and First Line as the investigation continues. MORE TO COME...
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‘This is what you call genocide’: Hundreds rally for First Nations heath care
By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com SIOUX LOOKOUT – “Health care for our people is not a health-care benefit, it is a treaty, an inherent right (…) It is a treaty obligation that must be fulfilled,” said the former chief of Neskantaga First Nation, Christopher Moonias. About 400 people gathered outside the Indigenous Services Canada office in Sioux Lookout on Monday afternoon to raise awareness about flaws within the Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program intended to ensure access to health care for Indigenous people. In the first week of June, five members of Neskantaga have already missed appointments due to no travel accommodations being made. Last month, there were 21 appointments missed in the small community of just over 300 people, according to a spokesperson for the First...
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