Innu Nation grand chief slams NunatuKavut Community Council at identity summit
The Canadian Press 15/05/2024 Innu Nation Grand Chief Simon Pokue spoke to other Indigenous leaders at a meeting in Winnipeg today about what he calls Indigenous identity fraud by the NunatuKavut Community Council. The council, which represents some 6,000 people in south and central Labrador, claims to be Inuit. At a summit on Indigenous identity, Pokue says his community knows its territory and culture, but has to be wary of sharing publicly due to organizations like the council. He says such organizations co-opt those stories for their benefit without actually being Indigenous. The Innu Nation has previously asked the Federal Court to quash a 2019 agreement between the federal government and the council — a memo that sets guidelines for self-determination talks. Council president Todd Russell has described similar allegations...
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Wildfire service warns winds may fan ‘aggressive’ blazes in B.C.’s north
The Canadian Press 15/05/2024 Gusty winds could fan “aggressive fire behaviour” in the north, where out-of-control blazes have forced several thousand people to flee their homes, B.C. Wildfire Service said. An update from the service said winds could pick up Wednesday in the Fort Nelson area where an 84-square-kilometre blaze threatens the town that has mostly been abandoned by residents. The community of about 4,700 has been evacuated since Friday along with the neighbouring First Nation, while the Doig River First Nation and Peace River Regional District also issued evacuation orders due to a separate fire north of Fort St. John. The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality said a public information meeting for evacuees from the Fort Nelson area is set to take place in Fort St. John Wednesday. Mayor of...
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B.C. First Nation to reactivate judicial review of DFO’s salmon farm virus policy
The Canadian Press 15/05/2024 A British Columbia First Nation says it is reluctantly preparing to take legal action to challenge Fisheries Department salmon farm policy as it loses faith in federal plans to remove the open net-pen fish farms by next year. Namgis First Nation Chief Victor Isaac says going to court is a last resort, but the northern Vancouver Island nation must fight to protect the wild salmon off B.C.’s coast. He says the First Nation has served notice to the fisheries minister that it will reactivate a 2019 judicial review application over Fisheries Department policy against testing for a salmon virus before restocking open-net pens for farmed salmon. Isaac says the court application was put on hold in 2021 following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s directive for the Fisheries...
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NDP leadership debate shows new visions for future of the party
As the internal Alberta NDP leadership vote approaches, the party is hosting a series of official debates throughout the province to introduce the leadership seekers. The second official debate, hosted in Calgary on May 11, welcomed candidates Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse, Kathleen Ganley, Sarah Hoffman, Naheed Nenshi and Gil McGowan in a format that had each deliver an introductory statement, answer a pre-screened audience question, debate one-on-one with the others, and deliver closing remarks. Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse is Cree and Mohawk from Michel First Nation, and has been an MLA since the 2023 election. She was previously executive director for the Yellowhead Indigenous Education Foundation, and is a producer and broadcaster of Acimowin, an award-winning Indigenous radio program. “We need long-term strategic planning that is...
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Winnipeg trial hears neighbour saw admitted serial killer getting rid of garbage
By The Canadian Press Hours before the partial remains of Rebecca Contois were found in a Winnipeg garbage bin, a man who lived in the same apartment building as her killer saw the man disposing of trash in the middle of the night. Allan Mackay told the trial of Jeremy Skibicki that he confronted his neighbour in 2022 after hearing the man running up and down the stairs of their building while wearing boots. When Mackay opened his apartment door, he saw Skibicki. “He came downstairs carrying a couple of baskets in his arms,” Mackay testified Wednesday. “(Skibicki) said, ‘I’m getting rid of garbage.’” Mackay said he spoke with Skibicki for less than five minutes and told him to take out any garbage later in the morning when it wouldn’t...
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It’s all hands on deck and status quo for annual Bread and Cheese celebration
Six Nations Bread and Cheese celebrations continue to return to pre-pandemic measures. This year there will be no delivery, unless otherwise arranged with a department, program or service. Volunteers will however allow people to pick up extra bread and cheese for family members who cannot make it to the event. “We’ve kind of gone back to the status quo. There won’t be any deliveries – that’s not being accommodated this year,” Shirley Johnson, Six Nations Elected Council administrative office manager said. “Let those community members know they will have to make their way, or find family members to get it on behalf, unless something was previously coordinated with client services.” For the second year since the COVID-19 pandemic caused modification to time-honoured and much loved tradition to keep the community...
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Thessalon First Nation workers attempting to unionize
Deal with United Steelworkers is the first of its kind, union rep says By Kyle Darbyson Local Journalism Initiative Employees of Thessalon First Nation (TFN) are applying to join the United Steelworkers, an action some allege is born of the poor treatment they’ve received from the current administration. While the deal to unionize has not been finalized, United Steelworkers co-ordinator Darlene Jalbert told The Sault Star this agreement would be the first of its kind in Canada and the United States if certified. While the United Steelworkers union already has plenty of Indigenous members in its ranks, the group has never penned an agreement with employees actively working for a First Nation. “The employees were very, very happy and excited to become unionized, as are we,” Jalbert said during a...
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DNA evidence of unidentified victim of Winnipeg serial killer found on jacke
By Canadian Press Staff The only evidence police have pointing to the identity of one victim of an admitted serial killer is a bit of DNA found on a jacket cuff, a Winnipeg judge heard Tuesday. A forensics expert testified that multiple portions of a reversible jacket from designer Baby Phat were analyzed. Police believe the DNA belonged to the unidentified victim Indigenous leaders have since named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman. “It was female in origin,” Florence Célestin testified remotely from Ottawa, where she is based, at the trial of Jeremy Skibicki. Célestin, who works at the RCMP’s forensics laboratory, told court more than 100 exhibits taken from Skibicki’s home have been processed up until earlier this year in attempts to identify Buffalo Woman. The only sample she was...
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Northeast B.C. was parched throughout winter. It’s already on fire
Early on Mother’s Day, Fort Nelson First NationChief Sharleen Gale headed out to make sure everyone in her community was packing an emergency bag and preparing to immediately evacuate their homes in northeast B.C. It was a cool, dry morning and the skies were filled with smoke. A few kilometres away, the out-of-control Parker Lake wildfirewas closing in on Fort Nelson, an oil, gas and forestry town known as the gateway to the northern Rockies. It was no longer safe to stay. The fire had grown from 50 hectares to 1,700 hectares in the two days since it was first detected. Winds were expected to push the flames within striking distance of the two communities and emergency officials urged all residents to head south. Hoping to spread the word to...
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Indigenous fraud summit passes resolution against Ontario Métis group
By The Canadian Press Indigenous leaders at a summit on what they call Indigenous identify fraud have passed a resolution specifically targeting the Métis Nation of Ontario. The resolution calls on Canada to cease all negotiations with the provincial organization, and for Ontario to retract the identification of six new communities the province recognized in 2017. It also urges the federal and provincial governments to stop “accommodating Indigenous identity theft,” and to take proactive steps with “legitimate rights holders” to protect their constitutional and inherent rights. The Métis Nation of Ontario was the main topic on the first day of the summit Tuesday, co-hosted by the Manitoba Métis Federation and the Chiefs of Ontario in Winnipeg. The summit also discussed Bill C-53, a federal piece of legislation that seeks to...
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Northern Lights seen in Six Nations
Northern Lights seen at Six Nations May 10/24 (Photo by Turtle Island News Staff)...
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Have you Seen Me?
OPP release 3-D facial of child found in Grand River almost two years ago DUNNVILLE, ON – The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are hoping the release of a three-dimensional (3-D) facial approximation and new Unsolved video will help solve a two year old cold case. OPP are still trying to identifying a child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville almost two years ago. The unidentified remains of the child were found on May 17, 2022, by two people fishing on a boat. “We need the community’s help in this disturbing and tragic case involving a young child. We hope that the 3-D facial approximation will spark someone’s memory and that they come forward. Together, we can give this child her name back,” said Detective Inspector Shawn Glassford,...
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Behind closed doors: SNEC approves increase to elected chief political staff…could hit $700,000 in costs
By Lynda Powless Editor Turtle Island News has learned Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC), with an expected $10 million dollar deficit predicted for 2024, has agreed to expand the Elected Chief’s political staff to a record setting five people. The increase in staff could also see costs for the elected chief’s office soar to $700,000. The increase was approved in a closed meeting last week. The chief’s office, in the past, has normally had one political ‘adviser’. The creation of a political adviser began with the election in 1981 of Bill Montour who had one adviser paid through separate government funding. At that time SNEC passed a motion the chief’s office had to search out funding for the position. Recently former Elected Chief Ava Hill had one adviser and former...
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Chiefs Of Ontario say Rickford made ‘threats of retribution’
CKENORA – A court document filed recently by the Chiefs of Ontario accuses the MPP for Kenora-Rainy River, who is the province’s Indigenous affairs minister, of making “threats of retribution.” A spokesperson for Greg Rickford responded to the allegations with a one-sentence statement. “As this matter is before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further,” the spokesperson stated in an email to Newswatch. The allegations against Rickford are in a statement of claim filed by the chiefs organization. The statement’s 45th paragraph alleges that Rickford “spoke in an angry tone and made threats of retribution” in a Dec. 11, 2023, phone call to Regional Chief Glen Hare. According to the statement, Rickford told Hare all collaboration between the chiefs and the provincial government “will stop, now that the...
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OPP assist Six Nations Police in death investigation after man found on side of road dies
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have been called in after Six Nations Police found a person along the side of Fourth Line Road with life threatening injuries. Six Nations Police said the person was found May 10th, 2024 at about 11:20 a.m. with life threatening injuries on Fourth Line Road near Mohawk Road. Police said the person was transported by Ornge air ambulance to hospital where the individual succumbed to their injuries, May 11th. A joint investigation into the death is underway. and the community can expect an increased police presence in the area. A post-mortem is scheduled at the Centre of Forensic Sciences for a later date. In addition assisting Six Nations police in the investigation is the West Region Emergency Response Team, in conjunction with the Office of...
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Six Nations Police Officer facing charges
A 30-year-old Six Nations Police Officer is facing an assault charge. The Six Nations Police Service said Monday, May 13, 2024, the service was made aware of an on-duty incident that occurred on April 10, 2024. As a result the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were contacted launched an independent investigation into the conduct of the officer. On May 10, 2024, members of the OPP, Professional Standards Bureau, arrested and charged, 30-year-old Constable Michael Johnson, with Assault Cause Bodily Harm. Johnson has been a member of the Six Nations Police Service for six-years. He has been suspended with pay since April 15, 2024. Johnson is scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Brantford at a later date. Six Nations Police said there will be no further information released...
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Caledon man charged in collision
Six Nations Police have charged a 32-year-old Caledon man after a collision last Thursday night. Six Nations Police, fire, and EMS personnel all responded at about 8:20 p.m. to a two-vehicle collision on Second Line on Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation. Both vehicles were heavily damaged. Polkice said bystanders at the scene told police one of the drivers tried to flee on foot but was prevented from doing so by another bystander. Officers at the scene said they noticed the man had injuries from the collision and was exhibiting signs of impairment. Following treatment for minor injuries at a local hospital the accused was held in custody and charged with impaired operation; alcohol per se offence 80 plus; fail to stop at accident; dangerous driving; operation while...
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Clean Energy part of Community Awareness
By Austin Evans Writer Six Nations Community awareness month is off and running with displays, activites and barbecues! One of those displays included about 20 organizations involved with the energy sector and potential jobs within it, not to mention an electric car all gathered in the Community Centre to show what they have to offer. Vendors offered information on the energy sector, and employment services. Companies ranged from those dealing in green energy like Reserve Power, Indigenous Clean Energy, and the First Nations Power Authority. The FNPA is the only North American non-profit Indigenous owned and controlled organization involved in developing Indigneous owned power generation projects . Vendors had career options listed at their booth, including A6N, a joint venture between Aecon and Six Nations of the Grand River Development...
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Indigenous fraud summit in Winnipeg to discuss Inuit identity, federal legislation
A two-day summit in Winnipeg this week will hear from Indigenous leaders across the country on how they’re reacting to — and can come together to fix — what they call Indigenous identity fraud. Co-hosted by the Manitoba Métis Federation and the Chiefs of Ontario, the summit will also include Inuit leaders who have raised concerns about the topic in their respective jurisdictions. One of the topics up for discussion is Bill C-53, a federal piece of legislation that seeks to formally recognize Métis governments in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. The bill is hotly contested by the Manitoba Métis Federation and the Chiefs of Ontario, who say the inclusion of Métis Nation of Ontario threatens their rights — and who question the validity of the organization altogether. Métis Nation of...
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More businesses identify as Indigenous to get Ottawa contracts
Canadian businesses now eligible for federal contracts awarded to Indigenous employers have skyrocketed to the tune of a 40% increase since the Trudeau government introduced the program. Over 800 new businesses registered for enrollment in the Indigenous Business Directory over the past year, a database which lets eligible companies participate in the federal government’s procurement strategy to bolster the Indigenous economy. The spike in enrollment has some community leaders fearing that the government’s overly broad criteria has left the door wide open for exploitation. The database which held only 1,900 businesses last year, now stands at 2,700 as of last month. The Trudeau government promised to have at least 5% of the total value of federal contracts awarded to Indigenou businesses in 2024. Called the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business,...
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