Editorial: The holiday a time to reflect…maybe?
Psst…it’s Christmas time! That’s the time of year when we all get excited even just about about the excitement never mind the excitement of getting ready for the holiday. But the rush is officially on. There’s lots to do. From shopping, gift wrapping, planning the Christmas menu. It is as we always hear the busiest time of the year. It’s when children smile as they sneak a peak at the Christmas tree and shake a wrapped gift. In the past Six Nations has been very much part of the spirit of giving. Past councils have given out turkeys or cards for groceries. There’s aways been a message from the Elected Chiefs’ office about enjoying this time of year with family and friends. It’s the kind of moments that make us...
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Today in History
Dec. 18 In 2019, former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould was chosen as The Canadian Press newsmaker of the year for 2019. News editors and producers cited her central role in the SNC-Lavalin affair in voting her the runaway winner of the title. The scandal cost Justin Trudeau two ministers, his most trusted adviser, the country’s top public servant and possibly his majority in the October election. Wilson-Raybould was a star Liberal candidate in 2015 and became Canada’s first Indigenous justice minister. But she fell out with the prime minister over her refusal to order the negotiation of a “remediation agreement” for SNC-Lavalin, the Montreal engineering firm facing corruption-related charges over its dealings in Libya. She resigned from cabinet, was kicked out of the Liberal caucus and subsequently ran as an...
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SN Elected Council sends condolences in antisemitism attack
Six Nations will send condolences and condemned hate following the attack motivated by antisemitism in Australia. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) shared a moment of grief and reflection at the General Finance Meeting on Dec. 15 as Councillor Amos Key spoke about a deadly attack in Australia that claimed the lives of innocent people, including members of the Jewish community, prompting a call for solidarity and a firm stance against hatred in all forms. Councillor Key addressed council while visibly working through the emotional weight of the news, referencing the loss of life and the broader implications of violence rooted in hate. The discussion led to agreement that SNEC would formally express condolences to the victims and their families. The comments followed reports from Australia of a violent attack in...
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Montour plays key role in Kraken’s Indigenous Peoples Night
By Sam Laskaris Writer As the lone Indigenous player on the Seattle Kraken roster, it was only fitting that Six Nations member Brandon Montour had a significant role with a recent promotional night. Montour was the go-to guy for comments regarding the Indigenous Peoples Night the Seattle squad hosted on Dec. 16. The Kraken squared off against the Colorado Avalanche in a National Hockey League contest that evening, held at Seattle’s home rink Climate Pledge Arena. The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, based in the state of Washington, is one of sponsors of the Seattle squad. Montour appeared at a meet-and-greet, on-ice session with Muckleshoot youth prior to the Kraken’s Indigenous Peoples Night. “It’s great that we recognize, not just (those who are) Indigenous but many others,” Montour said during a pre-game...
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Haudenosaunee Nationals win women’s and men’s divisions at Puerto Rico tournament
By Sam Laskaris Writer As far as Tim Bomberry is concerned all he can do is his bit on the field to help ensure the Haudenosaunee Nationals have their share of lacrosse success. And he’ll leave off-ice issues, including whether Haudenosaunee clubs will be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, to others. Bomberry, a Six Nations member, served as the head coach for the Haudenosaunee Nationals women’s club, which captured the gold medal at this year’s Pan-American Lacrosse Association (PALA) Sixes Cup in Puerto Rico. Matt Attwood, also a Six Nations member, served as a co-head coach for the men’s team. The Haudenosaunee Nationals won the women’s division by downing the host Puerto Rico squad 16-9 in the championship final held on Dec. 14. The Haudenosaunee Nationals also...
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SPORTS BRIEFS: Lacrosse to hockey
By Sam Laskaris Writer Junior C lacrosse league expands The Ontario Junior C Lacrosse League (OJCLL), which includes the Six Nations Stealth, will have a pair of new franchises starting next year. In a league statement released earlier this month it was announced the circuit is adding the Gloucester Griffins and the West Grey Rampage, starting with its 2026 season. The Rampage is based in the community of Durham, located south of Owen Sound. “The introduction of these teams marks an important step in the continued growth of the OJCLL, expanding opportunities for athletes and strengthening Junior C lacrosse across Ontario,” read the league statement announcing its expansion. The OJCLL regular season typically begins in April. The Stealth posted a 9-7 regular season record during its 2025 campaign. The Six...
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PC MLA pushes bill to give municipalities control over speed limits on provincial roads
By Steven Sukkau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun La Vérendrye MLA Konrad Narth is calling for local communities, not the province, to have final say over speed limits on provincial roads running through towns, introducing a private member’s bill aimed at shifting that authority to municipalities and First Nations. Narth brought forward Bill 222, The Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Speed Limits on Provincial Roads), in the Legislature last week Thursday. The proposal would amend existing legislation so that local traffic authorities could set speed limits on provincial highways located within urban areas in their boundaries. “As a former municipal councillor, over the years I’ve seen how growth has outpaced the regulatory process,” Narth said, describing the bill as “common-sense legislation” designed to give communities more control and peace of...
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Manitoba offers free vaccines for areas hit by hepatitis A outbreak
Manitoba is opening up free vaccine eligibility following a hepatitis A outbreak in a remote area of the province that includes four First Nations. Health officials say they’ve documented 215 cases of the hepatitis A virus during the latest outbreak that includes up until Dec. 11. A large number of those cases are in the Island Lake Region in northeastern Manitoba, which includes Garden Hill, St. Theresa Point, Wasagamack and Red Sucker Lake First Nations. The province is offering free vaccinations to all residents six and older, anyone who travels to or works in these communities and individuals who have household visitors from the area. The vaccine is also being provided to people in other regions of the province who were exposed to or could have been to cases associated...
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Doig River First Nation’s economic arm and partners donate $15K to local groups in Fort St. John
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — In what was described as an “annual tradition,” the economic arm of a northeast B.C. First Nation gave back to the community this week in time for Christmas. Uujo Developments, the economic arm of Doig River First Nation (DRFN), donated alongside partners Fraction Energy Services to both the Fort St. John Friendship Society and the Fort St. John Women’s Resource Society, as noted on DRFN’s LinkedIn page. The donation to both organizations is for $7,500 each. A picture was taken with members of both parties, alongside Women’s Resource Society fundraising coordinator Estefania Albornoz. “We are grateful for the big impact by the Fort St. John Women’ s Resource Society and the Fort St John Friendship Society have in...
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Navajo police arrest suspected drunken driver after deadly crash ahead of Christmas parade
KAYENTA, Ariz. (AP) — Navajo Nation police said a suspected drunken driver struck bystanders who were waiting for a Christmas parade to start, killing one and injuring three others. The crash happened Monday evening in Kayenta, just south of Monument Valley in northeastern Arizona, as spectators gathered for the annual community-sponsored event. The Navajo Police Department’s Kayenta District had officers patrolling the area, but the driver accessed the parade route and hit the bystanders and damaged parked vehicles and other property. The driver was arrested, but authorities did not provide any details about the suspect or the victims. The Navajo Police Department said the investigation was ongoing. Prayers were shared by tribal members on social media, with many pleading for people to stop drinking and driving. The Navajo Nation prohibits...
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Academic whose report led to fracking ban questions N.S. government’s gas claims
By Devin Stevens A former university president who oversaw the report that led to a decade-long ban on fracking in Nova Scotia is questioning the government’s claims that new natural-gas development will lower emissions and energy prices. On Monday the government said it was putting Dalhousie University in charge of a $30-million program that will see a call for onshore natural-gas exploration in the new year. Officials said new natural-gas development will allow the province to cut back on burning coal for electricity generation and help it hit its 2030 emission targets. David Wheeler was president of Cape Breton University when he chaired an independent group whose 2014 report for the government said fracking shouldn’t be allowed until more research was done on health, environmental and economic impacts. Now an...
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AI-generated content wrongly accuses fiddler Ashley MacIsaac of being sex offender
Cape Breton fiddler Ashley MacIsaac says he may have been defamed by Google after it recently produced an AI-generated summary falsely identifying him as a sex offender. The Juno Award-winning musician says he learned of the online misinformation last week after a First Nation north of Halifax confronted him with the summary and cancelled a concert planned for Dec. 19. In a phone interview, MacIsaac says the summary falsely asserted he had been convicted of a series of offences including sexual assault, internet luring, assaulting a woman and attempting to assault a minor. As well, he says the Google entry accused him of being listed on the national sex offender registry, which is also untrue. The virtuoso fiddler says he later learned the erroneous content was taken from online articles...
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No distributor? No problem. Canadian filmmakers are reaching audiences on their own terms
By Alex Nino Gheciu When Sasha Leigh Henry’s acclaimed TV show was canceled and development pipelines slowed to a crawl, she decided not to wait years for permission to reach audiences again. Instead, she made her feature debut “Dinner With Friends” on a $100,000 micro-budget, and is now releasing it herself. The Toronto filmmaker decided to act last year when Bell Media canceled her Crave series “Bria Mack Gets a Life” after one season, citing low audience numbers despite winning the Canadian Screen Award for best TV comedy, and after being denied Telefilm Talent to Watch funding. “Nothing makes you say ‘eff it’ like your award-winning show not getting renewed,” says Henry. She shot the film — an intimate look at the bonds and fractures within a Black friend group...
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Calgary homeless outreach team desperate for new headquarters
By Bill Graveland Chaz Smith has endured physical and verbal abuse, as well as countless hours in frigid temperatures helping the homeless, but it’s a recent blow dealt by the City of Calgary that he’s having a hard time shaking off. Smith, who was homeless as a teen, is the founder of BeTheChangeYYC street outreach group, which has provided food, water, blankets, hygiene supplies, tents and tarps three nights a week in the city’s downtown for the past decade. That work is about to face a serious challenge, after the group was informed it needs to vacate its headquarters on Dec. 31. “The City of Calgary is closing our building, which they have allowed us to operate in over the past five years. This means that we have been actively...
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Ottawa, First Nations presenting plans to reform child welfare system
By Catherine Morrison Ottawa and First Nations faced a deadline Monday to present the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal with their respective plans to reform the First Nations child welfare system — the latest step in a lengthy fight that has stretched nearly 20 years. The August tribunal order that mandated the proposals came nine years after it concluded the federal government had discriminated against First Nations children by underfunding the on-reserve child welfare system. That followed a joint 2007 human rights complaint filed by the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society. Progress on a child welfare agreement to reform the system stalled last year when First Nations twice rejected a $47.8-billion deal they said did not go far enough to protect kids. The...
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Ottawa, First Nations presenting plans to reform child welfare system
By Catherine Morrison Ottawa and First Nations faced a deadline Monday to present the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal with their respective plans to reform the First Nations child welfare system — the latest step in a lengthy fight that has stretched nearly 20 years. The August tribunal order that mandated the proposals came nine years after it concluded the federal government had discriminated against First Nations children by underfunding the on-reserve child welfare system. That followed a joint 2007 human rights complaint filed by the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society. Progress on a child welfare agreement to reform the system stalled last year when First Nations twice rejected a $47.8-billion deal they said did not go far enough to protect kids. The...
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Alberta’s Smith says courts should not be gatekeepers on constitutional questions
By Lisa Johnson EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says anyone seeking an independence referendum should not have “gatekeepers,” like the courts, standing in their way. Smith was asked about the independence question Saturday on her radio call-in show, weighing in for the first time after her government proposed legislation that ground to a halt an ongoing court case over a proposed provincial vote to leave Canada. She said giving Justice Minister Mickey Amery the power to be “permissive” about referendum questions, which is included in the new legislation, upholds democracy. “Whether it’s the chief electoral officer or the court, they seem to want to approve the ones they like and hold up the ones they don’t like, and that’s not democracy,” Smith said. Her comments came a day after...
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Nunavut Civil Forfeiture Office collected $50,100 in four years
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News The Civil Forfeiture Office, responsible for seizing property obtained through crimes or used illegally, has collected $50,100 over four years, according to the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Justice. Just two criminal cases have resulted in civil forfeiture since the office opened in 2021, with $13,100 being seized in 2022-23 through one court case and $37,000 from another case in 2023-24. A third civil forfeiture order is currently before the courts, and it also involves cash. Since its inception, the Civil Forfeiture Office has racked up $328,341 in expenses, almost entirely for its lone employee. “The forfeiture program is not intended to generate revenue; its primary purpose is to deter illegal activity by targeting the profits of unlawful operations, such...
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Police thwart attempt to defraud B.C. First Nation of $406,000 intended for project
Police in British Columbia say they have prevented a fraud scheme targeting a First Nation on northern Vancouver Island that had redirected more than $400,000 to a fake bank account. Alert Bay RCMP say the case was first reported by the Namgis First Nation on May 13, where $406,000 meant for contractors in the construction of a new wellness and treatment centre was redirected by a fraudulent email to the fake account. Police say co-ordination with authorities in Eastern Canada resulted in a freeze placed on a bank account allegedly operated by an organized crime group. Officers from Alert Bay then led the execution of a search warrant on a home in Aurora, Ont., where they uncovered suspected counterfeit currency, forged documents, electronic devices and other items linked to organized...
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After Indigenous teen’s stabbing, his family says the system failed to stop his bullying
By Amy Romer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Content warning: This story details violence against an Indigenous Youth whom IndigiNews is identifying as ‘Kai,’ a pseudonym, for his safety. Please look after your spirit and read with care. Kai had walked Fifth Street, “Courtenay, B.C.’s” main downtown stretch, many times before. It’s a simple route from the LINC Youth Centre to the 16-year-old’s home. But on a warm September evening this year, as he approached the local donut shop, a fellow teen from school he’d known for years stepped toward him — carrying a knife. Through his many experiences of bullying, Kai had needed medical attention before, including a suspected concussion and black eyes. But never because of the use of a weapon. Kai was stabbed just below his left...
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