‘We all share the same goals’: Tŝilhqot’in and syilx foresters learn from each other
By Dionne Phillips, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Separated by hundreds of kilometres and very different landscapes, Tŝilhqot’in and syilx territories in fact share similar forestry challenges. That’s what Indigenous-owned companies are discovering after a series of site visits between operators run by bands in both nations. Although the two forest ecosystems vary with geography, both communities are dealing with worsening wildfire and climate impacts — while also hoping to promote Indigenous-led forestry initiatives. “They’re both, in terms of ecosystems, quite distinct from one another,” said Percy Guichon, from the Tŝilhqot’in community of Tŝideldel First Nation. “But you know, we all share the same goals and a lot of the same values in terms of forestry practices.” Guichon is CEO of Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation (CCR), a nearly decade-old forestry company...
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South Dakota hotel owner found liable for discrimination against Native Americans
By Sarah Raza SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The owner of a South Dakota hotel who said Native Americans were banned from the establishment was found liable for discrimination against Native Americans on Friday. A federal jury decided the owner of the Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City will pay tens of thousands of dollars in damages to various plaintiffs who were denied service at the hotel. The jury awarded $1 to the NDN Collective, the Indigenous advocacy group that filed the lawsuit. The group brought the class-action civil rights lawsuit against Retsel Corporation, the company that owns the hotel, in 2022. The case was delayed when the company filed for bankruptcy in September 2024. The head of the company, Connie Uhre, passed away this September. “This was never about...
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Hundreds of public servants to learn about job cuts in the new year
By Catherine Morrison Federal public servants are expected to learn about job cuts in their departments when they return from their holiday break. Departments such as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Environment and Climate Change and Employment and Social Development have told their staff already that news on job cuts will be shared in the new year. Ottawa is looking to cut program spending and administration costs by about $60 billion over the next five years through its “comprehensive expenditure review.” The latest federal budget said the exercise will involve “restructuring operations and consolidating internal services.” It said it also will deploy workforce adjustments and attrition to return the size of the public service to “a more sustainable level.” Environment and Climate Change Canada said in a message to its employees...
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Fugitive wanted in the U.S. arrested at Neqotkuk
Man wanted in Connecticut on sex charges By Judy Cole, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, River Valley Sun A fugitive, wanted on criminal charges in the United States, has been arrested by the RCMP in Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation). Scott Scharr, an American citizen, appeared in custody at the Court of King’s Bench in Woodstock on Dec. 18 before Chief Justice Tracey Deware. He was arrested on a warrant issued under the federal Extradition Act. Jacqueline Palumbo, legal counsel for the Attorney General of Canada in Ottawa, was present for the court appearance via video. Palumbo told the court Scharr was wanted in the State of Connecticut on charges of invitation to sexual touching and possession of child sexual abuse and exploitation material. Palumbo said the Attorney General would seek an...
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Alberta minister, new permanent chief health officer eye renewed collaboration
By Fakiha Baig Alberta’s primary care minister and its first permanent chief medical officer of health since the last one was fired say they’re looking forward to working together as the province enters a new era. Primary and Preventative Health Services Minister Adriana LaGrange says she believes she can build a strong health system across Alberta with Dr. Vivien Suttorp, who has been the South Zone’s lead medical health officer for the past 17 years. “We’re entering into a new era and, as Dr. Vivien Suttorp has said, it’s an opportunity to really strengthen public health within our province,” LaGrange said Friday during a news conference about the respiratory virus season. Suttorp said she was swayed into applying for the position after seeing passion and leadership from public health workers...
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Trust of First Nations ‘fragile’ as B.C. government considers changes to UN law
The chief of a First Nation in the Great Bear Rainforest says B.C. Premier David Eby risks losing the trust of Indigenous people and could fuel racism if he changes the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Eby has said amendments may be necessary after a B.C. Appeal Court approved a challenge by a First Nation against B.C.’s mining tenure system that gives effect to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Chris McKnight, the chief councillor of the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation, sent an open letter to Eby saying the declaration act is a proud symbol of reconciliation for his government and a beacon that says the status quo needs to change. McKnight says changing the act could set off racist narratives about Indigenous Peoples...
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Next step in Kahnawake’s renewables strategy
By Olivier Cadotte, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door Awendio Solaris, a United Kingdom-based solar energy startup, has announced its intention to develop a manufacturing facility and global research and development centre in Montreal East, partnering with Kahnawake and other First Nations to do so. The Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach and the Wendat Nation are joining the project along with Kahnawake as “investor-partners,” although Kahnawake is not making a monetary contribution to the project. Instead, they will be given “Class A Ordinary Shares,” the most common kind of share issued by companies. “We are a minority partner, which means, by holding these shares, we’re entitled to a portion of the profits. As the company increases in value, we will also receive that increase in value,” said Mohawk Council of...
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Feds fund clean energy push for isolated Inuit in Labrador
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer In remote Inuit communities along Labrador’s northern coast, Ottawa is pushing renewable projects forward where power is currently generated primarily by diesel. The federal government recently announced nearly $22 million for clean energy projects in Labrador. The largest share is for a wind-and-battery system in Nain, a fly-in Inuit community of about 1,200 people at the northernmost end of Nunatsiavut. For their community, the funding represents a key milestone — one that turns a long-planned project into a buildable one, Jamie Hewlett, regional energy manager with the Nunatsiavut government, told Canada’s National Observer. “The project just doesn’t happen without that [federal] support,” Hewlett said. “The fact that we’re so far north — logistics alone make it hard to make a...
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Waterfall part of conservatory oasis
By Sandi Krasowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal After almost two years of closure and undergoing a major revitalization, the Centennial Botanical Conservatory will reopen to the public this weekend for a glimpse of the modernized facility. “It’s the culmination of our dreams,” said Sharon Sidlar, chairwoman of Friends of the Conservatory. “It’s what we’ve been working at for so long. Just to see it open and to be able to go in there and take a look at what has happened is beyond our wildest belief.” Cory Halvorsen, the City of Thunder Bay’s manager of parks and open spaces, explained how the work was completed in the first two phases, with the final outdoor third phase beginning this summer. “When we closed for this phase in February 2024,...
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Six Nations Police net over kilogram of cocaine in bust, two arrested
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND- Six Nations Police (SNP) have charged a man and woman from Ohsweken after a drug bust netted more than a kilogram of cocaine and $320,000 in cash from a local home. The SNP drug enforcement unit raided a Seneca Road house Wednesday, Dec., 17, 2025, after spending four months building a case to secure search warrants. Police found a firearm with bulk ammunition, 1.27 kilograms of cocaine, digital scales, drug packaging materials, cellphones and about $30,000 in Canadian currency. Charged with the following criminal offences were : Kenneth Brian Elliott, 51, of Ohsweken is facing charges including: • Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking – Cocaine • Proceeds of Crime Over $5,000 • Firearm: Unauthorized Possession • Firearm: Knowledge of Unauthorized Possession • Firearm, Weapon,...
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Kansas tribe ends nearly $30 million deal with ICE
By Heather Hollingsworth And Joshua Goodman A Kansas tribe said it has walked away from a nearly $30 million federal contract to come up with preliminary designs for immigrant detention centers after facing a wave of online criticism. The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation ‘s announcement Wednesday night came just over a week after the economic development leaders who brokered the deal with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were fired. With some Native Americans swept up and detained in recent ICE raids, the deal was derided online as “disgusting” and “cruel.” Many in Indian Country also questioned how a tribe whose own ancestors were uprooted two centuries ago from the Great Lakes region and corralled on a reservation south of Topeka could participate in the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts. Tribal...
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Musqueam chief says talks may be way out of Cowichan Aboriginal title dispute
By Nono Shen The chief of the Musqueam Indian Band says the nation is ready to go to the Supreme Court of Canada as it fights the landmark Cowichan Tribes Aboriginal title ruling — but he also see another way out of the dispute that he says has triggered an outpouring of racism. Asked if he’s open to negotiations with the provincial government, private land owners and the Cowichan tribes, Chief Wayne Sparrow says the band is “willing to sit down and have discussions.” Sparrow says that since the Aug. 7 ruling, the Musqueam have had no communications with the Cowichan, whose claim over the 300-hectare title area on the Fraser River in Richmond, B.C., was disputed by his First Nation, as well as the province and the City of...
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Church repatriates sacred rock covered with petroglyphs after 14-year effort
TREMONTON, Utah (AP) — A large rock bearing petroglyphs created more than 1,000 years ago by the ancestors of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation is finally back home in the mountains of northern Utah. The repatriation effort, which began in 2011, culminated earlier this month when the sacred rock was airlifted to its original location after being freed from a concrete slab in front of a church meetinghouse in the community of Tremonton, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) north of Salt Lake City. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a statement Wednesday that historians and conservators working on its behalf partnered with the tribe and the state to carefully remove and clean the 2,500-pound (1,134-kilogram) rock. The process involved saws, chisels and eventually soap...
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N.S. premier says fentanyl found in illegal cannabis, police say that’s false
By Lyndsay Armstrong The Nova Scotia RCMP and Halifax police both say no fentanyl has been found in illegal cannabis tested in the province, despite the premier’s claim to the contrary. Premier Tim Houston said last week he had directed police to ramp up cannabis enforcement because of the public health risk, saying he was aware of unregulated cannabis “laced with traces of fentanyl.” Houston said people in law enforcement had told him trace amounts of the opioid were found in cannabis that was tested from an illegal dispensary. But the province’s two largest police agencies say they have no record of those alleged test results. A Nova Scotia RCMP spokesperson said they rely on Health Canada to test seized cannabis, and they are not aware of any fentanyl having...
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New $45M investment fund to stimulate economic growth for First Nations, Inuit in Quebec
By Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com First Nations Venture Capital of Québec (FNVCQ) has announced the creation of a new investment fund by and for First Nations and Inuit peoples. The organization described the $45 million fund as a “decisive step toward real economic self-determination.” “For too long, our economic participation has been limited by structures that didn’t reflect our realities,” said FNVCQ chief executive officer Haskan Sioui in the press release. “Today, we assert our right to choose, invest and develop autonomously according to our priorities. This is our way of reconciling prosperity and identity, as well as performance and responsibility.” Since the organization’s founding in 2002, the FNVCQ has deployed more than $18 million to 40 companies throughout First Nations and Inuit in Quebec. Sioui said...
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Métis Nation reinstates president after ‘much consideration and clarification’
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca SURREY, B.C. — The Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) board of directors has reinstated its president following an investigation. According to a press release on Monday, December 15th, Walter Mineault was reinstated as MNBC president, in a move the board says it made after “much consideration and clarification of the MNBC constitution.” The statement reads the board will now “work together with president Mineault to strengthen the Nation.” Mineault was suspended earlier this year following allegations of “behaviour inconsistent with the organization’s policies,” but MNBC declined to provide further details. In the interim, Melanie Allard was named president. Several Métis groups showed solidarity with Mineault, including the Fort St. John Métis Society and Chetwynd’s Moccasin Flats Métis Society. The release says the...
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Fort Nelson First Nation donates $100K for hospital CT scanner
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT NELSON, B.C. — The Fort Nelson Hospital and Healthcare Foundation got a big boost for its goal of a CT scanner at the hospital in the city. The organization announced a $100,000 donation from Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN) as confirmed in a Facebook post on December 10th. A CT scanner is a medical imager which uses x-ray technology to create detailed images of the body. The estimated cost for the project in the hospital is scheduled to be $8.2 million, according to the foundation’s website. Currently, Fort Nelson General Hospital has a medical imaging department, but no CT scanner, something Northern Health told Energeticcity.ca is needed in the community “to support clinical teams and the community.” “Northern Health is currently...
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Musqueam ‘not coming for anyone’s private property’ in appealing Cowichan decision
A British Columbia First Nation appealing the landmark Cowichan Tribes Aboriginal title ruling says that it will not be “coming for anyone’s private property” if it wins. Musqueam Indian Band Chief Wayne Sparrow says in a statement that it is appealing the August decision by the B.C. Supreme Court to defend its traditional territory and fishing rights. Sparrow says the appeal does not involve the Musqueam claiming private property or fee simple land, and the nation would rather negotiate “settlement and relationship agreements that benefit all parties.” The statement comes after the Aug. 7 decision confirmed the Cowichan Tribes’ Aboriginal title over roughly 300 hectares of land on the Fraser River in Richmond, B.C., in what the Musqueam calls part of its own traditional unceded territory. The ruling, which says...
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Ontario, Ottawa agree to speed up project approvals, including Ring of Fire mining
By David Baxter Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have signed an agreement to speed up the approval of major projects in the province under a “one project, one process, one decision” model. This approach means that projects that would have been subject to environmental assessments at both the federal and provincial levels will now go through Ontario’s process alone when the project is located primarily within the province. “It’s time for Canada to build big things again. And nowhere will the impact of this deal be felt more immediately than in the development of the Ring of Fire,” Ford told a Thursday press conference in Ottawa. Carney said projects will use the federal process when Ottawa has primary jurisdiction and a mixed assessment system when they...
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Sex offender apologizes to court before sentencing
By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince George Citizen The 47-year-old Prince George man guilty of having sex with a girl under age 16 at his basement suite more than five years ago apologized before a judge near the end of his sentencing hearing on Dec. 17. Joseph Alexander Child told BC Supreme Court Justice Michael Stephens that he has full remorse and empathy for all involved. “I don’t know how to show it or put it into words, not a day goes by that I don’t think or wish that I could turn back the clock and make a choice to go left instead of right,” Child said. “This has affected the complainant, her family, friends, etc., as well as my family, my friends and the courts.” A...
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