Good health within reach
By Maggie Macintosh Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Manitoba First Nations School System is celebrating the end of a historic week after hosting its inaugural diabetes camp and an indoor rock-climbing championship, both of which promoted the importance of regular exercise among youth. About 20 campers, each of whom has Type 1 or 2 diabetes, has a family member with a diagnosis, or is at-risk of developing the chronic disease. went to a winter retreat in Headingley where they learned to snowshoe and read nutritional labels. Also this week, more than 100 visitors arrived in Bloodvein First Nation to compete in the Indigenous-run school board’s first annual climbing contest Thursday. Miskooseepi School is home to “the ultimate jungle gym,” said Mike Thomas, a phys-ed and health program facilitator. “When kids...
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Wetaskiwin Council approves $400K funding for organic program supply purchases
By Qiam Noori Local Journalism Initiative Reporter To fund expanded services, Wetaskiwin Council has approved one-time funding for supplies to be purchased for the city’s organics program. The city would use the money saved in 2023 by contracting out the waste services to purchase the required supplies. The costs include manufacturing 4,400 curbside carts, 4,300 kitchen catchers (7L), freight, assembly, and delivery to all account holders, according to the city’s report presented at the Jan. 22 regular council meeting. Kathy Lewin, the General Manager of Municipal Services – who presented the report, said that the service is only for residential buildings. She added that the organic waste would be picked up the same day the other waste bins were being collected, but likely via a different truck. Lewin further said...
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ColdAcre Food Systems becomes First Nation owned company
By Amy Kenny Local Journalism Initiative Reporter ColdAcre Food Systems Inc. is now majority-owned by the Na-Cho Ny?k Dun Development Corporation (NNDDC). The NNDDC announced on Jan. 23 that it has a 51-per-cent controlling ownership in the company, which develops and manufactures food system technologies, including hydroponic grow units. The corporation has owned one of those units since 2020. One of the big reasons for the majority acquisition has to do with food sovereignty, said Jani Djokic, CEO of NNDDC. Djokic said the corporation has gained an understanding of the ways the food sector has changed through its ownership of Mayo Foods Ltd., the Mayo grocery store owned by NNDDC, and its work as a camp services provider to local industrial and mining projects. “We’re uniquely positioned through Mayo Foods,...
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B.C. odour incidents spark questions around corporate ethics and communication
By Brieanna Charlebois THE CANADIAN PRESS Vancouver resident Robert Ford was heading to a yoga class Sunday morning when he smelled an odour he likened to “semi-burnt fuel.” As a member of council at his Kitsilano apartment building, he said he decided to check the boiler room, but it smelled fine. “I was expecting something in there, so that was strange. I scratched my head and I went to the front door, which is right across from the beach, and it was 10 times more powerful outside,” he said. He immediately began searching online for an explanation but didn’t find any answers until almost four hours later. “I’m just kind of perplexed at how we can have such a nasty event with no public information hardly,” he said. It was one...
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“This was the worst thing I’ve seen in my career,” former Melfort staff sergeant says
By Ryan Kiedrowski Local Journalism Initiative Reporter An inquest into the deaths of 11 people on the James Smith Cree Nation over the Sept. 2022 long weekend heard from the detachment commander in charge during the mass stabbing event. When asked by Coroner Counsel Timothy Hawryluk how he was feeling this morning, former S/Sgt. Darren Lee Simons replied “anxious.” Simons, who came to the Melfort Detachment six weeks before the tragedy happened, detailed his extensive experience working near **>First Nations<** communities in each detachment he was posted, including the community of Gleichen, AB and the nearby Siksika First Nation, who temporarily had their own police service. The retired RCMP member also recounted his involvement responding to the unfolding tragedy on JSCN. Simons was at his home that morning when the...
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Two Six Nations men facing multiple charges after truck driver shot at and vehicle rammed
SIX NATIONS-Two Six Nations men are facing a series of charges after a truck driver was shot at and had his vehicle rammed and a firearm pointed at him in an altercation that began on Third Line Road and Mohawk Road and ending just outside Caledonia Thursday (Jan 25) involving two police forces. Police received a report of shots being fired at a vehicle at about 2:05 p.m. and a vehicle being rammed. The victim said they were not injured. The victim and a witness said grey GMC truck with two occupants inside approached the victim who was travelling int he area of Mohawk Road and Third Line Road when the vehicle approached from behind. Police were told the occupants appeared to be angry and were making hand gestures from inside...
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Grand River Conservation Authority warns public to be cautious around waterways, Six Nations sees some flooded roads
Six Nations of the Grand River has experienced some areas of flooding causing shut downs of some roadways including Third Line west of Mohawk Road after water flooded over the roadway. The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) is warning the public to exercise extreme caution around all local waterways after the weather system crossing the watershed brought above freezing temperatures and will bring approximately 15 to 20 mm of rain during the early hours of Friday, January 26, 2024. The rain is expected to increased river flows throughout the Grand River watershed due to runoff generated by potential snow melt and rainfall. GRCA said “no significant flooding” was expected but, river flows in local waterways will be higher than normal for this time of year, increasing the risk in...
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Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, experts say landfill search could take less than a year
By Brittany Hobson THE CANADIAN PRESS WINNIPEG- The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs has submitted a new report to governments that it said addresses safety concerns around searching a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two slain First Nations women, but the organization did not release the full study to the public. “We expect that the findings in this report will expediate the funding required to begin the search and recovery operation for Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and Buffalo Woman,” Grand Chief Cathy Merrick told a news conference Thursday. “Over a year we have done everything asked of us … we cannot offer to produce any more reports.” She said the report was sent to the federal and provincial governments, as well as to Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham’s office, on Wednesday...
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B.C. urged to redeploy justice resources after report finds 11 staff for every youth
By Chuck Chiang in Vancouver Canadian Press VICTORIA- The number of incarcerated young offenders in British Columbia has fallen so dramatically that the province needs to come up with a plan to reallocate resources to avoid waste, a report released Thursday says. The report from the office of Jennifer Charlesworth, B.C.’s representative for children and youth, says the average daily number of youth in custody in the province has fallen from 386 in 1997/1998 to as low as 11 in 2021/2022. The “dramatically decreased” figures meant there were 11 staff for every youth in custody at dedicated facilities. “So, what is called for here is a redeployment of excess capacity in the youth justice system to other areas that are desperately wanting,” Charlesworth said at a news conference announcing the...
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“We have work to do”: Fiddler
By Austin Campbell Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Officials from the federal government and Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) gathered in Ottawa on Jan. 24 to discuss the ongoing suicide crisis that has gripped youth in First Nations across the province and the country. Chiefs from NAN-represented First Nations were all in attendance. Four federal ministers were also in attendance _ including Patty Hajdu (Indigenous Services), Gary Anandasangaree (Crown-Indigenous Relations), Ya’ara Saks (Mental Health and Addictions), and Mark Holland (Health) who joined virtually. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse and Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare joined as well. An invite was extended to four provincial ministers but they did not make an appearance. In his letter to the ministers, to Premier Doug Ford, and to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, NAN Grand Chief...
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Attawapiskat member files UN human rights complaint over decades long struggle for clean drinking water
By Isaac Phan Nay Local Journalism Initiative Reporter An Attawapiskat member has submitted a 500-page human rights complaint to the United Nations over his First Nation’s lack of access to clean drinking water. For months, Charles Hookimaw has been working with lawyers to draft a document and recently mailed it to Geneva, where it is set to be considered by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council (UNHRC). In the complaint, he details his community’s decades-long struggle with tainted water,and he’s hoping to speak on the matter before their permanent forum on Indigenous People. As “Canada” vies for a spot on the UNHRC, experts say the complaint could be a small step towards more equitable access to drinking water. “If nobody says anything, nothing’s gonna happen, if we just continue to...
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Ontario First Nation chiefs ask for moratorium on mining claims
By Liam Casey THE CANADIAN PRESS An organization supporting all First Nations in Ontario is calling on the province to implement a one-year moratorium on staking mining claims. The Chiefs of Ontario says there has been a 30 per cent increase in such claims on their territories over the past year. The organization says there have been more than 35,000 claims since May alone. Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare says the sheer number of claims outstrips First Nations’ abilities to respond to them. The organization says the switch to virtual stake-claiming in 2018 has exponentially increased the number of claims to a point where there are now more than 160,000 claims in total on their territories. The province did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Prospectors can stake mining...
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Teaching a different story of Ottawa
By Isaac Nay Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Less than a 10-minute walk from Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the Lord Elgin Hotel stands across the road from the solemn stare of the National Aboriginal Veterans Monument. For Jaime Morse, that juxtaposition feels conflicting. The monument was built as a tribute to the Indigenous Peoples who served in the Canadian Armed Forces, while the hotel serves to honour Lord Elgin, a pre-Confederation governor general who signed off on an 1850 law that would form the Indian Act. “To see the war monument across from 1/8the hotel 3/8 is like a wave of constant spiritual battling happening across the street from each other,” Morse said. The spot is a prominent stop on Morse’s tour of Ottawa. Morse, who is Metis from Alberta, is...
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MCK files suit over proposed Northvolt plant
By Marc Lalonde Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake filed suit in Quebec Superior Court earlier this week in an effort to prevent construction of an electric-vehicle battery plant near Saint-Basile-le-Grand, citing the government’s failure to consult with the community. It’s the second such suit the MCK has launched in the last month. On December 21, the MCK requested an injunction that would block reconstruction of the Ile aux Tourtes Bridge because the project would threaten the habitat of the endangered Map Turtle. The MCK’s lead on Indigenous Rights and Research Ross Montour said because of the unwieldy and expensive nature of court challenges, the MCK considered only challenging one of the Nothvolt or Ile aux Tourtes projects. In the end, however, they saw it as their...
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Federal Indigenous employability investment unveiled in Kahnawake
By Marc Lalonde Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A $25 million federal investment into Indigenous employability in Quebec will go a long way toward getting Indigenous people to become full players in the national economy, Employment Minister Randy Boissoneault said at the unveiling last Thursday in Kahnawake. “Everyone benefits when Indigenous people are provided with the opportunities they need to fully participate in the workforce,” Boissoneault said at the announcement, which was held at the First Nations Human Resources Development Commission of Quebec offices in the Kahnawake Business Complex. “The Skills and Partnership Fund empowers more Indigenous people with the training and resources they need to shape their own career path. We need to be able to have Indigenous people and communities become full players in the federal economy, and this investment...
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Robinson Huron Treaty multi-billion-dollar annuities settlement finalized
By Kyle Darbyson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The 21 First Nations named in the Robinson Huron Treaty are finally on the cusp of receiving fair compensation after nearly 150 years of getting shortchanged by government officials. Leaders representing all of these Indigenous communities met and finalized the parameters of a multi-billion-dollar annuities settlement on Jan. 3. The final step of this process involved collecting signatures from representatives of the provincial and federal governments, which has now taken place according to a Tuesday update from the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund. Many of the First Nations governments involved in this case are now in the process of planning engagement sessions that will help determine how to distribute this settlement in each individual community. A follow-up post on the Litigation Fund’s Facebook...
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Two men convicted of kidnapping, carjacking an FBI employee in South Dakota
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP)- A federal jury in South Dakota has convicted two men on charges related to the 2022 kidnapping of an FBI employee. The jury in Rapid City on Tuesday found 29-year-old Deyvin Morales and 25-year-old Juan Alvarez-Soto guilty of kidnapping, carjacking and other counts, the Rapid City Journal reported. Alvarez-Soto, who is from El Salvador, also was found guilty of unlawfully entering the U.S. after being deported. Sentencing dates have not been set. Both men could face up to life in prison. The men and a third suspect, 29-year-old Karla Lopez-Gutierrez, left Greeley, Colorado, on May 5, 2022, and were on a “drug trafficking trip” to South Dakota in a Ford Expedition, prosecutors said. The Expedition was chased by a South Dakota trooper at one point before...
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Southern chiefs pick leader to reform health care
By Miranda Leybourne Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Karlene S. Debance has been named the Southern Chiefs’ Organization’s first Chief Executive Officer for Health Transformation, a role which will see her work to reform health services to better serve Anishinaabe and Dakota people. “I am ready and committed to making a difference where it matters most in the improvement of the lives and health and wellbeing of First Nations citizens and their families and communities,” Debance told the Sun. Grand Chief of the SCO Jerry Daniels said in a press release on Jan. 10 that the organization was thrilled to announce Debance’s new position. “There is an 11-year and growing gap in life expectancy between First Nations and non-First Nations people in Manitoba,” Daniels said. “We look forward to benefiting from the...
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Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, families to speak about second landfill study
WINNIPEG- The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is to discuss details about a report into the logistics of searching a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two slain First Nations women. But the group and the women’s community of Long Plain First Nation are releasing a summary, not the report in its entirety. Police have said they believe the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran were taken to the Prairie Green Landfill, but that it was too dangerous to search for them. The federal government provided $740,000 to further research how to conduct a search safely after an initial feasibility study found it would be possible, but that toxic materials could pose a risk to workers. The initial study, also funded by the federal government, also determined it could take...
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First Nations in Ontario call for a one year pause on mining claims filed online
By Isaac Nay Local Journalism Initiative Reporter First Nations in Ontario are calling for a one-year pause on online mining claims, saying the system infringes on their right to proper consultation. Ontario has a constitutional duty to consult Indigenous Peoples before allowing mining on their land. But on Wednesday, the Chiefs of Ontario said the province’s Mining Lands Administration System (MLAS) has allowed prospectors to register mining claims online much faster than First Nations can respond. “A 365-day moratorium is necessary,” said Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare in a press release. “It will give First Nations communities the time that is required to assess the impacts of the MLAS, the effects of the mine claims currently being staked, as well as develop a process whereby meaningful and fulsome engagement and...
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