Upcoming Museum of North Vancouver workshop weaves Coast Salish practice and holidays together
By Abby Luciano, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, North Shore News An upcoming workshop in North Vancouver is sharing Coast Salish wool weaving with a festive twist. The Museum of North Vancouver (MONOVA) is holding the first Weaving for Winter workshop on Sunday, where attendees will learn the basics of the weaving practice and create a custom decoration that will hold candy canes in a pouch on the Christmas tree. “Just the multicultural part of it, it’s really exciting to have guests come in the museum and share how their culture practices weaving,” said Jordan Dawson, Indigenous cultural programmer with the museum. “The idea of Weaving for Winter is gathering together, whether it be culturally or generationally.” Dawson is a member of both the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw (Musgamagw...
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Hay River looks to strengthen role as northern hub with new strategy
By Aastha Sethi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cabin Radio The Town of Hay River appears set to move forward with a new economic development strategy for the community. Former Northwest Territories industry minister Wally Schumann, who chairs a local economic development committee, presented the strategy to council last week, saying residents had provided feedback on challenges and opportunities related to Hay River’s economy. Issues raised included broader economic and geopolitical pressures, like mining sector uncertainty, alongside more localized concerns like the fate of the railway to Hay River, which owner CN has declined to repair after a 2023 wildfire. Consultants David Stewart and Mike Aumond were hired by the Town of Hay River to produce the strategy. Aumond said it focuses on things the municipality can control while recognizing the...
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Ottawa ‘welcomes’ Dene Nation’s request for direct funding
By Claire McFarlane, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cabin Radio Ottawa says it will work with Indigenous governments interested in exercising jurisdiction over child welfare after the Dene Nation requested direct funding to do so. A resolution put forward by the Dene Nation to directly receive transfer payments, rather than have Ottawa send the cash to the Northwest Territories government, passed at an Assembly of First Nations meeting this month. The resolution directed the AFN to call on Ottawa to make the change. Currently, the federal government provides transfer payments to the territorial government to deliver things like healthcare and social services for N.W.T. residents. They are a major source of the GNWT’s annual revenue. The Dene Nation previously told Cabin Radio it is engaged in early discussions with Dene leadership...
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‘Extremely offensive’: B.C. premier’s plans to change Indigenous Rights law met with frustration
By Shannon Waters, Matt Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Narwhal In 2019, B.C. unanimously passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. It was celebrated as a major step toward working with First Nations in a better, more equal way. But a court ruling earlier this month seems to be contributing to a change of heart for Premier David Eby. On Dec. 5, the British Columbia Court of Appeal ruled the government’s obligations under the Declaration Act are legally enforceable. Eby is now arguing judges shouldn’t be setting the province’s reconciliation agenda. And he says he is willing to change the law to make sure they can’t. “The work we do in reconciliation is to empower people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike, not to empower the courts,” Eby...
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‘Our hearts are broken’: Squamish Nation enacts emergency measures to fight against toxic drug crisis
By Abby Luciano, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, North Shore News The Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) has announced emergency measures after losing loved ones to the toxic drug crisis. The Squamish Nation council declared a state of emergency on Dec. 4, after listening to community concerns and recommendations from staff and health experts. “Our hearts are broken. [Last] week has brought so much tragedy to our Nation, and we wrap our arms around all those who have lost loved ones,” Sxwíxwtn Wilson Williams, chairperson for the Squamish Nation said in a statement. “But condolences are not enough. Our Nation is in crisis, and we have lost too many of our people.” Williams outlined the council’s actions to address the crisis in an Instagram video Thursday. Williams said the state of emergency...
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MP Idlout calls for investigation into grocery chain’s price increases
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Nunavut MP Lori Idlout has renewed her call for an expedited review of the federal Nutrition North grocery subsidy program, asking the minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs to specifically investigate Northmart price increases. An external review of Nutrition North began in 2024 and is due for a formal report in 2026, while the program itself is overseen by Northern and Arctic Affairs. Idlout’s letter calls for the review to get fast-tracked, the filing of interim reports with immediate action items, and an investigation into the price differences among retailers, like The North West Company’s Northmart chain. “People are saying The North West Company increased food prices when food vouchers were issued through ICFI (Inuit Child First Initiative), then kept...
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Report buried on murdered, missing Indigenous women and girls: auditor general
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Daily Gleaner She was last seen in a smoke shop four years ago and then disappeared without a trace, a mother of four whose family has been in anguish ever since. Erin Brooks, an Indigenous woman who was 38 years old when she was last caught on a surveillance camera in St. Mary’s Smoke Shop in Fredericton on Dec. 27, 2021, has been the subject of vigils and a $65,000 reward to anyone who can help lead authorities to her whereabouts. The Fredericton Police Force suspect she was the victim of foul play but has not released many details of its investigation. For people who hang red dresses in public places to remind others of the high number of missing and murdered...
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How many glaciers in Canada’s Arctic can be saved from extinction?
By Jordan Omstead Thousands of glaciers across Canada could be saved from total extinction by the end of the century if humanity can bend the curve on global warming, a new global study suggested while offering a grim outlook on one of the world’s icons of changing climate. The study published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Climate Change estimates almost 80 per cent of glaciers worldwide are set to vanish by 2100 at the planet’s current warming trajectory of around 2.7 degrees above pre-industrial average. That drops to 63 per cent at two degrees, or about 34,000 fewer glaciers wiped out completely. The paper introduced the term “peak glacier extinction” to describe the year when the largest numbers of glaciers are expected to disappear between now and the end...
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St. Alban hosting Dickens reading, free Christmas meal
By Christian Collington, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TheIFP.ca St. Alban the Martyr Anglican Church will be opening its doors for two community events this holiday season. The events include a night of classic storytelling and a warm meal on Christmas Day at 537 Main St. in Glen Williams. ‘A Christmas Carol’ reading First, the church will host a dramatic reading of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” on Friday, Dec. 19. The event begins at 7 p.m. and will feature the classic Victorian ghost story paired with traditional carol singing. Organizers describe the evening as a celebration of redemption and goodwill. Admission is free. Voluntary donations will be accepted with all proceeds going to local charities. Christmas meal Looking ahead, the church will also host its annual free Christmas Day meal....
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Prominent Nunavut woman shares story of domestic abuse
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Close to 30 people marched through downtown Iqaluit to call for an end to violence against women on Dec. 6, reaching Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum, where a TV personality revealed her experience with domestic abuse for the first time. Leading the procession was Qulliit Nunavut Status of Women Council President Amber Aglukark, Premier of Nunavut John Main, Nunavut RCMP Commanding Officer Kent Pike, and Government of Nunavut Minister responsible for the Status of Women Gwen Healey Akearok. At the museum, Ooleepeeka (Rebecca) Veevee spoke about what she had survived. Veevee is well known as The Laughing Chef, host of the Inuit Broadcasting Company’s TV show ‘Niqitsiat,’ where she made variations of country food like caribou pizza, goose soup, char casserole, seal...
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MP Idlout calls for investigation into grocery chain’s price increases
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Nunavut MP Lori Idlout has renewed her call for an expedited review of the federal Nutrition North grocery subsidy program, asking the minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs to specifically investigate Northmart price increases. An external review of Nutrition North began in 2024 and is due for a formal report in 2026, while the program itself is overseen by Northern and Arctic Affairs. Idlout’s letter calls for the review to get fast-tracked, the filing of interim reports with immediate action items, and an investigation into the price differences among retailers, like The North West Company’s Northmart chain. “People are saying The North West Company increased food prices when food vouchers were issued through ICFI (Inuit Child First Initiative), then kept...
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17-year-old is third person charged in relation to Carry the Kettle murders in February
By Nicole Taylor, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The World-Spectator Murder charges have been laid against a third individual—a 17-year-old male—in relation to the February murders of two men and two women on Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation. On December 10 police officers with Saskatchewan RCMP’s Major Crimes Unit and Indian Head RCMP Detachment executed a search warrant at a residence on Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation with the assistance of officers from File Hills First Nations Police Service. RCMP officers arrested a 17-year-old male youth at the residence. The youth can not be identified as per the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The youth has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder in relation to the deaths of Tracey Hotomani, Sheldon Quewezance, Shauna Fay and Terry Jack. The youth is...
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Young people will speak up in court after leaders stayed silent about Ontario development bill
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Ramon Kataquapit says it was the silence from his First Nation leaders after Ontario introduced legislation to fast-track land development, that ultimately rallied other young people in his community to take charge of their future. From Attawapiskat First Nation, Kataquapit, 23, said others in Treaty 9 also felt frustrated and excluded from decisions impacting them after the province introduced Bill 5. And “that caused a lot of the youth all at the same time almost to spark into action,” he said. This week, Kataquapit is taking their fight into court. In a motion filed Monday, he and Michel Koostachin, who is also a member of Attawapiskat First Nation, seek to intervene in an existing lawsuit launched by nine First Nations...
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Métis Nation of Ontario say academic gathering is an attempt to erase their history
By Alessia Passafiume Members of the Métis Nation of Ontario say an upcoming academic summit in the province amounts to an attack on their history because it questions the legitimacy of their connection to Métis heritage and territorial claims. But the First Nations organizers of the summit say they are using the event to safeguard their territories from what they call an infringement on their rights. The event, set for Saturday and Sunday in Sault Ste. Marie, is being hosted by Robinson Huron Waawiindamaagewin, an organization created by the 21 First Nations signatories to the Robinson Huron Treaty. The sold-out event — the “(Un) Making of Métis Claims in Ontario Forum” — is set to hear from academics who researched claims made by the Métis Nation of Ontario and who...
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Hunter’s Mountain Mi’kmaw camp burns to ground in suspicious fire
By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post The two main buildings at the Hunter’s Mountain cultural revitalization camp in Cape Breton burned down early Saturday morning. The camp has been the site of a Mi’Kmaw logging protest in Nova Scotia since early September. There are no reports of any injuries, and it is believed no one was staying in any of the buildings overnight at the time of the fire. Presently, RCMP are seeking information about what they have called suspicious fires at the camp. According to the police report, on Dec. 13 at approximately 1:20 a.m., officers, fire services, and EHS responded to a report of a structure fire in the 1000 block of the Cabot Trail. When first responders arrived on scene, an unoccupied structure...
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Eby plans $150 million in loan guarantees for Cowichan land owners
By Wolfgang Depner British Columbia Premier David Eby said his government plans to offer private owners of land in the Cowichan Aboriginal title area more than $150 million in loan guarantees, amid fears about the impact of the landmark ruling on their financing. He said the fund could include $100 million in guaranteed financing for Montrose Properties, the biggest private owner in the Aboriginal title area, and a further $54 million for smaller owners. Eby also said the final cost could be higher. “There’s a significant amount of additional commercial activity (in the area), and we don’t have a total number about that,” he said in an interview Friday. “It could be significantly larger than that.” But Eby, who mentioned the possible financing guarantees in a speech Wednesday, without providing...
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Investigation finds no police misconduct in collapse of New Brunswick murder trials
An investigation of an error by the Fredericton Police Force that forced the Crown to withdraw from two murder trials sheds very little light on why the cases fell apart in the first place. The man who led the independent review, Ontario lawyer Ian D. Scott, said in his report that the “insurmountable evidentiary issue” that brought both prosecutions to an end cannot be disclosed. “As painful as it is for the families and the larger community, I cannot provide the kind of explanation I would like to clear the air,” Scott wrote. “I am bound by the same rules as the investigators and prosecutors involved in this case.” Citing the Canada Evidence Act, Scott said he could not disclose information regarding national security, communications between police and Crown lawyers,...
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Eby plans $150 million in loan guarantees for Cowichan land owners
By Wolfgang Depner British Columbia Premier David Eby says his government plans to offer private owners of land in the Cowichan Aboriginal title area more than $150 million in loan guarantees, amid fears about the impact of the landmark ruling on their financing. He says the fund could include $100 million in guaranteed financing for Montrose Properties, the biggest private owner in the Aboriginal title area, and a further $54 million for smaller owners. Eby says the final amount could be significantly larger because current plans do not yet account for significant “additional commercial activity” in the area. Montrose, which owns about 120 hectares of the 300-hectare title area in Richmond, B.C., says in legal documents that a previous lender denied it $35 million in financing because of concerns about...
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Legislature’s 14-week break ‘appalling,” MPP says
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Thunder Bay Source THUNDER BAY — Ontario’s legislative assembly is taking a 14-week break after having already taken a 19-week summer break and sitting only 51 days this year. And the MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North doesn’t like it one bit. “It’s appalling, really,” Lise Vaugeois, a New Democrat, said of the Progressive Conservative government’s long hiatus. “Here’s a game that’s being played: They have very short sessions in which they ram through huge bills,” she continued. “And the other piece is that they are mired in scandal, and the legislative session is when they can best be held to account.” Legislators returned to Queen’s Park in late October after a nearly five-month break and concluded their fall sitting on Thursday. Government MPPs...
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Northern region holiday gathering brings good tidings for unity, health and lots of seafood in 2026
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa Campbell River, BC – The annual Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC) Urban Community Holiday Gatherings tour wrapped with merriment and fruit čamas at a packed Thunderbird Hall in Campbell River on Dec 11. Looking forward to a new year and a fresh start, the unifying wish for many of the guests at the Thunderbird Hall was just that – to be more united in 2026. “I always think about all our nations and the troubles that we are having in-fighting,” said Tla-o-qui-aht elder Barney Williams, who moved to the northern region seven years ago to be closer to a major hospital. “I really hope we can go back to the way it was years ago. Everything was respected. There was no contest. We...
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