Jury to be given instructions as stabbing rampage coroner’s inquest nears end
By Kelly Geraldine Malone THE CANADIAN PRESS MELFORT, Sask.-Jurors are set to receive instructions from a coroner this morning as an inquest into a mass stabbing on a Saskatchewan First Nation reaches its final stages. Myles Sanderson killed 11 people and injured 17 others on the James Smith Cree Nation and nearby village of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon, on Sept. 4, 2022. He died in police custody a few days later. The six jurors heard the final evidence of the inquest Monday and will begin deliberations today on recommendations to help prevent similar deaths in the future. Over the last 11 days, the inquest heard how the rampage unfolded from RCMP officers at the scene and health-care officials organizing the response from paramedics and hospitals. It has also heard about...
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Bringing beadwork to the National Gallery of Canada
By Isaac Nay Local Journalism Initiative Reporter This spring, colourful beaded high-top sneakers and a swirling celestial scene will join the work of artists from across the continent at the National Gallery in Ottawa. The travelling exhibit Radical Stitch originated at the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, Sask. One of the largest beadwork exhibits in Canada, it features the work of more than 100 North American beadwork artists. It highlights pieces like colourful moccasins and multicoloured sculptures _ all made of beads. Now, the exhibit is set to come to the National Gallery of Canada. “You have all these amazing, talented artists 1/8who 3/8 are bringing these ideas and concepts and wonderful time-consuming creations all to one space,” artist Nico Williams said. “It’s such an honour to have it come...
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Scott Momaday, Pulitzer Prize winner and giant of Native American literature, dead at 89
By Hillel Italie THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK (AP)- N. Scott Momaday, a Pulitzer Prize-winning storyteller, poet, educator and folklorist whose debut novel “House Made of Dawn” is widely credited as the starting point for contemporary Native American literature, has died. He was 89. Momaday died Wednesday at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, publisher HarperCollins announced. He had been in failing health. “Scott was an extraordinary person and an extraordinary poet and writer. He was a singular voice in American literature, and it was an honor and a privilege to work with him,” Momaday’s editor, Jennifer Civiletto, said in a statement. “His Kiowa heritage was deeply meaningful to him and he devoted much of his life to celebrating and preserving Native American culture, especially the oral tradition.” “House...
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Prince George MP thrilled BC United MLA running for Conservatives in next federal election
By Tom Summer Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies MP Bob Zimmer met with Conservative leader Pierre Poillevere this past week in Prince Rupert as part of rallies held there and in Terrace. They met with residents, local First Nations, and welcomed BC United Skeena MLA Ellis Ross, who will not run in this fall’s provincial election but will be the federal Conservative candidate for the Skeena-Bulkley Valley riding. Ross is a friend of many years, and a down-to-earth personality that he’s excited to welcome to party, Zimmer said, noting at least 300 people attended the Prince Rupert rally. “It’s just hard to believe that a Native from a small community has been given this type of opportunity to represent his village, to represent the region, to represent B.C.,...
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Judge doesn’t give federal government a pass on further Jericho diamond mine cleanup
By Kira Wronska Dorward Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A Nunavut judge has made a key ruling in a case where the Kitikmeot Inuit Association has been seeking for many years to have Dyno Nunavut Incorporated remove the explosives plant and restore the property at the former Jericho diamond mine. The site, 250 km southeast of Kugluktuk, is partially owned by the Government of Canada and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA). The mine was in production from 2006 to 2008. Dyno Nunavut Incorporated (Dyno) contends that the Government of Canada holds all the financial securities and is responsible for restoration of the entire Jericho site. Dyno further alleges that restoration and compensation requirements were addressed in a lease between the KIA and Tahera 1/8Diamond Corporation 3/8, the original and now defunct...
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RCMP collecting race based data is a `double edged sword,’ says Indigenous leader
By Shari Narine Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Fort McKay Metis Nation President Ron Quintal is surprised to learn that the RCMP detachment that services his northern Alberta community is collecting race-based data. Since Jan. 8, the Wood Buffalo RCMP detachment, along with detachments in Thompson, Man. and Whitehorse, Yukon, has been collecting data based solely on the officer’s perception of the race of the person he is investigating. “We actually have three (RCMP) constables that we pay extra dollars for in Fort McKay to have extra constables in the community because we want a strong police presence,” said Quintal, yet he was unaware that the detachment was a pilot project site. Dr. Mai Phan, acting director of the RCMP anti-racism unit, says public consultations to roll out the pilot project...
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A famed NYC museum is closing two Native American halls. Harvard and others have taken similar steps
By Philip Marcelo THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK (AP)- New York’s American Museum of Natural History is closing two halls featuring Native American objects starting Saturday, acknowledging the exhibits are “severely outdated” and contain culturally sensitive items. The mammoth complex across from Central Park on Manhattan’s Upper West Side is the latest U.S. institution to cover up or remove Native American exhibits to comply with recently revamped federal regulations dealing with the display of Indigenous human remains and cultural items. The museum said in October that it would pull all human remains from public display, with the aim of eventually repatriating as much as it could to Native American tribes and other rightful owners. Sean Decatur, the museum’s president, said in a letter to staff Friday that the latest move...
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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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