Court says no to Indian Day School compensation deadline extension
‘This decision should not be taken as a dismissal of the concerns put forward;’ court docs say A Federal Court decision says no to any extension for Indian day school survivors to apply for compensation. The Federal Court decision released Thursday, Six Nations Elected Council had sought a deadline extension for day school survivors to file claims charging both theCOVID-19 pandemic and process deficiencies impacted survivors ability to file. On Thursday the court said no, refusing to extend the deadline. “We had thought that the record was very clear that the pandemic had a very negative impact on the ability for people to make claims,” said Louis Sokolov, legal council for Audrey Hill who represented day school survivors. Six Nations, the largest Indigenous community in Canada with more than 28,000...
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Six Nations Police upgrade charges after woman passes away
OHSWEKEN, SIX NATIONS- Six Nations Police have upgraded charges against a 28-year-old man to Dangerous Driving Causing Death after a woman found on River Range Road suffering life-threatening injuries passed away. Six Nations Police and paramedics responded to the scene of an injuried female Friday, August 4, 2023, at about 10:00 PM. The woman was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Sadly, on Friday, August 11, 2023, the she passed away as a result of her injuries. The charges against the accused in this matter, Dalton Hill-Doxtador, 28, of Ohsweken, ON have been upgraded to the following: – Fail to Comply with Release Order – Dangerous Driving Causing Death – Disobey Court Order – Impaired Operation Causing Death – Assault Peace Officer The man has been remanded in custody pending...
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Six Nations Elected Council to hold AGA featuring Walk the Tract event
With only three months left in their term Six Nations Election Council (SNEC) is hosting it’s first “annual general assembly” that is expected to focus on its almost four years in council. SNEC announced the meeting at its August 8th meeting. “We haven’t had (an AGA) in a long time,” remarked Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Darrin Jamieson. The AGA will take place August 24 between 5 pm and 9 pm at the Community Hall, he said. There will be booths set up from all Six Nations of the Grand River council departments, and there will also be a presentation, he added. The presentation will cover what has happened during this term of Council, and also discuss future plans that have been developed, said Jamieson. He said a booklet which will...
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Six Nations Elected Council to be in person for first session since COVID-19
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND – Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) is heading back to the council chambers for at least one meeting. SNEC passed a motion at its August 8th ZOOM meeting to meet in person with two community members later this month over an issue of a non-band member living at Six Nations Councillor Greg Frazer, attending by ZOOM as chair, was in Kahnawake attending an Iroquois Caucus meeting. He said the motion would require a majority of its members to be present in-person at the chambers. The motion came after a community member said he had been trying to meet with SNEC over a residency by-law grievance. Rick Clause, who was at the band office during the August 8 General Council meeting, questioned council members’ failure to...
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SN Elected Council to look at residency bylaw after complaints
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND – Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) is reviewing its residency by-law amid complaints from community members. Rick Clause told SNEC at its August 8th meeting his family has suffered abuse and threats from a non-Six Nations Band member who has taken up residency here. Clause said it has taken him years to get a home at Six Nations. “How can he be here,” he asked SNEC. “There’s some French people living here for years. Why are all these people given all these privileges on our land. I got lot of friends wanna come home. Come home to what? “ Clause attended the council chambers in-person as a delegation with some of his family members only to find council members joined via Zoom. Clause used a...
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Woodlands latest art exhibit features new Indigenous artists
By Lisa Iesse Writer SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND – Woodland’s 48th annual Indigenous Art exhibit is boasting the largest first-time entrance of works by new artists yet. The opening reception on Saturday (July 30), drew hundreds of people to the Woodland Cultural Centre to find a striking collective of paintings, photography, carvings, beadwork, pottery, ceramics, and mixed media works that filled the room with life. Artworks that talk to each other, said Woodland’s curator Patricia Deadman. “I found this year that really the pieces start talking to one another and, and that’s really quite unusual for a juried exhibition,” she said . There were over 100 submissions making it difficult to choose works, Deadman said. Fifty-two works by 41 artists were selected this year. “It’s really hard to put...
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SN election code a vote or bragging rights?
Six Nations band council’s annual audit is now over two months overdue. The audit, normally, is released, at the latest by July with previous elected chief’s holding an audit meeting, whether during a council session or Annual Generall Meeting for the public by the first week of July. Not so with this council. Six Nations is heading shortly into September with any hint of an audit being released possibly, maybe, we think, at what the current band council is calling its Annual General Assembly. The first of this experimental four-year term council. That meeting will include an update report on the community’s infrastructure and plans and needs going forward. A plan that is supposed to be the meeting’s gem along with promoting a planned bus trip along portions of the...
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Six Nations Elected Council grants $6,000 to local athletes
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND – Six Nations gives $6,000 to athletes travelling to the Canadian Nationals tournament in Saskatoon. The motion was moved by Councillor Helen Miller and seconded by Councillor Kerry Bomberry on Tuesday (August 8) at the General Council meeting over Zoom. The funds will help pay travel expenses for four Six Nations athletes travelling to Saskatoon for a softball tournament including Cara Skye, Chole Bomberry, Tess Squire and Kyla Miller. The four received $1,500 each to be able to attend the Canadian Nationals tournament in Saskatchewan, from August 8 to 13. The funds came from the Ontario First Nations Limited Partnership (OFNLP) and the donation fund. Councillor Michelle Bomberry asked if the council would also support 11 athletes from Six Nations who went to Calgary. But...
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Rivermen hoping to defend league championship
By Sam Laskaris Writer The Six Nations Rivermen will be looking to capture yet another league championship on Wednesday. But don’t expect members of the local Senior B lacrosse squad to be overly upset if they do not manage to accomplish that goal. The Rivermen will be squaring off against the host Oakville Rock in the third and decisive game of the Ontario Series Lacrosse (OSL) best-of-three championship final series. The match will be staged at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre, beginning at 8 p.m. Regardless of the outcome of Wednesday’s contest, both the Rivermen and the Rock will still move on to participate in this year’s President Cup, the national Senior B tournament. The Oakville squad is hosting the Canadian tourney and thus receives an automatic berth in the...
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Attack to compete at provincials
By Sam Laskaris Writer A local women’s lacrosse club is set to go on the Attack. The Grand River Attack will be participating in the Women’s Lacrosse Series Lacrosse (WMSL) playoff championship tournament, which begins on Friday and continues until Sunday in Akwesasne, Ont. All nine squads in the WMSL will participate in the season-ending tourney, which will decide provincial bragging rights. The Attack had placed fifth in the regular season standings of the league after posting a 5-3-0 mark. The Grand River side has been placed into a division with four other squads for the WMSL playoff tourney. Thus, it is guaranteed of playing four round-robin matches at the event. The Attack will play the top-seeded Whitby Rush in its tournament opener, scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday. Whitby...
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Sam Laskaris – BEHIND THE ACTION – Six Nations Tomahawks
By Sam Laskaris, Writer Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches. And soon we’ll find out if members of the Six Nations Tomahawks can do just that and accomplish their main goal of winning a provincial championship this coming weekend. The Tomahawks, a Senior C squad, compete in the eight-team Senior Series Lacrosse (SSL) league. The Six Nations club has been dominant thus far this season, posting a 15-1-0 regular season mark to finish atop the standings of its provincial loop. That record was based on the Tomahawks’ performances at four out-of-town weekend tournaments, where they played four games at each one. The Tomahawks were looking forward to this coming weekend as they were supposed to host the season-ending league playoff championship at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena (ILA)....
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Chiefs eliminate Kodiaks and advance to league championship final
By Sam Laskaris Writer Thanks in part to another strong start and a seven-point night from veteran Randy Staats, the Six Nations Chiefs have once again advanced to their league final. The Chiefs downed the Cobourg Kodiaks 11-3 in a Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) playoff contest held last Thursday at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. Six Nations coasted to the win after building up a 6-1 lead following the first period. With that victory the Six Nations club won its best-of-seven league semi-final series 4-1 over the Kodiaks. And with that series triumph the Chiefs qualified for the MSL’s best-of-seven championship final series. Six Nations will battle the Peterborough Lakers, the four-time defending national Mann Cup champions, in the Ontario final. “We were very good,” Chiefs’ general manager/assistant coach Duane Jacobs...
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Home Town Hero Brandon Montour Marks Stanley Cup finale with Six Nations
Six Nations honours NHLer Brandon Montour with coming home party SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND – Hundreds gathered to celebrate homegrown hero Brandon Montour’s Stanley Cup run, and the love for the game he shares with family and community. About 300 hockey fans and supporters flocked to the Gathering Place on Chiefswood Road last Thursday (August 3). Inside, the gathering was bustling with fans of all ages, all wanting a chance to catch up with him and hear first-hand all about his Stanley Cup debut. The 29-year NHL veteran grew up in Ohsweken. His mother Tammy told him about the community’s plans to celebrate. “My mom reached out and said they were going to do something for me, but I didn’t know how big it was going to be or...
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HCCC seeks development agreement with Hamilton
By Lisa Iesse Writer HAMILTON – The Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) has asked the city of Hamilton to enter an agreement guiding collaborative work over major projects. The proposed agreement aims to ensure meaningful engagement between the Confederacy leadership and the city. The HDI is the development arm of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC). The proposal uses the Red Hill Valley joint stewardship agreement as a blueprint (which was a pact between HDI and the city over the construction of the Red Hill Valley Parkway). HDI lawyer Aaron Detlor f sent the proposition to the city about a year ago, and resubmitted it last month. Last summer HDI and the city were at a standstill over the sewage cleanup of Chedoke Creek. Detlor says a formal agreement between HDI/...
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SN task force’s deep dive finds “epidemic proportions” of bullying
The Six Nations Bullying Task Force has identified eight different types of bullying that occurs on the territory and is working to find their root causes. Jen Mt. Pleasant, chair of the task force gave Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) an update on the task force’s progress at its General Council meeting on July 25. She said they are progressing well, but could also do more with funding, as they currently have none. “We’re still getting contacted by community members who didn’t even know there was a community task force,” she said. “Our ultimate goal is to create a list of recommendations on how to address bullying.” The eight types of bullying identified are cultural, spiritual, gendered, sexual, environmental, political, online and mob style bullying. The task force has hired...
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Six Nations tells ISC consultant no, they can produce own reports
Six Nations wants nothing to do with a National Outcome-based Framework funded by Indigenous Services Canada, (ISC) in favour of continuing its own through Health Services because the government has already been told numerous times what’s needed in the community. Shelley Trevethan, owner of Trevethan Research and Consulting is working on a joint advisory committee with ISC and the Assembly of First Nation (AFN) to create a National Outcome-based Framework for First Nations across Canada. She presented a document to Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) at its General Council meeting on July 25 that she said was still in its “conceptual phase,” but also said she had already been working on it for “a few years.” Trevethan said she has previously worked on the Murdered Missing Indigenous Women and Girls...
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Researcher checking on success of relocation of mussels to Grand River
The Healthy Headwaters Lab is looking to Six Nations to study relocation practices of freshwater mussels. Lauren Damphousse, a PhD student at the University of Windsor looking into some of Ontario’s at risk mussel species which were translocated into the Grand River due to development. She made a presentation to Six Nations Elected Council at its General Council meeting on July 25 and gained approval for an ethics application to continue her research Evaluating the Success of Relocating Freshwater Mussel Species at Risk as a form of Conservation Focusing on Efforts in Southern Ontario. She says most of the relocations have been largely unsuccessful and there is very little evidence that mussel communities succeed after relocation. “Issues across translocations are a diminishing rate of return. Muscles are disappearing,” she said....
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Ontario changes to Ontario Works forcing First Nations to come up with own
The provincial government is making changes to its employment training, but is keeping its nose out of employment and training initiatives on reserves. Since 2019, Ontario and the Ford government have attempted to transform the employment supports offered through the Ministries of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD), and Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS). Ontario is attempting to better integrate the system of support offered to those on Ontario Works, so that those facing barriers to employment can successfully transition into meaningful employment. A report from the city of Toronto estimates those who need the most support won’t get what they need with the new system and it’s going to cost millions of dollars. Sandy Porter, manager of Ontario Works told Six Nations Elected Council at its Political...
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Six Nations internet upgrading project is gaining ground
Six Nations internet upgrading project is gaining ground after more than three years in the making. Jeff Thomas, owner of First Nations Cable gave a verbal update on the fibre internet installation project to Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) at its General Council meeting on July 25 and said crews are finally working and customers should be coming online within the “next month or two.” “This is a delightful event for us, I mean after two years of all these political issues we’ve been having, I bring good news. We can start our project, and it has been started two weeks ago,” he said. Thomas and his crews are working to install fibre cables in the area of First Line Road and Mohawk Road, they have contractors burying conduit pipes...
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