First Nation looks to expand gardening programs after landing national award
By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com Terry Lerat is not only thrilled his First Nation has garnered a lucrative national award but pleased with what it will mean for the future of his community. Lerat is a councillor for Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan. Cowessess First Nation and its economic arm, Cowessess Ventures LP, along with Saskatoon-based company B.Nature Biotech, were recently awarded $450,000 through the national HARVEST wasteCANcreate program. This funding came on the heels of a provincial investment of $125,000 from Innovation Saskatchewan this past January. Along with some other contributions, almost $800,000 in total, this will allow Cowessess First Nation to utilize its local organic waste and convert it into enriched soil, which will in turn be used to grow food. Dr. Babak Roshani, the...
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Brantford Native Housing helping urban natives register for band membership
By Lynda Powless Editor BRANTFORD, ONT-Brantford Native Housing will soon begin helping First Nations people in the city apply for, or replace, lost band membership cards but it isn’t coming without some controversy. Lacey Stevens, Community and communications officer said the urban centre has just been designated as a ‘Trusted Source’ by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) to aid Indigenous people in the city register for band membership. “We had this flashback last week,” she told Turtle Island News. “We are not issuing status cards. We have applied to be a “Trusted Source,” she said. Stevens said the staff have just finished ISC training and wanted to be clear are “we aren’t issuing status cards.” ISC’s “Trusted Source” program trains individuals to verify, identify and certify supporting documents for Indian Registration...
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CP NewsAlert: As many as 230 homes destroyed by B.C. wildfire, chief says
The chief of the Okanagan Indian Band says about 230 homes have been destroyed by a raging wildfire near Vernon, B.C. Dan Wilson says 30 band homes and 200 non-band homes have been destroyed by the Bradley Creek fire. He says the area “looked like a war zone” when he took a helicopter tour of the devastation and it was difficult to recognize the community. Wilson says the wildfire has been one of the most devastating events in the band’s history. The chief says the situation is “surreal” and the destruction is just sinking in. The fire started late Friday and was fanned by winds gusting up to 115 kilometres per hour, giving some residents as little as five minutes to get out of their homes. This report by The...
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Non-profit calls on feds to launch commission on legacy of slavery, racism in Canada
By Catherine Morrison A non-profit organization is calling on the federal government to launch a national commission to study the legacy of slavery and anti-Black racism in Canada. The Black Class Action Secretariat says the commission could probe the enduring impacts of slavery, segregation and systemic racism and recommend a national framework for addressing them. Aug. 1 is Emancipation Day in Canada, marking the abolition of slavery across the British Empire in 1834. The Black Class Action Secretariat says that while Canada marks Emancipation Day every year, it has never undertaken a comprehensive national examination of how the legacy of slavery and anti-Black racism continues to shape the lives of Canadians of African descent. It says a commission would establish a permanent historical record, hear directly from affected communities and...
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Nunavut Inuit organization will get its own icebreaker next year
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News A joint-venture between the Qikiqtani Inuit Association’s economic development arm and St. John’s Newfoundland-based Horizon Naval Engineering will deliver one polar class icebreaker next year, a press release on Aug. 4 said. Qikiqtaaluk Horizon Arctic Services, the name of the joint venture, is procuring the icebreaker, called ‘Nordica’ from a manufacturer in Finland. “The Nordica brings world-class experience and additional capacity to the Arctic at an important time, as communities and industries across the North continue to grow,” said Harry Flaherty, president and CEO of Qikiqtaaluk Corporation. Icebreakers are used to clear a path so sealift cargo ships, mining supply boats and military vessels can operate in the Arctic. Expanding icebreaker capability in the Arctic will increase shipping capacity, allowing...
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Ottawa moves to list Alberta-backed West Coast pipeline as national interest project
By David Baxter The federal government is advancing the process to designate a proposed oil pipeline to the West Coast as a “national interest” project. Naming a project in the national interest under the Building Canada Act allows the government to fast-track approvals and skirt some environmental laws. A notice published in the Canada Gazette on Aug. 1 sets a Sept. 18 deadline to submit comments on the national interest designation. The proposed pipeline has been referred already to the government’s major projects office, with the Alberta government listed as the proponent. The pipeline would be owned by Trans Mountain, the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission and Pembina Pipeline Corporation. Pembina has a 10 per cent ownership stake in the construction, with the option to purchase an additional 10 per cent...
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Saved from trash in 1980s, these photos are going home to Kugaaruk
By Daron Letts, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News Photographs taken in the 1960s are heading back to one of the Kugaaruk families they depict, thanks to help from an amateur historian based in Nashville. Jim Miller’s late grandmother discovered the photos in the mid-1980s in the trash room of her Burlington, Ont., apartment building. The nine colour images show Inuit building an igloo, drying fish and enjoying the warmth of a qulliq. Miller said his grandmother knew they meant something to someone, but decades before the internet, finding their origin was not a simple task. The photos ended up mounted to wooden plaques and displayed on the family’s wall before Miller inherited them. “They’ve been in our house since I was a teenager,” Miller said. “When I moved out,...
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Ford government won’t commit to forest fire inquiry, as chiefs demand change
By Jon Thompson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ricochet Ontario will not commit to holding an inquiry into its response to the worst forest fire season on record, despite calls from every opposition party and First Nations leaders whose communities are still under evacuation. Responding to media questions about an inquiry at a press conference Thursday, Minister of Natural Resources Mike Harris confirmed his staff will conduct a “very deep dive” internal review, but he won’t commit to making its results public. “Once we get through the fire season, just like we do after every fire season, we go through what’s happened well, what hasn’t worked the best with our teams, and we look to change those things for the following season,” Harris said. “I’m not sure how the review will...
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Federal prison sentence expected for trafficking
By Judy Cole, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, River Valley Sun Timothy Brian Wheelan, 39, and Samuel Robert Crewe, 31, both of Jacksonville, appeared in provincial court in custody via video for sentencing on July 30 after changing their plea to guilty on drug charges laid by the RCMP. Wheelan also pleaded guilty to three gun charges laid by Woodstock Police. His sentencing on all charges was adjourned until Aug. 13 at 9:30 a.m. to allow for the submission of a victim impact statement. Defence Counsel Annie Maltais requested Wheelan be moved to federal remand to await sentencing as a federal prison term was expected for drug trafficking. Wheelan agreed and told the court he wanted to go “get my programs done” at the federal level. Judge Rose Campbell granted the...
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Ford government won’t commit to forest fire inquiry, as chiefs demand change
By Jon Thompson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ricochet Ontario will not commit to holding an inquiry into its response to the worst forest fire season on record, despite calls from every opposition party and First Nations leaders whose communities are still under evacuation. Responding to media questions about an inquiry at a press conference Thursday, Minister of Natural Resources Mike Harris confirmed his staff will conduct a “very deep dive” internal review, but he won’t commit to making its results public. “Once we get through the fire season, just like we do after every fire season, we go through what’s happened well, what hasn’t worked the best with our teams, and we look to change those things for the following season,” Harris said. “I’m not sure how the review will...
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‘I’ve lost about eight people to suicide,’ youth delegate tells Inuit Circumpolar Council
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News The severe state of mental health issues among youth in the North isn’t a shock to anyone anymore, says 22-year-old Gwen Natsiq. Representing Canada as a youth delegate at the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s general assembly in Iqaluit, Natsiq spoke about how she’s been personally affected by Nunavut’s high rate of suicide. “In the past five years alone, I have lost around eight people to suicide,” she said. There are generally 25 to 37 suicides in Nunavut each year, giving the territory of 40,000 people by far the highest suicide rate in the country, data from the Nunavut Coroner’s Office shows. “This is a level of loss that many people living in the south of Canada may never experience in their...
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States sue to block feds from sharing personal data of millions who receive social service benefits
By Anthony Izaguirre More than 20 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Monday to block it from getting wide access to the personal information of millions of recipients of a benefits program for low-income families. The case is the latest legal action between states and the federal government over the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which like other public programs have come under scrutiny from the Trump administration as sources of potential fraud. The coalition of states sued in federal court in Washington to stop the agency that controls the program from moving ahead with a rule that would allow it to share recipients’ immigration status, Social Security numbers and additional personal information with other parts of government or potentially with private entities, according...
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‘The fire was just raging’ evacuee describes fleeing Okanagan wildfires
-CP-Atlyn Becker remembers the hills glowing orange around her on Saturday as her truck edged north to safety from fires burning around British Columbia’s Okanagan Lake. She and her family are among thousands who fled their homes over the weekend with whatever they could pack, as high winds pushed flames over drought-parched land. She estimates there were about 200 vehicles moving slowly down the road with her. “You could feel the heat of the fire. You could hear the crackling of the trees. The fire was just raging,” she said Monday, after safely arriving in Kelowna. Becker said she watched through the window of her truck as firefighters cut apart fallen trees with chainsaws so that people could drive through. “(Fire) was right down to the road, all the way...
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Manitoba Hydro rejects allegations in Cross Lake outage lawsuit
By Steven Sukkau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun Manitoba Hydro says it will vigorously defend itself against a proposed class-action lawsuit filed by the Cross Lake Band of Indians over a prolonged power outage that displaced thousands of residents last winter. “We have been made aware of the Statement of Claim,” Manitoba Hydro Media Relations Officer Peter Chura said. “We understand the challenges power outages, especially extended ones, can have on all our customers. However, a loss of electrical service is always a possibility, and we always make every effort to safely restore power outages as quickly as possible.” “Manitoba Hydro intends to defend itself vigorously against this claim and will file our response in due course,” he added. “We will not provide further comment on this matter as...
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In the Okanagan desert, snakes offer lessons on protecting a fragile ecosystem
By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews The snake was close. Lindsay Whitehead could hear it in the receiver strapped to her chest. For nearly an hour in the sweltering desert heat on June 30, Whitehead and cnúk Jenna Bower had crossed a sunbaked field above Osoyoos Lake, stepping through sagebrush and rare antelope-brush while Whitehead held a radio antenna over the land. The receiver’s electronic ping grew louder as they neared the edge of a bluff, then softened whenever they tried another direction. Somewhere beneath them was a Great Basin gophersnake researchers had fitted with a radio transmitter months earlier. The non-venomous gophersnake can exceed two metres, making it the largest snake native to “B.C.” Its muscular body is cream, yellowish or grey, patterned with dark rectangular blotches...
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Six Nations lacrosse squad eyes fourth consecutive national championship
By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com The Six Nations Chiefs managed to fulfill one of their goals for the 2026 season. Now the Senior A men’s lacrosse squad from Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario can set its sights on reaching an even more meaningful accomplishment. The Chiefs finished atop the standings in the seven-team Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) circuit on July 28 by winning 16 of their 18 regular season matches. As the three-time defending national Mann Cup champions, the club is now hoping it can capture a fourth consecutive Canadian title on its home floor this September and make history. “I think that was a goal of ours, to get first place for home field advantage,” said Duane Jacobs, who serves as the club’s...
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Okanagan wildfires force expanded orders, alerts as First Nation assesses losses
Wildfires burning on the west side and north end of Okanagan Lake have forced more evacuation orders and alerts. Central Okanagan Emergency Management issued a further evacuation order because of the Quilpituk Creek wildfire, bringing the total number of properties evacuated under its jurisdiction to more than 2,200 properties. Further up the lake, the Regional District of North Okanagan expanded evacuation orders and alerts on Sunday for dozens of properties because of the Bradley Creek wildfire. Many residents rushed to escape over the weekend as winds gusting up to 115 kilometres per hour fanned the fire, destroying homes as it burned to the water line. Cliff Chapman, director of wildfire operations for the provincial wildfire service, said in an update on Sunday that they had never seen wildfire conditions like...
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Fort Smith museum to transfer ownership to newly formed Thebacha Leadership Council
By Kody Ferron, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yellowknifer Ownership of the Fort Smith Northern Life Museum will soon transfer to the newly-formed Thebacha Leadership Council. Chairperson of the Northern Life Museum board and lifelong Fort Smith resident Michael Miltenberger volunteers much of his time working for the museum, which he calls “such a critical institution.” “Finally, and for the first time anywhere, the museum is going to transfer ownership,” he said. “Everything related to the museum; the board itself, the buildings, the collections, the artifacts, the property of the governments whose artifacts and history is embodied in the museum, will all [change ownership].” Miltenberger praised the recent agreement, saying it would allow the Thebacha groups to finally control their own history. He said the contents of the museum carry much...
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Dene National Chief celebrates reinstatement of residential school survivor counselling
By Kody Ferron, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yellowknifer Dene National Chief George Mackenzie says he’s happy to hear that funding for in-person trauma counselling has been reinstated. The therapy, available through the Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program, was first paused in April, and then in-person sessions were fully cancelled as of July 24 as clients were expected to move to online appointments. As of July 28, that funding was reinstated. The funding is controlled by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), who told media earlier this week that financial support for this kind of mobile counselling “didn’t exist.” Now, after public and political backlash, the funding has been reinstated. Mackenzie celebrated the government’s backpeddaling in a July 30 news release. “This reversal shows the power of our collective voices advocating...
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Year’s fires may be worst on record
By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal If the numbers tell the story, then these numbers tell a particularly grim tale. The latest data compiled by Ontario’s Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) agency confirm what appears obvious this summer: this may well be the worst wildfire season the province has experienced in living memory. By Friday, nearly 7,400 square kilometres of land had been burned across the province so far since provincial officials began tracking wildfires when the season began on April 1. Not surprisingly, the majority of the area scorched so far, by a lopsided margin, has been in the western part of the province; especially Northwestern Ontario, where several evacuations have occurred and many structures have been destroyed. According to the AFFES agency’s data,...
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