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Six Nations Fall Fair to get $70,000 injection
Six Nations’ 154th annual Fall Fair got a boost to help run the much loved fair amid skyrocketing inflation. The Six Nations Agricultural Society (SNAG) asked Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) for $60,000 in June and were told the finance department would look into it. The fair board returned to SNEC’s General Finance Committee meeting on July 17 to reiterate their needs, including 24-hour security and to help fund the midway, which was projected to cost more than $100,000. SNEC agreed to fund $70,000 from the Ontario First Nation Limited Partnership to help the fair run smoothly. “Due to the price increases this year, everything has gone sky high, but we’ve secured the midway rides and the balance is to be paid,” she said. “I think if you notice it...
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PHD student looking at First Nations autism programs
Six Nations may help Indigenous families nationwide deliver culturally appropriate autism programming. Grant Bruno, a parent of two autistic boys and a member of Nipisihkopahk (Samson Cree Nation), and a PhD student at the University of Alberta is studying autism within First Nations communities in Alberta and wants to expand his study to Six Nations. He came to Six Nations Elected Council’s (SNEC) General Council meeting on June 27 seeking approval of his application to the Ethics Committee to work with Child and Family Services, families and children who have autism. “Currently there is a severe lack of research on autism and Indigenous people in Canada,” he said. “I’ve been working with families and really seeing what’s happening, it’s seen as gifted in my community and I’m sure it’s the...
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Six Nations well represented at North American Indigenous Games
By Sam Laskaris Writer Dozens of Six Nations athletes are among those chasing some hardware at this year’s North American Indigenous Games (NAIG). In a news release the Six Nations communications department sent out it was revealed that a total of 49 local athletes are participating in the Games, which began this past Friday and continue until July 23. About 5,000 athletes, coach and team staff are taking part in the Games, which are primarily being held in the Nova Scotia capital of Halifax. Millbrook First Nation and Dartmouth are the two others centres that will be hosting some of the action. A total of 16 sports will be contested at the Games. Six Nations chief Mark B. Hill is thrilled to the local contingent is a rather large one....
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Sam Laskaris – BEHIND THE ACTION – Six Nations Rivermen
By Sam Laskaris Writer That time of the year that all athletes live to play for has arrived for the Six Nations Rivermen. Yes, the playoffs are here. The local Senior B men’s lacrosse squad played its final regular season contest of its 2023 campaign this past Friday. The Rivermen were downed 11-9 in overtime by the visiting Brooklin Merchants in a match staged at the Six Nations Sports and Cultural Memorial Centre. Six Nations ended up with an 8-6-2 record, presumably good for fourth place in the standings of its six-team Ontario Series Lacrosse (OSL) loop. We say presumably because ever since the OSL regular season concluded on the weekend, a lot has been going on behind the scenes. None of the four OSL playoff-bound clubs had announced their...
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Cultural sharing key part of North American Indigenous Games as sacred fire lit
By Michael Tutton The Canadian Press HALIFAX — Organizers of the North American Indigenous Games ignited a sacred fire on Saturday, saying the rekindling of First Nations culture is at the heart of the sports competition. “We set the goal at these games to have 50 per cent culture and 50 per cent sport, so we’re infusing cultural aspects into all aspects of the games themselves,” said games president George (Tex) Marshall in an interview after the ceremony. Recommended reads for you: Cultural sharing key part of North American Indigenous Games as sacred fire lit North American Indigenous Games officially open in Halifax as prime minister attends The 2023 version of the games is taking place at venues in Halifax, referred to as Kjipuktuk, along with events at Millbook First...
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Mixed results for Six Nations junior lacrosse squads
By Sam Laskaris Writer Six Nations’ three junior lacrosse teams had varying playoff results in the past week. The Six Nations Rebels, the local Junior B club, had the most success. That’s because the Rebels, who had finished with a perfect 20-0-0 regular season mark, managed to win their second round of the post-season. The Six Nations side downed the host Guelph Regals 10-7 on Sunday. With that victory the Rebels managed to capture their best-of-five Western Conference semi-final series in four games. The Rebels will now square off against the St. Catharines Athletics in a best-of-five conference final series, expected to commence in the next couple of days. Meanwhile, the Six Nations Arrows, a Junior A team, had their 2023 campaign come to an end on Monday when they...
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Growing number of youth are experiencing `eco anxiety’; experts say despair can be turned into meaningful action
By Rachel Morgan Local Journalism Initiative Reporter THE POINTER As graduating president of her high school’s environment club, Anita Wong knows a lot about individual acts to promote sustainability. Throughout her four years participating with the club, the Mississauga teen has helped make important changes at her school. The group has held workshops on upcycling, set up compostable cutlery for all school events and most recently opened a thrift store for a circular micro-economy. But while Wong leads such efforts, she knows the actions of youth won’t have large-scale impact unless governments and businesses move away from the fossil fuel industry. The constant nagging concern_which can turn into a prevailing fear that more and more young people are weighed down by_is hard for many older generations to understand. Those born...
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Shipping frenzy threatens Indigenous food security
Matteo Cimellaro Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Arctic shipping and the noise and environmental pollution left in its wake are driving narwhals and other animals farther away from those who depend on them. Lisa Koperqualuk points to the Inuit community of Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet), a northern Baffin Island hamlet with a population of around 1,500, as an example of how shipping has affected Inuit Nunangat, the Inuit homeland stretching through Russia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland. Over the past decade, the number of ships has increased in Mittimatalik’s waters. The increase of ships includes shipping vessels transporting iron from the Mary River Mine on Baffin Island 160 kilometres south of the community, as well as cruise and cargo ships, carrying both tourists and supplies to the North. It’s caused narwhals to veer...
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Canada’s Indigenous women forcibly sterilized decades after other rich countries stopped
By Maria Cheng THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TORONTO (AP)- Decades after many other rich countries stopped forcibly sterilizing Indigenous women, numerous activists, doctors, politicians and at least five class-action lawsuits allege the practice has not ended in Canada. A Senate report last year concluded “this horrific practice is not confined to the past, but clearly is continuing today.” In May, a doctor was penalized for forcibly sterilizing an Indigenous woman in 2019. Indigenous leaders say the country has yet to fully reckon with its troubled colonial past, or put a stop to a decades-long practice that is considered genocide. There are no solid estimates on how many women are being sterilized against their will, but Indigenous experts say they regularly hear complaints about it. Sen. Yvonne Boyer, whose office is collecting...
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AFN opens finances, as calls for reinstatement fail
AFN controversy ends no vote to reinstate RoseAnne Archibald HALIFAX -Former Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Chief RoseAnne Archibald is out. After debate held up the AFN meeting for almost two hours during its opening Tuesday morning attempts to seek re-instatement of the former National Chief failed when a resolution to reinstate her didn’t make it. Archibald is attending the meetings virtually and spoke again criticizing the process and calling her firing a coup. Before the gathering got underway, the organization announced it was sharing the past decade’s worth of financial statements, which it said “confirm the absence of any financial concerns.’’ The dramatic vote to remove RoseAnne Archibald as the first female leader of the largest First Nations advocacy organization in Canada “was not taken lightly,’’ the AFN’s new...
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Walking, riding, dancing in show of support at annual Ride4Pride Six Nations
By Lisa Iesse Writer SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND – Decked in a spectrum of bright colours, rainbow waves of cyclists, strollers, walkers and skateboarders swept through Six NationsSaturday, (July 8) marking the fourth annual Ride4Pride. The Ride4Pride took route starting at about 10 am in Veterans Park and headed west towards Seneca Road, “completing all 4 directions” of the community, Si Nations SN Outreach announced on their Facebook site. The park was decorated with Pride flags, Haudenosaunee Confederacy flags, and flag designs fusing a celebrated Haudenosaunee sovereignty together with 2S & LGBTQ+ Pride. The rainbowed space of the park also featured a selfie station, and a colouring table. The ride celebrates 2S & LGBTQ+ resilience and inclusion in Six Nations. “This event is important to let community know that we...
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Mississauga Nation visits United Kingdom and his Royal Highness King Charles III
By Lynda Powless Editor LONDON, ENGLAND- The Mississaugas Nation in Ontario sent a delegation of Chiefs and representatives to the United Kingdom last week. It’s the first Mississaugas Nation delegation to meet with United Kingdom (UK) officials since the 1860’s. The delegation included Mississaugas First Nation Chief Bob Chiblow, Credit First Nation Chief Stacey Laforme, Chad Cowie from Hiawatha and Councillor Steve Toms from Curve Lake. They met with officials including Ralph Goodale, High Commissioner for Canada in the UK and toured Saint James Palace where they presented a wampum for his Royal Highness King Charles III on behalf of the Mississauga of the Credit and met with Cannon Paul Wright at the UK Chapel royal who hosted a reception in their honour. The delegation caught up with His Royal...
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Consultant to look at how to engage community
A long-time contentious issue between the Six Nations community and its elected council is how the community’s voice is heard and suggestions implemented. Now a plan is forming to tackle the issue head on. Tabitha Curley, a local consultant is leading the Community Engagement Standards (CES) project with the help of the CES Working Group and has come up with a Community Engagement Standards Guide for SNEC to run a pilot project with. Curley presented the guide to SNEC at its Political Liaison Committee meeting on June 26, but will continue to finalize the guide and continue engagement activities until the end of August 2023. Curley is asking for SNEC employees, councillors and departments to participate in community engagement events and support documentation circulation until then. A large part of...
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Mississaugas of Credit First Nation build birch bark canoes
By Lisa Iesse Writer MISSISSAUGAS OF THE CREDIT – The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN) are harvesting traditional knowledges of the lands, waters and stars with the launch of two community-built Anishinaabek birch bark canoes. The canoe build began on July 3rd at the Fall Harvest Grounds at 659 New Credit Road. where community members found themselves building through heat waves complete with thunderstorms and even a funnel cloud or two around, with only a tent as a shelter. On Monday (July 10) with the sun shining brightly, the Anishinaabek birch bark canoes, heavy with love and labour, carrying generations of knowledge, moved across the cool sparkling waters of a local creek. The build was led by MCFN Knowledge Keeper Mark Sault and Darren Lentz. The two men, who...
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Time for AFN to get down to business
It’s over. Former Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald may not like it. Her supporters may not like it. But she is done. Archibald’s attempt to get reinstated to her job failed Tuesday after almost two hours of debate and three attempts to get the issue on the floor at the opening of the AFN’s 44th annual general assembly in Halifax. Even Archibald herself appeared virtually to chastise the chiefs, again, and tell them not to continue with the “coup” that removed her. Archibald has cut a wide swath in her attempt to get her job back. She has made claims she wasn’t fired, it was a coup against her. She claims it was supported by Liberal partisans and loyalists to former AFN leaders. She had called on...
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Premier’s statement on the appointment of interim Assembly of First Nations national chief
FREDERICTON (GNB) – The following statement was issued today by Premier Blaine Higgs regarding Joanna Bernard’s appointment as the interim Assembly of First Nations national chief: On behalf of all New Brunswickers, I congratulate Joanna Bernard from Madawaska First Nation for her appointment as the interim national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. We are proud to see a New Brunswicker named to this important national position. Interim National Chief Bernard brings a solid foundation of experience and expertise to her new role, and we wish her much success....
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1492 Land Back Lane spokesman gets discharge, judge takes Haudenosaunee law into account
By Lynda Powless, Editor Three years ago Six Nations land defender Skylar Williams was facing a series of charges including a potential $20 million damages charge, a criminal conviction for failing to abide a court order and breaches. Today he is a free man but it had nothing to do with being a huge court win for Indigenous rights. Instead, he said, it may have come down to luck. or the changing times. “We have gone from $20 million (in possible damages)in damages, breaches and now here we are, three years later. with an absolute discharge, ”he says and pauses. “We all thought that we were going to have to serve time,” he said. He quietly adds, “but we got lucky with one judge on one day, that saw things...
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Oneida cyclist fulfills childhood dream at Tour de France
By Sam Laskaris Writer Neilson Powless continues to make history at the Tour de France. Powless, who is Oneida, became the first Native American to compete in the prestigious Tour de France when he lined up for the prestigious cycling race in 2022. Powless, a 26-year-old who was born at the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, is once again taking part in this year’s Tour de France. The 110th edition of the event began on July 1 in Bilbao, Spain. And it will conclude with the final stage on July 23. This year’s race, which consists of 21 stages, will cover a total of 3,404 kilometres. Though he didn’t win the opening stage of this year’s race, Powless did make a name for himself that day. That’s because he...
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