Reconciliation includes recognizing Residential Schools are not the only colonial atrocity
By Wade Paul, Phd Candidate, Concordia University Sept. 30 is upon us once again, the fourth year this day will be observed as a time to reflect on the history of colonialism, and its ongoing impacts, on the Indigenous Peoples and communities in what is now called Canada. This day first became recognized as Orange Shirt Day by grassroots organizers in 2013, the day Canadians honour the Survivors of Residential Schools and acknowledge the intergenerational impacts of these institutions on Indigenous Peoples. Inspired by Survivor Phyllis Webstad’s testimony shared with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) — where she described how the orange shirt her grandmother had given her was taken away on her first day of Residential School — the orange shirt emerged as an enduring symbol of Indigenous...
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Building connections is important for entrepreneurs
By Pearl Lorentzen Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeside Leader “As entrepreneurs sometimes it can be very lonely,” said Cliff Turner, one of the speakers at Empowering Indigenous Businesses in Wabasca on September 4. Turner works with ATB Financial to support entrepreneurs and spoke about the various supports that are available in Alberta. He started talking about building a network. “A connected business is a strong business,” he said. When talking about the value of mutually beneficial relationships in business he said, “there’s always a person at the other end of what you’re doing.” Turner also mentioned provincial supports including ATBentrepreneurcentre.com, chamber of commerce (the closest ones to Wabasca are in Slave Lake and Athabasca), businesslink.ca, Futurpreneur, Community Futures, Alberta Women’s Entrepreneurs, Indigenous Women Entrepreneur Program, Alberta Indian Investment Corporation, and...
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Search for remains of missing Alberta teen expands as police deem death criminal
By Aaron Sousa The mother of an Indigenous teen in Edmonton who has been missing four months says she’s shattered by the loss of her boy. “I’ve carried this pain every single day since (Samuel) went missing,” said Alanna Bird, speaking Wednesday at an Edmonton police news conference. “I have prayed, I have hoped, I have leaned on my family, my community and my ancestors for strength. “No parent should ever have to go through this, and yet too many Indigenous families continue to face this same nightmare.” Samuel Bird, 14, was last seen in June when he left his mother’s home in the Alberta capital to visit a friend and never returned. At the time, officers said it was unusual for him to go without contacting his family. After...
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B.C. Conservative staffer fired for calling Reconciliation Day flag a ‘disgrace’
By Wolfgang Depner A former spokesperson for the Conservative Party of British Columbia says she has been fired over a social media post in which she called the raising of a flag honouring survivors of Canada’s residential school system a “disgrace.” Lindsay Shepherd says in a post on the social media platform X that Conservative Leader John Rustad fired her Wednesday over her remark about the raising of the flag at the provincial legislature in Victoria last week. The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs had called on Rustad to fire Shepherd over the post, which was captured in a screenshot and shared by New Democrat MLA Rohini Arora before it was deleted from Shepherd’s profile on X. Shepherd said in the post that it was a “disgrace that this fake...
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Surplus requirement holds up some EA funding in Yellowknife
By Claire McFarlane, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cabin Radio An eligibility requirement imposed by the Northwest Territories government to receive funding for educational assistants is delaying recruitment for those roles at a Yellowknife school board. In August, the territorial government announced it would offer up to $14 million to schools whose funding for educational assistants was cut due to changes to Jordan’s Principle, a federally administered initiative. The changes, mandated by Indigenous Services Canada, meant requests made through schools located off-reserve would no longer be approved. The YK1 school district announced in June that it would cut 79 EA positions across its schools in response to the expected loss of Jordan’s Principle support. When the GNWT’s stopgap funding was announced to help reinstate those positions, the territory said it would...
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Andrea Godin shares insight into how to mitigate natural disasters within Indigenous communities
By Laura Mushumanski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News “Whatever you learn in life, you share it,” says Andrea Godin. There is strength in unity, she adds, and when coming together and doing good things, knowledge sharing is at the core of all that we do. Godin has been working for her nation – the Dene Tha’ First Nation located in Treaty 8 Territory – in some capacity, since she finished high school. But it wasn’t until she turned 21 that she decided to put an end to a cycle she noticed within her communities and family systems. “I wanted a different journey,” she shared. That led her to pursue an education in business administration at MacEwan University. While employed by her nation to work with numbers and administration,...
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Manitoba schools work to fulfil promise afforded by new law supporting Indigenous language
By Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press ‘Minawaanigoziwin” is the Ojibwe concept that comes to mind for Sherri Denysuik when the Winnipeg teacher is asked about her thoughts on a new law that raises the status of Indigenous languages in schools. That term is roughly translated to “one who is happy and joyous.” Denysuik, a member of Sagkeeng First Nation, is trying to learn words many of her ancestors were banned from speaking and, in many cases, punished for uttering inside a residential school. Recent changes to Manitoba’s Public Schools Act are expected to make it easier for future generations to become fluent in Indigenous languages. Bill 18 places Ojibwe, Cree and others in the company of Canada’s official languages in the kindergarten-to-Grade 12 system. It allows...
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Swiss glaciers shrank 3% this year, the fourth-biggest retreat on record, experts say
By Jamey Keaten GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s glaciers have faced “enormous” melting this year with a 3% drop in total volume — the fourth-largest annual drop on record — due to the effects of global warming, top Swiss glaciologists reported on Wednesday. The shrinkage this year means that ice mass in Switzerland — home to the most glaciers in Europe — has declined by one-quarter over the last decade, the Swiss glacier monitoring group GLAMOS and the Swiss Academy of Sciences said in their new report. “Glacial melting in Switzerland was once again enormous in 2025,” the scientists said. “A winter with low snow depth combined with heat waves in June and August led to a loss of 3% of the glacier volume.” Switzerland is home to nearly 1,400 glaciers,...
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Former Six Nations Police officer facing breach of trust and obstruction charges
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER- The Hamilton Police Service has been called in to investigate the conduct of a former Six Nations Police officer who is facing Breach of Trust and Obstruction of Justice charges. Sergeant Raymond Johnson, a 14-year member of the Six Nations Police Force, was arrested and charged with Breach of Trust by Public Officer and Obstruction of Justice. Johnson was scheduled to appear in Ontario Court of Justice in Brantford Oct., 9, 2025. Johnson is no longer employed with the Six Nation Police Service. Six Nations Police said because charges are before the courts police will not provide details or comments to maintain the integrity of the court proceedings. ...
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Prime Minister Mark Carney marks ‘devastating legacy’ of residential schools in Ottawa event
By Alessia Passafiume The federal government will “match remembrance with responsibility,” Prime Minister Mark Carney promised on Tuesday, as he addressed the crowd assembled on Parliament Hill to mark the fifth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Sept. 30, is also known as Orange Shirt Day, and is meant to honour survivors of the residential school system and those who never came home. “We reflect on the devastating legacy of the residential school system,” Carney said in his speech at the Remembering the Children event. “And we, as a government and as a people, we match remembrance with responsibility.” Between 1857 and 1996, 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend church-run, government-funded schools. They were barred from speaking their languages in institutions often rife with abuse and located far...
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NS groups recognize Truth and Reconciliation Day with speeches, events
Groups across Nova Scotia gathered to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, with a series of special events to honour the survivors of the residential school system and those who didn’t make it home. In Halifax, the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre hosted an event focused on the history and significance of the day, which is intended to recognize the lasting impact of residential schools. They offered Indigenous education and cultural exchanges, as well as activities for children. The Canadian government created the residential school system to assimilate Indigenous children across the country, and the schools operated for decades before being shut down. The Sipekne’katik First Nation began the day with an honour song and opening prayer, before hearing from speakers such as MP Kody Blois and holding workshops...
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Hundreds gather in Montreal to reflect on Canada’s legacy of residential schools
By Miriam Lafontaine Fay-Lisa Gagné, who hails from Muskowekwan First Nation in Saskatchewan, has complicated feelings about the word reconciliation. As a child she was placed into care with a francophone family in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, where she could only speak English. Her mother attended residential school, and her four siblings were lost to the 60s scoop — a period when governments in Canada oversaw the large-scale removal of Indigenous children from their homes to live with mostly with non-Indigenous caregivers. And today, Gagné said, Indigenous children in Canada continue to be overrepresented in the country’s child welfare systems. “We talk about reconciliation, but it’s hard to reconcile when you know about the politics of assimilation,” said Gagné, speaking from the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation gathering held in...
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Hundreds gathered for Every Child Matters Walk
By David Briggs, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, BayToday.ca Hundreds gathered today at the Kiwanis Bandshell in North Bay to commemorate National Day for Truth and Reconciliation by taking part in the second annual Every Child Matters Walk. The walk began at Lee Park at 10 a.m. and participants walked along the lakeshore to the bandstand, where there were speeches from event organizers, local politicians, and residential school survivors. Judy Couchie, a member of Nipissing First Nation, is one of those survivors. “I was a survivor at Shingwauk Residential School, in Sault Ste. Marie. Now it’s Algoma University. The front part was the residential school,” Couchie explained. “An Indian Agent had me in his office, when I was about 12 or 13,” Couchie recalled. “And he told me that I was...
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First Nations’ voices lead healing through dance, prayer and storytelling in Midland
By Derek Howard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, MidlandToday.ca A 2025 commemoration for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was held at the Georgian Bay Native Friendship Centre in Midland Tuesday with roughly 100 attendees listening to Sixties Scoop survivors’ stories. Ernie Sandy of Beausoleil First Nation spoke at length on what the elements of truth and reconciliation were in the context of the day. “I have enjoyed teaching for the past 40 years,” said Sandy, “but it gives me great strength that I had the words, the knowledge, I’ve lived with racism, with bigotry – and through that, that’s how I rose to walk tall. ‘If it is to be, it’s up to me.’ This is what truth and reconciliation is all about. “The truth is what happened; the...
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Hegseth’s decision on Wounded Knee medals sparks outrage in Native American communities
By Graham Lee Brewer Native American communities that had long wanted the removal of military honors for the soldiers involved in the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre had their hopes dashed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in his effort to root out what he calls a “woke culture” in the armed forces. “The era of politically correct, overly sensitive, ‘don’t-hurt-anyone’s-feelings’ leadership ends right now at every level,” Hegseth said Tuesday to hundreds of military officials at a ceremony. The defense secretary announced new directives for troops that include “gender-neutral” or “male-level” standards for physical fitness and painted a picture of a military that has been hamstrung by “woke” policies. Hegseth had announced last week in a video on social media that Wounded Knee soldiers will keep their Medals of Honor, part...
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Mural project launches as part of Truth and Reconciliation Day event
By Andrew Bates, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Telegraph-Journal Attendees at Sussex’s Truth and Reconciliation Day event heard stories about the past treatment of Indigenous people in the region and contributed to a community mural project. More than 100 people attended the event at Leonard’s Gate, according to Mary Ann Coleman, who was one of the organizers. The event featured speeches including from Sixties Scoop survivors Joanne Munroe and Minda Burley, who along with local artist Bonny Hill are working on a mural as part of the Town of Sussex’s 2025 public art program. “It’s a really important part of the truth and reconciliation process, for people to understand what really happened and what happened in our community,” she said. “I think it’s really important to recognize the children who went...
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B.C. Residential school survivor says he heals from sharing his stories
By Nono Shen Squamish Nation elder Sam George says he gets his healing from the violence and abuse he suffered during nine years of residential school by sharing his stories. The crowd dressed in orange who gathered Tuesday at the University of British Columbia for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation fell silent when George came to the podium. The abuse, physical, sexual and mental, sent him into darkness, made him fall in love with alcohol and drugs, and even hurt his wives when he drank, he said. “I don’t brag about it. I’ve been married five times. I beat my wives, and when I got drunk, they left for their own protection. You know, I had two children. I abandoned them. They’re just starting to come back to...
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Kyra Northwest discusses the importance of knowing our relations with the earth
By Laura Mushumanski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News (ANNews) – Growing up in Montana First Nation (Akamihk), one of the four First Nations that make up Maskwacis Cree Nations, Kyra Northwest, current Consultation Manager for Montana First Nation, had the opportunity to learn about nehiyawe, Cree values. One that has resonated over time was “always uplift each other in community,” said Northwest. The values she learned were from spending time with her grandparents, who taught about care and respect for all living beings, especially the plants. These teachings taught Northwest about the importance of reciprocity that led to unpacking what learning about community really means – who is involved, how to go about things in a good way, how to listen, learn and engage. These are all things...
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Orange Shirt Day came early at Six Nations
By Carly McHugh Writer The Orange Shirt Day giveaway brought families together with food and fun. Cars full of community members lined up outside Oneida Business Park on Sept. 26, to participate in Six Nations Elected Council’s (SNEC’s) third-annual Orange Shirt Day giveaway. Earlier that afternoon, volunteers painstakingly prepared 1,000 care packages filled with non-perishable food items and other treats for the community to enjoy over the weekend. The Traditional Family Game Night bundles were designed to bring families and friends together to share a meal and bring back some of the old knowledge, culture and traditions to the younger generation in a fun way. Seniors could also receive their own separate packages, which included other enjoyable items such as colouring books. Volunteers and department representatives, as well as Elected...
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Six Nations councillors not showing up for SNEC committees
By Lynda Powless Editor Six Nations Elected Council’s (SNEC) own committees are having trouble getting quorums with councillors not showing up. The band committees are made up entirely by band councillors with a councillor as chair. At SNEC’s September 23rd council meeting, councillors were reporting on ongoing projects like the Highway 54 and Chiefswood Road roundabout and community engagement opportunities when challenges about just getting a quorum to hold their committee meetings arose. Councillor Dean Hill, chair of the Data Governance Committee, said his committee has been facing quorum challenges at recent meetings with councillors not showing up. He called on SNEC to revisit the committee’s terms of reference to allow more effective decision-making. “This is probably the second time for our committee that we haven’t been able to move some...
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