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Today in History
Feb 16 In 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cancelled his trip to Barbados to deal with rail disruptions caused by protests against a multi-billion-dollar pipeline project that crosses First Nations territory in northern B.C. Feb 18 In 2019, Gerald Butts, Justin Trudeau’s principal secretary and long-time friend, resigned amid allegations that the Prime Minister’s Office interfered to prevent criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. Butts released a statement in which he categorically denied the accusation that he or anyone else in the PMO improperly pressured former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to help the Montreal engineering giant avoid prosecution on corruption and bribery charges related to contracts in Libya. While he said the accusation simply wasn’t true, it was distracting from the vital work Trudeau was doing. Feb 19 In 1889, Saskatchewan Metis...
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Icy Plunge in Support of Special Olympics
“That was cold!” Six Nations Police Chief Darren Montour says after joining police forces from around the area in an icy Pre-Plunge Feb. 6 at Pinehurst Lake near Paris. The event is a prelude to the annual Polar Plunge March 6th at Brantford’s Wayne Gretzky Centre in support of the 2025 Special Olympics Ontario Summer Games being hosted in Brantford, Brant County and at Six Nations where the Bocce Ball competition will be held in July. Also taking the plunge were Brant County OPP Inspector Andrea Quenneville and Brantford Police Chie, Jason Saunders and Special Olympics athletes Kailee Mitchell and Sarah Orgar!...
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Martin and Rock teammates celebrate Indigenous Heritage
By Sam Laskaris Writer Saturday was a rather special night for Six Nations member Justin Martin. And the only thing that would have made the evening better would have been if Martin and his Toronto Rock teammates had managed to register a win. But the Rock came up a bit short during their annual Indigenous Heritage Night as they were edged 11-10 by the visiting San Diego Seals in their National Lacrosse League (NLL) match. The Rock are playing their home contests at Paramount Fine Food Centre in Mississauga this season while renovations are taking place at their home rink, FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton. Though numerous Six Nations members are spread out on various NLL rosters, Martin, who is in his second season with the Rock, is the only local...
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Dreamcatcher Family Day lacrosse tournament popular event
By Sam Laskaris Writer A popular youth lacrosse event will be held once again this coming Monday. The Dreamcatcher 3 on 3 Family Day Lacrosse Tournament at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena (ILA) marks tree years for the event. Twenty clubs took part and instead of having the traditional six players per side on the floor at one time, this event featured three runners and a goalie per team. Squads could have up to 10 players, including one goalie, on their roster. They will change on the fly for 3 on 3 action. Josh Powless, the events co-ordinator for the host Dreamcatcher Charitable Foundation, said there is always huge interest in this event. “This year we filled up in three hours,” he said after registration opened up last month. The tournament...
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Local Rez Hoops tournament sees record number of participants
By Sam Laskaris Writer Another successful Rez Hoops tournament is in the books. The three-day local basketball event concluded on Sunday. This marked the seventh year of the annual tournament. A record number of 20 squads took part in the event. All matches were held at the Dajoh Youth & Elders Centre. “It was awesome,” tournament director Kevin Sandy said of the event. “The gym was packed and we had an amazing time.” The tourney featured four age groupings, from elementary school children to adults. And Six Nations-based clubs ended up winning three of those divisions. Sandy is confident the tournament will continue to grow. He anticipates another record number of competitors in 2026. “It will (grow) for sure,” he said. “I had to turn away two teams at the...
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Ontario artist’s Super Bowl football design celebrates Indigenous culture
By Dan Ralph Growing up, Quentin Commanda dreamt of playing in the NFL and reaching the Super Bowl. The pro football career never happened, but Commanda is closer to Super Bowl LIX than most. The NFL unveiled a football designed by the 44-year-old Nipissing First Nation (Garden Village, Ont.) artist last week as part of its lead-up to Sunday’s game in New Orleans. “Football was something I was very passionate about growing up and the NFL was always something I kind of imagined playing in,” Commanda said. “But I realize this is a huge platform and an amazing opportunity and I wanted to make the best of it. “To be part of the Super Bowl, I am very much aware of the impact it will have. It still doesn’t feel...
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Isuarsivik recovery centre celebrates 30 years with plans to grow
By Cedric Gallant, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News The Isuarsivik Regional Recovery Centre is celebrating 30 years this year with a mural and ambitions to expand across Nunavik. “To be able to say that we have the experience, we have the know-how, is very helpful,” said Etua Snowball, director general of the centre, in an interview about the milestone. “When we ask for funding from the ministry, funding agents, or whoever it may be, [it is helpful] because we do have that experience now.” Isuarsivik offers culturally attuned programming for Nunavimmiut dealing with addiction. Snowball said he hopes the process of painting a mural on Isuarsivik’s building will begin by this summer. Appearing on the wall facing the parking lot, the piece, made by Inuit artists, will show the...
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First Nations Health Authority names new chief executive officer
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca An Indigenous-centric health body has named a new chief executive officer. Monica McAlduff, active with the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) since 2020, was named the top executive by its group’s board of directors, according to a press release released February 10th. She will assume office on March 1st. Her career includes time as a psychiatric nurse and numerous posts within FNHA, most recently as the organization’s chief nursing officer and vice-president of cultural safety and humility. FNHA board chair Dr. Sheila Blackstock says McAlduff has three decades of experience within numerous levels of the care industry and is “positioned her for success” as the organization’s leader. “Monica has a proven track record of innovative Indigenous health leadership, upholding FNHA’s mandate,” said...
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Brokenhead to build apartment block in Osborne area
By Dave Baxter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun A southern Manitoba First Nation will build an apartment building in Winnipeg which will offer their urban members affordable housing in Osborne Village. On Monday, the City of Winnipeg and the federal government announced a combined investment of $58.5 million from the Housing Accelerator Fund program and the Affordable Housing Now program, to support the creation of nearly 2,500 new homes in Winnipeg, including thousands of affordable units. In a notice sent to members on Monday, the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation (BON), a community located about 75 kilometres north of Winnipeg, said they have been approved for a grant as part of the newly announced funding for a housing project at 269 River Ave., in the city’s Osborne Village neighbourhood. According to...
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Attawapiskat musician wins first sound recording award
By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative, TimminsToday.com ATTAWAPISKAT – The bright lights of Los Angeles are shining on a Northern Ontario talent. Adrian Sutherland’s latest album, Precious Diamonds, was named Best Americana Album at the World Entertainment Awards (WEAs) in Los Angeles on Jan. 31. The win marks a major milestone in the Attawapiskat singer-songwriter’s career. “It’s the first time I’ve actually received an award for my sound recordings. So it felt really good to finally get the first award after doing it for so long and submitting for different awards. I couldn’t be more happy,” said Sutherland. The WEAs are held during Grammy weekend and celebrate musicians from around the world. Though Sutherland was at home in Attawapiskat at the time, fellow First Nations artist Rhonda Head from Opaskwayak...
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Trump readies matching tariffs on trade partners, possibly setting up a major economic showdown
By Josh Boak WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking additional action to upset the world trade system, with plans to sign an order as soon as Wednesday that would require that U.S. tariffs on imports match the tax rates charged by other countries. “It’s time to be reciprocal,” Trump told reporters earlier this week. “You’ll be hearing that word a lot. Reciprocal. If they charge us, we charge them.” The president had suggested that the order would come on Tuesday or Wednesday. But when Tuesday passed without the tariffs being officially announced, Trump was asked if he would sign the order on Wednesday and Trump answered: “We’ll see what happens.” As Trump has unleashed a series of tariffs after being in power for less than a month, he...
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Junos still considering how to ‘best proceed’ with Sainte-Marie’s Indigenous wins
-CP-Leaders at the Juno Awards say they’ve yet to decide the fate of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s many honours with the music organization, days after it was confirmed she was stripped of her Order of Canada. The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences says it continues to consult with its Indigenous music advisory committee and other Indigenous stakeholders on how to “best proceed” with Sainte-Marie’s honours. Junos organizers first said they would look into how to handle her five Juno wins in 2023, after a CBC report questioned Sainte-Marie’s Indigenous heritage, saying it found a birth certificate that indicated she was born in 1941 in Massachusetts. Family members in the United States told CBC that Sainte-Marie was not adopted and doesn’t have Indigenous ancestry. Sainte-Marie has said the CBC report contained...
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RCMP identify two men, two women shot and killed in home on Saskatchewan First Nation
-CP-RCMP have released the names of two men and two women killed last week on a First Nation in southern Saskatchewan. Tracey Hotomani, 34, and Terry Jack, 51, both of Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation, Sheldon Quewezance, 44, of Zagime Anishinabek, and Shauna Fay, 47, of Indian Head were shot. RCMP say their identities are being released to help further the investigation. The four were found dead in a home on Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation, east of Regina, on Feb. 4. Shortly after the bodies were found, Mounties said they received reports of a man pointing a gun at people on Zagime Anishinabek. A man was charged with firearms offences but no charges have been laid in the deaths. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb....
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Claims process for First Nations child welfare class action opens in March, AFN says
Claims process for First Nations child welfare class action opens in March, AFN says By Alessia Passafiume The Canadian Press Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak attends the the Special Chiefs Assembly in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby OTTAWA – First Nations children and their families who lived under Canada’s First Nations child welfare system between 1991 and 2022 will be able to apply for compensation under a class-action settlement starting next month. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said the settlement is an acknowledgment of the harms First Nations people experienced under a “racist system that has broken so many lives and families.” “After years of fighting for the recognition of harms done through Canada’s discrimination, we are...
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BC School District 27 announces staffing changes
By Andie Mollins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Williams Lake Tribune School District 27 (SD 27) staff member Grant Gustafson is expanding his role to help the district transition with the parting of former director of instruction Anita Richardson. “We’re being thoughtful about decisions to minimize disruption to reorganize our staffing for the long-term,” said Cheryl Lenardon, superintendent of SD 27 at the Jan. 27 board of education meeting in Williams Lake. Citing his exceptional leadership in his time as district principal leading Indigenous education, Lenardon said the decision to expand Gustafson’s role to director of instruction made “instance sense.” “He will also have some additional responsibilities and we’re working through that as a team how we’re going to share the roles out between us,” Lenardon said. In an email...
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‘B.C.’ child welfare workers lack crucial supports needed to do their jobs: RCY
By Amy Romer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Provincial social workers say they don’t have enough family and community supports to effectively care for and protect children and Youth in government “care.” In a survey from the province’s independent watchdog for children and Youth, nearly 80 per cent of Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) social workers said they lacked the necessary resources to do their jobs. On Thursday, Representative of Children and Youth (RCY) Jennifer Charlesworth published the second part of her investigation, No Time to Waste. The report details “immediate and sustained steps that must be taken” to ensure the province’s most vulnerable children — those in MCFD’s care — receive adequate services. “When we are dealing with very vulnerable young people, you would like to think...
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Judge reserves sentencing for Prince George who sexually assaulted 15-year-old
By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A BC Supreme Court judge in Prince George reserved decision Feb. 10 for the sentencing of a 26-year-old man charged with sexual assault and sexual touching of a person under 16. Crown prosecutor Andrea Norlund asked Justice Marguerite Church for a three-year sentence for Linden Rae Dennis. Dennis was found guilty last September of having intercourse with a 15-year-old girl. At the time of the offence, Dennis was 22 years old. Court heard that he admitted to the incident, but did not know the girl’s age nor did he take all reasonable steps to find out her age. Defence lawyer Andrea Turton said Dennis has been in custody since last July 9 on another matter — a total 203 calendar days or 304...
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‘Sport really builds confidence’: Indigenous groups net $24.2 million from Sport Canada
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Vancouver, BC – Canada is investing $24.2 million in Indigenous sport programs to empower First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. The Honourable Terry Duguid, minister of Sport and minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, announced the 2024-2026 funding recipients for the Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities (SSDIC) initiative on Feb. 7 at a media event outside the Indigenous Sport Gallery BC Sports Hall of Fame in Vancouver. The $24.2-million investment supports 119 Indigenous-led projects across the country and features three funding streams for the 2024-2026 cycle. “Sport unites communities, builds strong bonds and promotes healthier lives. The Government of Canada is proud to support Indigenous-led initiatives that provide culturally relevant sport opportunities for First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples nationwide....
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Poilievre promises a military base in Iqaluit, would cut foreign aid to pay for it
By David Baxter -CP-A Conservative government would build a permanent military base in Nunavut and pay for it by “dramatically cutting” Canada’s foreign aid budget, party leader Pierre Poilievre said Monday in Iqaluit. Speaking at a press conference, Poilievre said CFB Iqaluit would serve as a base for Royal Canadian Air Force operations in the Arctic and for search and rescue missions. He said the base would be operational within two years of his Conservatives being elected to government. “One hundred per cent of the cost of the base will come from the foreign aid budget,” he said. “In fact, today’s announcement will actually reduce the deficit because I plan to cut foreign aid more than the full cost of the announcement that I’ve made today.” According to a parliamentary...
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