Six Nations to review welfare agreement
Six Nations will receive funding to assist in the cost of contributing its review of the 1965 Indian Welfare Agreement. Arliss Skye, director of Social Services told Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) that the Chiefs of Ontario (COO) was offering funding to help review the legislation regarding social services, child and family services and Ontario Works. “There’s no process set up other than here’s some funding when it happens,” she said. Indigenous Services Canada offered $10.2 million as well as $1.8 million to the Nishnawbe Aski Nation. COO divided the funds among unaffiliated nations based on population. Six Nation will receive $335,771 to do the consultation when the time comes. In 1965 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) and the Ontario government signed the 1965 Indian Welfare Agreement that deemed...
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OPP officers cleared in 2023 Six Nations standoff
By Lynda Powless Editor It tool nine hours and 17 bullets fired at close range to bring a standoff that began on Halloween night 2023 with an armed Six Nations man to the end. The front door of his Chiefswood Road trailer home had been crushed by an OPP armoured vehicle. Tear gas had been fired and a police drone shot down. Three Ontario Provincial Police officers involved in the standoff and gunfire exchange with Six Nations last November were cleared Friday of any wrongdoing in a gunfire exchange with a Six Nations man who had claimed to be “cop hunting”. Ontario’s Special Investigation unit (SIU) concluded there were “no reasonable grounds” to believe the officers who had responded to a Six Nations Police assist call had committed a crime, according...
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Blackhawks looking for success at Little NHL tournament
By Sam Laskaris Writer Murray Porter is no stranger to the Little Native Hockey League tournament. The Six Nations member recalls that as a youngster he participated in the event, often simply called the Little NHL, about 10 times. Porter, who is now 39, said he was on five championship teams at the tourney, which has become the largest Indigenous youth hockey event in Ontario. While he used up his playing eligibility long ago, Porter will be participating at this year’s tourney, the 50th annual Little NHL, scheduled for Mar. 11-14 in Markham. That’s because he’s the head coach of the Six Nations Blackhawks boys’ Under-11 squad. A record number of 246 clubs are taking part in the tournament, which will be staged primarily at various Markham arenas. Rinks in...
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Sports Briefs: Montour named NHL’s Second Star of Week
By Sam Laskaris Writer Montour named NHL’s Second Star of Week It was certainly a good week for Six Nations member Brandon Montour. Montour, a defenceman with the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers, was recognized for his efforts on Monday. He was named as the NHL’s Second Star of the Week after he played a key role with the Panthers, who won all three of their matches this past week. Montour registered six points, two goals and four assists, in those matches. Both of Montour’s goals were game-winning ones. For starters, Montour had a pair of assist and then netted the game-winning goal as the Panthers edged the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 last Tuesday. Though he was held pointless, Montour saw more than 26 minutes of action on Thursday as his...
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Indigenous wrestler qualifies for Paris Olympics
By Sam Laskaris Writer It’s official. Justina Di Stasio, a member of Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba, will fulfill a lifelong dream and represent Canada in the Olympics. Di Stasio, a wrestler who competes in the women’s 76-kilogram weight class, earned her spot onto the Canadian women’s Olympic squad this past week. In order to advance to the 2024 Paris Olympics in France, Di Stasio needed to place in the top two in her grouping at the Pan-American Olympic qualifiers, staged in Acapulco, Mexico. Di Stasio defeated a competitor from Honduras in her opening bout. And when she registered a victory over a rival from Argentina in a semi-final bout on Feb. 29, Di Stasio officially punched her Olympic ticket to Paris. “This feels amazing,” said Di Stasio, who...
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SNEC pressing Elected Chief’s staff for timely reports
Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC)is putting pressure on the Elected Chief’s staff to ensure reports have names and are sent to council in a timely fashion. Elected Chief Sheri-Lyn Hill was not present at the February 26 Political Liaison meeting and Councillor Greg Frazer chaired the meeting in her absence. Frazer tried to skip the standing chief’s update section of the meeting noteing her absence. Political Advisor Christopher Mahon confirmed there was no update and later confirmed she was at the Chiefs of Ontario for a Leadership Advocacy Strategy Session, where she would have the opportunity to speak to Premiere Doug Ford and Minister Of Indigenous Affairs, Greg Rickford. Councillor Melba Thomas objected to the lack of update, saying despite the chief’s absence her staff should have a copy of...
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Fire that destroyed nursing station forces Ontario First Nation to evacuate patients
The chief of a remote northwestern Ontario First Nation says his community has evacuated people with specific medical needs after a fire destroyed its nursing station. Chief Russell Wesley of Cat Lake First Nation says people who need treatment for cancer, diabetes, and addiction support were among those removed from the community on Monday evening. The chief says the First Nation has established a team to find solutions aimed at restoring health services following the Saturday night fire in the Ojibway community of about 650 people, located about 440 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, Ont. He says the six nurses who have remained in the community are currently staying at the local fire base. The Nishnawbe Aski Police Service has said it is investigating the circumstances of the fire, with...
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Portraits of survivors to be featured at Humboldt gallery
By Nicole Goldsworthy Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A upcoming exhibit at the Humboldt and District Gallery will feature portraits of Holocaust and residential school survivors. They didn’t know we were seeds by Saskatoon artist Carol Wylie, opens Tuesday, March 5. Wylie has been creating art for 30 years, focusing solely on portrait and figuration. She said inspiration for the portraits started in 2016, when she listened to a Holocaust survivor speak about his experiences in a death camp during the Saskatoon Holocaust Memorial service. “I was struck anew by the extent of abuse a human being can endure at the hand of another,” she said on her website. Wylie decided she needed to find a way of honouring the stories and memories of Holocaust survivors and used her artform to...
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Alberta outlines five year, $125M plan to protect communities from drought, floods
By Bill Graveland THE CANADIAN PRESS CALGARY- The Alberta government is promising $125 million over five years to protect communities against flood and drought. The money was included in last week’s provincial budget and, if approved, can be used for projects like berms, flood walls and retention ponds. “Today, due to a strong El Nino not seen in seven years, we’re seeing warmer temperatures, coupled with even less precipitation,” Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz told a news conference Monday. “This has led to empty riverbeds and dangerously low reservoirs across our province. This is a serious situation and our government recognized we had to take immediate action.” Schulz said the Drought and Flood Protection Program will be application-based, with municipalities, improvement districts, special areas, Metis settlements and First Nations all eligible. At...
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Investors sought for sovereign wealth fund
By Miriam Lafontaine Local Journalism Initiative Reporter KAHNAWAKE- The investment manager for the Kahnawake Sovereign Wealth Fund (KSWF), Branden Morris, was in Montreal for a conference hosted by the Responsible Investment Association (RIA). He used the time as an opportunity to network with investment portfolio managers and get the word out about the new fund. Morris also got the chance to speak on a panel at the conference Monday, which touched on how reconciliation and Indigenous rights can be better integrated into investment decisions. “We have capital left in the fund to invest in various ventures. Here everybody is in the investment space,” Morris told The Eastern Door. “They have large infrastructure projects, there are portfolio managers, so it’s just a good opportunity to let them know that we exist.”...
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Yuk Yuk’s head comes to defence of controversial comedy act accused of using anti Indigenous racism, misogyny to get laughs
By Dave Baxter Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The CEO of Canada’s largest comedy club chain says he believes that comedy and comedians should never be censored no matter how low they go, even if they go so low as to make light of the actions of an infamous serial killer, who committed some of the more heinous acts this county has ever seen. “I have no morals,” Mark Breslin, the co-founder and CEO of Yuk Yuk’s said. “If I did I couldn’t do my job.” On Thursday, Breslin spoke to the Winnipeg Sun about recent controversy surrounding Alberta-based touring comedy act the Danger Cats, a three piece act made up of, according to their website, Sam Walker, Brett Forte and `Uncle Hack.’ The group is being accused of using anti-Indigenous...
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CAP empathizes with Indigenous inmates
By Julia Archelene Magsombol Local Journalism Initiative Reporter After attending many court cases, Kim Beaudin, national vice chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP), speaks out about Corrections Service Canada (CSC). Beaudin has been attending Myles Sanderson’s inquest, an Indigenous man who murdered 11 people in 2022. Read https://www.saskatchewan.ca/govern- ment/news-and-media/2024/january/26/inquest-in- to-the-death-of-myles-sanderson Beaudin realized many things while attending Sanderson’s inquest: these court case systems have different recommendations, a report written to propose or recommend the options available to solve a problem. Elder Geraldine Arcand, who has worked with CSC for the past decade, was involved with Sanderson in the initial intake process when he began serving a federal prison sentence in 2019. “The first day I met him, he was quiet, but he spoke. He was respectful and talked about...
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‘This is worse than residential school’
By Sanuda Ranawake Local Journalism Initiative Reporter ST JOHN’S, N.L.- Miriam Saunders knows the pain of losing a child, she has lost two.Her daughter, Loretta Saunders, was murdered 10 years ago, on or around Feb. 13, 2014. Loretta’s murder, along with other missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, eventually led to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. In the past 10 years, Miriam says, she has lost more than just a daughter. “I’m a stay-at-home grandma/mom. I had to quit my job. I was told I needed to quit my job by my son Michael’s doctor, for me to take care of him,” says Miriam. She says her son, Michael Saunders, struggles with mental illness and is now in adult protection in St. John’s....
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How Apache Stronghold’s fight to protect Oak Flat in central Arizona has played out over the years
Oak Flat, near where a copper mine is proposed, is dotted with rugged boulders and desert vegetation. Bri Cossavella/Cronkite News By Anita Snow THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOENIX (AP)-Oak Flat, a piece of national forest land in central Arizona, is at the heart of a yearslong struggle between Native American groups and mining interests that both consider it important for their future. Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of international mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, wants to develop the large deposit of copper ore deep under Oak Flat into a massive mine. The nonprofit Apache Stronghold considers the land sacred and says it should be preserved for religious ceremonies. In a significant blow to Apache Stronghold, a divided federal court panel voted 6-5 on Friday to uphold a lower...
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Study suggests Nunavimmiut more likely to die from lung cancer
By Cedric Gallant Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A new study suggests people who live in Nunavik are more likely to die from lung cancer. The study, published Feb. 20 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, compared lung cancer registry data involving patients in Montreal and Nunavik who were diagnosed between 2005 and 2017. The results were divided between the two main types of lung cancers: small cell and non-small cell. Approximately 80 to 85 per cent of cancers are of the non-small cell variety, according to the American Cancer Society. The study found Nunavik residents had a median survival time of 321 days versus 720 days for Montreal residents for non-small cell lung cancer. For small-cell cancer diagnoses, Nunavik residents had a median survival time of 190 days, versus 270 days for...
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Metis Hunters’ Killer Offered Temporary Unsupervised Leave From Prison Sentence
By Jeremy Appel Local Journalism Initiative Reporter One of two men convicted of killing Metis hunters Jacob Sansom and Maurice Cardinal in Glendon, Alta., has been granted temporary unsupervised leave from prison for up to 72 hours a month, despite vocal objections from the victims’ family. Otipemisiwak Metis Government president Andrea Sandmaier said in a statement that this decision demonstrates “complete disregard for the gravity of the loss suffered by their loved ones and our community.” The Parole Board of Canada granted Roger Bilodeau unescorted temporary absences for the purposes of “personal development and family contact” on Feb. 21. According to reporting from APTN News, Bilodeau had already been permitted escorted absences from prison. Jacob Sansom’s mother Ruby Smith characterized the board’s ruling as “an injustice, a kick to the...
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Blue Quills University Receives $2 Million Grant For Indigenous Teacher Training
By Jeremy Appel Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A Treaty 6-based Indigenous university has received a $2-million grant from the Rideau Hall Foundation as part of an effort to train 10,000 new First Nations, Metis and Inuit teachers across Canada. University nuxe?hot’?ne thaa?ehots’? nistameyimakanak Blue Quills will use its funding to facilitate a five-year project to establish three distinct teacher education streams, immersion, elementary and secondary programming, while offering teacher training to Indigenous candidates who don’t have a bachelor’s in education. “Rooted in Land, language, Ceremony, and relationship, the project is guided by the laws of love, honesty, sharing and strength,” a news release from the Rideau Hall Foundation states. Located near St. Paul, about 200 km northeast of Edmonton, Blue Quills University was established in 1970 on the site of...
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Indigenous women in Greenland sue Denmark over involuntary contraception in the 1960s and 70s
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)- A group of Indigenous women in Greenland has sued Denmark for forcing them to be fitted with intrauterine contraceptive devices in the 1960s and 70s, and demanded total compensation of nearly 43 million kroner ($6.3 million), Danish media reported Monday. The group of 143 Inuit women say Danish health authorities violated their human rights when they fitted them with the devices, commonly known as coils. Some of the women, including many who were teenagers at the time, were not aware of what happened or did not consent to the intervention. The purpose was allegedly to limit population growth in Greenland by preventing pregnancy. The population on the Arctic island was rapidly increasing at the time because of better living conditions and better health care. The small T-shaped...
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Have a Heart Day, think of the children
By Julia Archelene Magsombol Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Valentine’s Day is not only about the love for your partner but also for everyone around you, especially the children who need it – that’s what Have a Heart Day does. Have a Heart Day 9 (February 14) was organized by Canada’s First Nations Child and Family Caring Society. It happens annually, and activists, organizers, and community members around Canada march to parliament to raise their voices against the discrimination faced by Indigenous Peoples of Canada, especially the children. It was established in 1998. The organization’s goal is to bring awareness to the discrimination faced by Indigenous children. Based on statistics from the Government of Canada, a higher proportion of Indigenous Peoples self-reported experiencing childhood physical and sexual maltreatment before the age...
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Transportation equity: First Nation communities urgently need solutions now
By Tiffany Dionne Prete In the vast expanse of Canada’s diverse landscapes, a critical issue persists, impacting the lives of Indigenous Peoples: the lack of safe and accessible transportation. This challenge is not merely about mobility. Intertwined with this narrative is alarming rates of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual and all other sexual orientations and genders (MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+ or MMMIWG2S+). The Reclaiming Power and Place (RPP) report released in 2019 by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls shone a spotlight onto the pervasive violence and vulnerabilities disproportionately affecting Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit individuals. Among its 231 Calls for Justice was the call to immediately tackle limited mobility in rural and remote areas. A new...
