Chiefs of Ontario stage three-day wellness conference in Toronto
By Sam Laskaris Writer Various First Nations leaders and community workers from across the province converged in Toronto this past week. They attended the First Nations Community Wellness Conference, which was held at the Royal York Fairmont from Aug. 19-21. The conference, organized by the Chiefs of Ontario, was subtitled “Braiding Our Knowledge Bundles: Weaving the Knowledge of our Ancestors”. Besides networking opportunities, the conference also included various panels and workshops. The goal was to have a collaborative setting where people from different sectors could come together with the hopes of improving community wellness in First Nations throughout the province. The conference programming included a lunch session on the opening day featuring Marit Stiles, the leader of Ontario’s New Democratic Party (NDP). Stiles, the official opposition party leader, started off...
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Six Nations Elected Councillors brief community on issues
Six Nations committees updated the community about ongoing projects including economic development agreements, illegal dumping and data collection and usage. Committee chairs gave their updates at Six Nations Elected Council’s (SNEC’s) General Council meeting on August 26. Councillors and committee chairs reported on agreements with the Six Nations of the Grand River Economic Development Corporation (SNGRDC), the need for a special council meeting on management and funding agreements, and new efforts to strengthen data accessibility for the community. Lands Resources, Wealth Councillor Cynthia Jamieson, chair of the Lands, Resources, Wealth and Economy Committee, said the anniversary of the agreement with SNGRDC is coming up. The agreement was signed in 2013 and the agreement requires SNEC and the corporation’s board to meet on prescribed matters in 2025. Jamieson explained that the...
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Six Nations Police tap public in search for wanted individual
OHSWEKEN, ONT. – Six Nations Police is appealing to the public to help locate a wanted individual. Rodney Laforme, 42, of Ohsweken, Ont., is wanted for multiple sexual-related offences. To protect the identify of the victims, no further information will be released at this time. The Criminal Investigations Unit is actively conducting an ongoing investigation and would appreciate assistance with determining Laforme’s whereabouts. Anyone with additional information is urged to call Six Nations Police at 519-445-2811. If they wish to remain anonymous, they can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or submit an online tip at crimestoppersbb.com. They may be eligible to receive a cash reward up to $2,000....
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Six Nations uses information in drug fight
By Carly McHugh Writer Six Nations is united in the battle to end drug overdose. It was an evening of remembrance and resolution when the community came together at Veterans Park, to observe International Overdose Awareness Day. The Six Nations Department of Well-Being hosted the fourth-annual event on Wed., Aug. 27, in an effort to end the stigma surrounding overdose and drug-related harms. Members of the community were invited to support each other, raise awareness about the risks of overdose, honour the lost and share hope for individuals and their families battling the effects of harmful drug addiction. Officially marked on Aug. 31, International Overdose Awareness Day is a global campaign aimed at ending the overdose epidemic, as well as acknowledging the grief felt by loved ones of those who...
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OPP hit second major illicit cannabis operation in Haldimand County, seize $8 million in product
HALDIMAND COUNTY, ON – The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have seized another major illicit cannabis operation in Haldimand County. OPP, after an eight-month illicit cannabis investigation, have laid charges against five individuals and seized $8 million in illicit cannabis, including dried cannabis, cannabis plants, edibles and vapes, as well as contraband tobacco. It’s the second major seizure in a month. A major OPP investigation in late July led to the arrest of 16 people and seizure of $55 million in illegal cannabis. The latest seizure in October 2024, involving the OPP Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Team (PJFCET), in partnership with the Safer Communities Section, Department of Justice and Public Safety New Brunswick, began Project SHORT – an illicit cannabis investigation spanning several provinces. Also involved was the Financial Transactions and Reports...
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Six Nations Police issued shelter-in-place order in search for gunman
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND-Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and Six Nations Police (SNP) lifted a shelter-in-place order Saturday, August 30th, for residents along Sixth Line in the area of Onondaga Road after a “disturbance at a residence” that involved at least one, armed suspect, who Turtle Island News has learned, held a gun to a person demanding money. OPP issued public advisories through the morning beginning at about 8 a.m. telling residents in the area to lock their windows and doors and shelter-in-place that an armed suspect was in the area. Drivers were told to avoid the area. Several advisories were issued through the morning as police began searching the area. The community was told to expect a “higher-than-normal police presence.” The OPP area search included drones and dogs that...
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SN Polytechnic hoping to start Environmental Science program
Six Nations Polytechnic will apply for funding to start an Environmental Science program with Indigenous knowledge at the core. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) agreed to provide a letter of support for Six Nations Polytechnic’s funding application to develop the program that embeds Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). At the August 26 General Council meeting, Sarah Scharuda, Development Officer from SNP outlined plans to apply to the Toronto Pearson NEST fund and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) for a combined $100,000 in funding. The funding would be used to hire a program development officer to create the program. The letter of support will be included in the package Scharuda is preparing for ISC’s approval. “We are working on developing environmental science program tools that embed traditional ecological knowledge focused on knowledge and...
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Elected Chief needs to tell us…what have you done lately?
Six Nations Elected Council is quick off the trigger. In fact, if you have watched their online council sessions lately, you will notice before the current elected chief even finishes saying the meeting is over a black screen pops up. It is rare if the current SNEC meetings even go beyond an hour. Sadly, that even applies when they pass the community’s audit, a document showing you the public, how they have been spending your money. And it is all community money no matter what the source. The council members made a pretext of looking at the document for the cameras then quickly passed it. Yet when Turtle Island News asked for a copy of the PUBLIC document, their communications people didn’t bother to respond to the request and neither did...
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Today in History
Sept 3 In 2022, a manhunt was underway for two suspects after a series of stabbings left 10 people dead in Saskatchewan. RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said at least another 15 people had been injured in the attacks on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the village of Weldon. RCMP were looking for 31-year-old Damien Sanderson and 30-year-old Myles Sanderson. Sept 4 In 1886, Geronimo and his Apache forces surrendered to the United States army at Skeleton Canyon, Ariz. In 1995, a splinter group of about 30 members of the Kettle and Stoney Point First Nation occupied the Ipperwash Provincial Park, northeast of Sarnia, Ont., claiming it contained a sacred burial ground. Two days later, one of the protesters, Dudley George, was shot dead by a police officer...
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UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY: My Iron Horse Keeps Me Balanced
By Xavier Kataquapit www.underthenorthernsky.com This wave of cold weather reminds me that I do not have a lot of motorcycle riding time left and that summer will soon be turning into fall. Students are heading back to school and some of the birds are already flying south. I love my motorcycles because on a bike I am in deep meditation. I must be one hundred percent aware of my control of my bike as I head down the road. I love classic bikes and I now ride a 2000 BMW R1100R, that features a flat horizontally opposed twin cylinder engine, a design this German company has been producing for over a hundred years. At this point after riding a bike for almost 30 years I feel at one with this...
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Indigenous explainers: What are handgames?
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca PROPHET RIVER FIRST NATION, B.C. — During Prophet River First Nation’s (PRFN) annual Treaty Days, a familiar drum beat echoes throughout. Huddled in a corner, an enthusiastic crowd claps along to the sounds with participants laughing, cheering and enjoying a historical, traditional Indigenous game. Handgames are a staple at Indigenous cultural festivals, and can best be described as part artistic performance, part guessing game. Curtis Dickie has had a hand in promoting modern versions of handgames. A member of Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN), he serves as PRFN’s cultural director. At PRFN’s Treaty Days,$50,000 in prize money was available to be won. Dickie has also been involved with other handgames events, including tournaments at both Saulteau First Nations (SFN) Pemmican Days and...
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Chiefs head to British Columbia in quest to defend Mann Cup
By Sam Laskaris Writer It’s already been a championship season for the Six Nations Chiefs. But chances are members of the local Senior A lacrosse squad will not have fond memories of the 2025 campaign unless they are able to capture another significantly more meaningful title. The Chiefs, the two-time defending national Mann Cup champions, were scheduled to fly to British Columbia on Wednesday. The Mann Cup, a best-of-seven Canadian championship series against the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) champion New Westminster Salmonbellies, will commence on Friday. The Salmonbellies will host all of the matches in this year’s Mann Cup series. New Westminster earned the right to host the 2025 national event by downing the Coquitlam Adanacs 4-1 in the best-of-seven WLA final. Chiefs’ general manager Duane Jacobs is expecting stiff...
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Rivermen conclude season with loss in Presidents Cup bronze-medal match
By Sam Laskaris Writer Veteran Six Nations Rivermen defender Rodd Squire is still deeming his team’s 2025 campaign a success. That’s even though the Rivermen were unable to capture any hardware at the national Presidents Cup tournament, which concluded this past Saturday in Whitby. Squire and his teammates were downed 12-2 by the Edmonton Miners in their bronze-medal contest. The Cornwall-based Snake Island Muskies won the eight-team tourney. The Muskies beat the host Brooklin Merchants 11-5 in the gold-medal contest. Six Nations’ quest to garner gold came to an end on Friday when it was downed 14-10 by the Merchants in a semi-final outing. “We came out flat and we just couldn’t really seem to get rolling and playing our game,” Squire said of the Rivermen performance Saturday. “We got...
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Chiefs seeking ninth Mann Cup championship
By Sam Laskaris Writer The Six Nations Chiefs will be hoping to capture their third consecutive national Mann Cup championship in the coming days. But the local squad has also had its share of other successes at the national level as well. In fact, the Chiefs have won the Mann Cup crown a total of eight times in franchise history. The Six Nations club, founded in 1993, only managed to win one of its 16 regular season matches in its inaugural campaign. But the Chiefs quickly became a powerhouse, winning their first Mann Cup the following year. Six Nations downed the New Westminster Salmonbellies – the same club it will face in the 2025 Mann Cup – 4-2 in its best-of-seven series, which was held in Brantford in 1994. The...
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Sam Laskaris wins 2025 Debwewin Citation
Sam Laskaris is the 2025 Debwewin Citation winner. The award is Anishinabek Nation’s annual Excellence in Journalism. The award recognizes excellence in reporting of storytelling about Anishinabek issues. The Anishinabek Nation is a political advocate of 39 First Nations across Ontario. Sam was presented with the award on Aug.28 at Casino Rama Resort in Chippewas of Rama First Nation during the Anishinabek Evening of Excellence ceremony....
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Assembly of First Nations annual assembly opens on Treaty rights, Bill C-5 and shadow of landfill search for Indigenous womens’ remains
By Carly McHugh Writer WINNIPEG, MANITOBA-The federal budget, Treaty rights and the impact of Bill C-5 may be among the agenda items for the Assembly of First Nations’ (AFN’s) Annual General Assembly on Tue., Sept. 2, but just holding the assembly in Winnipeg is sending a message. AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak issued a welcome to Treaty 1 territory, reminding everyone it’s the first time AFN assembly has been held in the province since 2004. The AFN passed a resolution in July 2023 cancelling its annual general assembly in Manitoba when the province refused to search the Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of First Nations women. The remains of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, and an unidentified woman, known as Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe were later found in March 2025, at the Prairie Green Landfill near Winnipeg after Premier Wab...
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Indigenous artwork unveiling symbolic of relationship between Nunatukavut and provincial government, say leaders
By Sean Ridgeley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Telegram Nunatukavut Community Council President Todd Russell was beaming after Nunatukavut artist Charlene Rumbolt’s piece was unveiled at Confederation Building on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, where it will remain indefinitely. Russell said celebrating Indigenous art like this — many Indigenous artworks line the room — represents one more step in repairing a relationship that’s been fraught with conflict and strife in the past. “It completes the circle of the Indigenous peoples that occupied these lands and continue to, and so it’s a good day, a great day,” he said. “I’m smiling.” After pointing to the use of sealskin in the piece as particularly meaningful to his people and their families, he expressed it is about much more than a single piece of...
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Lightning strikes down but more heat primes wildfires in B.C.: wildfire service
The BC Wildfire Service says there were just 74 lightning strikes on Labour Day compared with thousands that peppered the province and sent fire numbers soaring in the last days of August. The number of wildfires has jumped in the last week from 70 to almost 170, with most of the out-of-control blazes burning in the southern Interior. In the B.C. Interior, the Cariboo Regional District and the Ulkatcho First Nation have jointly issued an evacuation order for 150 land parcels in the area of the Beef Trail Creek wildfire, some 350 kilometres west of Williams Lake. Residents have been told to evacuate immediately to Williams Lake to escape the lightning-triggered wildfire that is 2,771 hectares in size. The evacuation order covers almost 87,000 hectares of rural and sparsely populated...
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Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper says it’s complying with spill investigation
By Clint Fleury, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper has issued a statement saying the organization is complying with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks’ notice of violation after effluent was discharged into the Kaministiquia River last week. “We have been in continuous communication with the ministry since identifying the issue, and we are taking all steps necessary to fully comply with the Notice of Violation issued this week,” Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper said in an email statement to Newswatch. The mill said they are monitoring the situation closely and have halted production until they are “certain that all MECP permit requirements are met.” While the mill is shut down, the organization said, employees remain on the job site working...
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Following hard-won sea otter recovery, First Nations call for a new hunt
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Half a century ago, sea otters were on the brink of extinction along British Columbia’s coast. Pulled from the frigid, untamed waters of Alaska, these charismatic creatures were brought back to their ancestral habitat. Today, they thrive through kelp forests and rugged inlets, celebrated as a symbol of one of the conservation’s greatest comebacks. But with their return has come an unexpected reckoning, leading some First Nations to ask for the return of hunting — a practice that has been outlawed for generations. Mariah Charleson, the 37-year-old chief councillor of Hesquiaht First Nation, grew up paddling in Hot Springs Cove, which was once rich with clams and Dungeness crabs. Just across from her childhood home, the seabed teemed with shellfish...
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