Mississaugas of Credit First Nation members hold vigil protesting employee treatment
Mississaugas of Credit First Nation brave cold to protest By Joshua Santos Writer Community members are demanding the immediate resignation of a senior official accused of ‘verbally assaulting’ a female staff member after an employee conflict. Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN) council house on Jan. 16 and Jan. 17, pushing Sergey Hovasapyan, chief financial officer, to step down. “There have been many formal complaints against him to the chief and council table,” said Jai King-Green, former special events and culture unit assistant for MCFN. She helped organize exhibits and events that share the community’s culture and history. It is alleged that Hovasapyan was in an undisclosed dispute with a female employee on Jan. 15. He was told he needed a motion or...
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Jordan’s Principle forcing Six Nations woman to foot bill for daughter’s autism services
By Joshua Santos Writer A Six Nations mother is frustrated as a federally funded program has not reimbursed her for money she has to spend on autism services for her daughter, fearing progress made will be for nothing. Jennifer Morey, who lives in Brantford, has had to pay $3,000 out of pocket for her four-year-old daughter Everley to attend speech therapy services from Speech Pathways and occupational therapy from That’s Life! Occupational Therapy Services. She submitted an application for assistance under the Jordan’s Principle program and was approved. A program navigator told her to submit receipts for remuneration, which she did, but she has yet to receive even a dime back. “She was doing good with her speech therapy,” said Morey. “The thing with autistic kids is that when they...
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SN Elected Council gives $60,000 to Farmers’ Association
Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) revised the funding source for the Six Nations Farmers Association’s Community White Corn Crop. SNEC approved a motion to revise the funding source from the Six Nations Development Management Agreement Funding to the Ontario First Limited Partnership Funding at its General Finance Committee meeting on January 20. Jennifer Court, acting CEO and CAO said in March of 2024 the funding source identified wasn’t the most appropriate one. “We’re just replacing OFNLP from the Ec-Dev [Economic Development] funds,” she said. “Ec-Dev funds are allocated to the council.” Councillor Helen Miller questioned the amount being approved for the Six Nations Farmers Association (SNFA). SNEC approved $60,000 for the White Corn Crops project in March 2024, but Miller b said in previous years SNEC approved about $15,000. SNFA...
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SNEC to hold community meeting on black mould
Black mould continues to plague Six Nations’s buildings and homes. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) passed a motion to host a public meeting addressing the issues with community members at its General Council Meeting on January 14. Councillor Helen Miller raised the issue saying she had been contacted by community member Alex Jamieson before Christmas asking for a public meeting on mould in the community. “I thought it was a good idea because there’s been so much talk about mould lately,” she said. “If we had a public meeting we could turn it into an education session.” Miller said she hoped SNEC could update the community on the status of the buildings in the community as well as give people some tricks and tools to deal with mould and how...
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Six Nations Elected Council donating $45,000 to help local business mark 50 years
Six NationsElected Council (SNEC) may have the chance to show off its many talented community members this spring by joining in celebrating the 50th anniversary of a local business. Erin Montour, CEO of Grand River Employment and Training, is involved with local dance instructor Michelle Farmer’s Studio of Dance and Modelling and wants to help celebrate the business’s 50th anniversary but needs SNEC’s help. Montour gave a presentation at SNEC’s General Council meeting on January 14th seeking financial support to rent the Sanderson Centre in Brantford on May 17th to honour Farmer and host an entertainment night that would showcase dancers,and is adding other community members to the bill. The rental cost for the Sanderson Centre for one night is $46,000. “We do share a common goal,” Montour said. “The...
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Haldimand-Norfolk-Another case of measles
Simcoe, Ont. – Grand Erie Public Health (GEPH) has announced it is investigating an another confirmed case of measles involving a child from the Haldimand-Norfolk area. The child has no recent travel history, and the source of the infection remains under investigation. GEPH said it i conducting case and contact tracing with identified contacts who may have been exposed to the measles virus through this individual. GEPH sid the public may have been exposed to measles if they attended an after-hours clinic at a family practice office located at 65 Donly Dr. N., Suite B, Unit 4, Simcoe on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, between the hours of 5 p.m. to clinic close. GEPH advises anyone who believes they may have been exposed to the measles virus at this location to...
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Trump …redux!
The U.S. has a new president…and the world is shaking its collective head. In an Inaugural address filled with claims of making America great again, he told the world in the U.S. there are only two types of people, men and women! He plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico and make it the Gulf of America and take back the Panama Canal. He will sign executive orders that will see what he calls a commonsense revolution of America by declaring a national emergency at their southern border and all illegal entry immediately halted. “We will reinstate my Remain in Mexico policy.” He would send troops to the southern U.S. border to “repel the disastrous invasion of our country, and millions of criminal aliens will be returned back to wherever...
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UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY: Emmy’s Chocolate Cake Therapy
By Xavier Kataquapit www.underthenorthernsky.com When I first met my partner Mike’s mom Emily McGrath so many years ago I was immediately struck by how open and kind she was. Everyone knew her as Emmy and she reminded me so much of all the Elders I had grow up with in my family. I was a soft spoken Cree from the James Bay coast when I first got to know her. Life was intimidating for me when I first started to live and work as a writer away from my home community but Emmy made sure I was always safe, comfortable and looked after. I owe a lot of my transition to a new life to her. She was born in 1926 during the time of the great depression and as...
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Grassy Narrows First Nations erects checkpoints amidst attempted abductions
By Joshua Santos Writer Penny Fobister of Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation looks outside her window as snowflakes fall in the distance, displaying a fragile beauty she cannot embrace. Unable to get closure, she cannot shake the feeling that stepping outside might expose her to the man who once stole everything from her. Instead, not knowing where he is today, she still locks herself in her home on the Grassy Narrows First Nation. “We’re easy marks,” she says. “Nobody cares if a native person goes missing or dies.” Her nightmare began when at 14-years-old she left her home at Grassy Narrows First Nation, an Ojibwe community 55 km northeast of Kenora Ont., She went to Winnipeg, Man., to pursue her education. She was excited and had a bright future ahead of her....
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Vyse and Johnson among 2025 hall of fame inductees
By Sam Laskaris Writer A pair of Six Nations members have become Hall of Famers. It was announced on Jan. 16 that both Carey-Leigh Vyse and Jason Johnson are part of the 2025 class that will be inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame. A total of 71 individuals will be inducted in this year’s class. They are joining the hall through various categories. Induction ceremonies will be held June 7 in the Wisconsin city of Green Bay. Vyse, a softball and lacrosse star, is being inducted via the Athlete category. And Johnson, who has a lengthy list of lacrosse accomplishments, is entering the hall through the Coach category. The North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame was founded in 2022. The hall does not have a...
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Six Nations lacrosse star hoping for Olympic inclusion following Canada/US statement
By Sam Laskaris Writer Six Nations’ Fawn Porter has already made a bit of history. And the local star lacrosse player would love the opportunity to continue doing so. Porter served as the captain of the Haudenosaunee Nationals team which won the bronze medal at the first world women’s box lacrosse tournament held this past September in Utica, N.Y. Porter is now dreaming of becoming an Olympian. Lacrosse has been added as an official sport to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The brass of the Haudenosaunee Nationals program is hoping to convince officials from the International Olympic Committee that their women’s and men’s teams should be allowed to participate in the 2028 Games as their own sovereign nation. That’s why Porter was thrilled to see a joint statement...
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Staats suspended indefinitely by National Lacrosse League
Six Nations lacrosse star Austin Staats will not be playing professionally any time in the near future. Staats, a member of the San Diego Seals of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) had previously been suspended for the first seven games of the 2024-25 campaign for an on-floor incident during last year’s playoffs. Staats was also arrested this past August by Brantford police and charged with various violent offences including assault and counts of threatening death or bodily harm. Since his seven-game NLL suspension is now over, league officials issued a statement about Staats on Sunday. “The National Lacrosse League has suspended Austin Staats indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the League in connection with his involvement in off-floor incidents,” said the statement. “The league will reassess his eligibility to return to...
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Jordin Tootoo was still just a kid from the block when he made the NHL, says his dad
By Darrell Greer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Kivalliq News Some people go through changes or are treated differently by people around them when they, or someone in their immediate family, hits the big time, but that wasn’t the case for Barney Tootoo of Rankin Inlet when his son, Jordin, made it to the NHL with the Nashville Predators on Oct. 9, 2003, in Nashville against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. When Jordin jumped onto the ice that night, he became the first Inuk to play in the NHL. Jordin played for the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Western Hockey League from 1999 to 2003. He was drafted by the Predators 98th overall in 2001. During his 13-year NHL career, Jordin suited up for Nashville, the Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey...
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Ring of Fire development under the microscope
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter THUNDER BAY — Representatives of 15 First Nations have started work with a federal agency to assess the potential impacts of mining and other development in Ontario’s mineral-rich Ring of Fire. The newly formed regional assessment working group has been directed to produce a final report within 30 months, Ian Ketcheson of the Impact Assessment Agency said Tuesday in a Zoom interview. Ketcheson, the agency’s vice-president of Indigenous relations, was speaking a day after the agency announced the formation of a working group to conduct a regional assessment. The 15 First Nations represented include Marten Falls and Webequie, the two communities nearest the Eagle’s Nest project where an international mining company wants to operate a large underground mine. The other participating First Nations...
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Yellowknife women’s shelter seeks public’s help amid capacity issues
By Claire McFarlane, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Yellowknife Women’s Society says its shelter for women has been at or over capacity for 10 of the past 14 nights. Executive director Renee Sanderson said last week’s closure of an on-the-land camp outside the city for people experiencing homelessness had contributed to overcrowding in the society’s space. People living at the camp – which was open for 10 weeks – were transported back to Yellowknife on January 14, the Government of the Northwest Territories previously said in a press release. “When it’s cold out, we don’t want to send people out on the street and we try to work with them,” said Sanderson. “But I think it’s just too many people in a small building.” This led Sanderson to ask community...
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Mark Carney secures four more key endorsements in race to become prime minister
By Nick Murray -CP-Liberal leadership hopeful Mark Carney has secured the endorsements of four more current and former cabinet ministers. On Tuesday, Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Minister Gary Anandasangaree and former housing minister Sean Fraser all threw their support behind Carney on social media. “He’s literally one of the most respected voices on the economy worldwide, and he’s a fundamentally decent person who cares an awful lot about the country that we all love,” Fraser said in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault also endorsed Carney while speaking to reporters at the Liberal cabinet retreat in Montebello, Que. “I’ve know Mark for many years. We’ve worked together on issues of green energy, transition, fighting climate change and the role...
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Ginoogaming First Nation former chief passes
GINOOGAMING FIRST NATION – Ginoogaming First Nation (GFN) is mourning the passing of former Chief Leslie O’Nabigon who passed away Jan.18, 2025 at the age of 65. Chief Sheri Taylor, on behalf of Ginoogaming First Nation Council, sent her condolences to the family, friends and community members. In a statement she said “We appreciated Leslie’s (former Chief O’Nabigon) advice on legal files in regards to the protection of our homelands as the new Chief and Council. Having support from a previous Chief meant a lot to us.” Former Chief O’Nabigon passed away peacefully with his family by his side at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Thunder Bay. The statement said, “he sets out for the everlasting homelands knowing that he made his contribution to the betterment of Indigenous Peoples. ” He...
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B.C. First Nations leader reverses stance on Northern Gateway pipeline after Trump
By Chuck Chiang The president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs is reversing his previous opposition to the scrapped Northern Gateway pipeline project linking Alberta to the Pacific Ocean. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip says while he “really fought against” Northern Gateway’s construction before it was scuttled in 2016, that was a “different time” and Canada now has “no choice” but to reconsider. That comes after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith suggested on social media that construction of the pipeline needs to “immediately start” to diversify the country’s export markets, in light of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on Canadian exports. Phillip says he’s concerned that if Canada doesn’t “build that kind of infrastructure, Trump will,” and would do so without “any consideration for the environment or the rule of...
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Climate change is fuelling Trump’s desire to tap into Canada’s water and Arctic resources
By Tricia Stadnyk Rising temperatures, a melting Arctic and increasing global water and resource scarcity are behind United States President Donald Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st American state. A geopolitical storm is brewing in the Arctic, accelerated by climate change and a play for global domination of Arctic land, coastline and trade routes that provide access to massive reserves of critical minerals, oil, gas and water. The second Trump administration is aware of both the new opportunities and risks as global temperatures shatter new records and thresholds, and an ice-free Arctic becomes a possibility. Land resources The Arctic is home to a wealth of critical minerals (called rare earth elements) that can withstand extreme cold and pressure changes, making them essential for the space industry, technology and green...
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