Celebrated ‘Inconvenient Indian’ author Thomas King says he’s not Indigenous
Celebrated author Thomas King says that despite believing so nearly all his life, he is not Indigenous. The writer of books including 2003’s “The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative” and 2012’s “The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America,” says he is reeling from recent news that he has no Cherokee ancestry. In an essay titled “A most inconvenient Indian” for the Globe and Mail, the Guelph, Ont.-based King says he learned of rumours several years ago that questioned his heritage. The California-born King says he made a concerted effort this year to find their origin, which brought him to a U.S. organization called Tribal Alliance Against Frauds. That group investigated his past with help from a University of British Columbia scholar, and found no...
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Ontario First Nation prepared to block highway to stop mining near drinking water source
By Jon Thompson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ricochet A northwestern Ontario First Nation that’s struggling through a decade-long social crisis has directed its leaders to blockade the highway if the province grants mineral extraction permits near its water source. Onigaming First Nation Chief Jeff Copenace says elders have instructed him to notify a partnership between First Mining Gold and New Gold that they do not consent to ore extraction or its transportation through the territory. Under pressure to respond to demands to meet by November 21, and facing three funerals over the past two weeks, Copenace issued Ontario’s Ministry of Mines the following statement: “If this permit is approved without our consultation and without our free, prior, informed consent, our Elders in Onigaming have asked Onigaming leadership to consider a...
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Norfolk man charged with stunt driving in Brant County
BRANT, ONT. – A man from Norfolk has been charged with stunt driving, following a recent encounter with the Brant County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). On Nov. 23, at approximately 8:00 p.m., police conducted a traffic stop on Oakland Road, after they observed a vehicle moving at an excessive speed. A Brant County OPP officer conducting speed enforcement in the area confirmed it was travelling 101 km/h in a posted 50 km/h zone. As a result, the 36-year-old driver was charged with drive motor vehicle – perform stunt – excessive speed; speeding – 101 km/h in a 50 km/h zone; and possessing unmarked cigarettes. Per legislation, the man’s licence was also suspended for 30 days and the vehicle was impounded for 14 days. He is scheduled to appear in court...
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Indigenous people reflect on the meaning of their participation in COP30 climate talks
By Melina Walling BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Indigenous people filled the streets, paddled the waterways and protested at the heart of the venue to make their voices heard during the United Nations climate talks that were supposed to give them a voice like never before at the annual conference. As the talks, called COP30, concluded Saturday in Belem, Brazil, Indigenous people reflected on what the conference meant to them and whether they were heard. Brazilian leaders had high hopes that the summit, taking place in the Amazon, would empower the people who inhabit the land and protect the biodiversity of the world’s largest rainforest, which helps stave off climate change as its trees absorb carbon pollution that heats the planet. Many Indigenous people who attended the talks felt strengthened by...
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Sexual abuse and suicide biggest issues for children in Nunavut
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News National Child Day, marked on Nov. 20, commemorates Canada’s commitment to the rights of children, and two organizations told Nunavut News what they believe are the biggest issues facing children in the territory. The Representative for Children and Youth’s Office is an advocacy organization that holds the territorial government to account for its treatment of the youngest Nunavummiut. Sexual abuse and suicide are the biggest problems children contend with in Nunavut, according to Jane Bates, the representative for children and youth. “We’ve made no progress over 10 years in addressing the suicide rate for young people,” Bates said. A report on sexual abuse from the Standing Committee on Government Oversight is still pending, Bates said, and a continuing crisis in...
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Norfolk man faces stunt driving charge in Brant County
BRANT, ONT. – A man from Norfolk has been charged with stunt driving, following a recent encounter with the Brant County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). On Nov. 23, at approximately 8:00 p.m., police conducted a traffic stop on Oakland Road, after they observed a vehicle moving at an excessive speed. A Brant County OPP officer conducting speed enforcement in the area confirmed it was travelling 101 km/h in a posted 50 km/h zone. As a result, the 36-year-old driver was charged with drive motor vehicle – perform stunt – excessive speed; speeding – 101 km/h in a 50 km/h zone; and possessing unmarked cigarettes. Per legislation, the man’s licence was also suspended for 30 days and the vehicle was impounded for 14 days. He is scheduled to appear in court...
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Ottawa appoints new private-sector economic advisory panel for Atlantic Canada
The federal government has appointed a new economic advisory committee for the Atlantic region. Justice Minister Sean Fraser, who is also a Nova Scotia MP, made the announcement Monday, saying the seven members of the Atlantic Economic Panel have experience in growing companies and creating jobs. The minister says the panel will have a mandate to recommend practical steps to create jobs, raise productivity, support businesses and strengthen communities. Fraser, who is also the minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, says the panel will be led by Don Mills, president of Crane Cove Holdings and co-founder of Halifax-based Narrative Research. Other members include J. Scott McCain, chairman of McCain Foods in New Brunswick, Joyce Carter, CEO of the Halifax International Airport Authority and Terry Richardson, chief of the...
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Court approves Hudson’s Bay plan to auction its royal charter; $18M bid expected
By Tara Deschamps The royal charter that created Hudson’s Bay in 1670 is on its way to the auction block. Ontario Superior Court judge Peter Osborne on Friday approved a process that will see the document owned by the defunct retailer sold early next month. The auction will kick off with an $18-million bid from holding companies belonging to two of Canada’s richest families, the Westons and Thomsons. “We are all interested to see what transpires by way of this,” Osborne said, after deciding an auction was the best course of action to ensure a “profound” document “remains here and a part of our history.” The charter, signed by King Charles II more than 350 years ago, not only created HBC but gave the company control over one-third of modern...
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Council asks for more information on proposed battery storage facility
Six Nations of the Grand River is a partner on the project By Jeff Helsdon, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Woodstock Ingersoll Echo TILLSONBURG-Town council is asking for more information before throwing its support behind a battery energy storage system proposed by Skyline Energy. Matt Kennedy of Skyline Energy spoke at the Oct. 14 meeting, outlining the company’s intention to apply to the province’s energy regulator for a battery storage facility as part of an effort to better utilize the grid. At the time, there was no motion of support coming from Tillsonburg council. Kennedy was back before council on Nov. 10, seeking a municipal support resolution as part of the application for the 30-megawatt battery storage system. “Essentially what this means is we’ll use the excess power at night and...
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In Quebec’s Nunavik region, constant water shortages compromise health care
By Katrine Desautels Even if they’re surrounded by vast bodies of water as far as the eye can see, residents of Quebec’s Far North lack a reliable water supply. Not only does this impact citizens’ health through the spread of diseases, but it weakens the quality of care and forces health workers to get creative in order to help their patients. The Inuulitsivik Health Centre, located in Puvirnituq, serves seven communities running up the coast of Hudson Bay. The facility regularly lacks water, according to Dr. Vincent Rochette-Coulombe, who is starting his third year as a doctor in the community. This lack of water has a direct impact on patients, he said. He gives the example of a chest drain, which requires inserting a tube into a hole created between...
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RCMP say body recovered after man fleeing officers entered river
By Andrew Bates, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Telegraph-Journal The RCMP says a man’s body was recovered from the St. Croix River after he tried to swim away from police officers in St. Stephen. Officers say they approached the man, who had been wanted for an alleged breach of a community sentence order, last Saturday and he fled, later seen struggling in the river, according to RCMP Cpl. Matthew Leblanc-Smith. But the family of McKay Matthew Thomas, 41, said they have concerns over the incident and the way his body was treated by police Sunday. Leblanc-Smith said officers on patrol at about 2:35 p.m. along Milltown Boulevard in St. Stephen saw the man but when they approached him, he fled, Leblanc-Smith said. He said the man, who had been wanted on...
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Brant County OPP continues to investigate shooting at Paris residence
PARIS, ONT. – The Brant County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are investigating a shooting that took place at a home in Paris over the weekend. On Nov. 23, at approximately 3:00 a.m., police received a report of a weapons complaint. They later learned that unknown individuals had approached a residence on Heming Street in a dark-coloured sports utility vehicle (SUV) and fired several rounds from a firearm, which struck and caused damage to the home and a vehicle that was parked in the driveway. There were no injuries reported,. It is believed to be an isolated incident. The Brant County Crime Unit is asking residents of Heming Street and neighbouring side streets to check their video surveillance systems to see if they have any footage of the vehicles or suspects...
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Manitoba eyes bilingual designation ‘to be at the table’
By Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press The Kinew government is applying for a special designation to put its growing francophone community on the map and tap into new markets in French-speaking countries across the world. Manitoba’s “truly bilingual province” consultations wrapped up on Oct. 31. Francophone Affairs Minister Glen Simard is reviewing six months of oral and written feedback from Manitobans about what they want their province to sound like. “What we’re hearing is people want to live their lives in French and they want it to be easier,” Simard said in a phone interview Sunday. The minister spoke to the Free Press, in both English and French, from his constituency of Brandon East. He was scheduled to meet with francophone community leaders in the evening,...
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Results are in: Doig River First Nation elects new Chief
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca ROSE PRAIRIE, B.C. — A new Chief has been elected for the people of Doig River First Nation (DRFN). DRFN band manager Shona Nelson shared Justin Davis has been elected to the top job. The election took place on Thursday, November 20th, with Energeticcity.ca on Friday afternoon. Davis served in the prior council, alongside Brittany Robertson and Starr Acko, with Trevor Makadahay serving as Chief. He had made his intentions for the top job known following Makadahay’s decision to not seek re-election. Robertson and Acko were elected councillors for another term, joined by Korbin Davis. Elections for DRFN Chief and council are consistent with codes outlined in the Indian Act, which mandates a period of two years. The next DRFN election will...
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First Nations’ Elders and council react to judicial review ruling
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Both sides of a judicial review concerning a Treaty 8 Nations’ council have released statements about the outcome, with one party saying they were vindicated by the outcome. Blueberry River First Nations (BRFN) Elders Clarence and Joe Apsassin had filed the motion for a judicial review last year, alleging their Nation’s council violated bylaws in the removal of former Chief Judy Desjarlais and in making decisions regarding the BRFN’s Implementation agreement with the province. The two men also sought the removal of their family councillor, Shelley Gauthier. The review went ahead this summer in Vancouver. This week, Judge Negar Azmudeh granted the judicial review in part, ruling the council breached band bylaws and customs and were required...
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Motorist in North Carolina tells 911: ‘I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield’
By Corey Williams NORTH CAROLINA-A motorist in western North Carolina escaped injury when the carcass of a cat crashed into the passenger side of her front windshield along a highway near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In a call to 911, the unidentified driver on U.S. Route 74 in Swain County, near Bryson City, told a dispatcher that a bald eagle dropped the cat. Bryson City is about 65 miles (104 kilometers) southwest of Asheville. It’s not clear if the feline slipped from the eagle’s talons Wednesday morning or was discarded simply because the big bird didn’t have a taste for it. “You may not believe me, but I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield,” the incredulous driver said on the recorded 911 call....
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Nolan Dyck, third member of Alberta premier’s caucus, faces recall petition drive
By Jack Farrell A third member of Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party caucus is now officially the target of a petition to get him recalled from his job as a member of the legislature. Elections Alberta said in a news release Friday it has approved a signature-collecting campaign against first-term Grande Prairie legislature member Nolan Dyck. The approval kick-starts a three-month signature collection period that, if successful, would then force a constituency-wide vote on whether Dyck keeps his seat. In recent weeks, recall petitions have been approved against UCP members Angela Pitt — in Airdrie East — and Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides in Calgary Bow. The Grande Prairie resident behind the newest petition, Casey Klein, says Dyck should be recalled because he has been dismissing the concerns of his...
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UCCM Anishinaabe Police Service hope renewed efforts will help find missing woman
MANITOULIN ISLAND, ONT. – It has been over a year since Juanita (Winnie) Migwans went missing on Manitoulin Island, and the United Chiefs and Councils of Manitoulin Anishinaabe Police Service (UCCM APS) is renewing its request for assistance with the investigation. The 31-year-old woman was last seen on Oct. 4, 2024, on Riverside Drive in the M’Chigeeng First Nation community. Since then, there has been ongoing effort by the police and the community to find answers regarding her disappearance. To mark one year since they launched the investigation, police have released a new awareness video, providing details about Migwans and her last known whereabouts. The hope is to generate new leads and encourage members of the public to come forward with any new information. “Even though she’s an adult, it...
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Amid climate impacts, leading Secwépemc firekeeper shares ‘a better way of looking after the land’
By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Growing up in Nlakaʼpamux and syilx territories in the 1970s, Joe Gilchrist can’t remember a single summer when wildfire smoke ever trapped him indoors. The Merritt, B.C., region’s semi-arid landscape still saw scorching summer temperatures back then, he recalled, but not the record-breaking fire seasons of recent years. “That was thanks to our work that the Indigenous ancestors did on the land,” said Gilchrist, a Secwépemc Nation member who now lives on Skeetchsn Indian Band’s reserve with his daughter. “Then, everything was still fairly spaced out; the fires were easier to handle.” Although settlers’ wildfire suppression efforts had become the dominant form of land stewardship when he was young, Indigenous communities in the Nicola Valley were still using fire to “cleanse” the...
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‘It affects us as a people’: Trent University students protest provincial legislation
By Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Peterborough Examiner Trent University students protested the provincial government’s Bill 5 on Thursday. Protesters cited concerns over the legislation’s impacts on environmental protections, Indigenous consultation, and threats to archeological preservation. The protest was organized by the Trent University Native Association (TUNA) and supported by the Trent University Student Association (TCSA). “We’re really concerned about the expedited process of resource extractive infrastructure. So it’s pipelines, mines, all those different types of things, especially in the Ring of Fire, which is really going to affect Northern Ontario Indigenous people,” said TUNA president, Katie Lariviere, who is Anishinaabe from Garden River First Nation near Sault St. Marie. Lariviere noted Bill 5 includes changes to both the Ontario Heritage Act’s archeological assessment process, as well as...
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