Beardmore, Nakina losing skating rinks
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Thunder Bay Source GREENSTONE — Municipal councillors decided Monday night that residents of Beardmore and Nakina will continue to have indoor space for curling and community events but not skating and hockey next winter. In motions passed after much debate and four deputations, councillors decided to permanently cease operation of the two communities’ indoor skating rinks this year. But the motions spared the Beardmore and Nakina curling rinks from closure and directed municipal staff to continue with public engagement and consultations regarding community facilities. “I’m overall pretty pleased with being able to retain the curling side of the (Beardmore) complex,” said Rick Mikesh, a pastor in Beardmore who made a deputation to Greenstone council last October but could not attend Monday’s proceedings. “We’re...
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Hand games tournament returning to Ecole Providence
By Emily Plihal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, South Peace News Ecole Providence in McLennan is excited to welcome back its annual Hand Games competition, set to take place on April 25. “We decided to organize a hand games competition after it was discussed at our First Nations, Metis, and Inuit meeting,” says FNMI Indigenous coordinator and educational assistant Norma Chalifoux. “We’ve called the games Holy Family Catholic Regional Division 2025 Hand Games.” The games will be hosted at the school on Friday, April 25 with grand entry at 10 a.m. and games played until 2 p.m. Chalifoux says the games are a lot of fun and have cultural significance. “I find the importance of hand games to give other cultures a chance to play our game and to see how...
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Taking steps to reduce alcoholism, self-harm and suicide
By Darrell Greer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Kivalliq News While Nunavut remains home to the country’s highest rates of suicide and self-harm, and very high rates of hospitalizations due to alcohol, the territory is taking steps to reduce those numbers. These harms are linked to the social and health inequalities experienced by the population due to colonialism, according to a Canadian Mental Health Association report released late in 2024. David Tulugak of Rankin Inlet said the reasons behind suicide remain complex but, in his opinion, although the effects of colonialism are still evident, they are starting to fade a bit as the years roll past. And, he said, in many cases, alcoholism is long overdue to be cut down, so that children in the community may benefit. “I don’t like...
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Two men charged with murder of man found behind Winnipeg home
WINNIPEG MAN-Police say two men have been charged with murder after a body was found behind a home. Bronson Emery Dale Kequahtooway was discovered dead on March 28. Police say the 30-year-old had been living in Winnipeg but was originally from the Zagime Anishinabek First Nation in Saskatchewan. The two accused from Winnipeg are charged with second-degree murder, along with weapons and drug offences. Police say two men and two women have also been charged with accessory after the fact to murder. Media reports from the scene showed a row of garbage and recycling bins partially covered with a black tarp and police tape. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2025. ...
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Brantford Traffic Stop Leads to Drug and Weapons Charges for 3 Brantford Men
By Joshua Santos Turtle Island News BRANTFORD, ONT-Three Brantford men are facing drug trafficking and weapons charges after police seized suspected fentanyl, crack cocaine, brass knuckles, and other illegal items during a traffic stop. Brantford Police Service (BPS)officers conducted the stop on a vehicle travelling along Brock Street on April 9, according to a BPS news release. Three men were in the vehicle, including a driver who police said was driving with a suspended licence and wanted on a warrant. During the traffic stop BPS said a bag containing a white powdered substance was seen, in plain view, prompting a search of the vehicle and its occupants. As a result police seized approximately 22.7 grams of suspected fentanyl, about 10 grams of suspected crack cocaine, nearly 24 tablets of dilaudid,...
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Sharing who they are from Blackfoot to Six Nations
From Blackfoot to Mohawk: Indigenous Students are Connecting Across Provinces in Cultural Exchange Program By Joshua Santos Writer Children from two Indigenous schools, separated by more than 3,000 kilometers, found common ground through language, tradition, and storytelling in a cultural exchange program connecting Alberta and Ontario. Students from Napi’s Playground Elementary School on the Piikani Nation in southern Alberta recently met with their peers at Oliver M. Smith Kawenni:io (OMSK) Elementary School in Six Nations on March 10. “It was cool, I like their traditions and how they dance,” said OMSK Grade 5 student Madisyn Hess. “They had a whole bunch of beading.” The visit marked a rare opportunity for children to immerse themselves in another Indigenous culture while strengthening pride in their own. “I think it expands the world...
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Six Nations Elected Council has received $115 mllion from OLG
By Lynda Powless Editor Six Nations is being warned it may want to dial down the rhetoric about its gaming ambitions before the province decides to step in and shut it down. The warning came from Steve Williams, Ontario First Nations Limited Partnership (OFNLP) representative. Williams was making a presentation to Six Nations Elected Council’s General Finance meeting on the OFNLP funds when he broached the topic. He said he knows Six Nations has ambitions when it comes to gaming and if SNEC wants that to come to fruition, they need to keep it to themselves. “I know you want your own casino,” Williams said. During Williams’ presentation he also told SNEC Six Nations has received $115 million from the fund since the 2008 Ontario First Nations Gaming Revenue Sharing...
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First Nations Leaders Push for Action on Priorities Ahead of Federal Election
Joshua Santos Writer Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation have joined a chorus of First Nations leaders calling on political candidates and parties to champion a set of key priorities that will impact Indigenous communities in the future. The priorities, outlined in Pathways to Progress: First Nations Priorities for Federal Policy Reform by the Chiefs of Ontario, focuses on economic resilience, community safety, and upholding legal commitments. Leadership stresses that a prosperous future for Canada can only be achieved through close collaboration with First Nations, particularly in sectors such as mining and resource development, education, and healthcare. “Canada is facing immense pressure to its economic security amid rising border tensions with Canada’s closest ally, the United States of America,” said Ogimaa-Kwe Chief Claire Sault. “In response, Canada must endeavor to...
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Increase in policing needed
First Nations across the country have long been communities of entrepreneurs. In fact, First Nations people across the country have, despite all the obstacles put in place, found ways to turn a negative into a positive. From band councils joining forces with corporate Canada to individuals launching their own businesses and working hard to keep them afloat, especially with the difficult times we find ourselves heading into thanks to the US.’s new president. While First Nations have enjoyed the freedom of entrepreneurship along with that freedom comes the responsibility to keep your community safe. One can’t be sure that is always happening. Lately warehouse styled factories have begun sprouting up all over the community and along with them comes a small army of non-community members seeking employment. And that has...
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Today in history
April 14 In 2016 the Supreme Court of Canada, in a long-awaited landmark decision that was 15 years in the making, unanimously ruled that 600,000 Metis and off-reserve Indians across the country are “Indians’’ under the Constitution and are the federal government’s fiduciary responsibility. April 15 In 1672, a royal edict prohibited fur traders from going to Indian villages. It forced natives to take their furs to the settlements. In 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced federal funding of $8.2 billion over 10 years for the First Nations Health Authority in British Columbia. April 16 In 1874, Provencher MP Louis Riel was expelled from the Commons as a fugitive. The Metis leader was wanted in Ontario for the 1870 execution of Orangeman Thomas Scott during the “Red River Uprising.” In...
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UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY: It Is Time For Healing
By Xavier Kataquapit www.underthenorthernsky.com I think all of us northerners are fed up with this long and dismal winter. The misery is made because so many people in my life have passed away this winter over the past month. It does not feel like spring. I have lost my cousin Norman Kataquapit, a kind and gentle man I grew up with. I know his brothers Robert, Billy, Steve, Ron, Eric and Lindy and their families and friends will always hold the memory of Norman in their hearts. It’s especially sad as our families have only recently recovered after losing their brother Jeffery just over a year ago. In the same week, another cousin and childhood friend Joe Wheesk passed. He was one of the bright lights from our community who...
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Jamieson hits 1,000-point plateau in NL
By Sam Laskaris Writer Jammer has joined some elite company. That’s would be Six Nations star lacrosse player Cody Jamieson, who is nicknamed Jammer. Jamieson, who is the captain of the Halifax Thunderbirds, registered his 1,000th career point in the professional National Lacrosse League (NLL) this past Saturday. Jamieson and his teammates hit the road for a contest hosted by the two-time defending NLL champion Buffalo Bandits. He entered the contest needing four points to hit 1,000 points. After scoring once and picking up a pair of assists earlier in the match, Jamieson scored again with just under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth and final quarter to hit the milestone mark. Jamieson becomes the 17th player in NLL history to earn 1,000 points. But he is the first Indigenous...
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Six Nations Ironmen take top honours at Gatineau hockey tournament
By Sam Laskaris Writer The Six Nations Ironmen will enter a national tournament next month on a bit of a high. The local hockey squad is one of 40 men’s teams that will participate in the Fred Sasakamoose Chief Thunderstick National Hockey Championship. The tournament will be held May 15-18 in Saskatoon. Organizers of the national tourney also staged a 10-team Eastern Warm-Up event, which concluded on Sunday in Gatineau, Que. The Ironmen did not get off to a good start in the double-knockout tourney, losing to a Quebec-based squad called Shakash on Friday. That meant the Six Nations club would be eliminated if it suffered another loss in the event. But as it turned out, the Ironmen registered five consecutive victories, four of those on Sunday, to be crowned...
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Local lacrosse player hoping to compete at Canada Summer Games
By Sam Laskaris Writer A teenage lacrosse player from Six Nations is one step away from participating in this year’s Canada Summer Games. It was announced last week that is one of those selected to the list of the top 24 athletes being considered for the Team Ontario girls’ under-17 squad. The final roster of 18 players that will compete at the Games will be announced next month. The six individuals who do not make the final cut will be named alternates for the team. The multi-sport Canada Summer Games are held every foFarah Garlowur years. This year’s Games are set for Aug. 8-17 in St. John’s, the capital city of Newfoundland and Labrador. Garlow, who is 15, has attended various tryouts for the Ontario squad since this past fall....
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Six Nations partners with McMaster University on $24M brain health research program
By Joshua Santos Writer SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER-Six Nations is partnering with McMaster University on a $24 million Indigenous-led brain health research project funded by the federal government. The group was awarded the funds to transform brain health and develop a bundle of dementia assessment tools that will benefit Indigenous groups across Ontario, Canada and around the world. “This national project includes team member researchers from Six Nations who work at McMaster University and researchers, Jacqui Powless, who work at the Six Nations Department of Planning, Performance and Evaluation,” said Jennifer Walker, associate professor with McMaster University’s Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact. “We spent time with the Director of the Department of Well-Being to design a project that would be responsive to the Six Nations...
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Mercury levels in Lake Temiskaming raising concerns
By Darlene Wroe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Temiskaming Speaker DISTRICT – There is concern about mercury levels in Lake Temiskaming, particularly due to bioaccumulation in the food chain and its impacts on fish and wildlife health. The Organisme de bassin versant du Temiscamingue (OBVT), which is mandated by the Quebec government to monitor the water quality of Lake Temiskaming and its watershed, is reaching out to raise awareness in both Quebec and Ontario about mercury levels in the water body. “We are using data to inform the public and stakeholders about mercury-related health and ecological concerns,” biologist and environmental project coordinator Akib Hasan said in an email interview. The objective of the team is to “encourage responsible fish consumption based on official guidelines; advocate for cross-border collaboration where possible, especially...
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‘It was amazing’: Prophet River First Nation on youth empowerment conference 2025
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca PROPHET RIVER, B.C. — A northeast B.C. First Nation’s youth got a glimpse of the big city during a high school conference last week. Youth from Prophet River First Nation (PRFN) were among Indigenous young people from across Canada to participate in the Soaring: Indigenous Youth Empowerment Gathering in Vancouver. PRFN youth coordinator Lisa Wolf was a chaperone for members, and said being at the gathering on April 8th and 9th at Canada Place was “amazing.” Other Treaty 8 Nations to send youth included Blueberry River First Nations, Saulteau First Nations and Fort Nelson First Nation. Wolf has also taken PRFN youth to the Spark Conference in Edmonton earlier this year and added the invitation came from the PRFN education department. “It...
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Vancouver Island NDP candidates aim to ‘make empathy great again’
By Rochelle Baker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Unity, community and resistance were the rallying cries during a Vancouver Island NDP event Thursday night that drew more than 300 supporters. The election rally for Gord Johns, incumbent MP for Courtenay-Alberni and North Island-Powell River candidate Tanille Johnston featured live brass music and a jubilant and defiant crowd — some sporting orange wigs or draped in multicoloured Pride flags. A rainbow even made an appearance following a day of torrential rain. Charlie Angus, former NDP MP and Trump provocateur, on his cross-country Elbows Up speaking tour, made a guest appearance. The veteran politician got wild applause for calls for continued resistance to the US president’s continued attacks on democracy, Canada’s sovereignty, and inclusive values. Holding the event at the...
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Manitoba premier touts increased trade with Europe, possible second Hudson Bay port
By Steve Lambert Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew expressed an openness Tuesday to a potential second port on Hudson Bay as a tool to help ramp up trade with Europe amid trade disputes with the United States. It was the clearest sign to date that Kinew’s NDP government, elected in 2023, is ready to consider a long-term project to add shipping capacity away from the existing Port of Churchill, where the shipping season is limited to summer and the local economy depends on ecological tourism. “I would say post-Trump, we’re open to that and to all options, and that a balancing consideration between growing our economy by accessing tidewater in Manitoba while protecting our environment — belugas, polar bears — is super important to get right.” Kinew told reporters following a...
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