California’s Yurok Tribe gets back ancestral lands that were taken over 120 years ago
By Dorany Pineda, Terry Chea And Godofredo Vasquez ON THE KLAMATH RIVER, Calif. (AP) — As a youngster, Barry McCovey Jr. would sneak through metal gates and hide from security guards just to catch a steelhead trout in Blue Creek amid northwestern California redwoods. Since time immemorial, his ancestors from the Yurok Tribe had fished, hunted and gathered in this watershed flanked by coastal forests. But for more than 100 years, these lands were owned and managed by timber companies, severing the tribe’s access to its homelands. When McCovey started working as a fisheries technician, the company would let him go there to do his job. “Snorkeling Blue Creek … I felt the significance of that place to myself and to our people, and I knew then that we had...
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Life is Sacred: Ruby Littlechild’s understanding of being good to one another
By Laura Mushumanski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News Any tree that is firmly rooted into Mother Earth is nutrient dense because of the soil, which is the foundation that gives a tree its beauty and wonder. A tree is often looked at in awe of how this creation continues to gift life to all those that live upon Mother Earth. Some trees are deformed, or have different shades than others, or come from a faraway place and are not like the trees we are used to seeing. A tree is never shamed or blamed for its short comings or put in harm’s way based on its differences. And yet human behaviours, thoughts, and feelings towards the differences amongst our relatives’ rich in diverse understandings are usually rooted in...
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North Carolina governor forms council to recommend cannabis regulations
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein says a panel he’s tasked with recommending cannabis sale regulations — including potential legalization of adult use of marijuana — should aim to provide a structure in a state where products now from otherwise lawful hemp are unregulated and leave young people unprotected. The Democratic governor signed an executive order this week creating a State Advisory Council on Cannabis. North Carolina is among a small number of states whose laws prohibit marijuana for both medicinal use or adult recreational use. The General Assembly would have to enact any law legalizing marijuana. The council’s findings could add pressure upon lawmakers to place regulations on products, many of which can be obtained at vape and convenience stores. The order directs the 24-member council...
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B.C. First Nation builds small island, fisheries officials check for habitat damage
By Wolfgang Depner A British Columbia First Nation has built up a small artificial island in the tidal shallows of Coles Bay off Vancouver Island, triggering an investigation by fisheries officials into whether it involved habitat destruction and if authorization should have been required. Two yellow excavators could be seen at work last week in the bay, heaping up stones and gravel on top of an existing rock outcrop, in a project the Department of Fisheries and Ocean said was linked to a “clam garden.” Nearby resident Richard Smith said he watched dump trucks carry loads of rock to the shore, where the excavators hauled it into the bay, also building a temporary land bridge during the construction process. He said the rock outcrop was previously visible at low tide,...
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Blue Jean Jacket Day takes root in Cape Breton
By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post An initiative to honour the lives and memory of missing, murdered and exploited Indigenous men and boys (MMEIMB) is being commemorated country-wide on June 6 after being created in Alberta in 2023. First Nation communities all across Cape Breton are finding ways to honour men and boys by wearing blue jean jackets on Friday. This is the first time Blue Jean Jacket Day is being recognized in this area. In only two years, the desire to acknowledge the murdered and missing and educate the public about the epidemic of violence against Indigenous men and boys has spread quickly from the west to the East Coast. Indigenous men are four times more likely to die by homicide than an Indigenous woman...
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The Latest: Tesla shares fall after Trump lashes out at Musk
President Donald Trump said it might be better to let Ukraine and Russia “fight for a while” before pulling them apart and pursuing peace. In an Oval Office meeting Thursday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump likened the war in Ukraine — which Russia invaded in early 2022 — to a fight between two young children who hated each other. Later, Trump threatened to cut Elon Musk’s government contracts as their fractured alliance rapidly escalated into a public feud. Hours after Trump said he was “disappointed” in his former backer and adviser, Musk responded on social media, and Trump escalated the feud by threatening to use the U.S. government to hurt Musk’s bottom line. Here’s the latest: Harvard files legal challenge over Trump’s ban on US entry for incoming foreign...
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New York won’t rescind Native American mascot ban despite Trump’s threat of cutting federal funds
By Philip Marcelo NEW YORK (AP) — New York education officials won’t rescind the state’s ban on Native American mascots and team names, despite threats from the Trump administration that it risks losing federal funding. Instead, New York officials suggested in a letter to the U.S. Department of Education on Thursday that they could broaden the state ban to include names and mascots derived from other racial or ethnic groups that the department deems offensive. The federal agency last week determined New York violated Title VI of the federal civil rights law by issuing a statewide ban on the use of Native American mascots and logos. The department’s civil rights office found the state ban is discriminatory because names and mascots that are still permitted are also derived from other...
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Manitoba residents fleeing scorching wildfires take refuge in Niagara Falls, Ont.
By Sharif Hassan Some Manitoba residents who have taken refuge in Niagara Falls, Ont., after fleeing wildfires raging in their province say they’re grateful for the hospitality but worry they won’t have a home to return to once the flames die down. Kelly Ouskun says he saw so much fire and smoke along the highway on the drive from his family’s home in Split Lake to Thompson, about 145 kilometres away, that he felt “nauseated” and his eyes hurt. The family flew to Niagara Falls from there and he says they’ve now settled in at one of the five downtown hotels taking in evacuees, while hanging on to hope that what he’s heard about his home — that it’s still standing and intact — is true. More than 18,000 people...
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Ontario Fire Marshall investigating fire that claims life of Six Nations woman
The Ontario Fire Marshall is investigating after fire broke out in a trailer that claimed the life of a Six Nations woman. (Photo by Jim C. Powless) By Tara Lindemann Writer SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER- SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER- The Ontario Fire Marshall and Six Nations Police are investigating a house trailer fire on River Range Road that has claimed the life of a 68-year-old woman. Six Nations Police received a call at 1:03 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4., and Six Nations Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and police were on scene at 3493 River Range Road.within minutes, blocking the road. A 68-year-old woman, who lived in the house trailer, was prounced deceased at the scene. Police have not released the identity of the deceased....
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Brantford police arrest man with loaded firearm at city skate park
BRANTFORD, ONT- A Toronto man is facing a series of firearm related charges after a disturbance at an Icomm Drive skate park Tuesday June 3, 2025. Brantford Police arrested a 25-year-old Toronto man after a disturbance was reported involving a loaded, restricted firearm at about 9:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 3, 2025. No injuries were reported as a result of the disturbance. Police said the man refused to identify himself to police. An investigation determined the man was also wanted by a neighbouring police jurisdiction and was in violation of a number of judicial prohibition orders. As a result, a 25-year-old man from Toronto was arrested at the scene, and stands charged with the following: Unauthorized possession of firearm Knowledge of unauthorized possession of a firearm Possession of a weapon for...
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Province commits $1.8M to study Nunavik’s landslides
By Cedric Gallant, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News The Quebec government is spending $1.85 million to research landslides in Nunavik. The Ministry of Public Security committed $1.15 million to Laval University to launch a research project studying the phenomenon in the region’s clay soils, the ministry announced May 30. Work will involve the mapping and characterization of deposits untouched by water but which still present risk of landslide, and compiling an inventory of large landslides that have occurred in Nunavik. “The results of this project will deepen our understanding of the geological and climatic conditions that control landslide initiation in cold regions such as Nunavik,” Laval University professor Patrick Lajeunesse said in the French-language release. The study “will play an essential role in strengthening the resilience of northern communities...
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‘Watershed moment’: Provincial unions are coming together to support northern First Nations protesting Bill 5
By Jon Thompson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ricochet As Ontario is expected to pass its controversial Bill 5 through its third and final reading on Wednesday, representatives of organized labour say their fight is only beginning. Members of the Ontario Federation of Labour intend to fill the gallery at 1:30 when the government is expected to pass the Protect Ontario By Unleashing Our Economy Act , a proposal First Nations leaders say will trample their treaty rights to free, prior, and informed consent on major project development. “I think this is a watershed moment where people will recognize who is fighting for workers and Indigenous peoples: it was us. We are the heroes we’ve been waiting for,” says OFL president Laura Walton. “And it’s time we actually embrace that and...
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B.C. First Nation builds small island, fisheries officials check for habitat damage
By Wolfgang Depner A British Columbia First Nation has built up a small artificial island in the tidal shallows of Coles Bay off Vancouver Island, triggering an investigation by fisheries officials into whether it involved habitat destruction and if authorization should have been required. Two yellow excavators could be seen at work last week in the bay, heaping up stones and gravel on top of an existing rock outcrop, in a project the Department of Fisheries and Ocean said was linked to a “clam garden.” Nearby resident Richard Smith said he watched dump trucks carry loads of rock to the shore, where the excavators hauled it into the bay, also building a temporary land bridge during the construction process. He said the rock outcrop was previously visible at low tide,...
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New Zealand Parliament suspends 3 Māori Party lawmakers for haka protest
By Charlotte Graham-Mclay WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand legislators voted Thursday to enact record suspensions from Parliament for three lawmakers who performed a Māori haka to protest a proposed law. Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke received a seven-day ban and the leaders of her political party, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, were barred for 21 days. Three days had been the longest ban for a lawmaker from New Zealand’s Parliament before. The lawmakers from Te Pāti Māori, the Māori Party, performed the haka, a chanting dance of challenge, in November to oppose a widely unpopular bill, now defeated, that they said would reverse Indigenous rights. The protest drew global headlines and provoked months of fraught debate among lawmakers about what the consequences for the lawmakers’ actions should be and the place...
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Inuvik Works to receive $300K in next four years
By Aastha Sethi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cabin Radio Inuvik Works is set to receive $75,000 annually over the next four years through a contribution from a national non-profit. The Canadian Women’s Foundation has allocated the cash through its Northern Women and Girls grant. Inuvik Works, designed to help residents re-enter the workforce, had been inactive for some time before councillors voted last November to revive it. Part of that project involved restarting the Next to New thrift store. Earlier this year, the town secured $28,375 from the Northwest Territories’ Department of Education, Culture and Employment for the program’s launch. Patricia Davison, interim manager of the program, said the GNWT has since provided additional backing of just over $20,000 through its Waste Reduction and Recovery Program. While the contribution agreement...
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Fraser apologizes, says comments on Indigenous consultation eroded trust
By Alessia Passafiume Justice Minister Sean Fraser apologized Wednesday for comments he made about the government’s duty to consult with Indigenous leaders on major projects. Fraser said Tuesday that the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples requires consultation but does not amount to “a blanket veto power” over projects. Similar language asserting UNDRIP does not convey a veto is used in federal government documents about the declaration. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Fraser said Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak called him Tuesday night to express her frustration with his comments, and he apologized. “Despite innocent intentions, I think my comments actually caused hurt and potentially eroded a very precarious trust that has been built up over many years to respect the rights of Indigenous people...
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Canmore resident hoping to launch Indigenous Centres of Excellence across Canada
By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative, Rocky Mountain Outlook CANMORE – Tim Carwell has been spearheading his social enterprise called DreamsTree Community Investments for several years. And Carwell, a Canmore resident and member of Beaver First Nation in Alberta, is now looking to expand upon his venture by creating Indigenous Centres of Excellence across the country. Carwell created his social enterprise three years ago, in honour of his late mother Janette, who was part of the Sixties Scoop. The scoop saw the widespread removal of Indigenous children, taken from their families and communities and adopted by non-Indigenous families. Carwell’s mother died in 2024. Carwell, 56, created Dreams Tree Community Investments through The CommAlert Group and is the CEO of the company that provides emergency communication services. “My mom had been...
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Environment Canada says Canadian wildfire smoke now floating in parts of U.S.
By Fakiha Baig Swaths of smoke from wildfires torching buildings and forcing thousands of people from their homes in Western Canada have travelled as far as Newfoundland and Labrador in the east and Texas in the south. Those in the north and heavily populated southern areas of Manitoba and Saskatchewan are feeling it the worst because that’s where a majority of Canada’s wildfires are burning, said Natalie Hasell of Environment Canada in an interview Wednesday. “Right in the vicinity of the fires, the air quality is going to be particularly bad,” Hasell said. “It’s really important for people to…pay attention to how you’re feeling and how other people around you are feeling.” Hasell said wildfires in Ontario and Quebec may also be the cause of smoky air in Michigan and...
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Mixed narrative found in review of Cariboo Chilcotin School District
By Andie Mollins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Williams Lake Tribune An external review of School District 27’s (SD 27) climate and culture has revealed a mixed narrative around school safety measures within the Cariboo Chilcotin school district. The review, ordered by the Ministry of Education and Child Care (MECC) and conducted by Safer Schools Together (SST), explored the day-to-day experience in schools across SD 27 in response to questions of safety and inclusivity. “It’s a big move forward moment for us,” said Cheryl Lenardon, superintendent of SD 27, following the publication of an executive summary on the report in May. The 171-page report is currently being analyzed and redacted for privacy by ministry staff. Over 2,575 community members took part in the review which began by holding meetings with...
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James Smith Cree First Nation opens doors to evacuees
JAMES SMITH CREE NATION — The James Smith Cree Nation has opened its community to evacuees fleeing the northern fires. In a statement on the James Smith Cree Nation’s Office of the Chief social media account, it said, “Two busloads of evacuees from the northern wildfires have arrived in our community. Many had to leave their homes with little to no notice—some with only the clothes on their backs. Over the next few days, we will ensure their needs are met and that they experience the warmth, care and hospitality that James Smith Cree Nation is known for.” James Smith Cree Nation is asking for donations to help the evacuees. Items that are most needed include: Towels Brushes/hair accessories Socks Underwear Diapers Diaper cream Blankets Feminine hygiene products Laundry soap...
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