Manitoba shelter support worker program grads seek to make difference in lives of province’s most vulnerable
By Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press Pauline Pollard didn’t hesitate when asked what advice she would give her teenage self, a pregnant young mother of one in an abusive relationship. “Leave sooner,” she said, citing everything she’s learned over the last 25 years, including at Red River College Polytechnic’s shelter support worker program. The 43-year-old said she has “a lot of compassion” for women of all ages who find themselves stuck in unsafe situations. It’s far easier in retrospect to see the warning signs, noting that in her case, an ex-boyfriend started confiscating her clothes and makeup before his controlling behaviour escalated to physical violence. “I know my heart is in support work now. Support work doesn’t feel like work. (Listening to others) is not working....
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Labrador town demands help before it will back N.L.-Quebec energy pact
A Labrador town that could be transformed by new developments proposed in Newfoundland and Labrador’s tentative energy agreement with Quebec says it needs help before it can support the plan. Happy Valley-Goose Bay is a hub community of about 8,000 people near the mouth of the Churchill River in central Labrador. It needs critical infrastructure before it can absorb a large number of workers arriving to build the large construction projects considered in the provinces’ energy proposal, the town council said in a news release Tuesday. “We’re going to feel the brunt of these projects,” said Mayor Bert Pomeroy in an interview. “We need the resources to be able to deal with the impacts.” The premiers of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador released details of the proposed energy deal between...
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‘Ribeye of the sky’: the hunt for a once-threatened bird reopens in Ontario
By Leah Borts-Kuperman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Narwhal Starting next month, Ontario hunters will have a shot at sandhill cranes — for the first time in a century. The long-legged, grey birds with a nearly two-metre wingspan are widespread across Ontario from the Great Lakes as far north as southern James Bay — nesting in wetlands and swampy areas after migrating up from the southern United States and Mexico in the spring. Mark Peck recalls waking up at 4 a.m. to see thousands of sandhill cranes fly over the banks of the Platte River in Nebraska, where 80 per cent of the species migrate to rest and eat before flying back south for the winter. Like Peck, many of them travel from Canada, while others make the journey from...
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Iroquois Lodge Residents Make Move to Brantford Fox Ridge Facility
By Alex Murray Writer After months-long delays, the residents of Iroquois Lodge finally made the move from a long-term care facility in Delhi to the Fox Ridge facility in Brantford on August 18, Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) announced. For over a year, Iroquois Lodge residents had been staying in Delhi because of damage sustained by the Lodge during the June 2025 community flood. While Delhi is a 40-minute drive southwest of Six Nations, the Foxridge facility at 389 West Street brings the Iroquois Lodge residents much closer to home in nearby Brantford. “Fox Ridge will provide a safe and welcoming space for the residents while we progress with the new Iroquois Lodge build in Ohsweken,” SNEC said in a statement. The residents were set to move to Foxridge as...
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Wildfire season tracking to be 4th worst on record; fire risk remains elevated
By Nick Murray Canada is on track for its fourth worst wildfire season on record. At a regular fire briefing in Ottawa Tuesday, federal forecasters said September’s fire risk stands to be well above seasonal averages across northern British Columbia., northern Quebec and most of Labrador. So far this year, wildfires have burned more than 40,000 square kilometres — an area almost the size of Nova Scotia — marking the first time in history that forest has burned for four years in a row in Canada. A wildfire destroyed around 150 homes, barns and other buildings in the south Okanagan region in B.C. earlier this month. In July, a fire also destroyed much of Namaygoosisagagun, also known as Collins First Nation, 250 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. That fire merged...
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Whitesand First Nation plans phased return for wildfire evacuees
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SNnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY — Hundreds of Whitesand First Nation members will begin returning to their homes on Thursday, more than a month after evacuating. The First Nation and neighbouring Armstrong evacuated to Thunder Bay on July 13-14 as the fire labelled Thunder Bay 36 — the largest forest fire in Ontario history — threatened their communities. Whitesand members, numbering around 470, have been staying primarily at the Superior Inn on Arthur Street. Darian Baskatawang, a spokesperson for Whitesand, said Tuesday in an interview at the hotel that the July 13 evacuation order “will be rescinded on Thursday, Aug. 20, at 9 a.m.” so that “community members of Whitesand and Armstrong can go home, finally after all this time.” Baskatawang said the First Nation...
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Medicine Hat police expand body camera program to 86 units
By Brook Wagner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Medicine Hat News The Medicine Hat Police Service has more than tripled the number of body worn cameras it uses, raising the total from 26 to 86. The service said the expansion meets an Alberta government rule that requires all frontline officers to wear the cameras. It also said the change is meant to improve transparency, accountability and public trust. “Body-worn cameras are an important tool that supports both the public and our officers,” said Sgt. Sean McGuigan, the service’s body-worn camera co-ordinator. “By expanding our program, we are strengthening our ability to accurately document interactions, enhance accountability and continue building confidence in the work our members do every day.” Alberta announced the mandate in March 2023. It was the first province in...
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Edmonton Public School Board honours Indigenous graduates
By Regan Treewater, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News A high school graduation is a truly magical time, full of hope, inspiration, and forward-gazing dreams. Even the most cynical of young people cannot deny the intoxicating atmosphere of endless possibilities. Achieving this milestone might not be as cheesy as depicted in classic teen-movies, but this really is a moment in life that signifies so much more than just completing high school; it is a right of passage. Edmonton Public Schools has begun an annual tribute to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis graduates. Clarice Anderson, EPSB’s Supervisor of Curriculum and Learning Supports, told Alberta Native News that this initiative, which showcases a work of art dedicated to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis graduates, not only celebrates their accomplishments but supports...
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ACFN chief joins B.C. First Nations to oppose new pipeline
By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News – The chief of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation is backing the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs’ call for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to “immediately halt” plans for a new oil pipeline to the West Coast. “If the B.C. chiefs say no, I respect what the B.C. chiefs want,” Athabasca Chipewyan Chief Allan Adam told Alberta Native News. In July, Carney and Smith signed an agreement that committed the federal government to fast-tracking a new one-million barrel a day tar sands pipeline to B.C.’s southern coast, following a similar route to the existing Trans Mountain pipeline. “This proposal threatens both the inherent rights of First Nations and accelerates the expansion of the fossil fuel industry...
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Man who threw trailer hitch at Indigenous woman granted full parole: Indigenous group
An organization representing dozens of northern Ontario First Nations says a man who threw a trailer hitch at an Indigenous woman from a moving car in Thunder Bay, Ont., has been granted full parole, a decision it calls “incomprehensible.” Nishnawbe Aski Nation says the Parole Board of Canada’s decision to approve Brayden Bushby’s release comes as “devastating news” for the family of Barbara Kentner, the woman who died months after he struck her with a heavy hitch late one night in January 2017. It says the communities of Wabigoon Lake Ojibway First Nation and Thunder Bay are also devastated. Kentner, 34, was walking on a residential city street with her sister when Bushby, who was drunk at the time and wanted to yell at “hookers,” lifted himself through the car...
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‘We’re Mi’kmaq first’: two-spirit identity supported by L’Nu communities
By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post The co-founder of the Wabanaki Two-Spirit Alliance, an organization that helps build support and awareness of two-spirits in Mi’kma’ki and Canada, wants to share what he has learned about two-spirits with others. Along with his friend, Indigenous lawyer Tuma Young, the alliance was formed around 2009 as a collective of two-spirit, Indigiqueer, LGBTQIA+ kin, elders, knowledge carriers, youth and allies from Wabanaki territory and across Turtle Island. In 2022, Young was formally presented with the 2022 Canadian Bar Association and the Sexual Orientation Gender Identity Committee National Hero award for his work in promoting two-spirit and LGBTQIA+ Equality. The Wabanaki Two-Spirit Alliance advocates for and celebrates 2SLGBTQIA+ communities through relationship building, 2S-led research, and community-led initiatives. Wabanaki means “people of...
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Six Nations signs MOU with Brantford over development of Brantford Boundary lands
City of Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis and Six Nations of the Grand River Elected Chief Sherri-Lyn Hill sign Memorandum of Understanding. (Supplied Photo) BRANTFORD, ON – Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Brantford that outlines what they are calling a “framework for collaboration and shared prosperity in the future development” of over 7,000 acres of land known as the Brantford Boundary lands. Lands Six Nations “has an interest in.” The 7,563 acres were previously Brant County lands transferred to Brantford in 2016 for future city, residential, employment and economic growth and fall within Six Nations land rights areas. While no dollar figures have been discussed the MOU establishes a “Six Nations Community Prosperity Fund.” No details about the fund were provided...
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Conversations on Indigenous issues should be deeper by now, but myths and stereotypes persist
By Shari Narine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com The second edition of Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis & Inuit Issues in Canada will be released in September, marking the 10th anniversary of the original volume. Author Chelsea Vowel admits that on the strength of the five years of “difficult conversations” that followed the 2015 final report issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on Indian residential schools, she “probably naively” hoped that settler and newcomer knowledge about Indigenous peoples would be further along than it is. The first edition of Indigenous Writes followed a year after the TRC’s final report. “It quickly became apparent that political will runs everything and however much work you put into that educational push, (it) can be undone,” said Vowel, who...
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Rama First Nation poised to put the ‘wow’ into powwow
By Danielle Pitman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, OrilliaMatters.com An inclusive celebration of culture and community takes place in Rama this weekend. Now in its 41st year, the Chippewas of Rama First Nation annual powwow has gained renown throughout the province over the decades. Taking place at the John Snake Memorial Community Grounds, thousands of visitors are expected and more than 100 food, arts and crafts vendors will descend on the First Nation over the upcoming weekend. The memorial grounds are named after John Snake, who died in 2014 at the age of 52. For 11 years he served as Rama’s cultural coordinator. A patient teacher, Snake was a respected storyteller and singer. A craftsman, he passed First Nation language and culture on to younger generations through drum making and playing....
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Parti Québécois says it won’t hold referendum on sovereignty while Trump is president
By Erika Morris If elected to form a government, the Parti Québécois says it would not call a referendum on sovereignty until at least 2029. PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon announced the news on Tuesday morning as Quebec political parties gear up for an election campaign that is expected to begin before the end of August. In a statement posted on social media, St-Pierre Plamondon said that a PQ government would not put the sovereignty question to a vote as long as U.S. President Donald Trump is in the White House. But he stressed that his party still plans to call a referendum on whether Quebec should separate from Canada in its first mandate. St-Pierre Plamondon said an issue as crucial as the future of Quebec requires a clear and...
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Highway 54 and Chiefswood Road re-opens
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER-Chiefswood Road has re-opened after a short shut down just south of Highway 54 around noon on Tuesday afternoon due to a traffic accident. The Six Nations Fire (SNF) department told Turtle Island News that the collision was a fender bender. Several SNF and Six Nations Police (SNP) vehicles were on the scene as well as an ambulance. Vehicles travelling north on Chiefswood Road towards Highway 54 were being turned back at the intersection. The closest bridges across the Grand River that provided alternate access to Highway 54 are the Cockshutt Bridge in the west near Brantford and Highway 6 at the other end of the Six Nations reserve to the east. (Photo by Alex Murray )...
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Parry Sound school to be named after war hero Francis Pegahmagabow
By David Briggs, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, BayToday.ca The Near North District School Board (NNDSB) will name its new elementary school in Parry Sound after Francis Pegahmagabow, a highly decorated Anishinaabe soldier of the First World War, Chief of Wasauksing First Nation, community leader, and advocate for Indigenous rights. The Francis Pegahmagabow Elementary School will serve Kindergarten to Grade 6 students, with plans to open for this fall’s semester. A ceremony will take place later this fall to celebrate the school’s name and the enduring legacy of Francis Pegahmagabow. “Francis Pegahmagabow remains an important and respected figure within Wasauksing First Nation and beyond,” said Chief Shane Tabobondung of Wasauksing First Nation in a release. “We are grateful to the Pegahmagabow family for their blessing and permission to share his name...
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Rivermen qualify for Presidents Cup by capturing OSL title
By Sam Laskaris Writer The Six Nations Rivermen will be heading west in the hopes of adding to their 2026 accomplishments. The Rivermen captured the Ontario Series Lacrosse (OSL) title on Monday night thanks to a 7-4 victory over the visiting Brooklin Merchants at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. The match was the fifth and decisive game in the best-of-five OSL championship series. Monday’s contest was tied 4-4 in the third period. But the Merchants scored three unanswered goals to emerge victorious and earn a shot at future glory. With the win the local Senior B club qualified for this year’s President Cup tournament. The national tourney, which will be held in Edmonton, will begin on Aug. 30. Eight squads will participate in this year’s Canadian championship, which is often simply...
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Inaugural reconciliation report finds progress, warns structural barriers remain
By Aaron Walker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com Canada entered its most active period of federal reconciliation work since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) issued its 94 Calls to Action 11 years ago, reads the inaugural report from the National Council for Reconciliation (NCR). But the country’s first legislated independent assessment on Canada’s reconciliation progress warns that the increased activity has yet to produce fundamental structural change. The report, issued July 20, finds efforts have been made in rights-based legislation, child welfare discrimination settlements, increased investment and expanded distinctions-based partnerships, but persistent barriers continue to affect First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Those barriers include continued short-term program funding, fragmented government responsibilities, gaps in data and measurement, engagement fatigue and rising residential school denialism. “We’ve had federal activity that’s...
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Yellowknives, Tlicho agree on route for Arctic Economic and Security Corridor
By Kody Ferron, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yellowknifer The Tlicho Government and Yellowknives Dene First Nation have reached an agreement regarding the potential routing of the Arctic Economic and Security Corridor. The AESC is a proposed all-season road that will stretch across the NWT’s Slave Geological Province, connecting the territory to the Nunavut border and the Grays Bay Road and Port. The proposed corridor is roughly 400 km long. Prime Minister Mark Carney travelled to Yellowknife in March to announce that he would be referring the project to Canada’s Major Projects Office. An Aug. 12 joint news release from the Tlicho Government (TG) and Yellowknives Dene First Nation (YKDFN) states that the corridor will be an Indigenous project, co-led by the TG and YKDFN, in partnership with the GNWT. Federal...
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