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UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY – Where I Come From – Omushkegowuk Aski
By Xavier Kataquapit www.underthenorthernsky.com Attawapiskat First Nation is my home community, and it was where I was born and raised with my family. When I think about where I grew up, I feel like I came from some different country or part of the world that is not part of Canada at all. It was so different to everything I later learned about that was outside my home community. My first language is Inineemoon, or as its known in the English language as ‘Cree’. We never referred to ourselves as ‘Cree’. That was a descriptor that was applied to us by European cultures. We knew ourselves and our people as Ininew, our word for ‘people’ and our language as ‘Inineemoon’, which translates as ‘language of the people’. The language that...
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Rivermen to kick off preparations for 2025 season with dryland training
By Sam Laskaris Writer Plenty of behind-the-scenes work has been occurring for the last several months. But the Six Nations Rivermen, the local Senior B men’s lacrosse squad, will officially kick off preparations for the upcoming season next week. The first of four dryland training sessions will be held at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena (ILA) on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Additional dryland sessions will be held at the ILA on Mar. 4, Mar. 18 and Mar. 25. Dates for on-floor workouts have yet to be officially announced. But they are expected to commence in mid-March. Jay Smith, who is sharing the Rivermen general manager duties this year with Jeff Powless, said there is a tremendous amount of interest from players who are keen to suit up for the squad this season....
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Thunderbirds on hot streak following slow start to their NLL season
By Sam Laskaris Writer Several Six Nations members are contributing to the recent successful fortunes of the Halifax Thunderbirds. The National Lacrosse League (NLL) franchise had a rather slow start to its 2024-25 campaign as it lost its first three regular season matches. But the Thunderbirds are on a roll now. Thanks to a 13-10 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Wings on Saturday, the Halifax club has now won five of its past six matches. As a result, the Thunderbirds are now sporting a 5-4 record and have worked themselves back into the league’s playoff conversation. The top eight finishers in the 14-team league will advance to post-season action. The Halifax club reached the midway point of its 18-game regular season schedule on Saturday. With their 10 points, the Thunderbirds...
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Local entrants included in record-breaking Little NHL tournament
By Sam Laskaris Writer Six Nations is once again expected to be well represented at this year’s Little Native Hockey League tournament. The event, which has become Ontario’s largest Indigenous youth hockey tourney, is quite often simply referred to as the Little NHL. This year’s event, which will be primarily staged in Markham, will have its opening ceremonies on Mar. 9. Tournament action will then be held from Mar. 10-13. It was announced last month that a record number of 276 clubs had registered to compete in this year’s tournament. Chico Ralf, the president of the Little NHL, said he believes at least 20 of those squads are from Six Nations. Ralf is not surprised to see that many local entrants. “They are from the largest First Nation in Canada,”...
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Itiqtitsijut: Hockey Night in Canada in Inuktitut to debut on APTN
By Brittany Hobson Hockey was a regular part of life for Robert Kabvitok growing up in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. In his youth, he’d travel by all-terrain snow vehicle to tournaments and watch televised games at home with his father. As an adult, he’d referee the hamlet’s senior men’s league. With a vast knowledge of Canada’s favourite pastime, Kabvitok is to be one of the first Inuit to provide live game coverage in Inuktitut as part of a partnership between APTN and Sportsnet’s “Hockey Night in Canada.” “The excitement is already around,” Kabvitok said. “(Inuit) love hockey in Nunavut. Us helping understand the game in Inuktitut and colour commentating is really going to help elders from here or even the youth who want to learn our language.” “Hockey Night in Canada...
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Ottawa provides $1.5M for sports initiatives across Nunavik and Nunavut
By Cedric Gallant, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News The federal government has announced $1.5 million to fund nine sports-related initiatives in Nunavut and Nunavik. The money is part of $24.2 million distributed between 119 Indigenous-led projects across the country, the Department of Canadian Heritage announced Feb. 7 in a news release. It comes from the department’s Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities program. The Government of Nunavut will receive more than $800,000 for its Nunavut Youth Ambassador Program, which sends volunteers to the Canada and Arctic Winter Games. Approximately $157,000 is earmarked for the City of Iqaluit for the Qaumaniq Summer Day Camp, which engages youths in Inuit cultural traditions, environmental stewardship and creative expression. Recreation and Parks Association Nunavut is set to receive $115,000 for its youth...
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A look at the life of a career public servant
By Kira Wronska Dorward, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Born in Naujaat in 1950, Jack Anawak can recall when Inuit were still in the hunting and gathering stage of our life. There were no houses, he said – just the church and Hudson’s Bay Company, which only sold supplies to the then-community of 200. “Everyone else who was in Naujaat were in igloo sod-huts or tents in the summertime,” he said. “They only survived by hunting and so we were like that until the (federal) government came along in 1963 and built what were called ‘matchboxes’.” Those matchboxes, as Anawak describes them, measured 16 ft. x 24 ft. “That was the first time that Inuit in Naujaat moved into houses,” he said. “Most of the people at the time...
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Prince George woman up for sentencing in child pornography case
By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince George Citizen A provincial court judge in Prince George reserved decision Thursday, Feb. 13 on sentencing a woman who pleaded guilty to child pornography and sexual crimes. The Crown prosecutor said B.A. 36, should be sentenced to eight to 10 years in jail, while her defence lawyer said she should serve the sentence in the community for two years and be placed on probation for three years. Due to an existing publication ban to protect the identity of the victim and the Crown’s pending application to the court to anonymize the guilty person, The Citizen has chosen to use only her initials. B.A. pleaded guilty in November 2023 to possession of child pornography, making or publishing child pornography, importing/distributing child pornography, sexual...
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Leak of containment pond at site of Yukon mine disaster impacting creek: officials
By Ashley Joannou -CP-Officials in Yukon say they believe about 19 million litres of cyanide-contaminated water leaked from a containment pond at the site of a mining disaster last year before the problem was spotted and the water diluted. Erin Dowd, director of technical services for the Mines Ministry, told a technical briefing Tuesday that there is no timeline for when the pond at the Eagle Gold mine site north of Whitehorse could be repaired. She said crews on the ground have to wait for the pond to be drained and ice removed before any repairs can happen, and in the meantime the receiver in charge of managing the site has begun constructing an interception system in the area to collect groundwater, should that be necessary. “There’s a strong incentive...
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Judge rules RCMP remarks racist, but B.C. pipeline protesters’ convictions will stand
By Darryl Greer -CP-A B.C. Supreme Court judge has found members of the RCMP made “grossly offensive, racist and dehumanizing” remarks about Indigenous women who were arrested in 2021 during a blockade of Coastal GasLink pipeline construction. Justice Michael Tammen said in a ruling delivered in Smithers, B.C., on Tuesday that his findings of state misconduct don’t warrant a stay of proceedings against the women, but they and another protester will get a reduction in their sentences for criminal contempt as an “appropriate” remedy. Tammen said audio recordings captured police laughing and comparing the women protesters to “orcs,” monstrous characters from “The Lord of the Rings.” He said the racist comments breached the Charter rights of Wet’suwet’en hereditary Chief Sleydo’ Molly Wickham and Shaylynn Sampson who were arrested by the...
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Manhunt continues for suspect in First Nation stabbings in Saskatchewan
-CP-RCMP say they’ve laid charges but have not found a man they believe stabbed people at three different homes on a northern Saskatchewan First Nation. Mounties say Ryan Lachance faces aggravated assault, robbery and other charges in the stabbings last week on Big River First Nation. They say officers continue to search for the 29-year-old, believed to be driving a stolen black Kia Optima with Saskatchewan licence plate 649 NPP. Mounties say his whereabouts are unknown and he is considered armed and dangerous. Aggravated assault charges have also been laid against 25-year-old Jacky Lachance, who was stabbed in the third home but is now a suspect in the first two stabbings. He was arrested upon release from hospital and has made his first court appearance. This report by The Canadian...
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Inuit call on PM to step in as child funding program approaches March end date
By Nick Murray -CP-The head of Canada’s national Inuit organization is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step in to save a program that helps fund services for Inuit kids. In a letter sent to Trudeau last week, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed called on the prime minister to “clearly signal” his “government’s commitment” to continue funding for the Inuit Child First Initiative (ICFI), which is set to end on March 31. “We are alarmed by the growing likelihood of an abrupt curtailing of funding for the program and the consequences this will have for our families and communities,” Obed wrote on Feb. 12. “lf program funding is not renewed, many families will again be left vulnerable to the systemic racial discrimination that characterizes health and education service...
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Not planning to wrest control of land, just to ensure it’s protected: CPAWS
By Dave Baxter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A Manitoba First Nation chief wants to “set the record straight,” as concerns mount over a plan that would see more land environmentally protected in Manitoba and he’s also accusing the Manitoba Wildlife Federation (MWF) of spreading “misinformation” about the plan. “We have been clear from the beginning: this is not about restricting access,” Fisher River Cree Nation (FRCN) Chief David Crate said in a letter that was sent to The Winnipeg Sun. “Our intent has always been to work with our neighbours, including hunters, anglers, farmers, and cottagers, to determine the best way to sustain this region for the benefit of all.” The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) has been hosting engagement sessions in several communities in the Interlake recently, as...
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Native American activist released from prison will be welcomed to North Dakota home
BELCOURT, N.D. (AP) — Supporters of Native American activist Leonard Peltier plan to welcome him back to his North Dakota community on Wednesday, a day after his release from a Florida prison where he had been serving a life sentence in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents. Peltier, 80, is expected to join family and supporters at an events center in Belcourt, a small town just south of the Canadian border on the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians’ reservation. “We’re so excited for this moment,” Jenipher Jones, one of Peltier’s attorneys said soon before his release. “He is in good spirits. He has the soul of a warrior.” Then-President Joe Biden commuted Peltier’s life sentence to home confinement, leading to his release Tuesday from the Coleman penitentiary. Peltier...
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Keeping up in a fast-paced world
By Darrell Greer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Kivalliq News IQALUIT-It’s easy for an Elder to be left behind in today’s fast-paced world. Paul Kaludjak, 70, of Rankin Inlet, who now resides in Iqaluit, said he may be an Elder, but he’s still learning. The former president of both the Kivalliq Inuit Association and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. said you’re always learning on new technology and you have to take the time to try and understand it. “Today’s society with its almost constant new technology challenges the Elders more,” said Kaludjak. “One of the challenges with technology up here in Nunavut for Elders is more of a language barrier than anything else. “That can be hard for a lot of Elders. That’s why they don’t even try.” Kaludjak said respect for Elders...
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CAF discrimination settlement was ‘a slap in the face,’ says former soldie
By Catherine Morrison -CP-A former member of the Canadian Armed Forces who has been involved in a discrimination class action for eight years says the settlement isn’t enough to compensate for the trauma he and others experienced. The class action was launched on behalf of current and former members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who suffered racial discrimination or harassment in connection with their military service at any time since April 17, 1985. The settlement is worth up to $150 million, and individual payments will range from a base of $5,000 up to $35,000 for class action members who provide a “narrative of their experience.” Documents filed with the Federal Court in June 2024 suggest about 45,000 people could be eligible for the settlement. The claims period is expected...
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Haida celebrate title agreement, Trudeau emotional at ceremony
By Brenna Owen -CP-With tears streaming down his face, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a gathering of Haida Nation leaders and community members that he couldn’t think of a better place to make one of his final trips as Canada’s leader. Federal and Haida leaders signed a historic agreement Monday recognizing Aboriginal title over the archipelago of Haida Gwaii off British Columbia’s northern coast. “Haida Gwaii belongs to you, the Haida people,” Trudeau said, as the crowd cheered, clapped and rose to its feet. “This is only the beginning of a new chapter,” he said, between the Haida Nation and the Canadian government. Gaagwiis Jason Alsop, president of the Council of the Haida Nation, told the official ceremony that the agreement was the culmination of “well over 100 years of...
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American Indian Country responds to Trump
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa It’s been a busy month for President Trump. From directing the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement and waging war on paper straws to raving about turning the Gaza strip into the “Riviera of the Middle East”, the antics of the Trump administration have been nothing short of unravelling. While 51 per cent Native Americans voted for Trump, according to a poll released by Native News Online, many nations have sent letters to the President in response to the recent political developments. Birthright citizenship Trump floated an executive order to curtail birthright citizenship in the U.S. The executive order has been blocked by four federal court judges and will likely end up in front of the Supreme Court. It was...
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Singh says pipelines would not be first priority for NDP energy policy
By David Baxter -CP-NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he sees an east-west clean electricity network as his first priority for expanding the Canadian energy market — not new pipelines. W hile Singh isn’t shutting the door entirely to pipelines, he says pipeline projects must be accepted by the communities through which they’re routed, must not hurt the environment, must provide good jobs and must meet Indigenous consultation requirements. “We’re open to projects if they meet those criteria. The project I’m really excited about is an east-west energy grid, but we’re open to other projects as well,” Singh said. Most Canadian energy exports now go to the United States, which is threatening Canada with a barrage of tariffs on all exports, including a 10 per cent levy on energy products like...
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