Turtle conservation on Turtle Island
By Tara Lindemann Writer Mama turtles are wrapping up their egg-laying, but thanks to a joint project between Kayanase, Six Nations Wildlife and Stewardship office and Nature Canada, 50 future hatchlings have a chance at life. Six Nations Stewardship and Wildlife announced the project in the spring, offering community households a limited number of turtle nest protectors where they saw a turtle nest. The protectors are a screen secured by a wood frame, barring consumption of eggs by their many predators: a variety of birds, foxes, opossums, raccoons, and skunks. When they emerge from their eggs, hatchlings, who have a one-percent chance of survival, can exit through small doorways built into the frame and from there, having spent most of their energy emerging from the nest, they make an imperiled...
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Close the door, give them a pen…the Mark Carney way
Ouch! It just didn’t go well. It wasn’t consultation…it was barely engagement! Prime Minister Mark Carney was meeting with his board and told them what was going to happen. The Prime Minister’s first real meeting with Indigenous leaders couldn’t have been more corporate. Chiefs had to submit any questions in advance of the meeting or as soon as they arrived and pens and paper were provided for them to write down their questions. On their tables were lists of questions for them to comment on, or provide answers to. And PM Carney’s officers kept a close eye on who was coming and going and kicked media out, firstly of the room then the building. Like any other corporate head, PM Carney was in control of the room. This after he...
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Today in History
July 21 In 1961, the government-built town of Inuvik, N.W.T., was officially opened. The town, the largest Canadian community north of the Arctic Circle, was constructed to replace the old settlement of Aklavik, which was being threatened by flood and erosion. Located on the Mackenzie River delta, the town’s economy is centred on nearby oil and gas exploration. In 2021, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister appointed former cabinet minister Eileen Clarke to a powerful financial oversight committee, only to have Clarke reject the position. Clarke resigned from the Indigenous and northern relations portfolio earlier in the month, after Pallister stirred up controversy with remarks about Canadian history. July 22 In 1974, about 100 armed Ojibwa Indians seized the Anicinabe Park at Kenora, Ont. In 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled...
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Rivermen kick off playoffs with series against Hamilton Bengals
By Sam Laskaris Writer The Six Nations Rivermen wrapped up their regular season on Sunday. Members of the Senior B squad entered the week knowing they would square off against the Hamilton Bengals in a best-of-five Ontario Series Lacrosse (OSL) semi-final series. The series was expected to begin this Saturday, with the Rivermen hosting Game 1 at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena (ILA) at 7 p.m. Other series dates, however, had yet to be announced on Monday morning. The Rivermen are potentially just three wins away from advancing to this year’s national Presidents Cup tournament. The OSL’s Brooklin Merchants will host the Canadian tourney in Whitby, starting on Aug. 23. As hosts, the Merchants receive an automatic entry into the national event. Because the Merchants are the hosts, the OSL is...
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Bomberry to be inducted into Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame
By Sam Laskaris Writer Six Nations’ Cory Bomberry will become a Hall of Famer later this year. And he won’t have to travel far for his induction ceremony. It was announced this past Friday that Bomberry will be inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame. The national hall of fame is located in New Westminster, B.C. But this year’s induction ceremony will be staged on Nov. 1 at the MontHill Golf & Country Club in Caledonia. “I’ll go,” Bomberry said. “I just live around the corner.” Bomberry will enter the hall of fame via the Players’ category. This year’s induction class includes 15 others, in various categories. For Bomberry, who won a pair of national Mann Cup championships with the Six Nations Chiefs and was also a member of...
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SPORTS BRIEFS: Arrows sweep over, Six Nations Chief square off tonight
By Sam Laskaris Writer Arrows swept in playoff series The Six Nations Arrows’ dreams of participating in this year’s Minto Cup tournament have come to an end. The local Junior A squad had hopes of a lengthy playoff run, including an appearance at the national Minto Cup tourney, which will be held in St. Catharines next month. But the Arrows had their 2025 campaign come to an end this past Wednesday, without even winning a single playoff match. Six Nations was swept 3-0 in its best-of-five Ontario Junior Lacrosse League quarter-final series by the Peterborough Lakers. The Lakers captured the series by downing the host Arrows 10-8 in Game 3, which was held at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. Peterborough also won the series opener, 6-5 in overtime, which was held...
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OPP investigating after remote garage openers used to break into buildings and vehicles in Caledonia and Cayuga
HALDIMAND COUNTY – Haldimand County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are investigating after several unlocked vehicles were entered and remote garage door openers were used to break into garages where items were stolen and buildings accessed. Haldimand County OPP investigated several vehicle entries on Abbey Road, Tyneside Road, Haldimand Road 66, Moores Road and Pike Creek Drive, in rural Caledonia and Cayuga July 17, 2025 finding several insecure vehicles were entered by unknown individuals during the early morning hours. A quantity of property was removed from the vehicles and OPP said once access had been gained to the vehicles, further access to garages and outbuildings was gained with remote garage door openers. Among the items stolen, were a 2021 black coloured Dodge Ram pickup truck, a 2018 orange coloured BMW which...
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‘You want my consent? You improve my people’s health’: Chief to Carney
By Carl Meyer, The Narwhal The chief of a First Nation downstream of the Alberta oilsands wants Canada to address the toxic contaminants in his waters and take seriously his community’s concerns about cancer rates before he’ll consent to new fast-tracked fossil fuel projects. Mikisew Cree First Nation Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro said he delivered this message personally to Prime Minister Mark Carney during a summit with First Nations in Canada’s capital region last week. “I’m 48 years old. I lived in the bush off the land when I was a kid. I remember drinking water from the rivers and the lakes. There’s no way we do that shit nowadays,” Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro told The Narwhal in an interview in Ottawa. “By the time my people are actually seen in an...
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Earlton airport handles its first forest fire evacuation flights
By Diane Johnston, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Temiskaming Speaker EARLTON – For what’s believed to be the first time in its history, the Earlton-Timiskaming Regional Airport has served as a landing stop for forest fire evacuees. On July 19, it handled four flights carrying a total of 136 passengers who were evacuated from Pikangikum First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. “Everything ran smoothly,” said airport manager Jamie Smith earlier this week. Smith said the airport was notified on Friday evening that flights would be coming on Saturday afternoon. The first flight landed at about 2:30 p.m. He said it was a tight turnaround to get passengers off the plane and on to buses to take them to Kirkland Lake, and then refuel the plane so it could depart before the next...
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Should Indigenous storytellers be limited to telling Indigenous stories? Métis author says no
By Shari Narine Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com Tasha Hilderman is proudly Metis whether or not her children’s picture books are about her Mtis culture. “With Lights at Night I can be Métis, but not everything I do has to be about being Métis,” said Hilderman, who is of Métis descent through her mother’s side. Lights at Night, vibrantly illustrated by Maggie Zeng, depicts a Métis family taking part in marshmallow roasts, cheering at football games, trick-or-treating on Halloween, and disembarking from the school bus right next to combines in the autumn field. There is also a family of foxes that make their way throughout the pages of the book. Lights at Night, which will be released Aug. 5, is Hilderman’s follow-up to her first children’s picture book, Métis Like...
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Manitoba and Saskatchewan sign agreement to boost trade corridor through the Arctic
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew was hopeful after meeting Tuesday with the prime minister and other premiers about the potential for a large Arctic trade corridor through the Port of Churchill on Hudson Bay. But some provinces are also supporting a trade route through a port on James Bay in northern Ontario that would also serve the Arctic. The two megaprojects are among many being pitched as part of a national effort to diversify trade and protect the Canadian economy from U.S. tariffs. The governments of Manitoba and Saskatchewan signed a memorandum to expand trade through Churchill in a five-year deal that also includes Arctic Gateway Group, which owns the port and the northern rail line that leads to it. Material shipped through the port can reach Europe and other destinations....
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B.C. Chilcotin youth speak at UN session on rights of Indigenous peoples
By Andie Mollins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Williams Lake Tribune Two Tŝilhqot’in youth ambassadors were in Geneva, Switzerland last week to represent their nation at the international level. Sierra William and Dakota Diablo attended the United Nations’ 18th session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP). “I can’t even describe how amazing it was to be there,” said William. At 22 years old, William already attended the UN twice before. William graduated last year with a Human Rights Diploma from Thompson Rivers University and is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in social work. She also aims to get her law degree. “The purpose of my work for me is…so we can lessen the number of Indigenous youth in the child welfare system,” William said. Her...
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Uplifting what?
By Gilles Cyrenne, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Megaphone Magazine A motion now before Vancouver city council purported to improve social, economic and health outcomes for residents of the Downtown Eastside (DTES) does nothing to support the people who call the area home. Instead, the motion — Uplifting the Downtown Eastside and Building Inclusive Communities that Work for All Residents — is a profit-driven, institutional attack on our community, one that paves the way for luxury condos and rising rents while pushing out low-income residents. This motion, which aims to update the 2014 Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan, appears designed to benefit SRO (Single Room Occupancy) landlords and real estate developers who’ve long had their eyes on this neighbourhood — a neighbourhood we’ve fought to keep accessible and affordable. Even worse,...
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Claiming the right to our stories
By Nicolas Crier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Megaphone Magazine I was adopted. My non-Indigenous family, all good people who treated me with respect and dignity, did not raise me on the reserve, but in the urbanized city of Calgary, Alberta. It’s the same province that the graphic novelThe Rez Doctor takes place in. But unlike its central character — young Ryan Fox — I didn’t grow up facing the realities of reserve life. I was sheltered. I didn’t have to navigate the racism, segregation and systemic barriers baked into on-reserve health care. I don’t know what it means to leave a reserve and enter the very system that’s historically excluded your people, and then fight tooth and nail just to build a life within in — as Ryan Fox had...
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B.C. Coastal First Nations write to Carney, asking him to reject any new pipeline
By Brieanna Charlebois Coastal First Nations in British Columbia have issued an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, asking him to reject any new proposal for a crude oil pipeline to the northwest coast. The move comes as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith pushes for a new private-sector pipeline that would send crude oil to the northern B.C. coast for export to Asia. Marilyn Slett, president of the Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative, says in a news release that there is no pipeline or oil tanker project that would be acceptable to their group, and any proposal to send crude oil through their coastal waters is a “non-starter.” The group is asking Carney to uphold the 2019 Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, which prohibits oil tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric...
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First Nations call off talks on forestry bill, say Quebec disrespecting rights
By Maura Forrest First Nations in Quebec have walked away from talks with the provincial government on a forestry bill they say would pave the way to privatizing public land. The Assembly of First Nations Quebec–Labrador says the province has not shown “genuine political will” to collaborate with Indigenous communities on the government’s forestry reform, which they say does not respect their rights. “We cannot lend credibility to a process that fails to recognize our status and responsibilities as Indigenous governments,” the assembly said Tuesday in an open letter. The Quebec government tabled a bill last spring aiming to protect communities that depend on the forestry industry. The legislation would divide public forests into zones designated for conservation, multi-purpose use or forestry. According to the bill, actions that “restrict the...
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Two Squamish Nation members honoured in 2025 Indigenous Business Award program
By Abby Luciano, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, North Shore News Two Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) members have scored honourable titles in the 17th annual Indigenous Business Award program run by the BC Achievement Foundation. Harold Calla is the recipient of the Award of Distinction for Lifetime Achievement, while (Himikala) Pam Baker’s fashion company Touch of Culture won Business of the Year in the one-to-two-person enterprise category. Calla said he was stunned when he heard his name on this year’s list. “I got a phone call, actually. I was at a car dealership looking at getting my car repaired,” Calla said about how he heard the news. “It came out of the blue for me and was a very humbling and rewarding experience.” The lifetime achiever has worn many hats throughout...
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A timeline of sexual assault allegations against former Hockey Canada junior players
A timeline of events that led to former Canada world junior hockey team players Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube and Cal Foote being charged with sexual assault. Jan. 5, 2018 — Canada’s world junior hockey team defeats Sweden in the gold-medal final in Buffalo, N.Y. June 18, 2018 — Hockey Canada Foundation Gala & Golf event begins in London. June 19, 2018 — A woman’s stepfather informs Hockey Canada she alleges she was sexually assaulted by eight players, including members of the world junior team, while intoxicated the previous night following the event. Hockey Canada says it spoke with its insurance provider and then informed London police, which opened an investigation. Hockey Canada subsequently opened its own third-party investigation using a Toronto law firm. June 2018 —...
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‘We have to improve or we’ll die’: B.C. ranchers seek water solutions in long drought
By Chuck Chiang Rancher John Parkes wants more water storage in B.C.’s Interior, which is suffering the impacts of a multi-year drought. But Parkes, manager of Nicola Ranch near Merritt, says it’s not just for irrigation — water from dams is released into drying rivers to maintain flows and river ecosystems. “My predecessors, over the last 100 years, built plenty of upland water storage for irrigation. What we need right now is we need water storage for conservation use, for fish flows.” Ranchers in B.C.’s Interior say they have asked the province to consider reducing red tape around building and expanding water-storage dams to help them cope with the ongoing drought. Parkes said ranchers in the area have already been working with First Nations to control water use to make...
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