New KFN Chief Elaine Auger officially sworn in
By Claire McFarlane, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Elaine Auger has big goals for her first term as K’atlo’deeche First Nation (KFN) chief. Auger was elected on Dec. 13, replacing outgoing chief April Martel, who had held the job for six years. “I’m still going through the transition,” Auger said on Dec. 19, the day before she was official sworn in as leader. “Once [the swearing in] is done, then I think it will hit me. “Once I get working, then it’ll really hit me.” Auger defeated opponent Ken Norn 129 votes to 80 to win the election, which means she received more than 60 per cent of the 211 votes cast. Two ballots were spoiled. The new chief previously worked as KFN’s negotiations administrator, assistant executive director and acting director...
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ROPE seeking public’s help in localing federal offender
HAMILTON, ON – The Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement (R.O.P.E.) Squad is requesting the public’s assistance in locating a federal offender wanted on a Canada Wide Warrant as a result of a breach of his Statutory Release. Sheldon Eriya is described as male black, 28 years of age, 6’2” (188cm), 190 lbs (86 kgs) with black hair and dark eyes. He often has facial hair in the form of a goatee or beard. Tattoos; Above Left eyebrow: ‘Jose’ Left Upper arm: kids’ faces and flowers Sheldon ERIYA is serving a Five (5) year sentence for; Discharge Firearm with Intent Aggravated Assault Possession of Drugs for the Purpose to Trafficking The offender is known to frequent the Greater Toronto Area, specifically Markham and Toronto area. Anyone having contact with this offender or...
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Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100
ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter,the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, roughly 22 months after entering hospice care, at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023, spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the center said on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. As...
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Winnipeg homicide victim was from northern Indigenous community: police
(Canadian Press)WINNIPEG-Police in Winnipeg have identified the city’s most recent homicide victim. Byron Frederick Moose, a member of South Indian Lake in northern Manitoba, was found early Friday. Police say he had wounds consistent with an assault. The 50-year-old was transported to hospital in critical condition and later died of his injuries. Police say the man’s family has been notified, and the homicide unit is investigating. Police have not identified a suspect. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 30, 2024. ...
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Michipicoten First Nation members voice concerns surrounding chief amid treaty settlement discussions
By M Kirk Local Journalism Initiative Reporter As Michipicoten First Nation awaits the Robinson-Superior Treaty (RST) settlement payments, some members have raised concerns about the band’s leadership allegedly overriding their treaty rights. Several Michipicoten First Nation members have told The Sault Star they feel unheard by the current chief and council. A key point of contention is a financial administration bylaw passed January 2023, which requires the band to freeze 60 per cent of the treaty settlement for 15 years. After five years, the interest can be used. A Band Council Resolution (BCR) was passed about two months ago to rescind the bylaw, mandating community consultation and a referendum to determine the allocation of RST funds. Chief Patricia Tangie said she does not personally believe that the BCR is valid,...
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Grants, bursaries to help carve talent for air ambulance system
By Sandi Krasowski Local Journalism Initiative A partnership between Ornge and Confederation College has resulted in the expansion of eligibility criteria for acquiring bursaries for students considering studying and working in Northern Ontario. Up to 15 entrance grants each valued at $1,000 or more and up to 15 in-program bursaries of $1,500 each are now available for Northern Ontario residents and/or those identifying as First Nation, Métis or Inuit. The college’s supported programs for the awards include primary care paramedic, advanced care paramedic, aviation flight management, aviation technician – aircraft maintenance, and nursing programs. Wade Durham, chief operating officer at Ornge, said the air ambulance service recognizes the importance of supporting northern students in their careers, especially as Ornge expands its services to better support Northern Ontario. “Ornge wants to...
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Peyote sacred to Native Americans threatened by psychedelic renaissance and development
HEBBRONVILLE, Texas (AP) — In this corner of southern Texas, the plump cacti seem to pop out of arid dust and cracked earth, like magic dumplings. It’s only here and in northern Mexico that the bluish-green peyote plant can be found growing naturally, nestled under thorny mesquite, acacia and blackbrush. For many Native American Church members who call this region the “peyote gardens,” the plant is sacrosanct and an inextricable part of their prayer and ceremony. It’s believed to be a natural healer that Indigenous communities have counted on for their physical and mental health as they’ve dealt with the trauma of colonization, displacement, and erosion of culture, religion and language. Lack of access for religious use The cactus contains a spectrum of psychoactive alkaloids, the primary one being the...
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Investigating the Bigfoot phenomenon by marrying traditional knowledge with science
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter This story starts down an abandoned forest service road deep in central Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations territory on Vancouver Island. It was fall, two or three years ago. Tyee Wilson Jack was bucking up a log for firewood when he saw something move on the right side of his periphery. “Did something just stand up?” thought the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ (Ucluelet First Nation) Hereditary Chief. “I didn’t want to turn my head, but I moved my eyes. I swore. It’s a frickin’ Pookemis.” “He’s just watching me,” Jack thought as he continued chopping, as he said to himself, “I’m not gonna panic. One more swing and I’m gonna look.” “THWACK!” Jack swung his axe then turned his head to look. The creature jumped off the stump...
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FBI offers reward in fatal shooting of 7-year-old boy on Colorado tribal reservation
DENVER (AP) — The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for help finding a man suspected of fatally shooting a 7-year-old boy on a tribal reservation in Colorado earlier this month. The agency announced the reward Monday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Jeremiah Hight, 23, in the Dec. 11 shooting at a home in Towaoc on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation. The FBI investigates serious crimes on the reservation in the Four Corners region, where New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado meet. It said an arrest warrant was issued for Hight, a member of the Ute Mountain Ute tribe, on Thursday after he was charged with murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Authorities have not released any...
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Ontario First Nation challenging selection of underground nuclear waste site in court
A First Nation in northern Ontario is challenging the selection of a nearby region as the site of a deep geological repository that will hold Canada’s nuclear waste, arguing in a court filing that it should have had a say in the matter as the site falls “squarely” within its territory. Eagle Lake First Nation has filed an application in Federal Court seeking a judicial review of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s decision to select the Township of Ignace and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation area as the repository site. The decision was announced in November after Ignace’s town council and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation both agreed to move forward, but Eagle Lake First Nation says it was “unjustifiably” rejected as a host community and denied its own right to consent...
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Ottawa has ‘carefully calculated plan’ to wreck eel business: lawsuit
By John Chilibeck Local Journalism Initiative A New Brunswick entrepreneur whose family pioneered the baby eel industry in Canada is suing Ottawa again after it told her she would likely lose nearly 90 per cent of her business to First Nations and other people who want to get in on the lucrative fishery. In a filing in the Court of King’s Bench in Fredericton on Dec. 9, Mary Ann Holland accuses the defendants, who include three successive federal fisheries ministers and eight high-ranking officials in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, or DFO, of having “engaged in a carefully calculated plan” over the years to drive her “out of business,” and give it away to First Nations and other fishers. “Such a plan represents patent gross abuse,” that they know...
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Economists say more room to fall as Canadian dollar continues downward trend
(Canadian Press)-Experts say the next few months are going to be rough for the Canadian dollar as it appears set to continue its downward trend. “We do have more room to fall,” said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay. The Canadian dollar has been trading below 70 cents US in recent weeks and is nearly four per cent below where it was in September. Schamotta predicts the coming months will be “a very turbulent period for Canada” as uncertainty stemming from incoming U.S. president Donald Trump’s policy proposals weigh on business investment and consumer confidence — which means a weaker loonie in the short term. However, that’s not the only factor at play. The outperforming U.S. economy, which is pushing U.S. yields higher — well above yields in Canada...
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Book to be published examining how teacher took advantage of young Nunavummiut
By Kira Wronska Dorward Local Journalism Intiative Reporter Former NNSL Media Iqaluit bureau chief Kathleen Lippa arrived in Nunavut’s capital in spring of 2003. Over 20 years later, she is finally publishing her book, Arctic Predator: The Crimes of Edward Horne Against Children in Canada’s North, in February 2025 through Dundurn Press. “I was in the communities… I was in all kinds of communities… the first time I ever heard about Ed Horne was in a story by my colleague,” explains Lippa. “It was a smallish story in the newspaper, in News/North. Suddenly the hair just stood up on my arms. I just had a feeling. “It was about a teacher — he had molested boys in this old school portable. So the community had dragged this portable to the...
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A Native American tribe is closer to acquiring more land in Arizona after decades of delay
-Associated Press-Federal officials have joined with the state of Arizona to begin fulfilling a settlement agreement that was reached with the Hopi Tribe nearly three decades ago, marking what tribal officials described as a historic day. Government attorneys filed condemnation documents on Friday to transfer dozens of square miles of state land into trust for the Hopi. The tribe will compensate the state nearly $4 million for more than 31 square miles (80 square kilometers) of land near Winslow. It could mark the first of more transfers of land into trust to help eliminate the checkerboard of ownership that characterizes much of the lands used by the tribe for ranching in northeastern Arizona. A long time coming Friday’s filing was born out of the 1996 passage of the Navajo-Hopi Land...
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Who gets to belong? The impact of Bills C-31 and S-3
By Bhagyashree Chatterjee Local Journalism Initiative Who gets to decide who belongs? Bills C-31 and S-3 changed the rules for Indian status, aiming to fix decades of unfair policies in the Indian Act. But these changes have brought new questions and challenges for communities like the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), where membership and identity are deeply tied to these rules. Here’s what these bills changed and why they still matter today. Bill C-31: correcting discrimination in 1985 In 1985, the federal government passed Bill C-31 to address discrimination that had been embedded in the Indian Act for decades. Before this amendment, Indigenous women lost their status if they married non-status men. By contrast, Indigenous men kept their status when marrying non-status women. What Bill C-31 changed: Women who lost their...
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New Urban Centre on Winnipeg Street replaces controversial homeless shelter
PENTICTON-A downtown building that was once a longtime church, then a controversial shelter for Penticton’s homeless, has metamorphosized into a sparkling new multi-purpose centre where the primary tenant attracts hundreds of smiling children every day. The former Victory Church was located at 352 Winnipeg Street and had a large congregation for many years. Prior to that time, it was used as banquet space for the old Penticton Inn. With numbers dwindling, the church closed and the site was approved in 2020 for redevelopment into a mix of commercial, residential and self-storage uses. Then the pandemic happened. Seeking a large, empty space near services downtown, BC Housing leased the building in 2020 to create a “hygiene centre” for Penticton’s homeless population. A decision was made to turn the hygiene centre into...
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Alberta creates homelessness advisory panel, changes grant process
(CP)-The Alberta government says it’s creating an advisory panel to inform the province’s approach to handling homelessness. The panel is to be co-chaired by United Conservative Party legislature member Justin Wright and Robin James, chief administrator of the Lethbridge Housing Authority. Community and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon says the panel is to assess government actions and funding. He also says the panel is to focus on needs of the homeless in rural areas and Indigenous communities. While the panel is to be established early next year, Nixon says the province will work to improve the accuracy of data collected on homelessness across Alberta. He says the province would also be changing how front-line agencies are funded, as grants are to be provided through the province directly rather than through...
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Amazon Indigenous community wins latest stage of court battle for lost territory
Associated Press-An Indigenous community in the Peruvian Amazon is celebrating a legal victory in the latest stage of its attempt to take back claimed ancestral rainforests. The Puerto Franco community of the Kichwa tribe say their territory was stolen to form the Cordillera Azul National Park in 2001. Companies such as Shell and TotalEnergies spent tens of millions of dollars on carbon credits in the park to counter emissions from their fossil fuel operations. The Kichwas got next to nothing and were left in hunger, despite a 2022 Associated Press investigation finding that it was almost certainly their ancestral territory, by the terms of a convention Peru signed decades ago. The community celebrated a dramatic legal victory last year, when provincial Judge Simona del Socorro Torres Sánchez ruled that creating...
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Innu survivor wants former Labrador residential school building turned into a museum
To get to the post office in North West River, for years Joanna Michel would pass the residential school where she spent eight years in the 1970s. “It’s a bad reminder of what happened, what took place there,” she says, sitting in an empty conference room at the Innu Round Table Secretariat office in Sheshatshiu. Having to walk by the school’s junior dormitory, with its boarded windows and chipped paint, led Michel to call for the building’s destruction in 2021. Now she’s had a change of heart and would rather see the building turned into a museum. Last year, Michel made the proposal to North West River’s town council, she told The Independent, in order to “have people’s stories in there so people can know what took place there, as...
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Indigenous Land Symposium to be held in Sault Ste. Marie February 2025
SAULT STE. MARIE-The third annual Indigenous Lands Symposium held by the Wahkohtowin Innovation Centre will be held in Sault Ste. Marie in 2025 from Feb. 3 – 7 at the Delta Waterfront Hotel. The event aims to bring together Indigenous leaders, land stewards, government representatives, and industry professionals to address problems related to land management, conservation, and cultural resurgence. The five-day event is funded through corporate, non-profit, and government sponsors, as well as grants for individual projects that tie in with the symposium. Attendees can expect keynote speakers, interactive workshops, networking opportunities and cultural experiences. Wahkohtawin is a Cree word that refers to the Indigenous philosophy that everything is connected. “It kind of flows with the vision of what the innovation centre is, and what the symposium is doing,” said...
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