Indigneous-owned company uses Japanese tech to treat wastewater
By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News The owners of Nation to Nation Water don’t plan on waiting for the federal government to make good on its more than decade-old promise to end drinking water advisories on First Nations reserves. The majority Indigenous-owned company uses Japanese technology to treat residential, municipal, commercial and industrial water. “We are Nation to Nation Water, because we’re working between both Canada and internationally, as well as working within nations across Canada and looking at how we incorporate those relationships together,” co-founder and CEO Patrick Dinsdale told Alberta Native News from his company’s display at the Forward Summit on Tsuut’ina Nation. Dinsdale said that his “very, very new” company incorporated in December 2025, but that its ambitions are “multi-generational.” “What we really...
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Alberta cabinet minister who introduced separation vote says he wants a united Canada
By Lisa Johnson The cabinet minister who set the wheels in motion for a possible referendum on Alberta separating from Canada says he wants the country to remain united. Nate Glubish says if a referendum goes ahead, he’ll fight relentlessly for Alberta to stay in Canada. “I will continue to work every day to persuade Albertans that our best path forward is to stay in Canada,” Glubish, the technology and innovation minister, said in a social media post Wednesday night. “If a referendum is held on Oct. 19, I’ll be voting to stay. “I hope you will too.” His comment came hours after he introduced the motion in a bipartisan legislature committee meeting. It asks for Premier Danielle Smith and her cabinet to add a separation question to a list...
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Photos returned to Innu ahead of Labrador exhibit showcasing history, culture
By Heidi Atter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Independent Boxes of archival photographs depicting Innu life in the early-to-mid 20th century have been returned to Labrador. For almost a decade, Innu Nation Cultural Guardian Jodie Ashini has been working to repatriate cultural artifacts to the Innu communities of Sheshatshiu and Natuashish, continuing cultural preservation work led by her late father and former Innu leader, Daniel Ashini. Jodie says the Innu have now received more than 300 photographs that were housed in museums and private collections. The latest came from the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, which received more than 100 photos from the family of late anthropologist Ray Webber, who studied the Innu from 1902 until the 1960s. “To have these pictures, it is pretty valuable for telling our Innu...
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As disagreement over Fort Simpson education grew, politicians stepped in
By Claire McFarlane, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cabin Radio In 2024, less than a year after a teacher was photographed dragging a student by the hood of her snowsuit at Fort Simpson’s Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ Elementary School, a second teacher was accused of violence toward a child. In this instance, the teacher allegedly struck an eight-year-old student in a classroom of the Northwest Territories village school. The child’s mother, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive nature of the situation, said the incident was caught on video. “You can see the teacher and his hand go back to the side, facing back, and then a second later you see [the child] hit the floor,” said the parent. She noted the video doesn’t show the teacher’s hand making contact with her son,...
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Cocktail of pills, caffeine and fire retardant put B.C. chinook salmon at risk: study
British Columbia researchers found more than 200 contaminants in water and chinook salmon tissue samples collected from five sites in the Lower Fraser River estuary including everything from cocaine and antidepressants to caffeine and flame retardants. They say some of the “cocktail” that the juvenile fish are swimming in presents a possible risk to the young fish themselves and is concerning for the endangered whales that eat them. Researchers, primarily from the federal Fisheries Department and Simon Fraser University, completed a study slated for publication in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, which is believed to be the largest screening of its kind in the Lower Fraser River. Senior author Tanya Brown said of the contaminants found, 16 were deemed “priority contaminants,” meaning the amounts were high enough that they “had potential...
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Supreme Court of Canada to decide whether to hear B.C. appeal in mineral claims case
By The Canadian Press The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to say today whether it will hear British Columbia’s appeal of a ruling that found the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the provincial mineral claims regime are “inconsistent.” The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled in December that the provincial Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act should be “properly interpreted” to incorporate UNDRIP into the laws of B.C. with immediate legal effect. At the time, a statement from the Gitxaala Nation, one of two nations challenging the law, called the decision precedent-setting. The nation, along with the Ehattesaht First Nation, argued that the operation of an automated online registry permitting “free miners” to register claims to mineral rights on Crown land before consulting...
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First Nations relay raises awareness about addiction
By Alexandra Noad, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lethbridge Herald Twenty-three runners spanning the four First Nations within Treaty 7 were welcomed home after completing a relay covering 611 kilometres in six days. One Goal, Many Nations Relay for Recovery, a grassroots initiative founded by Dustin Dick and organized by Red Road Reclamation Recovery Movement, focused on bringing awareness to addiction and unifying communities to fight back through support systems and aftercare. While their life experiences may have been different, each of them has been impacted by addiction in one way or another. Beginning in Siksika, the runners travelled to each of the Nations, picking up additional runners at each stop, before returning back to Siksika. Each runner ran two kilometres at a time before passing the banner to another. Justin...
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College celebrates successes while navigating enrolment shifts
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SNnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY — Confederation College has seen a steep drop in enrolment by international students, but college president Michelle Salo says the province has come through with more money to help soften the financial blow. The college’s 2026 Report to Community says the eight-campus institution had 3,456 full-time students enrolled in post-secondary programs in 2025-26, down by 870 from the previous year. International student enrolment dropped by more than 1,000 in those years, to 947 in 2025-26 from 2,014 in 2024-25. Salo acknowledged there has been “a significant decline in the international enrolment,” and it’s had an impact on college finances. “It definitely has a negative impact,” she said after presenting the community report to an audience in a college lecture theatre,...
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Alberta legislature committee eyes separation vote as meeting hits bizarre roadblock
By Jack Farrell Alberta’s journey toward holding a fall referendum on separation took a bizarre turn Wednesday — straight into another roadblock. It occurred when the governing United Conservative members on a bipartisan legislature committee introduced a motion to formally ask Premier Danielle Smith and her cabinet to initiate a provincewide vote on Alberta’s status in Confederation this October. The motion was expected to pass, given the UCP members on the committee outnumber the Opposition NDP members on it three to two. But while the motion was still being debated, the UCP caucus published a news release announcing the vote had taken place and that the motion had passed. The news release even had laudatory quotes from committee chair Brandon Lunty, who is a UCP backbencher. The news release was...
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Ottawa seeking proposals from groups committed to cleaning up ‘ghost gear’ in water
The federal government has issued a request for proposals from partners committed to cleaning up lost, abandoned and discarded fishing equipment, otherwise known as ghost gear. Federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson made the announcement in Yarmouth, N.S., saying Ottawa has already set aside $15 million for project funding over the next three years. The lost and discarded equipment can harm marine mammals, fisheries and habitats, Thompson said in a statement released Wednesday. “Cleaning up this debris will help our fisheries to continue to thrive,” the minister said. “I want to thank our partners and Indigenous communities for their efforts so far to clean up and find solutions to tackle the issue of ghost gear.” The minister said that since the fund was launched in 2020, more than 2,500 tonnes of...
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Louis Riel division hires Manitoba’s first Indigenous woman superintendent
By Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press The new leader of the Louis Riel School Division is a Métis teacher who has — not unlike the founder of Manitoba — dedicated much of her life to supporting Indigenous families. Jackie Connell has been named the incoming superintendent and chief executive officer of the St. Vital-based board office in charge of educating 17,000 students. The board of trustees announced her historic appointment, which begins Aug. 4, late Tuesday. “I feel Indigenous women are inherently built to lead. I don’t know that education systems always see or honour that leadership,” Connell said in an interview Wednesday. “And so, I am honestly so grateful to the board.” The 45-year-old is currently the inaugural assistant deputy minister of Indigenous Excellence, a...
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The Indigenous exhibit that Trump failed to stop
By Felicia Mello/berkeleyside A group of local Indigenous leaders and Lawrence Hall of Science researchers strolled through the lobby of the discovery-based UC Berkeley museum last week as workers put the finishing touches on its latest exhibit, “Yuutka” (The Place of the Acorn). Replicas of black oak trees towered overhead, while California poppies, wild roses, yarrow, and black sage plants were projected on the floor and a creek and bridge were under construction nearby. A cartoon version of East Bay Ohlone matriarch Dolores Lameira smiled encouragingly from one wall as she coached visitors to the mixed reality experience on how to gather virtual acorns using baskets equipped with 3D sensors. “It really looks like her,” commented Vincent Medina, her great-nephew and one of the project’s creators. Yuutka is both the...
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Tornado Warning Issued Tuesday for Six Nations area
By Alex Murray Writer Severe thunderstorms hit the area of Brantford and Six Nations on Tuesday night (May 19), causing Environment Canada to issue several weather warnings. Environment Canada sent out multiple tornado warnings between 5 and 7 p.m. for areas including Brantford, the County of Brant, London, Simcoe-Delhi-Norfolk, and Woodstock-Tillsonburg-Oxford County. Environment Canada said, “this is a very dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation” and warned of wind gusts up to 110 km/h as well as hail the size of ping pong balls. They encouraged residents to take shelter immediately. The warnings remained in place for areas east of Hamilton and in the Niagara region until about 8:20 p.m. At Six Nations of the Grand River, dark storm clouds could be seen over Chiefswood Road in downtown Ohsweken just before...
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Treaty No. 6 First Nations Welcomes Court Ruling Against Separatist Petition
By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News The Confederacy of Treaty No. 6 First Nations is welcoming a recent Alberta Court of King’s Bench decision that quashed the approval of Stay Free Alberta’s proposed “independence petition,” calling the ruling a reaffirmation of Treaty rights and constitutional law in Alberta. Justice Shaina Leonard’s decision effectively blocks the petition process tied to an Alberta separation question. Treaty No. 6 leadership says the ruling reinforces what First Nations have long argued: that any attempt to pursue Alberta separation must recognize and respect Treaties No. 6, No. 7, and No. 8 as legally binding agreements. The Confederacy expressed gratitude for the continued legal and political advocacy of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, the Blackfoot Confederacy, and Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, noting their...
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Carney lays out pipeline conditions as Eby flags negotiations on B.C.’s priorities
By Chuck Chiang and Brieanna Charlebois British Columbia Premier David Eby says he and Prime Minister Mark Carney have agreed to enter negotiations on B.C.’s priorities for developing the economy. Eby says ahead of a closed-door meeting with Carney, who’s visiting Vancouver, that part of friendship is telling each other the truth, including that developing the economy must go hand in hand with protecting the environment. He says that includes the moratorium on oil tanker traffic off B.C.’s north coast, that has been raised as a potential impediment to any new pipeline from Alberta to the B.C. coast. Carney says it’s important to build in the right way, in partnership with First Nations and with an emphasis on sustainability, and the priorities of British Columbians. He had earlier Wednesday laid...
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CN Rail pledges $100 million to fight homelessness across its North American network
By Charlotte Glorieux Canadian National Railway says homelessness is a growing problem along its North American rail network and has pledged $100 million over ten years to fund community groups and shelters that offer services to the unhoused. Non-profits in Canada and the United States, including groups running research projects on homelessness, will be able to apply online for funding, Olivier Chouc, CN senior vice-president and chief legal officer, said in an interview Tuesday. He said CN officials are increasingly witnessing homelessness across the railway system. ”We have large areas, vacant land, and they tend to be attractive to homeless people and all these encampments,” Chouc said. For Montreal, where CN is headquartered, the company is donating $1 million to four organizations that help the homeless: Le Chaînon womens shelter;...
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‘Historic victory’ for Piikani as court quashes separatist petition
By Somya Lohia, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Shootin’ the Breeze Piikani Nation is calling a recent Alberta Court of King’s Bench decision a “historic victory” for treaty rights. A May 13 ruling by Justice Shaina Leonard struck down the approval of a citizen-led petition that would have triggered a referendum on Alberta separating from Canada. Chief Troy Knowlton says the decision affirms that Treaty 7 is a “living, constitutionally protected agreement” that cannot be overridden by a citizen-led initiative or provincial referendum. Leonard’s decision quashed chief electoral officer Gordon McClure’s approval of the Referendum Relating to Alberta Independence petition, finding he made an error in law that rendered the approval unreasonable. The court also found the province failed in its duty to consult First Nations, including the Athabasca Chipewyan First...
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Sun shines on Bread and Cheese
Six Nations marks 160 years of celebrating Bread and Cheese Day By Alex Murray Writer Not even the scorchingly hot temperatures could keep Six Nations community members from showing up in the thousands to enjoy the midway rides and food vendors and most of all the Bread and Cheese at the 160th annual Bread and Cheese Day celebrations on Victoria Day Monday. The biggest draw of course was the Bread and Cheese giveaway inside Six Nations Sports and Cultural Memorial Centre. Six Nations elder Gerard Roberts, who said the early bird catches the worm, was among the first in line, arriving at 9am on the holiday Monday for noon give-away. Roberts was even able to find a wedding anniversary gift for his wife at the festival while friends held his...
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Mississaugas of Credit First Nation taking feds to court
Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation-The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN) wants to know how much money the federal government is spending to fight First Nations seeking increased education funding for their children. And they are going to go to court to find out. MCFN launched a launched a Federal Court application last week that could force Canada to release records detailing how much public money has been spent fighting against increased education funding for First Nations children. The move came after Canada refused to disclose records related to its legal costs in ongoing litigation concerning equitable education funding for First Nations students. MCFN maintains that the federal government is legally required to release the information under federal access to information laws. “Canadians deserve transparency from their government,”...
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Six Nations Elected council donation policy more “bureaucratic”
Six Nations passed a draft policy aimed at formalizing how funding requests over $15,000 are evaluated and approved. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) approved the new Community Strategic Investment Fund policy and application framework during its May 12th meeting . The policy is designed to standardize how community funding requests are evaluated, scored and administered. . The recommendation came from the Finance Committee. Committee Chair Aaina VanEvery said. Councillor VanEvery presented the policy and said she had circulated the policy previously and received no feedback. “It’s now or never,” she said. VanEvery told council the policy was developed to address long-standing challenges in how funding requests are received and processed. She said that applications have often arrived “haphazardly and sometimes without the information,” creating what she described as “a lot...
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