Six Nations/Brantford lands MOU raises community ire
By Lynda Powless Editor After facing a storm of community anger Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) is trying to cool the fires claiming it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Brantford over what’s known as the “Boundary Lands’ because Ontario has blocked First Nations from benefiting from their homelands. The controversial MOU sparked a barrage of angry comments in the community and flooded Face Book postings accusing SNEC of corruption, secrets and calling for Elected Chief’s Sherri-Lyn Hill’s impeachment or to step-down. The anger also sparked safety concerns for SNEC members prompting police patrols around their homes. SNEC had approved the move in a closed meeting. The turmoil erupted after SNEC Chief Sherri-Lyn Hill, in a surprise move, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Brantford...
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Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council says agreement belittles Haudenosaunee lands and treaty value
By Lynda Powless Editor The Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) says a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Brantford and Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) over the “Brantford Boundary Lands” attempts to reduce the HCCC’s relationship to its unsurrendered lands. The HCCC statement, issued late Friday, says it did not authorize the agreement, is not a party to it and has not seen it. Instead, the HCCC said the agreement attempts to reduce the Haudenosaunee lands at Brantford to little more than an “interest, economic benefit, or a seat at a table, but forgets the acres are unsurrendered Haudenosaunee lands. The HCCC was responding to SNEC’s signing an MOU with Brantford over lands known as the boundary lands. The HCCC said “ Our relationship to these lands does not originate with...
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Gihekdagye Friendship Centre Opens Permanent Facility
By Alex Murray Writer It’s been a “torturous” process, but Gihekdagye Friendship Centre finally has a permanent facility in downtown Brantford, “For the last several years, our centre has bounced around the community,” Gihekdagye Friendship Board of Directors President Ralph Summers said at the grand opening August 20. “We’ve gone from this rental location to that rental location or events have been in different hotels. Finally, we have a permanent home here in downtown Brantford, Ontario,” he added to a raucous round of applause from the nearly 100 people in attendance. Brantford’s last full-time friendship centre closed its doors in 2005. The Brantford Regional Indigenous Support Centre (BRISC) provided services from a small location at Harmony Square starting in 2018. Now located in a large facility that was vacated by...
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She didn’t just break a nail…
So…it was a secret. And once it came out it became apparent why it was kept secret. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) thought it could sign a lands agreement with Brantford without giving a thought as to how the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Council or the Six Nations people would react ! Without warning the community or contacting the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Elected Chief Sherri-Lyn Hill simply held a closed-door meeting with the band council where a decision about lands Six Nations has an interest in was made. She did not suggest, as any previous leader has, that they may want to notify the Confederacy or the community about their plans. She didn’t debate with SNEC about how signing this agreement would affect the Confederacy or the community. And she did not discuss...
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Today in History
Aug 23 In 1691, First Nations people in Saskatchewan allowed explorer Henry Kelsey to become the first white man to take part in an Indian buffalo hunt. The Hudson’s Bay Company employee was also the first white man to see the Prairies. While heralded as the first European explorer on the Canadian plains, modern historians note his journey was entirely Indigenous-led, relying on the guidance, knowledge, and hospitality of his First Nations traveling companions In 1882, Regina was established as the seat of government for the Northwest Territories. The territorial capital of what was then the Northwest Territories was renamed Regina when the first Canadian Pacific Railway train arrived in the town. The new Latin name honoured Queen Victoria. The town was earlier known as Wascana, or Pile of Bones,...
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Six Nations Language Commission gets $1 million in funding from Six Nations Elected Council
The Six Nations Language Commission (SNLC) will receive $1,096,400 in funding for the 2026–27 fiscal year after Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) approved the organization’s funding request at the General Finance Committee meeting on August 17. “It took one generation, but we did it ourselves in this community because you know we’re always talking about sovereignty. We always want to know what that is. This is the sovereignty of who we are, trying to support languages,” Councillor Amos Key Jr. said. The funding decision followed the Commission’s annual presentation from Karen Sandy, executive director, Roronhiakehte Deer, an instructor and language revitalization strategist. The presentation outlined its language programming, community initiatives, student achievements and ongoing efforts to support the revitalization of the six Haudenosaunee languages in the community. Deer said the...
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Six Nations Elected Council Briefs: Six Nations Fair gets funding
Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) has approved four amendments to its Comprehensive Funding Agreement with Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), providing more than $1.75 million in additional funding for programs and services during the 2026-27 fiscal year. The four amendments provide funding for youth employment, child and family services, mental wellness, maternal and child health, midwifery, and assisted living services. The amendments are part of Six Nations’ five-year Comprehensive Funding Agreement with ISC. The agreement, which originally covered April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026, has since been extended to March 31, 2028. Amendment 203 provides $200,421.28 for post-secondary education and the First Nations and Inuit Youth Employment Skills Link program, along with $87,588.92 in capital funding for Child and Family Services. Amendment 204 provides $200,421.28 for the expanded trauma-informed health...
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Tomahawks capture B Division at season-ending tournament
By Sam Laskaris Writer Despite dropping their first game at their season-ending provincial tournament, the Six Nations Tomahawks managed to live up to their billing as a favourite and capture some hardware in Newmarket on Sunday. The Tomahawks, the local Senior C men’s squad, competed in the Senior Series Lacrosse (SSL) provincial championships. The three-day tournament featured all 11 entrants of the SSL. The Six Nations club had placed seventh in the regular season standings after winning six of its 16 contests. Only the top six finishers participated in the A Division of the provincial tourney. Those that had placed seventh through 11th took part in B Division action at the season’s wrapup event. The Tomahawks edged the Guelph Regals 5-4 in Sunday’s B Division final. “You don’t ever go...
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Rivermen preparing to compete at Presidents Cup
By Sam Laskaris Writer The Six Nations Rivermen are about to find out whether they do indeed have what it takes to win this year’s Presidents Cup. The Rivermen are scheduled to fly to Edmonton on Friday to compete in this year’s national Senior B lacrosse tournament, often simply called The Prezzy. The eight-team event will begin on Sunday and continue until Sept. 5. The Rivermen qualified for this year’s nationals by winning their Ontario Series Lacrosse (OSL) title. Six Nations beat the Whitby-based Brooklin Merchants 3-2 in their best-of-five OSL championship final. The Rivermen have won The Prezzy twice in their franchise history, in 2015 and 2019. The local club just missed out on some hardware at the 2025 Canadian tourney, which was held in Whitby. Six Nations ended...
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Powless joins Rebels’ organization
By Sam Laskaris Writer One of the busiest men in the local lacrosse community is getting even busier. It was announced on Sunday that Darcy Powless has joined the Six Nations Rebels’ Junior B squad as its assistant general manager. Powless is currently also the head coach for both the Six Nations Snipers, who compete in the Arena Lacrosse League, and the Six Nations-based Grand River Warriors, a Senior B club that participates in the Can-Am Lacrosse League. Powless guided the Snipers – a team he is also the general manager of – to the ALL championship this past March. He had also led the Six Nations club to the ALL title in 2022. The Snipers are one of eight teams that compete in the ALL’s Ontario-based East Division. The...
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Recovery Alberta closes Edmonton addiction treatment program, drops nearly 600 people from wait list
By Brett McKay, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Investigative Journalism Foundation Recovery Alberta is closing the addiction treatment program at Henwood Treatment Centre in Edmonton, the IJF has learned. The decision to end the program came as a shock to staff and hundreds of Albertans seeking addiction treatment, and the lack of transparency surrounding the closure is fuelling questions about the Alberta government’s plans for the site. The details of Henwood’s closure have not previously been reported. With 62 residential treatment beds, Henwood is the largest provincially-run voluntary addiction treatment centre in the Edmonton region. Operations at Henwood were temporarily suspended in late June due to flooding. Sources familiar with the situation have told the IJF that on Aug. 20, staff were informed that Recovery Alberta is permanently closing the treatment...
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Tsawwassen First Nation returns to the water after 10 years for 25th annual Pulling Together Canoe Journey
By Radha Agarwal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Delta Optimist For the first time in nearly a decade, the dip of Tsawwassen First Nation paddles cut through the waters of the Fraser River, marking a long-awaited homecoming during the 25th anniversary of the Pulling Together Canoe Journey. The eight-day voyage, themed Reclaiming Our Waters, brought together more than 220 pullers across a dozen canoes from Aug. 15 to 22. Travelling from Sts’ailes First Nation territory near Agassiz down to Tsawwassen and Musqueam waters, the annual journey pairs Indigenous, youth and community members with public service personnel, including police departments and the Royal Canadian Navy, to foster reconciliation, mutual respect, and cultural healing. For Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN), serving as a host community from Aug. 19 to 22 and crewing their own...
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Rosalyn Bird latest MLA to quit B.C. Conservatives, warns against racism, homophobia
By Ashley Joannou On Tuesday morning, B.C. Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay acknowledged that more legislators could be poised to leave her caucus. Less than three hours later, she was proved right. Rosalyn Bird, a former caucus whip, became the third Conservative legislator this month to make their exit, issuing warnings about divisive leadership, racism and homophobia as she closed the door behind her. It’s the latest in a long line of departures from the Conservatives since Findlay’s leadership win in May, both in the elected caucus and the party executive. Bird, who said in a statement that she would continue to represent Prince George — Valemount as an Independent, said freedom of speech matters, but does not relieve people of responsibility for what they choose to say. “Political leaders should...
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PBCN signs historic employment agreement with Federal Government
By Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince Albert Daily Herald Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) leadership said a new independent agreement signed on Aug. 22 will allow the First Nation to take greater control off the future of its workforce. PBCN leaders signed the agreement with Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty and Secretary of State for Rural Development Buckley Belanger. The signing makes PBCN Saskatchewan’s only independent agreement holder under the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) Program. The agreement took effect Jan. 1 under the First Nations stream of the federal ISET Program. “For years, we have said that our people know what our communities need, and this agreement puts that principle into action,” Chief Peter Beatty of PBCN said in a press release. “We can now design...
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B.C. First Nations Elders Gathering reaches 50-year milestone
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa Vancouver, BC – Elders from First Nations across British Columbia descended on the Vancouver Convention Centre Aug. 25-26 for the 50th Annual First Nations Elders Gathering. About 2,340 participants joined this year, including a group from Saskatchewan and groups from the Yukon. On Day One, cultural hosts Líl̓wat Nation set an uplifting tone for the event with a powerful drum and dance performance that got even elders with walkers on the floor. “We are in the most powerful library with wall-to-wall elders here,” said Líl̓wat Nation Cultural Chief Ashley Joseph. During his welcome speech, longstanding Elders Gathering emcee John Henderson of the Wei Wai Kum First Nation acknowledged the First Nations communities who travelled through smoke and flames to get to Vancouver...
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Who gets to name a lake? What to know about Trump’s threat to rename Lake Ontario
By Elissa Mendes One of the Great Lakes has become the latest target in U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, highlighting his penchant for renaming bodies of water and landmarks. The United States is “giving serious consideration” to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, Trump wrote Tuesday in a post on his platform Truth Social, a day after he and Ontario Premier Doug Ford traded personal insults over tariffs. The president added that his country doesn’t expect to continue doing business with Ontario “much longer,” and in a separate post accused Prime Minster Mark Carney of lying about how trade negotiations unfolded. After trade negotiations fell apart last week, the Trump administration slammed Canada with 50 per cent tariffs on an array of goods. Ottawa...
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‘It’s a feast’: Dozens share in Iqaluit bowhead harvest
By Daron Letts, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News Community members gathered at Iqaluit’s breakwater at high tide on Monday afternoon to divvy up piles of maktaaq from hunters who, this past weekend, harvested their first bowhead in four years. “It’s a feast,” said Sevanoosie Boaz, who was on site to pick up a bag of bowhead meat. “It means a lot.” More than two dozen men and women with the Amaruq Hunters and Trappers Association embarked on the hunt Aug. 16, which involved seven boats each with a four-person crew. The pursuit lasted one week. The hunters harpooned their bowhead on Friday afternoon, said Pitseolak Alainga, who observed from his canoe approximately 75 metres away. They harpooned the whale twice more to affix floats, then a fourth harpoon equipped...
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Ottawa spending $50M to build three B.C. salmon hatcheries
The federal government has announced more than $50 million in contracts for the construction of three separate hatcheries in British Columbia aimed at salmon conservation. Fisheries and Oceans Canada says the projects will be on traditional First Nations territory or operated by a local nation. The largest contract is worth $38 million for construction of the Upper Fraser River Salmon Conservation Hatchery near the confluence of the Nechako and Fraser rivers in Prince George, B.C., within the territory of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation. Ottawa has also committed two contracts of about $7.5 million each for construction of a hatchery near Hanceville, B.C. in the central Interior and for the next phase of the Wilp’Ho Dix Hatchery in the Skeena River system in northwestern B.C. Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson says...
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Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation secures direct control of employment training programs
By Nicole Goldsworthy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SaskToday.ca PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation has become Saskatchewan’s only independent agreement holder under the federal Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program, giving the First Nation direct responsibility for designing and delivering employment and training services for its members. The Government of Canada announced Aug. 22 that PBCN is now an agreement holder under the ISET Program, which supports Indigenous-led employment and skills training initiatives across the country. The agreement, which took effect Jan. 1 under the First Nations stream of the program, provides PBCN with direct responsibility for delivering employment and training services to its eight communities across Treaty 6 and Treaty 10 territories in northeastern Saskatchewan. The Government of Canada said the agreement reflects a broader commitment to...
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US consumer confidence falls to lowest level in 7 months with gas stuck above $4
By Matt Ott WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ confidence in the economy declined again this month as the ongoing conflict in Iran has steadily pushed gasoline prices above $4 per gallon in the U.S. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index dipped to 89.4 in August from 90.2 in July. That’s the lowest level in seven months but essentially in the same lukewarm range its been in since the beginning of the year. In late 2024 and early 2025 the readings were consistently above 100. Respondents’ views of their present situation improved, but their outlook for the near-term future soured. Americans remain frustrated with the economy after five years of elevated inflation, potentially posing a risk to President Donald Trump and Republicans in the midterm elections, which are...
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