Osoyoos Indian Band set to restore native plants, species in wildfire-ravaged forests
By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Osoyoos Indian Band is working to revitalize forests in its territories that have been ravaged by wildfires — turning them into fire-resistent zones full of biodiversity, wildlife and medicinal plants for its members. The band-owned Nk’Mip Forestry is planning to revive two woodlands located above the First Nation’s reservation in the highlands between Oliver and Mount Baldy — making up just over 40 hectares combined. The forest tenure where the project is located is approximately 50,000 hectares in size, and is co-managed between the Osoyoos Indian Band and Gorman Bros. The two forests — a drier douglas fir ecosystem with ponderosa pine, and a montane spruce ecosystem dominated by dense lodgepole pile further up the hill — were both impacted by the...
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Traditional practices help patients heal at Selkirk Mental Health Centre
By Steven Sukkau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun The growing demand for Indigenous-specific mental health supports has prompted continued expansion of culturally based programming at Selkirk Mental Health Centre, where staff say healing is strengthened when traditional Indigenous practices are integrated with clinical care. Ryan Thomas, manager of Indigenous Health Services for Mental Health and Addictions with Shared Health, said more Indigenous people accessing mental health services are presenting with increasingly complex needs, often while living with the lasting effects of intergenerational trauma, grief, substance use disorders, social isolation and housing insecurity. “The need for Indigenous-specific mental health supports has grown significantly in recent years,” Thomas said. He said there is also greater recognition that recovery is most effective when it addresses the whole person. “For many Indigenous patients,...
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Canada sending $5 million in humanitarian aid to those hit by Venezuelan earthquakes
By Dylan Robertson Canada is providing $5 million in humanitarian aid to support emergency relief efforts after Venezuela was hit with earthquakes. Global Affairs Canada says the money will go towards emergency food, water, sanitation and health services, as well as protection and logistics services. The department says the government continues to monitor the situation and remains in close contact with partners to assess and respond to evolving needs over the coming days and weeks. Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday Ottawa would send aid to the South American country after what he called “catastrophic earthquakes” overnight. “It’s a, obviously, fast-developing tragedy,” Carney told reporters on Parliament Hill. In a written statement, Carney expressed his condolences for the dead — who numbered at least 188 as of Thursday afternoon —...
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Innu community ‘moved to anger, to strength’ after accusing province of censoring history
By Frey Blake-Pijogge, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Fallout continues from the last-minute cancellation of an exhibition of Innu culture and history in “Newfoundland and Labrador” — after its organizers said the province tried to censor it. After two years of planning, Innu Pakassiun (“Innu tools for survival”) was set to open on Sunday at the Labrador Interpretation Centre, on National Indigenous Peoples Day. The centre is run by The Rooms, the province’s official archives, museum and gallery — a Crown corporation overseen by provincial appointees, including the deputy minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation. But instead, the Innu Nation abruptly scrapped the long-awaited display. It accused the province of ordering the removal of all cultural items and timelines older than 300 years, contradicting the government’s preferred version of...
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Carney coming to Calgary Stampede, carrying message that separation is no magic wand
By Lisa Johnson Prime Minister Mark Carney is coming to next week’s Calgary Stampede, and plans to reiterate that quitting Canada will not be the magic wand separatists think it is. Carney, taking questions from reporters in Ottawa on Thursday, said the fallout from the United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union a decade ago should serve as a clear cautionary tale. “I saw firsthand what gets sold in these referenda, that everything’s gonna be easy, that you can keep your passport, the currency — you can stay in the country and leave it at the same time,” he said. Carney said Alberta’s vote comes when Canada is trying to be seen as a stable, reliable international trading partner. “At a minimum, it’s years of uncertainty before the subsequent...
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Province and Webequie break ground on supply road
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SNnewswatch.com WEBEQUIE — The process of building the Webequie Supply Road, a key part of establishing road access to the Ring of Fire, has begun. Premier Doug Ford, Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria and Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce joined Webequie First Nation Chief Lorraine Whitehead and other Webequie dignitaries on Thursday for a groundbreaking ceremony. “Ontario’s Ring of Fire is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create 70,000 good-paying jobs, access the critical minerals the world wants to buy, add $22 billion to our provincial economy and help northern Ontario reach its full economic potential,” Ford is quoted as saying in a government news release. Getting mines started in the Ring of Fire, a mineral-rich area in the James...
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Teachers’ union recognizes teacher group focused on climate-change issues
By Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press Manitoba’s newest professional teacher group has a mandate to share tips for managing eco anxiety and deliver solutions-based lessons on climate change. The Environmental and Climate Action Education Network of Manitoba officially became an affiliate of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society this spring. For its co-founders, the union’s endorsement is especially timely, as school communities make sense of recent wildfire and flooding-related disruptions — symptoms of, in teacher Suzanne Simpson’s words, “the biggest existential threat facing humanity.” “We do a disservice to present scary facts without any hopeful action, without the opportunity for hopeful action,” said Simpson, a teacher-librarian who runs environmental clubs at two elementary schools in Winnipeg. A trio of teachers established the group, formerly known as Educators for...
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Fort St. John to showcase competition featuring province’s best Indigenous firefighters
By Edward Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Indigenous fire departments from around British Columbia will descend on Fort St. John this weekend. The 41st annual Indigenous Firefighter Competition will take place all day on Saturday, June 27th, in Centennial Park, hosted by the First Nations Emergency Services Society of B.C (FNESS). Firefighting competitions are quasi-athletic events where first responders face challenges based on real-world scenarios they might encounter, testing strength, speed, skill, stamina, and technical skills. The society is a non-profit organization that partners with First Nations across the province through training programs in forest fire and emergency management, according to its website. According to FNESS’s media specialist, Richard Olak, the competition predates the organization’s formation, which occurred in 1986. “It started in 1984...
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Little Bear stepping down from vice-provost position
By Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lethbridge Herald The well-respected advocate, educator and leader Leroy Little Bear (Iikaisskini-Low Horn) will be stepping down from his role as vice-provost, Iniskim Indigenous Relations come the end of June. Born and raised on the Blood Reserve, Little Bear was one of the first Indigenous students to complete a program of study at the University of Lethbridge. He would later go on and create the first Native American Studies, which is now known as Indigenous Studies, at the University of Lethbridge, which was the first of its kind in Canada. He also created and served as the director of the Harvard University Native American Program from Jan. 1988 to June 1999. Little Bear was also instrumental in bringing about the Buffalo Treaty between First Nations...
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PM Carney to share plans for future of 24 Sussex on Friday
By Catherine Morrison Prime Minister Mark Carney says he will unveil plans for the future of 24 Sussex on Friday. Since the building was abandoned as the official residence of the prime minister, taxpayers have been shelling out tens of thousands of dollars per year to maintain the vacant property. Asked at a press conference Thursday what he would like to see happen to the building, Carney said he’d hold a press conference Friday to discuss that. Carney told reporters last May that it was up to the National Capital Commission to decide what to do with 24 Sussex. The 35-room mansion, built in 1896, served as the prime minister’s official residence from 1951 to 2015. While the grounds of 24 Sussex were used during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tenure...
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Native Americans commemorate victory at Little Bighorn with horse races, dance and song
By Matthew Brown And Jack Dura LITTLE BIGHORN BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL MONUMENT, Mont. (AP) — Thursday marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Greasy Grass, known to many as the Battle of Little Bighorn. For Native American tribes, it’s a time to commemorate one of the most famous and symbolically charged events in American history. Allied tribes came together on that hot day in June 1876 near the banks of the Little Bighorn River in present-day Montana to hand the U.S. Army a rare defeat as they fought to preserve their way of life in the face of westward expansion. Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and more than 200 his troops were killed. The quiet wind-swept prairie of rolling hills and grassy ridges is coming alive again this week as...
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In New Brunswick, First Nations, government mum on sensitive topic of natural gas
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Daily Gleaner More than a week after Premier Susan Holt held a closed-door meeting with New Brunswick’s First Nations chiefs, her Liberal government is still not saying anything about one of the main topics of discussion – the explosive issue of drilling for natural gas. Brunswick News has talked to several chiefs who confirmed that the idea of exploiting the resource was part of the talks, a sensitive issue in a province where pushback from opponents, including Indigenous demonstrators, led to a moratorium on fracking that has been in place for a dozen years. Allan Polchies, the chief of Sitansisk or St. Mary’s First Nation in Fredericton, said in an interview at a community event this week that natural gas was just...
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‘Miraculous’: Watay completes electrification of 16 First Nations
By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com MUSKRAT DAM – After more than 20 years and 1,800 kilometres of transmission lines, the work to connect 16 northern First Nations to the power grid is officially complete. “This is not vacant land, this is our land,” said Muskrat Dam First Nation Chief Carla Duncan. On Tuesday, the Muskrat Dam celebrated their connection to the provincial power grid through Wataynikaneyap (Watay) Power and said goodbye to the constant upkeep of its diesel generator station. Watay Power, which is owned in majority by 24 First Nations, has experienced many challenges since the project began said CEO Margaret Kenequanash. “Covid, forest fires, in the timeline that we were able to accomplish this project, I think it’s a miraculous project.” Muskrat Dam is the...
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First meeting held for new leadership table focused on growing homelessness crisis
By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative, TimminsToday.com TIMMINS — First Nations and municipal leaders hope that a new regional leadership table will help address homelessness by bringing decision-makers together in a way that has not happened before. On June 23, Mushkegowuk Council held the first meeting of the new community leadership table. The event brought together First Nations leaders, mayors, and regional organizations to talk about homelessness in the district. The effort comes at a time when homelessness is rising across the region. Mushkegowuk Council reported that the number of people experiencing homelessness in the district has gone up by about 137 per cent since 2023. By late 2025, nearly 500 people were unhoused, yet only about 140 shelter beds were available. “This approach has never really been done before,...
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Northern Ontario First Nation begins building road to the Ring of Fire mining region
By Liam Casey Construction has begun on one Ontario First Nation’s road to the Ring of Fire mining region. Premier Doug Ford is visiting Webequie First Nation today to mark the milestone, his first visit to a region he has spoken about often since taking power in 2018. Webequie is one of two remote fly-in First Nations that have signed partnership deals with the province in order to connect them to both the proposed mining area and to the provincial highway system. The proposed road and mine has angered a number of other First Nations in the area that are opposed to development in a largely untouched part of the province. Webequie has already cleared part of the road that sits on its reserve, which is on an island about...
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Osoyoos Indian Band set to restore native plants, species in wildfire-ravaged forests
By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Osoyoos Indian Band is working to revitalize forests in its territories that have been ravaged by wildfires — turning them into fire-resistent zones full of biodiversity, wildlife and medicinal plants for its members. The band-owned Nk’Mip Forestry is planning to revive two woodlands located above the First Nation’s reservation in the highlands between Oliver and Mount Baldy — making up just over 40 hectares combined. The forest tenure where the project is located is approximately 50,000 hectares in size, and is co-managed between the Osoyoos Indian Band and Gorman Bros. The two forests — a drier douglas fir ecosystem with ponderosa pine, and a montane spruce ecosystem dominated by dense lodgepole pile further up the hill — were both impacted by the...
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Canada prepares to send aid to those hit by Venezuelan earthquakes
By Dylan Robertson Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday Ottawa will send humanitarian aid to support Venezuelans after what he called “catastrophic earthquakes” overnight. “It’s a, obviously, fast-developing tragedy,” Carney told reporters on Parliament Hill. In a written statement, Carney expressed his condolences to the dead — who number at least 164 — and the hundreds of injured and displaced people. He said Canada is preparing to deliver humanitarian assistance. “You can expect further communication on that later today,” the prime ministers told reporters Thursday morning. “We’re working with our partners directly and we will scale things as appropriate to move forward.” The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century, and could be felt throughout the region, The Associated Press reported....
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Swiss collector wants thousands of Indigenous artifacts returned to communities
By Brittany Hobson A Swiss collector who has amassed thousands of Indigenous artifacts said he is eager to have his collection repatriated back to the communities it came from. Vincent Escriba has accumulated 3,500 ceremonial and traditional items, including cradleboards, sacred pipes and firearms, believed to be associated with the period of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The 67-year-old previously housed the items in a museum he ran in Switzerland that closed last year after Escriba decided to retire. Escriba has been speaking with a group of First Nations leaders and advocates in Manitoba about transferring the collection to Indigenous groups in the United States and Canada for a cost. “I don’t have any successors, no children, nothing. So I have to do something with the whole museum,” Escriba...
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Federal funding helps Long Plain fix water system issues
By Renee Lilley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Portage Graphic Leader Long Plain First Nation has completed a multi-million-dollar expansion of its water treatment plant, marking a significant milestone in a broader federal initiative to improve safe drinking water access across Manitoba First Nations. The community, approximately 20 kilometres southwest of Portage la Prairie, celebrated the completion of the upgrades Tuesday, June 23 alongside regional leaders and federal representatives, including Minister Rebecca Chartrand, on behalf of Indigenous Services Canada (ISC). The project is part of a combined $122.2-million federal investment spanning five Manitoba First Nations, including Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Berens River First Nation, Misipawistik Cree Nation, and Tootinaowaziibeeng Treaty Reserve. Long Plain First Nation Chief David Meeches estimates the water treatment plant upgrades cost between $20 million and $30 million. The...
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‘Father of the Northern Games’ honoured with commemorative stamp
By Dylan Follett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yellowknifer Canada Post has announced a new stamp in honour of Edward Lennie, known as “the father of the Northern Games.” Lennie was chosen to be on one of three stamps for his lifetime of commitment to coaching, growing and preserving Inuit sports, according to a June 17 Canada Post release. Lennie, who passed away in 2020, helped found the Northern Games and get Inuit sports in the Arctic Winter Games. The stamp is part of an annual collection Canada Post makes of Indigenous sports leaders for National Indigenous Peoples Day. Lennie was born near Imaryuk, and spent much of his life in Inuvik. There, he began teaching traditional games to youth after worrying they were being forgotten. He personally coached athletes in...
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