New housing to have moderate health care on site, COVID-19 Emergency Control Group refocused to Emergency Housing
By Turtle Island News Staff Six Nations elders are get more housing with moderate assistance while Six Nations Elected Council staff is focusing its former COVID-19 emergency Control Group onto the community’s emergency housing crisis. Lilly Anne Mt. Pleasant, acting director of Six Nations Housing proposed a change to the 20-unit building slated for Harold Street that included a partnership between the department, social services and health services to provide nurses and personal support workers to the building. Mt. Pleasant told Six Nations Elected Council’s (SNEC) General) General Finance meeting Monday (January 16) staff saw an opportunity to make changes. Mt. Pleasant said the former director of housing Karen Bomberry started the project and it was pitched as a similar building as Sunrise Court, housing elders who can live independently, but...
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Six Nations Elected Council organizing healing event for community
By Turtle Island News staff Grief and loss is something the Six Nations community seems to endure often, but the last few months have taken a toll. Six Nations Elected Chief (SNEC) Mark Hill said the community needs to come together to alleviate some of the pain from the last few months to remember their collective strength and take joy in the community again. SNEC has kept Community Safety as a standing item on their General Council agenda since April 2022 after a young woman was badly beaten and attacked by dogs. Hill announced during the Jan., 10th council meeting that his office is working to plan a community event in February aimed at helping to heal the community through both traditional and non-traditional means, as a way to include as...
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Six Nations Elected Council pays tribute to former Chief Willam K. Montour
Former Six Nations Elected Chief William K. Montour brought the community together and successfully helped create many of the community spaces enjoyed today. The former Six Nations Elected Chief passed away in the early morning hours of Sunday, January 8 at the age of 81. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) held a moment of silence for Montour at the General Council meeting on January 10th. Current Elected Chief Mark Hill said Montour’s legacy in the community will not be forgotten. “Bill has contributed many things to this community and has really been a trailblazer for projects and buildings we see here today. He was a fantastic leader, he was really one of bringing our people together,” he said. “His legacy will live on through many members of the community daily…”...
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Six Nations Police quiet on attempted murder charges
Six Nations Police have charged a local man with a series of charges including attempted murder from an incident Nov., 10, 2022. However police are not releasing information on the charges or if they are connected with an incident Nov., 18th on Seneca Road that saw a taxi cab driver slumped over in the cab. He was taken to hospital in critical condition. SN Police charged a 17 -year-old with aggravated assault. He was also facing Attempt Murder, Robbery with a Firearm, Aggravated Assault, Assault with a Weapon, 3 counts of Failing to Comply with Release Order and several firearms related offences. According to an Expositor article, court documents show a Jesse Wayne Whitlow, 31, was charged on Nov. 10 with the attempted murder of a 30-year-old Six Nations man,...
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Six Nations to renew Imperial Oil pipeline agreement to cross territory
By Turtle Island News staff Six Nations will see more than $2 million over the next seven years to help drive interest in, and to fund, STEM education from Imperial Oil. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) approved a fourth seven year contract with Imperial Oil to fund the Science Education and Employment Development (S.E.E.D.) program at its General Council meeting on Jan. 10. The program is administered by a steering committee with community members like Rebecca Jamieson, president of Six Nations Polytechnic, who said SNEC’s legal team had already looked over the agreement and “raised no issues” with it. The agreement states that Imperial Oil will give Six Nations a little more than $324,000 (plus an Ontario Consumer Price Index Supplement (CPI Supplement) based on the average Ontario CPI) annually...
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Six Nations Elected Council to attend Jay Treaty conferences
By Turtle Island News staff Six Nations will spend the next few weeks diving into Jay’s Treaty and attending conferences. On Jan. 10 at the General Council meeting Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) approved motions to send two representatives from SNEC to two separate conferences surrounding the Jay Treaty at the end of January and early February. Elected Chief Mark Hill and Sherri Lyn Hill-Pierce will travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the 2023 Jay Treaty Border Alliance (JTBA) Conference and then to the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne UNDRIP Consultation on January 18 and 19 at the Potawatomi Hotel and Casino. The Conference is designed to bring awareness to issues that are unique to the United States-Canada border. There will be an overview of the Tribal Border Crossing Parity Act, a...
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Six Nations Food Bank happy with donation response
By Lisa Iesse Writer SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND – Over the holiday season, the Six Nations Food Bank overflowed with donations and support beyond the expectations of its staff. Mary Monture, Six Nations Food Bank’s Chair of the Board, said the Food Bank’s collection was a welcome surprise, “much better than expected, because expectations were very low. It was overwhelming. In the three years that we’ve been at the current location, we’ve never seen a Christmas like the one we just had, as far as volunteers and donations are concerned. It was amazing.” Monture said that the donations were significant, enough to ensure their operations for the coming year. A tally of the donations was not yet available, but a report is to follow. Six Nations Food Bank Coordinator
Weekly Cartoon
The proof is now there
The words echoed. Not only in the air of the Star Blanket Cree Nation community hall but in every Indigenous Nation in the country. The words everyone knew would be coming but dreaded. Proof of an unmarked grave at a residential school site. The much needed proof that Canada needed to see but generations of Indigenous people knew was there. “Now we know, it’s proof.” said Chief Michael Starr of Star Blanket Cree Nation. During ground penetrating searches at the former Qu’Appelle Indian Residential School, about 75 km northeast of Regina a fragment of a child’s jawbone was unearthed in October and ground-penetrating radar found 2,000 areas of interest. The province’s coroner’s service said it was a child four to six years old from about 125 years ago. Prime Minister...
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OPEN LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU ON PERPETUATING CLIMATE INJUSTICES AGAINST FIRST NATIONS
Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, Canada bears responsibility for the climate crisis that is driving humans to the precipice of a global catastrophe. While the Government of Canada has begun to acknowledge this crisis and has enacted some measures to try to help pull humanity back from the edge, two major problems characterize government action. Current measures are misleadingly presented as enough when they are far from that and Canada continues to harm those who can do the most to help lead us out of this mess. The Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (GGPPA) is one such measure. Enacted in 2018, it imposes a Fuel Charge on carbon-emitting fuels, such as oil, gas, and natural gas, as a monetary incentive for us to reduce and eventually stop the production and use...
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UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY: The Trickster Is Online
By Xavier Kataquapit In James Bay Cree mythology and legends, one of the recurring characters that comes up is the story of the trickster or wandering spirit. This a mysterious character that wanders around our world and takes on any form it wishes. It could be a man, a woman, a child, an Elder, or calls itself an older brother or a younger sibling. Sometimes it’s an animal, a bird or a tiny creature. It could just be a spirit that blows in the wind, that speaks from the forest or inhabits the earth or stones or water. Sometimes it’s a monster and sometimes it is a helpful being that saves people. Sometimes it is all intelligent, wise and all knowing and other times, it is as silly as child...
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Lickers and Hensen place seventh at Canadian figure skating meet
By Sam Laskaris Writer Six Nations’ Nathan Lickers and his ice dance partner Lily Hensen capped off a successful season this past weekend.Lickers and Hensen, who is from London, Ont., placed seventh over-all in the senior ice dance category at the Canadian figure skating championships. The national meet, which concluded on Sunday, was staged at the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa. For Lickers and Hensen, who are both 21, this marked the second time competing at the nationals in the senior category. They had placed ninth at the 2022 Canadian meet held in Ottawa. Lickers and Hensen were rather pleased with their free dance performance on Saturday. “I felt like we definitely left everything we had out on the ice,” Lickers said. “I couldn’t ask for anything better from that...
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Eight Indigenous players honoured via First Peoples Rookie Cards program
By Sam Laskaris Writer Six Nations youth that participate in this year’s Little NHL tournament will have the opportunity to pick up a new set of hockey cards featuring ex-National Hockey League players that were Indigenous. Details of the Upper Deck NHL First Peoples Rookie Cards set were announced this past Friday. The set features eight Indigenous players that played at least one game in the NHL but never had an official licensed rookie card. The idea for the project started a few years ago when Naim Cardinal, a sports card collector from Tallcree First Nation in Alberta, met an Upper Deck representative. Cardinal has a vast collection of NHL rookie cards of Indigenous players who have suited up for at least one game in the world’s premier hockey circuit....
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Rivermen to announce new coaching staff and management soon
By Sam Laskaris Writer The Six Nations Rivermen will have some new faces calling the shots in 2023. That’s because the local Senior B lacrosse squad is expected to announce a new coaching staff and a new manager soon. For starters, it was revealed last week that Jeff Powless, who had served as the club’s general manager last season would be stepping down from his role. Powless is expected to devote more time year-round to his role of serving as the general manager of the Jim Thorpe All-Americans, a squad that is currently competing in the inaugural season of the Professional Box Lacrosse Association, a nine-team circuit based in the United States. Also, Marko Celic, who is part of the Rivermen management team, said last year’s coaching staff featuring head...
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Vancouver Canucks’ fan favourite, Gino Odjick, dies at 52
VANCOUVER- One of the most popular players to ever suit up for the Vancouver Canucks has died. Wayne “Gino’’ Odjick, who played 12 seasons in the NHL for the Canucks, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens, died at the age of 52. Gino’s sister Dina Odjick shared the news Sunday on Facebook of his passing. “Our hearts are broken. My brother Gino Odjick has left us for the spirit world,’’ she wrote. Odjick spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Canucks after being selected by them in the 1990 entry draft, before being traded to the New York Islanders for Jason Strudwick in March 1998. In 2014, Odjick was diagnosed with Amyloidosis, a disease he says attacked his organs and his heart. The former enforcer...
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Snipers register first victory of their Arena Lacrosse League season
By Sam Laskaris Writer Jaxon Longboat’s first Arena Lacrosse League (ALL) victory couldn’t have come at a better time. The 20-year-old goaltender backstopped the Six Nations Snipers to a 16-10 triumph over the host Peterborough Timbermen in a match held this past Saturday at the Millbrook Arena. Besides being Longboat’s first ALL win, it was also the first of the year for the Snipers, the defending ALL East Division champs who had started off the current season with a pair of losses. “I honestly feel that was more of a team win,” said Longboat. “The defence played really well in front of me.” Longboat had also started a game for the Snipers last April, after the club had guaranteed itself a first-place finish in its regular season standings. Though Longboat...
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Author Wab Kinew reaches out to his young audience through their virtual world
By Shari Narine Local Journalism Initiative Reporter When the coronavirus pandemic forced school-learning to happen remotely in the beginning of 2020, it occurred to Wab Kinew that most teenage communication had already been happening virtually. It was with that in mind that Kinew launched his two-volume series that saw his young characters not only interact in the real world, but through gaming as well. The second book in that series, The Everlasting Road, has just been released. It follows two years after the first in the series, Kinew’s Aurora Award winning Walking in Two Worlds. “Most kids are gamers and just to put things in their perspective, video games are a pretty important part of the landscape and I thought it was a good way to connect,’’ said Kinew, who...
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Residential school records needed to answer ‘hard questions’: special interlocutor
By Brenna Owen THE CANADIAN PRESS VANCOUVER- The woman appointed to work with Indigenous communities as they search for unmarked graves at former residential schools across Canada says the fight is not over for records that could answer “hard questions,” including who the missing children were, how they died and where they are buried. Without records documenting the genocide of Indigenous Peoples, special interlocutor Kimberly Murray said, “deniers will continue to deny” and future generations could be led to forget. Survivors of the residential institutions have a “right to know,” Murray told a national gathering on unmarked burials in Vancouver on Tuesday. That right is not only individual, but collective, so the country can “draw on the past to prevent future violations,” said Murray, who is a member of Kanesatake
Search uncovers 171 ‘plausible burials’ near Ontario residential school
KENORA, Ont- Searches for unmarked graves at the site of a former northern Ontario residential school have uncovered 171 “plausible burials,” the Wauzhushk Onigum Nation said Tuesday, with other sites still to be investigated. Most of them were unmarked, except for five with grave markers, the First Nation said in a news release. Federal and provincial ministers were expected to meet with the First Nation Tuesday for discussions, including about resources to continue the investigation. “Both Canada and Ontario have continued to express their commitment to reconciliation, to the truth, and to healing of our communities,” Chief Chris Skead said in the release. “Finding the truth and exercising caution on everything touched by this genocidal legacy comes at a price and it’s a price our Treaty partners need to be
Province recognizes childcare access as key to economic growth
By Brenda Sawatzky Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Announcements from the province about new government incentives to help rebuild the local economy have been prolific in recent months. On January 17, Premier Heather Stefanson outlined the key role she says that childcare plays in economic growth. “Our government continues to be a national leader in providing affordable childcare services, which is critical to ensuring Manitobans can participate in the workforce, support their family, and play an active role in the growth of our communities and economy,” Stefanson said. The Tuesday morning announcement came in direct response to a recent commitment made to the Brandon YMCA for an additional $600,000 investment in their childcare centre. This brings the provincial investment in that particular project to a total of $1.2 million after an
