Alberta ‘on notice’ Coastal B.C. nations opposed to pipeline proposal
By Ashley Joannou The head of a group representing First Nations along British Columbia’s coast says they will not support a new pipeline proposed by Alberta and nothing can be done to change that. Marilyn Slett, chief councillor of the Heiltsuk Tribal Council and president of the Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative, said Wednesday that First Nations fought for decades to get the federal moratorium that keeps oil tankers out of their waters. “As the rights and titleholders of B.C. North and Central Coast and Haida Gwaii, we must inform Premier (Danielle) Smith once again that there is no support from coastal First Nations for a pipeline and an oil tankers project in our coastal waters,” Slett said moments after Alberta’s premier announced her government will be pitching a pipeline...
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First Nations group questions audit that found $34M in questionable spending
By Brittany Hobson -CP- WINNIPEG- An advocacy group representing First Nations in Saskatchewan is firing back after a forensic audit found more than $34 million in questionable, unsupported or ineligible spending over five years. The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations responded to the results of a recent forensic audit saying it has a robust system of financial management, accountability and transparency, but that processes during the probe hindered the organization’s ability to provide relevant information. “(The federation) has excellent capacity and record keeping … unfortunately, due to underfunding, many First Nations and First Nations organizations do not have the level of capacity to respond to such audits,” the organization said in a statement released on Wednesday. “Systemic change is required as transparency and accountability should be a partnership that helps...
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Conservation group preparing to perform necropsies on dead sperm whales in P.E.I.
By Hina Alam A conservation group is planning necropsies on three sperm whales that died after being stranded off the northern coast of Prince Edward Island. Tonya Wimmer, executive director of the Marine Animal Response Society, said one of the first steps is moving the bodies to a suitable place for the necropsies. She explained veterinarians and pathologists would not be able to do their work on the beach where the whales died since it was a remote location. “We’ve got commitment from, thankfully, the Lennox Island First Nation, to be able to take the animals there and do the necropsies on a beach and then bury them on site,” she said. “But it’s still trying to figure out how to get them there off the other islands.” The whales...
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Non-profit ‘trying our very best,’ in face of rising food insecurity
By Arty Sarkisian, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News Iqaluit’s food centre’s serving of meals at record-high levels highlights the “crushing” demand for assistance and worsening food security crisis, says its executive director Joseph Murdoch-Flowers. “We are trying our very best,” he said Friday during a news conference at the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre near St. Jude’s Anglican Cathedral. The event came just a month before the Oct. 27 territorial election. About 20 people attending the event, including Iqaluit-area candidates Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster, George Hickes and Gwen Healey Akearok. On Sept. 17, the food centre served 639 meals. In a city of roughly 8,000 residents, that accounts for eight per cent of the population. “But I know that even if we’re providing over 600 meals in a day, we’re still...
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Visiting art exhibit that captures life in the far north like ‘opening an old photo album’
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com KENORA – An art installation that’s currently on display in Kenora captures decades worth of colour photography showing life in the far north around the mid-20th century. People of the Watershed is comprised of dozens of scans of photographs taken from original 35-millimetre Kodachrome colour slides. The photos were taken by John Macfie, a longtime trapline manager for the then-Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, of life in many northern First Nations where he lived and worked. The exhibit by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection was curated by Paul Seesequasis, a Willow Cree journalist and photographic curator. The exhibit is at Kenora’s Douglas Family Art Centre and Lake of the Woods Museum (collectively called The Muse) until they close for the holidays...
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Indigenous education group wants people to go beyond ‘narratives of colonial harm’
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Daily Gleaner An Indigenous educational group in New Brunswick wants people to move beyond a single day of reflection on the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation and take a deeper dive into local Indigenous history and culture. In the lead up to Tuesday’s national day of commemorating an often painful history, Three Nations Education Group issued a release encouraging teachers, students and everyday people to jump onto its website to learn more about the treaties signed between colonial powers and Wabanaki people in the 18th century. The group was established in 2009 by the First Nations at Esgenoôpetitj (Burnt Church), Neqotkuk (Tobique), and Elsipogtog (Big Cove) to supply educational materials. The release states that for more than a decade, Three Nations...
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Youth paddle together for Truth and Reconciliation Day
By Ina Pace, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Squamish Chief Squamish Nation members and community support services brought youth together to take part in the 5th annual canoe pull at Alice Lake. A day of reconciliation means working in unison, quite literally. Foundry Sea to Sky collaborated with Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), and the RCMP to share first-hand knowledge of teamwork and community spirit with young people, in co-ordinating a group canoe pull at Alice Lake Provincial Park. The canoe pull this year marked the event’s fifth anniversary at Alice Lake. RCMP Const. Kelly Dean, of the Integrated First Nations Policing Unit, described to participants and onlookers how the pull was literally a transfer of energy from the paddle to the water, and that a successful canoe pull relied on...
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‘My parents couldn’t vote’: Iqaluit Elder on what Truth and Reconciliation means to him
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Canadian history textbooks tell a story of how fur traders built the country, but not about how it was on the backs of Indigenous people trapping and skinning the animals, an Iqaluit elder told Nunavut News. That’s just one example of what Ainiak Korgak reflects on every National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. A one-sided story has been taught to Canadians from the point of view of the Hudson’s Bay Company traders, who Korgak said were dishonest with the Indigenous people from whom they purchased furs. Indigenous stories weren’t taught in schools for generations, he said, because Indigenous people weren’t treated as equals. “We were not recognized in this country as citizens, legal citizens, because we couldn’t vote. My parents...
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MP, Inuit leader identify reconciliation priorities
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News When it comes to reconciliation, Nunavut MP Lori Idlout and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. President Jeremy Tunraluk both say they want the federal government to address health and access to food inequality. Idlout said the federal government needs to treat the territory better. “Reverse the chronic underfunding of Indigenous communities and services to improve the lives and well-being of all Indigenous children and families in equal partnership with First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples,” Idlout told Nunavut News. She said the federal government should stop fighting Indigenous children in court, adhere to Jordan’s Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative, providing timely access to health and education. Speaking for Nunavut Tunngavik (NTI), Tunraluk pointed out that it’s been 10 years since...
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‘We’re resilient:’ Guests, dignitaries and residents reflect on the importance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — As September drew to a close, Indigenous groups across the Peace region came together for what is one of the most important events on the community’s calendar. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was only recognized by the Canadian government in 2021, but its importance goes further than that. Also known as Orange Shirt Day, the day commemorates the atrocities experienced by Indigenous peoples within Canada’s residential school system and was first recognized in 2013. For some survivors, the trauma experienced by relatives has had a ripple effect lasting generations. On Saturday, September 27th, local Indigenous groups organized a round dance and tea dance for both the public and the First Nations community at the Taylor...
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Powerful Tsleil-Waututh Nation walk honours residential school survivors
By Abby Luciano, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, North Shore News Nearly 250 people wearing orange filled Dollarton Highway in North Vancouver Tuesday for a walk honouring səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) residential school survivors. Tsleil-Waututh Nation members, politicians and people from the community gathered at Whey-ah-Wichen/Cates Park 11 a.m. Tuesday to walk three kilometres to the community’s reserve. “We walk together to take some of that harm that’s been on our path as Tsleil-Waututh people, as Indigenous people,” said Gabriel George, knowledge keeper and director of the culture, language and protocol department at Tsleil-Waututh Nation to the crowd. “We want to bring that healing.” Tsleil-Waututh elders and residential school survivors led the walk with the community following behind in solidarity. Along Dollarton Highway, many people held signs remembering Tsleil-Waututh loved ones who...
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Reconciliation includes recognizing Residential Schools are not the only colonial atrocity
By Wade Paul, Phd Candidate, Concordia University Sept. 30 is upon us once again, the fourth year this day will be observed as a time to reflect on the history of colonialism, and its ongoing impacts, on the Indigenous Peoples and communities in what is now called Canada. This day first became recognized as Orange Shirt Day by grassroots organizers in 2013, the day Canadians honour the Survivors of Residential Schools and acknowledge the intergenerational impacts of these institutions on Indigenous Peoples. Inspired by Survivor Phyllis Webstad’s testimony shared with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) — where she described how the orange shirt her grandmother had given her was taken away on her first day of Residential School — the orange shirt emerged as an enduring symbol of Indigenous...
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Building connections is important for entrepreneurs
By Pearl Lorentzen Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeside Leader “As entrepreneurs sometimes it can be very lonely,” said Cliff Turner, one of the speakers at Empowering Indigenous Businesses in Wabasca on September 4. Turner works with ATB Financial to support entrepreneurs and spoke about the various supports that are available in Alberta. He started talking about building a network. “A connected business is a strong business,” he said. When talking about the value of mutually beneficial relationships in business he said, “there’s always a person at the other end of what you’re doing.” Turner also mentioned provincial supports including ATBentrepreneurcentre.com, chamber of commerce (the closest ones to Wabasca are in Slave Lake and Athabasca), businesslink.ca, Futurpreneur, Community Futures, Alberta Women’s Entrepreneurs, Indigenous Women Entrepreneur Program, Alberta Indian Investment Corporation, and...
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Search for remains of missing Alberta teen expands as police deem death criminal
By Aaron Sousa The mother of an Indigenous teen in Edmonton who has been missing four months says she’s shattered by the loss of her boy. “I’ve carried this pain every single day since (Samuel) went missing,” said Alanna Bird, speaking Wednesday at an Edmonton police news conference. “I have prayed, I have hoped, I have leaned on my family, my community and my ancestors for strength. “No parent should ever have to go through this, and yet too many Indigenous families continue to face this same nightmare.” Samuel Bird, 14, was last seen in June when he left his mother’s home in the Alberta capital to visit a friend and never returned. At the time, officers said it was unusual for him to go without contacting his family. After...
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B.C. Conservative staffer fired for calling Reconciliation Day flag a ‘disgrace’
By Wolfgang Depner A former spokesperson for the Conservative Party of British Columbia says she has been fired over a social media post in which she called the raising of a flag honouring survivors of Canada’s residential school system a “disgrace.” Lindsay Shepherd says in a post on the social media platform X that Conservative Leader John Rustad fired her Wednesday over her remark about the raising of the flag at the provincial legislature in Victoria last week. The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs had called on Rustad to fire Shepherd over the post, which was captured in a screenshot and shared by New Democrat MLA Rohini Arora before it was deleted from Shepherd’s profile on X. Shepherd said in the post that it was a “disgrace that this fake...
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Surplus requirement holds up some EA funding in Yellowknife
By Claire McFarlane, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cabin Radio An eligibility requirement imposed by the Northwest Territories government to receive funding for educational assistants is delaying recruitment for those roles at a Yellowknife school board. In August, the territorial government announced it would offer up to $14 million to schools whose funding for educational assistants was cut due to changes to Jordan’s Principle, a federally administered initiative. The changes, mandated by Indigenous Services Canada, meant requests made through schools located off-reserve would no longer be approved. The YK1 school district announced in June that it would cut 79 EA positions across its schools in response to the expected loss of Jordan’s Principle support. When the GNWT’s stopgap funding was announced to help reinstate those positions, the territory said it would...
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Andrea Godin shares insight into how to mitigate natural disasters within Indigenous communities
By Laura Mushumanski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News “Whatever you learn in life, you share it,” says Andrea Godin. There is strength in unity, she adds, and when coming together and doing good things, knowledge sharing is at the core of all that we do. Godin has been working for her nation – the Dene Tha’ First Nation located in Treaty 8 Territory – in some capacity, since she finished high school. But it wasn’t until she turned 21 that she decided to put an end to a cycle she noticed within her communities and family systems. “I wanted a different journey,” she shared. That led her to pursue an education in business administration at MacEwan University. While employed by her nation to work with numbers and administration,...
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Manitoba schools work to fulfil promise afforded by new law supporting Indigenous language
By Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press ‘Minawaanigoziwin” is the Ojibwe concept that comes to mind for Sherri Denysuik when the Winnipeg teacher is asked about her thoughts on a new law that raises the status of Indigenous languages in schools. That term is roughly translated to “one who is happy and joyous.” Denysuik, a member of Sagkeeng First Nation, is trying to learn words many of her ancestors were banned from speaking and, in many cases, punished for uttering inside a residential school. Recent changes to Manitoba’s Public Schools Act are expected to make it easier for future generations to become fluent in Indigenous languages. Bill 18 places Ojibwe, Cree and others in the company of Canada’s official languages in the kindergarten-to-Grade 12 system. It allows...
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Swiss glaciers shrank 3% this year, the fourth-biggest retreat on record, experts say
By Jamey Keaten GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s glaciers have faced “enormous” melting this year with a 3% drop in total volume — the fourth-largest annual drop on record — due to the effects of global warming, top Swiss glaciologists reported on Wednesday. The shrinkage this year means that ice mass in Switzerland — home to the most glaciers in Europe — has declined by one-quarter over the last decade, the Swiss glacier monitoring group GLAMOS and the Swiss Academy of Sciences said in their new report. “Glacial melting in Switzerland was once again enormous in 2025,” the scientists said. “A winter with low snow depth combined with heat waves in June and August led to a loss of 3% of the glacier volume.” Switzerland is home to nearly 1,400 glaciers,...
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Former Six Nations Police officer facing breach of trust and obstruction charges
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER- The Hamilton Police Service has been called in to investigate the conduct of a former Six Nations Police officer who is facing Breach of Trust and Obstruction of Justice charges. Sergeant Raymond Johnson, a 14-year member of the Six Nations Police Force, was arrested and charged with Breach of Trust by Public Officer and Obstruction of Justice. Johnson was scheduled to appear in Ontario Court of Justice in Brantford Oct., 9, 2025. Johnson is no longer employed with the Six Nation Police Service. Six Nations Police said because charges are before the courts police will not provide details or comments to maintain the integrity of the court proceedings. ...
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