Dehcho Grand Chief wants Ottawa to speed up land talks
By Claire McFarlane, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cabin Radio Dehcho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian is calling on the federal government to speed up the Dehcho Process by increasing the frequency and duration of negotiations. Negotiations with Canada are suspended until a new federal government is sworn in and establishes a mandate following this month’s election. The Dehcho First Nations, or DFN, says federal negotiators have indicated that once talks resume, they will continue their previous schedule of meeting for three days every six weeks. “Canada’s policy is slowing talks down to a snail’s pace,” Grand Chief Norwegian was quoted as saying in a press release. “The new government should get serious about finishing an AIP” – agreement in principle – “within a year.” The Dehcho Process is the name given...
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Manitoba chiefs call for search of Winnipeg landfill for Tanya Nepinak
By Brittany Hobson -CP-First Nations leaders in Manitoba say the search of a Winnipeg landfill for the victim of a serial killer must include recovery efforts for another First Nations woman who went missing more than a decade ago. Tanya Nepinak was last seen in Winnipeg in September 2011 and police believe her body was dumped in a garbage bin and taken to the Brady Road landfill. “We need to bring Tanya home,” said Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson in a statement Tuesday. “We need all levels of government and the Winnipeg Police Service to come together to discuss a plan to bring Tanya Nepinak home.” Police searched a small portion of the landfill for Nepinak in 2012 but were unsuccessful in recovering her remains and called...
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Gitanyow chiefs tell B.C. court LNG project threatens salmon rights
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer A proposed northern British Columbia liquified natural gas project threatens vital salmon habitat, and Gitanyow cultural practices and economic opportunities, the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs argued recently in court. In a February hearing, following a petition filed in October, they told a B.C. Supreme Court Justice that the provincial government’s decision to exclude Gitanyow from consultations on the building of the LNG project violates their rights. The chiefs are seeking to overturn a decision by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office that didn’t include the Gitanyow in discussions about the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG project which would see a terminal built at the mouth of the Nass River. This is critical salmon habitat for Chinook salmon, a species already at risk. An...
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Investors swap suits for boots in land restoration success
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer A group of investors traded their suits for boots to survey an area in southern Ontario where they listened closely to Indigenous communities and researchers about ways to repair the land. They were gathered in Ontario’s Carolinian Zone, a highly populated stretch of land between Toronto and Windsor, where the ecosystem has been seriously damaged by high levels of development. The money-holders were interested in setting up a so-called “conservation impact bond” in partnership with Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, whose members would be paid to repair the habitat. Beneficiaries of the improved lands — which could include local governments or insurance companies — would repay investors and ensure a fair profit. As a crucial first step, Diane-Laure Arjalies,...
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Costs will decide if Six Nations rebuilds or repairs its former health centre shut down by mold
Six Nations Gane’ Yohs Health Centre remains closed after mold infestation a year ago (Photos by Jim C. Powless) By Lynda Powless Editor OHSWEKEN, ON –Whether Six Nations gets a newly rebuilt federally funded health centre will depend on costs to either rebuild or remediate the former Gane’ Yohs Health Centre shut down last April when mold was found in the building. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) communications coordinator Caitlin Court sent out an update Monday March 31, that said SNEC has directors and an executive team working with Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) representatives to address the mold found at Gane’ Yohs Health Centre a year ago. The community notice, sent out by the communication’s coordinator, said Six Nations of the Grand River (SNGR) wanted to remind the community not all...
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Manitoba chiefs call for search of Winnipeg’s Brady Road landfill for Tanya Nepinak
By Brittany Hobson The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs says a potential search of a Winnipeg landfill for the victim of a serial killer must include recovery efforts for another First Nations woman who went missing more than a decade ago. Tanya Nepinak was last seen in Winnipeg in September 2011. Police believe her body was dumped in a garbage bin and taken to the city-run Brady Road landfill. Officers searched a small portion of the landfill for Nepinak in 2012 but were unsuccessful in recovering her remains and called off the search after a week. The Manitoba government has committed to searching Brady Road for the remains of Ashlee Shingoose, one of the four First Nations women Jeremy Skibicki has been convicted of killing. Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief...
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Former Sheshatshiu drug dealer says employment, resources needed to help those struggling
By Heidi Atter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Mental health workers are clearing land for a traditional Innu camp as a safe place for people to detox from the effects of alcohol and drugs as parents and leaders from Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation continue fighting the drug crisis ravaging their community. Amid the preparations, a woman who once sold drugs in the community says more employment resources and attainable training are needed to help people stop dealing and turn to meaningful work instead. On March 24 a group of community members held a meeting where about 60 Innu, including members of the local band council and the Innu Nation, discussed what organizers are calling a crisis. The following day the group met with RCMP representatives, then went door-to-door to speak with...
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Sault Ste. Marie-Algoma PPC candidate says party most aligned with Trump
By Margaret Kirk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Sault Star Harry Jaaskelainen has launched his campaign for the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) in the newly formed Sault Ste. Marie-Algoma riding. Jaaskelainen previously ran in the former Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing riding, where he said PPC support tripled between the 2019 and 2021 elections. This year, he hopes to double their share of the vote, which stood at five per cent in the last election. Originally, Arnold Heino was expected to run for the PPC, as he did in the recent provincial election, but withdrew for personal reasons. “I was in the wings waiting if I was needed,” said Jaaskelainen. The PPC was founded by Maxime Bernier, a former member of the Conservative Party. Jaaskelainen said the Conservative Party is no longer conservative, in...
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Nunavik Police Service aims to relaunch cadet program
By Cedric Gallant, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavik Police Service is reviving its cadet program with hopes to increase its Inuit staff. The program will recruit 18-year-old Inuit to accompany officers in activities such as prevention work, bike rallies and school presentations, said Nunavik Police Service Chief Jean-Pierre Larose in a French interview from his Kuujjuaq office. After a summer or two as a cadet, they can decide if they would like to enter the Royal Canadian Mounted Police program that Nunavik police have been using to recruit other officers. The six-month program, offered in Regina, trains a police officer from scratch. After graduating, they can be hired to enter Nunavik’s police service. “I must admit, there is a lot of work to do,” Larose said of his team’s need...
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Aukkauti, a Nunavik story made whole again
By Cedric Gallant, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News Aukkauti holds his friend’s dead son in his arms and looks out into the packed crowd in Satuumivik gymnasium, with elders sitting in the front row. He’s the lead character in the namesake play Aukkauti, an adaptation of a story told across multiple generations in Nunavik. Aukkauti premièred Thursday at the Puvirnituq Snow Festival, a production of Aaqsiiq Inuit Theatre. “What was important for me was to show the authenticity of the events,” the play’s author Lisa Koperqualuk said in an interview. She has been working on bringing Aukkauti’s story to life for the past seven years. The story is a tragic one, and it’s true. Aukkauti made the fatal mistake in 1899 of shooting his friend’s son, which led to...
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Entering ‘exciting professional development’
By Sandi Krasowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Jason Rasevych is changing the narrative for First Nations. Well known as a negotiator, business advisor, Indigenous business ambassador and entrepreneur, Rasevych has now become a top scholar. President and founder of the Anishnawbe Business Professional Association (ABPA), Rasevych is one of 52 Canadians who have been accepted into the competitive seventh cohort of the Harvard Business School executive education certificate program. The Leading People and Investing to Build Sustainable Communities program was delivered in partnership with the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada at Harvard University in Boston, Mass., last week. Rasevych said he is “grateful and humbled” to be selected as one of the Indigenous leaders for the Harvard program, which he called “prestigious.” He said the timing of it is...
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CIBC and Indigenous-led Longhouse Capital Partners form strategic relationship
-CP-CIBC Global Asset Management says it has entered into a strategic relationship with Indigenous-owned and led asset management firm Longhouse Capital Partners Inc. The bank says the relationship will give its institutional clients opportunities to expand access to private markets through investments in Indigenous-managed alternative investment options such as private infrastructure debt. It says Longhouse focuses on private infrastructure debt so Indigenous communities can invest in assets like transmission lines, renewable energy, and transportation projects. Paul Cugno, chief operating officer of Longhouse, says the relationship with CIBC will help its efforts to provide both long-term stable financial returns and economic self-determination for Indigenous communities. The deal comes as a range of efforts are underway to increase Indigenous infrastructure ownership, including a federal loan guarantee program. It also comes as banks...
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Ginoogaming still in state of emergency despite temporary bridge
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Thunder Bay Source GINOOGAMING — Ginoogaming First Nation has a functioning temporary bridge to Longlac, but the First Nation’s leadership says the community will remain in a state of emergency until they once again have a permanent crossing. Ginoogaming closed the decades-old bridge between the First Nation and Longlac and declared a state of emergency in early November after engineers determined the span was at risk of immediate failure. The temporary bridge, made necessary by the deterioration of an old span across the Making Ground River Bridge, opened to traffic last Nov. 30. The federal government promised to form a working group with Ontario focused on bridge repair and maintenance. But, according to Ginoogaming Chief Sheri Taylor, that promise has gone largely unfulfilled....
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FRAUD TEXT SCAM ALERT: The OPP WARNS ONTARIANS ARE BEING TARGETED IN “SMISHING” FRAUD
OTTAWA, ON- Ontario Provincial Police (OPP)are warning the public to any text based appearing to come from financial institutionsm retailers and others afte cybercriminals began “ramping up text-based scams” in a move to steal personal and banking information. The tactic, OPP say is known as “smishing”, a combination of “SMS” (short message service) and phishing. The tactic relies on “deceptive text messages to trick recipients into clicking malicious links or calling fraudulent numbers”. OPP said the smishing messages often appear to come from financial institutions, courier companies, online retailers or government agencies. Clicking on the links can lead to identity theft, financial fraud or malware being installed on your device. Examples of smishing attempts are available in the additional content section to help Ontarians recognize these scams. In 2024, the...
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Homicide detectives investigate after Winnipeg man’s suspicious death
WINNIPEG,MAN-Homicide detectives in Winnipeg are looking into the suspicious death of a Saskatchewan man whose body was found behind a home last week. Police say they were called to the 700 block of Wellington Avenue on Friday for a report of “suspicious circumstances,” where they found 30-year-old Bronson Emery Dale Kequahtooway dead. Kequahtooway had been living in Winnipeg but was originally from the Zagime Anishinabek First Nation in Saskatchewan. Police say the man’s family has been notified and that the investigation continues. Anyone with information is to contact the Winnipeg police or Crime Stoppers. Media reports from the scene show a row of garbage and recycling bins partially covered with a black tarp with police tape surrounding the area. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31,...
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Sexual assault trial for Lake St. Martin First Nation chief begins in Winnipeg
By Brittany Hobson The chief of a Manitoba First Nation allegedly forced a young girl into a bathroom in his Winnipeg home, took photos of her and sexually assaulted her, court heard on the first day of the man’s trial. Christopher Traverse, who was the leader of Lake St. Martin First Nation at the time of his arrest last year, has been charged with sexual assault, sexual interference and child pornography stemming from the incident, which allegedly occurred in December 2023. Traverse has pleaded not guilty to the charges. A publication ban is in effect that restricts naming the girl or any other details that may identify her. The complainant, who was eight years old at the time of the alleged offences, provided testimony in provincial court on Monday in...
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B.C. North Coast First Nation to vote on historic constitution
By Radha Agarwal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince Rupert Northern View The Lax Kw’alaams band has called a referendum for April 9 to vote on the proposed Da’ax Kw’alaams Man-Ayaawx Constitution, a momentous step toward establishing their own self-governance framework. “A Constitution will re-affirm and assert the rights of Lax Kw’alaams people. Only with the Constitution can we move away from the Indian Act,” said the band on its official social media handles. The Lax Kw’alaams community consists of descendants from the Nine Tribes of the Ts’msyen, which include the Gitlaan, Gispaxlo’ots, Gilutz’aaẅ, Gitandoa, Gitnadoixs, Ginax’angiik, Gits’iis, Gitzaxłaał, and the Gitwilgyoots. It has approximately 4,150 members and is located on the northwest coast of British Columbia near Prince Rupert. To exercise their rights to self-determination and self-governance, they will proceed...
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B.C. hunts for wasteful spending in review of health authorities
By Brieanna Charlebois British Columbia is reviewing health authority spending to ensure resources go to “critical patient services” and to minimize wasteful administrative costs. Health Minister Josie Osborne said Monday that the government wants to ensure that all authorities are best positioned to tackle the “complex challenges” facing the health care system. “There is no doubt that the health-care system is under a lot of strain right now,” she told reporters in Victoria on Monday. “These reviews will be undertaken in a very thoughtful, structured way, with input from health-care providers so that we can do the best job possible, making the best use of all resources to deliver health care for British Columbians.” The move comes amid a series of emergency room closures that have spread from rural communities...
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‘We’re in a dire time’: Treaty 8 director of sport on importance of teamwork podcast
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT NELSON, B.C. — Cedar Welchin spoke of the importance of using sport to uplift the lives of First Nations’ youth in an appearance on Before the Peace. Welchin, who resides in the Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN), is the former athletic director of Chalo School and is currently the director of sport of the Treaty 8 BC Sports Association. “I started this because there’s a real need for All-Native teams,” said Welchin. “I kind of pulled away what I was doing in the school to get more teams up in the north. “[Sports] are an expression of the commitments we have to our communities. Older people need to step up. It helps us to build strong, healthy communities through teamwork. We’re...
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Language research released for National Indigenous Languages Day
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Beaver language of the Dane-zaa people was one of nine different language families analyzed by a new report. The Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages in collaboration with Statistics Canada released the data on Monday, March 31st: National Indigenous Languages Day. According to the Treaty 8 Tribal Association’s website, Dane-zaa or the Beaver language – part of the Athabaskan family – is the dialect spoken among several bands in northeast B.C. These include Doig River First Nation, Prophet River First Nation and Halfway River First Nation. The report suggests the province has a “diverse group” of Athabaskan speakers with roughly three quarters of respondents surveyed – 75.9 per cent – living in B.C. able to...
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