Visiting family thankful for local community’s help in locating stolen regalia
By K. Darbyson Local Journalism Initiative A family from Whitefish Bay First Nation received a helping hand from some locals after their pow wow regalia was stolen as they were passing through Sault Ste. Marie. Although some of the stolen items remain unaccounted for, Rhonda White is tremendously thankful for all the people who stepped up to help her family recover most of what was taken. “I’m grateful for what we were able to recover,” Rhonda said on Thursday, having just returned home after spending several days searching for these items in the Sault. “There are no words.” Rhonda stopped at the Sault’s Quality Inn on Monday alongside her sister Mandy and mother Caroline, with the trio returning home from a pow wow that had just taken place in Wikwemikong...
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‘There’s no confidence in this leadership’: Mississauga First Nation members question distribution of RHT funds
By K Darybson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter With Robinson Huron Treaty settlement payments set to roll out in the coming weeks, some Mississauga First Nation beneficiaries are crying foul. Several MFN members have told The Sault Star their band council is mishandling this distribution process, which, to them, severely lacks transparency, accountability and an adherence to the community’s laws. These feelings bubbled to the surface after the MFN administration recently passed a band council resolution that entitles each member to $125,000 from the community’s total RHT settlement (roughly $370 million). The rest of that settlement, around 50 per cent of the total according to Chief Brent Niganobe, will be put aside for a community trust to invest in future projects. To MFN elder Joan Morningstar, divvying up of the settlement...
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Coastal Marine Strategy responds to some of Islands Trust’s concerns
Local Journalism Initiative The newly released B.C. coastal marine strategy is meant to guide decision-making that supports biodiversity, productivity, resiliency and the prosperity, health and well-being of coastal communities for the next 20 years. The strategy was co-developed by the province and multiple coastal First Nations, including Snuneymuxw First Nation, whose traditional territory includes Gabriola Island. The strategy outlines actions that the province will take to steward marine resources “by striking a balance between taking and giving,” according to the province. The strategy focuses on the near shore areas and activities that fall under the B.C. government’s responsibility and notes that actions and activities will be implemented in collaboration and co-operation with other governments. The four themes of the strategy – healthy coastal marine ecosystems, resilience to climate change, thriving...
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‘So late in the game’ — Feds spend $12.5 M to study the tragedies of cancer downstream of oil sands
By Matteo Cimellaro Local Journalism Initiative Following years of advocacy and struggle, Indigenous nations downstream of the oilsands have received funding to understand the diseases they argue are a direct cause of the fossil fuel industry. On Wednesday, flanked by Indigenous leaders from the region, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced funding for a community-led study into the health impacts of the oilsands. There is a sense of payoff and joy within the community’s following years of advocacy at the federal-provincial level to receive the funding for the community-led health study. Chief Allan Adam, who has become a familiar face in Ottawa over the past years, has himself had family members pass away from rare cancers. He is not alone in Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) with that family history. For...
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City declares its newest deputy fire chief
By Dave Tarini Local Journalism Initiative THUNDER BAY — Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue is promoting within for the role of deputy chief. According to a release from the City, acting deputy fire chief Dave Tarini will take on the role on a permanent basis, effective immediately. Tarini has been with the service since 2003, working his way through the ranks of the suppression division to being promoted as Captain, according to a release from the city. Most recently he was assigned to the role of acting Deputy Fire Chief. He’s excited about his new and permanent role, which includes overseeing a few different departments within the service. Tarini will be responsible for supporting the effective and efficient direction and management of Thunder Bay Fire Rescue’s services. “I’ll be looking...
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Emergency response course looking for applicants
By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative reporter l Fort William First Nation is looking to bolster its ranks of volunteers who are trained to respond to community emergencies. Those 18 and older who either live on the reserve, or nearby, can apply to participate in a five-day emergency response course that starts on Aug. 21. The course, which is free for participants, still has some spaces available, a Fort William First Nation community bulletin said. Once they’ve successfully completed the course, participants receive an Ontario emergency first responder certificate and a standard first-aid provider certificate. “Our first response team is one of about 50 First Nation response teams in Ontario mandated by the Ministry of Health,” the bulletin said. Those who qualify to be part of the team are dispatched...
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“Much bigger than just beads,”: Two Mi’kmaq beaders recount experience repairing century-old Mi’kmaq relics at Smithsonian Museum
By Meghan Dewar, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Membertou’s Jocelyn Marshall, an expert beader, had the opportunity to assist with repairs of century-old Mi’kmaq relics at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. Marshall was chosen alongside Nik Phillips of Millbrook First Nation by Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre to spend a week assessing and restoring historical pieces this past May. Marshall is a third-generation beader, she says, and originally learned to bead from her aunt, Laura Marshall, who had learned from Marshall’s grandmother. Having beaded for the past 20 years, she was honoured to receive the opportunity, she says. “I got on board with Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Curators and I was, for about two years off and on, going up to beadwork shops on the bead panel...
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B.C. government considers ‘Plan B’ if salmon need help through Chilcotin slide zone
Canadian Press-Plans to help migrating salmon make it up British Columbia’s Chilcotin River to spawning grounds are in the works after a massive landslide breach created barrier challenges, but officials will wait to see if the water carves a new route for the fish, says Nathan Cullen, the provincial water, land and resource stewardship minister. Cullen said Thursday that the breach created a new “choke point” on the river that could impede sockeye salmon movement upstream, but the fish are extremely resilient and face many challenges on their journey to spawning grounds. The government’s plan to help salmon if needed comes as central Interior First Nations say they are measuring the impacts of the landslide that blocked the Chilcotin River for days, followed by a breach of the dam and...
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B.C. wildfires holding steady at about 350 with lightning in the forecast
The Canadian Press The Okanagan Indian Band in British Columbia’s southern Interior says an out-of-control wildfire that has prompted evacuation orders and alerts has seen recent “slow” growth, but fire behaviour could intensify along with rising temperatures. A statement from the First Nation outside Vernon on Thursday says BC Wildfire Service personnel were working to maintain guards around the seven-square-kilometre Hullcar Mountain blaze while helicopters douse it with water. The blaze is one of nine wildfires of note in the province, meaning the fires are either highly visible or pose a threat to public safety and infrastructure. The total number of active blazes across B.C. continues to hover at just under 350, with about 40 per cent classified as burning out of control. The latest bulletin from the wildfire service...
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B.C. First Nations say Chilcotin River landslide, flood hit heritage sites, salmon
First Nations in British Columbia’s central Interior are measuring the impacts of a massive landslide that blocked the Chilcotin River for days, followed by a subsequent torrent of water that sent trees and debris downstream. The Williams Lake First Nation says village sites that date back 4,000 years were swept away as the Chilcotin River carved away riverbanks, while the Tsilhqot’in National Government says critical salmon migration routes are seriously damaged and the threat of more slides exists. The landslide south of Williams Lake that dammed the Chilcotin River last week broke free on Monday, sending raging water, trees and debris downstream to the Fraser River, which flows through the Lower Mainland to Georgia Strait. Two heritage sites located along the banks of the Chilcotin River near the Farwell Canyon...
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Norway House opens $158 million health centre
By Dave Baxter Local Journalism Initiative reporter Winnipeg Sun A multi-million dollar health care centre in a Manitoba First Nation opened its doors to the public for the first time this week, after the federal government ponied up more than $150 million to help get the facility built. “I have seen a lot of health centres all over the north as minister of northern affairs, but I can tell you this is one of the finest I have ever seen,” federal minister Dan Vandal said Tuesday in the Norway House Cree Nation (NHCN) at an unveiling event for the $157.9 million Kinosew Sipi Nanatawiwekamik Health Centre of Excellence. The 9,470-square-meter facility, which is expected to be fully operational in October, will be a “fully integrated” health centre that will provide...
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Residential school doc ‘Sugarcane’ about ‘survival against all odds,’ says director
The Canadian Press Julian Brave NoiseCat initially didn’t want “Sugarcane” to be such a personal film. The Indigenous filmmaker says he intended to remain behind the camera for the Sundance prize-winning documentary, which he co-directed with Toronto’s Emily Kassie. The film is a quietly haunting account of deaths, rapes, suicides and missing children at the former St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School, a Catholic-run facility near Sugar Cane reserve in Williams Lake, B.C. But NoiseCat quickly realized the film would be incomplete if he and his family weren’t part of it. “My family had stories that cut to the core of the infanticide that happened at St. Joseph’s Mission,” NoiseCat, a member of the Canim Lake Band in British Columbia, says on a recent video call from Martha’s Vineyard, where he...
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Province earmarks 176k for Sault senior programming
By K. Darbyson Local Journalism Initiative Multiple Algoma communities were included in the latest round of funding from the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility, which set aside $1.6 million to help northern seniors stay active throughout 2024-25. Out of this specific slice of northern Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie received the most funding with $176,527 spread between five different initiatives. These organizations are the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre ($24,725), the City of Sault Ste. Marie ($24,908), the Sault Community Information and Career Centre Inc. ($24,650), the Senior Services Drop-In Centre ($51,137) and the Steelton Senior Services Centre ($51,107). Outside of the Sault, the province also set aside a significant amount of funds for the following Algoma communities: -Desbarats, $23,250 (AlgomaTrad Music and Dance Group) -Elliot Lake, $51,137 (Renaissance Seniors’ Centre) -Thessalon,...
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A win for the Harris-Walz ticket would also mean the country’s first Native American female governor
Associated Press 09/08/2024 If Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are elected this fall, not only would a woman of color lead the country for the first time, but a Native woman also would govern a state for the first time in U.S. history. Peggy Flanagan, the lieutenant governor of Minnesota and a citizen of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, is poised to serve as the state’s next governor should Walz step down to accept the role of U.S. vice president. Her rise to power has been watched closely by Indigenous peoples in Minnesota and across the country who see her as a champion of policies that positively affect Native Americans. In recent years, Minnesota has integrated tribal consultation into numerous aspects of...
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Bell got $64M from jail calls at issue in lawsuit, gave $39M commission to Ontario
The Canadian Press 09/08/2024 Bell Canada made more than $64 million in gross revenues from calls made by inmates at Ontario jails — at “exorbitant” rates, lawyers allege in a lawsuit — and gave nearly $39 million of that to the province as commission, according to new disclosures from the telecom giant. Bell charged $1 per minute plus a $2.50 connection fee for long-distance calls through the Offender Telephone Management System that it operated in Ontario jails from 2013 to 2021. The phone system only allowed inmates to place collect calls, and lawyers are seeking compensation for the families who had to foot those bills. More than 80 per cent of the people in Ontario’s correctional facilities are awaiting trial and are presumptively innocent. One of the representative plaintiffs in...
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Olympics ads are worth the money — and the criticism — for companies, experts say
The Canadian Press 09/08/2024 Olympics ads and sponsorships can offer big rewards for companies that choose to spend on them — even if those ads spark criticism from some viewers, experts say. There’s a lot at stake for companies advertising during the Olympics, whether they’re official partners or sponsors, or just referencing the Olympics in their marketing, said Michael Naraine, an associate professor of sport management at Brock University. “It’s a big swing, but it can be fairly rewarding if done appropriately and done with a measured, strategic approach,” he said. One sponsorship garnering some criticism online comes from Ozempic, one of CBC’s sponsors for its Olympics coverage. Ozempic is primarily used to treat diabetes, but it has recently been catapulted to notoriety for its ability to help users lose...
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Watershed quality is topic of area research project
By Darlene Wroe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Temiskaming Speaker 08/08/2024 10:08 DISTRICT – A Temiscamingue, Quebec, watershed organization is working with provincial and federal government bodies to learn more about the watershed, including the Blanche River and the Wabi River. The Organisme de bassin versant du Temiscamingue (OBVT) is continuing to work to raise awareness in Ontario about threats such as spiny water flea in Lake Temiskaming, and also to raise interest in creating a Temiskaming area watershed conservation authority. Biologist Akib Hasan can regularly be found on the Ontario side of the Lake Temiskaming watershed carrying out research projects regarding water quality in the lake and the water bodies that flow into it. The OBVT’s current research project started with the Timiskaming First Nation whose traditional territory encompasses much of...
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Inuit grandmas make rap debut
By Matteo Cimellaro, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Canada’s National Observer For two Inuit grandmas, rap was always for the younger generations — until it wasn’t. Julie Ivalu and Koomook McLister made their hip-hop debuts with the song Tagvauvugut recently. The music video for the track premiered the same day on the opening night of the Asinabka Festival, an Indigenous film and media arts festival held in Ottawa. The endeavour started with a Facebook post calling for Inuit grandma rappers. McLister’s background is in throat singing. One of her most recent performances was in front of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during Devolution in Nunavut this past March. McLister’s husband read the post and tipped her off about an opportunity to try her hand at a different music genre. She initially ignored...
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B.C. landslide and flood damages cultural sites, says Williams Lake FirstNation
The Canadian Press 08/08/2024 15:11 The Williams Lake First Nation says two and possibly three Indigenous cultural heritage sites sustained extensive damage when a torrent of water breached a landslide that had blocked the Chilcotin River in British Columbia’s central Interior. The nation says two of the sites were located along the banks of the Chilcotin River near the Farwell Canyon Bridge and the third site was downstream at the confluence of the Chilcotin and Fraser rivers. A landslide south of Williams Lake that dammed the Chilcotin River last week broke free on Monday and sent torrents of water, downed trees and debris downstream to the Fraser River, which flows through the Lower Mainland to Georgia Strait. The Williams Lake First Nation says in a statement the sites were three...
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Supreme Court won’t hear appeal of trucker convicted in Edmonton hotel killing
The Canadian Press 08/08/2024 15:15 Canada’s highest court won’t hear a conviction appeal from a former Ontario truck driver in the death of a woman at an Edmonton hotel. Bradley Barton was sentenced to 12 1/2 years for manslaughter in the death of Cindy Gladue. The 36-year-old Métis and Cree woman bled to death in a hotel bathtub in 2011. As is usual, the Supreme Court of Canada did not provide reasons in dismissing the application for leave to appeal. Barton’s lawyer Peter Sankoff says he’s disappointed by the decision. He says his client is still waiting for a ruling on a sentencing appeal with the Alberta Court of Appeal. A jury first found Barton not guilty of first-degree murder in 2015. The acquittal sparked rallies and calls for justice...
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