Rivermen conclude season with loss in Presidents Cup bronze-medal match
By Sam Laskaris Writer Veteran Six Nations Rivermen defender Rodd Squire is still deeming his team’s 2025 campaign a success. That’s even though the Rivermen were unable to capture any hardware at the national Presidents Cup tournament, which concluded this past Saturday in Whitby. Squire and his teammates were downed 12-2 by the Edmonton Miners in their bronze-medal contest. The Cornwall-based Snake Island Muskies won the eight-team tourney. The Muskies beat the host Brooklin Merchants 11-5 in the gold-medal contest. Six Nations’ quest to garner gold came to an end on Friday when it was downed 14-10 by the Merchants in a semi-final outing. “We came out flat and we just couldn’t really seem to get rolling and playing our game,” Squire said of the Rivermen performance Saturday. “We got...
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Chiefs seeking ninth Mann Cup championship
By Sam Laskaris Writer The Six Nations Chiefs will be hoping to capture their third consecutive national Mann Cup championship in the coming days. But the local squad has also had its share of other successes at the national level as well. In fact, the Chiefs have won the Mann Cup crown a total of eight times in franchise history. The Six Nations club, founded in 1993, only managed to win one of its 16 regular season matches in its inaugural campaign. But the Chiefs quickly became a powerhouse, winning their first Mann Cup the following year. Six Nations downed the New Westminster Salmonbellies – the same club it will face in the 2025 Mann Cup – 4-2 in its best-of-seven series, which was held in Brantford in 1994. The...
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Sam Laskaris wins 2025 Debwewin Citation
Sam Laskaris is the 2025 Debwewin Citation winner. The award is Anishinabek Nation’s annual Excellence in Journalism. The award recognizes excellence in reporting of storytelling about Anishinabek issues. The Anishinabek Nation is a political advocate of 39 First Nations across Ontario. Sam was presented with the award on Aug.28 at Casino Rama Resort in Chippewas of Rama First Nation during the Anishinabek Evening of Excellence ceremony....
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Assembly of First Nations annual assembly opens on Treaty rights, Bill C-5 and shadow of landfill search for Indigenous womens’ remains
By Carly McHugh Writer WINNIPEG, MANITOBA-The federal budget, Treaty rights and the impact of Bill C-5 may be among the agenda items for the Assembly of First Nations’ (AFN’s) Annual General Assembly on Tue., Sept. 2, but just holding the assembly in Winnipeg is sending a message. AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak issued a welcome to Treaty 1 territory, reminding everyone it’s the first time AFN assembly has been held in the province since 2004. The AFN passed a resolution in July 2023 cancelling its annual general assembly in Manitoba when the province refused to search the Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of First Nations women. The remains of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, and an unidentified woman, known as Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe were later found in March 2025, at the Prairie Green Landfill near Winnipeg after Premier Wab...
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Indigenous artwork unveiling symbolic of relationship between Nunatukavut and provincial government, say leaders
By Sean Ridgeley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Telegram Nunatukavut Community Council President Todd Russell was beaming after Nunatukavut artist Charlene Rumbolt’s piece was unveiled at Confederation Building on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, where it will remain indefinitely. Russell said celebrating Indigenous art like this — many Indigenous artworks line the room — represents one more step in repairing a relationship that’s been fraught with conflict and strife in the past. “It completes the circle of the Indigenous peoples that occupied these lands and continue to, and so it’s a good day, a great day,” he said. “I’m smiling.” After pointing to the use of sealskin in the piece as particularly meaningful to his people and their families, he expressed it is about much more than a single piece of...
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Lightning strikes down but more heat primes wildfires in B.C.: wildfire service
The BC Wildfire Service says there were just 74 lightning strikes on Labour Day compared with thousands that peppered the province and sent fire numbers soaring in the last days of August. The number of wildfires has jumped in the last week from 70 to almost 170, with most of the out-of-control blazes burning in the southern Interior. In the B.C. Interior, the Cariboo Regional District and the Ulkatcho First Nation have jointly issued an evacuation order for 150 land parcels in the area of the Beef Trail Creek wildfire, some 350 kilometres west of Williams Lake. Residents have been told to evacuate immediately to Williams Lake to escape the lightning-triggered wildfire that is 2,771 hectares in size. The evacuation order covers almost 87,000 hectares of rural and sparsely populated...
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Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper says it’s complying with spill investigation
By Clint Fleury, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper has issued a statement saying the organization is complying with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks’ notice of violation after effluent was discharged into the Kaministiquia River last week. “We have been in continuous communication with the ministry since identifying the issue, and we are taking all steps necessary to fully comply with the Notice of Violation issued this week,” Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper said in an email statement to Newswatch. The mill said they are monitoring the situation closely and have halted production until they are “certain that all MECP permit requirements are met.” While the mill is shut down, the organization said, employees remain on the job site working...
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Following hard-won sea otter recovery, First Nations call for a new hunt
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Half a century ago, sea otters were on the brink of extinction along British Columbia’s coast. Pulled from the frigid, untamed waters of Alaska, these charismatic creatures were brought back to their ancestral habitat. Today, they thrive through kelp forests and rugged inlets, celebrated as a symbol of one of the conservation’s greatest comebacks. But with their return has come an unexpected reckoning, leading some First Nations to ask for the return of hunting — a practice that has been outlawed for generations. Mariah Charleson, the 37-year-old chief councillor of Hesquiaht First Nation, grew up paddling in Hot Springs Cove, which was once rich with clams and Dungeness crabs. Just across from her childhood home, the seabed teemed with shellfish...
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Getting below the surface on the Whitehorse Fish Ladder salmon numbers
By Talar Stockton, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yukon News The Whitehorse Fish Ladder has seen 685 Chinook salmon pass through as of Aug. 29: while the number is significantly surpassed last year’s numbers, experts say there’s still a long way to go for a healthy Chinook population along the Yukon River. Last year, by Aug. 26, 268 Chinook had passed through the fish ladder: a season total of just under 500 Chinook would pass through by the end of the season. This year, Aug. 26 had already seen 675 Chinook pass through the site — which is higher than the 10-year average of 578 for the fish ladder. According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Chinook salmon in the Yukon River have experienced declining populations. In 2022 and 2023,...
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New theatre experience in Osoyoos brings syilx Animal People to life
By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews First, there are few minutes of stillness on the Okanagan landscape — with nothing but the sounds of crickets and bird chirps filling the air. Then, the singing of Aimee Baptiste slowly rises from the distance, her voice seamlessly blending with the chorus of the land’s natural melodies. With the help of Francis Baptiste, her rendition of Charles Kruger’s “Eagle Song” is what opens a new 15-minute immersive film called Whispers of the Trickster at the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre in sw̓iw̓s (Osoyoos). Honouring elements of the syilx Nation’s captíkʷɬ (oral stories), people and history, the film uses computer-generated imagery (CGI) animation to tell an original story that reflects on a time where humans lived in harmony with the land and with...
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First Nations leaders to meet in Winnipeg to talk major infrastructure projects
-CP-The Assembly of First Nations’ annual general assembly is expected to kick off this morning in Winnipeg, where the federal government’s major infrastructure legislation is set to be debated. The bill, which passed in June, has seen strong opposition from some First Nations leaders and community members who fear it will infringe on their inherent rights. National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says the assembly will hear diverse opinions, including from First Nations leaders who are in support, who are reluctant and some who lack information. One draft resolution calls for First Nations infrastructure ventures to be included in the national push for projects. The assembly recently put forth a pre-budget submission to the federal government recommending $800 million over the next two years to support a First Nations review of...
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Newfoundland town declares state of emergency, closes businesses as water runs out
A mayor near Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital city says his town of about 27,000 people is about to run out of water. Darrin Bent says a pipe carrying water to Conception Bay South has broken and the town’s water reserves are draining quickly. The municipality on the outskirts of St. John’s declared a state of emergency and asked all businesses to close. It also asked residents not to use water for anything other than emergencies. Bent says neighbouring towns have water tankers ready in case water is needed to put out a fire in Conception Bay South. He says it’s not clear when the broken pipe will be fixed, adding that the situation is an added stress for a community that has already spent part of the summer on evacuation...
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Six Nations Police seeking information on attempted armed break in
OHSWEKEN, ON- Six Nations Police (SNP) are seeking the public’s help in tracking down two individuals , one armed, who attempted to break into a home on Onondaga Road. Police said the attempted break and enter occurred Saturday, August 30th, 2025, at approximately 5:52 a.m.. with the Six Nations Police responding to a call of an attempted break and enter involving a firearm on Onondaga Road. According to SNP the homeowners said they were awakened to the sounds of two people attempting to enter their home. One male suspect was carrying a firearm. The victims were able to stop the suspects from entering the home and the suspects are believed to have fled the area on foot. A police search of the immediate area was launched with no results. The...
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Assembly of First Nations to lay out budget priorities during general assembly
By Brittany Hobson The federal government’s major projects legislation, closing the infrastructure gap on First Nations, and federal budget expectations are expected to be discussed at this week’s annual meeting of the Assembly of First Nations. The meeting begins Wednesday in Winnipeg and marks the first time leaders from more than 600 First Nations across Canada will gather to discuss Ottawa’s legislation to fast-track major projects. It aims to shore up the Canadian economy in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff regime, but some Indigenous leaders have opposed the law, saying it infringes on their rights. One draft resolution calls for First Nations infrastructure ventures to be included in the national push for projects. National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says the federal government’s upcoming budget is an opportunity...
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Experts push for more renewable energy action in NL
By Sean Ridgeley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Telegram As the raging wildfire season in NL begins winding down, climate change and environmental policy experts are looking to the future and urgently pushing for more action on renewable energy investments in order to minimize the damage to the climate going forward, as well as put the local economy in a secure place. While the provincial government has been trying to balance continuing oil production off NL coasts with developing renewable energy sources, experts say it is an irresponsible approach and more focus should be on the latter. “We’re in the midst of a global energy transition,” explained MUN Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and ‘Fossilized’ author Dr. Angela Carter. “Global oil demand will be in decline and...
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A Day to Mark Thousands Lost to Unregulated Toxic Drugs
By Michelle Gamage, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Tyee More than 18,000 British Columbians have died due to unregulated toxic drugs in the province over the last decade. On Sunday, around 100 people gathered at Vancouver’s Oppenheimer Park to mourn and celebrate the lives of their lost friends and family and mark International Overdose Awareness Day. Similar gatherings were held across the province and country. At 1 p.m. the B.C. groups held a minute of silence for the dead, which was then followed by a minute where those gathered said the names of those they’d lost out loud. “We want this solemn event to shake the government as much as possible,” said Dave Hamm, vice-president of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users. “It’s a celebration of life for those...
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Major firefighting training event planned
By Sandi Krasowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal The Emergency North Training (ENT) FireCon is returning to Thunder Bay, bringing hundreds of volunteer and municipal firefighters, more than 45 exhibitors and more than 40 instructors from the Ontario Fire College. The instructors will oversee two new pilot courses in incident command and exterior attack, along with training scenarios aimed at certification for the participants. Thunder Bay Fire Rescue Chief Dave Paxton said the event will take place between Sept. 9-13 in three locations, which include Gary’s Towing, Thunder Bay Fire Training Centre, and the Valhalla Inn Hotel and Conference Centre. Firefighters will train in passenger vehicle extrication, apparatus equipped with a fire pump, hazardous materials operations, fire instructor, fire investigator, live fire attack, and the Warren Brinkman Being a...
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Brant residents asked to limit water use
By Celeste Percy-Beauregard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Hamilton Spectator Residents in Brant County are being asked to reduce water use by 20 per cent following a dry summer with high temperatures. The plea comes a week after the conservation authority asked residents to reduce use by 10 per cent. “With the lack of rain, stream flows have continued to drop in the Whitemans Creek and Lower Nith sub-watersheds,” the Grand River Conservation Authority said in a news release Friday. The most effective way people can help is by reducing outdoor water use — even if they’re on private water sources, the release said. This applies to well water users too — because they are fed by the same aquifers that feed Whitemans Creek and the Lower Nith, well water...
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Six Nations Fire fighters were out to remind motorists it’s the first day of school
Six Nation students walking through Ohsweken got a helping hand from Six Nations fire fighters, including Jess Martin, who were out with signs reminding motorists to slow down children are walking to school in the village. (Photo by Jim C. Powless)...
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Idlout ‘disgusted’ with Carney over elimination of food vouchers
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Multiple times per day, Nunavut Member of Parliament Lori Idlout hears another story of a family going hungry in one of Nunavut’s small communities, she told Nunavut News. Rising hunger coincides with the federal government putting an end to hamlet food vouchers, according to Idlout. Nunavut’s only representative in the House of Commons said she believes Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government is more concerned with resource development than ensuring her constituents can afford groceries. “They would rather dig for critical minerals than ensure Inuit have food to eat. I am disgusted by the Carney government’s response to Nunavut,” Idlout said. Families with children under age 18 were receiving $500 per month while those with children under age three in...
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