Chiefs advance to league final by sweeping Kodiaks
By Sam Laskaris Writer The Six Nations Chiefs are a step away from fulfilling one of their goals this season of hosting the Mann Cup. The eventual winner of the Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) title will host this year’s national Senior A championship in September. The MSL champs will square off against the winners of the British Columbia-based Western Lacrosse Association in a best-of-seven series to decide national bragging rights. The Chiefs, the defending Mann Cup champs, have yet to lose a game during the 2024 season. They advanced to the MSL championship final on Sunday thanks to an 12-9 triumph over the host Cobourg Kodiaks. That match was held at the Jack Burger Sports Complex in Port Hope, since the Kodiaks’ usual home, the Cobourg Community Centre was unavailable...
Register
SPORTS BRIEFS: First Nations man on Greater Toronto Hockey League board
By Sam Laskaris Writer First Nations man joins GTHL board A First Nations man will now be among those making important decisions for the world’s largest youth hockey league. Kevin Eshkawkogan, a member of M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island, has been elected to the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) Board of Directors. He will serve a three-year term. “It’s given a lot to me and I want to give back,” Eshkawkogan said of the sport. The appointment happened at the league’s annual general meeting staged in Toronto last month. The GTHL annually has about 40,000 registered players, making it the largest youth hockey circuit on the planet. Eshkawkogan is believed to be the first Indigenous person to serve on the GTHL’s board. “They’re genuinely and legitimately looking to learn...
Register
Treaty Day celebrations marked with cheque presentation
By Austin Campbell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter SNnewswatch.com This regional First Nation is seeing big returns thanks to a partnership. North Star Air presented a revenue share cheque for $1 million to Eabametoong First Nation during the community’s Treaty Day celebrations on Aug. 1. Celebrations included a barbecue and presentation hosted by North Star Air. Chief Solomon Atlookan spoke with Dougall Media at the event and said this is the first time Eabametoong has seen such a large return on an investment and partnership with a regional company. “It’s something we really look at carefully – how we’re going to invest that money because we’re interested in partnering up with existing businesses. We have opportunities to do that now,” he said. In terms of what Eabametoong has planned for the...
Register
Centuries-old Pentlatch fish trap panel connects K’ómoks, Qualicum people to their ancestors
By Madeline Dunnett Local Journalism Initiative 06/08/2024 16:01 This Pentlatch fish trap panel is 550 years old and would have been part of a broader fishing system used by the ancestors of K’ómoks First Nation. Photo by Madeline Dunnett/The Discourse As a child, Pamela Mitchell recalls her father telling her about the ancient fish traps on the shoreline of K’ómoks territory, near her home. As she learned about the traps, which were used over generations by her ancestors, and their corresponding posts sticking out of the water, she recalls her dad telling her, “don’t touch! They are very old!” Mitchell is Säsitla, and her ancestors joined to become the K’ómoks First Nation alongside the Sahtloot, Ieeksun and Pentlatch Peoples. Mitchell is now the culture and language coordinator for K’ómoks First...
Register
Landslide shows power of Mother Nature, says chief as worries now turn to salmon run
Canadian Press 06/08/2024 15:14 A massive landslide sending a torrent of water carrying large trees and debris downstream shows the power of Mother Nature, says a British Columbia Indigenous leader who has deep concerns about the rushing water’s impact on critical salmon runs. Joe Alphonse, Tsilhqot’in National Government tribal chair, said Tuesday he’s “relieved” the dam created by last week’s landslide on the Chilcotin River broke and “we hope and pray that it’s not going to cause too much damage to property and people downstream from us.” British Columbia government officials, who are scheduled to provide an update on the situation later Tuesday, say there is a risk of more landslides and bank erosion as a large lake of water flows past a landslide that blocked the Chilcotin River for...
Register
TC Energy lobbyist called B.C. premier’s office one day after scathing pipeline inspection report
By Matt Simmons Local Journalism Initiative Reporter and Mike De Souza 06/08/2024 The phone call to the B.C. premier’s office came on a Saturday in May 2023, one day after a scathing inspection report detailed multiple environmental infractions along the route of a major gas pipeline under construction in the province. The report, issued by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office, outlined damage to sensitive wetlands and other ecosystems on Wet’suwet’en territory in northwest B.C. It detailed howTC Energy allegedly failed to protect areas around its Coastal GasLink pipeline project from environmental impacts associated with construction and spring snowmelt. As a result, the assessment office said in its report that it would keep stop-work orders on pipeline construction in place, potentially triggering delays and driving up costs on a multibillion dollar...
Register
B.C. sees ‘significant amount of instability and bank failures’ after slide
The Canadian Press 06/08/2024 11:34 British Columbia officials say there is a risk of more landslides and bank erosion as a large lake of water and debris flows past a landslide that blocked the Chilcotin River for days. The latest provincial update says a “significant amount of instability and bank failures” have been observed along the Chilcotin River from the confluence of the Fraser River to the site of the massive landslide. Videos shared by the Tsilqot’in National Government show a small cabin, whole trees and chunks of the riverbank washing away in the fast-moving river. The provincial update says officials haven’t confirmed if the water flows that moved over the blockage on Monday have peaked, and it’s possible that there may be another surge as the water moves through...
Register
Chief says Treaty Three Police Service is committed to ‘being culturally responsive’
By Mike Stimpson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter KENORA — Treaty Three Police Service is committed to addressing the concerns of First Nations that have complaints about the quality of policing, Chief Cheryl Gervais said Tuesday. Gervais, who became chief of police last November, was speaking in particular to concerns raised by the chiefs and councils of Grassy Narrows First Nation and Wabaseemoong Independent Nations. “Treaty Three Police Service was really created to deliver culturally responsive service to our communities,” she told NWONewswatch. “I acknowledge the concerns that are brought forward by those leaders, and at the end of the day, we take these concerns very seriously. “We are committed to working with them on addressing these concerns and staying true to our mandate of being culturally responsive.” Gervais added that...
Register
New pilot training program launched in Saskatchewan
By Sam Laskaris Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Windspeaker.com The Saskatchewan government is investing more than $1 million into a new program that will help train Indigenous pilots in the province. Details of the initiative, called the Dziret’ái Pilot Training Program, were announced in the northern Saskatchewan hamlet of Stony Rapids on Aug. 1. A total of 10 applicants will be chosen to enter the professional pilot training program, which will start this coming January. Students who complete all requirements in the two-year program will be offered jobs as First Officers, allowing them to navigate and operate flights, with Rise Air. Rise Air is a First Nations owned airline that has its headquarters in Saskatoon. Rosalie Tsannie-Burseth, a Rise Air director, is rather excited with the new project. “Together we created...
Register
‘We have our answers’: Body of missing woman found in Saskatoon landfill
The Canadian Press 06/08/2024 Saskatoon police announced Tuesday they had found the remains of a missing woman in a city landfill three months after their search began. Police, dozens of searchers and a forensic anthropologist began combing through trash at the site in May in an attempt to find Mackenzie Lee Trottier. The 22-year-old Métis woman was last seen in December 2020. Paul Trottier told a news conference it had been a long and difficult time trying to find out what happened to his daughter. The 93 days police spent searching the landfill were particularly tough, he said. “Today, we have our answers. Mackenzie is home,” he said. Trottier thanked police and Métis and Indigenous groups for their support. “Our (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) family, victim services … and...
Register
Disaster threat from B.C. landslide’s river waters decreases, says emergency minister
The Canadian Press 06/08/2024 19:30 A “grateful” emergency management minister says the threat of a flood disaster along British Columbia’s Chilcotin and Fraser rivers appears to have been averted when a massive lake drained overtop of a landslide. Bowinn Ma said high waters similar to spring runoff conditions are being observed downstream along the Chilcotin and Fraser rivers, but dangers still exist from the powerful current carrying trees and other debris. while carving away large sections of landscape. “The risk of a worst-case scenario has drastically decreased, but we are not in the clear yet,” she said Tuesday at a news conference. “I am extremely grateful the worst-case scenario did not come to be.” The landslide last week at Farwell Canyon located about 22 kilometres south of Williams Lake dammed...
Register
MCFN announces four candidates for upcoming by-election
MISSISSAUGAS OF CREDIT FIRST NATION- The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation will be heading to the polls to in a by-election this month and four candidates are vyeing for the position. The councillor position was left vacant when Bill LaForme resigned in April for personal reasons. The MCFN council is mad eup of the chief and seven council members. The four candidates seeking the council position are Ellen Lorriane Coady, Ken Hughes, Ashley Sault, and Luanne Vandecamp, said a MCFN press release. A fifth potential candidate Patrick Laforme was nominated but declined . The election will be held August 17, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation Community Centre, said the release. You must be a MCFN Band member 18 and older...
Register
B.C. sees ‘significant amount of instability and bank failures’ after slide
The Canadian Press British Columbia officials say there is a risk of more landslides and bank erosion as a large lake of water and debris flows past a landslide that blocked the Chilcotin River for days. The latest provincial update says a “significant amount of instability and bank failures” have been observed along the Chilcotin River from the confluence of the Fraser River to the site of the massive landslide. Videos shared by the Tsilqot’in National Government show a small cabin, whole trees and chunks of the riverbank washing away in the fast-moving river. The provincial update says officials haven’t confirmed if the water flows that moved over the blockage on Monday have peaked, and it’s possible that there may be another surge as the water moves through unstable sediments....
Register
TC Energy eyes data centre growth as potential opportunity
The Canadian Press TC Energy Corp. is eyeing the rapid proliferation of data centres in North America as a business opportunity. The Calgary-based pipeline company said Thursday it is uniquely poised to capitalize on the rapid expansion of electricity-hungry data centres, which are being built by companies like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon to power the AI revolution. Executive vice-president and chief operating officer Stan Chapman told analysts on a conference call that of the more than 300 data centres currently under construction or proposed in the U.S., more than 60 per cent are located within 24-kilometres of TC Energy’s existing natural gas pipeline system. “We’re seeing a shift in site preferences (for data centres) from regions where big telecom infrastructure is in place to regions where energy and supply infrastructure...
Register
Federal aerial survey tracking beluga whale population in James Bay and eastern Hudson Bay
By Marissa Lentz-McGrath Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 06/08/2024 Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) aerial survey soars to estimate the beluga whale population in James Bay and eastern Hudson Bay. The entire James Bay area was surveyed from July 18 to 26. Eastern Hudson Bay is now being surveyed until Sept. 15. Mushkegowuk Council plans to use the survey results to create a marine conservation area in western James Bay. “It’s the ministerial responsibility of DFO to assess the stocks of the different marine mammal and fish populations across Canada,” said Caroline Sauvé, a biologist with DFO. “This is the ninth survey covering the same area using the same protocol since 1985, and what we’re trying to do is get some comparable data as time goes to build up a time...
Register
Reclusive tribe attacks loggers suspected of encroaching on their land in Peru’s Amazon
The Associated Press 05/08/2024 18:45 Peru’s reclusive Mashco Piro ethnic group recently used bows and arrows to attack loggers suspected of encroaching on their territory in the Amazon, according to a regional Indigenous organization. FENAMAD, representing 39 Indigenous communities in the Cusco and Madre de Dios regions, said Monday that it believes illegal logging was taking place on Mashco Piro territory and that one logger was injured in the July 27 attack. A few weeks ago, photos emerged of the uncontacted tribe searching for food on a beach in the Peruvian Amazon, which some experts say was evidence logging concessions are “dangerously close” to its territory. “It is presumably illegal because the area where the incident occurred is a forestry concession that belonged to Wood Tropical Forest until November 2022,...
Register
Puppies found on logging road near Ucluelet
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Ucluelet, BC – Two Rottweiler mix puppies have a safe home in Ucluelet after being found down a logging road on Ukee Days weekend, July 26 to July 28. It is unclear as to why they were on the backroads alone, but a post on social media by their rescuer (who declined to be interviewed) describes the pups as likely being abandoned. “No collars, no people anywhere to be found, covered in fleas and terrified,” reads the Facebook post on Ucluelet’s public community board. The puppies were given de flea medication and days after being found, long-term locals took them in. “It’s uncommon to find puppies out in those kinds of places. It’s more common to see stray dogs that have gotten separated...
Register
B.C. officials warn of dangers around Fraser, Chilcotin River banks as water tops dam
By Canadian Press 05/08/2024 The B.C. government says it’s “extremely unsafe” to be near the banks of the Chilcotin and Fraser rivers both upstream and downstream from a massive landslide after water started flowing through the slide early Monday. Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said Monday that the water breaching the dam caused by the slide will cause river bank instability, although the chances of a worst-case scenario are “decreasing.” Ma says people should stay away and off the waters as officials monitor the flow downstream of the slide, which may impact the Farewell Canyon Bridge, about 22 kilometres downstream. Evacuation alerts and orders along the rivers are not just about residential properties, she said. “It is also about people recreating on the water or along the waterways,” Ma said...
Register
‘It’s troubling and unfortunate’: Mississauga First Nation shuts down services over threats
By Kyle Darbyson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Mississauga First Nation’s chief and council shut down all band operations, programs and non-essential services last week due to a “planned demonstration” over Robinson Huron settlement funds. Chief Brent Niganobe told The Sault Star this demonstration, scheduled for last Wednesday’s council meeting, would have threatened the safety of MFN staff based on the information he received from local police. “A person called the police and … made threats of occupying the band office, ‘taking over the band office’ I believe was their words, and saying that they were going to remove equipment and remove council,” Niganobe said over the phone Friday. “Knowing that the band office has a lot of sensitive information regarding health and names of people and everyday administration, we didn’t...
Register
Peacekeepers welcome, but a long way from erasing racism, chief says
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Daily Gleaner Chief George Ginnish says an announcement that New Brunswick will fund peace officers in eight Mi’gmaq First Nations does not begin to address the grievances those communities have with the criminal justice system. The leader of Natoaganeg, or Eel Ground First Nation, near Miramichi is thankful that the Progressive Conservative government is providing $3.6 million over three years to fund peace officers in the Indigenous communities along the eastern coast of the province. But the over-representation of Indigenous people in jails and the province’s refusal to hold a public inquiry into how racism affects them specifically in the justice system are still sore points. “The report that the province eventually came up with, on systemic racism, was redacted and reduced by...
Register
