Open house outlines Pete’s Dam turbine project
By Joe O’Grady, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Temiskaming Speaker TEMISKAMING SHORES – Although the proposed location initially raised a few eyebrows, a proposed hydroelectric demonstration turbine at Pete’s Dam Park seems to be picking up steam. During a public open house at Riverside Place, proponents outlined their plans for the project and offered reassurances that it won’t have any impact on the view and use of the scenic site. Proponent Sandy Thomson of Thordon Energy said Pete’s Dam was actually ninth on the list of potential sites, and the only one that measured up for the project’s needs. “It has the right flow and (the location) makes sense,” he said. “And you won’t even see it from the park.” Thomson said the initiative, being pursued jointly with Temiskaming First Nation,...
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Portage la Prairie School Division holds firm to religious exemption refusal
By Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press The Portage la Prairie School Division is upholding a decision to reject a family’s request for a religious exemption from activities related to Indigenous spirituality. Sharon Sanders Zettler and Vince Zettler have spent the better part of the academic year seeking accommodations for their children at Yellowquill School. “I have raised my kids in the Catholic faith from Day 1 and I am just looking for respect for that,” said Sanders Zettler, a mother of students enrolled in Grades 5 and 7 in Portage la Prairie. Her husband echoed those comments while noting they are not interested in policing what other children learn. The couple expressed frustration that few details were provided to families before the school division rolled out...
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Fireball and sonic boom over Vancouver was likely meteor
British Columbians took to social media Tuesday evening to share reports of a bright fireball in the night sky over Vancouver, and a house-rattling sonic boom. A seismologist from Natural Resources Canada’s earthquake early warning operation has confirmed a few local seismometers in B.C. picked up the event well, and the agency can confirm the shock recorded was “not an earthquake.” Alison L. Bird adds, however, that Earthquakes Canada cannot specify the location of the event, as its system is designed to detect movements within the Earth and not atmospheric occurrences. The incident happened shortly after 9 p.m. Pacific time, with bright flashes followed minutes later by a sonic boom strong enough to register on multiple area seismographs, which measure and record ground motion, vibrations and seismic waves. People have...
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Chief in N.S. says Mi’kmaq have a treaty right to sell cannabis amid new RCMP raids
By Lyndsay Armstrong A First Nation chief in Nova Scotia is asserting that Mi’kmaq people have a treaty right to grow and sell cannabis amid fresh police raids on multiple Indigenous-owned cannabis operations. The comments by Chief Terry Paul of Membertou First Nation are in conflict with the position of the provincial government, which considers all cannabis sold outside Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. outlets to be illegal. “Let us be clear that the Mi’kmaq have a collective treaty right to the sale of cannabis. We have the right to self-determination in our communities. We govern our people, lands, and priorities — not the province,” Paul said in a statement Tuesday night. He was reacting to RCMP raids earlier in the day during which police seized cannabis from five dispensaries in...
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Kanonhstaton
It’s been 20 years since Six Nations women Janie Jamieson and Dawn Hill walked on to a housing develpment outside Caledonia reclaiming unceded Haudenosaunee lands. The land would be renamed Kanonhstaton and changed the way Indigenous people would take back their land. (Photo by Jim C. Powless)...
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Community growth could spur a $28 million fire department need
Six Nations Fire and Emergency Services could see up to $28 million in operational and infrastructure growth over the next decade, but Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) is not committing to financing the plan just yet. Fire Chief Michael Seth spoke to a recommendation to accept a comprehensive review conducted by the Emergency Management Group and to approve the department’s annual report at SNEC’s General Council meeting on February 24. SNEC was told the Emergency Management Group had conducted a comprehensive review of the community’s risk, the department structure and other areas all aimed at providing guidance to SNEC’s current and future operation and administration of the community. At the same time the Emergency Management Group offered a number of recommendations for service provision and improvement aimed at improving fire...
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Feds earmark $1.55 billion to ensure equal services for First Nations kids
By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Brandon Sun The federal government said it will continue to reform Jordan’s Principle as it announced $1.55 billion in funding on Thursday. Two western Manitoba First Nation chiefs welcomed the funding announcement, but are opposed to the changes introduced in 2025. The new funding is meant to provide immediate stability for the Jordan’s Principle program, which underwent reform last year after the federal government complained of misuse. Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty acknowledged that there has been confusion about what a course-correction will look like. “I know that the past few months have created much uncertainty for families,” Gull-Masty said during a press conference in Ottawa on Thursday. “We have had the opportunity to speak with them and collaborate with them in looking...
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Largest Operating Battery Storage Facility now operating
By Lynda Powless Editor The Hagersville Battery Energy Storage Park is operating. Boralex Inc. (“Boralex”) (TSX: BLX) and Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation (SNGRDC) are partners in the project, the largest operating battery energy storage facility in the country. The Hagersville Battery Energy Storage Park (HBESP) is sitting on unceded Six Nations of the Grand River lands near Hagersville. The landmark project is now buying and selling power in the Ontario energy market under a contract with IESO. The project has an operation capacity of 300 MW / 1,200 MWh, making it the largest project of its kind. Matt Jamieson, President and CEO of SNGRDC, saw the potential in the project and moved to make sure Six Nations was a part of it. “The HBES Park demonstrates...
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Changing CEOs: Six Nations man or woman at the top
Wondering who sits at the top of the Six Nations Elected Council’s (SNEC) administration? The top job at the band has seen significant change in the past eight years at the top of its administration while at the same time ushering in a new governance style they are still working the bugs out of. Since 2019 three men and three women had sat in the top administration seat. The changes came after current councillor Dayle Bomberry retired as Six Nations Senior Administrative Officer or SAO in 2019 after a decade in the role. SNEC appointed lawyer Mandy Wesley as acting Senior Administrative Officer effective Feb. 3, 2019 and went on the hunt for someone to fill the seat. She filled the role until Darren Jamieson was hired in 2020. He...
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Six Nations develops new document and map to counter claims
Six Nations has a new historical document and map aimed at countering what it describes as “false claims” within the Haldimand and Nanfan Treaty areas. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) approved a motion to keep a new history paper as internal information only and subject to legal review at the Feb. 24 General Council meeting. The Lands and Resources, Wealth and Economy Committee brought forward a recommendation that the Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) approve the “Six Nations of the Grand River and the Mississaugas of the Credit (New Credit) First Nation history document and map” for distribution to proponents and posting on the Six Nations website. The document, accompanied by a map, was written by Lonny Bomberry, Director of Lands and Resources to counter “false claims in the Haldimand...
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Gauge to be installed on river
A new river monitoring system could soon give Six Nations real-time flood alerts at no cost to the community. At the Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) General Council meeting on Feb. 24, the Rachel VanEvery acting director of the Data Analytics and Insights (DA&I) department presented a proposal to install an electronic river level monitoring gauge on the Chiefswood Bridge, in partnership with the County of Brant and Six Nations Public Works. The initiative stems from a December 2024 outreach by Brant County to Public Works Director Michael Montour regarding expanded monitoring. “The Grand River has a need for enhanced monitoring,” VanEvery said. Currently, the closest river flow gauges are located in Galt and Canning, with three new gauges recently installed in Brant County. The County has invited Six Nations...
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200 years and counting…
It’s been 20 years since two Six Nations women walked onto a housing development being built on unceded Six Nations land and reclaimed it for the community. Today the land sits empty. Fields overgrown. It’s been two decades of waiting for the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) to decide how it will work with the people to make use of the vacant lands. And 200 years of waiting for a conclusion with Canada and Ontario, who seem to have a problem with Haudenosaunee reclaiming their lands. For Janie Jamieson and Dawn Hill it wasn’t just about reclaiming lands a housing development was scheduled to be built on. What the two women did was not just bring back the land, but set the stage for the enacting Haudenosaunee rights. They did...
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Today in History
March 7 In 1657, the sale of liquor to Canadian natives was prohibited by King Louis XIV of France. In 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he should have been aware of an “erosion of trust” between his office and former minister of justice Jody Wilson-Raybould over the SNC-Lavalin controversy, but he stopped short of apologizing to her. He said as prime minister and leader of the federal ministry, he should have been more aware. Wilson-Raybould claimed she was improperly pressured to stop a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin and was punished for her refusal to give in by being moved out of the Justice portfolio to Veterans Affairs in an early January cabinet shuffle. She resigned from cabinet shortly after the controversy erupted. In 2025, Buffy Sainte-Marie returned her Order...
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UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY: Who Is In Control Of Your Social Media
By Xavier Kataquapit We are all part of a great change in human civilization. Whether we know it or not, we are living through humanity’s first steps into the modern digital age. I grew up in the 1980s in my remote home community of Attawapiskat on the James Bay coast. Back then, it really felt like we lived in another world because we only had one reliable radio signal and three television channels with up to date news and content. Long distance phone calls were available but everyone was constantly concerned about the cost of using a phone, so it was only reserved for the most important calls. A generation before the 1980s, there was no direct connection to the outside world in my home community. My parents, Marius and...
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Ironmen win opening-round playoff series versus Coyotes
By Sam Laskaris Writer Bring on the Blitz. That’s what members of the Six Nations Ironmen were able to proclaim following their latest playoff triumph. The Ironmen downed the host Halton Hills Coyotes 6-3 in a Northern Premier Hockey League (NPHL) contest this past Saturday. With that victory the Six Nations club captured its best-of-seven series against the Coyotes 4-1. The Ironmen now move on to square off against the Orangeville Blitz in a best-of-seven North Division final in the NPHL’s Metropolitan Conference. Orangeville advanced to the divisional final by defeating the Woodstock Lakers 4-1 in its best-of-seven semi-final battle. The Blitz wrapped up that series with a 5-4 home win in Game 5 this past Friday. Six Nations forward Steven LaForme, who netted four goals in the series-clinching match...
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Hesquiaht Descendants earn second and Most Sportsmanlike at 66th All Native Basketball Tourney
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa Hesquiaht rookies Jaysen Touchie, Tessa Charleson and Brielle Tom. By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Prince Rupert, B.C. – With a loss to the Laxgalts’ap Aces (Greenville) in game two of a grueling All Native Basketball Tournament, it could have easily gone sideways for the Hesquiaht Descendants. But the small team of eight players took the defeat, turned it into fuel and rallied to win six tough backdoor games for a spot in the women’s final against the Similkameen Starbirds from the Okanagan Valley. Along with 15 other teams in the women’s division, the Descendents made run for the title of the 66th annual All Native Basketball Tournament (ANBT), which was held Feb. 14 to 21 in Prince Rupert, B.C. “We...
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Six Nations Police seeking information on missing woman
By Alex Murray Writer The Six Nations Police (SNP) and the family of a local Six Nations woman are asking the community for help in finding Kristy Thomas, who has gone missing. Thomas was last seen on February 26, 2026, five days prior to the filing of the missing person report on March 3. The last time her family heard from her was February 27. “The family is concerned for her well-being as she normally communicates with them while she is out,” the report said. The last time she was seen, Thomas was wearing a black Helly Hansen light jacket, blue jeans, and black boots. She was also carrying a sparkly Coach purse. On February 26, Thomas was seen driving her 2007 Red GMC Sierra truck (license plate number: BA...
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Author roots novel in dark times
By Shari Narine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com Métis author Tara Gereaux dedicates her new novel Wild People Quiet to her late grandfather. It’s a fitting dedication as main character Florence Banks mirrors the actions of grandfather Clarence: They both hid their Métis identity. “I really wanted to write this book to understand the circumstances that my grandfather was living in when he was a young man,” said Gereaux. “I don’t know exactly when he might have made that decision to live as a white man, but I imagine it was probably when he was just a young man starting out on his own.” In 1946, the setting for Wild People Quiet, Gereaux’s grandfather would have been around 20 years of age. “I really wanted to explore that time period...
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NDP politicians set off on road trip to highlight northern Ontario road dangers
By Liam Casey Three Ontario New Democrats have set off on a 3,500-kilometre road trip from Toronto to the Manitoba boundary and back to highlight the dangers of northern roads. Northern legislators John Vanthof, Guy Bourgouin and Sol Mamakwa said the time has come for Premier Doug Ford and his Progressive Conservative government to take action to save lives. They say Ford has not done enough to address dangerous conditions on northern roads. “It’s shameful,” Vanthof said of the high numbers of fatal collisions and lengthy road closures, especially on highways 17 and 11. Those are the two main routes across northern Ontario, most of which is served by two-lane highways. “We’re going to drive from here to Manitoba on Highway 11 and we’re going to come back on 17...
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Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq chiefs see drastic impacts from provincial budget
By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post In the shadow of the provincial budget released this week, the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs (Maw-lukutijik Saqmaq ) is calling for a meeting with Premier Tim Houston under the principles established through the Mi’kmaq-Nova Scotia-Canada Tripartite Forum to express their concerns. The assembly has apprehensions with cuts to about 21 different Mi’kmaq-specific programs among a wide sweeping new budget. “The Nova Scotia government’s decisions will have drastic impacts on this province,” said Chief Leroy Denny, co-chair of the assembly. “Programs and organizations that the province and the Mi’kmaq have been partners on for years, this government decided to claw back or push away from. This is incredibly disappointing.” According to a post to Denny’s community of Eskasoni First...
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