Six Nations member still involved in Halifax hockey scene
By Sam Laskaris Writer It was supposed to be a temporary move. But several years after she accepted a job in Halifax, Six Nations member Serene Porter is still living in the Nova Scotia capital. Porter is currently working as a multidisciplinary artist, consultant and facilitator. And this past Friday she was at St. Mary’s University leading an art session at the Indigenous Girls’ and Women’s Hockey Gathering. Porter led conference attendees in a program which explored what the future of Indigenous girls’ hockey could look like. Participants created artwork and also discussed what that future might look like. Porter had come to Halifax as she accepted a position to be the director of culture and engagement for the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG). “It was only supposed to be...
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Just A Girl And A Dream: Six Nations’ Ivy Miller Heading to WKC World Championships in Spain With Team Canada
By Alex Murray Writer Six Nations youngster Ivy Miller had a simple yet ambitious dream about a year ago: make Team Canada. An up-and-coming 13-year-old martial artist, Miller began putting “Make Team Canada” at the top of a list of goals she wrote for herself every couple of months. Less than 12 months later, and she’s already made it come true. “She writes out goals about every couple months and on top of that list, every single time she wrote it, was ‘Make Team Canada,’” Ivy’s mother Darci Miller told Turtle Island News. “And it’s been less than a year since she’s been doing that, and she’s already accomplished her goal.” Miller nabbed her spot on Team Canada after winning gold in her sparring girls age 12-13 – 55 kg...
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Australian judges weigh Indigenous activist’s bid to prosecute King Charles for genocide
By Rod Mcguirk MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Three Australian appeals court judges reserved their decision Wednesday on whether an activist can prosecute Britain’s King Charles III for alleged genocide of Australia’s Indigenous people. Uncle Robbie Thorpe, 68, turned to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Victoria state after two lower courts rejected his bid to launch a private prosecution against the king in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court. Indigenous Australians use the titles uncle and aunt as marks of respect for community elders. His case alleges the monarch, who is also Australia’s head of state, the Australian government and its institutions were perpetuating a genocide of Indigenous people by maintaining systemic disadvantages on multiple socioeconomic levels, making them the most underprivileged minority in the country. Indigenous Australians account for 4% of...
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AFN chief rebukes Alberta separation talks in meeting with King Charles
By Alessia Passafiume The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations rebuked the Alberta separation movement during a meeting with King Charles at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. “The King was there with us in unison, that First Nations are foundational partners in the creation of Canada, and our relationship cannot be changed or moved just from politics,” Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak told The Canadian Press in an interview. “As long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the river flows, we’re all treaty people in Canada.” The Alberta government is putting forward a referendum in October asking voters if they want to remain part of Canada or to pursue a second binding referendum on separating from Canada. Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations,...
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Clash reignites between B.C. First Nations and province over Joffre Lakes Park closure
By Michelle Cyca Once again, one of B.C.’s most popular parks is implementing temporary closures this summer — and no one is happy about it. Since 2023, Pipi7íyekw/Joffre Lakes Park has closed for brief reconnection periods, when entry is restricted to members of Líl̓wat and N’Quatqua First Nations, whose unceded territories encompass the park. During these periods, members can harvest traditional medicines, participate in cultural events and ceremonies and enjoy a part of their territory that is often too crowded with visitors for them to access at all, trampled and strewn with trash by the end of peak season. Since 2018, the two nations have worked with BC Parks on a joint strategy for managing visitors. Last year, things went off the rails. Backlash over the temporary closures spiked as...
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Judge lifts publication ban in sex assault case but accused can’t yet be named
By Arty Sarkisian, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News A Nunavut judge revoked a court-ordered ban on identifying a man facing sexual assault charges but imposed another ban that doesn’t yet allow the man’s name to be published. “It’s a unique case,” Justice Christian Lyons said Tuesday, comparing it to a “law school exam.” The man faces charges under the Criminal Code as well as charges under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, related to allegations from before he was 18. The act prohibits media from publishing his name or any identifying details related to the allegations from his youth. On April 11, Justice of the Peace Amanda Soper extended that ban to the adult charges after hearing an oral request from the man’s lawyer, Alan Regel. That ban prevented Nunatsiaq...
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Nova Scotia university apologizes for priest’s comment about residential schools
Cape Breton University has issued a public apology for remarks a Roman Catholic priest made about residential schools during a recent speech to a graduating class. The university, based in Sydney, N.S., says Rev. Norman MacPhee was telling graduates about a school in Honduras that he helped establish when he described Fatima House as a “residential school.” Speaking during a convocation ceremony last Thursday, the 91-year-old Cape Breton priest followed up by saying, “Residential schools don’t get good press, but this one gets very good press in Honduras.” Later in the day, the university responded with a statement saying the priest had good intentions, but it noted that references to residential schools carry a “deeply painful legacy” for Indigenous people in Canada. The university had invited MacPhee to the ceremony...
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Centuries-old logbooks reveal how bowhead whales are recovering from near-extinction
By Nicholas Freymueller, Postdoctoral Researcher in Extinction Biology, Adelaide University; and Damien Fordham, Associate Professor of Global Change Ecology, Adelaide University Bowhead whales have the greatest life-span of any mammal on Earth. They can reach over 200 years in age thanks in part to their slow metabolism and cancer-suppressing genes. They are far stockier and shorter than other large baleen whales, making them perfectly adapted to life among Arctic sea ice. Their bodies are dark, verging on black. The only exception to this is the front part of their lower lips, which shines brilliant white. For many thousands of years, bowhead whales have helped maintain stable Arctic marine food webs. For millennia, they have served as a vital food source for Inuit communities, who harvest them sustainably in spring and...
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RCMP investigating motive in Saskatchewan shooting that left 1 dead, 1 injured
RCMP are working to determine the motive for a shooting that left a woman dead and a man seriously injured in a remote community in northern Saskatchewan. The shooting happened Monday near the health centre in Pelican Narrows, 500 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. When officers arrived, they found the woman and the man at different spots on the same road, RCMP said. The woman died at the scene and the man was taken to hospital. Residents were ordered to shelter in place, and a suspect was arrested at a home five hours later. Insp. Ashley St. Germaine said Tuesday that charges have yet to be laid against the suspect. Another person had been detained but was released without charges, she added. St. Germaine said she doesn’t believe the shooting was...
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Indigenous speakers, politicians watching audit of languages office closely
By The Canadian Press staff Indigenous language speakers and political leaders say they were disappointed to learn a landmark Indigenous languages office is under investigation after the federal government received anonymous complaints. The Canadian Heritage department has ordered a financial audit of transactions and activities at the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages, The Canadian Press reported earlier this week. The department has not elaborated on the specific allegations made against the office, an arm’s-length body that was set up five years ago in response to a recommendation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The department has said it has contracted an independent third-party firm to conduct the audit and has notified Commissioner Ronald Ignace. One Indigenous language speaker said part of the problem with organizations like the commissioner’s...
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Greenstone breaks ground on key project for Ring of Fire access
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SNnewswatch.com GREENSTONE —The work has just begun on “a transformative project” on Main Street in the Geraldton ward, Mayor Jamie McPherson said Tuesday. “It’s a transformative project because of the extent of the work,” the Greenstone mayor said after a groundbreaking ceremony attended by provincial cabinet member Greg Rickford, municipal leaders, business leaders and First Nations representatives. “It’s also transformative in the involvement of all the different communities and levels of government in this,” McPherson added. “And without certainly Minister Rickford and Premier Ford, and all their support investing in our infrastructure, this change would not be able to happen across the community and all the communities that are tied together.” With more than $80 million in provincial funding, Greenstone’s Main Street Rehabilitation...
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Surrey, B.C., police board ousts Norm Lipinski as chief, board chair resigns
The police chief in Surrey, B.C., has left the service in an exit that also triggered the resignation of the police board chair, who said the decision was made at meeting his colleagues knew he couldn’t attend, and that “political tentacles” had reached into the oversight body. The board said in a statement on Tuesday that Chief Const. Norm Lipinski had been replaced by Deputy Chief Const. Todd Matsumoto, who was appointed to the top post on an interim basis. The board also said it would begin looking for a permanent chief, with updates in the next few weeks. Lipinski oversaw Surrey’s transition from the RCMP to its own municipal police force, a process that was contentious as Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke tried unsuccessfully to reverse the move and hand...
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Culturally-appropriate resources could save lives, deputy grand chief tells inquest
By Carrie Ivardi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY — Kevin Mamakwa died “a very tragic death, a senseless death, that could have been avoided.” That’s according to Nishnawbe Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum, the third witness to testify at a coroner’s inquest into the 27-year-old Kingfisher Lake First Nation man’s death in custody at the Thunder Bay District Jail. “The main message that we wanted to convey is that the Anishinaabe citizens, we need to have more mental health services,” Achneepineskum said on Tuesday. The second day of the inquest into Mamakwa’s death marked the six-year anniversary of his passing. Presiding Coroner Dr. Michael Wilson acknowledged this fact before introducing Achneepineskum. She said that building a new jail is necessary, but that the government must...
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Former US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland wins the Democratic nomination for New Mexico governor
By Susan Montoya Bryan And Savannah Peters ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has won the Democratic nomination for New Mexico governor, giving her a path to become the first Native American woman in the U.S. elected to the office. Haaland’s campaign celebrated Tuesday night at a historic plaza in Albuquerque’s Old Town neighborhood, where supporters gathered for traditional hoop dancing and a prayer in Tiwa, one of many Native languages spoken among tribes in the state. “New Mexico, thank you for believing in what we can build together,” she posted on social media. Under President Joe Biden, Haaland championed public lands conservation and oversaw a first-of-its-kind federal investigation into the abuse of Native American children at government-run boarding schools. In 2018, the citizen of Laguna Pueblo...
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Indigenous participation, engagement key to economic growth in Canada, report says
By Sammy Hudes A new report says boosting economic relations with Indigenous partners and incorporating their world views in business decision-making can help position Canada for a more resilient economic future. The report, published Wednesday by Deloitte’s Future of Canada Centre, explores how sovereign Indigenous economic partnerships are among Canada’s most underleveraged growth opportunities. “As Canada grapples and comes to terms with a very challenging economic and global restructuring, Indigenous peoples being included in economic growth and new projects is going to be part of the solution and not an additional cost,” said Dean Janvier, a partner at Deloitte Canada. “In fact, it will be a net benefit to Canada.” The report incorporates interviews with 12 nationally recognized Indigenous business leaders. Its findings are also based on research conducted with...
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Canada funds research into plastic pollution in Indigenous communities
By Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com Six Indigenous-led projects have been approved for nearly $2.4 million in new federal research funding to study the social, cultural and economic impacts of plastic pollution on Indigenous communities. Only eight per cent of Canada’s four million tonnes of annual plastic waste is currently recycled, reads a report on the Oceana website. Indigenous communities have identified increasing plastic contamination concerns in local waterways, on shorelines and in food systems of remote northern areas where waste management and transportation challenges increase environmental pressures, said Nathan Pritula, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s manager of science policy. “Advancing research partnering with Indigenous groups helps to improve our understanding of how plastics and microplastics move through the environment and food webs,” he said, asserting that community-driven...
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AFN chief rebukes Alberta separation talks in meeting with King Charles
By Alessia Passafiume The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations rebuked the Alberta separation movement during a meeting with King Charles at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. “The King was there with us in unison, that First Nations are foundational partners in the creation of Canada, and our relationship cannot be changed or moved just from politics,” Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak told The Canadian Press in an interview. “As long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the river flows, we’re all treaty people in Canada.” The Alberta government is putting forward a referendum in October asking voters if they want to remain part of Canada or to pursue a second binding referendum on separating from Canada. “We’ve got a beautiful country. If you don’t want to be part...
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RCMP investigating motive in Saskatchewan shooting that left 1 dead, 1 injured
RCMP are working to determine the motive for a shooting that left a woman dead and a man seriously injured in a remote community in northern Saskatchewan. The shooting happened Monday near the health centre in Pelican Narrows, 500 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. When officers arrived, they found the woman and the man at different spots on the same road, RCMP said. The woman died at the scene and the man was taken to hospital. Residents were ordered to shelter in place, and a suspect was arrested at a home five hours later. Insp. Ashley St. Germaine said Tuesday that charges have yet to be laid against the suspect. Another person had been detained but was released without charges, she added. St. Germaine said she doesn’t believe the shooting was...
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N.B. power company risked millions of dollars taking shortcuts on gas plant: auditor
By Eli Ridder New Brunswick’s provincially owned energy corporation made a series of poor choices with its planned natural gas power plant that exposed taxpayers to millions of dollars worth of risk, the public auditor says. The utility entered into a long-term agreement without regulatory approval and selected equipment without studying alternatives, among other missteps, auditor general Paul Martin said in his report released Tuesday. While the need for a new natural gas plant is valid, Martin told lawmakers, NB Power “did not proceed in the clearest or most disciplined order, increasing governance, financial and regulatory risk for New Brunswick power and energy customers.” The Renewable Integration and Grid Security project is a 500-Megawatt natural gas power plant proposed for rural southeastern New Brunswick. It received approval from the provincial...
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Brantford Police asking public for help in identifying robbery suspect
BRANTFORD, ONT-The Brantford Police Service (BPS) are looking for the public’s help afer a jewelry store was robbed at gun point Friday, May 29, 2026, at around 9:25 a.m. BPS said a male suspect displaying a firearm entered a jewelry store located within Lynden Park Mall in northeastern Brantford with his face concealed. The suspect stole a large amount of jewelry and cash before fleeing the scene. BPS could not be reached for comment on how much was stolen or from which jewelry store. At the time of the robbery two employees were in the shop, though no injuries were reported to BPS. Police describe the suspect as male, wearing a black hooded jacket, sunglasses, a face covering, black gloves, dark pants, and dark running shoes. BPS asks anyone with...
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