Tomahawks announce new coach and new general manager
By Sam Laskaris Writer The Six Nations Tomahawks will have plenty of new faces and not just on the floor for their 2024 campaign. The Tomahawks, who captured their provincial Senior Series Lacrosse (SSL) championship last August, were dealt a blow a couple of weeks ago. That’s because Jay Smith, who had orchestrated the team’s Ontario title by serving as the head coach and general manager of the Senior C club last season, left the organization in order to accept a role with the Six Nations Rivermen, the established local Senior B squad. Following Smith’s departure some of the Tomahawks’ training camp sessions for this year were cancelled. On Monday, however, the Tomahawks announced who will be in charge of the club this season. Chad General was named as the...
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Kilgour returning to Chiefs’ bench as assistant coach
By Sam Laskaris Writer A seven-time Mann Cup champion is returning to the Six Nations Chiefs’ fold in an attempt to help the local lacrosse squad capture back-to-back national titles. It was announced on Monday that Rich Kilgour, a former Chiefs’ player who also served as the head coach of the Six Nations club from 2010-19, has agreed to rejoin the team as an assistant coach. “I just want to be part of a team and contribute,” he said. Kilgour will primarily work with the Chiefs’ defensive players, a role that had been filled last year by assistant coach Joey Cupido. Cupido had joined the Chiefs’ coaching staff as he was recuperating from an injury. But he is expected to resume his Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) playing career this year....
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Aysanabee, Tate McRae, Tobi lead Juno Award winners
By David Friend The Canadian Press Artists from three corners of Canada’s music scene emerged as big winners at the Juno Awards industry gala on Saturday as rapper Tobi, alternative singer Aysanabee and pop star Tate McRae came out on top. Each pocketed two trophies at the invite-only event held at the Halifax Convention Centre, a precursor to Sunday’s Junos broadcast on CBC. Oji-Cree musician Aysanabee’s “Here and Now” was named alternative album of the year, while he also won the songwriter’s award for his work on the album’s tracks. While accepting one of his awards the musician, born Evan Pang, asked his fellow Indigenous artists in the room to stand up and be acknowledged, saying this year saw more Indigenous artists up for Junos than ever. Representatives for the...
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Manitoba Indigenous Summer Games revived following lengthy hiatus
By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Manitoba Indigenous Summer Games will return in 2025 following a 14-year hiatus. The Manitoba Aboriginal Sports & Recreation Council (MASRC), which is the governing body of Indigenous athletics and recreation in the province, announced details for next year’s Games at a news conference on March 18. Just two First Nations had applied to host the Games, Norway House Cree Nation and Sagkeeng First Nation. But instead of awarding the Games to one First Nation, MASRC officials opted to have the two applicants co-host the multi-sport competition. “There’s a bit of distance between the north and the south (parts of the province),’’ said Gabrielle Wishart, the MASRC’s communications coordinator. “And we thought it would make sense to split it up.’’ As a result,...
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Stranded orca was pregnant, while efforts to save her other calf turns on rising tide
ZEBALLOS, B.C.- A killer whale calf stranded in a lagoon without its mother to guide it to the open ocean off northern Vancouver Island appears traumatized as a rescue team tries to coax it to move toward a possible reunion with its extended family, a marine scientist says. Jared Towers said Tuesday the rescue team only has about 30 minutes daily when the tide rises to the point where the two-year-old orca calf can safely navigate itself out of the lagoon, near the village of Zeballos, located more than 450 kilometres northwest of Victoria. The calf’s mother, a 15-year-old Bigg’s killer whale, died Saturday when she became beached at the lagoon and could not free herself despite rescue efforts of local First Nations residents and others. Towers said they’ve tried...
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Stranded orca was pregnant, while efforts to save her other calf turns on rising tide
ZEBALLOS, B.C.- A necropsy on the killer whale that died after being stranded off northern Vancouver Island shows she was pregnant with another calf. Marine scientist Jared Towers watched the necropsy on the animal and says the 15-year-old Bigg’s killer whale was expecting another calf when she became trapped in shallow waters near the community of Zeballos. Towers, who’s with the research group Bay Cetology, says scientists, area First Nations volunteers and others are now focusing their efforts on coaxing the killer whale’s two-year-old calf out of the lagoon, but the timing of the tidal waters only offers a daily opportunity of about 30 minutes for the animal to swim out of the lagoon. He says the young whale, which has been in the area since Saturday, has so far...
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`We are all creators,’ says Elisapie after Juno Award win
By Cedric Gallant Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Accepting a Juno Award Sunday night, singer Elisapie told the audience her 2023 release Inuktitut “is not just a cover album” and that it “tells a story of three decades in such a short time.” The Salluit-born singer’s album won in the Contemporary Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year category. The awards ceremony was held in Halifax. “I am not just an artist,” she said. “Artist in Inuktitut does not even have a name because we are all creators, we are all meant to be free.” Elisapie Isaac is known professionally as Elisapie. Her album was also nominated in the Album Artwork of the Year category, which was won by Riopelle Symphonique by Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal. Inuktitut features 10 Inuktitut-language covers...
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Canadian National Railway Co. releases new Indigenous relations policy
MONTREAL- Canadian National Railway Co. has released a new Indigenous relations policy for the railway. CN chief legal officer Olivier Chouc says by acknowledging its past and embracing its responsibilities, the railway is laying a stronger foundation to continue to develop respectful, sustainable, and mutually beneficial relationships. The policy includes principles on cultural awareness and employee engagement, people and employment, community engagement and relationships, economic reconciliation and environmental stewardship and safety. The railway’s advisory council of prominent Indigenous leaders resigned at the end of last year after co-chairs of the council said the company failed to acknowledge past wrongs and follow its recommendations for reconciliation. The new policy follows CN’s acknowledgment of the historical role railways have played as part of colonial policies which was published in December on the...
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Time of essence amid efforts to reunite orphaned B.C. orca calf with its pod
Intense efforts are underway to reunite an orca calf with its family pod after its mother was stranded and died in a tidal lagoon near the remote northern Vancouver Island village of Zeballos. A group of Bigg’s killer whales swims together as seen from a Pacific Whale Watch Association vessel on May 4, 2022, near Whidbey Island in Washington state. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Ted S. Warren Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ZEBALLOS, B.C.- Intense efforts are underway to reunite an orca calf with its family pod after its mother was stranded and died in a tidal lagoon near the remote northern Vancouver Island village of Zeballos. The Fisheries Department said in a statement Monday a highly complex operation is underway to entice the juvenile whale in the lagoon...
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‘A part of our history that is often underrepresented’: First Light, St. John’s looking to construct monument for residential
By Sanuda Ranawake Local Journalism Initiative Reporter JOHN’S, N.L.- First Light, in partnership with the City of St. John’s is proposing, a number of methods to Indigenize the city’s downtown core.One of the major steps includes a monument to honour residential school survivors.Jordan Lawrence, First Light’s Action Circle coordinator, says the projects are important for the community and the city. “The reason that we landed on Indigenizing downtown, the City of St. John’s is a partner at First Voice, so they’re aware of our calls for change and how truth and reconciliation needs to be taken on by both non-Indigenous and Indigenous people,” says Lawrence. Engagement sessions with communities are currently ongoing in partnership with First Light, First Voice, and the city. Lawrence says the sessions, one of which includes...
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First Nations group condemns BC United statement on Haida land agreement
By Seth Forward Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) has condemned a “misleading and factually incorrect” March 22 statement from the BC United Caucus which criticized a recently drafted Haida Title Land Agreement. The FNLC said BC United’s statement, which called for an immediate pause in land title talks, politicized First Nations peoples’ human rights as outlined by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). “Rather than seeking to deny First Nations our most basic human rights, in clear violation of domestic and international law, we encourage all British Columbians to stand with us in celebrating the current provincial government and the Haida Nation’s tremendous accomplishment,” read a March 25 news release from the FNLC, which is made up of members from...
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Two daughters, two parents, and echoes of a murder that rocked Indigenous activism
Indigenous activist Anna Mae Pictou was shot and killed 49 years ago amid controversy the American Indian Movement ordered the hit after suspecting her of being an informant The Canadian Press – Mar 24, 2024 / 6:19 am Photo: The Canadian Press In this composite image made from two photographs, Rebecca Julian, left, Anna Mae Pictou Aquash’s eldest sister, and Aquash’s eldest daughter, Denise Maloney, hold a portrait of Aquash in Shubenacadie, N.S., on June 20, 2003; At right, Naneek Graham holds a photograph of her father John Graham, who is incarcerated in the South Dakota State Penitentiary after being extradited to the U.S. in 2007 and convicted three years later in the 1975 murder of Pictou Aquash, while posing for a portrait at her home in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, Feb....
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Six Nations Elected chief attends opening of Toronto community centre
TORONTO-Six Nations Elected Chief Sherri-Lyn Hill was among those attending the opening of a Toronto recreational centre and library renamed the ‘Ethennonnhawawstihnen’ Community Recreation Centre and Library. The centre name “Ethennonnhawahstihnen” comes from the Huron-Wendat Nation translating into “where they had a good, beautiful life.” The centre pays homage to the site’s historical significance. Located near Bayview and Sheppard Avenues in North York it is within close proximity to the Moatfield Ossuary, a Huron-Wendat archaeological site w that shows long habitation by Indigenous peoples. Mayor Olivia Chow thanked all parties involved for their dedication to honoring Indigenous culture and history, while creating meaningful public spaces. Councillor Shelley Carroll told the gathering it was an example of fostering dialogue and preserving Indigenous heritage within the community. Chief William Romain of the...
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Feds announce millions to help First Nations negotiate mining deals
By Matteo Cimellaro Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Ottawa will provide over $15 million to assist First Nations and Indigenous groups considering mining deals on their ancestral lands. The federal government’s funding announcement came Wednesday at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada conference, one of the world’s largest mining industry gatherings, held this year in Toronto. About one-fifth of the financial support will be from the new Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund. The funding stream will award grants to Indigenous groups to support engagement, knowledge sharing and capacity building for critical mineral development. The new fund will stretch until 2030 and provide $13.5 million over that period. The other significant portion of the funding, around $10.4 million, will be awarded to particular Indigenous groups to advance projects and capacity building. The...
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The struggle to trust while conserving nature in the North
By Matteo Cimellaro Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Around 100 people gathered this week in the Kashechewan First Nation High School gym to celebrate a milestone in the creation of a new Indigenous-led Marine Conservation Area on the James Bay coastline. Once established, the project will be ultimately managed by a partnership of Parks Canada and the Mushkegowuk Marine Conservation, which includes eight Mushkegowuk First Nations as well as Fort Severn and Peawanuck First Nations. The project is called Omushkego Wahkohtowin, which means “people with the right relationship to the land and waters.” But amidst upbeat speeches and a countdown to live music, there was at times tense concern and distrust of land and water agreements with the government. It was an informal setting, where some attendees were on their phones...
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‘We have to try’: Ottawa, Manitoba commit $40M to search landfill for slain women
Cambria Harris, daughter of Morgan Harris, right, who is believed to be buried in a landfill outside Winnipeg, and Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Cathy Merrick, speak during a press conference in Winnipeg, Friday, March 22, 2024. PHOTO BY JOHN WOODS /THE CANADIAN PRESS By Brittany Hobson and Steve Lambert THE CANADIAN PRESS “We’re glad to be able to move forward with the funds necessary to search every cubic metre of the relevant space,” Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said in a statement Friday. “While we don’t know if the search will be successful, we have to try.” WINNIPEG- Families of two slain First Nations women received word Friday that the federal and Manitoba governments are putting up $20 million each to help search a landfill for the women’s remains. “I’m very grateful...
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Maritime body approves new protections for shipping in Canadian Arctic
The international body that regulates shipping is approving new environmental protections for the Canadian Arctic. The International Maritime Organization says it will tighten restrictions around fuels that vessels in those waters can use. The changes would reduce emissions of pollutants as well as black carbon, a fine soot that darkens sea ice and hastens its melt. The proposal, made by the Canadian government, has been approved and is to be adopted at the group’s next meeting. The Inuit Circumpolar Council, which represents Inuit people around the Arctic, says it welcomes the announcement. Canadian government documents suggest complying with the new rules could raise costs for northern families by up to about $40 a year. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2024. ...
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Ousters major theme of Kanesatake community meeting
By Marcus Bankuti Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Sidelined at the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK), grand chief Victor Bonspille used a community meeting Tuesday to outline his grievances and reiterate his call for a general election. He was prevented from using community funds for mailouts for the meeting, he said, and is currently using his personal email address to communicate with outside governments and associations after being locked out of his account. “Right now, the Council made the decision to suspend him pending a public meeting,” said MCK chief Serge Otsi Simon, citing complaints such as Bonspille’s attempt to put the community into third-party management and his involvement in the shuttering of the band office last autumn. Another chief, Brant Etienne, said Bonspille has abdicated his position by refusing to...
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Families of slain women to meet with governments, provide update on landfill search
WINNIPEG- The families of two slain First Nations women are expected to provide an update in their push to get governments to fund a search of a Winnipeg-area landfill for the women’s remains. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the families of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are set to hold a news conference about the outcome of a meeting with the city, provincial and federal governments. The families have accused the provincial government of delays and inaction since it promised during last fall’s election campaign that there would be a search of the landfill. Premier Wab Kinew has said he is committed to getting the landfill searched but, as of earlier this month, could not answer questions about timelines, operation details and funding. An Indigenous-led committee commissioned two reports...
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City of Iqaluit considers new subdivision near Inuit lands, Aqsarniit hotel
By Jeff Pelletier Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The City of Iqaluit is considering the possibility of a new subdivision to be developed by the Qikiqtani Inuit Association near the Aqsarniit hotel. Matthew Dodds, Iqaluit’s director of planning and development, presented the proposal at Tuesday’s planning and development committee meeting. He noted that council previously voted to pursue this possible subdivision in 2022, but there have been a few new issues to emerge since then. They include Iqaluit receiving money through the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund earlier this year, a study being conducted to improve the flow of traffic near Inuksuk High School and other infrastructure upgrades in the core area. One of the concepts for the new subdivision includes a possible new bypass road that would branch off of...
