Teme Augama Anishnabai oppose Metis claims
By Darlene Wroe Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Up to 30 members of the Teme-Augama Anishnabai and the Temagami First Nation gathered outside the North Bay office of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) on September 18. They were there to protest the ministry’s support of a cabin built on N’dakimenan, the territorial land of the Teme-Augama Anishnabai (TAA). The cabin construction is supported by the Metis Nation of Ontario (MNO), and builders of the cabin claim membership in the MNO. The TAA and Temagami First Nation have now issued an eviction notice to the MNO and to the two men who constructed the cabin. TAA Second Chief John Turner related in a telephone interview he is a descendant of the original occupants of the land where the...
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`HEART WRENCHING’: Feds call for collaborative approach to potential landfill search
By Dave Baxter Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations is facing increased criticism, after **>First Nations<** leaders say the minister told them this week the federal government was making no financial commitments towards a landfill search for the remains of two Indigenous women. “Despite the gravity of this crisis, the federal government’s commitment to fully fund critical landfill searches at Prairie Green remains non-existent,” AMC Grand Chief Cathy Merrick said in a statement reacting to a Monday morning meeting between Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Gary Anandasangaree and those who have been advocating for a landfill search of the Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris. “Through Treaty obligation, they are responsible for the health and wellness of First Nation People.” On...
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Poilievre introduces housing bill, plan focuses on getting cities to build more homes
By Nojoud Al Mallees THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA- Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre introduced a private member’s bill in the House of Commons Wednesday that outlines a plan to address the national housing crisis. The bill, which is unlikely to pass, centres around using federal infrastructure and transit spending to push cities to build more homes. It proposes requiring cities to increase home building by 15 per cent each year to receive their usual infrastructure spending. Cities that fail to meet that target would see a decrease in the federal dollars they receive, while those that exceed it would get additional money. Housing experts, advocates and industry groups generally agree that municipalities place many barriers to new developments, and city councils are often swayed by anti-development sentiment. For Poilievre, tying federal...
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1 in 4 adolescents have been cyberbullied, StatCan says
A new StatCan report says one in four adolescents in Canada have been cyberbullied and it’s taking a toll on their mental health. The study says youth who have been victimized online have a greater risk of depression, anxiety, eating disorder symptoms and thoughts of suicide or suicide attempts. The report says transgender and non-binary youth, as well as females attracted to other females, are at higher risk of being victimized online. Adolescents living with chronic health conditions such as asthma, epilepsy or learning disabilities are also at higher risk for cyberbullying, especially if they live in low-income households. The report is based on data from more than 13,000 adolescents who were between 12 and 17 years old. The data was collected in 2019 and did not capture First Nations...
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Windfarm takes centre stage at mine extension debate
By Stewart Burnett Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Debates, presentations, questions and concerns were underway for a more-than-a-week-long meeting of the Nunavut Impact Review Board discussing Agnico Eagle’s application to extend the Meliadine gold mine. Of chief concern for many was Agnico’s proposed windfarm, which would see three to five turbines installed in the first phase and up to 11 in total. In Agnico Eagle’s presentation package, one bullet point reads, “Only viable option for Agnico Eagle is a windfarm,” in light of a green energy focus for the Government of Canada and requirement to reduce GHGs under Term and Condition 9 in its project certificate. The extension, if it were to go through, proposes to extend the mine’s life by 11 years up to 2043. “The construction and operation of...
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Fort Frances native opens Sound Hearing clinic in Thunder Bay
By Elisa Nguyen Local Journalism Initiative Reporter There are seven hearing clinics in Thunder Bay servicing a large geographic area that includes the city and several northwestern reserves. With an airport nearby, many clients are also flown in for medical appointments. “The catchment area is quite huge,” says Bailey Whitefield, who recently opened her own clinic in Thunder Bay. Born and raised in Fort Frances, with Indigenous roots from Treaty 3, Whitefield opened Sound Hearing last October. She provides hearing tests, hearing aids, custom hearing protection and ear cleaning. “It’s been going really good,” she said about the recent opening, adding that some clients from previous jobs that followed her over as well. Born with an ear infection, Whitefield spent many hours in the offices of ear, nose, throat specialists...
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Agencies work together to host National Truth and Reconciliation week
By Elisa Nguyen Local Journalism Initiative Reporter More than 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their home in between the age 4 and 16, their lives altered forever. Over 4000 children didn’t return to their communities. Next week, for National Week of Truth and Reconciliation, agencies across the district will host teachings and activities from September 25 to 30 for all people to bear witness to the experience of being forced into residential schools. The organizing committee began meeting in May this year. At the initial meetings, ideas are shared and wisdom sought out from elders on what they would like to see at the event, leading to this year’s focus on the healing power of reconciliation and the beauty of Indigenous culture. Rather than jamming everything into a one-day...
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Illegal tobacco growth costing three provinces $2.47 billion in taxes: retail report
By Dirk Meissner THE CANADIAN PRESS VICTORIA-The governments of British Columbia, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador lost up to $2.47 billion in tax revenues over four years due to the growth in illegal tobacco sales, says a convenience industry report. The Convenience Industry Council of Canada report released Wednesday examined the downward trend in legal tobacco sales in the three provinces since 2019, compared with the rising growth in the underground contraband tobacco market. “These cigarettes are illegally sold, tax and duty free, without any Health Canada regulations or inspections and retail for a fraction of legal tobacco prices,” said the 72-page report. The report said there are more profits in selling illegal cigarettes than illicit drugs, yet the penalties for getting caught with the cigarettes are less harsh. It...
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Moment For Life Colour in recogniton of World Suicide Awareness Day
Six Nations hit the Blue Track at Six Nations Parks and Recreation participating in the Health Departments’ annual Moment For Life Colour in recogniton of World Suicide Awareness Day Run that sent everyone away looking like a rainbow of colours. (Photo by Jim C. Powless)...
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Six Nations Elected Council considering a $30 million bank loan or wants GRE taxes to build language school
By Lynda Powless Editor Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC)is looking into co-signing a $30 mllion bank loan to help get the Kawenni:io/ Gaweni:yo Elementary and Secondary School built after the school was turned down for funding by another federal department. The school learned two weeks ago that its bid for funding from the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program had been denied but weren’t told why. SNEC agreed at its finance meeting Monday (Sept 9) to have Director of Accounting Wayne Staats lok into whether or not they could co-sign a $30 million loan. The issue of co-signing a loan arose during SNEC’s council session Sept., 12. Councillor Hazel Johnson raised the issue making a made a plea for SNEC to help. “My heart is with Gaweni:yo. I don’t want to...
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Six Nations sweeps Celebration of Nations Outstanding Achievement Awards
ST. CATHARINES – Six Nations has swept the 5th annual Celebration of Nations Outstanding Achievement Awards. The homegrown honorees this year included artist Delbert Jay R. Jonathan, with language revitalizer Sam Hill, and actor Gary Farmer. Honorees also included Kanatawakhon, David Maracle, Dr. Savage Bear, Dave Labbé, and David Adames. The awards ceremony took place September 8, kicking off various events over the weekend including a powerful seminar about the impacts and the legacy of the Mohawk Institute, and a show-stopping Border Crossing Blues featuring Raven Kanatakta and ShoShona Kish from Digging Roots, along with Rex Lyons and Irv Lyons from the Ripcords. The inspiring and beautiful music of the Strong Water Sisters opened the awards ceremony at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in St. Catharines. The Outstanding Achievement Awards...
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Second Six Nations store hit by thieves, ATM stolen
Six Nations Police are investigating an early morning smash and grab that saw a truck plow into the warehouse-styled doors of a local shop and make off with an ATM machine. Owner of Paradise Gardens Hydroponics on Chiefswood Road said her shop was hit by thieves between 1:00 and 1:30 a.m. Monday. Thieves repeatedly crashed, what is believed to have been a Chevy pick-up truck, into the large shipping doors of her business. She said the truck kept ramming the wall until it broke the doors and panels dropped allowing entrance. At the same time, she said the front glass door and a side window to her store were smashed by hammers. Linda Fazio said she didn’t know how much cash was in the ATM. The ATM company, she said...
Modern day land grab as County learns parcel undocumented
By Lisa Iesse Writer Six Nations may be living a modern-day land grab with Haldimand County claiming a vacant strip of land along the Grand River. The parcel of land came to the attention of Haldimand County Council last month when liability became an issue after learning encampments and trespassers had started camping on the land. A report to Haldimand council August 29 said there was a lack of ownership documentation on the parcel. The land parcel is over one acre in distance, on Highway 54 just north of Mines Road. Megan Jamieson, Haldimand’s general manager of corporate and social services, was presenting concerns about land use in a report to the county’s council when the issue of no deed or title documents to the land parcel surfaced. The documentation...
Historical stereotypes challenged in reconstruction of Haudenosaunee armour
By Lisa Iesse Writer HAMILTON – A Six Nations man’s reconstruction of 400-year-old Haudenosaunee armour speaks back to stereotypes and is challenging how we engage with history. Malcolm Kahyonhakonh Powless-Lynes is a 28-year-old blacksmith and craftsman from Six Nations of the Grand River whose creative work is now featured in an exhibit which opened Thursday (August 31) at the Dundas Museum. For over four years, he has worked on breathing new life into the hidden history of Haudenosaunee warriors who guarded their communities across the Eastern Woodlands. Powless-Lynes reconstructed armour, helmets, bows, arrows, shields, along with other tools used by Haudenosaunee warriors, by looking at artefacts, at long preserved cultural practices, and a handful of written sources. Powless-Lynes spoke with Turtle Island News at the exhibit’s opening at the Dundas...
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Psst… where’s the audit?
With an election just two months away the current Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) seems determined to tie the financial hands of any incoming council SNEC is considering co-signing a $30 million loan to help Kawenni:io/Gaweni:yo build an elementary and secondary School. While we sympathize with the school’s struggle the decision to consider putting such a huge loan on the books of the band council certainly shouldn’t be left to a group of officials who’s days are numbered. The current council has only two months left in its life before an election could see new faces sitting in those seats grappling with a $30 million loan. Neither should it be used as a campaign starter! The SNEC motion came after the school’s directors and some supporters all but demanded the...
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Weekly Cartoon
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SNEC catching up with proposed Indigenous Health legislation
Six Nations is gearing up for a fight against the Federal Government’s proposed Indigenous Health legislation. Clairissa Pietron, SNEC’s strategic advisory and systems analyst presented information on the proposed legislation, which has been in the works since 2021, to Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) at its General Council meeting on September 12. The purpose of the presentation was to give SNEC the opportunity to take a stance and form an official position on the proposed legislation. “I just wanted to make sure we can kind of bring us all to the same level of understanding when it comes to the proposed legislation,” she said. She quoted an Indigenous Services correspondence that said, “the indigenous health legislation is an opportunity to establish overarching principles as a foundation of federal health services...
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SN Elected Council looking into if it can co-sign $30 million loan
Six Nations will investigate the possibility of stepping up to support The Kawenni:io/Gaweni:yo Elementary and Secondary School by co-signing a loan. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) voted to have Wayne Staats, director of accounting to find out how SNEC could and if they could cosign a $30 million loan for the school to start construction of its building They passed the motion at the General Finance meeting on September 18. “I know they’ve had great success attending at these banks.. interested in giving them a loan but council would have to cosign on their behalf,” Councillor Hazel Johnson said. Johnson, who says she is one of four SNEC councillors who sit on the board of the school, but she’s the only one who attends meetings regularly. She also says she...
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Six Nations overager commences final junior season with Toronto Jr. Canadiens
By Sam Laskaris Writer Brenden Anderson has dropped down a level for his final season of junior hockey eligibility. But the 20-year-old Six Nations member is still doing his best to impress as he still plans to move up in the hockey world. Anderson, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound forward, had spent the bulk of the past two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He joined the then Hamilton Bulldogs, a franchise which has since relocated to Brantford, during the 2021-22 campaign. And then after starting last season with the Bulldogs he was traded to the Sarnia Sting. Anderson, however, didn’t even bother reporting to the Sting camp this year. That’s because he would have been one of 11 overage players (those who are 20 and in their final season of...
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COLUMN Sam Laskaris – BEHIND THE ACTION – Justin Martin
By Sam Laskaris Writer One just never knows who is watching. That’s why it’s prudent to try, if possible, to be performing at your best at all times. For example, take the case of Justin Martin, a 25-year-old lacrosse player from Six Nations. By no means is 25 old. But Martin admits he had started to question whether he would ever fulfil his lifelong dream of playing professionally in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). Martin, who spent the spring and summer toiling for the Six Nations Rivermen, a Senior B squad that competes in Ontario Series Lacrosse, is one step closer to fulfilling his goal now. That’s because it was announced this past Friday that he has signed a contract with the NLL’s Toronto Rock. The Rock are one of...
