Algoma receives funding to stop the spread of Canada’s ‘worst invasive plant’
By K Darbyson Journalism Initiative 31/07/2024 22:50 The Invasive Species Centre recently set aside over $650,000 to help combat one of the most unwelcome plants in the country, with some of that money being sent to the Algoma District. These local beneficiaries include the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre ($18,400), Sheshegwaning First Nation ($2,500) and Garden River First Nation’s Lands and Resources department ($9,020), with the rest of the funding being spread out to 35 additional organizations across the province. Jenna White, a policy coordinator for the Invasive Species Centre, said this boost in funding, bolstered by a “significant” investment from the province, is designed to support a range of activities to reduce the presence of phragmites across Ontario. “These projects, as well as the many others supported under the...
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Robinson Huron trustees argue lawyer fees in court
By K. Darbyson Local Journalism Initiative 31/07/2024 A dispute between Robinson Huron trustees over “excessive” lawyer fees made its way to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Tuesday, attracting as many as 1,000 online viewers in the process. This public hearing was called after chiefs Craig Nootchtai (Atikameksheng Anishnawbek) and Karen Bell (Garden River First Nation) submitted a judicial review application over the $510 million that was set aside for their attorneys in the historic Robinson Huron Treaty settlement. While the applicants admit these lawyers “played an important role” in securing $10 billion from the provincial and federal governments (for not following the original terms of the 1850 treaty) they believe this $510 million legal bill is not “fair or reasonable.” Attorney Michael Rosenberg expanded upon this argument on...
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One of world’s oldest sacred shrines could return to remote Indigenous settlement in B.C.
By Odette Auger Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 31/07/2024 Members of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations Whalers’ Shrine Repatriation Committee travelled to New York recently in an effort to try to bring back one of the world’s most sacred structures. Committee members went to the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) to formally meet with the museum’s Cultural Resources Office. The representatives from the First Nations in British Columbia are keen to bring the Whalers’ Shrine back home to Yuquot, a village in Nootka Island, on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. The shrine was where Nuu-chah-nulth whalers prayed and practiced ritual oosemich (bathing) to prepare for the physical and spiritual challenges they faced when hunting. There are 88 carved human figures, four carved whale figures and 16 human skulls in the...
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‘A moving monster’: How did the Jasper fire get so bad, so fast?
The Canadian Press The fast-moving Jasper, Alta., wildfire was fuelled by a web of extreme conditions that converged into what experts described as a monstrous fire, serving as a disastrous example of what’s become increasingly common across Canada’s boreal forest. What has happened in Jasper National Park is a “microcosm of what we’re seeing across Western Canada,” said wildfire risk expert and former Parks Canada wildland firefighter Mathieu Bourbonnais. More than 20,000 people in and around the Rocky Mountain townsite were ordered to evacuate last Monday. By Wednesday night, fires had reached Jasper, with flames and smoke so intense it forced first responders to briefly retreat. About 30 per cent of the townsite has been destroyed. Questions and accusations have followed, including from critics who argue Parks Canada and other...
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Amnesty International names Wet’suwet’en chief Canada’s first prisoner of conscience
The Canadian Press Amnesty International is calling for the release of a First Nations chief who was convicted of criminal contempt, and is calling him Canada’s first prisoner of conscience. Chief Dsta’hyl, who represents one of the clans within the Wet’suwet’en Nation, also goes by the name Adam Gagnon. He was arrested in 2021 for breaching a court order not to impede construction of the Coastal GasLink liquefied natural gas pipeline, and is currently confined to house arrest. Amnesty argues this amounts to unjust confinement of the chief and others who defend their land and rights during a climate emergency. The group says the court order is unjust because it bans activities that should be protected under the Charter right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. This is the...
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Champion of Champions Pow wow battles the heat and wins
Six Nations annual Champions of Champions Powwow brought out the crowds By Austin Evans Writer Hundreds of participants from across Turtle Island brought their dances to the Champion of Champions Powwow. The crowd rose for the veterans bringing in the flags on Saturday, and many kept standing to cheer for the hundreds of dancers who followed them during the Grand Entrance. The dancers came to Six Nations from all over the continent. Esgenoôpetitj resident Serena Perley-Kingbird was excited to bring her jingle dance from New Brunswick to Six Nations for the first time. “It makes me feel happy,” she said. “Powwow is the best!” Mike Dashner of Bad River, Wisconsin has been a traditional dancer since 1977 and plans to keep dancing for the foreseeable future. “It’s everything from a...
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Six Nations lined the streets and packed the arena to meet with Stanley Cup winner Brandon Montour
By Austin Evans Writer Chiefswood Road and Fourth Line were flooded with red jerseys, signs, and flags welcoming Six Nations’ own Brandon Montour home alongside the hard-fought Stanley Cup. Exactly one month after the Florida Panthers took the win over the Edmonton Oilers, Six Nations held a parade showing Montour and the Cup off to the community before inviting them to take pictures with him. Montour said he wanted to play in the NHL since the first time he wore a pair of skates. “I was just that little kid that was a hockey nerd, knew everything about that team, knew every time they won, all their goals, all their assists,” he said. “Ever since I became a fan, to be honest, it has been what my goal is and...
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Mohawk Institute Survivors Secretariat gets funds cut
A four-year-old boy was murdered at Mt. Elgin Residential School, but his family members can’t find his body. He was thrown out a window because he was crying. He was crying because his ears were infected so severely, they were leaking blood and puss. “It’s the truth. It’s well documented. We have the records from the London hospital where he died. We have all of the medical records and the coroner’s report,” Diane Hill, a board member of the Survivors Secretariat and survivor of the Mohawk Institute Residential School said. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon account and the Canadian government continues to throw up roadblocks for families and communities to locate their ancestors, despite acknowledging the residential school system as a cultural genocide in 2022. Hill has been working...
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Government cuts funding for residential school searches
It was just last month that Kimberly Murray, the federal point person for missing children and unmarked graves, made the recommendation that there needs to be long-term, sustainable funding from the federal government in the search of former residential school sites. But it already seems that Murray’s recommendations are being ignored, with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) last week quietly making devastating funding cuts to the Residential Schools Missing Children Community Support Fund, which those in the field say could have immense impacts on their searches for unmarked graves. “This is just par for the course with CIRNAC. They don’t talk to communities, they don’t talk to the people they need to talk to. I wonder if they even read my interim report,” Murray said. “They were certainly...
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Battery storage projects could see up to $48 million in revenue to Six Nations
By Austin Evans Writer Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation’s (SNGRDC) plan to tackle provincial energy waste could translate into $48 million in profits for the community over the next two decades. SNGRDC, and its partner Aypa Power, held two community engagement sessions at Six Nations recently explaining while they may be a minority shareholder they are working to expand. SNGRDC and Aypa Power are partnering on battery energy storage system (BESS) projects. The information sessions were held July 20 and July 25. Battery storage systems are designed to store surplus energy from the power grid during periods of low demand and release that energy back into the grid to meet high demand. Consultant Amy Lickers said each of the systems would be able to store up to...
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Public safety and local businesses questioned at SNEC
Six Nations community members have concerns about public safety and the people running businesses on the reserve. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) plans to take the concerns seriously and discuss solutions and action plans at its committees. SNEC discussed long-standing community concerns about the amount of non-Indigenous people doing business on reserve, the growing drug problem and the fear for the community’s safety at its General Council meeting on July 23 and ultimately decided to break up the issues and send them to committees. “It’s always important I don’t want folks to become overwhelmed.” Nathan Wright, CEO said. “What we do is take the first steps and start looking at it from the standpoint of committees.” Councillor Alaina VanEvery said SNEC has had brief discussions about some of the issues,...
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Brantford Police investigate “targeted” shooting
BRANTFORD, ONT-Brantford Police are investigating what they are describing as a “targeted” shooting after a man was found suffering from a gunshot wound Sunday, July 28, 2024. The Brantford Police Service said they responded to the Colborne and Alfred Streets area at about 5 am. after receiving a call of a 33-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound. Police located the man who was suffering non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. The man was transported to an area hospital and is receiving treatment for his injuries. Brantford Police said they believe the shooting to “be a targeted incident and not a random act of violence.” BPS said there is “no concern for public safety at this time.” Anyone with information is urged to contact the Brantford Police Service at 519-756-7050. Tipsters who wish...
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Shame on Trudeau!
It’s a low blow…It’s shameful! And the Trudeau government has to wear the shame. The federal government has the audacity to announce it is reducing funds to search grounds of former residential schools for missing children. And on top of that is cutting much needed community support funds. Funds, survivors of the atrocity created by Canada, need to help each other cope with the effects of those schools. Affects that continue to haunt them even creating their own unique form of post-traumatic stress disorder called “residential school syndrome”. Statistics have shown survivors, OUR PEOPLE, are suffering from a from a form of PTSD. Diagnostic statistics have shown 64.2 percent of survivors suffer from PTSD, an estimated 26.3 per cent suffer abuse disorder, major depression has hit 21.1 percent, dysthymic disorder...
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Ashley Callingbull becomes first Indigenous woman to win Miss Universe Canada
Ashley Callingbull has become the first Indigenous woman to win Miss Universe Canada. The 34-year-old model, actress and television host from Enoch Cree Nation, Alta., was crowned in Windsor, Ont., on Saturday. Callingbull is currently an in-game host for the National Hockey League, Canadian Football League, and the National Lacrosse League. She has acted in APTN series “Blackstone” and “Tribal,” and received awards and recognition for her community work and activism. Callingbull previously broke barriers when she became the first Canadian and Indigenous person to win Mrs. Universe in 2015 and the first Indigenous woman to appear as a “Sports Illustrated” model in 2022. She will compete for the title of Miss Universe in Mexico in November. “This is the most surreal feeling. I’ve been chasing this dream for years...
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Former judge with disputed Cree heritage likely has Indigenous DNA: report
A DNA test shows a former judge and Order of Canada recipient accused of falsely claiming to b Cree “most likely” has Indigenous heritage, a report from the Law Society of British Columbia revealed Thursday. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond previously served as B.C.’s representative for children and youth, and was well known as a lawyer on Indigenous rights. Her Indigenous identity was the subject of a 2022 CBC News investigation, which called into question her heritage, including claims her father was Cree. It also found Turpel-Laford misrepresented her credentials. The law society confirmed Thursday she did misrepresent certain credentials, and ordered her to pay $10,000 to a non-profit organization that supports Indigenous justice. But as part of its investigation, the law society says an independent geneticist found Turpel-Lafond most likely has...
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Six Nations Tourism co-hosts Two Nations Paddle
The two largest Indigenous tourism groups have joined forces for an event this week. Six Nations Tourism and Wikwemkong Tourism will be co-hosting the Two Nations Paddle on Thursday. The event will be staged at Point Grondine Park in Killarney. The park is owned and operated by the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory. The Two Nations Paddle is a cultural experience being held to showcase the cultures of the Six Nations and Wiikwemkoong nations. Visitors will paddle in big canoes while guides explain the histories of the two nations. Guests will also be served with Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe foods. Six Nations tourism reps have also been invited to attend the Wiikwemkoong Arts and Music Festival, which will be held this Friday and the Wiikwemkoong Annual Cultural Festival, which takes places on Saturday....
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Chiefs kickoff their playoff run with win over visiting Kodiaks
By Sam Laskaris Writer After almost a three-week layoff the Six Nations Chiefs returned to action again on Sunday. The Chiefs downed the visiting Cobourg Kodiaks 13-7 in a match held at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena (ILA). That contest was Game 1 in a best-of-seven Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) semi-final series. For the Chiefs it was their first contest since July 9, when they wrapped up their regular season with a 12-7 triumph over the Peterborough Lakers. While the six other MSL entrants competed in their best-of-five, quarter-final series, the Six Nations squad was patiently sitting on the sidelines for those series to wrap up. That’s because the Chiefs, who posted a perfect 11-0 regular season record, were awarded an opening-round playoff bye and a direct berth into the semi-finals....
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Six Nations sisters compete in fastpitch softball championships
By Austin Evans Writer Sisters Tess and Tenley Squire are both competing in their brackets’ fastpitch softball championships next month. Tess will be playing with her Under-17 team on August 3 and Tenley’s Under-15 team will play their championship games on August 12. Tess and Tenley Squire have both played softball since they were young, with Tess playing tee ball as early as three years old. Since Tenley started playing as well, the sisters have practiced together. “My sister and I practice outside in our garage,” said Tenley. “We’ve definitely gotten closer when we started practicing, and I’ve had some of the best games I’ve been playing since we started.” “We’ve always bonded over sports, our whole family,” said Tess. “It helps that she’s a good ball player, it’s good...
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Smith hoping to help lead Allegany Arrows to Presidents Cup
By Sam Laskaris Writer Layne Smith’s eventual goal this season has remained the same. Smith, a 27-year-old Six Nations member, is hoping his lacrosse squad can qualify for and win this year’s Presidents Cup, the national Senior B tournament. Smith had started the 2024 campaign with his hometown Six Nations Rivermen. His father Jay is the general manager and also an assistant coach with the Rivermen, who compete in the Ontario Series Lacrosse (OSL). Early on in the season, however, the younger Smith opted to leave the Rivermen and take his talents to the United States. He joined the Allegany Arrows, members of the Can-Am Lacrosse League. Even though the majority of teams in the Can-Am circuit are based in the U.S., the league champs do advance to compete in...
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