Climate change destroyed an Alaska village. Its residents are starting over in a new town
MERTARVIK, Alaska (AP) — Growing up along the banks of the Ninglick River in western Alaska, Ashley Tom would look out of her window after strong storms from the Bering Sea hit her village and notice something unsettling: the riverbank was creeping ever closer. It was in that home, in the village of Newtok, where Tom’s great-grandmother had taught her to sew and crochet on the sofa, skills she used at school when students crafted headdresses, mittens and baby booties using seal or otter fur. It’s also where her grandmother taught her the intricate art of grass basket weaving and how to speak the Yupik language. Today, erosion and melting permafrost have just about destroyed Newtok, eating about 70 feet (21.34 meters) of land every year. All that’s left are...
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Premier offers cut of gaming revenue if chiefs abandon casino plans
By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Brandon Sun SIOUX VALLEY DAKOTA NATION — The Manitoba government has offered a cut of provincial gaming revenue to several Dakota First Nations on the condition that they do not develop casinos of their own, the Sun has learned. In a series of interviews the Sun conducted with chiefs of the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, Dakota Tipi First Nation and Canupawakpa Dakota Nation, the chiefs said they met with Premier Wab Kinew in Winnipeg on Aug. 21. At the meeting, they said Kinew pitched them a revenue-sharing agreement and asked them not to build casinos in return. “He offered a percentage of all the gaming revenues,” said Dakota Tipi First Nation Chief Dennis Pashe. “It’s negotiable, so we have to get into the negotiation...
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‘Not much has changed’: Indigenous physicians reflect on health care in Canada
The Canadian Press 26/09/2024 11:31 Dr. Michael Anderson clearly remembers a First Nations child flown into the Toronto pediatric ward where he was working 30 years ago. Standing in front of the nursing station, Anderson overheard a doctor he considered a mentor say the child’s parents will “be drunk for a week.” “‘We won’t see them. They’ll come and pick them up when it’s time for him to go home,’” Anderson, a surgical oncologist and palliative care physician in Toronto, recalls hearing. Anderson, who has Mohawk ancestry with family roots in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, says he learned to hide his Indigenous ties after that incident. “Because if they know that I’m First Nations, they’re going to be thinking about me exactly the same as they are about this family. And...
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Former MP has ‘issues’ with truth and reconciliation
By Darrell Greer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Kivalliq News Longtime Inuk politician Jack Anawak represented the electoral district of Nunatsiaq in the House of Commons from 1988 to 1997 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. During his time in the House of Commons, Anawak served first as the Liberal Party’s opposition critic for Northern Affairs and then as parliamentary secretary to the minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. He also served a term in the legislative assembly after Nunavut’s creation in 1999. But Anawak is no fan of having a special day to recognize truth and reconciliation. As far as he’s concerned, it doesn’t exist. In fact, Anawak takes issue with how truth and reconciliation is being perceived today. “When we talk about reconciliation between the...
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People with diabetes in lower-income areas at higher risk for amputations: repor
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says more than 7,000 people with diabetes undergo a leg, foot or toe amputation every year — and the majority of those procedures could have been prevented. The report issued today says people with diabetes living in the lowest-income neighbourhoods are three times more likely to have an amputation than those living in the highest-income communities. It also says people with diabetes living in remote communities are at higher risk of leg amputations than those living in urban centres. Erin Pichora, CIHI’s program lead for population health, says lack of access to a primary-care provider to help people manage diabetes is one likely factor behind the inequalities. She says disparities are also likely in access to specialists who can treat diabetic wounds on people’s...
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KIA moving toward taking big steps in region
By Darrell Greer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Impressive and important initiatives are starting to be slowly moved forward by the Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA). The association’s board of directors meeting held in Arviat from Sept. 10 to 12 went well, according to executive director Gabe Karlik, as the organization prepares for its upcoming annual general meeting (AGM) in Rankin Inlet from Oct. 1 to 3. Karlik said the meetings saw the financial non-consolidated statements be approved for presentation at the AGM. He said before the board meeting took place in Arviat, the KIA had put some initiatives together to help with relief efforts for Whale Cove after the community lost its Co-op store to a fire on Aug. 30. “We put $100,000 from the KIA towards the hamper program with...
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Tla-o-qui-aht asks Tofino for exemption from Limits to Growth Policy
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Ha-Shilth-Sa Future development and raw water supply needs were the focus of Tofino’s Aug. 26 Committee of the Whole (CoW) meeting, but Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation (TFN) has asked mayor and council for an exemption from any planning or policies pertaining to the future growth of Canada’s Surf Capital. After suffering an unprecedented drought in 2023, District of Tofino staff created a Water Master Plan and Conservation Plan, which ultimately led to the creation of a Limits to Growth Policy that tackles the issues outlined in the Water Master Plan. TFN Tribal administrator Jim Chisholm sent a letter on Aug. 13 to Tofino Mayor Dan Law and his council regarding the Limits to Growth Policies. Chisholm thanked district staff for meeting with him to...
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Report says ‘disproportionate’ use of force against Indigenous and Black Calgarians
The Canadian Press An analysis of race-based data shows Calgary police used a disproportionate amount of force against Indigenous and Black individuals in the city last year. The Calgary Police Service made a commitment to collect and report on race-based data in 2020. The findings, in two reports released at the Calgary Police Commission, showed that when it comes to use of force, Indigenous women and men along with Black males were overrepresented compared with their population totals. Use of force includes stuns and strikes, dynamic takedowns, leg restraints, spit masks, restraint rings as well as the use of batons, pepper spray, conducted energy weapons, bean bag guns and firearms. The reports examine racial data associated to the use-of-force subjects and allows the police to identify and monitor indicators of...
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B.C. NDP pledges to help middle-income homebuyers with 40% of financing
The Canadian Press New Democrat Leader David Eby says he will help more middle-class, first-time buyers into the housing market in British Columbia with a plan to finance 40 per cent of the price. Eby said Wednesday during an election campaign stop that his Homes for People plan will commit up to $1.29 billion per year in financing, while supporting the development of up to 25,000 new units over five years. The early days of the campaign ahead of B.C.’s Oct. 19th election also saw the provincial Greens lay out their plans to maintain a carbon tax, separating them from the position of the other two major provincial parties. An NDP government would partner with non-profit organizations, local governments, First Nations and market-housing providers to identify land and projects for...
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‘Life is hard’: Living under a 29-year boil-water advisory in an Ontario First Nation
The Canadian Press Every other day, Derek Moonias drives 15 minutes to the airport in Neskantaga First Nation and fills his pickup truck with cases of bottled water flown in on the dime of the federal government. The community some 450 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont. – accessible only by air and a winter ice road – has the longest boil-water advisory in the country at 29 years and growing. Many in the community have never lived at a time when the water coming out of the taps was declared suitable to drink. On this morning, Moonias, the water distribution co-ordinator, is tired. A young mother called him overnight looking for clean water to make a bottle for her baby. He dug some up from his secret cache kept...
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Manitoba, First Nations group start recruiting workers to search landfill for remains
The Canadian Press 25/09/2024 15:04 The Manitoba government and an advocacy group representing First Nations have started the process of hiring workers to help search a landfill for the remains of two victims of a serial killer. The province says it is working with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to recruit multiple full- and part-time technicians to help forensic anthropologists search for the Indigenous women’s remains in the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg. The government says applicants are not expected to have extensive experience in the area. It says family and community members are encouraged to apply and preference is to be given to Indigenous applicants. The remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are believed to have been taken to the landfill in the spring of 2022. Jeremy...
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Huu-ay-aht First Nation seeks Dark-Sky Preserve designation for Bamfield
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Bamfield, BC – Standing in the home of his ancestors at Kiixin (pronounced kee-hin), Huu-ay-aht’s ancient summer village site, knowledge keeper Qiic Qiica spoke about connection. “That’s one of the most beautiful things about being Indigenous is our connectedness. We are not above or below anything in the world. We are a part of it,” said Qiic Qiica, a cultural interpreter for Kiix̣in Tours. “We are deeply connected to everything around us. Not just the land or the ocean, but it’s also the cosmos. Our people were so connected to the cosmos, it’s only with our modern technology and conveniences that we have become disconnected,” said Qiic Qiica as he led a group of scientists, Indigenous leaders, tourism delegates, economic development partners, journalists...
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More Indigenous participation in labour market would boost Alberta economy: Report
The Canadian Press A new report says increasing Indigenous participation in Alberta’s labour market could boost the province’s GDP by between two and three percentage points, the equivalent of $8 billion to $11 billion annually. The report by ATB Financial and professional services firm MNP pegs the total contributions of Indigenous governments, businesses and households to Alberta’s GDP in 2023 at $9.2 billion, approximately three per cent of the province’s total GDP. It says the contributions of Indigenous people to Alberta’s economy have grown by 12 to 15 per cent since 2019. But the report says disparities in income and educational attainment between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Albertans persist. It says Indigenous workers are still overrepresented in lower-paying roles and under-represented in management and professional positions The report calls on businesses,...
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Ontario premier tasks Ministry of Education with investigating TDSB field trip
The Canadian Press 25/09/2024 12:16 Ontario’s Ministry of Education is investigating a Toronto District School Board field trip that saw students from 15 schools attend a protest on mercury contamination that is affecting a First Nation community in the north. Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday he had asked Education Minister Jill Dunlop to investigate, saying kids shouldn’t be at protests, they should be in school learning math, spelling, geography and history. The TDSB has launched its own investigation, but Dunlop says in a statement that the board has failed to take swift and decisive action and she wants to see those responsible held accountable. TDSB says in a written statement that it is doing a review of field trip procedures and told schools that students should not be participating in...
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Saskatchewan man wanted for robbery killed in RCMP standoff
The Canadian Press 25/09/2024 12:15 Saskatchewan’s police watchdog is investigating the shooting death of a man facing several arrest warrants for robbery. Local RCMP say they had learned the man, wanted in the robbery of two businesses and a home, was in the area of Fishing Lake First Nation. Police say a van seen speeding through the area had been stolen by the man from a school on Fishing Lake First Nation and that he was armed. Officers chased the van on rural roads before it drove onto a field, where shots were fired to get the vehicle to stop. Police say 34-year-old Joseph “Joey” Desjarlais was found dead inside the van and that his family has been told. The Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team is now looking into Desjarlais’s...
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B.C. NDP pledges to help middle-income homebuyers with 40% of financing
The Canadian Press British Columbia’s New Democrats have unveiled a plan that Leader David Eby says will help middle-income families purchase a home by financing 40 per cent of the price. The plan commits up to $1.29 billion per year in financing to help middle-income people buy their first home, while supporting the development of up to 25,000 new units over five years. A statement from the NDP says the government would partner with non-profit organizations, local governments, First Nations and market-housing providers to identify land and projects for development. It says government financing and the use of low-cost land would allow builders to offer units for sale at 40 per cent below market prices, and buyers would need to come up with the remaining 60 per cent. When the...
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“It’s pretty dang cool,”: Mi’kmaq youth empowered by involvement in photo exhibit honouring Marshall Decision
By Meghan Dewar is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter Several Mi’kmaq were featured in a photo exhibit by Steve Wadden at the Eltuek Arts Centre in honour of the 25th anniversary of the Marshall Decision. Among those photographed was Colton Brooks-Marshall, an 11-year-old from Potlotek First Nation. Brooks-Marshall shared that it was an exciting experience for him, representing his culture through photography. “I got to experience holding an eel, so that was pretty cool. When I saw the photos, I was excited. I was really, really excited.” Brooks-Marshall felt he looked strong and powerful in the photo featured in the exhibit. “I’ve been learning the Mi’kmaq language probably about my whole life. The Mi’kmaq language is dying, so seeing a bunch of Indigenous people in an art exhibit, it’s pretty...
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First Nations call for ban of aerial spraying after spill
By Darlene Wroe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter LATCHFORD – Temagami First Nation and Teme-Augama Anishnabai leaders are calling for a ban on aerial spraying of herbicides of the forest following a spill of over 600 litres of GlySil (glyphosate) concentrate on the evening of September 10. The spill occurred at the 21-kilometre mark on Eagle Lake Road northwest of Brickstock Lake, northwest of the head of Lake Anima Nipissing and about ten kilometres west of Latchford. The truck carrying the material to be used for aerial spraying overturned and released 600 litres into a ditch on the side of the road. Representatives of the Temagami Forest Management Corporation (TFMC), Forest Resource Management Group, Apex and the Ministry of Environment have been at the scene. Apex has brought environmental technicians to...
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First Nations call for ban of aerial spraying after spill
By Darlene Wroe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter LATCHFORD – Temagami First Nation and Teme-Augama Anishnabai leaders are calling for a ban on aerial spraying of herbicides of the forest following a spill of over 600 litres of GlySil (glyphosate) concentrate on the evening of September 10. The spill occurred at the 21-kilometre mark on Eagle Lake Road northwest of Brickstock Lake, northwest of the head of Lake Anima Nipissing and about ten kilometres west of Latchford. The truck carrying the material to be used for aerial spraying overturned and released 600 litres into a ditch on the side of the road. Representatives of the Temagami Forest Management Corporation (TFMC), Forest Resource Management Group, Apex and the Ministry of Environment have been at the scene. Apex has brought environmental technicians to...
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“It’s pretty dang cool,”: Mi’kmaq youth empowered by involvement in photo exhibit honouring Marshall Decision
By Meghan Dewar, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Several Mi’kmaq were featured in a photo exhibit by Steve Wadden at the Eltuek Arts Centre in honour of the 25th anniversary of the Marshall Decision. Among those photographed was Colton Brooks-Marshall, an 11-year-old from Potlotek First Nation. Brooks-Marshall shared that it was an exciting experience for him, representing his culture through photography. “I got to experience holding an eel, so that was pretty cool. When I saw the photos, I was excited. I was really, really excited.” Brooks-Marshall felt he looked strong and powerful in the photo featured in the exhibit. “I’ve been learning the Mi’kmaq language probably about my whole life. The Mi’kmaq language is dying, so seeing a bunch of Indigenous people in an art exhibit, it’s pretty dang cool.”...
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