COVID-19 in Indigenous communities: What you need to know
April 14, 2021
As a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has begun in many parts of Canada, the number of active cases continues on a downward trend in First Nations and Inuit communities. To date, the rate of active reported cases of the virus in First Nations people living on-reserve is 77 per cent of the rate for the general Canadian population, according to Indigenous Services Canada. As of April 12, the federal department reported 666 active cases in First Nations.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/indigenous-covid-19-update-1.5985355
Ontario reports more than 4,100 new COVID-19 cases, 28 deaths
April 14, 2021
Ontario is reporting 4,156 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the provincial total to 398,835. Wednesday’s case count is up from Tuesday’s which saw 3,670 new infections. On Monday, 4,401 new cases were recorded.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7757008/covid-19-ontario-cases-april-14-coronavirus/
Ontario’s COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy Targets High-Risk Neighbourhoods
April 13, 2021
To slow the spread of the virus and protect communities with the highest rates of transmission, Ontario is rolling out vaccines to “hot spot” regions across the province as part of Phase Two of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan. Through this initiative, 114 highly impacted neighbourhoods, as identified by postal code, will be reached through mass immunization clinics, mobile teams and pop-up clinics.
Ontario is adding hundreds of ICU beds. But does it have the resources to support them?
April 14, 2021
As ICU admissions continue to soar in Ontario, critical care doctors and nurses are warning that the province’s plan to add hundreds of new critical care beds alone will not improve the situation they’re currently facing in this deadly third wave of the pandemic. Staff say rising ICU admissions are pushing the system to the brink — a system they say was already stretched thin before COVID-19 hit.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/ontario-icus-adding-beds-but-will-it-help-1.5985771
Garden River First Nation Wellness Announcement: AstraZeneca Now Available
April 13, 2021
AstraZeneca is now available at participating pharmacies throughout the Algoma district. Individuals aged 55+ can book an appointment directly with the pharmacy.
https://ihtoday.ca/garden-river-first-nation-wellness-announcement-astrazeneca-now-available/
Ontario begins appeal against Robinson Huron Treaty fiduciary obligations case
April 14, 2021
“We’re going through this exercise through the courts which, in our view, isn’t necessary because there are those promises that were made through treaty that were very clear in its intent to augment this annuity,” said Wiikwemkoong Ogimaa Duke Peltier, a spokesperson for the RHT trust.
Early spring flooding sends Kashechewan First Nation out on the land
April 13, 2021
Kashechewan First Nation has begun its annual evacuation — earlier than planned. The flood-prone James Bay community evacuates each year, usually flying residents to urban centres. But for the second year in a row, most community members will instead be living on the land.
Indigenous Growth Fund raises $150M in First Round to Support Indigenous Entrepreneurs in Canada
April 14, 2021
The Indigenous Growth Fund (IGF) is a new $150M investment fund that will provide access to the capital that Indigenous small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have long sought and lacked. Indigenous entrepreneurs across all industries, including emergent exporters and food and agriculture related businesses, will be able to access the Fund via business loans from a network of Aboriginal Financial Institutions (AFIs) throughout the country.
Rickford: Highway 17 Twinning Long Time Coming
April 14, 2021
After years of promises, talking and negotiating, it appears the twinning of Highway 17 west of Kenora may finally proceed. Northern Development Minister Greg Rickford says he’s encouraged with a decision by four area First Nations last week in support of the first phase of the project.
https://www.ckdr.net/2021/04/14/rickford-highway-17-twinning-long-time-coming/
Solidarity to stop violence against Indigenous women
April 14, 2021
The shadow pandemic of violence leaves Indigenous women and girls more at risk than ever. “We will be #SilentNoMore,” the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) said to open the International Summit of the Americas on Violence Against Indigenous Women.
https://anishinabeknews.ca/2021/04/14/solidarity-to-stop-violence-against-indigenous-women/
Indigenous-owned business keeping communities at forefront
April 13, 2021
CreeQuest recently announced its renewed partnership with Aramark Canada to continue providing Kirkland Lake Gold’s Detour Lake Mine with catering and janitorial services. The companies started partnering in 2013. At the mine, CreeQuest and Aramark employ 50.5 per cent women and about 40 to 48 per cent Indigenous people. Through all its partnerships, CreeQuest employs about 120 people.
Ground will be broken this morning on a project to address North Bay’s homeless crisis
April 13, 2021
Praztek Construction will scoop a ceremonial first shovel full of earth April 13, 2021, at 981 Cassells Street; the future site of Suswin Village, a 30-unit transitional housing project initiated by the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre.
Council to approve new names for Colonization Avenue
April 14, 2021
Those going through the City of Dryden will be ‘welcomed’ into the community like never before.
Dryden’s Indigenous Working Circle and city councillors have narrowed down two new names for Colonization Avenue, which will be split into two roadways. The Dryden Fire Service requested that change to make it easier to respond to emergencies.
https://www.drydennow.com/articles/council-to-approve-new-names-for-colonization-avenue-
M’Chigeeng band member makes Top Chef Canada show cut
April 14, 2021
An executive chef with newfound Island roots will be making his television debut later this month as he competes for the prestigious title of Top Chef Canada on the ninth edition of the popular Food Network Canada show.
https://www.manitoulin.com/mchigeeng-band-member-makes-top-chef-canada-show-cut/
Wiikwemkoong language conference seeks to strengthen linguistic health
April 14, 2021
Indigenous languages are under ongoing threat across the globe due to the impact of colonialism and the overbearing influence of western culture in most popular media, but Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territories has long been a bastion of Anishinaabemowin, with one of its main exports being language teachers who can be found in classrooms from Michigan to Oklahoma and beyond.
https://www.manitoulin.com/wiikwemkoong-language-conference-seeks-to-strengthen-linguistic-health/
Isaac Murdoch celebrates spring through storytelling and traditional teachings
April 13, 2021
Serpent River’s Isaac Murdoch enjoyed sharing stories virtually from Nimkii Aazhibikong during the March 29 Lakehead University Spring Celebration with Isaac Murdoch event.
New cultural facility in Toronto will help people find their identity again says supervisor
April 13, 2021
The Indigenous population in Toronto now has a new cultural facility. The Malvern Aboriginal Child and Family Centre will serve as a community gathering place. Michelle Meawasige, supervisor of the center said it’s been a long time coming.
New app to help address high volumes of First Nation consultation requests
April 12, 2021
Members of the Caldwell First Nation (CFN) in southwestern Ontario think they have the solution for dealing with upwards of 25 requests arriving each week for consultation by developers from across their traditional territory.
OPP renew call for information in search of missing northern Ontario woman
April 14, 2021
Ontario Provincial Police are once again asking anyone with information about Alyssa Turnbull to come forward. April 14 will mark one year since Turnbull was reported missing from Nipigon, police said in a news release issued Tuesday.
Kenjgewin Teg expresses its concern for University of Sudbury Indigenous Studies
April 14, 2021
The myriad of moving parts that involve the restructuring of Laurentian University and its unilateral dissolution of its federated colleges, including the University of Sudbury, which hosted a highly regarded Indigenous Studies program, has left many in the education industry scrambling for answers—of which there are few and far between due in large part to the secrecy surrounding the creditor protection negotiations.
White Water Gallery announces new executive director
April 13, 2021
White Water Gallery in North Bay, Ont., announces new executive director, Rihkee Strapp. In 2011, Rihkee Strapp applied to their first exhibition assistance grant through the White Water Gallery as an emerging artist. As a young punk artist, they recall being hosted by Nipissing First Nation-based multi-disciplinary artist-run company, Aanmitaagzi, during their first visit to the area and being deeply inspired by how they work.
https://anishinabeknews.ca/2021/04/13/white-water-gallery-announces-new-executive-director/
Indigenous leaders, experts urge Ottawa to quickly pass UNDRIP bill before election
April 13, 2021
Indigenous leaders and legal experts are pushing federal lawmakers to ensure long-promised legislation to enshrine the rights of Indigenous Peoples into Canadian law doesn’t end up once again on the cutting room floor.
Conservative MPs express worry about Bill C-15
April 13, 2021
The Indigenous Affairs Committee continued its study of Bill C-15. It’s the legislation that wants to make sure the laws of Canada are in agreement with the UNDRIP. Conservative MPs expressed worry that the new law will amount to a veto over resource development.
https://www.aptnnews.ca/videos/conservative-mps-express-worry-about-bill-c-15/
Indigenous-led organizations in Quebec inundated with requests for cultural sensitivity training
April 13, 2021
With the Quebec government promising that cultural sensitivity training for public servants is coming within the next few weeks, Indigenous-led organizations say they’re being inundated with requests for sessions now.
https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/sensitivity-training-indigenous-organizations-quebec/
A close call near Waswanipi after dump fire spreads
April 13, 2021
A fire at a municipal dump next to the northern Quebec Cree community of Waswanipi had the potential to cause a serious emergency yesterday after it spread to a nearby forest. Just before 5 p.m. Monday, local firefighters were called to the municipal dump just 15 kilometres north of the community of 2,000, located about 750 kilometres northwest of Montreal.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/fire-waswanipi-cree-dump-1.5985959
Madawaska Maliseet First Nation and Canada reach historic land claim settlement agreement
April 13, 2021
Honouring Canada’s legal obligations to First Nations and working collaboratively to renew relationships are key to righting historical wrongs to advance reconciliation with First Nations in Canada. The Madawaska Maliseet First Nation and the Government of Canada have concluded a negotiated settlement that resolves the First Nation’s Alienation of Reserve Lands Specific Claim. Canada has provided the First Nation with $145 million in total compensation.
Higgs government pulls out of gas-tax sharing with First Nations
April 13, 2021
The New Brunswick government is pulling out of tax-sharing agreements with 13 Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqey First Nations, invoking its right to terminate some of the deals as early as this July. Those agreements, which date back to 1994 and were last renewed in 2017, have fuelled economic growth in some Indigenous communities, particularly those that have built large gas retailers on reserve land.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/department-of-finance-blaine-higgs-1.5985206
Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation launches week-long mass vaccination clinic
April 13, 2021
Nurses at Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation administered 160 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, the first day of the community’s mass vaccination clinic, despite the weather and vaccine hesitancy stacked against them.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/sandy-bay-ojibway-first-nation-vaccine-clinic-1.5985825
Enoch Cree Nation welcomes Edmonton-area Indigenous residents to COVID-19 vaccine clinic
April 13, 2021
Enoch Cree Nation on the western edge of Edmonton is inviting all Indigenous area residents who qualify to get their first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to a clinic set up this week inside the River Cree Resort and Casino. Any First Nations, Metis, and Inuit (FNMI) people meeting the medical criteria can get their first shot at the site operating through to Thursday this week, said the Cree Nation in a Tuesday morning press release.
Moderate livelihood negotiations to include elvers, says fisheries minister
April 14, 2021
The lucrative harvest of baby eels in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick is now part of negotiations to implement the Mi’kmaw treaty right to fish for a moderate livelihood, says federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Bernadette Jordan.
Sir John A. Macdonald statue removed from Regina’s Victoria Park
April 13, 2021
The Sir John A. Macdonald statue was removed from Regina’s Victoria Park on Wednesday morning. The City of Regina said the removal of the statue was not publicized for security reasons and to ensure the area could be kept safe for staff.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/john-a-macdonald-statue-1.5986074
Judicial review ends with no further action for Regina judge who visited teepee protest camp
April 13, 2021
The Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) has decided no further action will be taken after a Regina judge visited a teepee protest camp on Saskatchewan’s legislature grounds in September. Queen’s Bench Judge Graeme Mitchell visited the camp after dismissing the provincial government and Provincial Capital Commission’s application to remove the teepee from the park.
Anishinaabe MC, singer-songwriter Leonard Sumner is making music to work through grief
April 13, 2021
The ongoing global pandemic has Anishinaabe MC, singer/songwriter Leonard Sumner sitting on his new music for more than a year. Thunderbird was recorded at the end of 2019 and mixed and mastered by January of 2020.
O’Chiese First Nation members call for more support following shootings
April 13, 2021
Residents of O’Chiese First Nation in Alberta say the community is on edge after a series of shootings on the reserve. Trent Firth, 24, was shot and killed by Rocky Mountain House RCMP on April 3, 2021. His grandmother, community member Lena Firth, told APTN News she raised Trent since he was four years old.
New Indigenous subscription box helps entrepreneurs through the pandemic
April 13, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for many entrepreneurs, partly by cutting into their ability to sell their products in person. But a new subscription box service launched out of Edmonton looks to help by highlighting the work of Indigenous businesses across the country.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/indigenous-subscription-box-helps-entrepreneurs-011940697.html
AWA joins Kainai, Siksika Nations call for federal impact assessment on Tent mine
April 13, 2021
The Alberta Wilderness Association has joined southern Alberta’s two largest First Nations’ call for the federal government to step in and halt coal mining in the Rockies. Earlier this month, the Kainai and Siksika nations called on the feds to impose a federal impact assessment on the Tent Mountain Coal Mine Project.
Two men filmed removing red dresses from trees on highway near Ladysmith
April 14, 2021
A video posted to social media shows two men removing the red dresses that symbolize missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls from trees alongside the Island Highway in Oyster Bay. The two men can be seen using a large branch to remove the dresses before tossing them in the forest.
https://www.nanaimobulletin.com/home2/two-men-filmed-removing-red-dresses-from-trees-in-oyster-bay/
Pacheedaht First Nation chiefs in Canada tell anti-logging protesters to leave their lands
April 14, 2021
Two chiefs of a First Nation in western Canada have told anti-old growth logging protesters camped out on their traditional lands to pack up and go home.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/14/canada-logging-blockade-first-nations-pacheedaht
‘What is happening now is not working for Inuit’: Why QIA won’t support Baffinland’s expansion
April 14, 2021
The Qikiqtani Inuit Association says its decision to not support Baffinland’s Phase 2 expansion came down to a lack of trust among communities, and uncertainty about whether new proposed mitigation measures will actually work with a larger mining operation.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/why-qia-will-not-support-baffinland-expansion-1.5985933
Kivalliq Inuit Association elects new VP, director for Naujaat
April 13, 2021
The Kivalliq Inuit Association will have a new vice-president and director for Naujaat following its election Monday. David Kuksuk of Arviat was elected vice-president with 35 per cent of the votes cast in the region and Heather Malliki was elected director for Naujaat with 45 per cent of the votes cast, the association’s chief returning officer Paul Okalik announced late Monday evening.
https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/kivalliq-inuit-association-elects-new-vp-director-for-naujaat/
Locked Out: Nunavut TV station looking in from the outside during NIRB hearings
April 13, 2021
The Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) announced it would no longer allow the live broadcast of hearings into the expansion of the Mary River mine near Pond Inlet Nunavut. During the last set of public meetings in February, some residents blocked the mine’s access to their runway and access road, a move that the Baffinland Iron Ore company claims cost them $14 million.
https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/nirb-mary-river-mine-nunavut-uvagut-tv/
Yukon Arts Centre vault opens up to fill government buildings
April 12, 2021
Visit any public or government building in the Yukon and you’ll probably spot some art work by a noteworthy local First Nations artists – but ever wonder where does it come from?
https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/yukon-arts-centre-vault-opens-up-to-fill-government-buildings/
Yukon woman is creating a whole new genre of beading
April 13, 2021
Mary Blahitka, who has friends that have called her the “Picasso of beadwork,” learned how to bead at an early age by her mother, Pansy Allen. “She’d start us off by beading necklaces,” Blahitka said. “Then we graduated to sewing moccasins or mukluks.” Now, the Teslin Tlingit First Nation woman is taking beading to a whole new level by turning photographed family moments into beaded art.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yukon-woman-is-creating-a-whole-new-genre-of-beading-1.5984629
Nunavut politicians question Canada’s stance on United Nation Declaration on Indigenous Rights
April 13, 2021
The federal government has spent years dancing around the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). As a new bill to adopt the declaration works its way through Parliament, Nunavut’s legislators are expressing skepticism, even as Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) has endorsed the bill, with a condition.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Call for Proposals: Capacity-building funding for An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families for fiscal year 2021-2022
A call for proposals is now open to support capacity-building in relation to An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families for fiscal year 2021-2022. Funding is available to Indigenous Peoples, communities, and groups as they begin work to develop their own legislation and explore Indigenous-led models for child and family services.
Learn more: https://bit.ly/31P9GUe
Save the Date: Chiefs of Ontario 47th All Ontario Chiefs Conference 2021
The Chiefs of Ontario and Grand Council Treaty #3 will be hosting the 47th All Ontario Chiefs Conference 2021 on June 15-17, 2021. For the Chiefs of Ontario All Ontario Chiefs Conference (AOCC), please find the 1st Call for Resolutions attached. Deadline for Resolutions is Wednesday, May 26, 2021. For more information, please visit https://www.chiefsmeeting.com/aocc-2021.
Issue 9 of The Official Chiefs of Ontario Magazine, The Advocate is now online!
To view, please click here: https://www.mediaedgemagazines.com/the-chiefs-of-ontario-coo/oo21c/.
International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) Annual Meeting, May 17-21, 2021
Hosted by Michigan Technological University, the virtual conference will feature four days of scientific sessions and speakers focusing on our theme Bridging: Knowledge, Seven Generations, Land-to-Lake.
For more information and registration, click here: https://bit.ly/3nI8gUh.
Chiefs of Ontario Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates
Find Our Latest Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates Here. This website provides information on emergency planning and preparedness, as well as on the unique programs and services that are available to First Nations in Ontario during times of emergency.
