Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald Marks Earth Day and Great Lakes Day
April 22, 2021
On April 22, Earth Day and Great Lakes Day, the Ontario Regional Chief, RoseAnne Archibald, asks everyone to collectively give thanks to Mother Earth and reflect upon the essential role we all play in protecting and preserving our land, waters, air, and natural resources.
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Indigenous communities
April 21, 2021
On First Nations reserves, as of April 21 Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) is aware of: 26,455 confirmed positive COVID-19 , 741 active cases ,1,173 hospitalizations ,25,408 recovered cases, and 306 deaths.
https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1598625105013/1598625167707
Ontario reports nearly 3,700 new cases of COVID-19 as number of patients in ICUs surpasses 800
April 22, 2021
Ontario is reporting nearly 3,700 new instances of COVID-19 but there may be some signs that case counts are finally starting to stabilize after weeks of exponential growth. The Ministry of Health says that there were 3,682 new cases of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus confirmed on Wednesday, along with another 40 deaths.
Indigenous culturally aware vaccine clinics underway across Southwestern Ontario
April 21, 2021`
Efforts are underway to help deliver vaccines to first nation communities, in familiar and culturally aware settings across Southwestern Ontario.
10 million COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered so far in Canada
April 21, 2021
COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and death rates continue to rise across the country. The good news: 10 million COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered. It is estimated that 80 per cent of Canadians will have at least one dose by Canada Day.
Ford apologizes after public backlash to enhanced police powers, playground closures
April 22, 2021
Ontario Premier Doug Ford apologized to Ontarians Thursday morning, days after his government faced intense backlash for introducing a number of additional COVID-19 restrictions that were not recommended by health experts and then nixed earlier this week.https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-ontario-covid-19-news-conference-1.5997521
Anishinabek Nation calls for healing and restoration of Mother Earth on Great Lakes Day
April 22, 2021
The Anishinabek Nation and Iroquois Caucus Alliance on Radioactive Waste have grave concerns that the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) will develop self-serving policies which will potentially impact the safety and health of all occupants of this land.
Respect for Indigenous knowledge must lead nature conservation efforts in Canada
April 21, 2021
The past year has taught us important lessons about the consequences of the harm humans are inflicting on the natural world. We’re confronting a global biodiversity crisis, losing species and natural places at an unprecedented rate. We’ve also experienced the repercussions of nature’s decline through COVID-19, whose jump from animals to humans may be linked to habitat destruction.
Clean energy project gets national sustainability nod
April 21, 2021
The Wataynikaneyap (Watay) Power Project, which is connecting 17 northern First Nations to the provincial electrical grid, is being acknowledged for its commitment to reduce the generation of greenhouse gas emissions.
Ontario cottagers hope for dialogue with First Nation that is denying them road use
April 21, 2021
An association that represents cottagers in northern Ontario is hoping that representatives from Washagamis Bay First Nation will sit down and talk about opening a road that is currently closed.
Pandemic has increased health-care inequity for Indigenous women, report finds
April 21, 2021
A new report into the barriers facing Indigenous women trying to access health care during the pandemic describes serious issues including racism and lack of access to mental health services. The report titled In Her Circle also suggests ways to provide better health-care services.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-health-care-indigenous-women-healthcare-1.5995790
Opinion: Waiting at the End of the Road
April 22, 2021
This April 22 marks the 51st anniversary of the first Earth Day in 1970. Millions of people the world over took part. It provided human energy to the birth of the environmental movement as the day focused on the degree of environmental degradation let loose upon Mother Earth by Western “civilization”.
https://anishinabeknews.ca/2021/04/22/opinion-waiting-at-the-end-of-the-road/
Stories from Anemki Wajiw: Ice Fishing
April 21, 2021
The pandemic has many people rethinking the value of their connection to community and their own history. For Jolene Banning of Fort William First Nation, in northern Ontario, those connections go back generations. And they include not just people but land, water and animals.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/jolene-banning-anemki-wajiw-1.5995321
Attawapiskat church burns to the ground
April 22, 2021
Dozens in the James Bay community of Attawapiskat looked on Wednesday night as the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church burned to the ground. The wooden structure towered over the Cree First Nation for more than century.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/attawapiskat-church-fire-1.5997490
Provincial pandemic missteps get local — and vocal — pushback
April 22, 2021
It’s hard to think of a time when local authorities have so directly — and publicly — disagreed with, pushed back at, and even defied directions from the provincial government the way they have over the past week.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ontario-political-disobedience-experts-1.5996283
Federal budget 2021: $18 billion is a step towards closing gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities
April 21, 2021
There is no denying that the landscape of our collective reality has shifted dramatically since the pandemic began. Budget 2021 reveals significant investments in COVID-19 relief efforts, job creation and building a resilient economy. But where does the 2021 budget stand on investments in Indigenous people and communities?
Trudeau pledges to slash greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030
April 22, 2021
At an international climate summit convened by U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged Thursday that Canada would aggressively curb greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-climate-emissions-40-per-cent-1.5997613
81% of adults living on Garden Hill First Nation receive 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine
April 21, 2021
A remote First Nation in northern Manitoba is on its way to herd immunity following an incredibly successful COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Kistiganwacheeng, also known as Garden Hill First Nation, has immunized 81 per cent of its adult residents, says health director Oberon Munroe.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/garden-hill-first-nation-manitoba-covid-19-vaccine-1.5995767
Treaty 5 Nations defy Pallister’s Anti-Protest Law and to issue Stop Work Orders on Resource Development
April 22, 2021
Fisher River Cree Nation, Treaty 5 Territory: The Treaty 5 Nations in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario will resist all permits, licenses or other land dispositions issued by the governments unless approvals are obtained by First Nations in accordance with the Declaration on Natural Resources on Treaty 5 Territory.
Williams Lake First Nation looks to be first Indigenous cannabis dealer in Merritt
April 21, 2021
A Williams Lake cannabis shop has its eyes set on Merritt as its first franchisee. Williams Lake First Nation presented the opportunity for Unity Cannabis to spread its business to Merritt in front of city council on Tuesday, the first cannabis shop owned by an Indigenous reserve in Canada.
FSIN wants province to come to table on suicide prevention funding
April 20, 2021
A Saskatchewan First Nation leader says new funding for mental health services is an important step toward preventing suicides among Indigenous youth.
New book documents life and struggle at Winnipeg residential high school
April 21, 2021
A new book aims to preserve history and shed light on the life children faced at an urban residential school in Winnipeg. Survivors of the Assiniboia Indian Residential School recently came together to write and publish “Did you see us? Reunion, Remembrance and Reclamation at an Urban Indian Residential School,” which details the cultural struggle children faced at the school on a day-to-day basis, as they were forced to assimilate.
Sturgeon Lake First Nation building first urban gas station
April 21, 2021
Construction has begun on the first urban fuel and convenience store owned by Sturgeon Lake First Nation, in partnership with Federated Co-operatives Ltd. TIPI Fuel & Convenience Store Ltd., will operate under the Western Nations brand and the business arm for the first nation, Sturgeon Lake Developments Ltd.
https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/sturgeon-lake-first-nation-building-first-urban-gas-station-1.5396681
Indigenous women hope to connect their communities with traditional birth practices
April 21, 2021
Four local First Nation and Métis women are completing a traditional birthwork course that returns Indigenous birth teachings to their communities.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/indigenous-women-hope-connect-communities-204703374.html
Indigenous-focused COVID clinic helping improve vaccine uptake among off-reserve residents
April 21, 2021
A vaccine clinic is providing hundreds of city-dwelling Indigenous people with COVID-19 shots in a place where they can feel safe and welcomed.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/indigenous-focused-covid-clinic-helping-000424577.html
Activists wait for RCMP to clear old-growth logging blockades on Vancouver Island
April 22, 2021
A group of activists say they have no intention of ending their anti-logging blockades on Vancouver Island, despite a court injunction and opposition from the political leadership of the Pacheedaht First Nation.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-fairy-creek-blockade-feature-1.5997309
Fort Nelson, Haisla First Nations aim to build Canada’s first Indigenous energy projects
April 21, 2021
Like all big energy projects, the Cedar LNG export terminal proposed for Kitimat will need to go through a lengthy environmental review process.
‘How are they going to feel safe?’: Kackaamin healing centre rallies against cannabis facility
April 21, 2021
Those running a healing centre for Indigenous families are concerned that a huge cannabis production facility set to be built across the street will threaten the holistic support they’ve been providing for twelve years.
Squamish Nation hires lawyer in longstanding CN Rail dispute
April 22, 2021
The Squamish Nation community is “at its wit’s end” with ongoing disruptions from rail operations just metres from their homes, and council is ready to pursue legal action if changes aren’t made soon.
https://www.castanet.net/news/BC/331638/Squamish-Nation-hires-lawyer-in-longstanding-CN-Rail-dispute
Indigenous law on the ground at Ye’yumnuts
April 21, 2021
Travelling up residential streets in so-called Duncan, B.C., the houses become more elaborate as the elevation gets higher. At the end of a winding road, among immaculately-landscaped lawns, is an ancient Cowichan burial site known as Ye’yumnuts.
https://thediscourse.ca/vancouver-island/indigenous-law-on-the-ground-at-yeyumnuts
First Nations Leadership Council Sees Federal Budget as Step Forward
April 21, 2021
The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) is pleased to see the federal government pledge more than $18 billion towards closing gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and advancing reconciliation over the next five years.
https://nationtalk.ca/story/first-nations-leadership-council-sees-federal-budget-as-step-forward
Tungasuvvingat Inuit holds COVID-19 Pop-Up Vaccination Clinic for Urban Indigenous
April 21, 2021
A successful two -day “pop-up” vaccination clinic to protect urban Indigenous against the COVID-19 infection was held on April 15th and 17th. The clinic was held at the main offices of Tungasuvvingat Inuit (TI) at 1071 Richmond Road in Ottawa in partnership with Ottawa Public Health and the Wabano Centre. The event was open to all urban Indigenous and vaccinations were administered to Inuit, Métis, and First Nations community.
Inuit groups call federal budget a ‘significant improvement’ over past investments
April 21, 2021
Inuit women’s groups came out ahead in Monday’s federal budget, securing historic amounts of funding for services and infrastructure aimed to support Indigenous and Inuit women across the country. Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada said this means, for the first time in its 36-year history, the organization will have multi-year operational funding from the federal government.
TikTok activist tackles mining contamination in Yellowknife
April 21, 2021
Indigenous activist and filmmaker Morgan Setta is raising awareness on TikTok about one of the most contaminated gold mine sites in Canada.
https://globalnews.ca/video/7776511/tiktok-activist-tackles-mining-contamination-in-yellowknife/
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.
