Government of Canada COVID-19 Update for Indigenous Peoples and communities
April 29, 2021
Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) is closely monitoring the number of COVID-19 cases reported in First Nations communities across the country. As we mark National Immunization Awareness Week (NIAW) 2021, it is a reminder of the importance of vaccines to protect people against disease.
Ontario reports 3,887 new COVID-19 cases, 21 deaths
April 30, 2021
Ontario is reporting 3,887 new COVID-19 cases on Friday. The provincial total now stands at 463,364. Friday’s case count is higher than Thursday’s 3,871 and Wednesday’s which saw 3,480 new infections but is the sixth day in a row cases have been lower than 4,000.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7822644/ontario-coronavirus-covid-19-cases-april-30/
Canada set to receive 1 million more Moderna doses in May as Ontario marks 8K deaths
April 29, 2021
Ontario marked a grim COVID-19 milestone Thursday as its virus-related death toll passed 8,000 and provincial health leaders sped up plans that could get more Canadians vaccinated in the coming months.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7821729/covid-canada-vaccine-wrapup-ontario-deaths/
AstraZeneca shortfalls hit Thunder Bay pharmacies
April 29, 2021
Demand for the AstraZeneca vaccine has far outstripped supply at Thunder Bay Pharmacies. Pharmacist Vinay Kapoor, owner of Dawson Heights Pharmacy, on Wednesday said his store hasn’t had any available vaccines for six days and he’s not sure when they’ll receive any more.
https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/astrazeneca-shortfalls-hit-thunder-bay-pharmacies-3674476
Ford asks federal government to extend 3-day mandatory quarantine to land borders
April 29, 2021
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government has sent the federal government a letter asking for quarantine measures at Canada’s airports to be extended to the land border with the United States, CBC News has learned.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/extend-quarantine-to-land-borders-1.6008422
Dozens of First Nations communities still lack safe water despite Trudeau pledge
April 30, 2021
Curve Lake First Nation, a forested community in southern Canada, is surrounded on three sides by fresh water. But for decades, residents have been unable to safely make use of it. Wary of crumbling infrastructure and waterborne illness, the community instead relies on shipments of bottled water. The community’s newly elected chief, aged 34, has lived her whole life without the guarantee of clean water flowing from the tap.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/30/canada-first-nations-justin-trudeau-drinking-water
Ottawa won’t end on-reserve water advisories until at least 2023, long term solutions coming later
April 29, 2021
Indigenous Services Canada doesn’t expect to resolve all long-term drinking water advisories on reserves until at least 2023 — and may not have long-term solutions in place until 2026 — according to an action plan provided to the House public accounts committee.
Fort William First Nation Catherine Banning makes history as second Indigenous lay bencher of the Law Society of Ontario
April 30, 2021
Fort William’s Catherine Banning was recently appointed as the second Indigenous lay bencher in the about 224-year history of the Law Society of Ontario.
Wisdom: AWKE:GO supporting Indigenous youth and families
April 29, 2021
The Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre supports Indigenous youth and families from birth to adulthood and one of their many programs making a difference for Thunder Bay youth is the AWKE:GO program.
https://www.tbnewswatch.com/wisdom/wisdom-awkego-supporting-indigenous-youth-and-families-3675732
Women and Girls: Elder in residence, Trish Monague, guiding students at Lakehead University
April 29, 2022
Trish Monague is an elder who thunders through your veins. An elder at the age of 56, Monague offers cultural healing and counselling to her communities and as the elder on residence at Lakehead University – Orillia and Thunder Bay, she uses her past experiences and knowledge to lead her wisdom and teachings.
IESO Invests in Projects that Increase Indigenous Participation in Ontario’s Energy Sector
April 29, 2021
Indigenous communities and organizations across Ontario are moving forward with plans to transform how they meet their energy needs, choosing cleaner, more reliable and more affordable options. To that end, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) is providing $7.1 million in funding to 61 recipients that will support energy planning, renewable generation, energy-efficiency measures, as well as skills development and training.
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/ieso-invests-projects-increase-indigenous-145700154.html
Residents near east London park call for action after Indigenous healing garden set on fire
April 29, 2021
The Indigenous Medicine and Teaching Garden in east London’s South Branch Park was set ablaze early Thursday morning. An encampment that had been set up in the garden, with picnic tables and shopping carts, also burned.
Federal Budget 2021: New funding can’t come soon enough to address First Nations opioid and methamphetamine crisis
April 29, 2021
Thunderbird Partnership Foundation says details from last week’s 2021 federal budget can’t come soon enough for First Nations communities and treatment centres to address substance use, addictions and mental health issues compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Minister Miller and PS Damoff will hold a media availability following discussions on economic development in Indigenous communities
April 30, 2021
Please be advised that the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services, and Pam Damoff, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services, will participate in a media availability following roundtable discussions on economic development. Date: April 30, 2021. Time: 12:30 PM (ET).
Continuing the conversation about police violence against people of color
April 29, 2021
A guilty verdict in the murder trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin who the world watched, kneel the life out of George Floyd last year, is not the end of the Black/Indigenous Lives Matter movements, nor the end of the discussion about defunding police.
UN peacekeepers won’t monitor Sipekne’katik fishery, says expert
April 30, 2021
An international expert on conflict resolution says there is “zero chance” the United Nations will provide a Nova Scotia First Nation with peacekeepers to police its contentious lobster fishery. The Sipekne’katik First Nation said last week that when it resumes an out-of-season lobster fishery in June, it will call on the UN.
Woodland Cree women leaders make history in Saskatchewan
April 29, 2021
Karen Bird who is a member of the Southend Cree Nation was elected chief of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation this week. The membership is approximately 11,000 on and off reserve and is located about 140 km northeast of Saskatoon.
https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/woodland-cree-women-leaders-make-history-in-saskatchewan/
Former MLA Kevin Chief, Manitoba NDP leader get COVID-19 vaccinations at new urban Indigenous clinics
April 29, 2021
A prominent former Manitoba MLA delivered a message Thursday for anyone who is eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination, but has yet to get one. “We need you,” said Kevin Chief, who joined Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew in getting the jab at new urban Indigenous vaccine clinics that opened on Thursday.
Winnipeg mother urges public to follow health orders after she and her newborn son contract COVID-19
April 29, 2021
A Winnipeg mother is urging the public to follow public health orders after she and her newborn baby tested positive for COVID-19. Shaneen Robinson-Desjarlais recently became a mother for the third time, giving birth to her son on April 14.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-mother-newborn-covid-19-1.6006515
Sagkeeng First Nation shares vaccine doses with nearby communities to prevent waste
April 29, 2021
To prevent vaccine wastage, a Manitoba First Nation just 1.5 hours north of Winnipeg, is offering their extra doses to people in surrounding communities. “It’s a good thing what we’re trying to do because I would hate to waste a vaccine because we didn’t get enough people in our community,” says Derrick Henderson, Chief of Sagkeeng First Nation.
Loved ones drummed and sang for Keesha Crawler at site where she was found in Stoney Nakoda Nation
April 29, 2021
Loved ones of Keesha Crawler gathered around a memorial of flowers and stuffed animals along a highway that runs through the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, west of Calgary, Alta.
https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/keesha-crawler-stoney-nakoda-nation-alberta-rcmp/
Rutherford Falls’ Star Jana Schmieding on Indigenous Representation, Body Confidence and More
April 29, 2021
For Jana Schmieding, the stars aligned when she met screenwriter Sierra Teller Ornelas. At her wits end in Hollywood, the comedian was ready to pack it in in 2018 until she and Ornelas crossed paths.
Jeremy Dutcher and Max Kerman on sharing space and making the most of a moment
April 29, 2021
When some artists win an award, they use that opportunity to thank the many people who helped them along the way. But others use that spotlight to make a statement, to say something that will resonate with the audience beyond the award.
Growing Food Resilience on the Piikani Nation
April 29, 2021
As climate change continues to worsen over the coming decades, changing temperatures, precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events will also have an increasing impact on food production around the world. Indigenous Peoples living in remote regions and who have a close connect with that land, like the Piikani First Nation in Southern Alberta, are particularly vulnerable.
https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/growing-food-resilience-on-the-piikani-nation-817565754.html
Thomas Berger, lawyer who fought for groundbreaking Indigenous land claims, dead at 88
April 29, 2021
Thomas Berger, a legend in B.C.’s legal and social justice circles, has died at age 88. The former B.C. Supreme Court judge, NDP politician and lawyer was best known for his work to recognize Indigenous land claims.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/thomas-berger-obituary-1.6006690
B.C. Supreme Court rejects Wet’suwet’en bid to toss LNG pipeline certificate
April 28, 2021
The B.C. Supreme Court has rejected a bid to quash the extension of the environmental assessment certificate for the natural gas pipeline at the centre of countrywide protests in February last year.
The Office of the Wet’suwet’en, a society governed by several hereditary chiefs, asked the court to send the certificate for the Coastal GasLink pipeline back to B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office for further review.
Peters First Nation is a family divided with no end in sight
April 29, 2021
Carol Raymond was born a member of Peters First Nation, a small piece of land nestled between the mountains and the Fraser River along Highway 1, near Hope, B.C. It’s where her father is buried – and her grandparents.
Ucluelet First Nation Elder shares her stories at women’s YakFest event
April 29, 2021
The online women’s event YakFest will feature Vi Mundy—an Elder with the Ucluelet First Nation—as one of its special guest panelists. Mundy is retired from her 30-plus year career with her nation, in which she wore many different hats—from secretary to manager to researcher to a late-in-life UVic student.
Communities across the N.W.T. are taking the housing crisis into their own hands
April 30, 2021
While the NWT Housing Corporation said they’re going to need $500-$600 million dollars to improve housing conditions in the N.W.T., almost double the cost predicted in 2017, some community leaders across the territory have taken it upon themselves to find a solution for their people.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/community-solutions-nwt-housing-crisis-series-1.6008122
YK’s unsuccessful rapid housing bids hope for second chance
April 29, 2021
Ottawa’s Rapid Housing Initiative rejected several Yellowknife bids in recent months. Applicants understand they were rejected in large part because the territorial government hadn’t spent a $60-million housing co-investment fund provided to the NWT government a year earlier.
Qaqqaq Out: Nunavut MP takes second leave of absence
April 29, 2021
Canada’s largest geographic federal riding is again without an MP; with Nunavut NDP MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq announcing that she will be taking two weeks leave on the recommendation of her doctor.
https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/qaqqaq-out-nunavut-mp-takes-second-leave-of-absence/
Native American tribes have long struggled with high rates of diabetes. COVID made the problem even more urgent.
April 30, 2021
Heather Mars-Martins and her family would dive off the coast of Westerly, Rhode Island, to catch quahogs, clams native to the eastern shores long foraged by her Narragansett tribe.
‘Jane Doe’ in Kern, California identified as Cree woman missing since 1980s
April 29, 2021
A Cree woman known for decades as “Jane Doe #5 – Kern County” in California has been identified through a collaboration with her niece, a U.S. Sheriff’s Office and a not-for-profit DNA matching project that focuses on unidentified remains.
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.
