Government of Canada COVID-19 Update for Indigenous Peoples and communities
May 19, 2021
Indigenous Services Canada Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) is committed to supporting Indigenous communities in their response to COVID-19 and is working closely with Indigenous organizations, and provincial and territorial governments. In First Nations communities, as of May 18, ISC is aware of 28,710 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, 864 active cases, 27,514 recovered cases, 332 deaths.
Ontario reports 2,400 new COVID-19 cases, 27 deaths
May 20, 2021
Ontario is reporting 2,400 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. The provincial total now stands at 517,090. Thursday’s case count has jumped back above 2,000 after the previous two days saw daily cases under that mark. However, the number of tests processed was higher than the last two days. On Wednesday, 1,588 new cases were recorded with 1,616 on Tuesday, and 2,170 on Monday.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7872418/covid-19-cases-may-20-coronavirus/
Ford set to unveil new Ontario reopening plan as 3rd wave of COVID-19 wanes
May 20, 2021
Premier Doug Ford is set to unveil details of the province’s latest reopening plan as Ontario continues to see signs the devastating third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is receding.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-reopening-plan-covid-19-third-wave-1.6033762
‘We absolutely have to face this’: chief medical officer for Indigenous Services calls for systemic racism to be confronted
May 19, 2021
Systemic racism in health must be confronted and not swept under the carpet, the chief medical officer of public health for Indigenous Services Canada said Wednesday.
Indigenous Minister Says More Must Be Done to Support First Nations Mental Health
May 19, 2021
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says he doesn’t think enough is being done to support mental wellness in Canada’s Aboriginal communities.
https://www.chrisd.ca/2021/05/20/indigenous-minister-first-nations-mental-health/
RoseAnne Archibald will step aside as Ontario Regional Chief
May 19, 2021
Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald is stepping away from the post. After one term in office, Archibald announced Tuesday that she will not seek re-election at next month’s All-Ontario Chiefs Conference, when her term expires.
Canada and Ontario invest in new Indigenous Cultural Centre at Algoma University
May 20, 2021
Canadians everywhere are feeling the impact of COVID-19, on their families, their livelihoods, and their way of life. Together, Canada and Ontario are working to reduce the impact of the pandemic, ensure health and safety, rebuild businesses, and promote job creation, growth and investment.
Group decides on Indigenous relations training for city staff
May 20, 2021
The Timmins Indigenous Advisory Committee (IAC) has decided which Indigenous relations training to recommend to the City of Timmins and its employees.
Anishinaabekwe to walk over 1,400-kilometre walk for MMIWG2S+
May 19, 2021
Wabaseemoong’s Scarlett Scott is wearing her red Jingle Dress on her healing walk from her spouse’s community of Serpent River to her community in northwestern Ontario near the Manitoba border.
https://anishinabeknews.ca/2021/05/20/anishinaabekwe-to-walk-over-1400-kilometre-walk-for-mmiwg2s/
Feds should be doing something about loss of Greyhound bus service: MMIWG advocates
May 20, 2021
The loss of Greyhound Canada will put women and girls at risk, say advocates who worry more may go missing or be murdered without national bus service. The inter-city bus line, citing low ridership, plans to stop operating in eastern Canada as of midnight May 20.
Wasauksing First Nation singer part of CBC music contest
May 19, 2021
Wasauksing First Nation’s Zeegwon Shilling is among hundreds of other singers vying for the top spot in CBC Music’s Toyota Searchlight 2021. The community may remember Zeegwon from his 2018 viral YouTube video where he performed Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, that received more than 100,000 views in just three days.
Blackstock gears up for latest Federal Court fight to end ‘human rights tragedy’ against First Nations kids
May 19, 2021
Cindy Blackstock and her intrepid ally Spirit Bear are prepping for yet another battle in their bid to stop the Canadian government from racially discriminating against First Nations children.
6 in 10 Indigenous women experience physical or sexual abuse: Statistics Canada
May 19, 2021
New data from Statistics Canada reveals that more than six in 10 Indigenous women report having been physically or sexually assaulted at some point during their lifetime, compared to more than four in 10 in non-Indigenous women. The data, collected by Statistics Canada in 2018, counted both intimate partner violence and violence from non-intimate partners.
‘Original violence’ lingers: Nisga’a poet Jordan Abel explores the intergenerational trauma of residential schools
May 19, 2021
In his new memoir, poet Jordan Abel details how the trauma of residential schools didn’t stop with its survivors, but was passed down to subsequent generations, including himself.
Montreal’s youth services failing Inuit children, probe finds
May 19, 2021
An investigation by the Quebec Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission says Inuit children in youth protection facilities in Montreal’s West Island are being left behind — deprived of proper education, sometimes discouraged from speaking their own language and left feeling isolated and homesick.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/inuit-children-youth-protection-quebec-1.6033026
Hospital orderly, caught on video mocking Joyce Echaquan before she died, tells inquest she meant no harm
May 19, 2021
A hospital orderly who was captured on video criticizing Joyce Echaquan shortly before her death testified today that she meant no harm with her comments.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/joyce-echaquan-coroner-inquest-may-19-1.6032387
Prejudice and discrimination against Indigenous women in the health and social service systems: the perpetuation of a colonial system
May 20, 2021
The articles in La Presse published on May 15, entitled “Giving birth with fear in the belly” and “After Joyce, freedom of speech”, denounce the disproportionate reporting of Indigenous women to the Director of Youth Protection (hereafter referred to as the DYP) and highlight the fear of Indigenous women of health and social services.
Beer and wine sales start today in northern Quebec community of Kuujjuarapik
May 19, 2021
The local Great Whale River Cooperative store in the northern Quebec community of Kuujjuarapik will now sell beer and wine as of Wednesday.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/beer-and-wine-sales-kuujjuarapik-may-19-2021-1.6032399
Not the “ultimate goal” but forced sterilization research could lead to lawsuit
May 19, 2021
There are no statistics. There is no time frame. And she has yet to collect names. But Professor Suzy Basile, Canada’s Research Chair on Indigenous Women’s Issues at the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), knows that First Nations and Inuit women in her home province suffered forced sterilization.
‘Whatever they need’: Feds pledge support for Shamattawa First Nation amid state of emergency
May 20, 2021
The federal government has pledged to provide Shamattawa First Nation with whatever it needs after the community declared a state of emergency following a recent suicide and a subsequent suicide attempt by a child.
State of emergency declared in Shamattawa because of suicide crisis says chief
May 19, 2021
The remote First Nation community of Shamattawa, located about 700 km northeast of Winnipeg, has declared a state of emergency because they are facing a suicide crisis says the chief.
Coroner’s inquest called into Sask. RCMP shooting of Lucien Silverquill
May 20, 2021
The RCMP’s shooting of an Indigenous Saskatchewan man in 2019 will be the focus of a coroner’s inquest. Lucien Silverquill, a 37-year-old Saulteaux man, died on Aug. 27, 2019, after being shot by police outside his family’s home on the Fishing Lake First Nation reserve, located about 20 kilometres southeast of Wadena, Sask.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatchewan-coroner-s-inquest-lucien-silverquill-1.6032808
Government Reports puts spotlight on the need for formal direct dialogue between Indigenous leaders, commercial fishing organizations and the federal government
May 19, 2021
With different interpretations of the Marshall decision and the release of the Surette and FOPO Reports, Coalition calls for a pause and reboot and the appointment of independent facilitators for direct talks between Indigenous leaders, commercial fisherman’s organizations and the Government of Canada on conservation and the management of our shared fisheries resources.
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/government-reports-puts-spotlight-formal-153300765.html
N.S. Mi’kmaq fisher says his movements are being watched and his traps seized by DFO
May 19, 2021
A Mi’kmaq fisher in Cape Breton is the latest Indigenous fisher to suggest Ottawa appears intent on removing any First Nation’s lobster traps that aren’t approved by the federal Fisheries Department.
New housing supply slated for Manitoba’s Indigenous communities
May 20, 2021
Federal and local governments have announced a new multi-million investment on the immediate creation of housing units for six Indigenous communities in Manitoba.
Wildfires claim 2 homes in Cree community in northern Manitoba
May 20, 2021
Two homes in Misipawistik Cree Nation in northern Manitoba were lost due to a wildfire that reached the community located about 400 km north of Winnipeg.
Province shuts down urban reserve pot store
May 20, 2021
In the first action of its kind ever taken in the province, Manitoba Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority inspectors suspended the licence of a cannabis store and assumed control of the product on site.
Indigenous players and a coach looking to hoist the Stanley Cup
May 19, 2021
There are currently 16 teams with aspirations to be crowned Stanley Cup champions in 2021. As of today, there are five Indigenous players who are regulars with their clubs and one Indigenous coach among those still in the hunt to hoist the Cup this year.
DRMNGNOW On Headlining Indigenous Hip Hop Awards Virtually
May 19, 2021
Speaking with ET Canada’s Roz Weston, Indigenous Australian artist DRMNGNOW opens up about headlining the first-ever International Indigenous Hip Hop Awards and Trade Show taking place virtually from Winnipeg.
Fred Sasakamoose Day offers chance to honour Indigenous hockey icon’s life, legacy
May 19, 2021
One of Saskatchewan’s Indigenous icons now has his own special day. May 18 has officially been proclaimed Fred Sasakamoose Day by both the provincial government and the City of Saskatoon, and on Tuesday, friends and relatives of the late hockey pioneer took part in a special ceremony at SaskTel Centre to mark the occasion.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7874458/fred-sasakamoose-day-indigenous-hockey-icon-legacy/
Investing in Indigenous Clean Energy Projects in Newfoundland and Labrador
May 19, 2021
Canada is investing in community-led clean energy projects with rural and remote Indigenous communities to develop innovative solutions that will displace fossil fuels, advance reconciliation and self-determination, and combat climate change.
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/investing-indigenous-clean-energy-projects-132300197.html
He’s a braille brainiac! Hopedale student wins academic competition
May 20, 2021
Jonathan Nochasak has been a braille standout from the start. He recently won his age category in the Braille Challenge — an international competition he competed in regionally — but his aptitude was apparent ahead of that.
Indigenous leaders see ‘golden opportunity’ to rebuild after Fort Simpson flood
May 20, 2021
After floodwaters uprooted hundreds of residents from their homes in the Dehcho, people are grappling with the collective trauma and damage that rising waters have brought to their doorstep. They’re also looking to the future.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/rebuilding-simpson-1.6032819
Funding provided to help develop, understand and use Indigenous laws, build governance structures
May 19, 2021
The Wahkohtowin Law and Governance Lodge at the University of Alberta is one of 21 recipients in the second round of funding in the Justice Partnership and Innovation Program (JPIP) offered by Canada’s Department of Justice.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/funding-provided-help-develop-understand-000828907.html
First Nations Leadership Council rejects Métis Nation claim of Aboriginal Rights in British Columbia
May 19, 2021
The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) rejects the Métis Nation of British Columbia’s (MNBC) claim of Aboriginal Rights throughout BC, including harvesting rights, and the claim they are an Indigenous governing body in the province with equal access to resources.
Vancouver Island First Nation partners with Coast Guard to launch Indigenous-led response vessel
May 19, 2021
The Ahousaht First Nation on the west coast of Vancouver Island and the Canadian Coast Guard have launched a new response vessel, which will be staffed entirely by First Nation members.
Canadian museums asked to return First Nation ancestral remains and burial items
May 19, 2021
The B.C. Museums Association is calling on publicly-funded institutions to return ancestral human remains and burial artifacts from their collections to their rightful Indigenous owners.
Old growth forest experts release map urging B.C. to act quickly to defer logging
May 19, 2021
A trio of independent experts who had for years advised the B.C. government on forest management has released new maps aimed at spurring the province to quickly defer logging in at-risk old-growth forests.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-old-growth-map-1.6033587
NWT First Nations to develop traditional knowledge legal systems
May 20, 2021
The federal Department of Justice on Monday announced $9.5 million in total funding spread over 21 projects across Canada. The department didn’t provide funding information for specific projects.
https://cabinradio.ca/63485/news/nwt-first-nations-to-develop-traditional-knowledge-legal-systems/
N.W.T. Métis Nation sign framework for self-government, land claim negotiations
May 19, 2021
Métis leaders in the Northwest Territories say an agreement signed with Canada and the territorial government to negotiate their land claims marks a critical step toward self-government and managing their own finances, land and services to members.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/n-w-t-m-tis-191031251.html
NWT authors make shortlist for Indigenous Voices Awards
May 19, 2021
NWT Indigenous authors Catherine Lafferty and Lisa Boivin have been nominated for Indigenous Voices Awards (IVA). Established in 2017, the IVAs seek to nurture established and emerging (or unpublished) Indigenous authors across Canada writing in English, French and Indigenous languages.
https://www.nnsl.com/news/nwt-authors-make-shortlist-for-indigenous-voices-awards/
Multiple arrests and one charge for COVID-19 public health violations in Nunavut
May 19, 2021
Government officials in Nunavut have reported multiple arrests and one charge for individuals violating public health orders, along with 119 complaints made to the RCMP. Currently, 63 of the 64 active COVID-19 cases in the territory are in Iqaluit.
