Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald and the Chiefs of Ontario Mourn the Loss of the 215 Children Lost at the Kamloops Indian Residential School
May 31, 2021
Taykwa Tagamou Nation, ON) Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald issued the following statement in mourning of the victims at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School: “The discovery of 215 innocent children buried in a mass grave on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School announced late last week has triggered past trauma and opened old wounds for many of our people, and confirmed what we already know of the atrocities and crimes committed against Indigenous peoples across Canada.”
Residential school survivors grapple with renewed trauma after remains of 215 children uncovered
May 31, 2021
For years, survivors of Canada’s brutal residential school system spoke out about the missing Indigenous children who were unaccounted for in the known death toll.
Kamloops discovery a chance to challenge archaic policies enforced upon Canada’s First Nations: Chief Dean Sayers
May 31, 2021
Batchewana First Nation is grieving the discovery of 215 child remains at a Kamloops residential school, Chief Dean Sayers says.
Sayers says the discovery is an opportunity for Saultites to educate themselves about the residential school system, both across Canada and locally.
PM says cabinet discussing ‘further’ actions in response to mass grave uncovered at residential school
May 31, 2021
Amid calls to go beyond lowering flags at federal buildings and to fund the research and excavation of residential school burial sites Canada-wide, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn’t have any tangible next steps to announce Monday but said discussions are underway following a horrific discovery in British Columbia.
First Nations want inquiry into children who did not come home from London-area residential school
June 1, 2021
The discovery of the remains of 215 children on the site of a former residential school in B.C. has opened up old wounds for Nancy Deleary, an artist from Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.
Canada: ‘This one unmarked grave is what genocide looks like’
June 1, 2021
“They would just start beating you and lose control and hurl you against the wall, throw you on the floor, kick you, punch you.” That is how Geraldine Bob, a survivor of the Kamloops Indian Residential School, described her experience at the facility in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC), where the remains of 215 Indigenous children were recently found in an unmarked grave.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/1/canada-this-one-unmarked-grave-what-genocide-looks-like
Ontario reports 699 new COVID-19 cases, level not seen since November
June 1, 2021
Ontario reported 699 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday — the fewest on a single day since November 2020, during the earlier weeks of the second wave of the pandemic in the province. The case count marks the second straight day in Ontario below 1,000, and is down considerably from last Tuesday’s total of 1,039
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/covid-19-ontario-june-1-2021-update-naci-vaccines-1.6048387
Canada to recommend mixing and matching AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines
June 1, 2021
Canada is changing its guidelines on mixing and matching second doses of COVID-19 vaccines and will advise Canadians to combine either the AstraZeneca-Oxford, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna shots interchangeably in certain situations.
Native Women’s Association leaves national MMIWG action plan process, calling it ‘toxic, dysfunctional’
June 1, 2021
The Native Women’s Association of Canada is releasing its own action plan Tuesday in response to the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls after stepping away from the federal government’s long-awaited plan.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/nwac-mmiwg-action-plan-1.6047671
Wyloo Metals pledges to work with First Nations businesses, be zero-emission mine in Ring of Fire
June 1, 2021
An Australian company which signalled its intent to start a hostile takeover of Noront Resources, says it has a plan on how it wants to operate a mine in the Ring of Fire. Wyloo Metals announced last week its intent to acquire a controlling interest in Noront Resources, the largest exploration company in the Ring of Fire area, in the James Bay lowlands.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/thunder-bay-wyloo-plan-noront-1.6047525
Ginoogaming First Nation and a Greenstone mining company go to court
May 31, 2021
A Northwestern Ontario First Nation is trying to stop mineral exploration within its traditional territory. Ginoogaming, near Longlac, says it will argue in Superior Court on Tuesday that an area greater than 260 square kilometres needs protection from exploration because it is a “sacred and cultural keystone area.”
Nipissing First Nation announces final list of election candidates
May 31, 2021
The Electoral Officer for Nipissing First Nation has released the final candidate list for its July election.
Ojibwe artist examines intergenerational trauma
May 31, 2021
An Ottawa-based Indigenous artist recently made a trip to his home community of Matachewan First Nation. Cody Coyote said he decided to go to the residential school in Spanish, Ont., where his family was taken years ago.
https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/ojibwe-artist-examines-intergenerational-trauma-1.5450610
Photos: A history of residential schools in Kenora
June 1, 2021
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation says over 70 Indigenous youth in the Kenora area died while attending two local residential schools last century.
For over 100 years, over 150,000 Indigenous youth were forcibly taken from their families to be assimilated into residential schools and settler-culture, which included giving youth new names, haircuts and identification numbers.
https://www.drydennow.com/articles/photos-a-history-of-residential-schools-in-kenora
Festival shifts program after discovery of unmarked graves at B.C. residential school
June 1, 2021
Ottawa’s annual Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival is shifting its programming last minute, in the wake of a horrific reminder of Canada’s past treatment of Indigenous people as the remains of 215 children were discovered on the grounds of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/indigenous-festival-children-tragedy-1.6047350
Rich and diverse narratives of Indigenous Toronto, past and present told in newly released anthology
June 1, 2021
Rarely does an anthology cover the expanse of history, culture, contemporary arts and activism as the new book, Indigenous Toronto, How We Carry This Place. Edited by Denise Bolduc, Mnawaate Gordon-Corbiere, Rebeka Tabobondung, Brian Wright-McLeod, and John Lorinc, the new release was published by Coach House Books.
Covering centuries, decades in the making: new book details the history of Moose Cree
May 31, 2021
Agnes Corston wasn’t sure she would live long enough to see her memories and stories in print. The Moose Cree elder is one of several whose oral history of the James Bay community was recorded over the past few decades for the new book The People of the Moose River Basin.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/moose-river-history-book-1.6043817
Innu surgeon pleads for reforms at coroner’s inquiry into Joyce Echaquan’s death
May 31, 2021
Innu surgeon Dr. Stanley Vollant says even he didn’t believe some Indigenous people who told him they were afraid to go to the hospital and didn’t think they’d receive equal care, despite having experienced racism himself during his medical studies.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/innu-surgeon-pleads-reforms-coroners-182805694.html
Lillian Berg Class Recognized By First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada
June 1, 2021
Four groups of youth across Canada, including the Vermilion Bay class, were honoured for demonstrating reconciliation in action to ensure First Nations, Metis, and Inuit young people have the same opportunities as all other children.
Updated: Ontario Pays Respect to the 215 Children from Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia
May 31, 2021
Greg Rickford, Minister of Indigenous Affairs, issued the following statement on the discovery of the remains of Indigenous children at a former Kamloops Indian Residential school in British Columbia.
Ontario Mandates Immunization Policies for Long-term Care Homes
May 31, 2021
Ontario is taking further action to protect long-term care home residents by becoming the first province in Canada to make it mandatory for homes to have COVID-19 immunization policies for staff and to set out the minimum requirements that need to be included in these policies.
Ontario Passes Bill to Strengthen the Fight Against Human Trafficking
June 1, 2021
The Ontario government passed new legislation, and amendments to existing legislation, to build upon the province’s $307-million Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy. The Combating Human Trafficking Act, 2021 reinforces Ontario’s commitment to fight human trafficking and demonstrates continued leadership in responding to this pervasive crime.
Mohawk RCMP officer speaks out about racism he experienced on the job
May 31, 2021
“When you come into the office in the morning, are you Mohawk or are you an RCMP employee?” The question was asked of Jeremy Tomlinson, a Mohawk police officer from Kanesatake, Que., during a 2019 interview with a superior.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/mohawk-rcmp-officer-speaks-racism-161539878.html
Ottawa reneged on 2019 commercial fishing licence for Listuguj over electoral and industry concerns: court records
June 1, 2021
The Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government (LMG) is asking a Federal Court to review a decision by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) after it withdrew its consent to allow harvesters to sell lobster from its Fish, Social and Ceremonial (FSC) fishery in 2019.
Sir John A. Macdonald statue quickly removed after Charlottetown council decision
June 1, 2021
On Monday evening, Charlottetown city council voted to remove a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, from a downtown corner. By 7 a.m. Tuesday, it was gone.
She survived a stunning tragedy. This advocate’s answer to family violence is to get to its roots
June 1, 2021
Becky Michelin was just shy of four years old when both her parents were killed in a 1993 murder-suicide in Rigolet, a small community in coastal Labrador.
She and her three siblings were left behind, and through it all, she has stayed strong, although she says it has not been an easy road.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/labrador-violence-against-women-1.6046602
City of Brandon should buy back land where residential school children are buried, family member says
June 1, 2021
“These are children, these are bodies, this is a grave site and nobody cares, and the fact that people are vacationing on the bodies of our ancestors, of children, is shocking,” said Jennifer Rattray
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/brandon-residental-school-burial-site-1.6048104
Clearwater River Dene Nation Erects Security Checkpoint to Saskatchewan Uranium Fields
May 31, 2021
The Clearwater River Dene Nation (CRDN) of north-west Saskatchewan has erected a Security Checkpoint on Highway #955 that runs through its reserve to the uranium rich zones located just to the north of the community. The CRDN action is in response to the Government of Saskatchewan’s (GOS) ongoing granting of approvals to uranium exploration companies in the absence of any meaningful consultation with the CRDN or consent of its Elders, Trappers and community members.
Hundreds gather at Edmonton rally to support Ethan Bear
May 31, 2021
Nearly 300 people came together to celebrate Ethan Bear and denounce racism in Edmonton over the weekend. Bear, a defenceman for the Edmonton Oilers, had been the target of racist comments and messages on social media following the teams’ four game sweep at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets.
https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/hundreds-gather-at-edmonton-rally-to-support-ethan-bear/
Discovery of unmarked graves at B.C. residential school further evidence of Canada’s genocide: Sask. lawyer
June 1, 2021
Cree lawyer Eleanore Sunchild has represented thousands of residential school survivors in Saskatchewan and other provinces.
Sunchild spoke with the CBC reporter Jason Warick about the recent announcement by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation that it had discovered unmarked burial sites believed to contain 215 bodies near the former Kamloops, B.C., Indian residential school.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/sunchild-unmarked-graves-canada-genocide-1.6047841
Survivors, faith leaders call on Catholic Church to take responsibility for residential schools
June 1, 2021
Taking in the sight of hundreds of shoes on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery, the magnitude of what was found buried beneath the former Kamloops Indian Residential School grounds isn’t lost on Carmen Lansdowne.
‘It was horrid’: Survivor tells APTN News about loss and fear at Kamloops residential school
May 31, 2021
Rose Miller knows a lot about the Kamloops residential school. “My Dad Henry, My Brother Bobby, My Uncle John, My Uncle Louie, my cousins and aunts and myself right here,” she said.
Residential school society has staff on site in Kamloops and on call by phone to offer crisis support now
May 31, 2021
In the wake of the preliminary discovery of children’s remains on the grounds of a former British Columbia residential school, the executive director of the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) wants survivors and their loved ones to know supports are available.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/irsss-kamloops-support-1.6047310
UBC reviewing honours given to Catholic bishop and former Kamloops residential school principal
May 31, 2021
UBC says it is reviewing an honorary degree given to a Catholic bishop, now deceased, who served as principal of the Kamloops residential school where the remains of up to 215 children are believed to have been found.
N.W.T. gov’t says it will support Indigenous leaders who want to find unmarked burial sites
June 1, 2021
The N.W.T. government is ready to support Indigenous leaders who want to find unmarked grave sites at former residential schools, according to Premier Caroline Cochrane.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nwt-gov-t-support-unmarked-gravesites-1.6048064
Temporary midwives to be requested for Kivalliq region through new contract
May 31, 2021
Rankin Inlet could get temporary midwives as early as this summer, through a contract the territorial government has signed with a southern-Canada based health-care Company. Bayshore HealthCare was awarded a multi-year contract last month to become the Nunavut government’s primary nursing and midwife provider.
