This past month, I was happy to attend two Pow Wows I hadn't been to in years. I attended the Mattagami First Nation Pow Wow and the Matachewan First Nation...
I was happy to see my home community of Attawapiskat on the James Bay coast announce the opening of the new St Francis Xavier Parish Church on August 25....
Following news that Cliffs has suspended its environmental assessment for its Ring of Fire chromite mine, Noront announced that it is once again looking at the east-west road corridor into the mining development.
The company also stated that its plans for development in the Ring of Fire have not changed in light of Cliffs’ announcement.
There has been a lot of teeth gnashing and finger pointing since Cliffs announced it put its Ring of Fire mine environmental assessment on hold. Opposition parties have put the blame on the provincial government. And First Nations, specifically Matawa First Nations, were implicated for holding up the process with a judicial review.
Following the announcement, it was like the sky was falling. Ontario’s once bright mining future was being painted with dark clouds overhead.
The third annual Raising Awareness Together golf tournament finds itself in a peculiar position – while public attention on the issue of prescription drug abuse has faded over the past year, the tournament’s organizers know the issue is, in many communities, worse than ever.
For Mike McKay of Bearskin Lake, one of the founding members of the tournament, the necessity of keeping the issue in the public’s mind makes this year’s tournament as important as ever before.
Michele Solomon, White Cedar Health Center’s manager, told a story during White Cedar’s grand opening open house on June 19.
One of the health center’s first patients was a Anishinabe woman in her 50s, Solomon said.
The Ontario government has appointed Supreme Court of Canada Justice Frank Iacobucci as lead negotiator for discussions with Matawa First Nations on the Ring of Fire.
Iacobucci, who most recently completed a report on the lack of First Nations representation on juries in Ontario, is tasked with holding community-based discussions with chiefs of the Matawa First Nations and their lead negotiator Bob Rae.
Taykwa Tagamou Nation’s forestry company has signed a long-term deal to provide wood to a Cochrane pulp mill.
Island Falls Forestry (IFF), a Taykwa Tagamou based company, signed a 20-year agreement on June 12 to provide harvesting services for True North Hardwood Plywood Inc.
Bernice Archibald, IFF’s board chair, told Wawatay that the agreement is estimated to be worth upwards of $55 million for the First Nation over the next 20 years.
Chiefs of Ontario (COO) says it will do its part to ensure that the inquest into the deaths of seven Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) youth who died while attending school in Thunder Bay examines the root causes and arrives at meaningful and realistic recommendations.
On June 11 COO was granted status to participate in the inquest, along with NAN, Northern Nishnawbe Education Council, a representative of the families of six of the deceased youth and other organizations.
Wawatay (WWT): There has been another Crown-Treaty gathering with the federal government since the last Annual General Assembly (AGA). How does what was discussed there and what has or hasn’t happened since then influence what happens at the AGA and influence the agenda?
Ontario’s Ring of Fire negotiator, Justice Frank Iacobucci, made his first visits to Matawa communities last week in what he said was a chance to see the communities, meet community members and leaders and get a better sense of what the issues facing Matawa communities are.
“I want to show respect to the First Nations, by visiting and explaining what my mandate is, and also so they know who I am,” Iacobucci said. “We want to ensure we have good lines of communication.”
Animbiigoo Zaagi’igan Anishinaabek (AZA) took its first step towards the creation of its community on its new Lake Nipigon reserve when it celebrated the construction of the first building to appear on the reserve.
AZA opened a new picnic shelter on the reserve with a celebration on July 12.
“This is a monumental step forward for my First Nation,” said AZA Chief Theresa Nelson. “Our first building will be the heart of our community; we will gather here for generations to come.”
This past month, I was happy to attend two Pow Wows I hadn't been to in years. I attended the Mattagami First Nation Pow Wow and the Matachewan First Nation...
I was happy to see my home community of Attawapiskat on the James Bay coast announce the opening of the new St Francis Xavier Parish Church on August 25....