By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post The family of Christina Gillis has learned that the New Brunswick Prosecutors Office is denying her appeal of an RCMP officer’s May 1 acquittal on a charge of excessive force. Cpl. Andrew Whiteway of the Woodstock RCMP was found not guilty of using excessive force while arresting Gillis who had called for help one day in June 2024 after being concerned about her daughter’s safety. Gillis, who is a member of the Eskasoni First Nation, has been living in New Brunswick with her partner — a Woodstock police officer — and her three children. According to news reports, four officers responded to Gillis’s call for help in calming her distressed daughter. Gillis’s husband arrived on the scene as well. Gillis The post No appeal of RCMP acquittal for assault of Eskasoni woman appeared first on The Turtle Island News.

By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post Former senator Dan Christmas says that little was put in place to include the First Nations communities when cannabis was first legalized in 2018 — and that’s causing problems. “Cannabis retailers in my community (of Membertou) had no rules to follow,” he told the standing Senate committee for Indigenous People recently. “We basically had an unregulated industry at the beginning. It was because of all those issues and all of the community problems that arose, that we are doing this backwards.” COMMON RULES  He said in Nova Scotia, there has been no opportunity to develop a common set of rules as has happened in other provinces such as Alberta where regulations are left up to the municipalities. “It’s like trying The post Retired senator addresses Upper Chamber about cannabis appeared first on The Turtle Island News.

By Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nation Following a week of testimony, Canada was judged guilty of genocide by the Rome-based Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal, an international court of opinion that convened in Montreal May 25-29 to investigate the country’s residential school impacts. “In international law, genocide need not involve mass killings,” said PPT co-chair Frances Webber. “It can be a slow and continual process taking place over centuries. The genocidal intent behind the forced removal of children was explicit.” This is the preliminary verdict from seven judges of the 57th PPT, a legally non-binding forum that has examined human rights violations on a global stage since 1979. A final decision and report will follow on September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, after the judges have The post Judgment Day – International tribunal finds Canada’s residential school system constituted genocide appeared first on The Turtle Island News.

By Natalia Fedosieieva, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nation A Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue study released in May documents obstetric and gynecological violence experienced by Indigenous women in Quebec’s healthcare system. Phase I of the study collected 35 testimonies from First Nations women, and was published in November 2022, revealing accounts of forced sterilization and mistreatment during pregnancy and childbirth. Phase II analyzed testimony from 94 First Nations women, including three Cree participants, and identified 55 cases of imposed sterilization and 39 cases of other obstetric and gynecological violence (OGV). The report looked at incidents that took place between 1956 and 2023 involving women aged 15 to 40, that resulted in lasting trauma. UQAT professor Suzy Basile told the Nation the project emerged in 2020 from a conference in The post Testimony of Trauma – Indigenous victims of obstetric and gynecological violence share their stories of abuse appeared first on The Turtle Island News.

The chief of a northern Manitoba First Nation says her community is so overwhelmed by drugs and the resulting violence that her members live in fear. Sayisi Dene First Nation has declared a state of emergency and called on provincial and federal governments for better policing and mental health and addiction supports. The fly-in community about 325 kilometres north of Thompson sees an RCMP presence about once a month, with two officers travelling there, often for less than a day. Chief Kelly-Ann Thom‑Duck says recent violence has members scared to visit the band office or grocery store, and that previous conversations with the RCMP have led “nowhere.” Premier Wab Kinew says keeping people safe is a “top priority” and that the province will work with the community. An RCMP spokesperson The post First Nation in Manitoba declares state of emergency due to drugs, violence appeared first on The Turtle Island News.

By Jack Farrell Alberta’s government has filed its appeal of a judge’s decision to quash a petition looking to force a vote on the province quitting Canada. Premier Danielle Smith criticized the ruling last month, calling it “anti-democratic,” and promised to appeal. Court of King’s Bench Justice Shaina Leonard found the referendum petition shouldn’t have been issued under provincial law and that Smith’s government neglected its duty to consult First Nations. Leonard’s decision effectively threw out the petition, which organizers submitted to Elections Alberta at the beginning of May. The campaign’s leaders have said almost 302,000 Albertans signed their names. A group of Alberta First Nations challenged the petition and Elections Alberta’s decision to issue it, arguing that separation would violate treaty rights and that the petition process was unconstitutional. The post Alberta files appeal on court decision to throw out separatist referendum petition appeared first on The Turtle Island News.

By Carol Baldwin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Wakaw Recorder Located on the traditional territory of the Ocean Man Nakoda Nation, the Turning Sun Solar project is one of the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in the province of Saskatchewan and one of the largest renewable energy projects currently under construction in Canada. The Turning Sun Solar Project includes 10 percent Indigenous ownership through the partnership with the Ocean Man First Nation. At the groundbreaking ceremony on June 5, MP Terry Duguid, on behalf of the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced $15 million in federal funding for the project provided by the Government of Canada’s Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREPs). This $4.5-billion program is designed to support the deployment of grid modernization, energy storage The post Turning Sun Solar Breaks Ground appeared first on The Turtle Island News.

By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa From a shared house in Medellín, Colombia, Koyah Morgan-Banke from the Toquaht and Secwépemc First Nations says all her career aspirations are going to be impacted by AI. The 20-year-old is spending the summer in South America after signing with a modelling agency. The Ucluelet Secondary School graduate also specializes in Indigenous formline design and is studying Neuroscience at the University of British Columbia (UBC). In science, AI excites me because data analysis is so much easier now. In every other facet, specifically creative, it’s horrifying. It’s very, very scary,” said Morgan-Banke over Facetime. When it comes to the modelling industry in 2026, Morgan-Banke says she is competing with computer generated models for gigs, and she has to be vigilant when signing The post Nuu-chah-nulth artists speak out against AI-generated art and fashion models appeared first on The Turtle Island News.

By Ian Bickis A 356-year-old document that granted the Hudson’s Bay Co. control over roughly one-third of Canada is now in public hands. The HBC Royal Charter was unveiled Thursday at the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg in a ceremony that was both a celebration of the new life of the document and a reflection on the troubled legacy it created. “In 1670, a king, sitting across the ocean, claimed authority over our lands,” said Ovide Mercredi, former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. “Through the so-called right of discovery, vast territories were granted to the Hudson’s Bay Company, as if our lands and territories were empty. But our lands were not empty, our nations were here.” Canada later bought the lands from the company, without recognizing the ancestors The post HBC Royal Charter welcomed in ceremony at Manitoba Museum appeared first on The Turtle Island News.

By John Watson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Strathmore Times Siksika Off Reserve Affordable Housing (SORAH) hosted the official groundbreaking for the Erin Woods Indigenous Housing Development, June 8, in Calgary. “This project, which is going to see the construction of 60 town homes and a welcome centre here in Erin Woods, is the continued hard work of the people of Siksika Nation, my very supportive board members from the City of Calgary Indigenous Housing Committee, and the urban Indigenous here in Calgary,” said Max Lloyd, general manager of SORAH. “In most cases, they are going to be forever homes. Some people will be living here for a short period of time by their choosing, and maybe they are going to be transitioning to other housing which would better suit their The post Affordable housing breaks ground for off reserve residents appeared first on The Turtle Island News.