The story of the James Bay Cree community that was divided by religion. Commons to provide translation for MPs speaking Indigenous languages. When Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette gave a speech last year entirely in Cree, hardly any of his fellow parliamentarians in the House of Commons understood a word he said.
That’s because Commons rules recognized only French and English as languages deserving of simultaneous translation. But no more. Members of Parliament from all parties have accepted a report that recommends interpretation services be made available on request for any MP who wishes to use one of more than 60 Indigenous languages in the Commons or in a Commons committee. Reasonable notice must be given so that the House administration has time to secure, if possible, the required translation service. Ouellette calls it “the most significant event for languages” in Canada since 1952, when French translation services were introduced, and says it signals to Indigenous people that their languages “are just as important as English and French.” Story continues below advertisement. N'we Jinan Artists - "FIREMAKERS" // Lac La Croix First Nation, Ontario. Indigenous women fight everyday to end violence.
Indigenous women in Ontario are on the front line of a daily battle against violence in their lives that so many Canadians don’t see and don’t understand.
As the executive director of the Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA) I’ve witnessed our organization grow into a force that provides a respectful safe place for Indigenous women as safety is paramount to healing and addressing violence. From Indigenous antihuman trafficking to Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, to domestic violence and rampant institutionalized racism the cycle of violence is real and devastating.
The violence that Indigenous women battle each day is external and internal. Through ONWA’s She Is Wise framework, we honour and acknowledge that every Indigenous woman has the potential to reclaiming her sacredness as well as the leadership role in her family and community. Setbacks hit water treatment projects for Ontario First Nations. The filtered water station by the motel overlooking Attawapiskat Lake is the only place Neskantaga First Nation residents can get clean water for free.
And project co-ordinator Roy Moonias is worried about elderly people slipping on ice formed from spills when temperatures drop below freezing. The small, outhouse-like structure — which serves the community of some 300 people — "shouldn't be here," said Moonias. Neskantaga was supposed to have a new water treatment plant back in May. "Now we have to suffer more, using this system. " The fly-in Ojibway community, about 433 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont.,, is under the country's longest unbroken boil-water advisory, first imposed in 1995.
It was supposed to be lifted this past spring, but things didn't go according to plan. It's an example of the challenges Ottawa faces meeting its target to clear all long-term First Nations water advisories by March 2021. But spring came and went as construction continued. Grand Council Treaty 3 wins right to intervene in sex-ed case.
Grand Council Treaty Three has won its motion to intervene in a court case challenging the roll-back of the province's sex-ed curriculum.
The case was filed by the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO). "I think this is another important acknowledgement from the court system that Indigenous young people have a critical and central role to play in the futures of so many domains of Canadian society," said Douglas Judson, a lawyer and staff advisor for Grand Council Treaty Three. "We're excited to bring this perspective to court. " Indigenous Resources for Faculty. The Inuit Experience of Residential Schools. Métis and First Nations healers honoured for unique approaches to mental health, addictions. Two Indigenous healers will be honoured for their exemplary work by Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital later this month.
Elder Little Brown Bear of the Aboriginal Healing Program in Toronto and Liz Stone, executive director of Niijkiwendidaa Anishnabekwag Services Circle in Peterborough will be honoured by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Nov. 27. The pair were part of a group of 150 honourees chosen from 3,700 nominations across Canada. Elder Little Brown Bear oversees the Aboriginal Healing Program with the Toronto East Health Network, blending mainstream information with traditional teachings, he said.
Elder Little Brown Bear, who runs Aboriginal Day Program with Toronto East Health Network, was inducted into the Order of Ontario this spring and will be one of 150 CAMH difference makers this fall. (Submitted by Elder Little Brown Bear) Blending traditional and mainstream knowledge "They aren't clients or patients. Michael Garron Hospital in east Toronto has turned a room in the pediatric unit into an Indigenous healing room with help from members of its Aboriginal Healing Program.
Over the summer, the members painted the room's walls with spirit animals, the seven grandfather teachings and a medicine wheel. Elder Little Brown Bear, who is Métis, runs the Aboriginal Healing Program and was recently made manager of Indigenous Culture for the hospital, formerly named Toronto East General. About 1.5 per cent of people in the hospital's catchment area identify as Indigenous, a slightly higher rate than the city overall. Images of spirit animals adorn the walls accompanied by an information sheet on the significance of the animal.
(Rhiannon Johnson/CBC) "I had a vision about what needed to happen in pediatrics," he said. At an executive meeting, he encouraged the hospital executives to become innovators, not imitators where reconciliation is concerned. Supreme Court rules Ottawa has no duty to consult with Indigenous people before drafting laws. Canada's lawmakers do not have a duty to consult with Indigenous people before introducing legislation that might affect constitutionally protected Indigenous and treaty rights, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
