Category Archives: Indigenous Nations

Indigenous Nations, Politics

First Nations criticism of Danielle Smith goes national

By Jeremy Appel,  Alberta Native News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – The national advocacy organization for Treaty First Nations has joined the chorus of First Nations telling Alberta premier Danielle Smith that a referendum on Alberta independence would be illegitimate without consulting the land’s original inhabitants.

“Any proposed separation of Alberta from Canada would be fundamentally illegitimate and unconstitutional without the explicit, prior, informed and collective consent of the First Nations whose lands and rights predate the formation of the province and of Canada,” Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Woodhouse Nepinak said in a May 12 news release.

Continue reading First Nations criticism of Danielle Smith goes national →
Environment, Indigenous Nations

BC’s development agenda tramples rights, First Nation leaders warn

By Sonal Gupta, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Indigenous leaders across BC are sounding the alarm over two new provincial bills they say threaten to undermine their people’s rights and weaken environmental safeguards.

The legislation introduced by Premier David Eby’s government aims to fast-track major infrastructure developments and clean energy projects. But First Nations leaders argue the bills were developed without the proper consultation required under BC’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).

Continue reading BC’s development agenda tramples rights, First Nation leaders warn →
Indigenous Nations

New book offers an easy-to-read primer on Indigenous Rights

By Regan Treewater, Alberta Native News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – “This book is not intended for lawyers,” begins author Bruce McIvor in his new book Indigenous Rights in One Minute: What You Need to Know to Talk Reconciliation. “It’s meant for non-lawyers interested in Canada’s commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, and how to make it a reality” (10).

Continue reading New book offers an easy-to-read primer on Indigenous Rights →
Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

Ancient clam gardens nourish the Mamalilikulla’s past and future

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Mamalilikulla Chief Winidi, or John Powell, wiggles his pitchfork back and forth to loosen the sand and gravel along a remote stretch of beach in the Broughton Archipelago, sandwiched between Vancouver Island and the BC mainland.

As he churns over layers of sediment, a fistful of clams surface with a couple of disturbingly large, fiery red marine worms that flail hundreds of legs to rapidly burrow back into the sand.

“Look at all those worms. That’s a good sign,” Powell said.  

“You see those a lot when you’re digging. They seem to aerate the soil.” 

Continue reading Ancient clam gardens nourish the Mamalilikulla’s past and future →
Energy, Indigenous Nations

First Nations leaders push for energy wealth and ownership at Canadian Hydrogen Convention

By Jeremy Appel,  Alberta Native News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.

Less than a week before Billy Morin was elected as the Conservative MP for Edmonton Northwest in the Canadian federal election, the former elected chief of Enoch Cree Nation moderated a panel on Indigenous opportunities in hydrogen.

The Canadian Hydrogen Convention was held on April 23 and 24 at the Edmonton Convention Centre, with the second day including the panel, “Indigenous Partnerships for a Clean Energy Future.”

Grand Chief Greg Desjarlais of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, Salish Elements chairman and co-founder Reuben George, and Xaxli’p (Fountain First Nation) executive director Andrew Mercer spoke on the Morin-moderated panel.

Salish Elements, an Indigenous-run company that produces green hydrogen—meaning hydrogen that is made with water, rather than natural gas—signed a May 2024 agreement to build a 25-megawatt hydrogen production facility on the Xaxli’p reserve in Lillooet, British Columbia.

Continue reading First Nations leaders push for energy wealth and ownership at Canadian Hydrogen Convention →