Category Archives: Indigenous Nations

Indigenous Nations, Politics

Elected and Former Politicians Calling For Aaron Gunn To Step Down

A growing number of elected and former politicians in the North Island Powell River riding are calling upon the Conservative Party to withdraw their endorsement of Aaron Gunn, and demand he withdraw his candidacy. There were already 19 names in the joint letter when Cortes Currents contacted the two women spearheading this campaign and another 6 were added before this post was finished.

 “This has all happened within the last 48 hours. (Bob Chamberlain) a former Vice President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs sent out the first call  for Gunn to be removed. After that many other chiefs supported the call for him to step down,” explained Arzeena Hamir,  a former Regional Director of Area B  in the Comox Valley Regional District.

Continue reading Elected and Former Politicians Calling For Aaron Gunn To Step Down →
Indigenous Nations, Politics

Chief Darren Blaney: Responses To The Conservative Party

Press release from the Homalco Nation

In a press release in February, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives included a quote from Chief Darren Blaney of the Homalco First Nation in a news release regarding their plan for a First Nations Resource Charge (FNRC) without consultation or consent. This was only recently brought to the attention of leadership. The Chief and Council unequivocally denounce the use of this and any future quotes of their leadership without proper consultation and call on the Conservatives to remove any Homalco-related quotes from past, current and future new releases.

This revelation comes on the heels of calls for Aaron Gunn, the Conservative candidate in the federal riding in which the Homalco community reside, to be dropped from the election campaign. Social media posts from the recent past indicate that Gunn holds extreme views regarding residential schools, minimizing the history and trauma caused by residential schools, attacking 2SLGBTQ+ people, and sympathizing with warmonger Putin. We join other leaders today in calling for the removal of Aaron Gunn from the Conservative Party.

Continue reading Chief Darren Blaney: Responses To The Conservative Party →
Indigenous Nations History

Gits’iis Tribe calls for removal of totem poles outside Prince Rupert’s Civic Centre

By Radha Agarwal, Prince Rupert Northern View, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Citing a history of cultural faux pas, the Gits’iis Tribe of the Ts’msyen Nation, whose ancestral lands encompass the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre site, is demanding the removal of the three totem poles outside it.

“These poles came [to Prince Rupert]. They had no business being here,” said Guu Gaa Jung (Symbia Barnaby).

Continue reading Gits’iis Tribe calls for removal of totem poles outside Prince Rupert’s Civic Centre →
Indigenous Nations History, Politics

First Nation Leaders Call Upon Conservative Party To Drop Aaron Gunn As A Candidate

First Nations leaders are calling upon the Conservative Party of Canada to drop Aaron Gunn, candidate for North Island-Powell River, due to a series of tweets he made between 2019 and 2021.

More than 150,000 First Nation, Métis and Inuit children were taken out of their homes and forced to attend residential schools between the 1870s and 1997. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission called the residential school system “cultural genocide” in its final report released in 2015.

Gunn tweeted: “Why are the report authors (and now Trudeau) sensationalizing truly horrific events, that need to be examined honestly, with a loaded word like ‘genocide’ that does not remotely reflect the reality of what happened.”  

Continue reading First Nation Leaders Call Upon Conservative Party To Drop Aaron Gunn As A Candidate →
Indigenous Nations, Politics

Anna Kindy Explains Why She Does Not Endorse A Section Of DRIPA & More

While she recognizes DRIPA as a valuable document, MLA Anna Kindy recently informed the SRD Board that she does not support ‘article 26.’ The topic came up when she took part in the May 26 Board meeting. 

Kindy began by stating, “ Part of the reason I’m here is to actually learn how things are run.  I’m not going to pretend I know everything, far from it.  It’s a steep learning curve, but my motivation is to truly represent my constituents. I ran for a party, but I’m apolitical now that I am an MLA,  I just look at issues separately and try to bring people’s voices to the legislature, to whoever it needs to be brought to.  I’m not a public speaker by nature, but I do answer questions very readily, so I’m just going to pass it over to you guys if you have any questions.”

Continue reading Anna Kindy Explains Why She Does Not Endorse A Section Of DRIPA & More →