Category Archives: Indigenous Nations

Indigenous Nations History

Construction underway at Tse’K’wa heritage site

By Tom Summer, Alaska Highway News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Development and preservation of the Tse’K’wa national historic cave site at Charlie Lake is continuing to grow with the installation of new interpretive signage and more.

Tse’K’wa Heritage Society Executive Director Alyssa Currie says she’s excited to share the signage and is aiming to reopen to the public sometime in June. The signs will act as a self-guided tour for patrons.

“Each sign encapsulates a different Dunne-za teaching, as well as an archaeological artifact found at the site. So, it gives our visitors a chance to walk the landscape that has been occupied by the ancestors of the Dunne-za and to hear about the significance of that landscape from their perspective,” said Currie.

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Communications, Indigenous Nations

TELUS started construction on Cortes Island

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TELUS started construction Monday, May 29, exactly two weeks after they notified Cortes Currents that Tla’amin First Nation had given them the go ahead to build a cell tower on their land.

It has been two and half years since the communication giant informed the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) that they planned to construct three cell towers on Cortes Island and two more on Quadra. 

The SRD refused to give their approval unless TELUS held public meetings. So TELUS approached First Nations, who are not under SRD authority. They built a cell tower on We Wai Kai land in Drew Harbour, Quadra Island, in February 2022. TELUS also approached the Tla’amin First Nation, about building on the parcel of land they own in Mansons Landing. 

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Indigenous Nations, Industry, Politics

Mining and conservation can go hand in hand, environment ministers say

By Matteo Cimellaro, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Mining projects and protected land can co-exist, two provincial environment ministers said at a press conference on Friday after two days of meetings with their counterparts from across the country.

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Indigenous Nations, Industry

Mining companies are snapping up claims to develop Indigenous land. But what happens when a nation doesn’t consent?

By Matteo Cimellaro, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Reconciliation isn’t the only thing threatened when mining exploration companies fail to get consent from Indigenous nations, says one ethical investor.

Provinces — and the junior mining companies that obtain exploration permits connected to a nation’s ancestral territories — ignore consultation with Indigenous Peoples at their own peril, as the oversight can set the stage for future conflict, court challenges and delays, hampering any future economic development before it begins.

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Indigenous Nations, Justice

Community rallies for Carsyn Seaweed, as RCMP apologize for ‘miscommunication’ in her case

By Anna McKenzie,  The Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.

People gathered outside of an RCMP detachment in Cowichan territories on Friday to demand justice for 15-year-old Carsyn Mackenzie Seaweed, whose sudden passing has rattled the community. 

On May 15, Carsyn was found in “Duncan” in a “semi-conscious state under suspicious circumstances,” according to a statement from police issued Thursday. Family members of Carsyn say she was found covered under pallets, cardboard and twigs. Tragically, Carsyn did not make it.

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