Indigenous youth participate in canoe awakening ceremony in Vancouver
Indigenous people living away from home and in the city don't often get to connect with culture. But this week, Squamish elder Wes Nahanee organized a canoe awakening ceremony for the Urban Native Youth Association in East Vancouver. Indigenous affairs reporter Wawmeesh Hamilton reports on why it's important to connect urban Indigenous youth with these ceremonies.
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Winnipeg Free Press
37 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Stepping up to help as fires rage
When Lendyll Soriano got a job working with First Nations during the COVID-19 pandemic, he was warmly embraced by the Indigenous community. Now, he wants to give back. The Filipino immigrant, who co-owns Dream Barbers with two partners, has launched a free haircut initiative for Manitoba wildfire evacuees. 'We already had a couple of people come in (Tuesday),' said Soriano, who owns the Portage Avenue shop with Mark Antonio and Albert Amante. Aviva Tabac photo Kavod Thrift Store volunteer Harriet Zimmer with load of donated items for Manitoba wildfire evacuees. In his day job as communications liaison with the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba, Soriano said his Indigenous colleagues have shown him the value of family and helping each other during times of need. 'I wasn't even First Nations, so that's what I appreciated about them,' he said. 'I was learning, and as an immigrant here in Canada, we really didn't have any history of what First Nations history is. So when I started working there five years ago, I really began to understand what First Nations people went through.' Soriano said he has seen firsthand the impact displacement has had on the Indigenous community. 'Some are new to the city, so for us, it's a good way, if grooming is a good way to help out this situation, why not make it a free service for them?' he said. Soriano isn't the only Winnipeg entrepreneur stepping up. Christina Lin became motivated to help after she received a call from a panicked friend in Flin Flon. 'She's an evacuee, and she called me by mistake,' said Lin, a teacher at Modo Yoga, whose two locations in the city — on Donald and Waverley streets — are offering evacuees free admission to any of their classes. 'It inspired me to want to offer more. I brought this to my manager and our owners, and they were like, 'Absolutely. Without question.'' Lin said the studios have removed some barriers, knowing some won't have a yoga mat or a towel to bring with them. 'We know that it's not the first thing on their mind to move their bodies,' she said. 'They're surviving. We just want to let them know, if and when they process it all, if they need somewhere to go and breathe, be in an accessible space, with change rooms for all genders, that it's there for them. You can come be with community, be accepted, be together.' Some are even taking measures into their own hands. After Cranberry Portage was evacuated, resident Barb Bragg spent the past few weeks purchasing more than a dozen water pumps from Winnipeg and delivering them to The Pas, and later, with permission from those fighting the flames, directly to the firefighters in her home community. The 70-year-old retiree made three eight-plus hour trips to hand off the water pumps, even sleeping in her truck at times. 'To (just) be evacuated seems wimpy, in a way, at least for me,' she joked over the phone from Gimli, where she's currently staying, Tuesday afternoon. 'I want to help, I want to do what I can.' A mandatory evacuation order remains for Cranberry Portage, as a 4,921-hectare wildfire south of the community remains out of control. Bragg said she isn't alone in her efforts — others have passed along hose and sprinkler systems. She dropped off the last shipment Monday. Her focus now is on putting together a newsletter to keep her neighbours informed on the status of the wildfires, some of whom, she said, are struggling to cope with the loss of their homes. 'These friends of mine, who've been friends for 50 years, are saying, 'We just found out our house is gone, 'We just found out our house is gone,' 'Mine went, too,' 'Has anybody heard about this one?' … it's the heartbreak of that.' 'If grooming is a good way to help out this situation, why not make it a free service for them?'–Lendyll Soriano Winnipeg's Jewish and Mennonite communities are also doing their parts to make life easier for evacuees. B'nai Brith Canada's Winnipeg chapter is accepting donations of toiletries, diapers, infant formula and other essentials at its Kavod Thrift Store. 'The response has been unbelievable,' said Aviva Tabac, community engagement manager for B'nai Brith Canada. 'It's overwhelming. It's a real feel-good moment.' The donations have included 1,500 toothbrushes given from a local orthodontist. 'Now we want to see if we can get the same number of tubes of toothpaste donated,' Tabac said. Items given to Kavod are checked and sorted before being delivered to groups that are distributing them to evacuees. The executive director of Mennonite Disaster Service said there was an 'overwhelming, fabulous' response to a call for volunteers to help at the Leila Avenue sports centre, where evacuees are registered. The organization has provided between 20-25 volunteers per day at the centre in three shifts, including from midnight to 7 a.m. 'Clearly, people were anxious to help,' said Ross Penner. Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. Volunteers provide evacuees with essential items and help set up cots for overnight stays. The stream of evacuees at the site has slowed in recent days, Penner said. 'But that can always change if a number of buses suddenly show up.' For more information about donating to Kavod, call 204-487-9623. To volunteer with Mennonite Disaster Service, call 204-261-1274. — with files from Malak Abas and John Longhurst Scott BilleckReporter Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade's worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. Read more about Scott. Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Ottawa Citizen
3 hours ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Rare Strawberry Moon to skim the Ottawa horizon
By the time the Strawberry Moon makes its slow climb over Ottawa's southeastern horizon on Tuesday night, the hype will likely have outpaced the altitude. Article content Despite the seasonal branding, there is no red or pink glow to expect. Article content Article content The last full moon of spring will more likely appear large and golden, unless haze from wildfire smoke adds a reddish filter. Article content Peak illumination will occur at 3:46 a.m. on June 11, according to the Almanac. For most of Ottawa, however, moonrise around 8:56 p.m. will be the main event. Article content Article content The moon will hover low in the sky throughout the night, following what astronomers call the 'lowest full moon arc' of the year. Article content Article content Each June, the sun hits its highest arc in the sky, and the moon, locked in a gravitational pas de deux with Earth, follows the opposite path. While the sun is high, the moon is forced low. Article content This year, that angle is even sharper due to a phenomenon called the lunar standstill, part of an 18.6-year cycle that swings the moon's path to its most extreme. The result is a full moon that barely clears the rooftops, appearing oversized, especially as it rises through the thickest slice of Earth's atmosphere. Article content The moon is not any closer to Earth than usual, meaning it is not a super moon. The so-called ' moon illusion, ' a long-documented optical quirk, explains why it may look enormous when it's near the horizon. Your brain sizes it relative to nearby objects like trees and buildings. Article content Article content Culturally, the 'Strawberry Moon' label dates back to Algonquin, Anishinaabe and other Indigenous lunar calendars, which used full moons to track seasonal shifts. In June, it marked the ripening of wild strawberries, a signal for harvesting. Western farmers attached their own tags, like the 'Rose Moon' or 'Mead Moon,' but the berry branding stuck. Article content Article content For those in Ottawa hoping to spot the Strawberry Moon, a clear view to the southeast will offer the best vantage. Article content It will appear full from Tuesday evening through early Wednesday morning, though the moon technically remains in its full phase for only a brief moment before beginning to wane. Article content Ottawa's next supermoon isn't until September. And the next full moon this low won't come around again until 2043. Article content
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Honouring the land, healing together
Chantel St. Germaine and Dawn Isaac from Marymound preview their Indigenous community gathering, focused on connection and celebration.
