Latest news with #Anishinabek
Epoch Times
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
John Robson: Land Acknowledgements: Either Give the Land Back or Stop Saying It's Stolen
Commentary In response to Donald Trump's various insults, threats, and tariffs, we have apparently never been prouder to be Canadian. Why, I flew a 'God Save The King' flag on the Victoria Day long weekend and nobody threw a rock. Unless you count the Governor General, presenting the 'Award of Merit' to various police persons on behalf of the King, Just not in a good way, because it's untrue, malicious, and hypocritical. Also pervasive in the public sector as the revolt of the elites continues. Hence, some meddlesome government body 'sits on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee & Anishinabek peoples, and we want to thank the Indigenous people for their continued care and protection of All of Our Relations on this shared land.' It's nonsense, from the fiction of pre-contact Eden to their exercising ongoing stewardship of our private property to the 'All of Our Relations' nonsense about, presumably, Brother Beaver, Sister Sumac, and Mother-In-Law Mosquito. And the 'Haudenosaunee,' a.k.a. Iroquois Confederacy, hated and feared by their neighbours at the time of European contact, sharing with the 'Anishinabek' If you think truth matters, and if not, God save us, British rule put an end to chronic low-scale warfare, complete with torture, enslavement, and cannibalism, and bestowed peace, order, and good government. It was highly imperfect, including bigoted denial of the right to vote. But to portray Sir John A. Macdonald as genocidal and the Mohawks as pacifists cannot lead us anywhere but into darkness. The effort is malicious. Humans are flawed, in infuriating ways, and no institutions can entirely erase original sin. But the appropriate response is a difficult combination of humility and resolve, accepting that the most infuriatingly flawed person we ever have to deal with is ourself. Political, social, and intellectual radicalism does the opposite, crusading against Related Stories 5/12/2025 5/6/2025 As G.K. Chesterton wrote, 'all feeble spirits naturally live in the future, because it is featureless; it is a soft job… It requires real courage to face the past… full of facts which cannot be got over; of men certainly wiser than we and of things done which we could not do.' But people who preen about unceded land aren't just claiming if they'd been there in 1867, or 1667, they'd dramatically have outperformed the clods who did stumble onto the historical stage. They're pretending they did, so brilliantly that aboriginals still own the land we're sitting on, sneering at them. Which brings me to the issue of hypocrisy. Every time I sit with clenched teeth through one of these land acknowledgements, and by the way, I have discovered that I am far from alone, I want to leap up and shout, 'If you think your building belongs to someone else, what's your plan for immediately giving it back?' If you went up to some aboriginal and said, 'Hey, buddy, here's your stolen bicycle,' he or she would certainly, and rightly, anticipate your handing it over at once. To pedal smugly off, leaving them on foot instead, would evoke outrage. But how else can one describe the monotonous, sanctimonious insistence that Ottawa, Victoria, and indeed all of Canada belong to them but can't have it nyah nyah? If you really think it's theirs, you have a binding obligation to return it. And in ye badde olde days, a key function of police officers was to locate, seize, and restore stolen property. Nowadays, the GG droned, 'As police officers, or as leaders and supporters of those in uniform, you must fulfill many roles – from social worker to first responder, and from conflict mediator to expert communicator.' But never mind, 'Daddy is a cop, son. He arrests bad men.' Today, once you strap on the badge, pistol, pepper spray, truncheon, handcuffs, and scary vest, 'You support your communities through the toughest times – whether it's helping accident victims, assisting families in crisis, comforting those affected by violence, or addressing issues related to drug use and mental health.' Which arguably includes providing counselling and support to aboriginals dismayed that we're openly saying it's their land, then not giving it back because 'Our society is diverse and constantly evolving,' especially when it comes to conceptions of truth and honour. It won't do. If we want to be a country we can and should be proud of, then either give the land back or stop saying it's stolen. Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
CBC
15-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
First Nation chief downstream of proposed rural Ontario dump calls out province
The fight over a proposed rural southwestern Ontario landfill is back in the spotlight, and it's reached the highest levels of provincial politics this week. Last summer, Dresden-area residents in Chatham-Kent thought they had scored a win. The Conservative government said any move to reopen a long-dormant landfill site would require a full environmental assessment. But that may be changing. In April, the province introduced Bill 5 — the Protect Ontario By Unleashing Our Economy Act. It includes language that would fast-track the project. That concerns Walpole Island First Nation Chief Leela Thomas, who calls the proposed bill "devastating." The reserve is downstream from the dump along the Sydenham River. The property also lies within the traditional territory of the Anishinabek people. "It seems like our voices don't matter, especially when it comes to environmental issues and our role as stewards of the land," Thomas said. "It's not a big ask because we're protecting people. We're protecting the land. We're protecting environment. We're protecting the livelihood of not only First Nations people, but everyone." Thomas says their constitutional rights are being ignored. "That, to me, is [environmental] racism." Thomas says it seems like poor planning on the province's behalf, when it comes to landfill capacity. "They knew that there was going to be issues with landfills in the province, and now that there are ... with the tariffs they're using that as a guise to push these landfills through." Human rights advocacy group Amnesty International says the province's change of course on Bill 5 threatens Indigenous rights and erodes environmental protections. "The creation of special economic zones where critical provincial laws, including those protecting endangered species, clean water, and consultation with Indigenous nations, may be suspended to fast-track development," said Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary general with Amnesty International Canada. "We cannot build up Ontario by bulldozing down the rights of Indigenous nations and the natural environment we all depend on and share." Capacity issues and Trump cited by premier Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his government is committed to expanding the landfill site because of capacity issues and current U.S.-Canada relations. "We're relying on the U.S. again," Ford said to reporters Tuesday. "Here we go again. Forty per cent of all the garbage goes down to the U.S. It takes one phone call from President Trump to … cut us off, and then what do we do? We have to prepare, be prepared." Ford says the existing site needs to be expanded. "I'm not going to rely on President Trump any longer. We have to be responsible for our own garbage. We're gonna continue building capacity on that. I say we're gonna shut off the electricity. He says we're gonna shut off your garbage." In a statement to CBC News, the province said the project would still undergo "extensive environmental processes" and remain subject to "strong provincial oversight." 'Give me a break' Opposition leader Marit Stiles of the NDP says the Dresden landfill was something the Ontario Conservatives never actually meant to prevent. "Give me a break here," she said Tuesday while speaking at Queen's Park. "We've seen it again and again. The legislation that they've introduced creates more and more opportunities for the government to make Greenbelt-style corrupt deals to benefit landowners and big corporations and developers, and I think that's what we're going to continue to see here." Recently, Kingston MPP Ted Hsu asked Ontario's integrity commissioner to probe an alleged connection between Premier Ford, two of his cabinet members, and a former minister to the proposed Chatham-Kent landfill. Stiles says she's unsure if the complaint will meet the standards of an investigation. "Unfortunately, the integrity commissioner has a very narrow scope." Stiles believes the integrity commissioner would like the complaint to be broadened. "But … just because it doesn't pass … that smell test, doesn't mean that it's right. The premier promised he wasn't going to let that landfill happen. He broke his promise to people in Dresden." What's at risk The project site is adjacent to a creek and river — a vital spawning ground and home to more than 80 endangered species, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Thomas says there are a lot of unknowns without having rigorous environmental and health assessments — and not just for her Anishinabek people, but the surrounding communities as well. "There's going to be construction and demolition debris that's going to have asbestos that's going to be leaked into the drinking water," said Walpole Island's chief.
CBC
28-04-2025
- Health
- CBC
First Nations health centre, chef, create hospital menus to heal body and spirit at Manitoulin Health Centre
A program to nourish the hearts and souls as well as the bodies of patients at the Mindemoya and Little Current sites of the Manitoulin Health Centre is finding success. The Noojmowin Teg Health Centre provides services to seven First Nations on Manitoulin Island and Anishinabek people in the surrounding district. Executive director Debbie Francis said the health centre has developed a program to incorporate local, traditional foods into hospital meals a couple of times a week, in line with the Indigenous philosophy that good food is good medicine. That means a healthy combination of wild game, fish, corn, berries and other seasonal produce form the basis of the meals. The trays are not just for the First Nations patients but are offered to non-Indigenous patients as well, which Francis said is a way to spread cultural understanding and knowledge. "We're introducing some of these foods to individuals who have never had wild rice or they've never had moose meat or, you know, a moose stir fry," she said. "So that is where you know, we're able to not only offer the food, but also share about the food too." Frances says the menus also address the higher prevalence of diabetes among Indigenous people. "It's healthier for you, wild rice versus having white rice, for example," she said. "Fish is such a natural food item. It's local food, It's lean. Just having the offerings of those foods in itself helps for better outcomes." Every effort is made to make the meals tasty and appealing as well, with chef Hiawatha Osawamick coming up with the recipes. Osawamick is a member of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory and operates a restaurant and catering business in Wahnapitae First Nation. She said she's inspired by the natural, unprocessed food of the land and incorporates them into her recipes on a seasonal basis. "So there's rabbit stew, bison chili, elk stew, lamb Stew," she said. "So I just incorporate those wild games into a stew. And then I have to keep in mind that my menus have to be tender, where you have these elders that are having a hard time chewing food, so the foods have to be very tender, very saucy, very soft." While the food is healthy and appetizing, it's also meant to connect people to their families and their culture. "Just having these foods, the smells, it brings back memories from their childhood," said Osawamick. "So it gives them a sense of spirituality, traditional cultural knowledge and just, you know, bringing back those core principles of when they were a kid which will help support their healing and well-being." She said that the hospital reports clean plates being returned to the kitchen.
CBC
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Anishinaabe singer talks about her 'grief rage' music and her love for northern Ontario
Thea May is blowing up. The singer from Sudbury, with Anishinabek roots in Atikameksheng, just signed a record deal and has released an album of songs about grief, including the death of a man who died 45 days after they fell in love.
CBC
08-02-2025
- Sport
- CBC
This Indigenous artist designed a football for the NFL
The National Football League commissioned Quentin Commanda, of Nipissing First Nation, to design a football that showcases his Anishinabek culture. The ball could be featured ahead of the Super Bowl. And 50 footballs with his design will be donated to Indigenous communities.
