Latest news with #Googoo
CBC
09-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
2 First Nation councillors resign after woman targeted in 'vile' online chat goes public
Two elected councillors on a First Nation in Nova Scotia have resigned after screenshots surfaced of an online chat group they belonged to that included sexually derogatory references to women in the community and remarks relishing non-consensual sex. Screenshots of the Facebook chats were made public last weekend by Tia Googoo, a member of Millbrook First Nation, who said she was given access to them a few weeks ago by a friend who was a member of the group and apologized to her. The chat included derogatory comments about Googoo, other women and her mother, Robin Tomah, who in 2001 was attacked outside her home and severely burned. There were sexually explicit comments referencing her burns. Googoo said the messages were "vile." "I was extremely hurt," Googoo, 27, said in an interview. "My heart broke for my mother, my heart broke for all the other women they're degrading, they're objectifying, sexualizing." Millbrook First Nation confirmed in a statement Tuesday evening that it had accepted the resignations of Garrett Gloade and Pius Knockwood, the two councillors who the band said were members of the chat. The statement said RCMP were investigating. The community has been "shaken," the statement said, and the "activity in the group chat victimized many and has been devastating to read." In all, it appears roughly 20 men were part of the chat group. Googoo said many of them were her longtime friends, or friends of family members. The chat was active for about a year, Googoo said, but she only captured messages from September 2024 to this March. "I rethought the entirety of all our friendships of 20 years," Googoo said. "'What did I do, what did I do to them to deserve this? What did these women do to deserve this?' Ultimately, I couldn't find a reason why." Millbrook Chief Bob Gloade declined to comment to CBC News, but said in an earlier Facebook post the messages were "demeaning and disparaging towards women, men, elders and our 2SLGBTQIA+ population." "I want to assure you that this type of behaviour is not acceptable and it's not a reflection of our leadership or our community as a whole," he said in the post. "This situation is being taken very seriously and there will be formal and swift consequences for the misconduct of those affiliated with the Millbrook Band Council and Administration." Garrett Gloade, who was first elected in 2022 and won re-election this fall, said in a post on social media that he apologized "for my actions and contributions to the most recent events that have been circulating." It's not the first time Gloade has been in trouble while on band council. Two years ago, he was suspended without pay for three months after an internal investigation found he'd sexually harassed a band employee. Gloade subsequently challenged the suspension in court. The case was discontinued last year, but court records do not give a reason. In his post, which appears to have been taken down, he suggested he was the group creator. Screenshots taken by Googoo list Gloade as the creator of the group, which was titled J-Denn Pallbearers. "The intentions started as a place to keep my late brother's memory alive. But, have taken an awful turn and I take responsibility for my part in that," the post said. Neither Gloade nor Knockwood replied to requests for comment from CBC News. Googoo said the chat group included members sharing intimate images of her without her consent. Images of other women were shared as well, she said. In one message in the online chat, Knockwood said, "Pass out sex is the best there passed out," and in another referenced a woman who was "all pilled out." He also made an explicit remark about Tomah's burns. On another occasion, two group members talked about slapping or punching a woman to wake her up. Googoo said there's been an outpouring of support for her since she posted the screenshots to social media. Among those in her corner, she said, have been a number of Millbrook band councillors who she called "amazing." "I just hope that communities, you know, community members will speak up if they hear misconduct and if there's abuse of power," she said. "Use your voice. Don't let that slide because these people are supposed to represent us. They're supposed to represent our community, our families, our children."
CBC
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
How befriending bugs helped an N.S. residential school survivor preserve her Mi'kmaw language
As a young girl at the Shubenacadie Residential School, Phyllis Googoo found a special way to hang on to her Mi'kmaw language: talking to ladybugs. In the documentary Phyllis & the Ladybugs, Googoo explains the bugs were actually potato bugs. She would make roads for them in the grass and sing them lullabies. "I'd take care of my babies. I'd say, 'Don't be afraid,' because I was afraid," she says in the documentary. "I wanted to be treated how I was treating the ladybugs." The film was co-directed by Googoo and Ann Verrall. It follows Googoo's story from being forced to attend residential school at 4½ years old to leaving for the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis in March 2022 along with other residential school survivors. Cassandra Googoo said her grandmother's visit to the Pope was a full circle moment. "My grandmother thought highly of forgiveness. It's a term in our language. It's called apiksiktuwaqn," she said. "She really felt strongly about, you know, you go through your trials in life, but you also have forgiveness in your heart and you move forward with that." Imagination as a 'survival mechanism' Co-director Ann Verrall said she knew Phyllis Googoo's story needed to be shared. "I think that's one of the things that really drew me to it is looking at how the imagination is a survival mechanism and how this very young child was able to engage her imagination to help herself and to survive in that environment." Cassandra Googoo said her grandmother's story is one of "triumph." "We were able to share a good story about language revitalization rather than the horrible stories about that place," she said. Phyllis Googoo was able to retain her Mi'kmaw language despite nine years at residential school. She went on to become a language teacher at We'koqma'q Mikmaw School.
CBC
22-02-2025
- General
- CBC
Midwinter gathering highlights authentic Mi'kmaw songs and dance
During the coldest month of winter, the Mi'kmaq honour Apuknajit, the February full moon, with a Midwinter feast and ceremony. At a recent Midwinter ceremony in Millbrook First Nation, about 80 kilometres north of Halifax, Michael R Denny debuted three new ko'jua songs to add to his personal repertoire of the traditional Mi'kmaw song genre. "I want to make sure that those songs are handed down in my family just the way it was done before," said Denny, who is from Eskasoni First Nation on Cape Breton Island. Midwinter ceremony and celebrations are something that Denny, who helped to organize the event, holds near to his heart. "It has always been an important gathering for my people to celebrate that winter spirit Apuknajit," he said. Historically the harshest month for hunting and survival, it was a time when Mi'kmaq left food offerings for the spirit of Apuknajit, to appease him in order to make it through the remainder of winter with plentiful food and favourable weather. The Midwinter celebration is built around this offering by involving community with time to gather, share a feast, reflect on the challenges of winter and celebrate their continued tenacity. Denny organized the event through his work with Mi'kmaw Kina'matnewey, a Mi'kmaw educational authority in Nova Scotia. This year's event reflected traditional midwinter activities, featuring dice games, wapnaqn and waltes, a pipe ceremony, community feast, and ending with a ko'jua tournament that went on till nearly 11 p.m. The emphasis on ko'jua, a traditional Mi'kmaw dance accompanied by songs played on a ji'kmaqn, or split ash instrument, is important for Denny, who feels a responsibility to maintain this practice at the gatherings he organizes. "Everybody practiced [ko'jua] from Gespe'gewa'gik (Quebec and northern New Brunswick) all the way to Unama'kik (Cape Breton), and everywhere in between," he said. Denny said an important part of keeping the ancient songs alive is recognizing their origins and remembering the people who carried them. "If you don't have the story that goes along with it, you're only singing half the story and you're only honouring half that story," he said. Evan Googoo, a ko'jua singer and dancer from Wagmatcook First Nation, both shared songs and won the adult men's ko'jua dance competition. "Ko'jua, for me, it's just a way of connecting to our people, our ancestors. When I dance, I picture my grandfather there dancing with me," said Googoo. "It's not just a dance. It's a symbol of our resilience as Mi'kmaw people." He said it brings him pride to see his kids and family dancing. Googoo's daughter Karala Googoo, 15, said she looks forward to midwinter for the opportunity to dance. "I love to dance, it's one of my favorite things," she said. "I dance women's traditional also, but I most enjoy doing ko'jua." The family walked away with two victories, with Karala placing second in the women's ko'jua competition. She is passionate about sharing the dance and along with her father has begun teaching it through workshops and lessons across the country.
CBC
21-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Millbrook First Nation councillor acquitted of illegal tobacco charges
A prominent First Nation councillor in Nova Scotia has been acquitted of charges linked to the 2022 seizure of a large amount of illegal tobacco, after a judge ruled Thursday the evidence in court did not prove he was the owner of the small shop selling the products. On its surface, the decision is at odds with the public advocacy of the Millbrook First Nation councillor, Chris Googoo, who has asserted the Mi'kmaq have the treaty right to sell tobacco and cannabis outside of federal and provincial regulations. In an interview outside the provincial courtroom in Dartmouth, N.S., just minutes after he was found not guilty, Googoo openly acknowledged he owns High Grade Trading Post in Cole Harbour, N.S. He is willing to raise constitutional challenges, he said, but the system as it's set up means he must go through a trial first and he believed it was important to test the prosecution's evidence against him. "Yeah, I got acquitted," he said. "But that's due to the Crown and the authorities not doing their due diligence and getting their full facts in order. We have our full facts in order on our side of things." The scenario is similar to another decision involving High Grade Trading Post from last spring in which another judge acquitted Googoo of cannabis charges after ruling the Crown had not proven the store was under his control. Googoo is the founder of the Micmac Rights Association, a group he said now includes roughly 260 members. Its advocacy has focused on asserting the "sovereign rights" of Mi'kmaq, particularly around the sale of cannabis, both on and off reserves. In Nova Scotia, the provincial government only allows cannabis to be sold through the Crown corporation Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, while the sale and taxing of tobacco is regulated. "We have a right to an economy just like any other person," Googoo said. "And it's not about selling tobacco or cannabis. In my eyes, they're both legal products, and the government sells it and we should be able to partake in those industries as well." Revenue Act charges In Thursday's court case, Googoo faced seven charges under Nova Scotia's Revenue Act, including possessing tobacco on which tax has not been paid and selling tobacco that didn't have the mark required by law. In her decision, Judge Amy Sakalauskas said officers with the fuel and tobacco unit of Service Nova Scotia filled at least 10 garbage bags with cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products they seized on Oct. 5, 2022, from the store on Millbrook reserve land in Cole Harbour. The sign outside said "Cheap Tobacco," the judge said, and inside cartons of cigarettes were selling for $60, easily half the price of those sold in the legal market. The store, she said, was "pretty loaded with inventory." Googoo, however, was not at the scene when the authorities raided High Grade, and the judge said a crucial part of the case hinged on whether the prosecution could prove he was the owner and operator of the shop, which at the time was housed in a trailer. Proving identity Googoo's lawyer, Jack Lloyd, did not call any defence evidence and Googoo chose not to testify, which meant he was not questioned in court about whether he owned High Grade Trading Post. The prosecution tried to prove he did. One officer testified a man who identified himself as Millbrook councillor Chris Googoo called him the day after the raid and confirmed he owned High Grade. The officer also obtained records from Nova Scotia Power that showed the electricity account for the trailer was under the name Christopher Googoo. Another officer combed Googoo's Facebook page and those of his wife and High Grade. The judge said it was a circumstantial case, one where various pieces of evidence when put together were close to proving that Googoo was the owner of High Grade. But she said it was "an odd investigation" because the officers failed to take the needed extra steps. The names Christopher and Googoo are not uncommon in Nova Scotia, she noted. The photos on the Facebook pages were grainy and poorly reproduced, the judge said, and she couldn't determine if they showed the same man who was sitting in court, even though an officer who served Googoo his court papers testified it was the same person. She said the officer who received the call didn't investigate whether the number on the caller ID was actually associated with Googoo. The records from Nova Scotia Power had only a name, she said.
