Latest news with #Indigenouscommunities
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Indigenous communities plead for action at plastic pollution talks
Indigenous communities from North America are at talks on a global treaty on plastic pollution in Geneva, pleading the case for the environment they depend upon, which is slowly being choked by microplastics. In the grounds of the United Nations headquarters, overlooking Lake Geneva and the Alps beyond, a chant suddenly drifted through the humid summer air: a "water song". Standing barefoot in a circle, six women and a young man from multiple North American Indigenous communities decided to do a spontaneous purification ritual. A melancholic second chant follows, dedicated to the well-being "until the seventh generation" of "all the delegates" from the 184 countries attempting to thrash out what would be the first international treaty on tackling the worldwide ever-growing scourge of plastic pollution. The UN-hosted talks, which began last Tuesday, resume on Monday for four more days, with oil-producing states and the so-called ambitious group of nations still far apart on what the treaty should encompass. The young man in the middle of the circle, wearing a hat with two feathers attached, hands each of the six women a bowl containing burning seal fat and plant powders. With both hands, Suzanne Smoke, from the Williams Treaties First Nations in Ontario, Canada, moved as if to catch the rising smoke, rubbing it on her face and body. - 'We carry knowledge' - Panganga Pungowiyi, an activist with the Indigenous Environmental Network, was also in the circle. She comes from Alaska, near the Bering Strait. She is asking negotiators to craft a plastic pollution treaty that ensures justice, particularly for the most vulnerable communities, she told AFP. "We carry knowledge; it's our responsibility -- our duty -- to share the information given to us by the ecosystems," Pungowiyi said, explaining her presence at the talks. Alaska is affected by toxic chemicals, some of which come from plastic or from oil exploration. "Toxic products travel to the north, through ocean currents and air currents," she said. Henri Bourgeois Costa, an environmental and plastic pollution expert at the Tara Ocean Foundation, explained Alaska's predicament. "Given the functioning of the major ecosystem cycles, Alaskan populations are already the most affected by mercury and PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) pollution -- industrial heavy metals now banned in developed countries -- even though Alaska doesn't use them," he told AFP. The currents, which brought plenty of nutrients and schools of fish to the northwestern US state's residents, are now also bringing vast quantities of microplastics, he said. - Car tyres and salmon - A 2020 study from Washington State University demonstrated that a chemical additive used in the manufacture of car tyres, 6PPD, had "deleterious effects on the reproduction of salmon", one of the most widespread fish in Alaska, Bourgeois Costa said. A compound derived from 6PPD -- a preservative used to slow tyre degradation -- comes off the rubber onto the roads, and gets into the water cycle, the study showed. "No more fish -- no more seals: no more food," Pungowiyi said. People can see the diseases suffered by birds and mammals in the surrounding environment, which ultimately go on to affect their own children, she said. "We are exposed through food, water and forages, because we forage for our food," said Pungowiyi. - 'If animals die, we die' - Aakaluk Adrienne Blatchford, an activist from a small Alaskan village, who came to the Geneva talks with financial support from an association, put it bluntly: "If animals die, we die." She spoke at a conference staged on the sidelines of the negotiations, which are struggling to find a consensus that would stop the amount of plastic pollution from growing. "We rely on unhealthy products," Blatchford said, adding: "It's becoming harder and harder to maintain our food security." And "there is no alternative", she added, with prices as high as "$76 for an imported frozen chicken" at the supermarket. This is a trap for economically fragile populations living in "a symbiotic relationship with the world", she said. "We need a collective decision on how to handle this crisis," she insisted, hoping that the treaty will include a list of banned chemical additives. The plastics treaty talks are being held inside the UN's Palais des Nations complex. During the ritual, held beneath a tree in the grounds outside, Blatchford stood with her eyes closed, tears rolling down her face. im/abb/def/rjm/sbk Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Indigenous communities plead for action at plastic pollution talks
Indigenous communities from North America are at talks on a global treaty on plastic pollution in Geneva, pleading the case for the environment they depend upon, which is slowly being choked by microplastics. In the grounds of the United Nations headquarters, overlooking Lake Geneva and the Alps beyond, a chant suddenly drifted through the humid summer air: a "water song". Standing barefoot in a circle, six women and a young man from multiple North American Indigenous communities decided to do a spontaneous purification ritual. A melancholic second chant follows, dedicated to the well-being "until the seventh generation" of "all the delegates" from the 184 countries attempting to thrash out what would be the first international treaty on tackling the worldwide ever-growing scourge of plastic pollution. The UN-hosted talks, which began last Tuesday, resume on Monday for four more days, with oil-producing states and the so-called ambitious group of nations still far apart on what the treaty should encompass. The young man in the middle of the circle, wearing a hat with two feathers attached, hands each of the six women a bowl containing burning seal fat and plant powders. With both hands, Suzanne Smoke, from the Williams Treaties First Nations in Ontario, Canada, moved as if to catch the rising smoke, rubbing it on her face and body. - 'We carry knowledge' - Panganga Pungowiyi, an activist with the Indigenous Environmental Network, was also in the circle. She comes from Alaska, near the Bering Strait. She is asking negotiators to craft a plastic pollution treaty that ensures justice, particularly for the most vulnerable communities, she told AFP. "We carry knowledge; it's our responsibility -- our duty -- to share the information given to us by the ecosystems," Pungowiyi said, explaining her presence at the talks. Alaska is affected by toxic chemicals, some of which come from plastic or from oil exploration. "Toxic products travel to the north, through ocean currents and air currents," she said. Henri Bourgeois Costa, an environmental and plastic pollution expert at the Tara Ocean Foundation, explained Alaska's predicament. "Given the functioning of the major ecosystem cycles, Alaskan populations are already the most affected by mercury and PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) pollution -- industrial heavy metals now banned in developed countries -- even though Alaska doesn't use them," he told AFP. The currents, which brought plenty of nutrients and schools of fish to the northwestern US state's residents, are now also bringing vast quantities of microplastics, he said. - Car tyres and salmon - A 2020 study from Washington State University demonstrated that a chemical additive used in the manufacture of car tyres, 6PPD, had "deleterious effects on the reproduction of salmon", one of the most widespread fish in Alaska, Bourgeois Costa said. A compound derived from 6PPD -- a preservative used to slow tyre degradation -- comes off the rubber onto the roads, and gets into the water cycle, the study showed. "No more fish -- no more seals: no more food," Pungowiyi said. People can see the diseases suffered by birds and mammals in the surrounding environment, which ultimately go on to affect their own children, she said. "We are exposed through food, water and forages, because we forage for our food," said Pungowiyi. - 'If animals die, we die' - Aakaluk Adrienne Blatchford, an activist from a small Alaskan village, who came to the Geneva talks with financial support from an association, put it bluntly: "If animals die, we die." She spoke at a conference staged on the sidelines of the negotiations, which are struggling to find a consensus that would stop the amount of plastic pollution from growing. "We rely on unhealthy products," Blatchford said, adding: "It's becoming harder and harder to maintain our food security." And "there is no alternative", she added, with prices as high as "$76 for an imported frozen chicken" at the supermarket. This is a trap for economically fragile populations living in "a symbiotic relationship with the world", she said. "We need a collective decision on how to handle this crisis," she insisted, hoping that the treaty will include a list of banned chemical additives. The plastics treaty talks are being held inside the UN's Palais des Nations complex. During the ritual, held beneath a tree in the grounds outside, Blatchford stood with her eyes closed, tears rolling down her face. im/abb/def/rjm/sbk
France 24
a day ago
- General
- France 24
Indigenous communities plead for action at plastic pollution talks
In the grounds of the United Nations headquarters, overlooking Lake Geneva and the Alps beyond, a chant suddenly drifted through the humid summer air: a "water song". Standing barefoot in a circle, six women and a young man from multiple North American Indigenous communities decided to do a spontaneous purification ritual. A melancholic second chant follows, dedicated to the well-being "until the seventh generation" of "all the delegates" from the 184 countries attempting to thrash out what would be the first international treaty on tackling the worldwide ever-growing scourge of plastic pollution. The UN-hosted talks, which began last Tuesday, resume on Monday for four more days, with oil-producing states and the so-called ambitious group of nations still far apart on what the treaty should encompass. The young man in the middle of the circle, wearing a hat with two feathers attached, hands each of the six women a bowl containing burning seal fat and plant powders. With both hands, Suzanne Smoke, from the Williams Treaties First Nations in Ontario, Canada, moved as if to catch the rising smoke, rubbing it on her face and body. 'We carry knowledge' Panganga Pungowiyi, an activist with the Indigenous Environmental Network, was also in the circle. She comes from Alaska, near the Bering Strait. She is asking negotiators to craft a plastic pollution treaty that ensures justice, particularly for the most vulnerable communities, she told AFP. "We carry knowledge; it's our responsibility -- our duty -- to share the information given to us by the ecosystems," Pungowiyi said, explaining her presence at the talks. Alaska is affected by toxic chemicals, some of which come from plastic or from oil exploration. "Toxic products travel to the north, through ocean currents and air currents," she said. Henri Bourgeois Costa, an environmental and plastic pollution expert at the Tara Ocean Foundation, explained Alaska's predicament. "Given the functioning of the major ecosystem cycles, Alaskan populations are already the most affected by mercury and PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) pollution -- industrial heavy metals now banned in developed countries -- even though Alaska doesn't use them," he told AFP. The currents, which brought plenty of nutrients and schools of fish to the northwestern US state's residents, are now also bringing vast quantities of microplastics, he said. Car tyres and salmon A 2020 study from Washington State University demonstrated that a chemical additive used in the manufacture of car tyres, 6PPD, had "deleterious effects on the reproduction of salmon", one of the most widespread fish in Alaska, Bourgeois Costa said. A compound derived from 6PPD -- a preservative used to slow tyre degradation -- comes off the rubber onto the roads, and gets into the water cycle, the study showed. "No more fish -- no more seals: no more food," Pungowiyi said. People can see the diseases suffered by birds and mammals in the surrounding environment, which ultimately go on to affect their own children, she said. "We are exposed through food, water and forages, because we forage for our food," said Pungowiyi. 'If animals die, we die' Aakaluk Adrienne Blatchford, an activist from a small Alaskan village, who came to the Geneva talks with financial support from an association, put it bluntly: "If animals die, we die." She spoke at a conference staged on the sidelines of the negotiations, which are struggling to find a consensus that would stop the amount of plastic pollution from growing. "We rely on unhealthy products," Blatchford said, adding: "It's becoming harder and harder to maintain our food security." And "there is no alternative", she added, with prices as high as "$76 for an imported frozen chicken" at the supermarket. This is a trap for economically fragile populations living in "a symbiotic relationship with the world", she said. "We need a collective decision on how to handle this crisis," she insisted, hoping that the treaty will include a list of banned chemical additives. The plastics treaty talks are being held inside the UN's Palais des Nations complex. During the ritual, held beneath a tree in the grounds outside, Blatchford stood with her eyes closed, tears rolling down her face.
CBC
5 days ago
- General
- CBC
Transitional housing for Indigenous families in Edmonton to open in October
More transitional housing is coming to Edmonton this fall to assist families moving from Indigenous communities into the city. Buffalo Keeper NehiYaw Centre, a charity that offers programs and resources like housing and cultural education, is preparing six units for tenants to occupy starting in October. "We already have a family waiting to move in," said Brad Seneca, co-founder of Buffalo Keeper. Seneca, who is Anishinaabe from Chippewas of the Thames First Nation in southwestern Ontario, said the units are geared toward families — particularly those who are coming from Indigenous communities where finding housing may also be an issue. He said the family currently waiting for approval to move in from the organization's board of directors includes a mother and two teens who arrived in the city from a First Nation. "If they can't find what they're looking for right away, they usually end up [in bad places] and then they just get lost," Seneca said of people who move to the city from Indigenous communities. According to a 2023 City of Edmonton report, Indigenous people make up about five per cent of the city's population, but anywhere from 55 to 65 per cent of the homeless population. Buffalo Keeper aims to address that by offering cultural support and employment services along with housing to help people transition to stable lives in the city, Seneca said. The new building, called Seneca One, will have three two-bedroom apartments and three one-bedroom apartments. Residents can stay for two years and receive employment services as well as cultural support from elders. The project was funded by the federal government through the National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Inc. Residents will also be visited by elders weekly and have access to ceremony and cultural activities, Seneca said. No smoking or drinking will be allowed on the premises. "We want to look at helping them to regain their way of life and what it's all about because many of these people, when you talk to them, that's what they want," he said. More housing options to come Once the new residents have settled in, Seneca says they plan to develop more apartments for women coming out of prison. They hope to have it running by 2026. That's in line with Buffalo Keeper's origins. It began in 2018 with the goal of supporting Indigenous men coming out of prison by getting them in transitional housing called Myra House. One of Myra House's recent graduates, Rick Tremblay, has been hired to work as a caretaker at the new Seneca One building. Tremblay said while he was at Myra House he was encouraged to follow traditional practices which helped him. "Most of these people, they lost their ways, including myself," said Tremblay, who is Dene from Fort Chipewyan, Alta. Having direct access to cultural support also helps people deal with loneliness and the negativity of isolation, he added.
CBC
21-07-2025
- General
- CBC
Indigenous communities face higher death rates from fires and lack of data leaves them vulnerable, says group
A report by the National Research Council of Canada (NRCC) confirms what many Indigenous communities have long known: the rate of death for house fires in Indigenous communities is higher than in non-Indigenous communities. The report, commissioned by the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council (NIFSC) and published earlier this month, found the rate of death was around 5 times higher for Indigenous communities. It drew data from the National Fire Information Database between 2005-2021, aiming to show the scope of fire risks in Indigenous communities and identify gaps in data collection. Arnold Lazare, Interim CEO of the NIFSC, said the findings validate decades of experiences from Indigenous communities. "For the last 30 years we've been tracking the anecdotal information and we knew that the death rate and injury rate was much higher on reserves than in mainstream," said Lazare, who is from Kahnawà:ke, just south of Montreal. "When we say it, people don't believe us." One of the biggest challenges, according to the report, is a lack of data which is a result of a lack of uniformity in reporting standards and jurisdictional regulations on required reporting of fire information. "A problem identified is half solved, right?" said Lazare. "There's a lack of data and that opens the situation up to interpretation and when you go to interpretation, things can get fuzzy." The federal government stopped collecting fire incident data in First Nations communities in 2010 in an effort to "reduce the reporting burden" on First Nations communities. A 2021 report from StatsCanada shows Inuit are 17 times more likely to die in fires than non-Indigenous people, where First Nations are roughly five times more likely to die and Métis people are twice as likely to die. Michelle Vandevord, a Cree woman from Muskoday First Nation in Saskatchewan is the first woman to serve as captain of the community's volunteer fire department and has 26 years experience as a firefighter and serves as the director of the Saskatchewan First Nation Emergency Management. "Being a firefighter on reserve and supporting the regional organization, we knew those numbers were going to be high," said Vandevord. Her community has had fire services for over 40 years, although she said she recognizes many other First Nations communities don't have on-reserve fire organizations and rely on outside help. "When there's a fire death on reserve, then all of a sudden there's all this attention for the community and what can we do to help…" said Vandevord. "'What can we do to support?' and that help should have come years earlier." She encourages communities to use data — including from Stats Canada and the NRCC — to apply for funding for fire prevention and services. "Nine times out of 10, when there is money for fire services on reserve, it's proposal driven," she said. But Vandevord said a lot of times these volunteer fire chiefs are just that: volunteers, working off the side of their desk while holding other titles, leaving little time for writing proposals. Lazare is hopeful to see more data being published but notes it's not a one-size-fits-all solution. He said that the funding available for fire prevention needs to be used in tailored approaches based on individual community needs. He also hopes that Indigenous communities report their fires using their National Incident Reporting System, and for communities to track and pinpoint fire trends and use that information to tailor to their fire prevention programs. "If we can get the communities funded to the programs that they need, then things will change," Lazare said. Lazare said Indigenous communities can reach out to the NIFSC for support. The organization offers fire department assessments, fire prevention program development and support for building fire safety programming. The NIFSC is set to meet with the Assembly of First Nations in September, where they hope the report will inform a renewed mandate and a new direction for fire safety efforts across Indigenous communities.
