Latest news with #InnuNation
CBC
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Qalipu artist the latest to unveil artwork at Confederation Building
Marcus Gosse's work, Unity, was unveiled Wednesday Artwork by Qalipu First Nation artist Marcus Gosse is the latest painting to hang on the walls of Confederation Building, part of a series of pieces from Indigenous artists to decorate Newfoundland and Labrador's legislative home. Gosse revealed his work, a painting titled Mawo'ltimk — Unity — on Thursday. The artwork depicts eight whales swimming around the Mi'kmaq star. He told the crowd gathered at Confederation Building that he hoped to capture the themes seen in his others works: Togetherness, joy, love and support. "This one in particular here is about strength, togetherness, support and unity," Gosse said. "[The star is] a symbol of pride amongst Mi'kmaq people. It not only shows unity amongst all the cultures, but it also shows the eight districts of the Mi'kmaw territory. Which is cool, because the eighth one is actually Newfoundland." Gosse said whales also symbolize peace, compassion and family, and are important as good communicators in the environment. "It goes to show you that, you know, our nations need to be together, communicating, learning about each other together," he told CBC Radio after the announcement. Gosse's work is the fourth of five paintings procured by the province from Indigenous artists selected to decorate the east block of Confederation Building, along with the creation of a statue to honour the Beothuk. Paintings from artists representing the Nunatsiavut government, Innu Nation and Miawpukek First Nation have already been unveiled. Qalipu First Nation Chief Jenny Brake said showcasing the art is important representation of Indigenous peoples. "Art gives us an opportunity to tell a story. A story that is ours to tell as Indigenous people of this place and this unceded land where we live," Brake, an artist herself, said.
CBC
26-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Indigenous leaders remember Pope Francis as someone who 'gave voice to the voiceless'
Natan Obed of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and former Innu Nation Grand Chief Etienne Rich met Francis in 2022 Image | Natan Obed with Pope Francis Caption: Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed and Pope Francis during a welcoming ceremony in Edmonton during a papal visit in 2022. (Adam Scotti/Prime Minister's Office) Pope Francis has left behind a legacy of compassion around the globe — including the far reaches of the Canadian Arctic, says the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president. The pope died on Monday at the age of 88, after being the head of the Catholic Church for 12 years. President Natan Obed first met Francis at an Inuit delegation meeting in Vatican City during the spring of 2022. Toward the end, he says he politely invited the pope to visit the North. It's a moment Obed says he'll always cherish. "He was receiving interpretation throughout the whole meeting," Obed told CBC News. "He listened to the request, and he chuckled and he said in English, 'Yes, but not in winter.'" Months later, Francis honoured Obed's request. Francis visited Iqaluit, Nunavut during his papal visit to Canada in 2022, which was part of a historic six-day "pilgrimage of penance" during which he met with Indigenous people across the country. "During that time, he heard from survivors… he heard very difficult stories," Obed said. Francis also apologized for what he called "evil perpetrated by not a few Catholics" in Canada's residential school system. Former Grand Chief of the Innu Nation Etienne Rich was present when Francis led mass at a stop in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Québec. Rich, along with other Canadian Indigenous leaders, was sitting in the front row as Francis spoke. "It was very tremendously powerful," Rich said in an interview on CBC Radio's Labrador Morning. Rich says the weight of Francis' words was felt by many of the Labrador Innu in attendance that July day. An apology should have come from the Catholic Church a long time ago, Rich says, but he believes a large number of people accepted it. "A lot of those young children who were attending the residential schools, some of them… never went back home," Rich said. "That's one of the [most] powerful things that you could ever do or ever ask — forgiveness," said Rich. Obed says there is still work to be done with the Catholic Church, but Francis' apology "gave voice to the voiceless." "For the Catholic Church to apologize directly to residential school survivors is meaningful," said Obed. There are many leaders who would be whisked away by their handlers in certain situations, but he says Francis never shied away from connecting with people. During a particular meeting in Iqaluit, "Pope Francis showed in that moment and to the people in that room that he was there for them," said Obed. "He would sit with them and feel that pain and that sorrow and that suffering that they felt." When Obed remembers the pontiff, he says he thinks of someone who had wit, "was genuine, empathetic and also gave space and time for anyone" who met him.
CBC
13-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Former MP Peter Penashue doesn't want fear of failure to hold his community back
For more than 30 years, Peter Penashue pushed Ottawa to properly recognize Labrador's Innu Nation. He was there for his community's move from Davis Inlet and went on to become Labrador's first Innu Member of Parliament. For his commitment to community, Penashue has received one of three leadership awards from the Innu Nteimun Music Festival.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Province 'didn't understand who Innu people were,' says inquiry commissioner
The inquiry into Innu children in protection continued this week in Sheshatshiu. (Andrea McGuire/CBC) There was a stronger shift toward hearing from people accountable to children in protection this week at the Inquiry Respecting the Treatment, Experiences and Outcomes of Innu in the Child Protection System, as four individuals responsible for child and family services took the stand. Commissioners and community members heard pre-recorded testimony from Wanda Lundrigan, who worked as an assistant deputy minister in the provincial child protection system; Michelle Shallow, the former provincial director of child protection and in-care; and Jennifer Barnes, the former provincial director of in-care and adoptions. Social worker Lyla Andrew also spoke at the public inquiry, sharing testimony on her decades of experience working with Innu in Sheshatshiu. After formal hearings concluded on Thursday, inquiry commissioner Anastasia Qupee said she was struck by how little the provincial government understood about Innu culture. "I think that people within government had very limited knowledge of Innu people, especially when they said they didn't really know the impact of the intergenerational trauma," Qupee said. Qupee noted that some frontline workers did try to alert government officials about issues with child and family services in Innu communities. On Thursday morning, Innu Nation counsel Benjamin Brookwell questioned Lundrigan, Shallow and Barnes about a 2004 report written by social worker Colleen White, which was shared with the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate, the regional director of Child, Youth and Family Services in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and then Minister of Health Tom Osborne. "Child, Youth and Family Services (CYFS) in Sheshatshiu, N.L., is at present a completely reactionary agency that fails miserably even in its ability to react. This truth needs to be known and change must come," White wrote in 2004, reflecting on her time working in the community. White said the caseloads of social workers in Sheshatshiu more than doubled the provincial average for other communities in 2004. She also said the system "does not support its own mandate to make efforts to intervene early in the lives of children at risk and to even prevent child maltreatment and family breakdown." Brookwell asked the panel whether the provincial government was aware of White's concerns. Shallow, who said she was likely the only panellist working with the department at the time, said she had no recollection of seeing the report. On Monday, social worker Lyla Andrew spoke about a report she wrote in 1992, calling for Innu-led family and children's services. The recommendations of that report, too, made little impression on government, said Andrew. Looking to the future of an Innu-led care system According to commissioner Mike Devine, about 100 Innu have come forward with their stories as part of the inquiry — relaying experiences with residential schools, sexual abuse, forced removal of children, and other traumatic incidents in the child and family services system. Edward Nuna, the healing services lead with the inquiry, is currently studying social work online with a group of about 20 Innu in Sheshatshiu and Natuashish. As a social work student, Nuna said the formal hearings this week were a "good learning opportunity," especially when it comes to learning the history of social services in Innu communities. If the inquiry does lead to Innu taking charge of child protection services, Nuna said he and his classmates will be prepared to work within a new Innu-led system. "I think we'll be ready to help with the development and implementation of the new social programs to help with the community," he said. Nuna said he's already seeing gradual changes in the child and family services system. "You know, I don't think you see as [many] children coming into care now," Nuna said. "Hopefully more children will come home." The next round of formal hearings for the inquiry is slated to take place in Natuashish this July. Commissioners Qupee, Devine, and newly reinstated chair commissioner, James Igloliorte, will spend the next few months investigating the deaths of six children in care. The deadline for the inquiry's final report was extended by the provincial government earlier this year, to Oct. 31, 2026. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
CBC
12-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Province 'didn't understand who Innu people were,' says inquiry commissioner
There was a stronger shift toward hearing from people accountable to children in protection this week at the Inquiry Respecting the Treatment, Experiences and Outcomes of Innu in the Child Protection System, as four individuals responsible for child and family services took the stand. Commissioners and community members heard pre-recorded testimony from Wanda Lundrigan, who worked as an assistant deputy minister in the provincial child protection system; Michelle Shallow, the former provincial director of child protection and in-care; and Jennifer Barnes, the former provincial director of in-care and adoptions. Social worker Lyla Andrew also spoke at the public inquiry, sharing testimony on her decades of experience working with Innu in Sheshatshiu. After formal hearings concluded on Thursday, inquiry commissioner Anastasia Qupee said she was struck by how little the provincial government understood about Innu culture. "I think that people within government had very limited knowledge of Innu people, especially when they said they didn't really know the impact of the intergenerational trauma," Qupee said. Qupee noted that some frontline workers did try to alert government officials about issues with child and family services in Innu communities. On Thursday morning, Innu Nation counsel Benjamin Brookwell questioned Lundrigan, Shallow and Barnes about a 2004 report written by social worker Colleen White, which was shared with the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate, the regional director of Child, Youth and Family Services in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and then Minister of Health Tom Osborne. "Child, Youth and Family Services (CYFS) in Sheshatshiu, N.L., is at present a completely reactionary agency that fails miserably even in its ability to react. This truth needs to be known and change must come," White wrote in 2004, reflecting on her time working in the community. White said the caseloads of social workers in Sheshatshiu more than doubled the provincial average for other communities in 2004. She also said the system "does not support its own mandate to make efforts to intervene early in the lives of children at risk and to even prevent child maltreatment and family breakdown." Brookwell asked the panel whether the provincial government was aware of White's concerns. Shallow, who said she was likely the only panellist working with the department at the time, said she had no recollection of seeing the report. On Monday, social worker Lyla Andrew spoke about a report she wrote in 1992, calling for Innu-led family and children's services. The recommendations of that report, too, made little impression on government, said Andrew. Looking to the future of an Innu-led care system According to commissioner Mike Devine, about 100 Innu have come forward with their stories as part of the inquiry — relaying experiences with residential schools, sexual abuse, forced removal of children, and other traumatic incidents in the child and family services system. Edward Nuna, the healing services lead with the inquiry, is currently studying social work online with a group of about 20 Innu in Sheshatshiu and Natuashish. As a social work student, Nuna said the formal hearings this week were a "good learning opportunity," especially when it comes to learning the history of social services in Innu communities. If the inquiry does lead to Innu taking charge of child protection services, Nuna said he and his classmates will be prepared to work within a new Innu-led system. "I think we'll be ready to help with the development and implementation of the new social programs to help with the community," he said. Nuna said he's already seeing gradual changes in the child and family services system. "You know, I don't think you see as [many] children coming into care now," Nuna said. "Hopefully more children will come home." The next round of formal hearings for the inquiry is slated to take place in Natuashish this July. Commissioners Qupee, Devine, and newly reinstated chair commissioner, James Igloliorte, will spend the next few months investigating the deaths of six children in care. The deadline for the inquiry's final report was extended by the provincial government earlier this year, to Oct. 31, 2026.
