Latest news with #Sheshatshiu
CBC
07-08-2025
- CBC
RCMP orders shelter in place for Sheshatshiu
RCMP in Sheshatshiu have issued a shelter in place order for the community, following reports of a man with a gun. In a news release Thursday afternoon, police say the man is in his early 30s, wearing brown pants and a grey sweater, and is carrying a backpack. The RCMP said all residents should remain inside until further notice.
CBC
24-07-2025
- General
- CBC
'We're the protectors now,' says Sheshatshiu youth after 130-kilometre walk to Gull Island
A group of young Sheshatshiu residents completed a 130-kilometre journey in protest over a proposed hydroelectric project at Gull Island — and one says it's a sign that youth are ready to take on leadership roles to protect the land. Angel Jourdain, Percey Montague and Patrick Jourdain began the long walk earlier this month from Sheshatshui to Gull Island to to join several people who have been protesting Hydro-Québec's preliminary site survey work. Angel Jourdain said land is a place where Innu have gathered for years and said the walk holds a lot of significance for her. "I hope it shows them that we're peaceful, that we love our land but we won't step down when it comes to it, that we'll be here to protest it, if any bad decisions are made upon the land," Jourdain told CBC. "We're the protectors now. Now that most of the elders are gone, we were ready to step in." She said the group, which included Percey Montague and Patrick Jourdain, began their journey on July 13 and arrived in Gull Island on July 20. Jourdain is pleased they did this and she's feeling well, even though she's tired and sore from the long walk. "Emotionally I'm still strong and I'm ready to do whatever is next," she said, adding Montague and Patrick Jourdain are excited for any future challenges. Throughout the week-long walk, community members dropped off drinks to keep them hydrated as well as equipment like walking sticks and even junk food, to help "keep our spirits up." "We had people stop to give us hugs and to talk to us and tell us we're doing great and just giving us words of encouragement," said Jourdain. Innu Elder Elizabeth Penashue also joined the trio for a 12-kilometre portion of their walk, which Jourdain called a "big motivator to keep going." Jourdain said many elders Penashue's age are dying, so "it's really important to hear her say that, and that she trusts us to protect the land and to appreciate it the way they have done for so many years." When the group arrived at Gull Island, she said they were greeted by a crowd, from community leaders to young children. "It's not just the walk, it's an achievement for the youth of Sheshatshiu. Something like this has never been done, so seeing the support from it will definitely encourage others to do more," she said.
CBC
15-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Sheshatshiu youth walk 130KM to protect Gull Island
Several younger residents of Sheshatshui are taking it upon themselves to have their concerns heard over the proposed hydroelectric project at Gull Island. "I want our government to treat the youth like they matter. I want my voice to be heard," Percey Montague, 17, told CBC News on Monday. Montague said he doesn't have faith in leadership to represent his community's concerns, after an agreement in principle was signed between between Hydro-Québec and Innu Nation in late June. On Monday, Montague began walking the 130 kilometres from Sheshatshiu to Gull Island to raise awareness of his concerns and those of his community. Joining him are Angel Jourdain, Patrick Jourdain and Mya Pone. The walk is expected to take just over two days. "My concerns are for the protection of our history and our culture and whatever artifacts may be still out there in the land," Montague said. "If this land gets flooded or developed, we may lose a large part of our history." WATCH | The walk is expected to take around 50 hours to complete: Sheshatshiu youth protesting proposed Gull Island project by walking 130 km to site 3 hours ago Duration 2:16 High temperatures and flies didn't stop four youths from Sheshatshiu from protesting the proposed Gull Island hydroelectric project. They're walking the 130 km road from Sheshatshiu to Gull Island, which was blocked off late last week in a fellow protest. The CBC's Regan Burden reports. The group is walking to join several other members of the community who have been holding up a blockade since Wednesday. The blockade protests Hydro-Québec's preliminary site survey work. The agreement in principle between Hydro-Quebec and Innu Nation can only be finalized once it is presented to and voted on by the community in September. Montague said that if the community voted for its ratification, he wants to see the agreement completely renegotiated. He said he would like to see more Innu ownership of the dam or an annual percentage of power that his community would get free of charge. "I believe that since these projects are taking place on Innu land that we should be getting way more, not just cash," Montague said. In a statement to CBC News on Thursday, Hydro-Québec spokesperson Caroline Des Rosiers said the company is in the process of establishing a "mechanism for dialogue with members of the community," and hopes to do so in collaboration with the leadership of Innu Nation, in keeping with their customary practices. "I call this deal a slap in the face," said Jerome Jack, who has been protesting with the blockade. Jack said the compensation in the agreement does not account for the cultural and environmental damage the development would cause. To Montague, Gull Island is an important place for his family and his community. His mother has a cabin on the island. Every September, hundreds from communities across the region come together for a gathering and quality time on the land and with each other. In the lead up to the community's vote in the fall, Montague said he wants his community to think about the lack of response from the Innu leadership to his calls for concern. "I think this is very disappointing and I think it's really telling of our government's inability to listen to us," he said.
CBC
15-07-2025
- CBC
Sheshatshiu youth protesting proposed Gull Island project by walking 130 km to site
High temperatures and flies didn't stop four youths from Sheshatshiu from protesting the proposed Gull Island hydroelectric project. They're walking the 130 km road from Sheshatshiu to Gull Island, which was blocked off late last week in a fellow protest. The CBC's Regan Burden reports.
CBC
30-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Dream come true: Woman from Sheshatshiu finishes nursing program using inspiration from family
As she graduated from Sheshatshiu Innu School in 2021, Stashin Penashue told the CBC she wanted to go into nursing. Last week that dream came true as she graduated from the College of the North Atlantic's licensed practical nursing program. "This is really important for me and for younger generations," she told CBC News outside of her graduation reception. She said she feels she will be a role model for youth in her community, and she isn't the only one who feels that way. Her father, David Penashue, says he believes she will inspire youth from Sheshatshiu. Like all parents at graduations, David Penashue reflected back on his daughter's younger years. Emotions bubbled to the surface. "It was very amazing for me, you know, it was a very good thing to see her walking on the stage. I remember when she was only just a baby and when she went to head start," he said. "Now she's graduating [to] be a nurse. Getting to her graduation, though, wasn't always easy. But Stashin Penashue says she learned an important lesson to never stop. After deaths in her family, it took her a year longer than she had planned to finish her program. "I had family members pass while I was in my first year, which made it very hard because it didn't just affect me, it affected my home life," she said. "Trying to come to school and learn, when my mind was somewhere else, was really hard." Inspired by great-grandmother The reason for pursuing nursing is because of her great-grandmother's work as a midwife, Stashin Penashue said. "I hope she'd be proud of me, since she missed, now, two of my graduations, and I hope I can keep her legacy alive," she said. "I hope that I can do some of the things that she did." A Sheshatshiu woman is following in her grandmother's footsteps to become a nurse in Labrador 4 days ago Duration 2:47 Four years ago, at her high school graduation, Shtashin Penashue of Sheshatshiu told CBC News she wanted to become a nurse to follow in her grandmother's footsteps. On Thursday, she received her diploma in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and is making it a reality. Stashin Penashue honoured her great-grandmother by putting a photo of her on her graduation hat, worn while walking across the stage during the graduation ceremony. "When I graduated high school, I had her painting [with me] when I was taking my photos, so I thought I would take her on stage with me this time with my cap," she said, adding that she always feels her great-grandmother is with her, that she is never far away. David Penashue said his grandmother would be proud of his daughter. He describes the woman who raised him as a medicine woman, saying that she helped many people in Sheshatshiu. He said he is proud that his daughter will be carrying on that legacy in their family. "I'm proud of my daughter, that she's trying to move forward on that stuff, in [a] different way, you know, in the English way," he said. Stashin Penashue said she hopes that in her career as a nurse she will be able to bring traditional medicine to western medicine, and believes that someone who has an understanding of Innu people will be a huge asset to the health-care system. "I think it could make a huge difference because a lot of people are really closed off by a lot of different viewpoints, and I think it would help to have somebody who has lived here and they know how people are and like what customs they have," she said. "I think it's really important. It can make people way more comfortable to get regular health care." She plans to someday return to Sheshatshiu to work there as a nurse, but first she wants to pursue a nursing degree.
