Ontario Birchbark

The Chief Coroner of Ontario will be conducting a joint inquest into the deaths of seven teenagers who left their remote communities in Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) territory to attend secondary school in Thunder Bay.

Terry Waboose, deputy grand chief for NAN, is pleased that the coroner has responded favorably to NAN’s request to broaden the scope of the inquiry to include all the…

University of Toronto officials no longer have to wonder about what to do with the glassed-in area in the lobby of their Anthropology Building.

That’s because a 540-foot square room in the lobby now houses a permanent exhibit called Uncovering Our Past: First Nations in Toronto.

The exhibit had its official opening on May 11. The free exhibit is open to members of the public.…

Summer is hitting Northwestern Ontario early this year, and tempers have started to heat up and boil over in response to the latest mining project proposal in the Ring of Fire area.

The Cleveland-based mining company Cliffs Natural Resources (CNR) announced a $3.3 billion investment to build a chromite mine and transportation corridor about 540 km northeast of Thunder Bay. As part of…

Wayne Pamajewon is unhappy right now with his community’s custom election and Elders tribunal processes.

Upon the recommendation of its Elders tribunal, Shawanaga First Nation held a by-election for chief earlier this year. Pamajewon participated in the Elders tribunal last fall when they recommended an election, not just for chief, however, but for council as well, after learning about…

“Over reaction” followed by the federal government’s refusal to meet with chief and council has forced Attawapiskat First Nation to continue with court action it initiated in January.

“What was done to us was the wrong way of recognizing our kind of emergency,” said Chief Theresa Spence.

In November, the federal government relieved Spence and council of their duties, appointing…

Talon Thunder White-Eye is a very determined 14 year old boy who was born on Dec. 2, 1997. He now lives in Sarnia, but is originally from the Aamjiwnaang First Nation.

Talon has been winning traditional dance competitions
since he was a baby, and dancing the Northern Traditional style since he could walk at the age of two.

In fact, Talon went undefeated in his last year of…

The temperature dropped to just one degree on the morning of Feb. 14, with fine snow falling on people gathered to take part in the March for Missing and Murdered Women in Toronto.

Police pressed the crowd back as it swelled and spilled over the sidewalk as the group rallied outside of police headquarters at 40 College Street. It was a peaceful and calm crowd who stood together to…

Walpole Island First Nation said goodbye to beloved Elder Harold “Skeezix” Peters on Jan. 19. Skeezix had long been an advocate for Walpole Island, often standing up to protect the sensitive ecosystem that surrounded the island or standing up against Elder abuse.

The funeral took place on Jan. 22 at the Walpole Island Sports Complex. More than 500 family and friends arrived to pay their…

Iskatewizaagegan Independent First Nation in Ontario is working to protect it inherent and treaty rights in the Shoal Lake watershed area of their territory.

Chief Eli Mandamin sent letters to two companies conducting business within the watershed that have significant impacts on the Nation’s inherent and treaty rights, as well as long-term implication for the environmental health of…

Dan Howlett, director of Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, and Andy Dabydeen, Canadian Tire Product Stewardship Manager, prepare supplies to be sent to the the James Bay area, including the Attawapiskat and Kashechewan First Nation communities. Canadian Tire Jumpstart has been working with these communities for the past year and is stepping up their relief efforts by donating 600 pairs of…

Métis National Council President Clement Chartier was keynote speaker at the Métis Nation Constitution Workshop held Dec. 11 and 12 in Ottawa.

The workshop came as the Supreme Court of Canada was to hear a land claim launched by the Manitoba Métis Federation dating back to the Métis resistance of the late 1800s.

“A victory by the MMF will set the stage for the negotiation of a…

The sound of the drum echoed through the downtown core of Toronto on Oct. 27. It was the day before an appeal of the class action certification of Brown and Commanda vs. Canada would be heard before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Native Child and Family Services hosted an information session about the case, which has the potential to impact 16,000 Aboriginal people in Ontario…

Erin Joseph Bear Robe has raised the bar on time-honoured First Nations cooking in his recently opened restaurant Keriwa Café located at 1690 Queen Street West in Toronto. And it has been a straight path of hard work from his Siksika reserve to becoming a high-end chef.

It was a part-time job in the River Café, an upscale Calgary restaurant, during his time at university that he…

The family of Reggie Bushie is no closer to finding the answers surrounding his death. Police recovered the body of the Poplar First Nation youth from the McIntyre River in Thunder Bay on Nov. 1, 2007. He had been attending Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School when he died.

Reggie’s death was the fifth such death in the northwestern Ontario city. Two more teens have died of similar…

Reverend Larry Kroker was named an honorary chief on Aug. 6 by the northwestern Ontario community of Fort William First Nation.

The event coincided with the 40th anniversary of Kroker’s ordination, the day upon which he became a priest.

It’s not a common event to hear of a priest being named an honorary chief. Thousands of First Nation citizens throughout the country continue to…