Welcome to AMMSA.COM, the news archive website for our family of Indigenous news publications.
Launched in 1997. A news publication specifically designed for the Indigenous people of British Columbia and Yukon.
Victoria Gold Corp. and the NaCho Nyak Dun First Nation of Yukon territory have signed a Letter of Intent for the purposes of staking NaCho Nyak Dun land adjacent to the corporation’s Dublin Gulch Project, nearly doubling the land package within NaCho Nyak Dun traditional territory. Victoria has staked 1,443 claims on two parcels of NaCho Nyak Dun land adjacent to and to the west and south of…
The family of Angeline Pete, a 29-year-old woman who disappeared from Vancouver in May 2011, says police aren’t trying hard enough to find their loved one.
The young mother of a seven-year-old fled to the Downtown Eastside after suffering terrible domestic abuse. Grandmother Eileen Nelson said she spoke with Angeline every day, and sometimes several times a day until her disappearance.…
Chief Shane Gottfriedson of the Tk’emlups Indian Band calls the proposed First Nations Transparency Act, Bill C-27, paternalistic and regressive. He said his band is open and responsible to it members, for example, with the band’s audited financial statements provided to each reserve household and financial and audit results posted on the band’s Web site. “The public needs to understand that…
Six First Nations students at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus have received grants from the Irving K. Barber British Columbia Scholarship Society.
Amanda Neufeld from Lumby, Larissa Laderoute from Sicamous, Meagan Carrier from West Kelowna, Rhea Hewitt from Savona, Starleigh Grass from Westbank and Taryn Schroeder from Vernon were among 117 B.C. Aboriginal students…
Chiefs from nine southern Vancouver Island First Nations and the province signed a Child and Family Wellness accord in the B.C. legislature Dec. 15 that will help improve child welfare services. “This accord is not just a document,” Premier Christy Clark said. “It is a commitment to healthy communities by building healthy families.” The accord will give Aboriginal people a say in shaping a…
A request from elderly residential school survivors who cannot travel to the national truth-telling event scheduled for mainland BC in September 2013 has prompted the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to take the truth gathering process to Vancouver Island.
“This particular event is being held … because there is a special geographical focus here that … the people on the Island…
A protocol agreement was signed between the province and an organization representing coastal First Nations on Vancouver Island, and deals with forestry, tourism and clean energy concerns. But while some leaders are applauding the agreement, one chief is considering legal action against British Columbia for its lack of consultation in the negotiation process.
Aboriginal Relations and…
Members of the Gitxan First Nation, disappointed in their band’s cooperation in an oil pipeline deal, have been protesting outside the community treaty office in Hazelton since Dec. 5.
Protesters are demanding reform of the Gitxan Treaty Society constitution to include meaningful community consultation on such initiatives. Further they say they are saddened that the society members have…
Off-reserve people want more than just fancy promises in a Throne Speech.They want the BC Liberal government to step up and take action. The BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres is leading the charge to move a commitment from government for an off-reserve Aboriginal Action Plan off the page and make it a reality to improve conditions for 70 per cent of the provincial Aboriginal…
A news report that stated the Coastal First Nations that oppose Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Project would be willing to take another look at the development is incorrect, said Executive Director Art Sterritt. “We unequivocally maintain our ban on oil tankers on the coast,” he said. Sterritt insists it was Enbridge that spoke of wanting a fresh start with Coastal First Nations.
Sterritt…
Chief Justin George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation has announced his government’s opposition to the expansion of the Kinder Morgan crude oil handling facility proposed for Burrard Inlet. The opposition is based on the assessment of the future risks associated with the project. “Today we are going public regarding current impacts and risks associated with Chevron Canada’s activities and their…
The West Moberly First Nation says Premier Christy Clark is on the attack against them. Her expressed political support of the Gething Coal Mine Project, slated for operation within the spiritual heartland of West Moberly’s traditional territory, is reprehensible. West Moberly Chief Roland Willson said the community had struck an agreement with mine owners that they would not go forward with…
Central British Columbia is turning up the heat on the mining industry as the Tsilhqot’in Nation heads to court against Taseko Mines, which has faced protesters at a proposed mine site.
Despite having its controversial Prosperity Mine blocked by the federal government during a review of the initiative, Taseko is challenging that decision in court, and in a separate case, is seeking an…
A First Nation fishing community on the North Coast of British Columbia is deeply disappointed after the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed its case last month, upholding a lower court ruling that the group has no constitutional right to conduct an all-species commercial fishery within their territory.
The Nov. 10 decision upheld the 2008 ruling of the BC Supreme Court.
The high…
Claims that Canada has violated the Hul’qumi’num people’s human rights by not engaging in fair and just treaty negotiations were presented before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Oct. 28 at its headquarters in Washington, DC.
The hearing, based on the merits of the Hul’qumi’num land claim, was significant because it is the first time the Inter-American Commission on…