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.
Premier Christy Clark faced a barrage of complaints for choosing June 21 to celebrate International Yoga Day in B.C., with a plan to close the Burrard Street Bridge in Vancouver for seven hours at a cost of $150,000. Called Om The Bridge, the goal was to hold the largest yoga event outside India. But it wasn’t just the money that bothered people. As the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was…
Responding to the "calls to action" in the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the B.C. government has “strongly reaffirmed its commitment to advance the process of reconciliation with Aboriginal people.” A press release June 16 from Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister John Rustad said reconciliation was never going to be an easy journey… “But our commitment…
Joye Walkus wore a 300-year-old blanket belonging to her late grandfather Henry Abel Bell to her convocation ceremony at the University of Victoria. The First Nations graduate earned a specialized degree in Aboriginal language revitalization. “I want[ed] my grandfather’s memory, spirit, him, to be there ... and this blanket was the biggest representation that I could think of,” Walkus told CBC…
A former staffer in B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation alleges that the ministry deleted more than a dozen emails concerning meetings regarding the Highway of Tears, located between Prince Rupert and Prince George, a place where as many as 30 women have gone missing or have been murdered. Former executive assistant Tim Duncan said he was told to delete emails requested under the Freedom of…
The B.C. First Nations Energy and Mining Council released a report June 3 saying mining companies should put dollars toward an emergency fund that would cover the damages caused by disasters like the catastrophic failure of the Mount Polley tailings pond in summer of 2014. The report says that more than 230 communities, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, live nearby the threat of mining…
Vancouver Island University was honored in April for establishing the Youth in Care Tuition Waiver Program, the first of its kind in B.C. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, BC’s Representative for Children and Youth, made a special presentation to Dr. Ralph Nilson, VIU president, during a two-day conference in Nanaimo.
“The reason we’re doing this recognition is because Dr. Nilson and Vancouver…
The company that raises salmon on land celebrated its first year in business with the harvest of its 180,000th kilo of fish. A year ago KUTERRA, owned 100 per cent by the ‘Namgis First Nation and located in the Nimpkish Valley near Port McNeill, B.C., presented its first fish for sale to its exclusive western Canadian retailer, Safeway. Since that time, Safeway sales have expanded eastward to…
The Penticton Indian Band Development Corporation is the winner of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business’Aboriginal Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) Award for 2015. The Penticton Indian Band Development Corporation is the principal economic development, marketing and promotional organization for the Penticton Indian Band. It pursues business joint ventures and investment…
The Saik’uz First Nation and Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. have announced the signing of an agreement to jointly develop a wind energy project at Nulki Hills near Vanderhoof, B.C.
In a 50-50 partnership they will develop up to 210 MW of clean renewable power. The project is currently undergoing a BC Environmental Assessment. The partners have agreed to work together to obtain an…
Plateau Pipe Line Ltd. has applied to the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office to waive the environmental assessment certificate on a 160-kilometre pipeline that would carry condensate and natural gas liquids to a terminal in Taylor. If it proves the pipeline “will not have significant adverse environmental, economic, social, heritage or health effects,” or that those effects can be minimized…
The Heiltsuk First Nation Stood together in April to protect the herring stocks in their territory by occupying the offices of Fisheries and Oceans Canada until a planned gillnet fishery was canceled.
The Assembly of First Nations commended the Heiltsuk for their commitment to a peaceful and cooperative resolution of issues related to their traditional fishery. “I want to lift up the…
A team of scientists with Simon Fraser University has discovered that ancient coastal Indigenous people were more than hunter-gatherers. Archaeologist Dana Leprofsky and 10 collaborators have discovered that Northwest Coast Indigenous people didn’t only make their living just by gathering the ocean’s bounty. Rather, from Alaska to Washington, they cultivated productive clam gardens to ensure…
The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) and Sodexo Canada announced that Penticton Indian Band Development Corporation is the winner of the CCAB Aboriginal Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) Award for 2015. Penticton Indian Band Reserve is the largest reserve in the British Columbia. The Penticton Indian Band Development Corporation (PIBDC) is a for-profit corporation owned…
The Tsilhqot'in Nation has enacted its first Tsilhqot’in law, setting out the rules for how the Tsilhqot’in Nation will govern lands and manage access to the area and its resources. This falls on the heels of the first declaration of Aboriginal title in Canadian history.
On June 26, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada granted Aboriginal title to the Tsilhqot’in Nation in the area of the…
The province is under fire for reneging on an agreement to appoint former Liberal cabinet minister George Abbott as chief of the B.C. Treaty Commission. After months of negotiating with First Nations groups, the B.C. cabinet decided at the 11th hour to nix the appointment, after Abbott had already begun the transition to his new job, which was to begin April 1.
The First Nations Summit…