Welcome to AMMSA.COM, the news archive website for our family of Indigenous news publications.
The Federation of
Saskatchewan Indian Nations has delayed its decision to deal with funding of
the organization. The issue was debated and a number of options put forward at
the Winter Legislative Assembly, but a decision put off. FSIN has experienced
nearly $2 million in funding cuts in the past two years. Among the options
discussed were to use contributions…
The banning of a hoodie worn to school by a 13-year-old First Nations girl has resulted in a Day of Action to take place Jan. 28 organized by Idle No More and Defenders of the Land. Grade 8 student Tenelle Starr, a 13-year-old in Balcarres, wore a hoodie to school with the words, “Got Land?” on the front and “Thank an Indian” on the back. School officials initially asked her to remove her…
The First Nations University of Canada has been recognized nationally by Actua with the “Making Friends with Science” award. FNUniv’s Health and Science Camp was singled out by Actua, a national charitable organisation that is focused on engaging youth who are typically underrepresented and underserved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. For the past 16 years, FNUniv has…
A team of auditors from Deloitte and Touche is examining claims made against the chief and council of the Big Island Lake Cree Nation that they used government money meant for social assistance to buy themselves vehicles, horses and trailers. No charges have been laid and none of the allegations has been proven in court. The audit work is ongoing, covering the period April 2009 to March 2012.…
Ryan Dalton Kelly Bear of the Dakota Whitecap First Nation has been
sentenced to nine years in prison. Bear was convicted of stabbing
retired RCMP officer Robert Laidlaw at a landing development north of
Outlook in May 2012. Laidlaw had stopped to see if Bear needed help with
a flat tire and started asking questions when he suspected Bear’s
vehicle may have been…
A fire claiming the life of two boys on the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation has renewed calls for better firefighting services. The boys, nine and 10, were killed in the morning of Jan. 18 when a fire broke out in the home of relatives in Pelican Narrows. The homeowners’ 10-year-old daughter suffered second- and third-degree burns and was taken to a Winnipeg hospital for treatment. Three people…
The determination of what led to the deaths of twin baby boys from Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation cannot be made until results of a toxicology test, a microscopic examination, microbiology cultures and a neuropathology have been received by the coroner’s office. Autopsies were conducted in Saskatoon. The seven-month-old brothers were taken by ambulance on Dec. 9, 2013 to a health centre in…
Though thousands of athletes will be converging in his city soon for a multi-sport competition that he is spearheading, Mel Mercredi has a rather cool demeanour these days.
Mercredi is the manager of the Saskatchewan First Nations Winter Games, to be held in Prince Albert Apro; 20 to 25. About 4,000 athletes and support staff (coaches, managers, trainers) will participate. Competitors…
The four Saskatchewan women who brought the protest movement back to the grassroots through Idle No More have been recognized by an American magazine as part of its “Top 100 Global Thinkers.”
Foreign Policy’s annual list acknowledges Jessica Gordon, Sylvia McAdam, Sheelah McLean, and Nina Wilson “for demanding that Canada not leave its First Nations behind.”
Foreign Policy’s “The…
The FIrst Nations Power Authority of Saskatchewan Inc. has received $300,000 from Western Economic Diversification to develop, demonstrate and commercialize innovative and economically viable off-grid, renewable power generation. Federal funding will be used to purchase equipment for small-scale demonstration projects, including solar photovoltaic technology, waste heat recovery,…
The University of Saskatchewan’s Indigenous Students’ Council is upset about the university’s Vision 2025: From Spirit to Action report. They say the seven-page document lacks input from First Nation students. Members of the Aboriginal student population recently met with U of S President Ilene Bush-Vishniac to address plans to amalgamate Aboriginal degree programs into the mainstream…
The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations is exploring the best options for day scholars in regard to class actions as the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement does not include or compensate day scholars. FSIN currently has collected the names of more than 5,000 day scholars in a database to ensure that they are kept informed of options available to them in pursuing…
The Muskowekwan First Nation is in talks to sell potash to the government of India. The First Nation sits on 25,000 hectares of land where mines are already being operated by fertilizer producers. Owning the land could make it easier for the First Nation to build the mine and give them an advantage over other entrepreneurs hoping to get into the fertilizer business as demand increases from…
Ricky Jonathan Ross, 27, was arrested and charged with first degree murder and offering an indignity to a body in the death of Jodi Clarissa Roberts, 24. Roberts, a mother of two, had been reported missing on Nov. 6. Her body was discovered Nov. 27 near Sucker River, approximately 30 kilometres north of La Ronge. Sucker River had been the focus of the search as glass and a piece of…
(From left) Parkland College Business and Training Representative Ed Hourd looks on as Keeseekoose First Nation Chief Leonard Keshane and Parkland College Director of Training and Business Development Michael Cameron sign a Memorandum of Understanding that builds on the college’s commitment to partnering with First Nations in East Central Saskatchewan. The five-year MOU lays out terms and…