Chiefs from the Robinson-Huron Treaty territory, acting on behalf of 30,000 beneficiaries of the 1850 Robinson-Huron Treaty, filed a Statement of Claim Sept. 9 naming Canada and Ontario in the longstanding failure of the Crown to raise annuities as agreed under the Treaty. “Our people have exhausted their patience waiting for the Crown to act honourably, they want their fair share and they want the Crown to honour its promises,” said spokesman Chief Dean Sayers.  He said the Robinson-Huron Treaty “anticipates and provides economic benefits for us in perpetuity.

Nearly half of the 133 First Nations in Ontario currently have boil water advisories, and it has been more than 10 years since 10 First Nations in northwestern Ontario had clean drinking water. In an email response to a CBC interview, a spokesperson for Health Canada said, in part, “In addition to the measures regarding water quality sampling, monitoring and surveillance programs...

The Indigenous Line Crew Ground Support graduates were honoured in a ceremony Sept. 12, after completing 15 weeks of training through the Wabnode Centre for Aboriginal Services and Cambrian College. Eighty per cent of the graduates have secured employment.

TD Bank of Canada has provided a gift of $500,000 to the University of Saskatchewan for the Indigenous Land Management Institute in support of education, scholarships and research in the area of Indigenous economic development. The funding will support the work of the ILMI with half of the money going directly toward internships that support student work and research in Saskatchewan.

The Specific Claims Tribunal heard the final arguments in the Beardy’s & Okemasis claim regarding the wrongful withholding of annuities by the federal government. “Finally, after 14 years of waiting since we first filed our claim, our position that the Government of Canada was clearly in breach of its duties by punishing selected First Nations through the withholding of funds owed will be heard by the Tribunal.

Alex Wilson, an Idle No More organizer as well as an associate professor in the Department of Educational Foundations and the Academic Director of the Aboriginal Education Research Centre at the University of Saskatchewan, recently told CBC News that not only is a national inquiry needed into the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women, but that it must be led by Indigenous women.

Saskatchewan Social Services and the Yorkton Tribal Council Child and Family Services are reporting progress on 18 recommendations made after a 10-year-old boy killed a six-year-old boy in August 2013. The boy’s body was found in a wooded area not far from the Kahkewistahaw First Nation community centre. The recommendations came in May from the province’s children’s advocate Bob Pringle, who found there were significant gaps in aid provided to the 10-year-old by the tribal council.

Treaty 4 Student Success Program Inc Executive Director Lori Whiteman (left) signed the MOU with Parkland College President Dr. Fay Myers establishing a formal relationship to improve pathways to post-secondary education for First Nations students in the Parkland Region. T4SSP is an educational organization that serves 11 First Nations in east-central and southeast Saskatchewan: Fishing Lake, Cote, Keeseekoose, Sakimay, Ocean Man, Kahkewistahaw, Ochapowace, Cowessess, White Bear, Muskowekwan, and Kawacatoose First Nations.

Hupacasath First Nation is shocked and disappointed that the federal government has ratified the foreign investment treaty with China, considering the matter is still before a Canadian court to decide if government should have consulted on the controversial 31-year agreement with the nation first. The Canada-China FIPA will come into effect on Oct. 1. “The Canada-China FIPA will help ensure that Canadian companies doing business in China are treated fairly and benefit from a more predictable and transparent business environment,” said Ed Fast, minister of international trade.