The Batchewana First Nation and Sprott Power Corp. have a proposed partnership and business relationship, subject to negotiation of final legal documentation, which would provide Batchewana First Nation with a 49 per cent partnership interest in the 25 MW renewable energy Goulais Wind Farm. The Goulais Wind Farm, located north of Sault Ste. Marie, will be built along the Mile Hill approximately two kilometers from the end of the current Prince Wind Farm operation in Ontario.

Mikawaa (Marten Falls), Eabametoong (Fort Hope), and Webequie First Nations signed multi-year agreements with Wisk Air Helicopters, enabling the First Nations to participate in helicopter services within their traditional territories, focusing on the Ring of Fire. Wisk Air has agreed to provide opportunities for Aboriginal youth, including sanctioned forest fire training, drill training, as well as helicopter ground training. These skills are transferable provincially and nationally to other helicopter and mining companies.

The First Nations in Ontario were represented at the Twelfth Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the United Nations in New York in May. This year special focus was on the implementation of the recommendations regarding Indigenous health, education and culture throughout the world.  The Permanent Forum is a mechanism of the UN to address Indigenous rights worldwide.  “It’s important that the Indigenous Nations in Ontario engage on the world stage with other Indigenous Nations to protect, promote and implement their sovereign rights.

Delia Opekokew, IPC, received the 2013 Law Society Medal at an awards ceremony at Osgoode Hall in Toronto on May 29. A renowned leader of the Indigenous Bar, she organized residential school survivors to press for recognition of their claims. Opekokew is the first Aboriginal woman to be called to the Bars of Ontario (1979) and Saskatchewan (1983). The Law Society medal is presented annually to lawyers in recognition of outstanding contributions to the profession. She is one of this year’s seven medal recipients.

A white Beefalo has been added to the Bison Exhibit at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo. The announcement was made by Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Felix Thomas, Métis Nation-Saskatchewan President Robert Doucette, Saskatoon Mayor Donald Atchison, White Buffalo Youth Lodge Executive Director Heidi Gravelle, and Office of the Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan Commissioner George E. Lafond.