Lethbridge Airport searching for Indigenous artists to design local artwork – Lethbridge News Now

Oct 22, 2021

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Lethbridge Airport, through the City of Lethbridge is looking for an indigenous artist to design a Land Acknowledgement and Territory Welcome art installation for the Lethbridge Airport.

Artwork chosen will be installed at the airport in conjunction with a series of major renovations which will “improve the customer experience and position the airport as a major driver of the regional economy,” the city release states.

The city says the purpose of the Land Acknowledgement and Territory Welcome art installation is to:

“Provide a highly visual, engaging, and distinctly Niitsitapi | Blackfoot welcome to travelers visiting or returning home to Sikóóhkotok | Lethbridge.”

Sault Ste. Marie Métis Council Awarded Major Federal Grant

Funds will be used to create an exhibit commemorating the 20^th anniversary of the Powley Case

The Historic Sault Ste. Marie Métis Council, with support from Know History Inc., has been awarded $200,000 from the Museum Assistance Program – Indigenous Heritage Grant, funded by the Government of Canada. The program supports projects that preserve, manage, and present Indigenous cultural heritage.

The funds will be used to develop an exhibition at the Sault Ste. Marie Métis Cultural Centre and an accompanying documentary, to commemorate the legacy of the 2003 Powley decision and its importance to the Métis community in Sault Ste. Marie and the broader implications for Métis communities across the Métis Homelands.

In 1993, Steve and Roddy Powley were charged for hunting a moose without a licence, and unlawful possession of a moose contrary to the Ontario Game and Fish Act. The Powleys and the Métis Nation of Ontario took the case to court, arguing that, as Métis, Steve and Roddy Powley had Aboriginal harvesting rights that are enshrined in Section 35 of the Constitution Act. After several appeals, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously ruled in favour of the Powleys in 2003, confirming the existing rights of Métis people under Section 35.

The new exhibit will commemorate this victory by showcasing artifacts like Steve Powley’s hat, sash and hunting notebook, the rifle presented to Steve Powley by Manitoba Métis Federation President David Chartrand, the original copy of the Powley Decision, and the hide from the first moose “legally” harvested by the Métis community after the 2003 ruling. The exhibit will give these and other irreplaceable items a permanent home, where they can be viewed and enjoyed by visitors and community members.

The permanent exhibit will be housed at the Sault Ste. Marie Métis Cultural Centre. The Cultural Centre is one of the three buildings in the former St. John’s Anglican Church Complex which was gifted to the Historic Sault Ste. Marie Métis Council in 2017 by the Anglican Diocese as an act of “tangible reconciliation” in recognition of the existence of a Métis burial ground on the site. The former church is being converted to a cultural centre/museum, the church hall into a community meeting space and the rectory to a program and service hub for Métis Nation of Ontario citizens. The program and service hub will open to citizens in early November, with significant renovations having been recently completed.

A short documentary and a travelling exhibition will also be created and circulated across Canada, in order to share this important story with as wide an audience as possible. The documentary and both exhibits will launch on September 19, 2023, to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the Powley Case.

Quotes:

“All the way through the court case, my father always said he wasn’t doing it for himself, he was doing it for his grandchildren and for the whole Métis Nation. This commemorative project will look back on all that has been accomplished in these past 30 years since my father and brother shot that moose and in the 20 years since we won the case. As President, I am proud of the entire HSSMMC for the investment we have secured today which will see the creation of the first permanent display in our cultural centre which is being developed by the HSSMMC – a first of its kind in Ontario. It is such a proud day for our community.”

– Kim Powley, President, Historic Sault Ste. Marie Métis Council

“The Sault Ste. Marie Métis community have been leaders for generations, and that continues today. With the development of the cultural centre, as a first of its kind in Ontario and with this funding being announced today, this community is leading again, this time leading in telling the story of this community and the ways that the Powley Case has benefitted the entire Métis Nation. As Regional Councillor for this community, I was proud to be asked by the HSSMMC to work with them to prepare this proposal and secure this federal investment into our community.”

– Mitch Case, Regional Councilor, Huron-Superior Regional Métis Community – Provisional Council of the Métis Nation of Ontario

“When we took on the case in 1993, we knew we were in for a tough fight, but we prevailed because we stood together. Our family, this community, the Métis Nation of Ontario and all the Métis governments in western Canada stood with us. We succeeded because we stood together. This commemoration project will establish a permanent exhibit which will tell the story of what we can accomplish when we as Métis people stand together. I want to thank Heritage Canada for this funding support which will allow our community to tell our story”

– Brenda Powley, Senator – Historic Sault Ste. Marie Métis Council

“The Hunt for Justice led by the Métis Nation of Ontario, the Powley Family and the Sault Ste. Marie Métis community ultimately led to Canada’s 2003 watershed Supreme Court of Canada decision affirming Métis rights. Since that time, the MNO and Métis governments across the Métis Nation Homeland have relied on the Powley decision to continue to advance rights and claims, including our inherent rights to self-determination and self-government. This project commemorating the Métis victory in Powley will help to ensure that our people, and all Ontarians, will hear the story of the Historic Sault Ste. Marie Métis community. These are inspiring stories—stories of rights and resistance, and the resilience of the Métis. It is projects like this one that will help to educate Canadians, and advance the spirit of reconciliation in Canada.”

– Margaret Froh, President – Métis Nation of Ontario

Press contact:

Mitch Case
[email protected]étisnation.org
(249) 525-5139
Region 4 Councillor on the Provisional Council of the Métis Nation of Ontario

Family member searching for remains of long time Bigstone Cree Nation chief on site used by ‘Indian hospital’ – APTN News

Oct 21, 2021

Travis Gladue-Beauregard found his great grandfather’s death certificate at the Alberta archives three years ago. He had been looking for the location of where Maxime Beauregard’s body was buried.

“When I found the death records, it said the Old Winterburn Cemetary,” Gladue-Beauregard told APTN News.

“So I started looking and there were two possible locations. And one was here on Enoch, and the other one is in St. Albert.”

Beauregard, was chief of the Bigstone Cree Nation for 15 years starting in 1947.

One day, he was feeling unwell and was sent to the Charles Camsell Hospital in Edmonton for treatment.

AER lays charges against Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd.

October 21, 2021… The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) has laid charges against Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd. for a release of acidic water that flowed into a nearby creek. The release occurred in October 2019 at Tidewater’s Ram River sour gas processing plant near Rocky Mountain House.

The 10 charges, which fall under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, are related to

releasing a substance to the environment that caused or may have caused an adverse effect (section 109(2));
failing to report the release of the substance as soon as possible (section 110(1));
failing to take all reasonable measures to repair, remedy, and confine the effects of the substance (section 112(1)(a)); and
contravening approval conditions (section 227(e)).

Tidewater’s first court appearance will be on December 8, 2021 in Rocky Mountain House. To ensure Tidewater’s right to a fair prosecution, the AER cannot release any further details.

The AER ensures the safe, efficient, orderly, and environmentally responsible development of hydrocarbon resources over their entire life cycle. This includes allocating and conserving water resources, managing public lands, and protecting the environment while providing economic benefits for all Albertans.

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For more information, please contact:

Engagement and Communications ,
E-mail: [email protected]

Media line: 1-855-474-6356

NT4

Government of AB: Listening to rural communities

The Associate Minister of Rural Economic Development will meet with business and community leaders from across rural Alberta to hear about what they need to promote economic development and prosperity in their communities.

Associate Minister Nate Horner will hold online meetings with rural businesses across various sectors, including business associations, chambers of commerce, Indigenous- and Métis-owned businesses, and industry and community leaders, to hear their ideas on how to ensure Albertans from every corner of the province benefit from Alberta’s Recovery Plan.

Alberta’s government will continue listening to Albertans to determine what steps can be taken to foster and promote economic development in the province.

Bringing investment back to Alberta

“Supporting local businesses and attracting new investment to Alberta is key to the success of our economic recovery after the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global collapse of energy prices and the worst economic downturn in almost 100 years. All Albertans, urban and rural, should benefit from Alberta’s Recovery Plan.”

Nate Horner, Associate Minister of Rural Economic Development

The online tour is set to begin in late October and continue until December. An online survey for those who cannot attend will also be available.

Quick facts

All sessions will be held via Zoom or Teams platforms.
Attendees will be invited to participate in engagement sessions.

NT5

After Two Years and at a Cost of $3.5 Million, Alberta Inquiry Finds Environmental Groups Did Nothing Wrong But Care About Climate Change

Commissioner Allan’s Final Report Proves the Inquiry Was a Pointless, But Dangerous Political Stunt, Say Targeted Groups

Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver – After over two years and at a cost of $3.5 million, the final report from the “Public Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns,” commissioned by the Alberta government, found environmental groups did nothing wrong, but simply care about climate change. The report found the word “anti-Albertan” in its own title to be neither constructive nor helpful. The organizations, individuals and foundations targeted by the Inquiry say the long, arduous and one-sided process was unconstitutional and should never be repeated in a democratic country like Canada.

“The Inquiry, War Room and legislation criminalizing protest are an alarming abuse of the power of government in an attempt to intimidate and silence civil society organizations,” said Tim Gray, executive director of Environmental Defence, one of around forty organizations targeted. “Although the report shows no evidence of wrongdoing by environmental groups, the Alberta government publicly refuses to accept the report’s findings.”

The Inquiry was an abuse of power. Groups targeted by the Inquiry were never interviewed and were denied basic procedural protections such as:

Public hearings,
Publicly accessible transcripts of testimony sworn under oath so groups know who accused them and what they were accused of,
Timely disclosure of all the evidence and witnesses,
Inadequate time to respond to accusations in report.

“This ill-conceived inquiry has not only been a colossal waste of time – these petrostate tactics threaten democracy and hold Alberta back from the important work that’s needed to transition to a cleaner economy,” said Eugene Kung of West Coast Environmental Law. “Working towards legal solutions to protect the environment, upholding Indigenous rights and ensuring communities have a voice in environmental decisions is not ‘anti-Alberta’. It’s about ensuring healthy communities and a livable future.”

The latest IPPC report (August 2021) found that the production of oil, coal and gas was the primary cause of the climate crisis. Just last week, the International Energy Agency released a global energy forecast that projected oil demand to fall in every scenario it considered and repeated its position that there is no more room in a climate safe planet for new oil and gas supply. Quebec also announced this week that it would be stopping all fossil fuel expansion in the province. Despite these repeated warnings and developments, Premier Kenney invested $1.1 billion (US) in the now cancelled Keystone pipeline.

“The Alberta Inquiry is an embarrassment to Canada – a country that stands for free speech and democratic rights,” said Tzeporah Berman, Stand.Earth. “To release this report after our summer of wildfires and heat deaths and just weeks before the global climate summit shows how tone deaf and stuck in the past as Kenney’s government is. This whole inquiry has been a massive waste of taxpayer’s money and a dangerous gong show that diverted resources and attention from building solutions and plans to diversify and fight climate change.”

Federal agencies in Canada or the U.S. have not found any significant contraventions amongst the charities Kenney has targeted, despite over a dozen audits over the last few years. And, while Canadian environmental groups receive some international assistance, it is nowhere close to the inflated figure The Inquiry claims and is dwarfed by the amount of international funds that flow into the oil and gas industry. The Inquiry demonstrated its bias earlier this year, by paying $100,000 to consultants for a series of reports that deny climate change and promote conspiracy theories.

-30-

For more information, please contact or visit:

Allen Braude, Senior Communications Manager, Environmental Defence, [email protected]

Brendan Glauser, David Suzuki Foundation, [email protected],

Anthony Côté Leduc, media relations, Équiterre, [email protected]

Tzeporah Berman, International Program Director, Stand.earth, [email protected]

Eugene Kung, Staff Lawyer, West Coast Environmental Law, [email protected]

Paul Champ, human rights lawyer, 613-816-2441

NT4

Fort Saskatchewan RCMP make Indigenous land acknowledgement – Spruce Grove Examiner

On Thursday, Oct. 14 the Fort Saskatchewan RCMP and the City of Fort Saskatchewan hosted honoured guests Elder Kookum Doreen Wabesca and Carol Cardinal at the local detachment for a blessing ceremony and an acknowledgement of our presence on Indigenous Treaty Six territory.

“It was a great honour to be part of the ceremony,” said Staff Sgt. Ternell St. Pierre. “To see the support that we get from the city, from the councillors, and to have the RCMP recognize the land we’re currently on was an honour.”

Due to Covid restrictions the ceremony was kept to small number. Members of the City Council attended the ceremony along with mayor-elect Gale Katchur, Insp. Mike McCauley and Staff Sgt. Ternell St. Pierre. Elder Kookum Doreen Wabesca and Carol Cardinal led the ceremony with some words of recognition and blessing the meeting with a smudging ceremony.

Search resumes for potential unmarked graves outside former hospital that treated Indigenous patients – CTV News

October 21, 2021

TORONTO — A search prompted by ground-penetrating radar is resuming again on land in Edmonton that houses a former so-called ‘Indian hospital,’ where Indigenous patients suffered abuse — and sometimes never came home.

Developers are working with Indigenous elders and chiefs to excavate the area in case there are any unmarked graves on the land.

“I can sense it there,” Fernie Marty, a Papaschase elder, told CTV National News. “Something’s not right here, eh?”

Starting in the 1930s, 31 hospitals were built in Canada with the goal of treating tuberculosis in Indigenous people — but according to the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at the University of British Columbia, the hospitals were understaffed and used “experimental treatment” on their patients.

Foreign funding hurt Alberta’s energy development

The public inquiry into anti-Alberta energy campaigns confirms that hundreds of millions of foreign dollars were used to block our province’s oil and gas development, affecting the lives and livelihoods of Albertans.

As the owners of the province’s natural resources, Albertans deserve to know the source of the funding being used by the environmental groups and how it was mobilized to harm the oil and gas sector. The inquiry and its final report shines a light on the sophisticated, coordinated and well-financed campaigns – such as the “Tar Sands Campaign.” It also details how these campaigns operate like a business to attract foreign funding in pursuit of their agendas. The goal of these groups was to landlock Alberta’s oil and gas sector, with a specific focus on stopping all oil sands development.

“I thank commissioner Steve Allan for the due diligence and excellent work that went into his comprehensive report. Albertans should be outraged at the foreign-funded campaigns that targeted our oil and gas sector in an attempt to block development. Alberta’s natural resources belong to Albertans, and decisions about their development should be made by Albertans.”

Sonya Savage, Minister of Energy

Between 2003 and 2019, total foreign funding of Canadian-based environmental initiatives was $1.28 billion, a figure the commissioner estimates is likely significantly understated. He also found that proponents for these campaigns celebrated cancelled and vetoed projects and have taken credit for more than 1,000 divestments made by finance and insurance companies representing $8 trillion of investments. This includes seven campaigns specifically targeting divestment in the oil sands, including the SumOfUs campaign that targeted the Trans Mountain Pipeline, Keystone XL and the Teck Frontier Mine.

Another main finding was that these environmental groups operate with limited transparency and accountability compared with regulated public companies. While industry is highly regulated, closely monitored and must be open and transparent with respect to their financial reporting requirements, many of the same requirements do not exist for not-for-profits or charities.

“We need to take the report’s findings, learn from the tactics employed and ensure that foreign funding does not target the development of the emerging energy resources, including hydrogen, carbon capture, utilization and storage, critical and rare earth minerals, small modular reactors and LNG, which are needed to reduce emissions and diversify Alberta’s economy. They need to be able to grow and compete in a world that is moving towards lowering carbon emissions. These campaigns will likely set their sights on these emerging areas in the energy sector. It is money looking for a cause. This government will not allow this critical sector of our economy and jobs to be influenced by foreign-funded campaigns.”

Sonya Savage, Minister of Energy

“The public inquiry into anti-Alberta energy campaigns brings to light the highly coordinated, well-funded and international nature of these campaigns which have played a part in cancelling billions of dollars in resource projects and thousands of jobs for Albertans. For years, the energy conversation has been driven by activist organizations who have influenced energy policies that are today contributing to rising energy costs for Canadians, as well as energy shortages for our trading partners around the world. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers hopes the findings of the report will help bring greater transparency and a more positive approach to the Canadian conversation about our oil and natural gas industry and the role it can play to help meet growing global demand.”

Tim McMillan, president and CEO, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)

“Acting on the recommendations outlined by the public inquiry regarding investment in technology, consultation with Indigenous communities, and emissions reductions to address climate change is critical to ensuring a competitive future for the energy sector. With energy as a central part of our economy today and in the years to come, Alberta must demonstrate its leadership as an innovative and responsible producer of the natural resources in collaboration with all orders of government, private sector and academic institutions.”

Deborah Yedlin, president and CEO, Calgary Chamber of Commerce

The government accepts the commissioner’s recommendations and continues to work on a number of wide-ranging initiatives that align with the commissioner’s recommendations. The government has established an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Secretariat to help the province align with environmental concerns from financial markets. In addition to the commissioner’s recommendations, the introduction of a bill during the fall legislative session by the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General would ban foreign money by allowing only Albertans to make contributions to election advertising (advertising during an election period) and only Canadians to contribute to political advertising (advertising at all other times).

The government will continue to seek other opportunities to further its commitment to protecting the best interests of Albertans and support the province’s energy sector.

Related information

Multimedia

Watch the news conference

NT5

Whose Job is it to Teach Kids to Care About Indigenous Trauma and Culture? – Arch Magazine

A parent explores how UCalgary’s Werklund School of Education is answering that question

I was born in Calgary in the 1970s and spent my grade-school years in the Catholic system. I only ever learned about Indigenous culture as ancient history. I learned about wigwams and buffalo jumps and tried on feathered headdresses in replica teepees on museum field trips.

For Alberta students of my generation, the First Nations were akin to the Aztecs or the ancient Romans — their civilizations captivating, but bygone. I didn’t know if any of my actual classmates were Indigenous, much less anything about the abuses being perpetrated at the time at St. Mary’s residential school about three hours south in Cardston. For me, Indigenous people did not exist in the present tense.

Lethbridge Airport searching for Indigenous artists to design local artwork – Lethbridge News Now

Sault Ste. Marie Métis Council Awarded Major Federal Grant

Sault Ste. Marie Métis Council Awarded Major Federal Grant

Family member searching for remains of long time Bigstone Cree Nation chief on site used by ‘Indian hospital’ – APTN News

AER lays charges against Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd.

Government of AB: Listening to rural communities

After Two Years and at a Cost of $3.5 Million, Alberta Inquiry Finds Environmental Groups Did Nothing Wrong But Care About Climate Change

Fort Saskatchewan RCMP make Indigenous land acknowledgement – Spruce Grove Examiner

Search resumes for potential unmarked graves outside former hospital that treated Indigenous patients – CTV News

Foreign funding hurt Alberta’s energy development

Whose Job is it to Teach Kids to Care About Indigenous Trauma and Culture? – Arch Magazine

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