National Indigenous News July 2

Darrell Stranger takes a look at some of the latest Indigenous news making headlines across the country. 

Transcript

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This is a look at your National Indigenous News. I'm Daryl Stranger. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs opened its Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Unit to the public for the first time this week. The unit was established last year to address the ongoing crisis of violence, disappearances, and systemic inquiries impacting First Nations peoples in Manitoba, according to AMC. The unit provides culturally safe, trauma-informed, and community-led supports to families and communities affected by violence and disappearances while advancing justice, awareness, and systemic change. Supports include helping families navigate active cases, transportation, and housing for people escaping unsafe situations, as well as community outreach through events such as Manitoba's inaugural Blue Jean Jacket Day. The unit also has an on-site clothing donation box and is able to offer approximately 100 cell phones a month through a partnership with TELUS. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs also is not alone in the work. They are doing so alongside a partnership with Destiny Recovery and Wellness Center, an Indigenous-led addictions recovery service located in the Interlake area of Manitoba. The unit is also in constant collaboration with Manitoba Kiwate Naui Ogamaganak and the Southern Chiefs Organization to support vulnerable people in all areas of the province. The Winnipeg Police Service is also supporting the endeavor through its Indigenous liaison team. The Yukon government says it's planning to meet with First Nations leaders as it moves toward rewriting the territory's outdated mining laws. The new minerals legislation will eventually replace the territory's Courts Mining Act and Placer Act, which date back to the gold rush and include outdated royalty rules. The laws have been under a review since 2021. The previous Liberal government made it as far as creating a draft framework right before it was voted out of office last November. That framework was met with mixed reviews, especially from First Nations leaders. Now the Yukon Party government says it's picking up where the Liberals left off. On Tuesday, the government announced two new working groups that will bring First Nations leaders to the table. A collaborative development group will include territorial and First Nations government officials. They'll meet with industry representatives and technical experts. An oversight group, consisting of the Chiefs Committee on Mining and the Mines Minister, will receive recommendations from the development group and make its own suggestions for the new legislation. The engagement with First Nations had stopped at the conclusion of the Liberal government's tenure. These working groups will restart the conversation. The first meetings are still being organized, but it is expected they will take place this summer. About 100 kilometers north of Winnipeg, on the eastern shores of Lake Winnipeg, a village is being built where indigenous girls, women, and two-spirit people will be able to heal from the trauma of sexual exploitation within a supportive community guided by indigenous matriarchs. The model is based on traditional knowledge and designed by Indigenous women who've been working with exploited indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people for decades. The workers constructing the village, which is expected to be finished in the fall, are women enrolled in the program and employment by a construction company called the Healing Village, which operates as a social enterprise. The project is one of twelve to receive funding from the Archdiocese of Winnipeg's Indigenous Reconciliation Fund. In 2021, the Roman Catholic Bishops of Canada committed to raising $30 million for healing and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. To date, more than $25 million has been raised. Other projects supported by this reconciliation fund include a program exploring the impact of residential schools at Sandy Bay First Nation, workshops to educate youth organized by the Tutanawazabing First Nation Elder Circle, a four day healing vigil organized by the Sandy Bay Ojibwe First Nation Elder Council, and the new ceremonial arbor for Rolling River First Nation, as well as the construction of a learning lodge at the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation. That's a look at your national indigenous news.