It all started with an ice cream. Then came marriage, kids and grandchildren. And great-grandchildren. Lots of them. All told, according to the last count, at least 140 children have come from their union.
While most activities in Eeyou Istchee are again closed to outside visitors this summer, various communities hosted successful events in recent weeks that encouraged residents to reconnect and embrace their Cree cultural pride.
As the number of undocumented graves of former residential school students continues to climb across Canada, Indigenous communities have been coming together to grieve and seek solace in ceremony.
The Mi’kmaw communities of Acadia First Nation, Bear River First Nation and Potlotek First Nation have all developed moderate livelihood fisheries and have moved to implement them, both with and without government approval.
After a long winter of curfews and quarantines, this year’s Indigenous Day celebrations felt particularly well deserved. It was also a bittersweet day, as many events across Canada took time to honour the recent discovery of unmarked graves at a Kamloops residential school.
More than 1,000 people gathered in Trois-Rivières June 2 to remember Joyce Echaquan, the Atikamekw woman who died last September while enduring racist insults and negligence in a Joliette hospital.
The discovery of the remains of 215 children on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School sent shock waves across the country and renewed calls for accountability for the thousands of Indigenous children who never returned home.
The Cree Nation Government and the Quebec government have officially designated 23 territorial reserves in Eeyou Istchee for inclusion in the Quebec Register of Protected Areas. These selected areas were first announced in December, almost doubling the legally protected portion of the territory from 12% to 23%.
Maggie Petawabano wasn’t exactly sure when her late husband Paul first got the urge to fly. She thinks it was when, as a boy, he became curious about all the planes flying in and out of Mistissini, carrying curious new goods, then disappearing again into the sky.
A toll-free tip line in Montreal is now available to help resolve cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG). The Iskweu Project, an initiative of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal (NWSM), is promoting the number – 1-855-547-5938 – with ads on billboards and bus shelters around the city.
