‘We don’t have to argue that Indigenous people have law anymore’ Three years after welcoming the first students to the Indigenous law degree at the University of Victoria, Val Napoleon says Indigenous law is being purposefully rebuilt and gradually recognized in Canada. “We don’t have to argue that Indigenous people have law anymore,” she said. […]
Indigenous
First Nations’ vaccination clinics a big success
Between the three clinics, over 600 people were vaccinated in early March ZOE DUCKLOW, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER Mar. 10, 2021 5:30 a.m. Nurse Alexa Bisaillon waits with needle prepped for her next immunization patient at Wakas Community Hall on the Tsulquate Reserve. (Zoë Ducklow photo) Vaccines arrived on the North Island after a long […]
Sisiyutł serpent ready for the new Bighouse
The triple-headed serpent is one of several intricate carvings artists have made for the Bighouse ZOE DUCKLOW, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER Jan. 28, 2021, 5:30 a.m. In the carving shed on the Tsulquate reserve there are four house posts and two cross beams, carved and painted. Lying flat they are like slumbering monsters, each measuring […]
Canada ‘stole Christmas’ says Vancouver Island’s aquaculture industry
Federal decision to phase out 19 Discovery Island fish farms has sent shivers across northern Vancouver Island ZOE DUCKLOW, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER & BINNY PAUL, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER Dec. 24, 2020 11:30 a.m. Canada’s decision to phase out 19 Discovery Island fish farms sent “shock waves” throughout north Vancouver Island, say some associated […]
Kwakiutl First Nation angry at logging in Douglas Treaty land
The nation is calling on government to honour the Douglas Treaty ZOE DUCKLOW, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER Dec. 4, 2020 8:30 a.m Kwakiutl First Nation’s Chief and Council are calling on the government to stop Western Forest Products (WFP) from logging on Douglas Treaty land, a two-mile-thick strip of shoreline between Port McNeill and Port […]
k’awat’si Marine Transport celebrates a growing fleet with a blessing from community
Boat launches k’awat’si Marine Transport into freight transport ZOE DUCKLOW, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER Nov. 10, 2020 4:15 p.m. Frigid winds blew into Hardy Bay on Nov. 5, but that didn’t stop Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw elected chief Paddy Walkus from standing on deck of the newly acquired Mars Rustler boat in a t-shirt and sandals, in classic […]
Wuikinuxv First Nation evacuation to Port Hardy extended to seven days
Rains have not slacked off, keeping landslides a present threat ZOE DUCKLOW, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER Nov. 3, 2020 10:00 a.m. Around 30 people from Rivers Inlet were evacuated to Port Hardy last week because unusually heavy rainfall is threatening floods and landslides in the small valley community. The Wuikinuxv First Nation reserve is accessible […]
Indigenous Court to offer alternative sentencing options
Final approval from the Judicial Council is expected in January ZOE DUCKLOW, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER Oct. 31, 2020 7:30 a.m. There has been a renaissance of Indigenous legal systems across Canada over the last several years, showing up in the form of small community initiatives, new classes and degrees at law schools. In B.C., […]
Are Conservative Senators Going to Kill Law Protecting Indigenous Rights?
Bill adopting UN declaration stalled and in danger of dying Almost a year after the House of Commons passed a law committing Canada to accept the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the legislation is stalled in the Senate. And there is a growing risk that the legislation will die there. Once the […]
Judy Wilson’s Message for Canadians: ‘The Land Defenders Are Doing This for Everybody’
RCMP raids in Wet’suwet’en territory can’t bring justice, reconciliation or a better future, Neskonlith chief says. Chief Judy Wilson of the Neskonlith First Nation, east of Kamloops, is secretary treasurer of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, a community leader, strong opponent of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and an advocate for clean energy. The Tyee […]