Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

Kwakiutl First Nation, British Columbia, Canada

Assembly of First Nations (AFN) British Columbia Regional Chief Jody Wilson-Raybould expressed support for Kwakiutl First Nation as they take action to create awareness about the need to uphold Aboriginal Title and rights, including treaty rights, to forest resources on their traditional territory. Kwakiutl First Nation is located on the northeast coast of Vancouver Island near Port Hardy and Port McNeil, B.C. The community held organized demonstrations on August 3 and 4 as a last resort attempt to urge the B.C. government to respect their rights as recognized in the Douglas Treaty. They currently have a legal challenge before the courts.

Blackfeet Nation, Montana, United States

The new math and science building at Blackfeet Community College in Browning, Montana is a trend-setter in the world of green technology. The first tribal building in the nation to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum status, it has achieved the highest possible award of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Ahm Ska Tos Po II Koh Kan, or South Wind Lodge, was built at a cost of $5 million and has 13,000 square feet of classrooms, labs, offices and meeting spaces on a single level.

Ross River Dena Council, Yukon, Canada

Golden Predator Corp. and the Ross River Dena Council (RRDC) are pleased to announce that they have signed a Traditional Knowledge Protocol for the Company’s Grew Creek Project in Yukon, Canada. Within the Protocol, Golden Predator has agreed to incorporate Traditional Knowledge into all phases of its Grew Creek Project, and Traditional Knowledge will be provided by RRDC to support the Yukon Environmental Socio-Economic Assessment Board (YESA) process. The Protocol will help guide the compilation of Traditional Knowledge relevant to the Grew Creek Project and will extend to the Company’s other projects within the traditional lands of the Ross River Dena people.

Navajo Nation, New Mexico, United States

Navajo and other Native people who live beneath the massive grid that carries power from the Colorado Plateau to distant cities have long criticized its creation of bad water and polluted air, particularly because they may not have electricity or running water themselves. The Navajo Nation’s lease on 2,040-megawatt Four Corners Power Plant near Farmington, N.M. was recently extended to 2041 because of the $7 million annual economic value to the Nation and the jobs it provides to Navajo workers, who comprise most of the workforce at the plant and the mine that furnishes its coal. But in the future, the plant will have to employ increasingly rigorous anti-pollution measures, the best available remediation technology, or BART, including those to reduce the mercury emissions which have reached 1,481 pounds annually, according to Environment America, making the plant a target of national criticism.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Health Council of Canada released “Understanding and Improving Aboriginal Maternal and Child Health in Canada”, a commentary highlighting the continuing health inequities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians as well as promising practices for change. In January and February of 2011, the Health Council of Canada held a series of seven regional sessions across Canada to learn what programs and strategies are making a difference in the health of Aboriginal mothers and young children. A large proportion of participants were front-line health care workers; the commentary offers a window into the experiences and insights of people who work with and provide care to Aboriginal women and young children.

Inuit, Quebec, Canada

The Inuit of Quebec will receive $3 million in compensation from the provincial government for the harm caused to their way of life by the slaughter of up to 1,000 sled dogs, or qimmiit, in the 1950s and 1960s, according to an agreement signed on August 8. Jean Charest, premier of Quebec, signed the agreement personally with the Makivik Corp., a non-profit Inuit organization, to acknowledge that killing the Inuit’s primary means of transportation stripped them of their ability to hunt, trap and fish, and thus had lasting, detrimental effects on their way of life.

Northeastern Ontario, Canada

With support from the Ontario government, the Greenbelt Fund is providing a grant allowing Ontario North East (ONE) Meats and Golden Beef to work together to supply more locally grown meat to public institutions and First Nations communities in northeastern Ontario. This project will bring more local food to health care facilities and schools in the north. Increasing the amount of Ontario food in our public institutions benefits the community and helps sustain a safe and secure food supply. With support from the Ontario government, the Greenbelt Fund is helping to increase the amount of Ontario food served in daycares, schools, universities and colleges, hospitals and long-term care facilities through the Broader Public Sector Investment Fund: Promoting Ontario Food.