Norway House, Manitoba News

Those too young to have gone to residential schools say they too are affected

2008-06-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

They are too young to have gone to the church-run residential schools that forced generations of aboriginals to abandon their language and culture.

But today's First Nations youth say the schools the federal government sent their ancestors to have cast a long shadow over their families and their communities.

"I wasn't able to learn my language. That was a big thing for me growing up," said Nicole York, 23, whose parents, grandparents and other relatives attended the schools.

"Because of the way my dad was treated ... not that he didn't want to teach me how to speak Cree, but for so many years he was forced not to, so for the longest time he never spoke to us in Cree."

York, who recently graduated from the University of Winnipeg, grew up on the Norway House reserve in northern Manitoba where, despite its remoteness, aboriginal culture and tradition had somehow been all but erased.

"So many teachings were lost because of the residential schools. We've just started having our powwows again. Norway House was very Christianized for a very long time."

Shylo Swan, 26, feels residential schools also took a toll by forcibly removing children from their parents during their crucial learning years.

"How are they supposed to know how to parent their child if they weren't taught from their own?" she asked.

Swan and York both talk about ripple effects far beyond the physical and sexual abuse that were widespread at the schools. They say the fact that generations of native students were essentially told that everything they believed in was wrong has caused many of their relatives to suffer self-doubt.

"The whole idea of keeping quiet and not saying anything and just trying to hide (your feelings), it's really sad," York said.

If there is a silver lining to the residential school legacy, it appears to be a renewed determination among many young aboriginals to protect their First Nations heritage.

"We have to teach our people ... to keep our culture and keep our language and teach the generations that are coming," Swan said.

"We can start trying to build up and bring back what we lost. I think this is a fresh new beginning."

Canadian Press

Blazes 'so, so close'

2008-06-02T21:06:00.000-07:00

Raging forest fires threaten northern towns

By ROSS ROMANIUK, SUN MEDIA

More than 500 firefighters are battling five raging forest blazes in northern Manitoba, while there's no word on when 730 evacuees will be able to return to their homes.

The most dangerous situations are in Norway House, where a blaze has burned perilously close to homes, and in the area of Sherridon, northeast of Flin Flon, where more than 100 firefighters are desperately trying to beat back flames that have nearly lapped at a school and other properties.

"It is so, so close to so many places," Premier Gary Doer said yesterday of the Sherridon fire, after returning to Winnipeg from a flight to see some of the severe blazes that have burned about 35,000 hectares.

"The fire was just right at the doorstep of the school, right at the doorstep of campgrounds -- and just missed a transformer, and was abutting gas tanks at a municipal area for trucks and maintenance."

Crews restored Sherridon's electricity late Saturday night after power had been knocked out when the fire damaged two hydro lines.

A shed, an old cabin and a boat have been destroyed there, though no homes have burned "yet -- touch wood," Doer added, noting the province expects to spend up to $10 million in the next 10 days fighting the fires -- easily surpassing Manitoba Conservation's $14-million budget for the work this year.

BURNING WOOD, MONEY

"We're definitely burning wood and burning money, but the most important part is to protect property and people."

About 100 firefighters have come from Ontario to battle the blazes, and another 30 from Alberta.

Planes from Ontario and Minnesota are taking part with 15 water bombers and 30 helicopters to try to suppress not only the fires in Sherridon and Norway House, but also blazes near St. Theresa Point, Waasagomach and Grand Rapids.

The fire north of Grand Rapids has prompted RCMP to shut down Highway 6 three times in recent days due to a loss of visibility caused by thick smoke. The highway was closed yesterday from Grand Rapids to Ponton.

Following an initial evacuation that saw 2,600 people leave their homes, the 730 remaining away include more than 450 from St. Theresa Point, about 50 from Sherridon and 218 from Waasagomach. Most of the evacuees are at hotels in Winnipeg, Brandon and Portage la Prairie.

Manitoba has had 172 forest fires this spring, above the 20-year average of 154 this time of year and way up from the 88 that had burned by the beginning of June in 2007.

Winnipeg Sun

Political fight leaves kids in cold

2008-05-01T21:53:00.000-07:00

Updated: Thu May. 01 2008 18:35:04

ctvwinnipeg.ca

Government infighting has families in a northern community in anguish about how to best care for their children.

The Norway House Cree Nation has told the families of children with special needs that they may be forced to give up their children because the First Nation can no longer pay for their care, and federal and provincial governments can't agree on who should pay.

For mother Crystal Hart, it means she may have to say good-bye to her daughter, Priscilla.

"I want her to get the services that she can get," she said while wiping tears from her eyes.

Priscilla Hart has Ritscher-Schinzel Syndrome. She can't speak or eat and needs to be fed through a tube. It's constant care that requires the help of a respite worker, who cares for Pricilla when her parents go to work.

The Norway House Cree Nation has been paying for those services, which are required by 37 children on the reserve.

However, the band said the money has run out and the services will end May 31.

"Bureaucracy is what you call a nightmare, I guess," said band councillor Mike Muswagon. "Trying to get what you can for your community and for your people."

Muswagon said the First Nation has been fighting for funding from the province and the federal government for years. He said each side argues the other should pay for Status Indian children.

It's a familiar story. In 2005, the community rallied around another sick child named Jordan River Anderson.

Jordan spent the first part of his life hooked up to machines in a Winnipeg hospital. When he was two years old, doctors were ready to send him to a medical foster home, but for two years provincial and federal government officials argued over who should pay for it. They couldn't even decide who would cover the cost of a special showerhead he needed. Jordan never left the hospital. Jordan died in February, 2005. He was five years old.

In December Members of Parliament in Ottawa vowed never to let that happen again. They unanimously voted in favour of a private members motion called Jordan's Principle; children should come first when it comes to funding disputes.

On December 12, 2007, Minister of Health Tony Clement wrote this letter of support:

"Indian and Northern Affairs Canada is working closely with Health Canada as well as provincial and First Nations partners to ensure that jurisdictional issues do not impact a child's quality of care. Governments need to work together to see that First Nations and Inuit children have access to the same services available to other children."

Charlene Ducharme works with the Kinosao Sipi Minisowin Agency, a social agency on the reserve, and said she has yet to see Jordan's Principle in action. She said the children of Norway House deserve the same care that other Manitoba children get.

"Our premier said Manitoba would be the first one to implement Jordan's Principle... we're still waiting."

In an interview with CTV News Manitoba Health Minister Keri Irvin Ross said the provincial government is not required to pay for the children's care. "These issues are a federal responsibility," she said. "We need to make sure the federal government is held accountable for it, but we are committed to supporting this community and these children."

But not with any funding. Irvin Ross said the provincial government is offering its support by working with the Norway House Cree Nation in its negotiations with Ottawa. Irvin Ross said the fact that the provincial government is at the negotiating table is "new ground", and is a signal of its support for Jordan's Principle. She said the federal government has yet to respond to numerous letters requesting its involvement in finding a solution.

CTV News contacted Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. In an email, Senior Communications Advisor Patricia Valladao said "I was informed that we've recently met with our partners including the province on this matter, and we're working diligently to respond on an urgent basis. We will be meeting with the First Nation very soon."

Neither the federal or provincial response is very reassuring for the Harts. Little Priscilla's parents said they may quit their jobs to care for her. They said they'll find a way to make it work and keep their family together.

With a report from CTV's Caroline Barghout.

CTV Winnipeg

Mass Graves Revealed of Indian Children in Canadian Schools

2008-04-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Norrell,
Posted on Fri Apr 18th, 2008 at 09:57:53 PM EST

The horror of the genocide in Canada's Indian Residential Schools became public, as the locations of 28 mass graves of Indian children were revealed.

An unknown number of Indian children died in captivity at Indian Residential Schools in Canada.

The murders included children killed in electric chairs. Some of the bodies were incinerated in the school furnaces, while others were buried in mass graves.

Eyewitness Sylvester Greene described how he helped bury a young Inuit boy at the United Church's Edmonton residential school in 1953.

"We were told never to tell anyone by Jim Ludford, the Principal, who got me and three other boys to bury him. But a lot more kids got buried all the time in that big grave next to the school."

The location of mass graves of residential school children was revealed by the Independent Tribunal Established Squamish Nation Territory ("Vancouver, Canada") on April 10.

At a public ceremony and press conference held outside the colonial "Indian Affairs" building in downtown Vancouver, the Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared (FRD) released a list of twenty eight mass graves across Canada holding the remains of untold numbers of aboriginal children who died in Indian Residential Schools.

The list was distributed to the world media and to United Nations agencies, as the first act of the newly-formed International Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada (IHRTGC), a non-governmental body established by indigenous elders.

In a statement read by FRD spokesperson Eagle Strong Voice, it was declared that the IHRTGC would commence its investigations on April 15, 2008, the fourth Annual Aboriginal Holocaust Memorial Day. This inquiry will involve international human rights observers from Guatemala and Cyprus, and will convene aboriginal courts of justice where those persons and institutions responsible for the death and suffering of residential school children will be tried and sentenced. (The complete Statement and List of Mass Graves is reproduced below).

Eagle Strong Voice and IHRTGC elders will present the Mass Graves List at the United Nations on April 19, and will ask United Nations agencies to protect and monitor the mass graves as part of a genuine inquiry and judicial prosecution of those responsible for this Canadian Genocide.

For more information: http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/, or write to the IHRTGC at: genocidetribunal@yahoo.ca Issued on Squamish Territory, 10 April, 2008, under the authority of Hereditary Chief Kiapilano

Press Statement:

Mass Graves of Residential School Children Identified – Independent Inquiry Launched

We are gathered today to publicly disclose the location of twenty eight mass graves of children who died in Indian Residential Schools across Canada, and to announce the formation of an independent, non-governmental inquiry into the death and disappearance of children in these schools.

We estimate that there are hundreds, and possibly thousands, of children buried in these grave sites alone. The Catholic, Anglican and United Church, and the government of Canada, operated the schools and hospitals where these mass graves are located. We therefore hold these institutions and their officers legally responsible and liable for the deaths of these children.

We have no confidence that the very institutions of church and state that are responsible for these deaths can conduct any kind of impartial or real inquiry into them. Accordingly, as of April 15, 2008, we are establishing an independent, non governmental inquiry into the death and disappearance of Indian residential school children across Canada.

This inquiry shall be known as The International Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada (IHRTGC), and is established under the authority of the following hereditary chiefs, who shall serve as presiding judges of the Tribunal:Hereditary Chief Kiapilano of the Squamish NationChief Louis Daniels (Whispers Wind), Anishinabe Nation Chief Svnoyi Wohali (Night Eagle), Cherokee NationLillian Shirt, Clan Mother, Cree Nation Elder Ernie Sandy, Anishinabe (Ojibway) Nation Hereditary Chief Steve Sampson, Chemainus Nation Ambassador Chief Red Jacket of Turtle IslandToday, we are releasing to this Tribunal and to the people of the world the enclosed information on the location of mass graves connected to Indian residential schools and hospitals in order to prevent the destruction of this crucial evidence by the Canadian government, the RCMP and the Anglican, Catholic and United Church of Canada.We call upon indigenous people on the land where these graves are located to monitor and protect these sites vigilantly, and prevent their destruction by occupational forces such as the RCMP and other government agencies.Our Tribunal will commence on April 15 by gathering all of the evidence, including forensic remains, that is necessary to charge and indict those responsible for the deaths of the children buried therein.Once these persons have been identified and detained, they will be tried and sentenced in indigenous courts of justice established by our Tribunal and under the authority of hereditary chiefs.

As a first step in this process, the IHRTGC will present this list of mass graves along with a statement to the United Nations in New York City on April 19, 2008. The IHRTGC will be asking the United Nations to declare these mass graves to be protected heritage sites, and will invite international human rights observers to monitor and assist its work.

Issued by the Elders and Judges of the IHRTGC Interim Spokesperson: Eagle Strong VoiceEmail: genocidetribunal@yahoo.ca pager: 1-888-265-1007IHRTGC Sponsors include The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared, The Truth Commission into Genocide in Canada, the Defensoria Indigenia of Guatemala, Canadians for the Separation of Church and State, and a confederation of indigenous elders across Canada and Turtle Island

Locations of Mass Graves at former Indian Residential Schools and Hospitals across Canada

A. British Columbia

1. Port Alberni: Presby terian- United Church school (1895-1973), now occupied by the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council (NTC) office, Kitskuksis Road. Grave site is a series of sinkhole rows in hills 100 metres due west of the NTC building, in thick foliage, past an unused water pipeline. Children also interred at Tseshaht reserve cemetery, and in wooded gully east of Catholic cemetery on River Road.

2. Alert Bay: St. Michael’s Anglican school (1878-1975), situated on Cormorant Island offshore from Port McNeill. Presently building is used by Namgis First Nation. Site is an overgrown field adjacent to the building, and also under the foundations of the present new building, constructed during the 1960’s. Skeletons seen “between the walls”.

3. Kuper Island: Catholic school (1890-1975), offshore from Chemainus. Land occupied by Penelakut Band. Former building is destroyed except for a staircase. Two grave sites: one immediately south of the former building, in a field containing a conventional cemetery; another at the west shoreline in a lagoon near the main dock.

4. Nanaimo Indian Hospital: Indian Affairs and United Church experimental facility (1942-1970) on Department of National Defense land. Buildings now destroyed. Grave sites are immediately east of former buildings on Fifth avenue, adjacent to and south of Malaspina College.

5. Mission: St. Mary’s Catholic school (1861-1984), adjacent to and north of Lougheed Highway and Fraser River Heritage Park. Original school buildings are destroyed, but many foundations are visible on the grounds of the Park.In this area there are two grave sites: a) immediately adjacent to former girls’ dormitory and present cemetery for priests, and a larger mass grave in an artificial earthen mound, north of the cemetery among overgrown foliage and blackberry bushes, and b) east of the old school grounds, on the hilly slopes next to the field leading to the newer school building which is presently used by the Sto:lo First Nation. Hill site is 150 metres west of building.

6. North Vancouver: Squamish (1898-1959) and Sechelt (1912-1975) Catholic schools, buildings destroyed. Graves of children who died in these schools interred in the Squamish Band Cemetery, North Vancouver.

7. Sardis: Coqualeetza Methodist-United Church school (1889-1940), then experimental hospital run by federal government (1940-1969). Native burial site next to Sto:lo reserve and Little Mountain school, also possibly adjacent to former school-hospital building.

8. Cranbrook: St. Eugene Catholic school (1898-1970), recently converted into a tourist “resort” with federal funding, resulting in the covering-over of a mass burial site by a golf course in front of the building. Numerous grave sites are around and under this golf course.

9. Williams Lake: Catholic school (1890-1981), buildings destroyed but foundations intact, five miles south of city. Grave sites reported north of school grounds and under foundations of tunnel-like structure.

10. Meares Island (Tofino): Kakawis-Christie Catholic school (1898-1974). Buildings incorporated into Kakawis Healing Centre. Body storage room reported in basement, adjacent to burial grounds south of school.

11. Kamloops: Catholic school (1890-1978). Buildings intact. Mass grave south of school, adjacent to and amidst orchard. Numerous burials witnessed there.

12. Lytton: St. George’s Anglican school (1901-1979). Graves of students flogged to death, and others, reported under floorboards and next to playground.

13. Fraser Lake: Lejac Catholic school (1910-1976), buildings destroyed. Graves reported under old foundations and between the walls.

Alberta:1. Edmonton: United Church school (1919-1960), presently site of the Poundmaker Lodge in St. Albert. Graves of children reported south of former school site, under thick hedge that runs north-south, adjacent to memorial marker.2. Edmonton: Charles Camsell Hospital (1945-1967), building intact, experimental hospital run by Indian Affairs and United Church. Mass graves of children from hospital reported south of building, near staff garden.3. Saddle Lake: Bluequills Catholic school (1898-1970), building intact, skeletons and skulls observed in basement furnace. Mass grave reported adjacent to school.4. Hobbema: Ermineskin Catholic school (1916-1973), five intact skeletons observed in school furnace. Graves under former building foundations.Manitoba:1. Brandon: Methodist-United Church school (1895-1972). Building intact. Burials reported west of school building.2. Portage La Prairie: Presbyterian- United Church school (1895-1950). Children buried at nearby Hillside Cemetery. 3. Norway House: Methodist-United Church school (1900-1974). “Very old” grave site next to former school building, demolished by United Church in 2004.Ontario:1. Thunder Bay: Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital, still in operation. Experimental centre. Women and children reported buried adjacent to hospital grounds.2. Sioux Lookout: Pelican Lake Catholic school (1911-1973). Burials of children in mound near to school.3. Kenora: Cecilia Jeffrey school, Presbyterian- United Church (1900-1966). Large burial mound east of former school.4. Fort Albany: St. Anne’s Catholic school (1936-1964). Children killed in electric chair buried next to school. 5. Spanish: Catholic school (1883-1965). Numerous graves.6. Brantford: Mohawk Institute, Anglican church (1850-1969), building intact. Series of graves in orchard behind school building, under rows of trees.7. Sault Ste. Marie: Shingwauk Anglican school (1873-1969), some intact buildings. Several graves of children reported on grounds of old school.Quebec:1. Montreal: Allan Memorial Institute, McGill University, still in operation since opening in 1940. MKULTRA experimental centre. Mass grave of children killed there north of building, on southern slopes of Mount Royal behind stone wall.

Sources:- Eyewitness accounts from survivors of these institutions, catalogued in Hidden from History: The Canadian Holocaust (2nd ed., 2005) by Kevin Annett. Other accounts are from local residents. See http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/ - Documents and other material from the Department of Indian Affairs RG 10 microfilm series on Indian Residential Schools in Koerner Library, University of B.C.- Survey data and physical evidence obtained from grave sites in Port Alberni, Mission, and other locations.This is a partial list and does not include all of the grave sites connected to Indian residential Schools and hospitals across Canada. In many cases, children who were dying of diseases were sent home to die by school and church officials, and the remains of other children who died at the school were incinerated in the residential school furnaces.

This information is submitted by The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared (FRD) to the world media, the United Nations, and to the International Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada (IHRTGC). The IHRTGC will commence its investigations on April 15, 2008 on Squamish Nation territory.

For more information on the independent inquiry into genocide in Canada being conducted by the IHRTGC, write to: genocidetribunal@yahoo.ca10 April, 2008Squamish Nation Territory (“ Vancouver, Canada ”)

The Narcosphere

Tories threaten to drop native human-rights bill

2008-04-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

Opposition amendments unsupportable, Indian Affairs Minister says

BILL CURRY

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

April 15, 2008 at 4:54 AM EDT

OTTAWA — The Conservative government is threatening to walk away from its own native human-rights legislation, saying that recent amendments from the opposition are unsupportable.

Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said yesterday that new clauses inserted into government legislation could allow chiefs and council to ignore human-rights complaints by citing their community's collective rights.

"I'm not happy with the amendments," Mr. Strahl said. "What you want to be careful of is ... that you don't just say [that] if the chief decides on his reserve, on his cultural background, 'the Canadian Human Rights Act doesn't apply because of our cultural traditions.' Well, that should be a tough proof."

The government standoff with the opposition could mean the proposed law may never be put to a vote and simply dies. Combined with the Conservative government's decision to ignore a recent House of Commons motion in favour of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the opposition is questioning the government's sincerity when it comes to aboriginal human rights.

"I think it's part of a larger agenda directed at assimilation," Liberal MP Anita Neville said.

The legislation, known as C-21, is one of the government's main aboriginal initiatives. It seeks to close a loophole dating back to when the Canadian Human Rights Act first became law 31 years ago. That law passed with just one exemption: It did not apply on reserves. It was supposed to be temporary.

As a result, individual aboriginals have not been allowed to file complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission against band councils and the federal government. Band decisions over key issues such as housing, education and membership could all be challenged if C-21 became law.

The Indian Affairs Minister also opposes an amendment creating a three-year delay before the law takes effect.

"They should be covered now. Today. And any delay is unfortunate," he said.

But Vancouver lawyer Allan Donovan, who specializes in aboriginal law, says three years is not unreasonable.

"It really isn't a particularly long transition period," he said.

Mr. Donovan acknowledged some of the wording used by the opposition to protect existing rights is unusual, but expressed surprise that both sides could not find more acceptable language.

The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples has said human-rights legislation could be used to take on unaccountable chiefs and ultimately have the Indian Act struck down.

Marcel Balfour, a Manitoba chief who was elected by campaigning against alleged abuses of his predecessors, said Ottawa must take the time to ensure it gets the balance right between collective and individual rights. The Norway House Cree Nation chief pointed out that he was able to win an election on issues of accountability and said he takes offence when the congress attacks native chiefs.

"My people voted for me," he said. "I certainly make sure that I don't run roughshod over my people and destroy their human rights."

Globe and Mail

Clowning it up is serious fun

2008-03-27T06:23:00.000-07:00

By: Alexandra Paul

Updated: March 27 at 02:00 AM CDT

Take 400 school kids, add 16 jugglers, hip-hop artists and high-wire trapeze acrobats. Put SSRqem all together for a week in northern Manitoba.

What do you have?

A bunch of artists clowning around to show kids how to feel good about having fun.

Nearly half of the 1,165 students at the Helen Betty Osborne School in Norway House signed up for the week-long workshops on circus arts. And everyone is having fun.

It's a private social program called the International Children's Festival Circus and Magic Partnership, a $120,000 event sponsored by governments, Manitoba Hydro and even Beaver Bus Lines.

It's also a story about what it means to kids to have a travelling troupe of circus artists and other performers take a bus ride 800 kilometres north to see them.

Next week, the troupe's in Winnipeg doing the same thing at Gordon Bell High School.

In Norway House, Grade 5 student Chadwin Scatch is having a ball this week.

The 11-year-old is studying drama and hip hop and he said he loves it. "To have this stuff at the school is pretty exciting," Scatch said in a telephone interview.

Scatch is happy to be in school at 8 a.m. and his parents are even happier because they don't have to coax him to go.

Norway House has a housing crunch. At Scatch's house there are 11 people sharing a two-bedroom apartment. Both his parents work full time, and getting everyone up and out on time takes planning.

School principal Agnes Mowatt said the event is the talk of the Cree First Nation. Parents are dropping by the school to check it out. Norway House residents are trying to get the troupe to perform with the kids in the final show but there's no word on that yet.

While nobody is saying Circus and Magic can reverse the dismally high school drop out rate (50 per cent) among aboriginal kids in Canada, it's a feat to keep kids in school when they're on vacation.

"This type of activity is good. It helps keep kids in school and it'll help them stay connected (to the school), Mowat said.

The festival, now in it's eleventh year, is the brainchild of Neal Rempel. He signs on performers and does logistics. There's a puppeteer from Hollywood and a circus performer is arriving from London, England, for the Winnipeg workshops.

Rempel modeled the program after Clowns Without Borders, an international program that takes circus performers into the Third World to teach kids the art of juggling and walking a tight rope.

"These kids are isolated. Not just geographically but socially, too. They don't get a lot from the world of the arts," Rempel said.

In return, kids get the rush of being applauded.

"Everybody needs that moment... Where they're standing there and everyone is saying they are great," Rempel said.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca

Winnipeg Free Press

Drilling suspended on Minago Nickel Project of Victory Nickel Inc.

2008-02-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

NORWAY HOUSE CREE NATION, MB, Feb. 22 /CNW/ - Today, the Norway House
Cree Nation ("Norway House") announced that they were pleased with the
Manitoba Government's decision to suspend a drilling permit it issued to
Victory Nickel Inc. for the Minago Project. The decision came after the
Manitoba Director of Mines acknowledged the absence of notice or consultation
with Norway House prior to issuing the approval.
On February 21st, the Chief and Council of Norway House, met with
representatives from Manitoba's Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and
Mines and learned that three permits had been issued to Victory Nickel without
any prior notice or consultation. Most notably, one of the permits was a
borehole licence which is required to conduct exploration drilling planned for
early 2008.
Chief Marcel Balfour pointed out that Norway House took issue with the
issuance of these permits since under section 35 of the Constitution Act,
1982, governments are required to consult First Nations when they are
contemplating conduct that may adversely impact aboriginal or treaty rights.
Chief Balfour stated, "We made it clear to the representatives from Manitoba
that they had broken the law by issuing those permits without properly
consulting us. We are very pleased that Manitoba has suspended the drilling as
this is a good first step towards developing our relationship with the Crown
on mining issues."
Further discussions are planned between Norway House Cree Nation and
Manitoba towards development of an appropriate consultation and accommodation
process on mining in the First Nation's traditional lands. However, talks with
Victory Nickel remain at a standstill. "They still refuse to engage with us on
a without prejudice basis so we will simply focus our concerns on dialogue
with Crown," said Chief Balfour.

Norway House Cree Nation is located at the northern side of Lake Winnipeg
in the province of Manitoba with a membership of over five thousand. It is a
signatory to Treaty 5 with the federal government and has had its treaty
rights confirmed by Canada and Manitoba in the 1977 Northern Flood Agreement
and in the 1997 Master Implementation Agreement.

Victory Nickel Inc. (TSX:Ni) is a Toronto-based publicly traded mineral
exploration company that wishes to develop the Minago Project, a nickel
deposit located in the traditional territory of the Norway House Cree Nation.

For further information: Chief Marcel Balfour, Norway House Cree Nation,
(204) 232-9990

CNW Group

Homicide in Northern Manitoba - update

2008-02-20T11:05:00.000-08:00

Norway House, Man.
February 20, 2008

On the morning of February 16, 2008 at 5 a.m., Norway House RCMP responded to a report of a stabbing at a residence located in the Rossville area of Norway House First Nation.

Alvin Dion Cromarty, age 18 was located at the residence and transported to the Norway House Hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. A post mortem conducted at the Health Sciences Center on February 17, 2008 determined that Cromarty died from sharp force trauma.

Twenty-year-old Michael Evan Osborne of Norway House has been charged with second degree murder and remanded to Provincial Judges Court in Thompson on February 19, 2008.

Contact: Sgt. Line Karpish
(204)983-8397

mySteinbach.ca

Stabbing victim dies

2008-02-17T23:51:00.000-08:00

A 20-year-old Norway House man is dead after a stabbing early Saturday morning at the northern Manitoba community.

RCMP say the man was found by officers in a home in the Rossville area of Norway House about 5 a.m., suffering from what appeared to be stab wounds.

Emergency crews took the man to Norway House Hospital but he died of his injuries later that day, RCMP said.

An autopsy was scheduled for yesterday morning in Winnipeg but RCMP did not release any further information about the homicide.

Norway House RCMP, the RCMP serious crime unit out of Winnipeg and the Thompson major crime and identification units continue an investigation. The man's name was not released last night.

Winnipeg Sun

Residential school survivors gouged?

2007-12-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

Northern stores charge 1.5% cheque fee

Updated at 9:55 PM

By Alexandra Paul

Northern stores are acting as a bank of last resort for in remote communities looking for ways to cash $250 million in cheques.
But there's a price to pay for the service on reserves where there are no banks: Northern is taking a 1.5 per cent cut of each cheque.

About 12,000 people in Northern Canada are eligible for $250 million worth of cheques, averaging $18,000, with maximums as high as $30,000.

About 60 per cent of Manitoba's 5,000 eligible residential school survivors will receive cheques. The remainder will have the money deposited directly into southern bank accounts by the end of January.

Northern stores are processing the cheques for a fee of 1.5 per cent, offering $2,500 cash and the option of credit cards, debit cards or store credits.

"We're the only game in town," said Michael McMullen, executive vice-president with the North West Company, which runs 145 Northern stores in Canada, Greenland and Alaska. "We're trying to do the right thing. And maybe there are other choices people would like, but that's all we can do. We're not a bank."

Some northerners claim Northern's solution is cheating poor elderly people.

"I'm very concerned about this whole situation," said Gabby Munroe, who is a residential school settlement co-ordinator at Garden Hill, one of four fly-in communities in the Island Lake First Nations about 1,000 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. He's outraged by the 1.5 per cent fee, which works out to several hundred dollars per survivor.

"This affects all the First Nations that have Northern stores. They're raking it in," Munroe said.

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Ron Evans noted that just two northern communities, Norway House and Cross Lake, have banks, yet all First Nations deal with them, even if it's long distance.

"I'm going to try and put something together, with the other leaders and the banks, so it'll be easier for survivors," Evans said. His first meeting was with the Royal Bank Tuesday.

In Garden Hill's sister community of St. Theresa Point, band officials talked a credit union into opening up a branch just for the cheques, worth an estimated $3.5 million there.

"We got a credit union in our community to give our people an option, so Northern won't get the 1.5 per cent. Median (Credit Union) set up two weeks ago," St. Theresa's settlement co-ordinator Marcel Mason said.

Fred Harper in Red Sucker Lake, another Island Lake First Nation, said he took his cheque to Northern and expected a bank draft back. Instead, he received $2,500 and the option of a pre-paid MasterCard, a Northern Cashlink card that acts like a debit card or a gift card redeemable only at Northern.

"That's what happens to you if you cash it at Northern. They want to keep the money," Harper said bitterly.

Without banks, money usually gets stashed, but this time there's just too much cash for trappers to tuck into baggies or mothers to hide in bras.

A national working group of federal officials, First Nation leaders and commercial executives spent months anticipating problems with the residential school payouts, and trying to solve them.

In the end, the group couldn't settle the problem of no banks. They left it to each community to work out. That's when Northern stepped in.

Store managers worked out the details with chiefs and councils and sought advice from RCMP on what to do. Store managers say they are bending over backwards to be as helpful to customers as possible.

"We expected more (help). But it didn't occur," McMullen said. "The banking institutions didn't move any resources up here to handle this."

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca

Winnipeg Free Press

Ferry freed from ice in northern Manitoba town

2007-12-01T10:46:00.000-08:00

Last Updated: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 | 9:08 AM CT

CBC News

Manitoba's Amphibex icebreaking machine has freed a ferry that had become stuck in ice over the weekend near Norway House, cutting off the community's access to supplies.

The community of 6,000, located about 460 kilometres north of Winnipeg, uses a ferry to move food and other supplies in and out in until the Nelson River freezes enough to allow heavy truck traffic.

Normally when the river channel first begins to freeze, a machine is used to break up the ice ahead of the ferry.

But Coun. Mike Muswagon told CBC News an inexperienced operator did not use the icebreaker on Saturday and the ferry became lodged in the ice.

The provincial government's large Amphibex icebreaker arrived Tuesday. Muswagon said workers have since been able to drag the ferry to shore.

The Amphibex is continuing to break up ice on the river in an attempt to create a path for the boat.

The community ran out of gasoline Tuesday. Officials believe other key supplies could run out by Thursday.

A long line of cars and semi-trailers carrying supplies is waiting on the far side of the channel.

Local government officials have declared a state of emergency, giving them the authority to issue orders to prevent or limit loss of life or damage to property or the environment.

If supplies aren't replenished by Thursday, the Norway House band plans to ask the province to fly in supplies, which could cost thousands of dollars more than expected.

CBC News

Fingers crossed at Manitoba reserve as icebreaker arrives, frozen ferry moved

2007-11-28T15:36:00.000-08:00

NORWAY HOUSE, Man. - A big machine that smashes ice was giving hope Wednesday to a remote Manitoba reserve cut off from its supplies.

The Norway House Cree Nation was under a state of emergency because a ferry that ships food and fuel to the community became stuck in ice last weekend and supplies for the reserve's 6,000 residents were running short.

Councillor Mike Muswagon said the province's ice-breaking machine arrived late Tuesday and worked through the night.

Crews managed to move the ferry ashore early Wednesday morning and there was hope it could be returned to the Nelson River and continue on its way once the icebreaker cleared a channel.

Norway House is about 460 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

Canadian Press

State of emergency in Norway House

2007-11-27T23:57:00.000-08:00

A state of emergency has been declared in Norway House, a Northern Manitoba first nation...
A ferry that delivers food and fuel to the community has been stuck in thick ice in the Nelson River since Saturday.
Band councillor Michael Muswagon says the community of six-thousand could run out of such essentials as milk, eggs, and bread as soon as Wednesday.
An icebreaking machine is on its way to Norway House, 460-kilometres north of Winnipeg.

CJOB news

New dialysis stations added across province

2007-11-27T19:51:00.000-08:00

By PAUL TURENNE, SUN MEDIA

Manitoba will add 26 new dialysis stations across the province, Health Minister Theresa Oswald announced this morning.

The units, promised in last week's government throne speech, will be located in Winnipeg, Peguis, Norway House, Russell and Berens River.

Dialysis helps rinse toxins from the body, a task that is normally performed by properly functioning kidneys.

It is not a cure for kidney problems but is simply a treatment to stabilize patients' lives.

An additional 10 stations at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre can accommodate another 60 patients per year in the city, while the additional rural units increase the rest of Manitoba's capacity by 72 patients, according to Manitoba Health.

The new stations will cost the province about $20 million.

Winnipeg Sun

State of emergency in Waterhen

2007-11-27T12:23:00.000-08:00

Updated at 9:35 PM

By Lindsey Wiebe

A state of emergency has been declared in the community of Waterhen north of Dauphin, due to worrisome water levels on the Waterhen River.

The river has gone up more than a metre since Friday, but is believed to have stabilized about half a metre from the top of dikes set up this year, said provincial flood forecaster Alf Warkentin.

Still, Warkentin said the state of emergency is “a signal that there is significant concern.” The main problem is river jamming caused by frazil ice, the name given to slushy ice that forms over moving water.

Warkentin said the Waterhen River has not traditionally been an area to watch, but high levels on Lake Winnipegosis have made the river a cause for concern in recent years.

As of this morning, roughly six homes were surrounded by water, Warkentin said, but all were protected by dikes. A few homes were evacuated as a precaution.

Warkentin said the province had been preparing to send its Amphibex icebreaking machine to clear the riverway in Waterhen. But at the last minute, the machine had to be sent to the northern community of Norway House instead, to deal with a ferry frozen into the Nelson River.

“It’s kind of unusual,” said Warkentin, adding that the few previous times a ferry has frozen in the water, local staff have been able to break the ice and set it free.

“This year, for some reason or other, it got stuck in one spot and the ice formed around it, and now it can’t budge,” he said.

Manitoba Water Stewardship is also keeping an eye on the Fairford and Dauphin rivers, where frazil ice is likely forming and minor ice jams are expected to start.

Meanwhile, water levels on the Winnipeg River in the Whiteshell area are not expected to go up further, although boathouses and cottages in the area could be affected by ice. While it’s possible ice jams could occur on smaller streams in the area, flooding of buildings is unlikely.

In southern Manitoba, a thin ice advisory is in effect, meaning snowmobiles, skiers and hikers are warned to stay off rivers, lakes and streams.

lindsey.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

Winnipeg Free Press

Tories paid $25 billion in grants and subsidies over first year in office: report

2007-11-27T12:21:00.000-08:00

OTTAWA - A citizens' group says the Conservative government paid out $25 billion in grants, contributions and subsidies during its first fiscal year in office, with the two largest going to a Quebec-based aerospace company.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has compiled a list of the top 100 grants and contributions paid out between April 1, 2006, and last March 31.

The group says the 100 largest payments, doled out by 16 different departments and agencies, total $3.3 billion - much of it spent "questionably, inefficiently and, in some cases, outright irresponsibly."

The group says the government's total grant-subsidy budget accounts for just over 11 cents of each tax dollar spent.

The two largest handouts went to Quebec-based Pratt and Whitney Canada, the first for $213 million and second for $137 million.

Other notable examples of what the taxpayers' group called "corporate welfare" include $47.5 million to Quebec's Mont Tremblant ski resort, $27 million for a soccer stadium in Toronto and $19.1 million for Alcan.

The group says $9 billion a year is funnelled to native bands "despite the lack of accountability to Canadian taxpayers."

It points out that the auditor general is not allowed to scrutinize payments to aboriginal groups.

And it says most cities can only dream of the federal money given to Toronto - besides the soccer stadium, payments include $25 million to the Toronto International Film Festival, more than $24 million to the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization, $21 million to the Toronto Harbourfront Centre and $18 million to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.

Here are the Top 25 recipients of federal grants, contributions and subsidies paid during the Conservative government's first fiscal year in office (province, recipient, amount), as compiled by the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation and released Monday:

1. Quebec, Pratt and Whitney Canada Corp., $213 million

2. Quebec, Pratt and Whitney Canada Corp., $137 million

3. British Columbia, Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, $124 million

4. Ontario, Canarie Inc., $120 million

5. Ontario, Canadian Television Fund, $120 million

6. Washington, D.C., World Bank, $115 million

7. Ontario, National Association of Friendship Centres, $77 million

8. Ontario, Canadian Red Cross Society, $70 million

9. Quebec, Cree Regional Authority, $70 million

10. Alberta, Blood Band, $62 million

11. Ontario, Conseil des Ministres de l'Education Canada, $56 million

12. Quebec, Mont Tremblant Resorts and Co. Ltd., $48 million

13. Quebec, Quebec government, $44 million

14. New York, UN Population Fund, $44 million

15. Quebec, Development and Peace, $42 million

16. Manitoba, Manitoba Floodway Authority, $42 million

17. British Columbia, Nisga'a Nation, $42 million

18. Quebec, Societe du 400e Anniversaire de Quebec, $40,000

19. Manitoba, Norway House Cree Nation, $39 million

20. Saskatchewan, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, $36 million

21. Saskatchewan, Lac La Ronge Band, $36 million

22. New Brunswick, Atlantic Wallboard Ltd., $35 million

23. Quebec, Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, $35 million

24. Ontario, National Association of Friendship Centres, $34 million

25. British Columbia, Nuu-Cha-Nulth Tribal Council, $32 million.

The federation's complete list of 100 recipients can be found at http://www.taxpayer.com/pdf/Top100.pdf.

Canadian Press

Native boy wins battle to attend Winnipeg school

2007-11-22T13:28:00.000-08:00

Last Updated: Monday, November 19, 2007 | 10:58 AM CT

CBC News

The Manitoba government has ordered a Winnipeg school division to allow a boy from a northern reserve to attend school in the city, even though he is not living with a legal guardian.

Eileen Apetagon recently moved to Winnipeg from the Norway House Cree Nation. She has cared for her 13-year-old grandson for several years, so he moved with her.

She told CBC News in October that when she tried to enrol the boy in school, she was told by the principal that — according to the Public Schools Act — her grandson was not funded to attend the school in the St. James-Assiniboia School Division because his parents still lived in Norway House.

Apetagon said board officials told her she had two options if she wanted her grandson to attend a Winnipeg school: adopt him, or put him into the care of Child and Family Services.

Following a CBC story on the matter, Manitoba's education minister wrote to the school division, ordering officials to accept the boy.

The teen started school in Winnipeg on Monday morning, Apetagon said.

"It's hard for grandparents when that happens, because we don't want to take the parental rights away from our children, but there are times that we have to take on that responsibility for various reasons, and that should have been considered," she said.

Apetagon and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs are determined to change the legislation so no other First Nations families encounter the same problems.

"That's a practice of the past, and it shouldn't any longer continue," said AMC head Ron Evans.

The assembly and the provincial government were to meet on Monday to examine issues surrounding guardianship and school attendance.

CBC News

Better than a bullet

2007-11-17T11:01:00.000-08:00

Take it from me, despite Vancouver death, you're far better off being hit with a Taser

Sat Nov 17 2007

IN the stampede to judgment in the Vancouver airport Tasering and death of a Polish immigrant, let's remember these four men:

Donald Miles, Matthew Dumas, Dennis St. Paul and Howard Fleury.

What unites them is that they're dead, each killed by a police officer's bullet. Three died in Winnipeg and one in Norway House.

The circumstances of how Miles, Dumas, St. Paul and Fleury each died are uniquely different, but there is one underlying thing they have in common.

They might be alive today if they were zapped by a Taser electric stun gun.

That's why police throughout Manitoba and the rest of the world are now armed with Tasers, or in police jargon "conducted energy devices." Taser, like Kleenex, is a brand name, and there are more than one kind of conducted energy devices on the market, although the Taser is by far the most commonly used by law enforcement.

Up until now, and the release of the harrowing video death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport, the use of the Taser has been widely accepted as just another tool police use to do business.

Police are now trained to use a Taser, firing a 50,000-volt electric jolt, to get an unruly suspect to comply with demands to co-operate with officers, so they can be safely handcuffed without an officer or a member of the public being injured.

The Taser is not designed to kill.

If it was, I'd be dead. And my tombstone would say the date of death was Jan. 16, 2003.

That's the day the RCMP Tasered me and some other reporters as part of news conference on Mounties being equipped with the devices.

That three-second zap will forever be branded in my brain -- almost five years later it still makes me cringe.

Being hit with a Taser does not hurt -- it's worse. It's not like smacking your thumb with a hammer or getting hit in the mouth with a hockey puck. It's not that kind of pain. It's instead the pain of sheer terror.

The Taser's two electrodes, in contact with your clothing, transmit the 50,000 volts between the two points along the surface of your skin and outer muscles.

Your body reacts in a spasm as your brain doesn't recognize what's happening. You cannot help but cry out and fall to the ground. You are absolutely powerless to stop it. Only when the device is shut off do you find relief, and within a few seconds it's almost as if you'd never been Tasered at all.

It's a horrible, horrible experience.

It's also one each police officer trained in the use of a Taser has to go through, so they truly appreciate that they can never, ever allow someone to take it and use against them.

In the three years Tasers have been used in the province, no one has died after being hit with the device.

More and more, police are coming into conflict with potentially dangerous people who disobey orders to stop or give themselves up. It could be because they're high on drugs or have a mental illness and are acting out in a way that is not normal behaviour for them, but poses a safety risk.

More and more, pepper spray and batons don't work on these people.

So police use Tasers.

Of the deaths that have occurred in Canada and the United States, excluding what happened to Dziekanski, most of those who died after being Tasered had drugs in their system combined with cardiovascular problems.

Did Tasers kill them?

Short answer is, we don't know.

Which is why The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has again asked for another review of their use. A 2005 report for the CACP said Tasers were safe, but in light of what happened to Dziekanski, police across the country want a second opinion.

That's a fair and proper decision, but I'd hate to think because of what happened in Vancouver, police back off on using Tasers and go back to what they did before.

I'm sure the families of Donald Miles, Matthew Dumas, Dennis St. Paul and Howard Fleury feel the same way.

bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca

Winnipeg Free Press

Funding flap keeps native boy out of Winnipeg school

2007-10-29T17:36:00.001-07:00

Last Updated: Monday, October 29, 2007 | 9:33 AM CT

CBC News

An aboriginal woman living in Winnipeg says a city school division advised her to hand her grandchild over to Child and Family Services as a means of registering him for school.

Eileen Apetagon recently moved to Winnipeg from the Norway House Cree Nation. She has cared for her 13-year-old grandson for several years, so he moved with her.

When she tried to enrol the boy in school, she said, the principal told her that her grandson is not funded to attend a school in the division because his parents still live in Norway House.

Officials with the St. James-Assiniboia School Division told her she had two options, she said: adopt her grandson, or put him into the care of Child and Family Services.

"What she said was, the easiest way for my grandson to enrol at the school is to go through CFS," Apetagon told CBC News. "I said, 'No. That's not going to happen.' I will not allow my grandson to be involved with the Child and Family Services system.

"You know, this was very insulting," she said. "I felt a sense of anger and disbelief, like, I couldn't believe what I was hearing."

School division officials refused to comment, saying only that they were following the Public Schools Act.

Ron Evans, head of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, said he's heard of similar cases. Evans is asking Education Minister Peter Bjornson to change the law.

"That policy has to be revisited," he said. "They need to be sensitive to our culture, to our cultural practices, when it comes to parenting."

A spokesperson for Bjornson said his office is doing everything it can to ensure Apetagon's grandson attends school as soon as possible.

The province will review the case to determine if any policy changes are needed.

CBC News

Drug den busted

2007-10-26T17:14:00.000-07:00

By Chris Kitching

Four small children were inside an alleged drug den in northern Manitoba when RCMP conducted a raid early yesterday.

Police arrested a man and woman, and seized 130 rocks of crack cocaine and 213 codeine pills in the home in Norway House.

The children were turned over to Minisowin Child and Family Services. RCMP did not say what the relationship is between the suspects and kids.

Police said the street value of the drugs is in the thousands of dollars.

RCMP members from Norway House and Cross Lake participated in the raid.

Norway House Cree Nation residents George Ettawacappo, 50, and his 51-year-old wife, Dorcus, are each charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine, possession for the purpose of trafficking codeine, and causing a child to be in need of protection.

Both are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

Winnipeg Sun

Wife charged with murder in stabbing

2007-10-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

Fri, October 19, 2007
By CHRIS KITCHING, SUN MEDIA

RCMP confirmed today that a 59-year-old homicide victim in northern Manitoba was stabbed to death.

Police said Leonard Richard William Muswagon died Wednesday as a result of multiple stab wounds he suffered at his home in the Mission Island area of Norway House.

His 45-year-old common-law wife, Gaylene Ruth Clarke, has been charged with second-degree murder.

Norway House RCMP continue to investigate along with the Winnipeg RCMP serious crimes unit and Thompson RCMP major crime unit.

Winnipeg Sun

Not Safe, Not Sound

2007-10-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

Is a change in the child welfare system failing Manitoba's native kids?

Allison Hanes, National Post

Published: Saturday, October 06, 2007

The safety of a five-year-old girl on a northern Manitoba reserve has ignited debate this week about the vigilance of the province's child welfare system where foul play, abuse and extreme neglect have already led to the deaths of eight youngsters in care in the past four years.

The latest case involves a shy little girl who has endured more than her share of tragedy. In July her father was fatally hit in the head with a two-by-four -- a beating she may have witnessed. Her 16-year-old half-brother is one of the people charged with the murder. The girl may also have been sexually assaulted at age three. Another older half-brother, then 17, was suspected but not charged. The child has grown up in an impoverished household where drug and alcohol addiction were rife.

But when her aunt in Winnipeg, who is not Aboriginal, demanded the child be removed from this environment, she found herself locked in a three-month battle against bureaucratic resistance, ironclad confidentiality and cultural hostility. She was accused of racism and exploiting her niece for daring to question the motives of a system focused on maintaining the ties of First Nations youth to their communities.

Welfare officials have investigated the case and decided the girl was safe and should remain with her mother under the watchful eye of local child protection authorities.

Manitoba's Minister of Family Services and the province's Child Advocate took the rare step of speaking out despite strict privacy laws to reassure the aunt about the child's well-being.

And Marcel Balfour, the chief of Norway House Cree Nation, a reserve of about 5,000 where the girl lives, also insisted she is in good hands.

"All I can say is that the child is safe," he said. "I am more than confident, in terms of the processes that are in place, in terms of putting all the issues into context -- including these allegations that would have necessarily have to have been looked into-- that the child is safe."

"And I stand by the decision of the local childcare agency," the chief added.

But the aunt remains skeptical that a system that has already failed eight children will adequately protect her niece.

"They're stepping up and saying they will take responsibility at this point as a system, and they will do what they can to ensure her safety, so if anything happens to her, it's on their heads," said the aunt, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the girl.

"I said to them: 'Not one of you would put your children in that home. Let's pack their backpack and stick them in their overnight. You're not going to do that, are you? Not one of you will tell me you would let your children sleep in [that] house -- why do you think [my niece] should stay there?' "

The case has once again put the spotlight on a system where the welfare of the child is sometimes superseded by cultural considerations.

The Winnipeg woman first learned the heartbreaking details of her five-year-old niece's young life as her brother lay comatose in hospital in July.