“Aboriginal Fatigue”

Prime Minister Mark Carney does not, as far I know, surf. So there should be no danger that he will spend his first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as prime minister splashing about in Tofino, B.C., as his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, did in 2021.

The current prime minister does gruelling trail runs, though, so I suppose he could slip out into the Gatineau Hills. But he won’t. Likely he will participate in solemn ceremonies and pledge more government action. It is not clear that the latter will do any good for Indigenous people, but I hope Carney will also be better than Trudeau on the ceremonial part.

A federal forensic audit of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) has led to recommendations that the organization review its policies after $34 million in questionable transactions were found.

The audit, posted online Wednesday, was conducted by KPMG LLP on behalf of Indigenous Services Canada’s (ISC) Assessment and Investigation Services Branch (AISB) and looked at $47.1 million in transactions between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2024.

I bet it’s just the tip of the iceberg when all native funding is considered.

The Crown prosecutor handling the case of a 25-year-old half-Cree man who pleaded guilty to repeatedly raping a 12-year-old girl in Calgary — among many other vile things — believed 12 to 15 years would make a fair sentence; 10, if you count his mitigating factors. But the judge arrived at merely eight. Why? Because the offender was Indigenous.

It may surprise you, citizen reader, that there are Americans out there who hold deeper constitutional rights in Canada than you. It’s because they’re Indigenous, and because the Supreme Court decided in 2021 that they should receive special privileges. Now, despite being foreign, they’re using their newfound esteem in Canadian courts to intervene in what kids are taught in school.

In May 2021, the Kamloops First Nation announced the discovery of 215 burial sites near a former residential school—a claim that sparked global headlines about “mass graves” and left Ottawa’s flag at half mast for five months.

We now know this was a mistake. A group of researchers, myself included, published Grave Error, laying out the reasons for skepticism. The ground-penetrating radar (GPR) results had almost certainly been misread, confusing thousands of feet of buried weeping tile in the orchard with human burials.

Climate change causing ‘ecological grief’ in First Nations, federal report claims

A federal review says climate change is driving “ecological grief” in First Nations and Inuit communities while exposing shortfalls in Ottawa’s $1.6 billion wellness program meant to support mental health.

The Department of Indigenous Services reported that extreme weather, wildfires, and disrupted access to traditional practices such as hunting, fishing and medicine gathering are taking a toll on well-being.

h/t Auntie Polly (Incognito)

On a stretch of the south arm of the Fraser River, in the Vancouver area, the Cowichan Tribes in centuries past had an annual summer fishing village, a place they defended with a warrior ethos against other Indigenous groups.

But in the mid-1800s, the Cowichan – whose home territory is on Vancouver Island – were displaced from that village as the British took control and, after British Columbia joined Canada, the land was sold over the years.

Today, the land is occupied by an array of owners. Part of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and other industrial operations are there. There’s a golf course and private homes with small farms, along with a span of infrastructure such as roads and dikes. In a Globe and Mail analysis of property assessments, land and buildings in the area are worth more than $1.3-billion.

It’s an insane ruling.

KAHNAWAKE – The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake says it will probably impose tolls on the roads crossing its territory in response to looming federal budget cuts.

Grand Chief Cody Diabo told reporters the tolls could help offset the impact of cuts by Indigenous Services Canada on the Mohawk community south of Montreal.

He says his council is looking at implementing tolls on major highways where he says approximately 120,000 vehicles pass through daily.