This little dancer made a big impact last week on
#NationalIndigenousPeoplesDay
in Camrose, Alberta.
Two-year-old Albert Apsassin who loves to sing and dance, finally got his first opportunity to dance in front of a big crowd.
Video: Martina Josephine
Three-year-old Madison took to her porch to dance in her jingle dress.
The member of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation in Alberta wanted to cheer those feeling down about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Video: Lorianne Chowace / Facebook
Demonstrators toppled statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth in Winnipeg this afternoon during rallies honouring the children discovered in unmarked graves on the sites of former residential schools over the past month.
Warning: The language in this story is disturbing.
A painful video of an Atikamekw woman in a Quebec hospital shows the nurses attending her to be rude and dismissive.
The woman died shortly after posting the video live on Facebook.
Full story tonight on APTN National News.
The first-ever, all-woman Heavy Equipment Operator class at the Interior Heavy Equipment Operator College.
These grads from Little Red River Cree Nation-Garden River, Alberta celebrated by wearing traditional ribbon skirts.
More dancers are joining in the porch-front jingle dress craze this week to share healing and joy.
Skye, from the Navajo Nation in Arizona, wanted to be part of the movement during the pandemic.
She says it’s important to share her heritage with everyone.
Video: Angel Thompson
This six-month-old from Onion Lake, Saskatchewan is making a big impact online.
Brave Yazzie loves to dance and is hoping to bring joy and healing to everyone during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Video: Aislinn Whitstone
Inspired by her Auntie Tanisha, Jayda decided she wanted to make a video to make people smile in these trying times. She enlisted her cousins to make it all happen.
Charlie Tukalak recently showed off his fancy footwork at home in Puvirnituq, Nunavik in northern Quebec.
Dora Tukalak says Charlie’s parents both compete in dance competitions and win – looks like the 29-month-old dancer is destined to win first prize in his future too.
‘My dad wasn’t allowed to vote when he was a young man. Tonight, his son was elected to lead the province.’
Congratulations pour in after
@WabKinew
’s historic win. Hear what leaders across Canada said about the premiere elect on APTN News Brief:
Women wearing traditional First Nation ribbon skirts rallied outside a school in Kamsack, Sask., Monday to support Grade 5 student Bella Kulak. The 10-year-old was shamed by an educational assistant last month who said her attire didn’t fit on Formal Day.
Metis activist and community leader Blake Desjarlais has been declared the winner in the riding of Edmonton-Griesbach where the NDP candidate defeated the incumbent Conservative.
#Elxn44
An Indigenous lawyer is the new president of the Canadian Bar Association - the first time an Indigenous person has ever held this position.
Brad Regehr is a partner at Maurice Law's Winnipeg office.
Timber the dog showing off his vocals, with Tyson Yellowbird on the hand drum.
This duo from Maskwacis, Alberta has gone viral online.
Video: Mason Buffalo
“I can confidently say that my appointment is an historic and inspirational moment for Canada, and an important step forward on the long path towards reconciliation.”
Mary Simon shares remarks in English and Inuktitut during this morning’s Governor General announcement.
A young man blew everyone away at Waabnoong Child & Family Youth Camp in Muskoka with his hidden talent.
Zeegwon Tabobondung from Wasauksing casually sat down at the camp’s piano and starting playing an incredible rendition of Hallelujah.
Video: Perry McLeod-Shabogesic
Camden Wade from Frog Lake, Alberta, playing on his drum gifted to him by his uncle and cousin.
The 18-month-old takes every chance he has to sing and drum says his mother Terri Wade.
Video Credit: Terri Wade
Nunavut NDP MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq didn’t hold anything back when giving her opinion of the federal government’s throne speech.
During her response in the House of Commons, Qaqqaq said Canada failed Inuit before the COVID-19 pandemic struck – and still does today.
Three-year-old Urijah Washington is a Yupik boy from Stebbins, Alaska and was captured dancing his heart out.
His mother Kaylene says Urijah spends a lot of time watching dancing videos online and this is him freestyling.
Video: Riannon Watson
A Piikani man in Alberta is hoping to bring Blackfoot grass dancing to the international stage.
Turique Krazyboy has been selected to audition for America’s Got Talent.
The 19-year-old has been grass dancing since the age of seven.
The doors of a Catholic cathedral in Saskatoon were painted with red handprints and the words "We were children" on Thursday following the discovery of 751 unmarked graves at the former Marieval Indian Residential School.
Photo courtesy: Donna Heimbecker
Two-year-old Cassidy Bighetty from Mathias Colomb Cree Nation shows off her fancy footwork during a tiny tots jigging contest.
The community, also known as Pukatawagan, has been holding virtual competitions for all ages to keep the community connected during the pandemic.
This 8-month-old boy's mother, who recently passed, was honoured over the weekend in Makwa Sahgaiehcan Cree FN.
"Before his mother passed, she wanted him to be a dancer," said Tristen Durocher.
The young boy is now being raised by his aunty.
Captured by Tristen Durocher.
Stephen Harper’s Conservative government agreed to “forever discharge” Catholic entities from raising $25 million for residential school survivors and paid their legal bill
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations is voicing their support for a search of Winnipeg-area landfills for the remains of Indigenous women.
A delegation from Saskatchewan that included a motorcycle group made the trek to support in person.
Guy Niquay from Manawan pleaded with
@MarcMillerVM
and
@Carolyn_Bennett
to do something about the death of Joyce Echaquan, joined by Echaquan’s 16 year old son Thomas-James Echaquan.
APTN’s
@jpashagumskum
was at the meeting.
'We respectfully ask that the protestors remove themselves from Ottawa. It is time to go home and allow for our vulnerable urban Indigenous communities to feel safe again and regain access to cultural programming and essential services.'
‘A band without land’ no more: After 230 years of protests, petitions and land claims the Caldwell First Nation has secured reserve status for an 80-hectare property on the band's traditional territory in southern Ontario |
@BrettForester
'I saw so much in residential school, that it haunts me you know, thinking about it, other children, what I saw, a lot of different kinds of abuses,' says Mi'kmaw Elder Phyllis Googoo.
A provincial fatality inquiry report into the death of a four-year-old Cree girl in Alberta has found fault with the child welfare system.
The report concluded child welfare officials should not have taken her away from her mother. |
@aptnchris
‘It’s your turn to help us end it’: Cambria Harris, daughter of Morgan Harris a woman who was murdered in Winnipeg, was on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday. She wants Winnipeg police and the federal gov't to search for her mother and three other women who are missing.
BREAKING: RoseAnne Archibald has been elected as the new national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
After five rounds of ballot votes, Reginald Bellerose has conceded and Archibald will now be the first woman to serve as AFN national chief.
Breaking: Singer/songwriter Robbie Robertson has died. Robertson’s mother was from Six Nations of the Grand River.
In 2011 Robertson sat down with APTN News to talk about how he got interested in music. Here’s a snippet:
Happy
#NationalIndigenousPeoplesDay
.
On June 21st join us in celebrating our cultures, honouring our traditions and sharing the knowledge of our unique past with future generations.
As the country grapples with the death of Joyce Echaquan, many are asking questions.
How did she die? Who is responsible? Will there be charges?
Here are the facts so far. | APTN News
Ochapowace Nation’s Ethan Bear will be showing off his name bar in Cree syllabics during Tuesday night’s exhibition game.
The Oilers defenseman says he’s wearing the jersey on behalf of all Indigenous hockey players and those who hope to play in the NHL.
Photo:
@EdmontonOilers
Hundreds of people were on hand Monday to welcome a herd of 24 buffalo to Cote First Nation in Saskatchewan.
It’s the first time in 150 years that buffalo have roamed the Treaty 4 territory near Kamsack.
See more:
'I really wish these feathers could talk': A headdress that was stolen about 15 years ago has made its way back home after being found in a North Vancouver dumpster. |
@inthehouse7
Indigenous corrections officers in Saskatchewan are alleging systemic racism in the workplace.
They plan to launch a lawsuit that has not yet been certified or tested in court.
"Indigenous languages don’t threaten French. Indigenous languages are threatened."
An Anishinaabe performer is speaking out after a Quebec music festival cancelled a set because the selected songs contained more Anishinaabemowin than French. |
@sentimtl
Going for Gold: Eighty-one year old Theresa Bighetty showing off her jigging skills online for the 2020 Annual Pukatawagan Winter Games.
Video: Pihkitiw Iskwewnitha
A former hotel in Whitehorse is getting ready to open its doors to vulnerable people in need of housing.
The building will also offer supports to its residents, such as 24/7 access to staff, crisis intervention and harm reduction |
@saraconnorsaptn
Little Cordelia Martin-Langan loves to dance, according to her grand-aunt Neena Durocher-Guy.
Neena took this video after making a ribbon dress and taking the 19-month-old to her first powwow in Muskoday First Nation, Sask. in early August.
An RCMP officer in Kinngait (Cape Dorset) has been removed from the community after a video was taken of the Mountie hitting an intoxicated man with his truck. There are now six active investigations of RCMP incidents in Nunavut.
'I have no doubt that this is pure racism involved,' says
@Pam_Palmater
.
The mild-mannered police response to the weekend blockade of downtown Ottawa by thousands of protesters reveals a racist double standard, some observers say.
Bison are taking over the town of Fort Liard.
The large animal is common in the N.W.T., so much so that our reporter in the territory
@aptncharlotte
said not only are they like house pets, but the local airport pays someone just to shoo them off the runway.
Photo: Robert Loe
Sipekne’katik First Nation Chief Mike Sack was sucker punched when trying to hold a news conference, an Elder had sage knocked out of her hand while she was smudging, and a woman was grabbed by the neck. |
@angelharksen
Neskantaga First Nation has been under a boil water advisory for 28 years.
Despite ongoing work and testing, Chief Christopher Moonias believes his nation, already under the longest boil water advisory in Canadian history, will hit the 30-year mark.
November 8 is
#IndigenousVeteransDay
. Today, along with every day, we celebrate and remember Indigenous veterans and all they have done. Thank you for your service and the impact you have made.
Democrat Ruth Buffalo made history as the first Native American woman to be sworn into the state's legislature and she did it dressed in her traditional regalia.
'This was a torture chamber': Lawyers at a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal listened intently as a residential school survivor described the childhood horrors he experienced in the boiler room of Immaculata Elementary School.
A sea of orange shirts can be seen in Winnipeg today as residents gather for a walk to mark the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and honour residential school survivors and the Indigenous children lost to the residential school system.
Warning: This video contains content that is graphic in nature - Police tape obtained by APTN News of an RCMP member interrogating a young Indigenous teenager after she reported a sexual assault while in foster care.
January 4 will mark the first official National Ribbon Skirt Day.
It's in recognition of Isabella Kulak, who wore a ribbon skirt to a formal wear day at a Saskatchewan public school in December 2020 – where an education assistant told her it was not considered formal attire.
What is Minister
@MarcMillerVM
’s number one priority going into Crown-Indigenous relations? Nation to Nation host
@BrettForester
put that question to the newly sworn-in minister – here’s what he had to say:
Autumn Andy, 15, was murdered in her home community of Big Grassy River First Nation five years ago.
A publication ban kept her silenced for years, but now Angeline Andy wants to tell her daughter’s story |
@Tamara_APTN
To those who knew and loved him, Raphael “Napa” Andre is remembered as so much more than the “homeless Indigenous man” local media referred to after Napa died a short distance from a shelter he frequented in Montreal. |
@sentimtl
| Shushan Bacon
Velma Olsen of the Nacho-Nyak Dun First Nation in Yukon has been collecting moccasin tops to make a blanket in honour of the unmarked graves at the Kamloops residential school.
With a lot of support online, Olsen has made a lot of progress and is working on a second blanket.
An Inuk member of the Nutrition North Advisory Board has penned a letter to Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal and resigned over Canada’s support of Israel
Greta Thunberg is in Edmonton Friday to talk about
#climatechange
.
Before she took to the stage, Indigenous leaders, Elders and singers opened the ceremony, including this young person.
#GretaInAlberta
With the help of Blackfoot Elders, a herd of bison were reintroduced to Waterton Lakes National Park in southern Alberta. The park had been without bison since a wildfire in 2017.
Elders from Kainai, Siksika, and Piikani provided blessings and held a ceremony to honour the herd.
On Vancouver Island, a group known as Seven Generations was drumming and singing in honour of the children found in Kamloops when a pod of orcas appeared and swam by the group.
Priscilla Bruce described it as an uplifting moment for their community.
'Our hearts are heavy today': Star Blanket Cree Nation announced the initial findings of ground penetrating radar has located over 2,000 “hits” at the site of the former Qu’Appelle Indian Residential School site near Lebret, Sask. |
@saraconnorsaptn
With the film Killers of the Flower Moon making news around the world, we thought we'd republish this op-ed by
@Katlia11
on the movie and the protection that Indigenous women deserve.
Canada Post has unveiled a new stamp in tribute to internationally-renowned activist, musician and visual artist Buffy Sainte-Marie.
Sainte-Marie, from Piapot Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, has used her platform as a force for change and is still performing at the age of 80.
#Breaking
: Feds never on track to fix First Nations drinking water says auditor general: “I am very concerned and honestly disheartened that this long-standing issue is still not resolved" |
@BrettForester
A mother and politician in Iqaluit whose son was held at gunpoint in 2020 says the RCMP must do something about any officer in Nunavut wearing a “thin blue line” patch after an officer was spotted wearing the patch on their uniform. |
@KentDriscoll
'He has left a footprint for many': Darrell Night, whose name came to national attention after he raised alarm about Saskatchewan starlight tours has passed away at the age of 56 in British Columbia |
@DaniParadis
Today, October 4 is a day to honour and remember Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
There are more than a thousand
#MMIWG
cases in Canada according to RCMP figures, and as many as 4,000 according to activists and families.
A University of Ottawa criminologist says the decision by police unions to wade into the criminal justice system in the wake of the death of an Ontario Provincial Police officer is disturbing. |
@FraserNeedham
Ryan Arcand, an Edmonton homeless man, who was known for his brilliant piano playing - has died. Originally from the Alexander First Nation, Arcand gained international fame in 2014 when a video of him playing went viral.
DFO, RCMP knew violence was coming but did nothing to protect Mi’kmaw lobster harvesters: Documents | Records reveal feds were more concerned about policing Mi’kmaw fishery than protests aimed at it |
@BrettForester
Magan Kateri Basque from Eskasoni First Nation in Nova Scotia has been crowned Miss Canada United World – the first Indigenous woman to win the competition |
@AnnetteEff
One year ago, Joyce Echaquan died in a Quebec hospital. She videotaped nurses taunting her as she lay in bed. Her death sparked a national debate about racism in health care.
See our coverage and the impact Joyce has made.
October 4 is a day to honour and remember Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
There are more than 1,200 MMIWG cases in Canada according to RCMP figures, and as many as 4,000 according to activists and families.
The Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway in Ottawa will be renamed to the Kichi Zībī Mīkan, which translates to “Great River Road.”
A ceremony unveiling new signage is planned for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30.
Thousands of First Nation children and families will finally be compensated for discriminatory acts by the child welfare system.
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal approved a $23 billion agreement offered by the federal government.
‘It is and remains a tiny portion of the industry’ says Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller of the picture being painted of Mi’kmaw fishers and the lobster fishery.
In Alberta, a leader of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation says an ongoing blockade at the Alberta–U.S. border shows a double standard when it comes to Indigenous protests.
Chief Allan Adam believes the protestors would have been arrested if they were Indigenous.
Violence continues to escalate against Mi'kmaw lobster fishers on the East Coast as a fire destroyed a lobster pound in Middle West Pubnico, Nova Scotia.
Just last week, Mi'kmaw fishers were barricaded in this building as a violent mob stole their catch.
Tonight on APTN National News: Over 100 bodies detected at the site of former residential school in Brandon, Manitoba.
Lawyers are requesting those involved in the Kamloops residential school be investigated
An inside look at the life of Joyce Echaquan.
November 8 is Indigenous Veterans Day. Today, along with every day, we celebrate and remember Indigenous veterans and all they have done. Thank you for your service and the impact you have made.