Graphic: Rebel Youth Magazine
by Jay Watts, Rebel Youth, April 15, 2016
In 1995, a report issued as part of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples called suicide “one of the most urgent problems facing aboriginal communities.” 22 years later, Canada’s ongoing colonial project is still taking a staggering and gruesome toll on the health and lives of First Nations. In Attawapiskat, a community of close to 2,000, there were 11 suicide attempts last Saturday [April 9, 2016], on top of 100 suicide attempts since last September. Read the rest of this entry
Chief Big Foot (Spotted Elk) lies lifeless in the snow near Wounded Knee Creek following the Wounded Knee Massacre on December 29, 1890. One hundred and twenty-five years following the Wounded Knee Massacre of December 29, 1890, indigenous peoples continue to heal.
Sarah Sunshine Manning, Indian Country Today, Dec 28, 2015
This year marks the 125th anniversary of the Wounded Knee massacre. On December 29, 1890, as many as 300 innocent and unarmed Lakota men, women, children, infants, and elders were gunned down by the United States 7th Cavalry at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota. After the bloodshed, Chief Big Foot (Spotted Elk) and his band lie dead in the snow where they remained frozen for three days, until all were buried in a mass grave.
Native children in a residential school.
by Marlene Leung, CTV News, Dec 15, 2015
Aboriginal children attending residential schools died at a higher rate than school-aged children in the general population, and were often buried in unmarked graves, according to the final report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The commission released its final report Tuesday afternoon, marking the culmination of six years of research and interviews with more than 6,000 residential school survivors and their families. Read the rest of this entry
Randy Littlechild, executive director of health services in Maskwacis, says there is hope now that the Alberta government will help fund a crisis line. (CBC)
Alberta child advocate adds voice to concerns about ‘alarming’ suicide rate among aboriginal youth
By Gareth Hampshire, CBC News, Dec 3, 2015
First Nation leaders in Maskwacis say they are pleased there appears to be growing awareness at the provincial level about the shocking number of indigenous youths taking their own lives.
They were responding to a report released Tuesday by Alberta child and youth advocate Del Graff, which said that more than half the deaths or cases of serious injury under investigation by his office this year involved aboriginal youth who attempted or died by suicide. Read the rest of this entry
Unreserved, CBC News, Sunday November 29, 2015
Canadians are becoming increasingly aware of residential schools and their impacts on First Nations people. But many have not yet heard about another system of segregation — one that often kept First Nations confined to their communities.
by Gloria Galloway, The Globe and Mail, Nov 3, 2015
Tens of thousands of records amassed during various stages of the settlement process with the survivors of Indian residential schools will be released to the public for the first time this week – shedding further light on a long and often brutal attempt by the government at forced assimilation.
The British had more troops and resources on a global scale, but they underestimated what was needed to take over Nova Scotia in 1675, and remained on the defensive until they made peace with the Mi’kmaq in 1761. This photo of Mi’kmaq in Nova Scotia is from around 1890. (CBC News, supplied by Nova Scotia Archives Twitter)
Tod Scott says Halifax founder Edward Cornwallis couldn’t suppress early Mi’kmaq pushback
By Jerry West, CBC News, Oct 22, 2015
In the early clashes between the British and Mi’kmaq, the British usually came out on the losing end, new research suggests.
The Mi’kmaq were so successful at defending against the settlers, British soldiers were often too scared to leave their forts, according to historical documents.
Toby Obed fought back tears as he told the court how staff would make students have sex on field trips and forced others to watch. CBC News.
Toby Obed says former students in North West River were scared of staff
by CBC News, Oct 5, 2015
An Inuit man told a St. John’s courtroom Monday that he never felt loved at the Labrador residential school he was forced to attend, and that punishment against Inuit students was very common.
Toby Obed said students at the North West River school were also bullied and taunted but staff did nothing to protect them.
“We were scared of staff. They could do or say anything at anytime,” Obed sobbed as he testified during a class action lawsuit at Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. Read the rest of this entry
Nicolette Moore says just hours after giving birth to twins, the Ministry of Children and Family Development said they would be removed from her care. (Facebook)
Nicolette Moore says she’s been clean and sober for 2 years, but the ministry still took her twin babies
CBC, June 19, 2015
An aboriginal woman from the Nisga’a First Nation is fighting to gain custody of her infant children after she says she turned her life around.
The Ministry of Children and Family Development seized custody of Nicolette Moore’s infant twins this month. Moore says the ministry cited concerns about her past addiction.
“I was told future behaviour is predicted by past behaviour. I honestly don’t know where my past ends and my future begins.” Read the rest of this entry
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