While Quebec has largely been spared the disastrous forest fires that plagued the north last summer, blazes that erupted near Nemaska in early July showed how quickly the situation could change. The Route du Nord was closed preventatively July 8 following the detection of fires and hot spots on the western side between km 306 and 320, and on the southern part between km 150 and 180.
National Indigenous Peoples Day (NIPD) is celebrated on June 21, the summer solstice, and this is no coincidence – the longest day of the year is spiritually significant in many Indigenous traditions and cultures.
It appears that steps are finally being taken to increase protection for caribou herds in Eeyou Istchee. In April, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault called for an emergency decree, warning Quebec that it must come up with a provincial plan to adequately protect the woodland caribou and their natural habitat by April 20. Now, after months of unsuccessful negotiations with Quebec Premier François Legault, Ottawa is implementing a first-of-its-kind emergency protection plan for the province’s caribou.
Quebec Court Judge Peggy Warolin recently delivered two pivotal decisions that highlight systemic shortcomings in the care and protection of Indigenous youth, echoing the findings of the 2019 Viens Commission.
On May 24, Waswanipi’s youth helped launch Uskâu ihtûwin, the first culturally adapted version of Quebec’s Aire Ouverte program to be established on Indigenous land. The project’s customized support services for youth aims to strengthen mental health and community resilience.
A conflict among current and former leaders of the Algonquin First Nation of Kitcisakik continues to escalate after the current director general and five former chiefs went public with their concerns on March 26 in Ottawa.
Childcare centres across Eeyou Istchee are undergoing significant changes to better reflect the Cree way of life. “Our main focus is that Cree culture and language is the basis of our programming,” said Kelly-Lee Pepabano, director of the Miyuuhpichinaausuwin Apatisiiwin department, which supports the region’s early childhood programs. “We wanted to ensure we don’t lose our language and promote it as much as we can.”
Four Crees from Waswanipi are dead after a pickup truck collided with their medical transport van near Chapais March 21. Waswanipi Chief Irene Neeposh said her community is in a state of shock. She declared four days of mourning, one for each victim who she described as pillars of the community: van driver Abraham Ottereyes, patients Allan Etapp and Charlie Gull, and Gull’s wife, Cecile Happyjack Gull.
Geese are coming home early. Some didn’t venture far this winter, which wasn’t much of one according to every available metric. Still-smouldering zombie fires and reduced snow are already concerning land users as the wildfire season approaches.
First Nations leaders took their opposition to a recently approved radioactive waste disposal site near the Ottawa River to Parliament Hill February 14, calling on the federal government to halt the project that they say threatens drinking water, wildlife and their fundamental rights.
