The Cree Nation played a prominent role at this year’s United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). The theme at the largest global gathering of Indigenous leaders, which began April 17, was a rights-based approach to human health, planetary and territorial health, and climate change.
In 2021, Federal Court approved a class-action settlement between Canada and several First Nations that were subject to long-term drinking water advisories from 1995 to 2021. Now, settlement negotiators have extended the deadline for First Nations to submit a claim until March 7.
A CBC investigation disproving Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond’s claims of Indigenous descent is stirring controversy about the extent of Indigenous identity fraud in the highest levels of Canadian legal, political and academic institutions.
In many ways, Donald Nicholls had been preparing to attend this human rights workshop in Geneva, Switzerland all his life. After getting law degrees from the University of Toronto and McGill University, Nicholls received a Master of Laws from the University of Arizona, where he would later become a professor. There he ended up working with Indigenous nations from across North America and the world, including work in Australia, Mexico and Nicaragua.
Since being elected in 2021 during the Covid pandemic, Grand Chief Mandy Gull-Masty has seen provincial and federal elections and dealt with a range of issues, from meeting with the Pope over the legacy of residential schools, to provincial language laws, to federal announcements on protected areas. The Nation reached out to the Grand Chief to discuss the state of the Cree Nation, and to ask about pressing issues and future plans.
Quebec Premier François Legault committed his government to protecting 30% of the land in Quebec by 2030 during the opening of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) conference in Montreal on December 6.
The federal government and the Indigenous Leadership Initiative launched the First Nations National Guardians Network at the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties in Montreal December 9.
A recently released report is shining light on the little-known issue of imposed sterilization in Quebec. With numerous instances of forced abortion and obstetrical violence also documented, the project has reignited discussions about systemic discrimination in the province’s healthcare system.
An Indigenous woman is suing the police force in London, Ontario, alleging three officers sexually assaulted her for years and that police failed to investigate or stop the abuse.
The federal government announced a $40 billion agreement to reform the Indigenous child welfare system and compensate victims last January, but now Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has ruled that the government’s offer of $20 billion to First Nations children and families did not go far enough, putting the agreement in jeopardy.
