October 21, 2020 We fully stand with the Mi’kmaq Nation and the Fishermen asserting their Mi’kmaq Treaty Fishing Rights for a “Moderate Livelihood” as per the 1752 Peace and Friendship Treaty. We condemn the racist violent actions by the non-Indigenous commercial fishermen and allies, as well as the RCMP who have evidently failed to protect the Mikmaq people of continual colonial viole
By Jessica Bound Hydroelectricity is currently considered to be the most important source of renewable energy in Canada, but when it’s generated by a mega-dam, it isn’t actually as “clean” or “green” a source of energy as the Canadian hydropower industry would like us to believe. Fortunately, alternatives to hydroelectricity do exist, and they are much more effective than you might
By Shirley Ducharme Original Article featured in Winnipeg Free Press January 21, 2020 While in Winnipeg, federal cabinet members will talk about reconciliation while enjoying the spoils of our unreconciled existence. When they flick light switches or charge their phones, they will plug directly into the reality of our community, and others like it. That makes this a good time to invite them
Original article from Amandala Newspaper: On the environment and health fronts, it has not been a good year. We are a little past halfway through 2019 and we are in a drought that’s beginning to compare with 1975: at least two of our rivers have never been this unhealthy, and we are in the middle of a frightening dengue outbreak. We are also in the midst of making final preparations fo
By Mathew Scammell On May 29th, 2019, members from Wa Ni Ska Tan attended a protest in front of the Manitoba Legislature in support of residents of Hollow Water First Nation. These residents were advocating against a silica sand mine project that had been approved by their Chief and Council, the Manitoba Government, and is being run by Canadian Premium Sand. The extracted sand is to be shipped
In April, Dr. Peter Kulchyski and a few members of Wa Ni Ska Tan went up to Camp Morning Star on Hollow Water First Nation. The Camp was set up to delay and eventually stop the mining of Silica-rich sands. The site proposed by Canadian Premium Sands covers 300 acres and is to be used in various fracking operations across Canada. The land in question also houses numerous traplines for the community
I’m Kianna Durston, a summer co-op student researcher for Wa Ni Ska Tan. During my first week with the team, I had the chance to travel to Kenora for the Treaty 3 Nibi (water) Declaration National Forum with two other research students. During this trip, we were able to attend and learn from those leading the water declaration, which was developed in collaboration with the Treaty 3 Women’s Cou
For Immediate Release 1 May 2019 Cree Presenters Expose Manitoba Hydro at UN Forum New York City — On Monday, April 29, representatives from three northern First Nations told the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues about the long-standing and ongoing damage caused by hydropower mega-projects in Manitoba. The five largest rivers in Manitoba have been dramatically and per
On Friday, March 22nd, over 150 people gathered at the Manitoba Hydro Place Courtyard and marched to the Legislative Building to call for responsible management of our water. Wa Ni Ska Tan co-hosted this event with the Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition. This year we focused not only on hydro issues, but all major water issues affecting communities in Manitoba. The goal of the event was