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
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
The fourth publication of our annual Alliance newsletter is now available. Inside you will find articles, stories, interviews and poems and recipes, all related to hydro. You will also find information and updates on some of the community and research projects we’ve both funded and taken part in this past year. Through many more stories from community voices, this newsletter connects you with
By Stan Wilson, OCN Citizen I would like folks to know that the "7 teachings" are only one half of what’s needed to be taught to young people. Let me explain what I mean. Using what has been a traditional Indigenous way of maintaining and perpetuating Indigenous ways of being and doing is great. But the whole prescription for minnopimatisiwin (the ‘good life’) needs to be taugh
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
In memory of the Late Elder Elmer Courchene from Sagkeeng Anishinaabe First Nation, Treaty 1, who passed on Dec. 5/2018 at the age of 83, we wanted to pay tribute to the respected leader by sharing his speech from last year’s World Water Day on March 22nd 2018 at the Thunderbird House in Winnipeg Manitoba. The passing of Elmer Courchene was a huge loss still felt by those who knew him and those
On Wednesday, January 16th, a representative from Manitoba Hydro came to the University of Manitoba campus to discuss prospective summer employment for Indigenous students. Hosted in Migizii Agamik, students gathered to listen to a 45 minute presentation on the how's and why's to apply for a summer position. The speaker provided statistics regarding Indigenous employment, stating that Manitob
On Human Rights Day, December 10th, a group of about 35 supporters ended an eight-month long postcard campaign with a rally and march to the Manitoba Legislative building. Guests who spoke to our calls to action at the event included Rita Monias and Jackson Osborne from Pimickimak Cree nation, who have experienced hydro impacts in their community, spoke about their lives before hydro
The Augmented Flow Program (AFP) has provided Manitoba Hydro permission to operate the Churchill River Diversion outside of its Interim Licence in order to achieve its desired flows through the hydroelectric system since 1986, every single year. Essentially it is an annual deviation permitted by simple letter that allows Manitoba Hydro to exceed water level changes to exceed by 1.5 feet the
This summer, our students worked on a large variety of projects! They travelled up north with us, and came to our gatherings. They assisted us with documentary project's, and assisted in organizing events, archiving and documentation, and communications. Read more below about what some of our summer students did: KSENIYA ZAIKA Originally from Belarus, Kseniya Zaika is an international scholar in