Rick Garrick

Ginoogaming has been granted an interim injunction to prevent any mining activities from being carried out in the Wiisinin Zaahgi’igan sacred area located within the community’s territory.

“We are encouraged that the Superior Court has recognized the inherent and treaty rights of Ginoogaming and has granted an injunction to halt mineral exploration activity in Wiisinin Zaahgi’igan,” says Grand Chief Derek Fox. “We acknowledge and congratulate Ginoogaming’s leadership for defending the rights of their nation and the land that has sustained them for generations.”

About 2,000 people were evacuated from Poplar Hill, Deer Lake and Pikangikum as of July 16 due to smoke from forest fires near their communities. About 560 people were evacuated from Poplar Hill, about 630 from Deer Lake and about 865 from Pikangikum as of July 16.

Thunder Bay’s No Pride in Genocide march began at 2:15 on July 1 to honour the 215 children found at the former Kamloops Indian residential school.

“It’s a grieving time for us (with) what they found and what they’re going to continue finding,” says Elder Ma-Nee Chacaby, whose memoir, A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder, was published in 2016. “There’s going to be more.”

Chacaby says the turnout was “pretty good” for the walk from Waverley Park to the Thunder Bay waterfront.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Grand Council Treaty #3 and the Chiefs of Ontario welcomed investments in infrastructure, policing, Indigenous women entrepreneurs, health, education and justice but called for more economic development investments after the federal budget was delivered.

Deputy Grand Chief Walter Naveau stressed the importance of working with Wawatay Communications Society to get messages out about COVID-19 during his WRN (Wawatay Radio Network) update.

“That is why having Wawatay is important to air what’s going on pertaining to COVID-19 … because not all people have cellphones but they still talk amongst one another about the measures being taken,” Naveau says. “So that is why I find that Wawatay is very instrumental and very important in terms of getting the word out.”