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National Indigenous News June 10 · National Indigenous Newscasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: This is a look at your National Indigenous News.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Daryl Stranger.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Inuit Tapori Kanatami, or ITK, is looking to minimize socioeconomic gaps between Inuit and non-Indigenous Canadians with a new poverty reduction strategy.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: The document, released Tuesday in Ottawa, cites 2023 Statistics Canada data suggesting that 41% of Inuit families lived below the poverty line compared to 11% of Canadians overall.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: ITK's president Natan Obed said a key principle ingrained in the new strategy is the idea of creating whole people with all aspects of life being interconnected.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: The strategy focuses on three key areas: increasing economic participation through the creation of a sustainable financial foundation for Inuit, bringing cost of living and income security across Inuit Noonangat in line with the rest of Canada, and supporting Inuit-centered social services and community infrastructure.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: The 48-page Inuit Noonangat poverty reduction strategy points to a number of socioeconomic inequities disproportionately faced by Inuit compared to non-Indigenous people.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: To address these gaps, the strategy includes a broad action plan, including the development of a federal Inuit Noonangat education policy, implementing youth mentorship programs, promoting Inuit self-determination, and advocating for comprehensive wraparound social programming.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: As part of the poverty reduction strategy, ITK also proposed an Inuit-led framework to replace the program, including subsidizing food fright and transportation costs instead of retailers and regulations on food prices.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: The BC First Nations Justice Council has launched a police accountability unit to assist indigenous people affected by police violence, misconduct, or negligence in BC, responding to the disproportionate levels of harmful police interactions experienced by Indigenous communities.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: The unit supports individuals navigating the complex system of police oversight processes through free legal supports.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: The police accountability unit first launched as a pilot project in 2024 in response to a direct ask from First Nations communities to establish the service.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: The Police Accountability Unit has since taken on over 220 files, demonstrating the need for the Indigenous-led accountability support, now an official BC First Nations Justice Council service.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: The Police Accountability Unit is an independent program funded by the Law Foundation of BC.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: The unit's staff lawyers provide comprehensive legal services ranging from summary advice to filing police complaints, pursuing civil actions in court, and filing complaints before tribunals like the Human Rights Tribunal.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: The unit may also take on cases related to municipal police forces, RCMP members, bylaw officers, and individuals in other law enforcement roles.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Community members in Star Blanket Cree Nation can, for the first time, in recent memory, walk down the road and see an animal that once was a common sight on the lands they live on today.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Men, women, and children in the community, about 100 kilometers northeast of Regina in Saskatchewan, gathered to greet their new herd of bison and celebrate the historic day for their nation.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: The project started out as an engagement process for community safety plan initiatives, but other projects started to develop after consultation with community members.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Looking towards the future, the herd is on about 65 hectares of land, but there are plans to expand the area further.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: The community said the bison one day will provide food, clothing, and medicine to the people of Star Blanket Cree Nation, but for now the herd serves as an educational purpose and they hope to watch them grow.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's a look at your National Indigenous News.