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National Indigenous News September 16 · 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: A new report from British Columbia's Human Rights Commissioner says First Nations reserves are four times more likely to face wildfires than non-reserve communities in the province.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: The report from the Office of Kasari Govender, looking into the impact of wildfires on vulnerable communities, finds that First Nations, as well as children and those experiencing poverty, are disproportionately impacted by the blazes.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Govender's report says that between 2000 and 2024, First Nations comprised all but one of the 37 BC communities where at least half of their total land area was burned by wildfires.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Lyton, BC, which was largely destroyed by the 2021 Heat Dome Wildfire, was the exception, but Govender notes that more than 30% of the community's population was First Nations.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: In a statement, Govender says the report shows the impact of wildfires across communities in BC is unequal and must be recognized.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: She said it may be due to a number of reasons, including distance from urban centers, gaps in infrastructure, and failure to recognize First Nations jurisdiction that can limit emergency response.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: She said decision makers must ensure preparedness and mitigation strategies do not leave the most vulnerable behind.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: In Alberta, significant progress has been made towards Calgary's truth and reconciliation commitments, but there's still much work to be done, City Council heard from administration this week.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: A meeting Monday marked 10 years since the Calgary Aboriginal Urban Advisory Committee's White Goose Flying Report, which sorted through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 calls to action and identified 43 that the City of Calgary could directly implement or support.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: The city has an interactive dashboard outlining progress made toward those commitments.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: They include the renaming of what's now the Confluence Historic Site and Parkland, dedicating millions to build affordable housing for Indigenous families, and running a camp for Indigenous people thinking about becoming firefighters.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: The city also made progress toward formal agreements with local First Nations, including signing an MOU with the Blackfoot Confederacy in 2025 and finalizing plans this year for one with the Bears Paw First Nation to be signed in the near future.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: The city also shared that the permanent Indian Residential School Memorial Project, which directly responds to calls to Action 79 and 82, has completed its design phase and remains on schedule and within budget for anticipated completion by spring of 2028.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Calgary Mayor Jeremy Farkas said while the city has made significant progress toward completing the White Goose Flying Reports commitments, there's still much more work to be done.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Operated annually from roughly February to March, the road connects to three diamond mines northeast of Yellowknife, Dyavik, Ikati, and Gacho Kui.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: With the end of commercial mining operations at two and financial troubles for the other, the mine's owners agreed that there is likely no need for the road to operate for the upcoming season.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: The Rio Tinto-owned Dyavik mine ended production earlier this year and is in active remediation.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Ikati shut down suddenly this year after its parent company filed for creditor protection.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Pricewaterhouse Coopers is now overseeing the shutdown and cleanup at this mine.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: De Beer's Gachokui, meanwhile, has encountered serious financial issues with a planned closure date moved up from 2031 to 2028.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Pricewaterhouse Coopers told the McKenzie Valley Land and Water Board in a letter last week that no winter road would be constructed to Ikati.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: The president of the North Slave Metis Alliance has said if the road doesn't open this season, it will have an impact on Indigenous corporations, as through Indigenous contractors, the road has provided jobs for those building and maintaining infrastructure and operating lodges for truckers to stop over along the way from Yellowknife to the mines and back.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: The lack of easy access to the region by road is also likely to give caribou herds in the area a break from hunters.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's a look at your National Indigenous News.