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This month, many Indigenous people across Canada are marking the 10th anniversary of the death of Tina Fontaine.
She disappeared in July 2014.
The 15-year old’s body was found in Winnipeg’s Red River.
As Dan Karpenchuk reports, Fontaine’s death threw an international spotlight on missing and murdered Indigenous people in Canada and led to a national inquiry.
About 100 members of the Sagkeeng First Nation, where Fontaine was from, honored her legacy a decade after her death.
They marched across their community, 80 miles northeast of Winnipeg, in support of Fontaine’s family.
And in Winnipeg, Manitoba’s Minister of Families Nahanni Fontaine (no relation) said her provincial government is honoring Fontaine with an investment of nearly CAD$1 million ($740,000).
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‘This funding will support operations and programming at Tina’s Safe Haven, including counselling support, program mentors, resources, and health care from an Indigenous-led perspective with a focus on relationship building.’
Tina’s Safe Haven is run by a non-profit organization dedicated to helping at risk young people.
It’s a 24-hour drop in center for those 13 to 24.
The minister also said that Tina’s legacy is enormous and she said we honor her memory in the sacred work we do to protect women, girls, and youth.
Nahanni Fontaine also said ten years after her death, the Manitoba government is working to protect Manitobans like her by supporting community partners and programs on the front lines.
Of the nearly $1 million, about CAD$400,000 ($296,000) will go to partnering with the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre for weeklong public health nursing.
The remainder of the money will go to operating costs and programming.
Allen, SD, where the new Bennett County satellite voting center will be located. (Photo: Ss114)
In South Dakota, the Bennett County government has agreed to open a satellite voting location to better serve Indigenous communities.
This follows claims that the county violated the civil rights of Native Americans by limiting access to polls.
Bennett County lies within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Reservation, though its county seat, the town of Martin, is mostly split demographically between Native American and non-Native residents.
The agreement aims to make voting and registration opportunities available to Native voters outside Martin city limits.
A memorandum between the U.S. Justice Department and Bennett County says the office will be in the predominantly Native community of Allen, located in the northwest corner of the county.
Niigaanii-Animikii Inini Kalvin Hartwig is shown in a studio where he recorded an Ojibwe dubbing of the character Red Leader in the upcoming Ojibwe version of “Star Wars: A New Hope”. (Photo: Cary Miller / Wisconsin Public Radio)
An official with the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is helping bring Ojibwe to a galaxy far, far away.
As Danielle Kaeding reports, the tribe’s language-culture coordinator is a voice actor in an Ojibwe dubbing of the first Star Wars film ever made.
The Force is with Niigaanii-Animikii Inini Kalvin Hartwig.
“I’ve been a Star Wars fan since I was a kid, so this is checking all the boxes for me.”
Hartwig, who lives in Washburn, Wisc. is the Red Cliff tribe’s language-culture coordinator.
He lent his voice to the character “Red Leader” in an Ojibwe dubbing of Star Wars: A New Hope.
Hartwig says it took about an hour to record around 40 lines for the project in Winnipeg this spring.
“I hope young people and adults alike watch this film and are inspired to either continue learning the Ojibwe language or to start their Ojibwe learning journey.”
The film will be screened at select theaters in Wisconsin beginning August 30.
The Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance has announced recipients of the 2024 Indigenous Seed Keepers Stipends.
A total of 45 individuals from 36 different tribes have been awarded $2,000 each to support efforts in preserving and cultivating traditional seeds within their communities.
The stipends were made possible by Ceres Trust.
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