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Inform. Impact. Inspire... Canada's source for Indigenous News. Windspeaker.com reports on the nuts and bolts of Indigenous Nation Building, and Windspeaker Buffalo Spirit pours the foundation. News, Sports, Culture, Entertainment, Indigenous worldview.
âThings could be forever changed if we donât stand up and fight for the integrity of our nations.â
#Indigenous # MĂ©tis #cdnpoli #indigeneity #fraud #BillC53
Indigenous Identity Fraud Summit solidifies Ontario First Nations/Red River MĂ©tis partnership to battle Bill C-53
Regional Chief Glen Hare of the Chiefs of Ontario (COO) and Manitoba MĂ©tis Federation (MMF) President David Chartrand have signed a resolution to declare that the MĂ©tis Nation of Ontario (MNO) is comm...
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The general manager of the North Shore Miâkmaq Tribal Council said First Nations need to understand the nuclear opportunities of the energy transition so they can make informed decisions on whether they want to be involved.
#Indigenous #FirstNations #energy #SMRs #nuclear
Small modular reactors a game-changing technology, says North Shore Miâkmaq GM
Jim Ward is quite conscious of the need to build a sustainable world. Ward, the general manager of the North Shore Miâkmaq Tribal Council in New Brunswick, is a big advocate of the nuclear technology ...
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Plan your weekend fun: Check out our guide to Traditional and Competition Powwows and Round Dances. windspeaker.com/powwows
#Indigenous #FirstNations #culture #tradition #music #dance #drumming #singing
Ryan Dickie said heâs hoping his #documentary Tea Creek will help move people to work on #Indigenous #food sovereignty and restore food abundance in Indigenous communities. Tea Creek is not just a film, itâs a place. Tea Creek is finding solutions, but it struggles too. #FirstNations
Indigenous food sovereignty farm featured in documentary screening at Vancouver festival
Ryan Dickie was keen to be involved with his latest film because he believes there is an important message that needs to get out. Dickie, a member of Fort Nelson First Nation in British Columbia, wrot...
windspeaker.comWilfred Buck is opening in cinemas across Canada. Click for details. Documentary about Cree Elder âThe Star Guyâ to premiere at Toronto film festival #Indigenous #film #stars #culture
President Joe Biden recognized Native American athlete Jim Thorpe May 3, awarding the Olympian posthumously with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Itâs the highest civilian honour in the United States.
#Biden grew up hearing about Thorpe from his grandfather.
#Indigenous #Native #sports #honours
âGreatest athlete of all timeâ posthumously recognized with U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom
Jim Thorpe was posthumously awarded a prestigious honour more than a century after some of his greatest sporting achievements. Thorpe, a Native American athlete from Oklahoma, was one of 19 individual...
windspeaker.comA play by Kenneth T Williams is now a film by Shelley Niro. Café Daughter is based on the life of Chinese/Cree neuroscientist, scholar, feminist and retired Canadian senator, Lillian Eva Quan Dyck. Held back in school despite her aptitude, Dyck overcame systemic racism. #Indigenous #FirstNations
Award-winning film Café Daughter from Mohawk writer-director Shelley Niro to stream
After a limited theatrical release throughout Canada, award-winning Mohawk writer-director Shelley Niroâs latest film CafĂ© Daughter will be released to a wider audience through streaming and video-on-...
windspeaker.comPresident Joe Biden recognized Native American athlete Jim Thorpe May 3, awarding the Olympian posthumously with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Itâs the highest civilian honour in the United States. #Biden grew up hearing about Thorpe from his grandfather. #Indigenous #Native #sports #honours
The memoir One Second at a Time by new author Diane Morrisseau details the abuse she suffered at the hands of a brutal predator. But itâs also filled with hope about Morrisseauâs escape from #trauma, #recovery from #addiction and the decades sheâs spent helping others.
#Indigenous #books #healing
Author details escape from abuse to heal herself and help others
Diane Morrisseau is a Sagkeeng gichi-aya'aa (knowledge keeper). Sheâs also a published author with the release of her new book One Second at a Time. In the book she discusses the trauma and abuse she ...
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The BC Prosecution Service has decided against charging RCMP officers in the killing of a 38-year-old Wetâsuwetâen man, despite recommendations from the Independent Investigations Office in British Columbia that three officers be brought before a court of law.
#Indigenous #policing #courts #law
RCMP again skirt charges in another Indigenous manâs death at their hands
The BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) decided April 23 not to approve charges against three RCMP members in the July 8, 2021 âfatal shootingâ of Jared âJayâ Lowndes, a 38-year-old father of two, and membe...
windspeaker.comA new 13-episode series airing on APTN and APTN lumi in May will feature Indigenous youth changemakers. Each episode of Warrior Up! is expected to inspire and be a positive, uplifting 30 minutes of television. #Indigenous #Inuit #FirstNation #MĂ©tis #television #youth #leadership
As Canada gears up to meet its #netzero emissions goal by 2050, itâs going to need the help of #Indigenous Nations to electrify the country. The #FirstNations Major Projects Coalition has unveiled its National Indigenous Electrification Strategy. #energy #electricity #economy
Indigenous electrification strategy released
Details about the National Indigenous Electrification Strategy were unveiled at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference in Toronto April 23. There are two main goals in the "Stra...
windspeaker.comNational Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak got on an #AirCanada flight carrying her headdress in its case and put it under the seat in front of her. Thatâs when flight attendants insisted that the #sacred item was to be stowed with cargo under the plane, and then things became tense. #Indigenous
Treatment of national chief and her headdress by Air Canada 'scary', âhumiliatingâ, Woodhouse Nepinak says
When Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak was checking in for her Air Canada flight from Montreal to Fredericton, N.B April 24, the ceremonial headdress she was carrying in...
windspeaker.comBecause Sheâs Adopted tells the story of an #Indigenous child adopted into a non-Indigenous family and her anguish of not feeling like she belonged. Itâs the story of Kristal Parke who, at age 17, reconnects with her #FirstNations mother and a community that welcomed her home. #film #festival #doc
Film follows adoptee as she reconnects with her Indigenous family
Kristal Parkeâs journey to find her home, where she truly belongs, is featured in the documentary Because Sheâs Adopted, which will screen at the Dreamspeakers International Indigenous Film Festival a...
windspeaker.comWilfred Buck is the subject of a #documentary that will screen at the #HotDocs festival & will soon be in theatres across Canada. Buck is considered the foremost authority on #Indigenous #astronomy. The charismatic, irreverent, humble, family man has had quite the life. #stars #tradition #culture
Documentary about Cree Elder âThe Star Guyâ to premiere at Toronto film festival
Lisa Jackson had an electrifying moment seven years ago, and that moment led to her latest work, a film titled Wilfred Buck. Wilfred Buck will have its North American premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian...
windspeaker.comBree Island, owner of Mixed Creative, will co-host a panel discussion at this yearâs Dreamspeakers International Indigenous Film Festival. The festival celebrates Indigenous artists of #film, #video, #radio and new media from around the world. #Indigenous #festival #animation #training
Annual Dreamspeakers Film Festival set to begin in Edmonton
Filmmaker panels, animation workshops and more than 40 films will be showcased at the Dreamspeakers International Indigenous Film Festival in Edmonton from April 26 to April 28. This year the festival...
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Bree Island, owner of Mixed Creative, will co-host a panel discussion at this yearâs Dreamspeakers International Indigenous Film Festival. The festival celebrates Indigenous artists of #film, #video, #radio and new media from around the world.
#Indigenous #festival #animation #training
The First Nations Major Projects Coalition had Finance Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland as a panelist at its annual conference April 23. She spoke about the newly announced Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program
#Indigenous #finance #energy #cdnpoli #naturalresources #equity #budget2024
Deputy Prime Minister says new Indigenous loan guarantee program is âa really big dealâ
Canadaâs Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto. Freela...
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The Held by the Land Deck includes 45 cards describing #plants & their properties & comes with a 48-page guidebook that shares plant stories & traditions, along with recipes for food and beauty. It was created by ethnobotanist Styawat Leigh Joseph.
#Indigenous #FirstNations #teachings #storytelling
Squamish ethnobotanist creates new plant teaching tool
Ethnobotanist, researcher and community activist Styawat Leigh Joseph of Squamish First Nation has created a new guide to Indigenous plants. Itâs in an illustrated card deck format and is based on her...
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Ray Williams remembers when Fisheries and Oceans Canada confiscated the Mowachaht boats from Yuquot. The boats left on the beaches were burned. That act of colonial violence not only left the people without a means to earn a living, it was an assault on their identities.
#Indigenous #fish #DFO #BC
Through generations, Mowachaht/Muchalaht fishers have been criminalized by the DFO
This article was originally published by IndigiNews and had been shared with select publishers, including Windspeaker Media. It was produced as part of the Fish Outlaws project, a multidisciplinary co...
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Acclaimed writer Billy-Ray Belcourt (This Wound is a World, A Minor Chorus) spoke with Windspeaker about his new collection of stories Coexistence. Themes of identity, belonging, loss, queerness and hope run through an entire community he has created.
#Indigenous #FirstNations #storytelling #books
New collection by Billy-Ray Belcourt brings northern Alberta characters into his readersâ orbit
In his fifth book Coexistence, Billy-Ray Belcourt (Driftpile Cree Nation) shares a collection of short stories that moves through Indigenous love, loss, queerness and hope. Themes of identity, belongi...
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Keith Henry, president and CEO of the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, is feeling happy with the 2024 federal budget. In it there was $2.5 million in support of his organizationâs strategy to grow the sector.
#Indigenous #tourism #budget2024
Indigenous tourism official applauds federal governmentâs budget support
There are varying views from Indigenous leaders about the federal budget unveiled on April 16. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak was among those who was critical of the ...
windspeaker.comFirst Nations leaders said Canada has prolonged their peoplesâ struggles by not providing necessary investments in #housing and #infrastructure. The federal budget was tabled April 16 by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and it fell well short of expectation. #Indigenous #FirstNations #budget2024
First Nations chiefs alarmed, disappointed by Canada's 2024 budget
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia FreelandAfter Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland delivered the 2024 federal budget on April 16, Indigenous Services Canada Minister Patty Hadju twee...
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The new Athlete Kit, the clothing that Canadian athletes will wear during the #Olympics and #Paris Paralympics this summer, was revealed April 16 in Toronto. Among the models strutting their stuff on the catwalk was Justina Di Stasio, a member of Norway House Cree Nation.
#Indigenous #sports
First Nations wrestler helps unveil Canadian clothing line for Paris Olympics
Justina Di Stasioâs lifelong dream is starting to feel more and more like reality. Di Stasio, a member of Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba, is a wrestler who will represent Canada at this summerâs...
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A podcast platform called PĂźkiskwĂȘwin is bringing together people who incorporate Indigenous languages in their shows.
Dozens of #podcasts are being offered to audiences who want to hear #Indigenous languages being used to revitalize culture, traditions, spirituality & more. ##storytelling #language
Podcast platform helping to restore Indigenous language
By Crystal St.Pierre, Windspeaker Buffalo Spirit Reporter Sharing knowledge and culture to restore language is the focus of pĂźkiskwĂȘwin. Itâs an online podcast platform for listeners who want to learn...
windspeaker.comWhen Nelson Little released the new video for his single âJust Make It Happenâ we just had to talk to him about this song, his music & his path of positivity. He talks to us about movie soundtracks, uninterrupted time to create, & the renewed energy of collaboration. #Indigenous #storytelling #art
Nelson Little creating space to âignore every negative thing in lifeâ on new single
For his new single âJust Make it Happenâ, Indigenous roots-rock artist Nelson Little said he deliberately went looking for a carefree sound to match the inspirational tone of his storytelling. Little ...
windspeaker.comThe #GoldenKnights have done it before. They know what it takes to win a Stanley Cup. Zach Whitecloud knows the team is in a different situation than it was in 2023, but the first step to a repeat has been achieved. Theyâve clinched a berth in this yearâs playoffs. #Indigenous #sports #hockey #NHL
Whitecloud hopes experience of Stanley Cup success helps Golden Knights as playoffs begin
Zach Whitecloud believes knowing what it takes to become a Stanley Cup champion could prove to be a key ingredient for the Vegas Golden Knights this season in their playoff run. Whitecloud, from the S...
windspeaker.comItâs not over, but the #BloodTribe has inched closer to resolution of its âBig Claimâ with a #SupremeCourtofCanada declaration. The top court clearly says the tribe was shorted 162.5 square miles of reserve land promised in the making of Treaty 7. #Indigenous #FirstNations #SCOC #courts #law #legal
Blood Tribe âBig Claimâ time-barred, but Supreme Court provides declaration in Crownâs âdishonourableâ conduct
The Supreme Court of Canada has helped to restore the honour of the Crown by issuing a declaration in the Blood Tribeâs âBig Claimâ on April 12. The claim asserts that Canada shorted the Blood Tribe, ...
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Two young Indigenous artists will be among 250 other creators who will share their interesting perspectives & their work at this yearâs Artist Project in Toronto. Jay Soule & Jake Kimble are looking forward to an appreciative crowd.
#Indigenous #FirstNations #art #photography #popculture #identity
Indigenous work on display at this yearâs Artist Project in Toronto
More than 250 artists will showcase their work at the upcoming 17th Annual Artist Project being held from April 11 to April 14 at the Better Living Centre at Exhibition Place in Toronto. The event provides a platform for Canadian artists to gain exposure and sell their work. A highlight will be the inclusion of works by Indigenous artists Jay Soule and Jake Kimble. Soule, whose brand is Chippewar, is from Chippewas of the Thames First Nation in Ontario. This will be his fourth time participating in the show.
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Why do we want it on our territory? Whatâs the benefit to us?
 Those are the conversations that need to start early when contemplating development projects in #Indigenous communities. Theyâre not easy conversations to have.
#FirstNations #energy #business #economy #hydro #windpower
Community buy-in is critical when talking major project development on Indigenous territory
Jason Batise is a firm believer in laying all his cards out on the table. Batise is the executive director of the Wabun Tribal Council, which represents six Ojibwe and Cree First Nations in northern O...
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Break free of past mistakes holding you back with the help of the Elizabeth Fry Society. The Pardon Me Program guides people through the criminal record suspension process. And for those earning $25,000 and under, costs are covered.
#Indigenous #crime #criminal #pardon #justice
Pardon Me Program helps people get free of criminal records
Navigating a new path in life isnât always easy, but the Elizabeth Fry (EFry) Society of Greater Vancouver is advocating for individuals across Canada hoping to get clear of a particular barrier. Its ...
windspeaker.comOpen #communication & advance consideration of #mining activity in an #Indigenous territory is best practice for industry success. Itâs not only important of the mining companies themselves, but also of Indigenous leadership when engaging with community members. #FirstNations #business #economy
Pursuing mining initiatives in Indigenous communities requires balance
Darrell Beaulieu believes itâs a balancing act for Indigenous communities to prosper in the mining industry. Beaulieu is the president and CEO of Denendeh Investments Incorporated, an Indigenous- owne...
windspeaker.comOPINION: #Indigenous #BC #RCMP #courts #injustice
Outrage as prosecution stays manslaughter charges against RCMP in death of First Nations man
The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) is furious at the BC Prosecution Serviceâs (BCPS) decision to stay manslaughter charges against constables Paul Ste-Marie and Jean Francois Monette, RCMP of...
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âAt this time of great opportunity and expansion of the FNBC we are grateful to have Perry Bellegardeâs leadershipâŠâ
#Indigenous #FirstNations #finance #economy #leadership
Bellegarde appointed chair of First Nations Bank
The First Nations Bank of Canada (FNBC) has announced that former Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde has been appointed chairperson of its board of directors.
windspeaker.comSinging Back the Buffalo the new feature length documentary from award-winning Cree filmmaker Tasha Hubbard (nĂźpawistamĂąsowin: We Will Stand Up, Birth of a Family) will have its Canadian premiere at the 2024 #HotDocs #Film Festival in the Land|Sky|Sea program. #Indigenous #environment #teachings
Buffalo are our relatives and teachers, new documentary film explores
UPDATE: Singing Back the Buffalo the new feature length documentary from award-winning Cree filmmaker Tasha Hubbard (nĂźpawistamĂąsowin: We Will Stand Up, Birth of a Family) will have its Canadian premi...
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New columnist Carrie Armstrong, founder of Mother Earth Essentials, writes about the balance that the Medicine Wheel shows us and how the four sacred medicinesâsage, tobacco, cedar and sweetgrassâcan be used.
#Indigenous #teachings #nature #MedicineWheel #sacred #plants
The balance we seek
By Carrie Armstrong, columnist Carrie Armstrong is from Michel First Nation in Alberta. She's a teacher, and the founder of Mother Earth Essentials. In 2020, Carrie published her book Mother Earth Pla...
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Nature communicates with humans through the behaviour of plants, animals, fish and birds. Every lesson, every teaching weâll ever need in life is right outdoors if we choose to recognize it.
#Indigenous #FirstNations #books #birds #nature #teachings
First Nations naturalists say birds and nature offer signs that humans keep ignoring
By Shari Narine, Windspeaker Buffalo Spirit Reporter With Springâs official arrival, the honks from Canada Geese flying north are filling the skies. A glance up will see them in the familiar âVâ forma...
windspeaker.comAn all #Indigenous cast takes a satirical look at the fur trade and instead of focusing on the men, the play focuses on the women. Women of the Fur Trade was originally created for a Fringe Festival contest in Toronto. Now itâs back in that city for a run at Aki Studio. #FirstNations #MĂ©tis #history
Indigenous cast shifts perspective from the male focus in fur trade to womenâs power
A play with a comedic look at the Canadian fur trade of yesteryear has come full circle. Playwright Frances Koncan, a member of Couchiching First Nation in northern Ontario, wrote Women of the Fur Tra...
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The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation has a Supreme Court of Canada decision that upholds its rule that elected chief and councillors must reside on its settlement lands in the remote community of Old Crow, Yukon.
#Indigenous #FirstNation #SCOC #justice #rights
A mixed bag of opinion from Supreme Court justices, but Vuntut Gwitchin residency rule prevails
Today the Supreme Court of Canada decided the case known as Cindy Dickson v. Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (VGFN), and while the First Nation can claim an ultimate victory, the decision comes with diss...
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Justice delayed is #justice denied. Justice has been denied generations of #MĂ©tis survivors of the Ăle-Ă -la-Crosse #residentialschool in #Saskatchewan. "Waiting for Justice" was just named Best Short #Documentary at the #Toronto Short #Film Festival.
#Emotional and a call to action.
#Indigenous
Ăle-Ă -la-Crosse residential school survivors tell their own stories in award-winning documentary
MĂ©tis filmmaker Matt LeMay said heâs happy the Indigenous Geographic documentary Waiting for Justice is getting a second life on the Canadian film festival circuit. Last week, Waiting for Justice was ...
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Whether itâs through her #poetry or while in conversation at home making homemade mayonnaise, Rebecca Thomas has a lot of powerful insights to share. "I Place You Into The Fire" is a new #documentary by #Indigenous filmmaker Stephanie Joline. #colonialism #reconciliation #healing
#film #animation
Documentary features First Nations spoken word poet
Indigenous filmmaker Stephanie Jolineâs newest documentary, I Place You Into The Fire, features Miâkmaq spoken word poet Rebecca Thomas of Lennox Island First Nation. Thomas once served as Halifax's p...
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The #Manitoba #Indigenous Summer Games will return in 2025 following a 14-year break. Two #FirstNations will co-host the GamesâNorway House Cree Nation & Sagkeeng First Nation. One in the north of the province from July 9 to July 14, 2025, and one in the south from Aug. 17 to Aug. 23, 2025.
#Sports
Manitoba Indigenous Summer Games revived following lengthy hiatus
The Manitoba Indigenous Summer Games will return in 2025 following a 14-year hiatus. The Manitoba Aboriginal Sports & Recreation Council (MASRC), which is the governing body of Indigenous athletics an...
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Kelly Babstock received a phone call that made her dream come true. After finishing the #hockey season in Switzerland, the member of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory has now inked to a deal as a reserve player with the Boston squad of the Professional Womenâs Hockey League.
#Indigenous #Sports #PWHL
First Nations player inks contract to join PWHL Boston reserve squad
Thereâs a chance that Kelly Babstock could end up seeing some action during the inaugural season of the Professional Womenâs Hockey League (PWHL). Babstock, a member of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory ...
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âI can honestly say that I am completely discouraged that so little has changed and that so many First Nations individuals and families continue to live in substandard homes.â
#Indigenous #FirstNations #housing #cdnpoli
Auditor general slams Canada for lack of progress on First Nations housing
In one of three reports delivered by federal auditor general Karen Hogan on March 19, she charged Indigenous Services Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation with continuing to fail in ...
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Sophie Grawbarger & the University of Toronto Varsity Blues womenâs hockey squad nabbed silver at the national university tournament in Saskatoon which ended March 17. Grawbarger, a member of Garden River First Nation, was happy with the result. #Indigenous #FirstNations #Sports #university #hockey
First Nations forward leads U of T to silver medal at national university tournament
Sophie Grawbarger has some shiny new bling. And though the silver medal is not the colour she would have preferred, Grawbarger, a member of Garden River First Nation in northern Ontario, is pleased wi...
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First Nations in Ontario are gathering to discuss the challenges they face within the healthcare system with the goal of improving wellness in their communities. Itâs a complicated business that will require attention in all areas.
#Indigenous #FirstNations #health #healing #wellness
Cross-sector approach needed to address health and wellness in First Nations
Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare was visibly shaken when he addressed media March 19 near the end of the first day of a three-day inaugural conference on First Nations Community Wellness. He had just ...
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He was more than just an enforcer in life, but thatâs the role he is often remembered for as a left winger in the NHL. Chris Simon died March 18 and he is being remembered as a kind, gentle giant of a man who cared for others.
#Indigenous #FirstNations #sports #hockey #NHL #mentalhealth
First Nations Stanley Cup champion remembered after sudden death
Chris Simon was known as one of the toughest players ever in the National Hockey League. Simon racked up more than 2,000 penalty minutesâand eight suspensionsâduring his 15 seasons in the league. But ...
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