The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs wants immediate action. Halifax mayor Mike Savage, however, is looking forward to more conversation. On Friday afternoon the Assembly officially walked away from participating in HRM’s historical panel on the legacy of Edward Cornwallis. The Chiefs cited ongoing delays in dealing with city hall and called for the statue […]
First Nations
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Mi’kmaq Chiefs call for immediate removal of Cornwallis statue
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs will no longer work with city hall on a solution to how Halifax commemorates its problematic founder, Edward Cornwallis. According to a press release sent out Friday afternoon, the Chiefs unanimously agree that the process to form the joint historical committee has “taken far too long and have […]
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Cornwallis panel nominee’s sexual assault conviction
One of the names put forward to judge the actions of Edward Cornwallis has a violent history of his own. Chief Wilbert Marshall, who has been selected by the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs to help lead Halifax’s examination of the city’s controversial founder, was himself convicted of sexual assault 10 years ago. Marshall […]
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Halifax’s Indigenous advisor talks Cornwallis, council and reconciliation
The wave of reconciliation is shallow, but it’s spreading. So says Wyatt White, the Halifax Regional Municipality’s first-ever Indigenous advisor. White, who hails from the Listuguj Mi’kmaq First Nation on the New Brunswick/Quebec border, is a former aboriginal affairs advisor to Environment Canada and to the provincial department of Education. He recently sat down with […]
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A roundtable discussion with the vanguard of Halifax activism
The major news stories of 2017 highlight how much labour has come off the backs of activists, but they also emphasize how much further we still need to go. From Cornwallis and street checks to white fragility and Pride’s pinkwashing, Halifax has a lot of work to do. Fortunately, the resilient spirit of resistance in this […]
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New home for Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre moving forward
Regional council approved an agreement Tuesday to sell the former Red Cross property on Gottingen Street to the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Society. Terms and conditions of the deal are contained in a confidential report that wasn’t released to the public, but what is known is that the sale will be at market value and is […]
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Families want answers on loved ones, MMIWG commission hears
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls held community hearings in Membertou First Nation this week. Journalist Maureen Googoo live-blogged the hearings each day on Twitter and shared coverage from her crowd-funded news site, Kukukwes.com, with The Coast. ——— The families of Virginia Sue Pictou-Noyes and Tanya Jean Brooks told the […]
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Treaty education an ongoing project in Nova Scotia
At a Halifax Regional School board meeting last June, a motion was approved to acknowledge that HRSB schools occupy unceded Mi’kmaw territory. South Shore-Bedford board representative Jennifer Raven, who put forward the motion, also announced that the department of Education and Early Childhood Development would be introducing treaty education into the province’s education curriculum come October, […]
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Family seeking justice in Mi’kmaw woman’s death testify in Day 2 of MMIWG hearings
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls is holding community hearings in Membertou First Nation this week. Journalist Maureen Googoo is live-blogging the hearings each day on Twitter and sharing coverage from her crowd-funded news site, Kukukwes.com, with The Coast. ——— More stories of pain, survival and seeking justice were heard […]
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Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry: Day One
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls is holding community hearings in Membertou First Nation this week, from October 30 to November 1. Approximately 40 families have registered to make statements. Journalist Maureen Googoo is live-blogging the hearings each day on Twitter and her crowdfunded news site, Kukukwes.com. Googoo is sharing […]
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David Hendsbee surprised Halifax didn’t use a red tarp to cover Cornwallis statue
Days after calling Indigenous protestors “hotheads on the warpath,” Halifax Regional councillor David Hendsbee privately joked with his council colleagues about smoking a “peace pipe” and expressed surprise that the tarp the municipality used to cover the statue of Cornwallis wasn’t red. The comments were made this past summer after hundreds of protesters gathered in […]
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When Daniel Paul found Cornwallis
Daniel Paul found his rival in a pub in 1965. He and his brother Lawrence and their Indian Brook friend Norman Brooks were upgrading their education together in Dartmouth. Getting out of school early one day, the trio headed to Halifax’s Piccadilly Tavern on Argyle Street for a few beers. They had enough cash to […]