2 minute read
IN BRIEF
Sasakamoose hangs up his skates
Former Chicago Blackhawk Fred Sasakamoose – the first Indigenous player in the National Hockey Leage – succumbed to Covid-19 November 24.
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Sasakamoose was admitted to a Saskatchewan hospital November 20 and received a positive test result November 22.
Sasakamoose, or “Chief Thunder Stick” as he was nicknamed, played 11 games for the Chicago Blackhawks
- Sasakamoose’s son Neil
in 1954. He was also a residential school survivor and spoke about his experiences at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2012. Outside of hockey, Sasakamoose served as a band councillor and chief for the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation.
Sasakamoose’s son Neil posted an emotional video on Facebook following his father’s death and spoke about their last conversation.
“I talked to him about one o’clock in the afternoon. I asked how he was feeling, if he was scared,” Neil says in the video. “He said, ‘I’m not scared.’ He said, ‘I’m ready to go. If I’ve got to go, I’m going to go.’
“And I said, ‘You know what, dad? If you’re tired, you go. You go and don’t worry about us over here.’”
Cuffed for being Indigenous
Transcripts of a Bank of Montreal worker talking to Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) has shed light on a December 2019 incident that saw a Heiltsuk man and his 12-year-old granddaughter handcuffed for simply trying to open a bank account in Vancouver.
Lawyers for Maxwell Johnson released the previously redacted transcript that shows a BMO employee calling ISC after being presented with an Indian status card. The worker appears not to know what a status card is and is directed by ISC to phone the police.
Johnson and his granddaughter were subsequently handcuffed when police arrived at the BMO branch in downtown Vancouver and held until their identities could be verified. The worker called the police that day to report a fraud in progress even though both Johnson and his granddaughter provided birth certificates, healthcare cards and status cards.
A human rights complaint has been filed against the BMO and the Vancouver Police Board by Johnson.
Minister of Indigenous Services Marc Miller called the incident “a process of systemic racism” adding, “if there is an issue with Indigenous Services… we will act swiftly.”
Demands for longer moose moratorium
Though the hunting season for moose is over in Quebec, Algonquin leadership have continued their calls for a five-year moratorium on moose in the La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve and Quebec may finally be ready to listen.
Earlier this fall, the Algonquin blocked access to the park for sports hunters. Their action sparked weeks of controversy and tension. The communities surrounding the park are food insecure and rely heavily on the moose population in the park.
An aerial survey of the park’s moose conducted by Quebec in early 2020 showed a declining population. At the time, Quebec’s forestry minister Pierre Dufour cited the numbers as “concerning, but not critical.”
On November 16, Algonquian Nation Chiefs sat down with Quebec’s recently appointed Minister Responsible of Indigenous Affairs, Ian Lafrenière, to discuss the moose hunt.
Lafrenière called the initial meeting “extremely important” and is prepared to continue negotiations with the Algonquin to find a solution.
“This discussion needs to take place, and now we have a minister who’s willing to push this forward and sit down and start the negotiation – which is fantastic for the Algonquin Nation,” Verna Polson, Grand Chief of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council, told APTN.
