Mi'kmaq Matters

Funny man Greg Malone, a member of the legendary comedy troupe CODCO, is running as the Green Party candidate in Avalon. Formerly part of the NDP, he's now urging Newfoundlanders to make an economic U-turn that would make the province cleaner and happier. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Did he or didn't he? A lawyer says he received the go-ahead from his government client to argue that Mi'kmaq are conquered people. Columnist Jim Vibert says if documents prove that the lawyer is right, there will be major political fallout for Premier Stephen McNeil. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Archeologist Barry Gaulton is looking to ancient rock carvings for insight into patterns of Indigenous movement across "Newfoundland." See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lawsuit challenges have permitted Stephenville's controversial Indian Head Hatchery to expand without environmental assessments of the risks of introducing farmed salmon into marine waters. In other news, we're happy to be adding Miawpukek First Nations Radio to our list of radio partners. You can now listen to new episodes of Mi'kmaq Matters every Thursday at 1 p.m. on MFN Radio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Some reflections after the Miawpukek Powwow in Conne River. While the climate is in crisis, band councils are cozying up to resource companies. Now, ordinary Mi'kmaq are left to protect the lands and water that connect us to our ancestors. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For 40 years, researcher Don Pelley has been uncovering evidence of Beothuk life along the shores of the Exploits River and Red Indian Lake. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Participant funding for the Valentine Lake environmental assessment will be announced soon, and Jamie Kneen from MiningWatch Canada says groups planning to intervene on the gold mine development on traditional Mi'kmaq land need to start lining up experts and to back them. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After a splashy photo-op last fall with Liberal MPs, the Qalipu/Federation of Newfoundland Indians has not sealed a deal with the feds on getting back status for any of the 10,000 kicked out a year ago. Time to turn up the political heat, says Greg Janes, one of the organizers of ABLE: Anyone But Liberals Elected. But is it realistic to think anyone or anything can unseat MP Gudie Hutchings in a riding as red as the Long Range Mountains? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Melanie Smith of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency says funding will be available for both the public and Indigenous groups who want to have a say in whether the Valentine gold mine project proceeds, and how it should be executed. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

While First Nations in New Brunswick threaten to protest over lack of consultation on resource issues, two Mi'kmaq bands in Newfoundland remain silent as plans unfold for a massive gold mine on traditional Mi'kmaq territory and caribou habitat. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A reflection on the past 100 episodes, and a discussion of our plan going forward. Over the past three years, our small, two-person team has been covering the issues of concern to Mi’kmaq people in so-called Newfoundland and beyond. Time after time, we’ve been the first—and, too often, the only—to report on Mi’kmaq-focused stories.Mi’kmaq Matters promises to be there for you in the future just as we have been in the past. We’ve reached 100 episodes without any financial help, but we now need your support in order to expand our coverage and to continue to improve our content, both technically and journalistically. We now have a Mi’kmaq Matters Patreon page to allow listeners to make a small, monthly contribution to independent Mi’kmaq journalism (https://www.patreon.com/mikmaqmatters). We’ll use the money to invest in better equipment, to sustain a website that will host all of our multimedia output, and to fund reporting trips to the areas of our territory that are most at risk. We commit to remaining account

CEO Phil Walford and Director of Environment and Stakeholder Engagement Jamie Powell answer questions about timelines, risks posed by the mining process, and whether Marathon Gold Corps has any duty to consult Mi'kmaq people on whose traditional territory the development would take place. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Without having consulted the Mi'kmaq people who have used the lands over centuries, a mammoth gold mine is being developed in the Valentine Lake area of central Newfoundland. Jamie Kneen, the Communications and Outreach Coordinator for MiningWatch Canada, discusses the potential environmental risks the development could have on the surrounding ecosystems. Of particular concern is the potential impact to the watershed of central and northeastern Newfoundland due to the use of an ore processing technique called "heap leaching"—a low-cost but controversial process because of its role in mine accidents elsewhere. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We interview three of the four candidates for Humber-Bay of Islands about their campaigns, resource development and environmental protection. We hear from Liberal candidate Brian Dicks (Liberal), NDP candidate Shawn Hodder, and Progressive Conservative candidate Michael Holden. The independent candidate, Eddie Joyce, did not accept our interview invitation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The vote to admit Qalipu into Atlantic Policy Congress (APC) passed by a vote of fourteen in favour and two opposed.As other chiefs in the region begin to regain confidence at end of the enrolment process, does joining the APC mean a chance for Qalipu to make peace with other Mi'kmaq communities? We hear about the vote and the next chapter in the Qalipu-Mi'kmaq relationship from the congress's executive director, John Paul. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Talks between the Federation of Newfoundland Indians (FNI) and the federal government are bogged down, which means no results in sight for those who lost their status. Burgeo Band of Indians Chief Greg Janes (who is also a spokesperson for one of the veterans who lost their status while serving overseas) has been asking for updates on where veterans stand in the enrolment process. His requests seem to have fallen on deaf ears, and, as Liberals trail in the looming federal election, hopes for any resolution on the matter have begun to fade. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Everyone was at a mining announcement in Glenwood last month except Qalipu—the band didn't even know it was happening. Is this another example in a pattern of neglect by the provincial government?Later, we hear from Millertown mayor Fiona Humber on efforts to bring back the remains of two Beothuk people to the lands from which they were stolen. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, Robert Bertrand, national Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP), tells us about the search for the next Newfoundland affiliate. And later, Jerry Brake's lawyer, David Rosenfeld, gives us a debrief on the Brake case. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jerry Brake's lawyer, David Rosenfeld, tells us about the latest move to launch a class action lawsuit against the enrolment process. And later, we hear from Greg Janes, chief of the Burgeo Band of Indians, on a new alliance between Mi'kmaq bands that's trying to reach deeper into communities than Qalipu. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, a preview of a newly formed alliance of Newfoundland bands which have been mostly dormant since Qalipu's creation. And later, a debrief with Mi'kmaq First Nations Assembly of Newfoundland Chief Dave Wells on the Abbott case and the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.