CBC Newfoundland Morning

Our National Indigenous Peoples Day show featured an artist, an author, a community leader and more, all of whom are celebrating and honouring their culture and heritage today - and every day. We finished the show with our studio guest, Qalipu First Nation Chief Jenny Brake.

Indigenous visual artists use paint brushes, cameras, clay or other media to create. Their artwork often reflects their own experiences as Indigenous people. Melissa Francis is Mi'kmaw and a visual artist from Gander Bay. Stan Hill is the former chair of ArtsNL and a bone carver who is Iroquois but has lived on Miawpukek First Nation reserve for 30 years.

Indigenous artists in this province now have a new organization to support and represent them. Indigenous Performing Arts NL, or IPANL, launched its inaugural season this spring. The group hopes to address the under-representation of Indigenous stories in the province's performing arts scene. Leahdawn Helena, the artistic curator, was born and raised in western Newfoundland. Helena spoke with CBC's Amanda Gear earlier this week about the organization and National Indigenous Peoples Day.

An author from St. George's doesn't wait for a special day to recognize and celebrate Indigenous culture. Judy Doucette has written two children's books reflecting her Mi'kmaw heritage. Every chance she gets, she shares her story at schools and public events. Doucette also encourages everyone to be proud of where they've come from as Indigenous people. Her new book is called Poppa and the Sacred Kitpu ("Bald Eagle").

National Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations are taking place today in Mi'kmaw communities across the province. Qalipu First Nation itself is hosting events in Corner Brook, Glenwood, Grand Falls-Windsor and Stephenville Crossing. Individual bands and communities all over the island are honouring the day with celebrations of their own. In Stephenville, a new cultural space was to be unveiled, and Stephenville mayor Tom Rose told us about it.

The 2SLGBTQ+ community is at risk of EXTREME violence. That warning came from CSIS, Canada's intelligence agency earlier this year. There have also been contentious debates recently over education and health care for transgender youth. As a result, organizers are very much on alert for Pride month this year. CBC reporter Darrell Roberts has been checking in with organizers in this province, including one from western Newfoundland.

Earlier this week on Newfoundland Morning, we heard from NL Health Services about a new online portal for accessing your own health records. It's an addition to the My Gov NL online service, where you can also renew your driver's license and vehicle registration. We asked an expert how safe our information will be when it's stored there. Jonathan Anderson is an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Memorial University in St. John's. He spoke with the CBC's Elizabeth Whitten.

Escaped inmate Tyler Bennett had still not been located as of 8:30 this morning. The 31-year-old man, who is from the Northern Peninsula or western Newfoundland area, escaped from the West Coast Correctional Centre in Stephenville last Friday. Bennett had been in custody in relation to a number of criminal charges. Cpl. Jolene Garland is Media Relations Officer for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and we reached her in St. John's.

A company in Corner Brook is now offering rides around town, at a much cheaper rate than the taxi cabs. Island Exotic car rentals has been renting standard and luxury vehicles for about four years. But last week, it also started to offer rides around the city and the Humber Valley. Owner Devon Reid says he is now classified as a chauffeur service, whose drivers have Class Four licenses and proper insurance agreements to offer pre booked rides around the city. CBC's Colleen Connors stopped by his lot to learn more. She also spoke with Joe Vokey, who has been driving taxi in Corner Brook for more than forty years and now drives for City Cabs.

(*Please note: slightly distorted audio*) The town council in Grand Falls-Windsor says the Family Care Team set up in the community last year is just not working. The provincial government is promoting the idea of team-based care, bringing physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers and others together under one roof. But the town council and a healthcare advocacy group say the government needs to do more. Cyril Farrell is the chair of the Grand Falls-Windsor Healthcare Coalition. Mayor Barry Manuel agreed to be on the show, but was unavailable. Dr. Des Whelan is the senior medical director for the Central zone of NL Health Services, an Emergency Room physician, and one of the people helping to establish the Family Care Team in Grand Falls - Windsor.