Mi'kmaq Matters

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 accountable to you, the listener, as we, in turn, endeavour to hold those in power accountable to the land, water, and to the Mi’kmaq people.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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