Mahihkan Bus Lines now goes from Winnipeg to Flin Flon, Thompson, next stop – Brandon

People used to be able to travel around Manitoba until Greyhound pulled their services out of Western Canada in 2018 and the rest of Canada in 2021. The move left many people in rural and Indigenous communities without any lifeline to flee domestic violent situations.Now, an Indigenous company in Manitoba has stepped up to the plate and started offering Bus services from Winnipeg to Flin Flon stopping in a lot of rural towns on the way. Mahihkan Bus Lines will be offering services from Winnipeg to Brandon.Opaskwayak Cree Nation applied to the Manitoba Government shortly after Greyhound left Western Canada…

Jacoby Hotain SVDN Upcoming Football Star

Jacoby Hotain is 15 years old and comes from Sioux Valley Dakota Nation (SVDN). When he was 15 years old, Hotain, started with Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School in Brandon, Manitoba, just east of SVDN.
In his first year at Crocus Plains, Hotain joined the football team where "all his hard work on and off the field has paid off when he was asked to join the Varsity squad". He was later awarded "Junior Varsity Lineman of the year".
Jacoby Hotain also joined the Manitoba Selects, a Winnipeg Blue Bomber initiative designed to assist young football player aspirations, by arranging games with…

First Nations Drinking Water Class Action

There are 17 First Nation communities in Manitoba that can claim compensation from the First Nations Drinking Water Settlement. However, if you come from one of those communities, you have until March 7th, 2024 to apply. There is a Government of Canada website called Drinking water litigation at this link. The page was updated January 10, 2024. There is a government sanctioned/appointed administrator, that has been entrusted to administer this claim at this link can be found at the bottom of the government website. The administrator’s website is called First Nations Drinking Water Settlement. There is a link on the…

Festival du Voyageur February 16-25, 2024

This year's Festival du Voyageur will take place February 16-25, 2024. Western Canada's largest  winter festival has a wide variety of entertainment from national to local entertainers, Indigenous/FNIM cuisine, fiddling and jigging competitions, a beard growing competition and lots of activities for kids. There is even a giant ice wall you can climb with the help of professional assistants. The Festival takes place at Whittier Park at the southeast confluence of where the AssiniboineRiver intersects with the Red River at 836 Rue St Joseph in St. Boniface, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2Y 0H8. For a brief history of Festival du Voyageur, please go…

Canadian Mini Series Little Bird to be aired in the USA

The 2023 Canadian mini series, Little Bird, about the the "60's Scoop", was filmed in Manitoba. Episodes were shot in Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, Sioux Valley Dakota Nation and Winnipeg. The Story is about a young girl who was taken away by Child Welfare Authorities in 1968 from a Saskatchewan First Nation community and sent to a Montreal Jewish family and her attempts to reconcile with her Indigenous community. A TV Critic for the Los Angeles Times, Robert Lloyd, referred to Little Bird as a powerful exploration of contemporary Canadian socials ills like the "Sixties Scoop" and assimilation. While these sociological phenomena…

Pitikwé Skatepark opens in Portage Place

Now that it's finally cold in Winnipeg, you may be looking for a warm place to go skateboarding in the comfort of a downtown shopping mall.While the future of the Portage Place Mall are being worked out, the ground floor anchor position on the on the west side of the mall has been repurposed into an in-door skatepark so that skateboard enthusiast can enjoy their passion year-around.The park takes up the entire floor space where the old Staples store used to be.According to a online Cree Dictionary, "Pitikwé" means "enter or come in".Admission prices are $5 under 25 years old, and…

How would you say “May the Force Be With You” in Ojibwe?

CTV News at Noon announced on their noon newscast on Dec 19th, 2023 that Disney/Lucasfilm will release an Ojibwe version of the poplar 1977 space drama: "Star Wars - A New Hope". The Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council, APTN and the University of Manitoba will be collaborating with Lucasfilm to make the first Star Wars saga in Ojibwe. And Ojibwe people in Manitoba can can participate by applying through StarWarsOjibwe.com. There is more info at this link.

Lessons From Beyond with Wilfred Buck

Most of the world's cultures have looked to the night sky as a cultural source of inspiration. Canada's Indigenous used the night sky as a "as a map, clock and calendar." Indigenous Knowledge Keeper and Scientist, William Buck is a Cree Elder from the Opaskwayak Cree Nation. He is also the Science Facilitator for the Manitoba First Nation Education Resource Center (MFNERC). He has an extensive knowledge of Astronomy and in particular Indigenous Astronomy. He refers to North Star or Polaris, also commonly known as the bright star at the of the Big Dipper's handle, as "the going home" star (6 Minute,…

November 8th is National Aboriginal Veterans Day

When I was about 4 years old, somebody dressed me up my Dad’s war uniform, complete with his boots, helmet, boots and his rifle, all the things he needed in WWIII was never privileged to learn the details of his service to our country, but we should all take time on National Aboriginal Veterans Day, November 8th  to honor all our veterans who fought for our country.To my Dad, Amos Demas and for the countless others who did not make it back. We are forever grateful. Rick Demas