Taking the work in-house: a violent RCMP arrest in Sheshatshiu renews the Innu call for their own police service, while Nations from Vancouver Island to Six Nations build the institutions to run procurement, salmon science and land themselves
The one thing
After video of a violent RCMP arrest in Sheshatshiu, Innu Nation renews its call for an Innu-led police service
Video that spread on social media this week shows RCMP officers arresting a man inside a home in Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation, Labrador. The footage shows an officer punching the man, throwing him against a wall, punching him again, taking him to the ground and using a stun gun on him multiple times. The call had come from the man's girlfriend, who said he was intoxicated and she hoped police would take him to a cell to sleep it off.
Following public outcry, RCMP referred the case to Newfoundland and Labrador's Serious Incident Response Team for independent investigation. On the evening of September 2, RCMP met with Innu Nation Grand Chief Jodie Ashini, Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation Chief Eugene Hart and other community leaders to review the incident. Ashini said the footage shows "clearly excessive force" and cited other incidents raised by community members that were never reported.
The Innu have been calling for an Innu-led police service for at least a decade, and Ashini said the Nation cannot wait for treaty negotiations to conclude before building its own policing capacity. Current provincial legislation does not provide a path to establish a police service outside the RCMP or RNC structures. That gap, rather than the single arrest, is where the conversation now sits.
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Economic Sovereignty
First Nations Procurement Authority names Darrin Jamieson as its first CEO
The First Nations Procurement Authority board announced on September 3 that Darrin Jamieson, a member of Six Nations of the Grand River, will serve as its inaugural Chief Executive Officer. Jamieson brings more than 30 years in economic development, procurement and governance, most recently as Nation CEO for Six Nations and Chief Administrative Officer for Ktunaxa Nation Council. FNPA is the national, First Nations-led body created by five national Indigenous economic organizations to certify First Nations businesses and connect them with government and corporate buyers.
Why it matters
Certification and supplier-readiness infrastructure is what turns procurement set-asides into actual contracts. With an operating CEO in place, FNPA moves from a board-only entity to one that can start doing that work.
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Flying Dust First Nation approved for a gaming centre as Saskatchewan extends SIGA's online exclusivity to 2029
Saskatchewan and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations announced amendments to their Gaming Framework Agreement on August 31, approving a gaming centre pilot with up to 49 slot machines in a 6,000-square-foot facility at Flying Dust First Nation, near Meadow Lake. The amendments also extend the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority's exclusive right to operate online gaming in the province to September 2029. Flying Dust Chief Tyson Bear has described the centre as the anchor for a larger commercial development including a strip mall, hotel and conference centre, with construction expected to take about six months.
Why it matters
Gaming revenue under the framework is pooled, not kept by the host community. FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said the First Nations' share of profits is distributed equitably among Saskatchewan First Nations throughout Treaty 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 territories, and SIGA distributed $83.5 million to First Nations trusts in fiscal 2025-26 on $418 million in gross revenue.
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Land, Water & Rights
Ontario and Marten Falls First Nation break ground on the 184-km Marten Falls Community Access Road
The Ontario government and Marten Falls First Nation held a groundbreaking for the Marten Falls Community Access Road, a 184-kilometre route connecting the community to the provincial highway network. It represents roughly one-third of the proposed Ring of Fire road system, with construction expected to run to November 2031. Chief Bruce Achneepineskum said the road will strengthen connections to health care and other essential services and help the community grow. Construction on the 107-km Webequie Supply Road began in June.
Why it matters
The road advances while related litigation is open. Friends of the Attawapiskat River, representing Treaty 9 communities including Attawapiskat, Kashechewan, Fort Albany, Peawanuck and Moose Factory, filed for federal judicial review in July seeking to overturn the environment minister's approval of the Webequie road, and the broader Ring of Fire plan has drawn pushback from some First Nations over Ontario's Bill 5 and federal Bill C-5 fast-track powers.
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Five Nuu-chah-nulth Nations bring salmon genetic analysis in-house through Ha'oom Fisheries Society
Ha'oom Fisheries Society, which represents Ahousaht, Ehattesaht, Mowachaht/Muchalaht, Hesquiaht and Tla-o-qui-aht, has launched a multi-year genomics collaboration with Vancouver Island University. Funded by the First Nations Fisheries Council's Indigenous Stewardship Fund, the Pacific Salmon Foundation and Genome British Columbia, the partnership gives the Nations their own tools, infrastructure and training to run salmon genetic stock identification and parentage-based tagging rather than relying on centralized government labs. VIU's Dr. Ben Sutherland said the data "never have to leave HFS's hands or computers," and Ha'oom's Candace Picco described it as Nation-led genetic processing capacity that gives the Nations autonomy over their own research questions.
Why it matters
Genetic stock data underpins harvest levels, conservation closures and hatchery decisions for fishing rights these five Nations already exercise commercially and for food, social and ceremonial purposes. Holding that analysis capacity locally moves a technical function long controlled by Fisheries and Oceans Canada into the Nations' own hands.
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Governance & Policy
AFN assessment finds the First Nations school infrastructure gap widening, asks for $19 billion over 20 years ahead of Budget 2026
The Assembly of First Nations released a new assessment on September 3 finding more than 225 First Nations schools are overcrowded, up 25 since 2021, and 77 require immediate replacement, up 21 since 2021. The review covered 395 schools and 1,222 teacherages on reserve. National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak is calling for $19 billion in capital investment over 20 years plus $550 million annually for operations and maintenance, and wants education named a priority topic at the First Nations-First Ministers' Meeting on October 26 in Ottawa.
Why it matters
The figures land as Ottawa's Budget 2026 consultation runs to September 8, giving AFN's pre-budget submission a dollar figure and a timeline. They also set up one of the first concrete agenda items for the October 26 meeting.
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Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation settles its Treaty 10 land entitlement claim for $29.6 million
The settlement provides $29,602,664 in compensation for a Treaty 10 land shortfall and allows Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation to apply to add up to 28,118 acres of land under the federal Additions to Reserve Policy on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis. Treaty 10, signed in 1907, promised 640 acres per family of five, or 128 acres per person, which was never fully delivered. Chief Bartholomew Tsannie said the settlement "has been a long time coming for the people of Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation."
Why it matters
MP Buckley Belanger, Secretary of State for Rural Development, said "treaties are promises, and for too long, the promises made to Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation under Treaty 10 were not fully honoured." It is one of the larger Treaty 10 shortfalls resolved this year as Ottawa works through outstanding specific and treaty land claims across Saskatchewan.
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Closer to Home
Tseshaht First Nation buys back 37 acres on Bell Road and applies to add it to reserve for housing
Tseshaht First Nation has purchased a 37-acre property at 7444 Bell Road on the edge of its reserve near Port Alberni for $1,999,000. The purchase was funded through a $5-million compensation agreement reached with BC's Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation in July 2023, which has also funded two other land acquisitions totalling roughly 45 acres. The land was part of the original reserve until it was removed more than 40 years ago through a land exchange, and now sits in the Agricultural Land Reserve. Tseshaht has submitted an Additions to Reserve application to bring it back under the Nation's jurisdiction, with plans for 45 to 50 homes in three phases once water, sewer and electrical infrastructure are installed. Chief Councillor Ken Watts said the Nation has not built a new home in the community in several years, has more than two dozen families waiting for lots, and a housing needs assessment found roughly 200 units are needed over the next decade.
Why it matters
This is a Vancouver Island Nation converting a provincial reconciliation settlement directly into housing supply. The application also runs through the federal Additions to Reserve process at a moment when Ottawa is reviewing a redesigned ATR Policy, with public comment open to September 22, after First Nations told a parliamentary committee the process has been slowed by federal red tape.
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North Coast Transmission Line breaks ground in Prince George with five central-Interior First Nations
BC held a groundbreaking ceremony in Prince George on September 3 for the North Coast Transmission Line, a major power line connecting Prince George to Terrace. The project involves partnership with Lheidli T'enneh, Nazko, Stellat'en, Nadleh Whut'en and Saik'uz First Nations along the route. Phase 1, from Prince George to Glenannan, targets mid-2030 completion; Phase 2 construction to Terrace begins in 2027 and is set to finish in winter 2032. The province projects the line will contribute nearly $10 billion annually to provincial GDP and about $950 million a year in provincial and municipal revenue, with up to 1,400 workers at peak construction. Premier David Eby called it "a generational project that will power clean growth."
Why it matters
It is the largest project decision this week on First Nations territories in BC's Interior, and construction will run across the corridor for six years. How partnership and benefit-sharing with the five Nations is structured over that period is the part still to be seen.
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BC opens $900,000 capacity-building stream for Northern First Nations development corporations
The Government of British Columbia announced on August 28 that it is directing $2.7 million through the Northern Development Initiative Trust into two programs that opened for applications September 2. Of that, $900,000 is earmarked for First Nations Business Development Capacity Building, offering grants up to $75,000 covering up to 90 per cent of eligible costs for expertise and partnership development at First Nations development corporations across the Trust's region. The remaining $1.8 million is a general small-business diversification stream. The funding comes from the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Development Agreement.
Why it matters
Unlike equity stakes in pipelines or mines, this is money for the legal, financial and partnership expertise that Northern BC development corporations need before they can structure the larger deals now on offer. The province is treating bench strength at the development corporation itself as a distinct funding priority.
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The sweep
Law & courts
The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and Spirit Lake Tribe filed an amended complaint on August 28 in U.S. District Court for North Dakota, re-arguing their successful 2023 challenge to the state's legislative map after the U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back in May for review under the tougher discriminatory-intent standard set in Louisiana v. Callais. Campaign Legal Center
Politics & policy
Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein found Nunavut MP Lori Idlout breached conflict-of-interest rules through 2024-25 expense claims tied to businesses connected to her and her spouse, including four gift purchases totalling roughly $1,756 from Carvings Nunavut, a gallery where she is sole shareholder, and accommodation at an Igloolik bed-and-breakfast owned by her spouse; he imposed no sanctions, calling the errors good-faith, and Idlout reimbursed the expenses. Nunatsiaq News
Health & education
Whitehorse harm reduction advocates, including Blood Ties executive director Jill Aalhus, say cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid up to 10 times stronger than fentanyl and previously detected in BC, Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec, is likely behind a recent surge of intense, rapid-onset overdoses in the city. APTN News
Culture, language & arts
More than 5,000 people gathered August 20-23 at pêhonânihk (Fort Carlton), Saskatchewan, for a four-day commemoration of Treaty 6's 1876 signing, where youth speakers from Treaty 6 nations described the treaty as "a living relationship" they intend to carry forward, alongside Governor General Louise Arbour and AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak. IndigiNews
APTN's six-episode docuseries Go North! premiered September 4, narrated by Inuk creator Shina Nova and opening with Igloolik musician and outfitter Terry Uyarak taking crews walrus hunting and fishing on his mother's ancestral territory. Cabin Radio
International Indigenous
The Australian government committed up to $2 million to Call It Out, a national First Nations-led register for reporting racism run by the Jumbunna Institute at the University of Technology Sydney with the National Justice Project, as a parliamentary inquiry into racism against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people drew more than 700 submissions. Australian Government, Ministers' Media Centre
The U.S. Army's Office of Army Cemeteries began its ninth annual round of disinterments at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School on September 1, returning the remains of 12 children to families from the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, Comanche Nation, Absentee Shawnee Tribe, Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and Alaska Native communities through mid-October. WITF
The bright spot
Gitwangak, Gitanyow and Gitsegukla open Gitksen West Secondary School, ending the 60-km commute to Hazelton
Gitwangak, Gitanyow and Gitsegukla First Nations celebrated the opening of Gitksen West Secondary School on Gitwangak reserve #1 on September 3. The school serves up to 170 students in Grades 8 to 12, with 12 classrooms, a library, gymnasium and kitchen, and ends the need for students to travel more than 60 kilometres to Hazelton for high school. It is governed by a locally controlled school board representing all three communities and weaves Gitksen language, culture and traditions through the BC curriculum, with Indigenous Services Canada providing over $39 million for design, construction and first-year operations. Chief Chasity Daniels of Gitwangak said reclaiming education holds profound significance given the history of residential schools, describing the opening as "bringing education home," and Deputy Chief Brandi Maitland called it "the realization of a vision held by our Elders for many years."
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Still watching
The SIRT-NL investigation into the Sheshatshiu arrest is now open, and the larger question it reopened remains unanswered: Newfoundland and Labrador legislation still offers no path to an Innu-led police service outside the RCMP or RNC, and the Innu Nation has said it will not wait for treaty negotiations to conclude before building one.
The West Coast pipeline comment deadline of September 18 still runs toward an October 1 national-interest listing decision, with the Major Projects Office process contested by UBCIC and Nation-side critics; the First Nations-First Ministers' Meeting follows on October 26, now with AFN's $19-billion school infrastructure ask on the table and the Budget 2026 consultation closing September 8.
In Ottawa, Bill C-21, the Red River Métis self-government treaty legislation, remains short of second reading with no fall sitting date confirmed and First Nations consultation concerns unresolved, and there is still no federal response to the August 6 coalition letter on renewing lapsing MMIWG2S+ program funding.
Land questions in the courts and in policy: the KSM 'substantial start' determination remains under court-ordered reconsideration, Canada's argument that land return is 'not an available remedy' in Saugeen Ojibway Nation's Treaty 45½ case goes to a Toronto hearing October 2, Friends of the Attawapiskat River's judicial review of the Webequie road approval proceeds while Ring of Fire construction continues, and public comment on Ottawa's redesigned Additions to Reserve Policy closes September 22 with Tseshaht's Bell Road application and Hatchet Lake's 28,118-acre entitlement both running through that process.