Current Problems: Education (6-12)
Exploring Theme: "Indigenous Identity"
Updates on this page: 23
(Filtered by Indigenous Group "Inuit")
November 14, 2024
Chair of Liberal Indigenous caucus says identity ‘complicated’ as members questioned
Mi’kmaq MP Jaime Battiste outside the House of Commons at the treaty commissioner legislation launch on October 10, 2024. Photo: Mark Blackburn/APTN. APTN News: The Canada Press – The chair of the Liberal party’s Indigenous caucus says Indigenous identity is “complicated” after questions have been raised about the claims of two Liberal MPs who currently...
October 7, 2024
Self-identifying Indigenous group got $74-million in federal cash, Inuit leader wants change
Globe and Mail: As millions in federal funding flow into a Labrador group whose claims of Inuit identity have been rejected by Indigenous organizations across Canada, a national Inuit leader worries the Liberal government is putting the rights of Indigenous Peoples at risk. Natan Obed, president of an organization representing about 70,000 Inuit across Canada,...
July 8, 2024
‘Growing tension’ inside the public service over Indigenous self-identification
Indigenous Services Canada’s top bureaucrat addresses topic in leaked blog to staff CBC Indigenous: Indigenous Services Canada’s top official addressed the “contentious issue” of Indigenous identity in the public service by urging greater honesty in self-identification, in a recent internal blog leaked to CBC Indigenous. “The key is to honestly tell your truth,” wrote deputy minister...
June 27, 2024
Nunavut judge sentences Toronto woman to 3 years prison for Inuit identity fraud
Karima Manji, seen in a police mugshot from 2015, after being convicted of defrauding her then employer, the March of Dimes Non-Profit Housing Corporation. Manji is about to be sentenced again, this time for the Inuit identity fraud she carried out to get her twin daughters scholarships and business opportunities only available to Inuit. Her...
June 18, 2024
Canada must act to end the pretendian problem
NationTalk: Policy Options – Britain and Canada shaped the definition of Indigenous identity and now some people use shifting definitions to assume it, to great benefit. When the French and the British started staking their land claims on Turtle Island, they also began what became a centuries-long, surreptitious and destructive practice of interfering with Indigenous...
May 23, 2024
MUN has to weed out false Indigenous claims, report says — but the path forward is unclear
First Peoples Group report on Indigenous verification draws ire of NunatuKavut community council CBC News: An independent consultant has given Memorial University its final report on Indigenous verification. Now it’s up to the university to decide who is Indigenous and who is not, and in Newfoundland and Labrador, that’s no easy question. The university hired First Peoples...
May 15, 2024
Indigenous leaders adopt declaration condemning identity theft
Delegates also adopt resolution denouncing disputed Inuit identity claims of NunatuKavut in Labrador CBC Indigenous: First Nations, Inuit and Red River Métis leaders unanimously adopted what they’re calling a historic declaration condemning Indigenous identity theft Wednesday afternoon in Winnipeg. Delegates from Ontario First Nations, northern Labrador Inuit and Manitoba Métis carried the resolution by consensus, capping the two-day Indigenous...
May 14, 2024
‘Where did you suffer?’ Conference kicks off in Winnipeg on Pretendians
APTN New: A video highlighting infamous “pretendians” plays just as delegates enter the Indigenous Identity Fraud Summit in Winnipeg hosted by the Manitoba Métis Federation, or MMF and the Chiefs of Ontario. “Because these people are after our rights, they’re after our resources and they’re after an opportunity to take from us what we have...
April 11, 2024
Identity summit brings leaders together to discuss rampant Indigenous identity theft
NationTalk: Toronto, ON – The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), the National Government of the Red River Métis, and the Chiefs of Ontario (COO), are pleased to announce an Identity Summit aimed at tackling rampant identity theft faced by many Indigenous Nations in Canada today. Co-hosted by both MMF and COO, the summit will take place...
February 12, 2024
President of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. says dropping charges against Gill twins ‘not acceptable’
Community reaction after a quick end to a dramatic story of fraudulent NTI enrollment cards. APTN News: The president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. says having charged dropped against the Toronto twins who said they were Inuit and received thousands of dollars in scholarship money wasn’t right. “Colonization consisted largely of the theft of our lands...
February 9, 2024
Mother in Inuit identity fraud case pleads guilty, charges against daughters withdrawn
Karima Manji and her daughters were charged with fraud over $5,000 in September 2023 CBC Indigenous: A Toronto mother involved in a case of Inuit identity fraud has pleaded guilty in a Nunavut courtroom, according to her lawyer. John Scott Cowan said Karima Manji, the mother of Amira and Nadya Gill, entered the plea Friday...
September 30, 2023
Pierre Poilievre called out for tweet caption on Truth and Reconciliation Day photos with Inuk elder
The Globe and Mail: The Canadian Press. Ottawa – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre found himself the subject of online criticism after posting photos with an Inuk elder alongside a caption about meeting with Algonquin elders on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Poilievre posted two photos to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday...
September 21, 2023
Toronto twins and mother charged with fraud
Karima Manji, Amira Gill and Nadya Gill have been charged with two counts each of fraud. Amira and Nadya Gill. Photo: CTV News APTN News: Iqaluit RCMP has announced that Karima Manji, Amira Gill and Nadya Gill have been charged with two counts each of fraud over $5,000. According to an RCMP news release, an...
August 10, 2023
‘Pretendian’ conference delves into how to deal with false claims of Indigenous identity
APTN News: More than 30 people attended a conference in Tsuut’ina, just outside of Calgary, to talk about the issues of people falsely claiming Indigenous identity. They have come to colloquially be called “Pretendians. ”Participants came from as far as Halifax to hear about how to deal with increasing false claims of Indigenous identity.“ You...
August 1, 2023
Manitoba’s political parties not doing enough to verify Indigenous identity: Métis lawyer
Jean Teillet says vetting processes not detailed, or no verification exists for 3 main political parties CBC News: Manitoba’s political parties are not doing enough to make sure candidates’ claims to Indigeneity are legitimate, says Jean Teillet, a lawyer and great-grandniece of Métis leader Louis Riel. CBC News asked all three of Manitoba’s provincial parties with a seat...
July 11, 2023
Controversial twins asked to pay back Indspire for bursaries
A national charity is seeking to recoup thousands from two Toronto twins APTN News: A national Indigenous charity that provided funding to two Toronto twins claiming to be Inuit for their university education says it wants its money back. Amira and Nadya Gill received funding from Indspire’s Building Brighter Futures program to support their education...
March 9, 2023
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond speaks out after award revoked over heritage
The Globe and Mail – Canadian Press: Former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond says she’s satisfied in her “past work, identity and self-worth,” after the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association revoked an award because its board members believed she falsified her claims of Indigenous identity. In her most expansive recent remarks since a CBC investigation last...
March 3, 2023
University of Saskatchewan launches website aimed at rooting out Indigenous identity fraud
Indigenous communities will determine what constitutes proof of Indigenous identity CBC News: The University of Saskatchewan has launched a website it hopes will help ensure that only genuine Indigenous people will benefit from jobs and funding set aside for them. The site is a portal, enabling First Nations, Métis, Inuit and international Indigenous peoples applying for Indigenous-specific...
February 16, 2023
Senator says more awareness needed of ‘invisible crime’ of Indigenous identity theft
The Globe and Mail (Canadian Press) – Sen. Mary Jane McCallum says Indigenous identity fraud is a damaging but often unseen crime that inflicts serious harm on Indigenous women. The Cree woman from Manitoba is calling for a Senate committee to study the phenomenon and the damage it causes. “People don’t really look at identity...
January 18, 2023
UBC regrets its handling of Turpel-Lafond ancestry concerns
Gitxaała professor says UBC’s initial response left Indigenous people ‘feeling left out to dry’ CBC News: The University of British Columbia says it regrets its handling of the case of high-profile former professor Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, who was the subject of a CBC investigation about her claims of Indigenous heritage. Turpel-Lafond was a professor at UBC and academic...
January 3, 2023
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond no longer employed by UBC
University won’t say why she is gone CBC News: High-profile professor and former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond is no longer employed at the University of British Columbia (UBC), according to an official with the institution. The university says that as of Dec.16, Turpel-Lafond is no longer a professor in the Peter A. Allard School of Law. When...
December 14, 2022
Rescind Turpel-Lafond’s honorary degrees or we’ll return ours, say high-profile Indigenous women
Academic integrity expert says Turpel-Lafond story is a ‘watershed moment for Canadian higher education’ CBC Investigates: Michelle Good chokes up a little when she talks about the honorary doctorate she received from Simon Fraser University (SFU) in October. The retired Cree lawyer and author of the bestselling book Five Little Indians received the honour for her advocacy...
November 3, 2022
Report offers guidance for post-secondary efforts on Indigenous citizenship/membership verification
Saskatchewan (USask) is sharing a new independent report that will contribute to the national conversation and inform the university’s continued implementation of policies and practices around this issue. NationTalk: USask commissioned Jean Teillet, a leading Canadian expert on Indigenous rights, Métis identity, and history, to look into the root causes of the problem, advise on the...
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