APTN National News
Condolences are pouring in for Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper who died Friday morning.

From Twitter and Facebook to official statements many people are expressing sorrow for a man many considered a hero.

“Elijah’s commitment and dedication to asserting and upholding First Nation rights and recognition has helped lay a solid foundation as this hard work continues today,” said Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo. “I offer sincere condolences to the family, friends and all First Nations in Manitoba region and across Canada mourning the loss of a tireless and courageous leader of our peoples.”

Harper died of cardiac failure in Ottawa due to diabetes complications. He was 64.

Harper is best known for standing up against the Meech Lake Accord.

He was recognized as Newsmaker of the Year by the Canadian Press in 1990 for raising an eagle feather while refusing unanimous consent of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly.

The iconic gesture sealed the fate of the Meech Lake Accord.

“Elijah will also be remembered for bringing Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people together to find a spiritual basis for healing and understanding. We will miss him terribly and love him forever,” his family said in a statement.

Congress of Aboriginal Peoples National Chief Betty Ann Lavallee said Harper will be missed but never forgotten.

“As we all know Elijah was a great leader who stood up for what he believed in. His refusal to accept the Meech Lake Accord because it was negotiated without the input of Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples illustrates his unwavering commitment,” said Lavallee.

The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs said they were shocked and deeply saddened to learn Harper died.

“We shall never forget Elijah Harper’s courage, tireless commitment and deep sense of political integrity,” said a release. “We shall be eternally grateful to Elijah Harper for the tremendous contribution he made, in spite of great personal sacrifices, to defend the sovereign interests of the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island.”

As soon as news began to spread of Harper’s death people took to social media.

“I am saddened at the news of the passing of my friend Elijah Harper. Many people will be mourning today. I will be one,” said Murray Sinclair, chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings.

Another person kept their comment short and said Harper was a “legend.”

People also took to APTN’s Facebook account.

“Memories of Elijah at pow wows, meeting Mr. Harper on the street with his son, a beautiful and peaceful soul,” said Dee Pratt.

Another said: “I remember when he walked into any room his spirit felt so at peace, it was as if he settled a serene calmness on a room and everyone in it.”

Funeral services will take place at 10 a.m. Monday at the Aboriginal Funeral Chapel in Winnipeg, M.B.

“May the wisps of sweat grass protect him on his journey,” said Tony Mandamin on Facebook.

APTN National News
Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper died of cardiac failure due to diabetes complications Friday.

He was 64.

Harper is best known for his role in the Meech Lake Accord.

His wife, Anita Olsen Harper, and children issued a statement Friday morning.

“Elijah was a wonderful man, father, partner,” the statement said. “He was a true leader and visionary in every sense of the word. He will have a place in Canadian history, forever, for his devotion to public service and uniting his fellow First Nations with pride, determination and resolve.

Harper was born on March 3, 1949 at Red Sucker Lake First Nation in northeastern Manitoba. He was educated at residential school and later studied at the University of Manitoba.

He began his career in public service when he was elected chief of his community at 29-years-old.

In 1981, he was elected as Member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly for Rupertsland, an office he held for 11 years. He was the first elected First Nations person to serve as MLA. In 1996, he was appointed to the Manitoba cabinet as Minister without portfolio for Native Affairs, and in 1997, as minister of Northern Affairs.

He was recognized as Newsmaker of the Year by the Canadian Press in 1990 for raising an eagle feather while refusing unanimous consent of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly.

The iconic gesture sealed the fate of the Meech Lake Accord.

“Elijah will also be remembered for bringing Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people together to find a spiritual basis for healing and understanding. We will miss him terribly and love him forever,” the family said.

In 1993, Harper was elected for one term as Member of Parliament for the Churchill riding. In January 1998, he served a term as commissioner for the Indian Claims Commission.

Red Sucker Lake First Nation bestowed him the title of honourary chief for life for his heroic work. He is also the recipient of the Commemorative Medal of Canada, a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, the Order of Merit from St. Paul’s University, the Order of the Sash from the Manitoba Metis Federation, and the Gold Eagle Award from the Indigenous Women’s Collective in Manitoba.

Following his active career in public service, Harper spent much of the rest of his life visiting First Nations, meeting with Indigenous leaders across North America, working with charities, and doing international humanitarian work.

Elijah is survived by his wife, children Bruce and Holly and step-children Karen Lawford, Dylan, Gaylen and Grant Bokvist. He is predeceased by his daughter Tanya.

Funeral arrangements will be announced once they are known.

APTN National News
A Manitoba review board is expected to decide soon whether to grant special privileges to Vincent Li.

Li was found not criminally responsible after beheading and cannibalizing Tim McLean, 22, on a Greyhound bus in July 2008.

Since McLean’s death his mother Carol Dedelley has been trying to raise awareness and wants changes made to the justice system.

APTN’s Shaneen Robinson has the story.

srobinson@aptn.ca

Twitter: @shaneenthescene

APTN National News
It was probably the worst kept secret in Iqaluit.

That’s the name of a middle school teacher charged with three counts of sexual interference.

A publication ban prevented media from naming the accused.

Marc Caine has pleaded not guilty.

APTN’s Malaya Qaunirq Chapman has the story.

mqaunirqchapman@aptn.ca

(Terra Gardner talks about being homeless in Toronto in this 2011 video by Invisible People.)

By Kenneth Jackson
APTN National News
Police don’t expect foul play in the death of a First Nations woman in Toronto who was struck and killed by a train Tuesday evening and expected to testify at a murder trial later this year.

Toronto police wouldn’t identify the woman but APTN reported Wednesday that Terra Gardner was the victim.

Gardner was hit by a freight train in the area Young Street and Summerhill Avenue at about 10:25 p.m. Two other people are believed to have been with her at the time of her death.

Gardner was homeless and a witness in a murder investigation and had allegedly been receiving death threats about testifying in the Toronto homicide of First Nations man Leo Buswa in 2010.

Buswa was beaten Aug. 29 that year and died a month later in hospital.

Last month Gardner testified at the preliminary trial of Blake Paul, of Moose Factory, Ont., who is accused of second-degree murder. Paul was arrested in 2012 in Cape Breton, N.S.

Gardner apparently was reluctant to testify and she was warned by officials that if she didn’t testify she would be held in custody until the trial, scheduled for later this year.

Originally from Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation, located 40 km east of Fort Frances, Ont., Gardner was living in Toronto. She often went to Sanctuary, an organization that helps homeless people in Toronto.

In 2011, she was interviewed by Mark Horvath of Invisible People, a program that speaks to homeless people and shares their stories online.

At that time she had been homeless for five months.

“It kinda sucks because it feels like people don’t really care about you. I don’t know. You’re going to make me cry,” she says in the video when asked about being homeless.

Gardner said she’d rather sleep on the streets or in a park than go to a shelter because one time she was beat up in one.

“It’s getting tiring but at the same time like I’m just used to it now. I’ve been homeless for five months now and sadly I am used to it,” she said then takes a drag from a cigarette.

Outreach nurse Anne Marie Batten was there with Horvath when he interviewed Gardner Aug. 19, 2011. She was 25-years-old at the time.

Batten said on that day, they visited Good Shepherd Ministries, a homeless shelter and also did street outreach in the downtown area.

Late in the afternoon, they visited Sanctuary.

“Terra was visiting that day. Despite the intense summer heat, we found her sitting outside on the lawn. Mark met Terra as you will see from the interview. Terra touched our hearts,” said Batten.

After the interview they took Gardner to McDonald’s.

Batten said she learned of Gardner’s death online.

“I immediately shared this very sad news with Mark. It is fair to say that there are always some people you meet that hold a special place in your heart. For me, Terra was one of those people,” she said.

kjackson@aptn.ca

Twitter: @afixedaddress

APTN National News
Iqaluit’s hospital was in the beginning of a $32 million renovation when the contractor doing the work defaulted and disappeared.

Now people are questioning where the contractor went.

More importantly people want to know where this leaves the hospital.

APTN’s Malaya Qaunirq Chapman has the story.

mqaunirqchapman@aptn.ca

APTN National News
Aboriginal children are over represented in the foster care system across the country.

That’s according to recent statistics in the National Household Survey.

In the North it’s ongoing social issues that are the heart of the matter.

APTN’s Cullen Crozier has the story.

Ccrozier@aptn.ca

APTN National News
The television series Yukon Men shows a world where people make a living by hunting and trapping game.

But the show also has its critics.

Some people in the Yukon want the show to change its name.

APTN’s Shirley McLean has the story.

Smclean@aptn.ca

Twitter: @mcsquirl

By Jorge Barrera
APTN National News
An Indian residential school survivor has issued a challenge to Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt to review archival files that prove the government of Canada deliberately destroyed residential school documents.

Valcourt denied the Canadian government ever destroyed residential school documents last Thursday during a House of Commons committee of the whole appearance.

“If he wants, we can send him documentation on the department’s own, old letterhead verifying that it was factual and it was done,” said Michael Cachagee, who was four and-a-half years old when he was taken to residential school. “I challenge him on that publicly. We will send it to him just to refresh his memory.”

Valcourt’s office did not return requests for comment on Cachagee’s offer.

Valcourt faced questions during his committee of the whole appearance from NDP MP Romeo Saganash, who attended residential school and had a brother die at one of the institutions.

“Have historical files pertinent to the Indian residential school system been destroyed by the government of Canada?” said Saganash, who also pressed the minister on whether any destruction occurred to avoid lawsuits.

“To my knowledge, no,” said Valcourt. “I was not around in the 1940s, or the 1930s, or the 1920s. To my knowledge, no documents were deliberately destroyed simply to have them destroyed.”

The archival record, however, counters that. While no proof exists that documents were ever destroyed over lawsuit concerns, files were pulped as a result of three major rounds of government-wide document purging directives issued between 1936 and 1973.

Indian Affairs included residential school diaries, medical reports, building inspections, accident reports along with admission and discharge files among the lists of records it submitted for destruction.

According to an internal analysis by Aboriginal Affairs previously obtained by APTN National News, Ottawa maintains no documents were ever deliberately destroyed. It was stated in the internal analysis that the federal government holds this position because of concerns an admission that documents were deliberately destroyed could expose the government to legal action. Ottawa maintains that fires and floods at the school destroyed records.

Valcourt’s office has downplayed the analysis, saying it was done by a junior bureaucrat and did not reflect the government’s “view.” The minister’s office has never detailed the prevailing view.

Indian residential school records are a key component for former residential school survivors to obtain common experience payments under the multi-billion dollar residential school settlement agreement.

While the department maintains that no one who attended the schools have ever been denied a claim as a result of missing records, over 50,000 applicants have received less than they requested because they failed to prove they attended residential schools for the number of years they claimed.

Cachagee, who suffered sexual and physical abuse during his time at three residential schools, said he lost a year’s worth of compensation as a result of missing records.

“This whole thing is a fraud and it’s just an extension and all they do is they use the shelter of the House of Commons to lie about it,” said Cachagee, who used to head the National Residential School Survivors Society.

NDP Aboriginal affairs critic Jean Crowder said Valcourt needs to come clean about what his department is telling him about the issue.

“If the minister is truly not aware that documents were not destroyed, which would seem unbelievable, then he is either incredibly incompetent or he is misleading the public,” said Crowder. “If his high level bureaucrats are briefing him on something that is counter to what is in the public domain then he doesn’t have control of his department.”

jbarera@aptn.ca

@JorgeBarrera

By Kenneth Jackson
APTN National News
A First Nation woman who was struck and killed by a freight train in Toronto Tuesday night was also a witness in a murder investigation and had allegedly been receiving death threats about testifying according to people close to her.

Terra Gardner is believed to have been hit on the tracks near Young Street and Summerhill Avenue at about 10:25 p.m. close to a popular spot where people are known to drink by the tracks. Two other people are believed to have been with her at the time of her death.

Gardner had been receiving death threats and was being called a rat for providing information in the Toronto homicide of First Nations man Leo Buswa in 2010.

Buswa was beaten Aug. 29 that year and died a month later in hospital.

Last month Gardner testified at the preliminary trial of Blake Paul, of Moose Factory, Ont., who is accused of second-degree murder. Paul was arrested in 2012 in Cape Breton, N.S.

Gardner apparently was reluctant to testify and she was warned by officials that if she didn’t testify she would be held in custody until the trial, scheduled for later this year, according to Doug Johnson Hatlem, a street pastor with Sanctuary, an organization in Toronto that helps struggling people.

“They did not give her adequate protection for testifying…in a major murder trial where she is being called a rat and being threatened and we had to literally beg to get her a second night in a hotel and she was testifying for five straight days,” said Johnson Hatlem. “They just wanted to give her the first night. She’s homeless. She’s vulnerable.”

It’s not immediately known if Gardner’s death is being treated as suspicious by Toronto police but it’s leaving some to question the timing of the death.

“That’s a potential,” said Johnson Hatlem. “It also could have been an accident. We don’t know that yet but given the circumstances if this isn’t treated at least a little bit suspicious it’s going to be really, really maddening.”

Originally from Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation, located 40 km east of Fort Frances, Ont., Gardner was living in Toronto. She often went to Sanctuary for help.

On her Facebook page dozens of people expressed sorrow upon learning of her death.

“I just don’t want to believe it’s true and then I keep seeing everyone post about you being gone,” said one person. “The waves of sorrow are small right now but, I can feel them growing and it hurts more and more when I think I wont be able to walk do the street and see that beautiful smile of yours or get one of those super awesome hugs.”

Police said they couldn’t release any information.

kjackson@aptn.ca

Twitter: @afixedaddress