Two Row Times, February 15, 2023

Battery storage project to open in two years in Six Nations

NAHNDA GARLOW nahnda@tworowtimes.com

TWO ROW TIMES

An electricity battery storage facility said to be the largest in Canada is set to open in two years in Haldimand County with Six Nations of the Grand River and Ottawa as investors.

The province said Friday it has directed the Independent Electricity System Operator to enter into a 20-year deal with the Oneida Energy storage project as part of its push for more clean energy supply.

``Today's announcement is one way in which we are doing our part to create a sustainable future, reducing emissions, as well as providing reliable source of green energy for the benefit of all of our families,'' said Six Nations Chief Mark B. Hill at a news conference in Ohsweken.

The project, which has been in development for years and is currently under construction, is set to begin operating in

2025 and will more than double the amount of the province's clean energy storage.

The project will draw and store electricity offpeak when power demand is low and return it when demand increases.

Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation is an investor in the project, said its CEO, Matt Jamieson.

``There's going to be an economic return and

those economic returns will go a long way to help plug things that are important to our community,'' Jamieson said.

``Like right now, we are facing a $1.6 billion infrastructure gap in our community. We can't wait for funding from federal transfer payments, and we need to take control of our destiny and this is one example of how we can do that.''

He said that construc-

tion of the project has put $50 million into the community and the workforce building it is 97 per cent Indigenous.

NRStore, Northland Power, Aecon and Tesla are partners in the venture along with the federal government.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Ottawa is investing $50 million more in addition to the $170 million in

funding from the Canada Infrastructure Bank to build the ``largest battery storage project in Canada and one of the largest in the whole world.''

``This project is going to help create great jobs for people in Ontario,'' Freeland said.

``It will store and supply the clean electricity that our province needs, and it will help create economic opportunities for Indigenous communities like Six Nations.''

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the project will store up to 250 megawatts of electricity.

``It will more than double our province's energy storage resources, and will provide enough electricity to power a city approximately the size of Oshawa,'' he said, which has a population of 175,000.

The province is facing an energy crunch with demand quickly rising due to the proliferation of electric vehicles and increased manufacturer's needs.

PM42686517

Six Nations Elected Chief Mark Hill and Ontario Premier Doug Ford were part of a national press conference held at The Gathering Place on Six Nations Friday, to announce a provincial and federal investment in the Oneida Energy Storage facility along with Six Nations. TRT

Demonstrators heckle Ford, Freeland at green energy announcement

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his team got a chilly reception from about two dozen community members when he and his entourage made a surprise visit to Six Nations last Friday to announce their partnership in a battery storage project with Six Nations.

The facility was previously approved by Six Nations and is located in Haldimand County just outside Jarvis, about 20 km south of the Six Nations of the Grand River.

A group of community members who disagreed with the federal and provincial partnership with Six Nations on the project at the exclusion of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council — travelled to the Gathering Place to

demonstrate and oppose the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Six Nations territory.

Demonstrators said they objected to the project proceeding on Haudenosaunee land without consulting hereditary leaders.

Colin Martin, who is a Six Nations man deeply involved with the HCCC, spoke to reporters outside The Gathering Place on Friday around noon after he and other community members were locked out of the building during Ford’s announcement.

“Unfortunately, there’s been no talks with the Confederacy at this time about this,” said Martin, adding he was angry upon learning they were locked out of the building. “Why are you locking out the voices of the Haudenosaunee people? Band council decided to move ahead and

have discussions about something that they don’t have the sanction, the authority or permission from the Confederacy Council to be talking about. We were here to voice our opinion and our thoughts on that

and unfortunately, they locked the doors on us.”

The locking of the doors was done at the direction of security officials for the Premier and Deputy Prime Minister. The press conference was organized by

Ontario’s communications team and was an invitation only event. Only provincially-accredited media were permitted inside during the announcement. Six Nations of the Grand River Elected Council, Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation and the corporate leaders involved in the project along with Ford and Freeland were inside to make the historic announcement.

Martin said their biggest concern is the environment because “that’s what we stand for as Haudenosaunee. We don’t know what effects this deal is going to have (on the land).”

Martin stated, “The band council is not a government. They are an elected entity that is put there to administer federal funding and it’s as simple as that. It’s the Confederacy Council that the treaties are made with and um,” he said, tearing up, “We’re just tired

of it.”

Ford was met around the back of the Gathering Place by demonstrators as he exited the building — met with heckles by people who told him he was not welcome on the territory.

“We’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, is what it is,” Martin told a media scrum in the parking lot during the closed door meeting. “We’re going to continually fight to have our voices heard because they’re being ignored.”

He expressed dismay at Ford’s push for development along green spaces in Ontario and along the Haldimand Tract.

“We wouldn’t be here if band council didn’t have these secret meetings and didn’t involve the Confederacy Council in the talks. We’re not going to sit back and keep our mouth shut anymore.”

Colin Martin, a representative with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council, fought back tears as he was interviewed by local news reporters, saying he was tired of the chiefs being ignored. TRT

Six Nations man facing child pornography, illicit cannabis charges

By TRT Staff

BRANTFORD — A man from Brantford will stay in police custody until lawyers for the accused can propose a plan for his release.

The accused is a 27 year old Brantford resident, but a Six Nations band member. He appeared in court Tuesday for a bail hearing but lawyers requested an adjournment to have time to work with Six Nations service providers regarding a plan for release. He is scheduled to appear in court again in Brantford on Friday via Zoom.

The court did not issue a publication ban on the case. However, Brantford Police declined to identify the accused in order to protect the identity of any victims.

The accused was arrested by Brantford Police following a search of a residence at June Callwood Way in West Brantford on

Economic Development Trust announces $780,000 for 2023 applicants

January 31.

Police say a number of electronic devices were seized from the residence in addition to $10,000 worth of illegal cannabis.

Tips were received by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited

Children that the accused allegedly uploaded images of child pornography to his social media account. Police said the social media account was connected to a Brantford address.

Police examined the seized devices and identified files containing images and videos of children between the ages of 2-12 years old being sexually assaulted.

The accused is facing charges of making child pornography, making child pornography available, possession of child pornography and possession of the purpose of distribution - illicit cannabis. He is also facing previous charges of mischief and assault.

The Six Nations of the Grand River Economic Development Trust is giving away an additional $780,000 in funding for community investments in 2023.

The announcement came on Tuesday via a press release that noted it is a surplus that was not previously allocated as part of the first 2023 call for EDT (Economic Development Trust) applications.

Applications will be released tomorrow (Wed. Feb. 15) on the trust’s Website at www.sixnationsedt.ca.

The final application deadline is Mar.16 4 p.m.

“The EDT is pleased to be in a position to offer a second call for 2023 applications and hopes to see

EVERYONE WELCOME!

eligible community organizations and groups take advantage of this additional round,” said Alaina VanEvery, Chair of the Economic Development Trust. “Post-pandemic, it is imperative we strengthen our community in many ways; if your organization or group can fulfill community needs, please apply and allow these community dollars to help you facilitate growth within Six Nations.”

Those who were successful in obtaining funding in the first call for 2023 applications are not eligible to re-apply. Applicants are encouraged to take advantage of the pre-screening process, which allows applications to be reviewed prior to the final deadline to ensure that all sections are completed, and all proper documentation is included to give applicants the greatest chance of success.

The pre-screening is

available until Mar. 10 at 4 p.m.

Applicant presentations will take place via Zoom on Mar. 27.

All successful applicants will be notified on Mar. 30.

Since 2016, the EDT has invested over $16 million into the Six Nations community.

EDT funding come from annual distributions of surplus profits from the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation project revenue.

The Economic Development Trust (EDT) is the mechanism in which surplus profits generated by Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation (SNGRDC) are invested into the Six Nations Community “for the collective benefit of its members,” the Trust noted in a press release sent out late Tuesday evening.

The model of distribution was a result of the

2011 community engagement study “We Gather Our Voices”.

The EDT said it will continue to invest in the Six Nations Community in future years through yearly distributions made possible by SNGRDC.

Economic Development Trustees include Alaina VanEvery (Chair), Hilary Visheau, Reva Bomberry, Myka Burning and Andrew Joseph.

SNGRDC manages Six Nations’ economic interests in 20 renewable energy projects and numerous economic development opportunities in and around the Six Nations territory. SNGRDC’s current green energy portfolio is capable of producing over 1300 MW of renewable energy through its direct or indirect involvement in seven solar and 13 wind projects.

Annual walk for MMIWGB2S+ highlights non-binary, two-spirit people

DONNA DURIC donna@tworowtimes.com TWO

Non-binary and non-heterosexual Indigenous people face violence at a rate seven times higher than cis-het Indigenous men and women.

The inclusion of two-spirit and non-binary individuals at this year’s annual walk for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Boys and Two-Spirit folks was highlighted as Miss Six Nations Dawn Martin, who identifies as two-spirit and pansexual, spoke about the extra challenges they face in reassuring their own individual safety in their day to day lives.

She said at first contact, when non-Indigenous people first arrived on Turtle Island, that two-spirit people were seen as even more non-human and were the first to be massacred.

“I was born and raised in the longhouse and it has taken me my whole life to come to accept my identity; that being

discriminatory and prejudiced towards our two spirit people is not really right.”

Yesterday (Feb. 14) marked the annual walk Ganohkwasra holds to honour and remember MMIWGB2S+ in the community.

“I would say it’s still not safe today for two-spirit people to be proud in their identities. It’s still

unsafe for us to really be who we are. It’s like a slow death, a slow kill, to be discriminatory toward those people.”

In a four-year period alone, from 2013 to 2018, four Six Nations men were murdered, shared Ganohkwasra counsellor Amber Silversmith with about 100 people who joined in the march through Ohsweken yes-

terday.

"It’s hard for us to imagine this type of violence is happening in our community,” said Silversmith.

The campaign to remember those lost to violence was originally called Love Starts With Us and focused on women.

It has evolved to include all demographics of Indigenous people.

The campaign started with about five female community members who got together to do something about the high rates of violence faced by Indigenous women.

“They wanted to start talking about it because it was very much silenced in our community,” said Silversmith, a counsellor at Ganohkwasra. “It wasn’t something that we talked

about openly.”

The original pilot project was “Embrace Her With Love” because at the time, a lot of the focus was on women.

Since then, it’s shifted to men and non-binary and two-spirit victims of violence, as well.

“We could see that there was a high need to include our men and what did that look like. We didn’t know at the time so we changed the name to, ‘embrace them with love’ to include our family members that had men murdered in their families.”

Silversmith said, “That was another thing our group needed to focus on. We need to bring in other that are identifying different these days. We’re talking specifically our pride community, our two-spirited…we need to share that love no matter how we choose to identify or how our young ones are choosing to identify. Violence knows no race, no gender, no age.”

MATINEE SESSION

Each year on February 14, people from across Canada march and demonstrate in memory of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This year, diversity and inclusion for all women was included in the Six Nations demonstration. TRT

Visit First Peoples gallery at ROM

Toronto art and culture museum open Family Day

JACE KOBLUN

If you are still without solid plans for Family Day, maybe a trip to Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) to visit the Daphne Cockwell Gallery dedicated to First Peoples art and culture would be up your alley.

Located on the main floor of the Hilary and Galen Weston Wing and free of charge to view, the First Peoples Gallery is one of the ROM’s premiere cultural spaces, featuring more than one thousand works of art and cultural heritage. The First Peoples Gallery opened in 2005 with input from Indigenous advisors. Since then, additional cultural specialists worked with the museum to update sections of the gallery.

“Together, we will create a gallery that shares Indigenous lifeways, cultural expressions, and worldviews from our perspectives,” said Independent Consultant

Tim Johnson, on the ROM’s website.

According to the site, the continuing First Peoples legacy comes alive in this multi-layered gallery that discusses the complex relationship between traditions and present life, the work of collectors who sought to document the unique experiences of Indigenous cultures, the development of museums where First

Peoples’ material culture could be preserved, and provide a sense of what it means to be an Indigenous person in the contemporary world through contemporary art.

“Explore a rich cultural legacy embodied in objects devoted to travel, subsistence, family life, the spiritual world, and artistic expressions,” said the ROM. There is also a

circular theatre devoted to the screening of films and live performances by First Peoples.

As part of ROM’s broader effort to foster a greater appreciation of the Indigenous ancestral objects in the Museum's collections, and to support the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, admission to the gallery is free of charge to the public.

The ROM told the Two Row Times that even though the museum is normally closed on Mondays, it will be open on Feb. 20 for Family Day from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. And offers free General Admission to Indigenous Peoples, including First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Check in at the admissions desk on arrival for free admission.

“The ROM is open for special activities and programs throughout the long weekend. We are usually closed Mondays but will be open for Family Day,” said the ROM.

MCFN holding firstever celebration of treaties and allyship

TWO ROW TIMES

Mississaugas of the Credit

First Nation is holding its first-ever annual celebration of treaties and allyship next month that will include performances by well-known Indigenous artists at the MCFN community centre.

The event is being billed as a community-to-community celebration of arts, culture and cuisine in celebration of its treaty relationship with the City of Oakville.

The event will be a thank-you to treaty holders from the City of Oakville to MCFN on Mar.

4 at the MCFN Community Centre.

The event will feature Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter Susan

Aglugark, with special performances by the Caribbean Steel Pan Drummers, Parang Singers and Hip-Hop dancers.

The celebration will be catered by renowned Mohawk Chef Tawnya Brant.

The event is free for MCFN community members to welcome Oakville treaty holders to the community and to thank them for their partnership.

The evening event will honour Treaty 22 in Oakville, which involves the central portion of the Credit River Reserve, along with its woods and waters.

It is being held by the Oakville Truth Project, a collaboration between the Oakville Community Foundation and MCFN.

The Daphne Cockwell Gallery dedicated to First Peoples art and culture features more than one thousand works of art and cultural heritage.

PHOTO BY ROM

Ontario enabling HDI to discriminate against Six Nations people

This week, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute hopped on another bandwagon — taking a Toronto transit company to court, losing, and then filing a second kick at the can.

Now, HDI has filed a motion with the Ontario Court of Appeals to stop the cutting down of 11 trees outside Osgoode Hall — the law school connected to York University.

The issue is between the Law Society of Ontario and Metrolinx — an agency of the Ontario government that runs Go Transit along with other train transportation between Hamilton, Toronto and the surrounding areas. The Law Society doesn’t want to loose its lawn trees. Metrolinx wants to build a new stop along the transit line. And now the HDI, who recently has just declared that is operates on behalf of the entire Haudenosaunee world, is getting involved.

Why is the entire Haudenosaunee world getting into the ring between the Law Society of Ontario and Metrolinx and picking a side here? And who agreed that Six Nations would pay the bill to get into that fight? How much is it costing Six Nations to get into this fight?

HDI has targeted Metrolinx in the media before. Back in 2022 they openly criticized Metrolinx for not doing indigenous consultation good enough — and announced that Go Train riders “may experience some delays” as HDI conducted its own independent environmental reviews.

Nothing was ever disclosed to the public about how, when or where those environmental reviews took place, if they did, or what was any result from those reviews.

Reading between the

lines anyone could see that HDI was threatening delays to an essential service that millions of people rely on everyday.

For those outside of Six Nations who may not be familiar with the HDI playbook — there isn’t one.

HDI says it is guided by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council but the goalposts keep changing. Even people on Six Nations — whose membership is something HDI uses as collateral to collect money from big developers — don’t know what the rules are when it comes to HDI.

Sometimes, HDI is the “development arm” of the HCCC. Sometimes, it is labelled the “administrative arm”. Most times it is described as an entity that is “delegated by the HCCC to _________” with zero consultation among the people of Six Nations for the things it says it is doing on behalf of the people of Six Nations. Now, on behalf of the entire Haudenosaunee world.

HDI is a shapeshifter. Financial disclosure is not made public for any of their staff or consultants. Community contributions are not made regularly to projects for infrastructure such as schools or roads, and if they are made, they are not disclosed. There are no public mechanisms in place to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest when it comes to any financial transactions HDI makes. In fact, quite the opposite. Some chiefs of the HCCC, who direct the HDI, are some of their employees. In any other organization, that would be prohibited by things like public policies — something the HCCC and HDI do not have. And not for a lack of time, manpower or financial ability to create them.

There is a shifting

goalpost that is maintained when it comes to all of HCCC and HDIs engagements. Recently the City of Guelph disclosed that it has been attempting to communicate with HDI regarding a pedestrian bridge that crosses a waterway connected to the Grand River. HDI’s last contact with them was that they would not discuss the issue until the city made a payment to HDI.

They have refused to engage with the city of Hamilton on a desperately needed waterway cleanup where raw sewage is threatening the water oxygen levels at Cootes Paradise — a site that is an archaeologically confirmed traditional Iroquoian territory — unless Hamilton pays HDI and installs a new protocol to give the HCCC final veto rights over all development in the city of Hamilton. Meanwhile, the raw sewage remains.

The common factor here being: Ontario developers, municipalities and organizations are being told by the province that they must consult with HDI. It is a part of the provincial protocol.

So the province of Ontario is complicit with the process of what is happening with HDIs demands for financial compensation in exchange for giving the thumbs up for developments, which HDI seems to green-light at random, regardless of cited “environmental concerns”.

Ontario is also complicit with enabling HDI to create a situation on Six Nations that is impossible for the community to rectify internally. We are double victims — our band membership statistics being used by HDI to demand ransom from developers — at the province’s direction. This is an unethical practice by Ontario that is keeping

Six Nations powerless to internally hold HDI and the HCCC accountable.

HDI has a shifting moral compass on everything and has built a dystopian leadership structure. It has had the same people leading the organization since it’s inception: Lawyer Aaron Detlor and Six Nations man Brian Doolittle. There has never been a job opportunity for anyone else on Six Nations to lead the HDI.

To secure the oligarchical structures that are in place — HDI has taken measures on the territory to try to eliminate, infiltrate and pacify oversight structures within the Great Law — such as the Men’s Fire and Warriors.

Hereditary leadership at the HCCC is discriminatory. Chiefs are lifetime appointments. Today, the only people considered are heterosexual males assigned at birth who come from certain family lineages — and must be married to a heterosexual female assigned at birth who they have biological children with.

To make things more restrictive, only one person may install a chief once they meet those requirements — the clan mother — who must be a female assigned at birth. That same person is also the sole individual who can remove, or dehorn, a chief.

There is no handbook or rules written out that the public can view to find out when or how a chief must be removed. And clan mothers are not required to remove chiefs if they do something wrong. All of the discretion lies in the hands of one, female assigned at birth, who bears a lifetime role handed down to her through her family lineage.

Historically these roles made sense. But in 2023, it is a recipe for disaster.

Indigenous women in Canada today, especially those on-reserve, are at an increased risk of poverty and violence. Clanmothers are not exempt from those risks. Putting the sole onus of installing and removing political leaders in the hands of one female, often an elder — is putting those women at an even higher risk to be unduly influenced financially or harmed if political pressure is applied to keep or remove a chief at any time.

There is no where else in the province where this is permitted when it comes to political leadership. Why is this okay when it comes to Six Nations?

How can the province of Ontario ethically continue to enable an entity with this kind of a discriminatory power structure? Under the HCCCs hereditary leadership structure — if you are the wrong last name, gender or marital status you are excluded from political participation.

How can the province of Ontario claim democracy with this kind of double standard for people from Six Nations?

The financial stakes are extremely high. The economic disparities and poverty facing Six Nations band members, land defenders, water protectors, those who study the culture and language have become insufferable.

Meanwhile, HDI has the built up the financial capability to compensate individuals for staging protests, opposing development projects that don’t play ball.

Adding to this very toxic opportunity is the unseverable reality that the chiefs and clan mothers are the religious leaders of the Haudenosaunee. They are the gatekeepers to the traditional names,

ceremonies and religious/ cultural symbols that remain of Haudenosaunee heritage — something that was forcibly removed from us all during the Residential School era.

It is a tragic truth that under the HCCC and its Gaiwiyo religion there is inequitable access for Six Nations people to have names, ceremonies and culture restored to them. Things that were once considered a birth right are now only bestowed to those who politically support the HCCC and its shapeshifter. Critics of HDI, people who are mixed race Haudenosaunee and those from other religions have reported being bullied and othered until their either give up and stop asking questions, or embrace being a local pariah at the cost of no longer being welcome to ceremony and not having access to receiving a traditional Indigenous name and clan. The dark fellowship that has formed inside Six Nations between HCCC and the HDI is being empowered and enabled by the province of Ontario, its municipalities, developers, and provincial taxpayers.

Not really what the Peacemaker intended. And not what several of the Men’s Fire members and Warriors are falling for. There is a running class-action lawsuit against HDI that is set to return to court in March, asking for full disclosure of all the organizations transactions made on behalf of the people.

Sadly, the Haudenosaunee people are being backed into a corner and forced to turn to an outside government to get information, full disclosure and justice from it’s “traditional governing body”.

Family Day activities to enjoy

JACE KOBLUN jace@tworowtimes.com

TWO ROW TIMES

Thanks to increasingly busy schedules that have families running in different directions for work, school and extracurricular activities, Family Day is an ideal time to spend time together.

Too often family members retire to their respective rooms, devices in hand, and spend the day solo. Kommando Tech says people spend an average of three hours and 15 minutes on their phones each day. Not including how much additional time is likely spent on devices like tablets or laptops.

These fun activities can get kids and parents off the couch this Family Day; however, if a lazy, Netflix-filled long weekend is what you and your family need then make sure to do that instead.

Take a family bike ride. Inflate those tires and tighten your helmet chin straps. A family bike

ride is an ideal activity for the family because it is something that can be enjoyed by all age groups. Choose the pace and the terrain based on the age of the youngest or oldest rider (flat, easy-to-navigate paths for the very young or the elderly), and enjoy exercise in the great outdoors.

Wash the cars. It’s a chore, but it has the potential for lots of laughs along the way — and possibly a suds fight. Washing vehicles also is a great way to cool off when the weather is warm.

Engage in sports training. Whether the children participate in organized sports or not, set up an obstacle course or fitness circuit in the backyard. Everyone takes turns going through the course. The family can spend time together as everyone gets beneficial exercise.

Do a walking tour. Educational attractions like museums, zoos, aquariums and arboretums are great to visit on weekends. The family will see new sights and learn important

information about exhibits, all the while walking a few miles.

Go sledding. If there is enough snow on the ground (fingers crossed) for sliding down the hill, why not enjoy this old-fashioned fun that is completely free?

International AutoShow. The world’s best-selling toy – Hot Wheels – is returning to the Canadian International AutoShow as a featured exhibitor celebrating five decades of the AutoShow presenting the industry’s ”hottest wheels.” This year, it will be offering a kids’ play zone, retail space, classic Hot Wheels cars and five life-sized Hot Wheels vehicles from the Hot Wheels Garage of Legends.

Disney Immersive Experience. Disney Animation: Immersive Experience is an innovative celebration that takes you inside the greatest films of Walt Disney Animation Studios, from their very earliest, groundbreaking features to the beloved hit movies of today.

Gaming Computer giveaway

Congratulations to Judy Miller, the winner of the Jukasa Radio Bingo Gaming Computer Prize which was sponsored by Two Row Times JUKASA RADIO

Perfecting Pancake Day prep

Learn why people eat an excessive amount of pancakes

JACE KOBLUN jace@tworowtimes.com

TWO ROW TIMES

Pancakes are great any day of the week; however, there is no better day to make the delicious, flat, round, fluffy cakes for you and yours than this Tuesday, Feb. 21. Better known in most English-speaking countries like the U.K., Ireland, Australia and Canada as Pancake Day.

Pancakes come in all shapes and sizes and there are several recipes out there to help home chefs find their favourites. Fluffy, thin, dense, chocolate chip, protein, gluten-free — the possibilities are endless when it comes to how you make and then choose to top pancakes.

But why an entire day dedicated to celebrating pancakes? Let’s dig in.

Pancake Day’s origins are rooted in religion, being a key date in the Christian calendar.

“Also known as Shrove Tuesday, it is a major event in the lead-up to Easter. It traditionally

marks the eve of Lent — a period when some followers of Christianity give up culinary treats for several weeks,” said an article on National World's website. The word shrove is derived from the word shrive, which meant a person had gone to confession and had their sins absolved.

Those who participate in Lent today often give up one luxury food item like candy or they abstain from a bad habit like watching too much TV. Lent used to involve clearing your cabinet out of items such as butter, sugar and eggs.

“Pope Gregory I is believed to have started this custom in around 600AD. Given sweet things and fats were not allowed

during Lent, people had to find a way to use them up and pancakes were an ideal way to do so,” said the article.

The national day of celebration is always 47 days prior to Easter Sunday. Pancake Day celebrations can fall on any Tuesday between Feb. 3 and Mar. 9.

The U.K. celebrates Pancake Day with a second tradition alongside the first. More physical than cooking and flipping. It’s pancake racing.

People race one another while holding a pan with a pancake in it. As they run they have to throw the pancake in the air and catch it in the pan multiple times.

“In some pancake races people dress up in fancy dress costumes,” said an article on learnenglishteens.org. “The most famous pancake race takes place in a town called Olney, in the middle of England. People say that Olney has been celebrating pancake races since 1445.”

Here is a recipe from illuna.com showing how to make pancakes from

Resolutions for a strong family

scratch.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.

- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Pour in the milk, egg, melted butter and vanilla. Mix until combined.

- Lightly oil a griddle or frying pan and heat to medium-high.

- Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook until bubbly and lightly browned, about three minutes. Flip and cook for two minutes more until browned on the second side.

- Serve hot with your favourite toppings.

JACE KOBLUN jace@tworowtimes.com TWO ROW TIMES

There are plenty of resolutions that families can enjoy together. Undertaking goals as a family unit can create accountability that keeps everyone on track. Here are some resolutions to think about making this Family Day.

Healthy eating. Eating healthier meals together can move everyone’s personal health in the right direction. Start by adding a fruit or vegetable to every meal and try whole grains or a new grain, like quinoa. Small changes can add up to big gains and healthy results.

Push positivity. Transform negative thinking patterns into positive ones. The family can keep gratitude journals, highlighting things in their lives they are grateful for or actions that make each person proud.

Sleep more. Collectively aim to get more sleep each night. This may be achieved by turning electronics off earlier

Wishing Everyone a Safe and Fun Family Day!

each night and spending an hour or two before bed engaged in lighthearted conversation or stress-busting activities like reading books. Limit screen time. Plan for screen-free family time each day so that everyone can engage without the distractions of social media, work, friends, and other digital activities.

Undertaking goals such as eating more vegetables as a family unit can create an accountability that keeps everyone on track. SARA SCARPA UNSPLASH

Judge who released man later charged in cop's death

and employment opportunities and poverty.''

A judge who granted bail to a man later accused of killing an Ontario Provincial Police officer noted his Indigenous background and the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the correctional system before he decided to release the man from custody, according to an audio recording of the proceeding.

In the audio of the bail hearing last June, obtained by The Canadian Press through the courts, Justice Harrison Arrell said he understood concerns about Randall McKenzie's violent criminal record at the time but was obligated to give careful consideration to his Indigenous background.

``First Nations people are grossly overrepresented in the prison system, especially in pre-trial custody,'' Arrell said.

``I don't mind telling you, it's a very iffy case. I do feel my obligation is, something I can't ignore is, being a status Aboriginal.

``I appreciate your concern is not that and all the past violence in his record and I understand that. But part and parcel of that ... is probably to do with his native background and education opportunities

McKenzie was released on bail six months before he allegedly killed OPP Const. Greg Pierzchala in an ambush near Hagersville, Ont., in late December and he is one of two people facing a charge of first-degree murder in the officer's death.

He was first denied release in late December 2021 as he awaited trial in a case where he was accused of assault and a number of weapons charges in an incident involving his son's mother and her boyfriend.

Arrell then reviewed that decision and granted McKenzie's release in June under strict conditions, including 24-7 house arrest under the supervision of his mother and the surveillance of a GPS monitor, court records indicate. McKenzie was only permitted to leave his mother's house for medical emergencies, for meeting with his lawyers or for counselling.

Records indicate a judge issued a warrant for McKenzie's arrest in August when he failed to show up for a scheduled court date.

The OPP would not comment on Friday. The force also declined to answer a question about what efforts, if any, it took to arrest McKenzie after the warrant was issued.

The audio recordings offer insight into the issues Arrell weighed before making his decision. (While an accused can ask for a publication ban on a bail proceeding, court records and audio recordings indicate McKenzie did not request a ban.)

The Crown's arguments for denying bail included the serious accusations McKenzie faced, his criminal record and his history of breaking bail conditions. It was the Crown's position that there remained a substantial likelihood he would commit further offences.

The defence, meanwhile, argued that rather than his girlfriend acting as surety, as proposed in the first December bail hearing, his mother would step in this time and offer constant supervision along with the GPS monitor.

Arrell at one point indicates he would add a number of conditions proposed by the defence and suggested the Crown could suggest some too, ``that might make us all even a little more comfortable.''

The Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General and McKenzie's defence lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

Stemming from a court decision in 1999, judges must apply Gladue prin-

ciples when making a bail and sentencing decision _ meaning they need to consider the unique circumstances of an Indigenous person, such as the impacts of colonization, including family separation.

McKenzie is from the Onondaga First Nations of the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, a 2021 parole document says. At that time, he was serving a nearly three-year sentence, the document shows, after he robbed a restaurant at gunpoint and then stole the owner's vehicle in 2017 before turning himself in a month later.

The board said it was evident McKenzie had suffered ``the negative impacts of colonialism,'' parole documents show. He suffered from abuse and addiction, and was adopted out of the care of his biological parents at age two.

The news that McKenzie had been released before he allegedly killed Pierzchala led to immediate calls for bail reform from the OPP commissioner, provincial premiers and federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Earlier this week, federal Justice Minister David Lametti said he is giving ``serious consideration'' to reforming Canada's bail laws in response to a request from the premiers

to make changes.

But experts have said there is no evidence to suggest a ``tough on crime'' approach to bail increases public safety.

Bail is a constitutional right, and the Supreme Court has noted pre-trial release is the ``cardinal rule,'' while detention is ``the exception.''

A 2020 Supreme Court decision acknowledged widespread problems continued to exist with the ongoing imposition of bail conditions that are ``unnecessary unreasonable, unduly restrictive'' and ``effectively set the accused up to fail.''

That decision also restated the law requires a bail judge to pay particular attention to the circumstances of accused persons who are Indigenous or those who belong to a vulnerable population overrepresented in the criminal justice system.

Ontario's bail system is characterized by conditions and surety releases that eroded the presumption of innocence and the right to bail, according to a 2022 study published by the Cambridge University Press reviewing hundreds of decisions. However, the authors noted there had been some shifts since the Supreme Court of Canada reaffirmed bail principles in a 2017 decision.

David Milward, an associate professor in law at

the University of Victoria, said he understands why there is outrage over Pierzchala's death, but noted judges have to keep the presumption of innocence top of mind.

``And even when people are saying that we should bring Gladue principles into the bail phase, they're more nuanced about it,'' said Milward, who co-authored a handbook on the principles.

``It's not like anyone's just saying, 'Oh, if someone's Indigenous, that Indigenous person automatically should never be in detention pending trial or sentencing.'''

Milward, who is a member of the Beardy's & Okemasis First Nation in Saskatchewan, said he does not think it's reasonable to use McKenzie's case to argue for bail reforms.

``I do understand (Pierzchala's) case is really tragic,'' said Milward. `` ... It's not something that anyone would or should wish on anyone.

``I don't mean to downplay this tragedy, but I'm not convinced that this particular case should operate to amend the law to make bail more difficult for Indigenous offenders.''

Post Roe, Native Americans face even more abortion hurdles

A few months after South Dakota banned abortion last year, April Matson drove more than nine hours to take a friend to a Colorado clinic to get the procedure.

The trip brought back difficult memories of Matson's own abortion at the same clinic in 2016. The former grocery store worker and parent of two couldn't afford a hotel and slept in a tent near a horse pasture — bleeding and in pain.

Getting an abortion has long been extremely difficult for Native Americans like Matson. It has become even tougher since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

New, restrictive state laws add to existing hurdles: a decades-old ban on most abortions at clinics and hospitals run by the federal Indian Health Service, fewer nearby health centers offering abortions, vast rural expanses for many to travel, and poverty afflicting more than a quarter of the Native population.

``That's a lot of barriers,'' said Matson, who lives in Sioux Falls and is Sicangu Lakota. ``We're already an oppressed community, and then we have this oppression on top of that oppression.''

Among the six states with the highest proportion of Native American and Alaska Native residents, four — South Dakota, Oklahoma, Montana and North Dakota — have moved or are poised to further restrict abortion. South Dakota and Oklahoma ban it with few exceptions.

In some communities, the distance to the nearest abortion provider has increased by hundreds of miles, said Lauren van Schilfgaarde, a member of Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico who directs the tribal legal development clinic at the University of California-Los Angeles.

``Native people are having to cross massive, massive distances and absorb all of the travel costs and child care,'' she said.

Experts say the issue should be seen within

the larger context of the tortured history between Indigenous people and white society that began with the taking of Native lands and includes coerced sterilization of Native women lasting into the 1970s. Native Americans on both sides of the abortion debate invoke this history — some arguing the procedure reduces the number of potential citizens in a population that has been threatened for centuries, and others saying new restrictions are another attack on Native women's rights.

Many advocates worry that reduced abortion access will make things even worse for women already facing maternal death rates twice as high as their white peers, teen birth rates more than twice as high as whites, and the worst rates of sexual violence.

``Indigenous women don't have access to reproductive justice in any form, and that includes abortion,'' said Natalie Stites Means, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe who serves on the board of the Justice Empowerment Network, an abortion fund. ``Any limitation on our health care and any limitation on abortion is going to impact our health and well-being.''

DECADES OF RESTRICTIONS

For centuries, experts said, Indigenous people had their own systems of health care, which in some cases included natural abortive practices.

Today, the main source of care for many is the Indian Health Service, which serves 2.6 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to 574 federally recognized tribes in 37 states. Its clinics and hospitals operate under the Hyde Amendment, which bars them from using federal funds for abortions except in cases of rape, incest or threats to a mother's life.

Even when an IHS patient falls under one of those exceptions, many facilities ``don't have the materials or staff or the expertise to provide that abortion care,'' van Schilfgaarde said.

Matson uses the pronoun they and is two-spir-

it, a term used to describe those who combine traits of both men and women.

Matson, who lived in Rapid City at the time, said IHS staff didn't discuss abortion as an option for their unplanned pregnancy. After getting the procedure at 13 weeks in Colorado, they felt uncomfortable returning to IHS despite ongoing bleeding.

While IHS staff can refer people to places that provide abortions, federal funds can only be used for ``Hyde-permitted'' procedures and related patient travel, agency officials said in a statement. And a federal report shows nearly 1 in 5 American Indians and Alaska Natives are uninsured.

Also, there are often no abortion providers nearby. One reason? The proportion of Catholic health systems, which generally prohibit abortion, has grown significantly. A 2020 report by Community Catalyst, a nonprofit health advocacy organization, found that 1 in 6 acute care hospital beds in the U.S. is in a Catholic system. The share is 40% in South Dakota and 32% in Oklahoma.

SEEKING SOLUTIONS

After Roe fell, restrictive ``trigger'' laws took effect in more than a dozen states, including South Dakota and Oklahoma, which already had stopped providing most abortions. North Dakota's abortion ban has been blocked in court.

Some Native women were inspired to organize.

Cherokee women in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, gathered over the summer to discuss a possible amendment to the tribe's constitution protecting reproductive health access for its citizens. They were frustrated that leaders of this tribe with around 450,000 citizens hadn't addressed the issue.

``Fear was just kind of palpable,'' said group leader Alissa Baker, who teaches psychology at Northeastern State University. ``We felt a need to protect our community ... and really in some ways reclaim some of those

traditional roles of a Cherokee woman, which is effectively being the voice of the community.''

But the effort stalled as the school year approached, with members spread across a rural area, busy with jobs and children.

Other activist efforts panned out. D'Arlyn Bell, a doctoral student at the University of Kansas and another member of the Cherokee Nation, joined with other Native activists to help defeat a proposed amendment to the Kansas state constitution that would have cleared the way for tougher abortion restrictions.

``We were doing it not only for the Native women in our own states but Native women from our own home territories, especially Oklahoma,'' she said.

Experts stress that abortion views vary among tribal leaders and members _ something echoed in a statement from the Cherokee Nation,

the only one of the five largest tribes in South Dakota and Oklahoma to respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Opening a clinic on tribal land would be legally challenging, experts said. The Cherokee Nation said it wouldn't set one up, and there have been no announcements from other tribes since Roe was overturned. History shows the issue is fraught: The first woman president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota was impeached in 2006 after publicly proposing an abortion clinic on the reservation.

Post-Roe, Native Americans on both sides of the issue are taking personal and collective action.

Elizabeth Terrill, a board member for the anti-abortion Native American nonprofit Life is Sacred, said she's a foster parent, does post-abortion counseling and supports moms. She said extended

families on tribal lands historically have banded together when there is an unplanned pregnancy, and most women choose to continue them.

``I think there's just a different cultural understanding of what life is and when life begins and why life is so sacred,'' said Terrill, a mental health therapist near the Navajo Nation in New Mexico and member of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma.

Matson, executive director of the summer camp ``Rock the Rez,'' said they share their experience, donate money to those in need and tell others about resources like the Justice Empowerment Network, which covered most of their friend's abortion and travel costs.

``Every time someone is going through this, I offer support,'' said Matson, 32.

``I've helped, I hope, in every way that I can.''

Native dancers want Arizona gallery owner held on hate crime

is what happened when the Super Bowl came to town.'''

PHOENIX (AP) — Native American dancers who were the target of a suburban Phoenix gallery owner's racist rant as they were being filmed for Super Bowl week are pushing for hate crime charges.

Gilbert Ortega Jr., the owner of Gilbert Ortega Native American Galleries, has been charged with three misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct regarding the incident, Scottsdale police said.

Cody Blackbird, a dancer and flutist who filmed the man's tirade, said his group doesn't feel safe, and that the confrontation has ruined what should have been a celebratory week.

``Us performers are now going in different entrances and parking in different places. This man is known,'' Blackbird said. ``There's a 10-year-old girl who was there. She's forever imprinted with `This

The group is seeking the involvement of the FBI, U.S. Justice Department and Arizona Attorney General's Office.

The confrontation happened Tuesday afternoon in Old Town Scottsdale, which has been seeing a high volume of visitors in town for the big game and the Phoenix Open. Ten dancers were performing in front of the Native Art Market on Main Street. ESPN was filming the group in the store and then had them pose outside by a Super Bowl sign.

That's when Ortega started yelling at them, Blackbird said. In the video, Ortega can be seen mocking them and yelling ``you (expletive) Indians'' at one point.

His shop was closed Friday, and a listed number appears to not be in service. There was no immediate response to messages from The Associated Press left at multiple phone numbers and

personal email addresses listed for him seeking comment.

In Arizona, there is no law specific to a hate crime itself. It can be used as an aggravating circumstance in the commission of a crime where the motive was bias against a victim's race, religion, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or

disability.

Disorderly conduct does not qualify for a hate crime designation under the FBI's definition, according to Scottsdale authorities. The FBI website describes a hate crime as ``often a violent crime, such as assault, murder, arson, vandalism, or threats to commit such crimes.''

Blackbird, who is of

Eastern Band Cherokee and Dakota descent, said some Navajo performers heard Ortega make threats in their language that had violent and sexual innuendos. He also alleges Ortega charged at them and had to be physically restrained. He said he doesn't see why it's not being treated as a hate crime.

``That's what it's seeming like, which really creates some horrible precedents, dangerous precedents,'' said Blackbird, who has retained an attorney.

Meanwhile, the video has gained traction on social media and brought unwanted attention to Scottsdale. Mayor David Ortega, who is not related to the gallery owner, called his behavior ``reprehensible and inexcusable.''

``The behavior exhibited by this individual saddens and disgusts the people of our community,'' David Ortega said in a statement.

The business is associated with a larger group of stores known for selling Native American items in

the Southwest. But Ortega's on the Plaza, located in New Mexico, said Gilbert Ortega Jr. is a distant relative and the Santa Fe store is not affiliated with him.

``The family and employees of Ortega's on the Plaza in Santa Fe condemn racism and discrimination in all forms,'' Janelle Ortega said in a statement Thursday. ``Furthermore, we consider it a great honor to carry and showcase the work of Indigenous artists and a privilege to support them in other important public and personal endeavors.''

Blackbird said there are growing calls on social media for artists to boycott Gilbert Ortega Jr.'s business. He said racism exists even among people whose business hinges on Indigenous people.

``That's always been a thing in the Indian trader world,'' Blackbird said.

``They don't care about the people that are making the items they're selling and redesigning.''

This guy, Gilbert Ortega Jr., has been charged with being racist after he insulted Indigenous dancers ahead of their Superbowl performance. SUB

MONTREAL — Billy Two

Rivers, a celebrated Mohawk professional wrestler who became a prominent politician and Indigenous rights advocate, has died at 87.

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, south of Montreal, announced his death in a statement published Monday.

``He was both colourful and outspoken, never afraid to challenge government officials or correct Kahnawa:ke's opponents on their misinterpretations of the community's position or its place in history,'' the council said.

Two Rivers rose to fame as a wrestler in the 1950s, and spent nearly a quarter of a century in the ring before he turned to politics. He was first elected to Kahnawake council in 1978 and served 10 consecutive terms. Two Rivers served in 1990 as the ``right hand'' of grand chief

Billy Two Rivers dies at 87

said that during his two decades as a politician

Two Rivers was involved in many of the turning points in Canadian history, including constitutional talks throughout the 1980s, and the Oka Crisis.

Joseph Tokwiro Norton during the Oka Crisis, the council said.

The Oka Crisis started July 11, 1990, when Quebec provincial police moved in on a barricade erected by Mohawks to protest the planned expansion of a golf course on what is ancestral land. A provincial police officer was killed and the situation escalated into a tense, 78-day standoff between Mohawks, Canadian soldiers and Quebec provincial police.

Russell Diabo, a Kahnawake Mohawk and Indigenous policy analyst,

Diabo said Two Rivers went to Ottawa to represent Kahnawake in political meetings during the 1990 crisis, while Norton stayed on the ground. Two Rivers advocated for Mohawk rights in different meetings with political leaders, including former Quebec premier Robert Bourassa, Diabo said.

``He wasn't intimidated,'' Diabo said in an interview Monday. ``He was a good man.''

Diabo also got to see the other side of his friend when the two of them spent a week in London for a museum exhibit opening in the late 1980s.

``He was very good at being, I guess you could say, a good showman,'' Diabo said.

The council said Two Rivers stayed active in his later years, acting in sev-

eral movies and television shows and remaining a prominent advocate for the Mohawk language. In 2019, he was one of 38 elders honoured for their contributions to the development of the Kahnawa:ke Language Law, the council statement said.

His IMDb credits include the TV series ``Mohawk Girls'' and the 2004 movie ``Taking Lives.''

In 2017, Two Rivers reached an agreement to settle a lawsuit against singer Van Morrison, whom Two Rivers accused of using his photo on an upcoming album cover without permission.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald expressed her condolences to Two Rivers' family on Twitter, and praised his ``articulate and powerful'' speeches at national chiefs meetings.

Former justice minister and attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould was among the many Canadians who expressed their condolences on Twitter.

Honorary degree revoked

The Canadian Press REGINA — The University of Regina says it has rescinded the honorary doctor of laws degree it awarded to Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond in 2003 as she faces questions about her Indigenous heritage.

The University was the first to revoke a degree granted to Turpel-Lafond, although she returned honorary degrees to two post-secondary institutions in British Columbia earlier this year.

Those schools and several others across Canada have confirmed they were reviewing honorary degrees conferred on Turpel-Lafond after a CBC investigation into her claim of Cree ancestry.

A statement from the University of Regina says it acted after considering the available evidence as well as ``a number of other stated credentials and academic achievements (that) have been shown to be untrue.''

The university says it

responded to calls from the Indigenous Women's Collective to revoke the degree and a separate statement from the collective urges the Governor General to review and terminate Turpel-Lafond's Order of Canada.

Turpel-Lafond is a former judge, law professor and B.C. representative for children and youth, but her claims of Cree heritage have been under scrutiny since last fall and the University of B.C. announced in December that she no longer worked there.

The University of Regina said it recognizes Turpel-Lafond has been a strong advocate for Indigenous rights and child welfare, but said it had a responsibility to act.

``Her accomplishments are outweighed by the harm inflicted upon Indigenous academics, peoples and communities when non-Indigenous people misrepresent their Indigenous ancestry,'' said the statement issued Monday.

Billy Two Rivers.

Leaders, family discuss effort to search landfill for women's remains

The Canadian Press WINNIPEG — A search for the remains of two Indigenous women at a landfill north of Winnipeg could begin as early as April, pending the outcome of a feasibility study.

Grand Chief Cathy Merrick of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said the effort to find the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran will include a visit to the privately owned landfill later this month.

``We are planning a tour of the Prairie Green landfill, which the owner has graciously offered to organize for us to see the area of interest,'' Merrick

said at a news conference Friday.

Police believe the remains of Harris and Myran were sent to the landfill last spring. Jeremy Skibicki is accused of killing them, as well as Rebecca Contois, whose partial remains were found in the city-run Brady landfill in south Winnipeg, and an unidentified woman Indigenous leaders have named Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman.

Some community members believe Buffalo Woman's remains may also be at Prairie Green. Skibicki faces four counts of first-degree murder. He has not en-

tered a plea yet, but his lawyer says Skibicki maintains his innocence.

Police initially rejected the idea of a search of the Prairie Green landfill, citing the passage of time, the lack of a precise location within the landfill and the tonnes of material that were later deposited in the area.

After public pressure, an Indigenous-led committee was put together to examine whether a search is feasible. The federal government announced this week it will commit $500,000 to the feasibility study, which is to include advice from forensics experts.

2023 DEADLINE CALENDAR for / gweh?: weh n=:` Ohsweg,h]:n/h

Onkwehón:we ne: Ohswekenhro:non

Feb. 1st Application Deadline for Summer semester Apply on-line!

Fall Marks/Progress Reports due for all continuing students.

Levels 3 & 4 (Master or Ph.D. students) provide Letter of Good Academic Standing.

Winter course registration/timetable and detailed tuition fees due.

May 1st Application Deadline for Fall or Fall/Winter semester(s) Apply on-line!

Winter Marks/Progress Reports due for all funded students.

Levels 3 & 4 (Master or Ph.D. students) provide Letter of Good Academic Standing.

Summer course registration/timetable and detailed tuition fees due. 11:59 pm May 1st to 9 am July 1st - The On-line Application on the GRPSEO Website is not available.

Aug 1st Official transcripts are due from students funded for any of the three previous application periods (Summer/Fall/Winter).

For all APPROVED FALL applications - Any documentation that was requested by the Funding Advisor to be submitted to GRPSEO by August 1, (as outlined in the “Check List of Required Documentation” form provided to the applicant), and not received by this deadline date will result in CANCELLATION of the approved application and loss of funding.

Oct. 1st Application Deadline for Winter semester – Apply on-line!

Summer Marks/Progress Reports due for all continuing students.

Levels 3 & 4 (Master or Ph.D. students) provide Letter of Good Academic Standing. Fall course registration/timetable and detailed tuition fees due.

The Grand River Post Secondary Education Office is accepting tenders for cleaning and janitorial duties

The Grand River Post Secondary Education Office is accepting tenders for cleaning and janitorial

Frequency: Two times per week

Start Date: April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2025

Experience: Experience an asset

Qualifications: WHMIS Training for Cleaning & Janitorial Companies

Work Setting: Office building

Duties:

• Sweep and mop floors

• Dust furniture/window sills

• Vacuum carpeting, area rugs, draperies and upholstered furniture

• Clean and disinfect bathrooms and fixtures

• Clean and disinfect all door handles and light switches

• Empty trash containers

• Wash windows

• Wax and polish floors

If interested in viewing the office, please contact Lisa White at (519) 445-2219.

Please submit a quote to: Grand River Post Secondary Education Office P.O. Box 339 2160 4th Line Rd. Ohsweken, ON N0A 1M0

The successful candidate must provide a police check.

Deadline Date: March 1, 2023 at 4 PM.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

For Grand River Post Secondary Education Office

The Grand River Post Secondary Education Office provides financial as well as other support services to Six Nations post secondary students.

POSITION TITLE: Financial Accounts Manager LOCATION: Ohsweken

DETAILS OF EMPLOYMENT: Full time 12 month term contract (37.5 hours weekly) with the possibility of future full time permanent employment.

JOB SUMMARY:

The Grand River Post Secondary Education Office (GRPSEO) is a very busy office environment that necessitates multi-tasking by all staff and for duties to be carried out in a professional manner consistent with a team approach. The Financial Accounts Manager with the GRPSEO reports to and is directly responsible to the Director of Post Secondary Student Services for:

• The organizational accomplishment of identified Board Ends policies; and

• Operating within established Board and Operational policies and procedures to accomplish these Ends. To do this the Financial Accounts Manager will:

• Be knowledgeable about all Board, Operational policies, and procedures of the Grand River Post Secondary Education Office.

• Provide efficient management, control and coordination of all financial matters regarding the programs and services of Grand River Post Secondary Education Office and the operation of the Post Secondary Board.

• Provide all financial reports to the Director regarding the operation of the programs and services; preparation of the annual budget and estimates of revenues and expenditures; and the annual audit.

• Provide to the Director, all reports and returns required by agreement between Six Nations and sources of funds for the Grand River Post Secondary Education Office

• Ensure organizational compliance with Board policies regarding Budgeting, Forecasting, Financial Condition, Asset Protection and Compensation and Benefits.

• Establish and implement financial policies and procedures within established budget and board policy limitations that will ensure efficient, effective and accurate financial operations, which include, but not limited to receiving and accounting for all funds, expenditures and securities; applicable provincial and federal laws and regulations.

• Deposit all monies, securities, and other valuable effects in the name and to the credit of the Grand River Post Secondary Education Office.

• Maintain an accurate computerized student database and accounting system for financial purposes.

• Establish and implement an annual work plan for all financial matters.

• Supervise the Financial/Administration Assistant.

• Complete annual archiving of financial records for each fiscal year.

• Provide guidance for the efficient and effective use of all computerized records and data systems.

QUALIFICATIONS:

University Degree or College Diploma education with concentration in the field of Finance and Accounting. CPA designation requirement and evidence through work history of prior achievement of at least five years of related work experience. Must have proven experience and be highly proficient and skilled in computerized accounting systems (i.e SAGE). Must have proven experience in a supervisory role.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to organize tasks and manage time effectively with a high level of attention to detail

• Ability to work efficiently with various software applications. This includes working knowledge and experience of Windows Operating System, Microsoft Office programs, Internet/social media and a proven ability to ensure accuracy of work dealing with data entry, editing.

• Demonstrated ability to: communicate clearly, concisely and correctly in written and verbal forms.

• Work collegially with co-workers and clients while maintaining confidentiality, organizational integrity, and responsive to client needs.

• Be dependable, flexible, and take initiative when necessary. (i.e.: work flex hours as required).

DATE: February 24, 2023

Applicants must submit their resume with (3) recent reference letters by: e-mail to Justine Henhawk-Bomberry, Director of Post Secondary Student Services at: justineb@grpseo.org or drop box located at the front entrance of the office located at 2160 Fourth Line Road, Ohsweken Or by mail to the: Attention: Director of Post Secondary Student Services GRAND RIVER POST SECONDARY EDUCATION OFFICE P.O. BOX 339, OHSWEKEN, ON N0A 1M0

know the score.

Dreamcatcher 3-on-3 tournament set for Family Day

SIX NATIONS — As lacrosse try outs begin at varying levels, youth players have been given an opportunity to reignite their stick skills with a tournament held by the Dreamcatcher Foundation in collaboration with the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena and ILA Sports.

“Dreamcatcher is proud to bring back our 3-on-3 Lacrosse Tournament and Skills Competition.

Our one-day tournament will be held on Family Day, February 20 at the Iroquois Lacrosse Are-na,” reads the Dreamcatcher Facebook page announcement, posted in January.

Since the initial post, the tournament has garnered four full divisions for a full day of games. With four divisions of five teams, the 3-on-3 is expected to help the youth playing within U9, U11, U13, and U15, prepare for the coming season.

“We wanted to do something for the kids down here and around the community,” said Josh Pow-less for Dreamcatcher. “Lacrosse season is coming up and we thought ‘what better way to get the lacrosse families together than to have it on Family Day?’”

With the focus on stick skills as Powless explained, the games will be 20 minutes with two courts playing at the same time. The tournament will also incorporate a Skills Competition from 12 p.m., to 1 p.m., during a pause in games midday.

“It’ll help the kids with the upcoming season too; get their sticks going and get some running in,” he said.

The tournament, as Powless explained, will be no contact which was an “easy decision.”

“We want this tournament to be friendly. Players were still asked to wear full equipment because we don’t want anyone to get hurt ahead of the season,” said Pow-

Woodland partners with Skateboard Project 2023

By TRT Staff with notes from woodlandculturalcentre.ca

BRANTFORD — On

February 6, the Woodland Cultural Centre announced its partnership with the Skateboard Project 2023.

As explained on the WCC website, “the Skateboard Project is an initiative that aims to promote Onkwehón:we artwork, active bodies, and collaboration between cultural centers across multiple Indigenous communities.”

In the second year of the project, five communities came together including: Kahnawà:ke, Kanehsatà:ke, Kenhtè:ke, Ahkwesáhsne and Six Nations to create seven skateboards graphics showcasing a range of styles and cultural imagery.

traditions has created a project that connects communities through local art and skateboarding,” reads the WCC website.

Profits from skateboard sales will go towards compensation for the artist’s work and to help fund events related to Go Skate Day, Indigenous Day and First Day of Summer, on June 21.

The WCC will feature the seven skateboards from the participating artists in its online gift store and in the Stan Hill Gallery starting Saturday, February 18.

Skateboard culture values inclusivity, individuality, creativity, and freedom and blending these with Indigenous traditions has created a project that connects communities through local art and skateboarding.

less.

For the first half of the day, Rink 1 and 2 will see games as follows:

U9 - Rink 1: Da Boyz versus Fuse LC #1, Rink

2: Little Big Boys versus Fuse #2 at 8:30 a.m.

U11 - Rink 1: Red Wolves versus River Kings, Rink 2: Fuse LC versus Lightsabers at 8:55 a.m.

U13 - Rink 1: Young Warriors versus Fuse LC, Rink 2: Sting versus The Happy Gang at 9:20 a.m.

U15 - Rink 1: Fuse #1 versus Jr. Rez Dogz, Rink

2: Fuse LC #2 versus Mohawk Militia at 9:45 a.m.

U9 - Rink 1: RCI Woodpeckers versus Fuse LC #2, Rink 2: Da Boyz versus Little Big Boys at 10:10 a.m.

U11 - Rink 1: SN Sting versus Red Wolves, Rink

2: River Kings versus Fuse LC at 10:35 a.m.

U13 - Rink 1: Duncan Henry versus Sting, Rink

2: The Happy Gang versus Young Warriors at 11:00 a.m.

U15 - Rink 1: Team Real Tree versus Mohawk Militia, Rink 2: Fuse LC #1 versus Fuse LC # 2 at 11:25 a.m.

With the Skills Com-

petition in between; for the second half of the day, Rink 1 and 2 will see games as follows:

U9 - Rink 1: Little Big Boys versus Fuse LC #1, Rink 2: Da Boyz versus RCI Woodpeckers at 1:00 p.m.

U11 - Rink 1: SN Sting versus Fuse LC, Rink 2: Lightsabers versus River Kings at 1:25 p.m.

U13 - Rink 1: The Happy Gang versus Fuse LC, Rink 2: Duncan Henry versus Young Warriors at 1:50 p.m.

U15 - Rink 1: Fuse LC #2 versus Jr. Rez Dogz, Rink 2: Fuse LC #1 versus Team Real Tree at 2:15 p.m.

U9 - Rink 1: Fuse LC #2 versus Da Boyz, Rink 2: Fuse LC #1 versus RCI Woodpeckers at 2:40 p.m.

U11 - Rink 1: Red Wolves versus Lightsabers, Rink 2: SN Sting versus River Kings at 3:05 p.m.

U13 - Rink 1: Sting versus Young Warriors, Rink 2: Fuse LC versus Duncan Henry at 3:30 p.m.

U15 - Rink 1: Mohawk Militia versus Fuse LC #1, Rink 2: Team Real Tree versus Jr. Rez Dogs at 3:55

p.m.

U9 - Rink 1: RCI Woodpeckers versus Little Big Boys, Rink 2: Fuse LC #1 versus Fuse LC #2 at 4:20 p.m.

U11 - Rink 1: Fuse LC versus Red Wolves, Rink 2: SN Sting versus Lightsabers at 4:45 p.m.

U13 - Rink 1: Duncan Henry versus The Happy Gang, Rink 2: Fuse LC versus Sting at 5:10 p.m.

U15 - Rink 1: Fuse LC #1 versus Team Real Tree, Rink 2: Jr. Rez Dogz versus Mohawk Militia at 5:35 p.m.

Finals will follow between 6:00 p.m., and 6:25 p.m., for advancing teams comprised of first and second place in their respective divisions.

With free admission, donations will be accepted at the event along with the opportunity for Six Nations Minor Lacrosse Association registration.

“Skateboard culture values inclusivity, individuality, creativity, and freedom and blending these with Indigenous

In 2015, a skate park was opened on Six Nations by a committee that collected over $250,000 to construct it under “Project Skate Park.”

A big lacrosse tournament is headed to the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena this weekend. DCF

Locally designed skateboard decks are part of an art project that brings together indigenous artists and skate culture with the Woodland Cultural Centre. WCC

Ohsweken Bears and Six Nations Snipers face off at home

TWO ROW TIMES

SIX NATIONS — Eastern Arena Lacrosse League games continued this past weekend, starting with a match that saw two hometown teams take each other on.

The Six Nations Snipers and the Ohsweken Bears opened the weekend with a face off at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena on Friday, February 10. This followed the Snipers loss to

the Oshawa Outlaws 1219 and the Bears loss to the Steelhawks 14-16 the weekend prior.

The first period saw the first goal go to the Bears from Oakley Thomas, then a goal was cinched from Cheyton King for the Snipers. This was followed by a second for the Snipers by Nolan Fehr, and a response by the Bears from Oakley Thomas. A final goal for the period was earned by Mason Hill, giving a lead to the Snipers 3-2.

Coming into the second

OHSWEKEN — This year marked the fifth Rez Hoops Tournament held at the Da:joh Youth and Elders Centre. Since 2017, the tournament has been used as a development tournament for youth basketball players, previously paused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Rez Hoops started back in 2017 to give our kids and youth an opportunity to learn, create lasting friendships,

period, Cheyton King scored his second for the Snipers, while Oakley Thomas earned his second, followed by a single for Kyle Pedwell for the Bears. Oakley Thomas scored his hat trick goal, and James Whiteford offered a supporting goal for the Bears to close the period at a 5-6 lead over the Snipers.

In the third, Justin Porga came through for the Snipers to open the period as Kyle Pedwell re-sponded with a dingle for the Bears second afters. After two goals from Cheyton King and Kedoh Hill, Oakley Thomas earned his fourth goal of the game. But, Chandler Allen, Hao-

dais Maracle and Cheyton King came through with single goals each. This left Haneh Brant and Jame Whiteford at a deficit despite scoring, closing the period at a close 11-10 for the Snipers.

In the fourth, the game could have gone either way at the start, but Brent Longboat opened scoring for the Snipers. Dawit Martin responded for the Bears, but Haodais Maracle, Kedoh Hill, Dan-te Romano and Cheyton King came through with single, consecutive goals. Jake Bomberry put one away for the Bears, while Mitch Vanevery, Haodais Maracle and Cheyton King put three more away for the

Snipers. Marvin Curry and Isaac Vanderzalm closed scoring for the Bears at the end, and finalized with a 19-14 score for the Snipers.

Cheyton King was awarded a first place star for six goals, three assists, tallying nine points total for the Snipers. Oakley Thomas was awarded a second place star for five goals, one assist, tal-lying six points total for the Snipers. While Dustin Hill was awarded a third place star after tallying 46 saves for the Snipers.

On Saturday, February 11, the Toronto Monarchs took a victory over the Peterborough Tim-bermen 17-13 at the Millbrook

Rez Hoops Tournament returns to Dajoh

play the game they love. Many youth have now completed high school, college, university, working, trades, returned to school and some have played at NAIG, NABI, Team Ontario, NAYO, and OFSAA. One young man is currently starting point guard playing college ball at St. Lawrence College, while some young ladies at Algonquin, Conestoga, and Monroe Community College are doing a lot of good to share and spread the love they have with this game to oth-ers.

Keep on inspiring and playing everyone; respect

and believe in yourself!” Wrote Kevin Sandy, a tournament coordinator to Facebook.

The Da:joh tropics were named Gr. 7 and 8 champions, with Rez Ballers given silver and Kenhte:ke Wolves Boys awarded bronze. The Kenhte:ke Wolves Girls earned gold, and the War-riors Boys earned gold as well., with the Niagara Regional Native Centre (NRNC) earning silver. Two exhibition games for the Ladies Open division took place between Kenhte:ke and Six Nations as well.

Arena. Later in the day, the Whitby Steelhawks won a match over the Oshawa Outlaw 15-10 at the Children’s Arena. On Sunday, the Paris RiverWolves lost to the Brampton Express 5-14 at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena.

The next scheduled game for the the Ohsweken Bears will see them play the Brampton Express on Friday, February 17 at the Brampton Memorial Arena at 8:00 p.m.. As for the Six Nations Snipers, they will face off on home soil on Sunday, February 19, at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena against the Paris RiverWolves at 2:00 p.m..

SIX NATIONS — Eastern Arena Lacrosse League games continued at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena this past weekend, with the Snipers and Bears facing off for a back-and-forth battle on home soil. The game ended with a win for the Snipers, 19-14, who sit in sixth place in Eastern ALL standings. TRT STAFF

The Bears will face the Brampton Express February 17 and the Snipers will go head to head with Paris River-Wolves on February 19. TRT

The fifth annual Rez Hoops tournament was held this week at Dajoh, bringing together youth and adult basketball players on Six Nations of the Grand River. TRT

By TRT Staff with notes from NLL.com

As Week 12 gets underway within the National Lacrosse League, transactions from Week 11 are visible with standings making showing solid effort in both the Eastern and Western Conferences.

The Buffalo Bandits sit on top of the Eastern, followed by the Rochester Nighthawks, Toronto Rock, Halifax Thunderbirds, Philadelphia Wings, Albany FireWolves, New York Riptide, and Georgia Swarm. Out West, the San Diego Seals sit on top, followed by the Calgary Rough-necks, Saskatchewan Rush, Panther City Lacrosse, Colorado Mammoth, Las Vegas Desert Dogs and Vancouver Warriors. As for internal movement:

On February 8: The Colorado Mammoth released Jake Foster from the Practice Player List.

On February 10: The Albany FireWolves signed Zac Tucci to a one year contract and placed Practice Player Brent Mitchell on the Practice Player List from the Active Roster. The Calgary Roughnecks placed Shane Simpson on the Active Roster

NLL Transactions for Week 12

for the Injured Reserve List and placed Practice Player Kieran McKay on the Practice Player List from the Active Roster.

The Halifax Thunderbirds placed David Brock on the Active Roster from the Injured Reserve List, released Brayden Hill from the Active Roster, and signed Brayden Hill to the Practice Player List. The New York Riptide placed Kevin Orleman on the Active Roster-Evaluation List from the Physically Unable to Perform List, placed Dan MacRae on the Injured Reserve List from the Ac-tive Roster and placed Practice Player Jack Kelly on the Active Roster from the Practice Player List.

The Panther City Lacrosse Club removed the Practice Player Tag on Cameron Wengreniuk and placed him on the Hold Out List from the Practice Player List. The Saskatchewan Rush placed Dan Lintner on the Short Term Hold Out List from the Active Roster, placed Practice Player Jer-emy Searle on the Active Roster from the Practice Player List, placed Mike Mallory on the In-jured Reserve List from the Active Roster and placed Practice Player Wyatt Haux on the Active Roster from the Practice

Player List. The Toronto Rock placed Dan Dawson on the Injured Re-serve List from the Active Roster, placed Practice Player Josh Dawick on the Active Roster from the Practice Player List, placed Practice Player Jordan McKenna on the Practice Player List from the Active Roster, placed Practice Player Marley Angus on the Practice Player List from the Active Roster, placed Brandon Slade on the Active Roster from the Injured Reserve List and placed Zach Manns on the Active Roster from the Injured Reserve List.

On February 11: The Calgary Roughnecks released Zach Herreweyers from the Active Roster, signed Zach Herreweyers to the Practice Player List, and placed Practice Player Kieran McKay on the Active Roster from the Practice Player List. The Colorado Mammoth have placed Connor Robinson on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster, placed Joey Cupido on the Injured Reserve ListSeason Ending, placed John Lintz on the Active Roster from the Injured Reserve List, placed Practice Player Brett Draper on the Practice Player List

from the Active Roster, placed Practice Player Ty Thompson on the Active Roster from the Practice Player List, re-leased Mike Burke from the Active Roster, signed Mike Burke to the Practice Player List and placed Tyson Gibson on the Active Roster from the Hold Out List. The Panther City Lacrosse Club placed Callum Crawford on the Active Roster from the Short Term Hold Out List, placed Evan Messenger on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster, placed Tyler Burton on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster and placed Practice Player Ronin Pusch on the Ac-tive Roster from the Practice Player List.

On February 13: The Colorado Mammoth traded Practice Player Mike Burke to the New York Riptide in exchange for their third round selection in the 2024 Entry Draft. The New York Riptide placed Brett Hickey on the Injured Reserve List-Season Ending from the Active Roster and re-moved the Practice Player Tag on Mike Burke and have retained him on the Active Roster.

A capture taken during the Calgary Roughnecks win in over time against the Halifax Thunder-birds on February 4, back during Week 11 play.

SIX NATIONS COUNCIL

the

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ATTN:

Shirley Ann Minotti

April 8th 1954 – February 5th 2023

With heavy hearts we announce the passing of Shirley Ann Minotti (nee Silversmith) on Feb. 5th, 2023 at the age of 68 years.

Shirley is predeceased by her mother, Muriel Silversmith and grandmother Annie Silver (snow), as well as her father William Elliott.

Shirley was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. She will be lovingly remembered and survived by her husband Domenic of 45 years. Her children Maria and Philip (Brooke) and grandchildren Marc, Cassandra, Anthony, Nicholas and Caleb.

She leaves behind to cherish her memories her siblings Paul Silversmith (Sarah), Charlotte Silversmith, and Annie Palma (Mario).

She was a kind, loving and a gentle woman. She will also be missed by many nieces and nephews & cousins Nick (Tammy), Elizabetta (Brad).

Cremation has already taken place. A Celebration of Life will be hosted in Woodstock by the family.

LEWIS-LAVALLEY: Joann Marilyn

Joann Marilyn Lewis-Lavalley passed away February 7, 2023 at the age of 67. Joann was born on August 15, 1955 in Ohsweken at Lady Willingdon Hospital.

She was the daughter of late Allen Lewis & Georgina Isaac. Dear Sister of Alana (Butch), Tony, Ted (Reno), James (Kathleen). Devoted mother of Jonathan (Hayley) Lavalley, Zachary (Summer) Strome, Jacob Lavalley. Cherished Grandmother of Christina, Jonathan, Lilianna, Zakoya, Xavier & Quilla. Aunt to many nieces and nephews. Missed by extended family & friends.

Family will gather at her place (1 Elders Lane) in Ohsweken on Friday February 10, 2023 with a drop in visitation from 5-9pm. On Saturday February 11, 2023 family will gather for a ceremony starting at 10am and burial to follow at Stump Hall Cemetery. Arrangements by Styres Funeral Home, Ohsweken. www.rhbanderson.com

Thank you

The family of John Monture wish to thank family, friends, and community for the outpouring of love, support, and guidance during this difficult time. Thanks to the S.N. EMS, S.N. Police, SSLH cooks, Richard Anderson & Funeral Home Staff, Marion Martin for making John’s moccasins, Christina Bomberry for making John’s clothing, Bonnie Sky for John’s corn bread, Pastor Ross, Cecil Sault for the kind words and music, Cam Hill, Jock Hill, Cleve Thomas, Wake singers. We also wish to acknowledge the food, flower, and monetary donations from the community. John truly loved his community and tried to always support the youth, Veterans, and Farmers. His journey is complete, yet his legacy will live on in the hearts of his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and all generations to come.

Until we meet again, rest easy Dad. Love always,

I would like to thank the Dreamcatcher Charitable Foundation for partial sponsorship of my first year of karate lessons. I was able to earn my Blue Stripe belt within that year, and I am well into my second year.

Obituaries

CLUES ACROSS

1. River in Tuscany

5. A way to represent

8. Rocker’s guitar

12. Civil Rights group

14. Brew

15. Scratch

16. W. Asian country

18. The Eye Network

19. Clarified butter

20. Part of the Cascade Range

21. Downwind

22. A way to steer

23. Loop

26. Not ingested

30. Swampy coniferous forest

31. Musician

32. Signing

33. Containing iron

34. Part of a theorem or proof

39. Veterans battleground (slang)

42. Of enormous proportions

44. Italian city 46. Come before 47. Balm

49. Undergarments

50. Male parent

51. Ropes

56. Ear part

57. Investment vehicle

58. Dictator

59. Cain and __

60. A type of code

61. Border river along India and Nepal

62. It’s what’s for dinner

63. Consume

64. Christian __, designer

Answers for February 15, 2023

CLUES DOWN

1. Cuckoos

2. Skin issue

3. City in central Japan

4. Sorrels

5. Twinned diamond

6. Canadian province

7. Monetary units

8. Head honcho

9. Goddess of wisdom

10. Part of a play

11. Get rid of

13. Applicant

17. Bowling alleys have many

24. Explosive

25. “The Say Hey Kid”

26. Ultrahigh frequency

27. No (Scottish)

28. Make a mistake

29. Credit card term

Crossword Puzzle

35. Keyboard key

36. Woman (French)

37. In the middle of 38. Score perfectly

40. Coat a metal with an oxide coat

41. Deadly disease

42. A place to dock a boat (abbr.)

43. Belch

44. Member of U.S. Navy 45. “In __”: separate from others

47. Examine extensively

Adjust

Exceptionally talented performer

SUDOKU

ARIES – Mar 21/Apr 20

You might feel caught up in a daze this week, Aries. Your mind continues to wander, but your thoughts will settle down soon enough.

TAURUS – Apr 21/May 21

Make an effort to bring more people onto your side, Taurus. You can’t possibly win everyone over, but others might be receptive to your ideas with the right approach.

GEMINI – May 22/Jun 21

A sit down with a higher-up could be in order soon, Gemini. Explain your attributes and what you have been doing for the company and make an effort to compromise, if necessary.

CANCER – Jun 22/Jul 22

Cancer, you are still following through with resolutions to be more organized. Start slowly and build up to bigger projects when you gain confidence in your abilities.

LEO – Jul 23/Aug 23

Celestial energy has you temporarily doubting your abilities, Leo. Normally you are quite confident in your creativity. Give things a little time to settle down.

VIRGO – Aug 24/Sept 22

Virgo, excitement could be on the horizon. Caution is needed, but don’t hesitate to embrace the renewed vigor this development inspires.

LIBRA – Sept 23/Oct 23

Libra, this week you may start micromanaging other people without even realizing it. You certainly want things to be in order, but sometimes you have to let others be.

SCORPIO – Oct 24/Nov 22

Retail therapy has its allure this week, Scorpio. If you must buy, direct your purchasing dollars toward a sweetheart for Valentine’s Day or another special occasion.

SAGITTARIUS – Nov 23/Dec 21

Sagittarius, ground yourself with the small luxuries in your life that bring you joy. This could be the company of friends or cherished mementos.

CAPRICORN – Dec 22/Jan 20

Misinformation seems to circulate with ease, but don’t believe everything you hear this week, Capricorn. You may need to do some fact-checking of your own.

AQUARIUS – Jan 21/Feb 18

Aquarius, you could be tempted to indulge in a little gossip as the rumors start flying this week. Take the high road and resist the urge to join in.

PISCES – Feb 19/Mar 20

Pisces, if you feel a little off your game this week, find a friend who can offer you a pep talk. That’s all you need to bounce back.