A $375M land protection fund and a health study
Plus watch Yellowknife's Challenge Cup with us!
Hello readers, this is Emily, Cabin Radio’s assistant editor.
The holiday season is in full swing here in the NWT with plenty of markets and events planned over the next few weeks.
In the news this week, more than 20 Indigenous governments in the NWT signed a landmark $375 million agreement creating a new land protection trust. We broke down what the agreement means.
Researchers studying metals in Yellowknife-area residents say preliminary results from recent testing suggest lead levels increased in children and youth between 2017-18 and 2023. They’re planning further research to confirm those findings and determine what may be causing those elevated levels.
Also in the news, the City of Yellowknife has released its proposed budget for 2025, Tłı̨chǫ residents are winning awards for their work, and the Dene Nation is advocating for inclusion in a historic child welfare settlement.
IN THIS NEWSLETTER
Our most important stories
Challenge Cup to celebrate 40th anniversary
What we’re reading
Stories to catch up on
1. City proposes 8.05% tax increase in YK’s 2025 draft budget
Yellowknife's draft 2025 budget proposes an 8.05% property tax increase. Here's how staff reached that figure, which could change before the final budget is passed.
2. ‘Cody’s name has to live forever and people need to know the story’
As RCMP close the case 13 years after he was killed, Cody Dempster's family and friends want to talk about the investigation and hope his story can save lives.
3. How much federally owned housing sits empty in the NWT?
In 2016, Ottawa said it would stop providing RCMP housing in six NWT communities. What happened to those federal units? We took Fort Simpson as an example.
4. ‘Any opportunity I get, I always speak Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì’
Meet Tyanna Steinwand and Jacynthia Rabesca, who are winning awards for their work in research and language respectively at the Tłı̨chǫ Government.
5. In Yellowknife, your power rate increase might be more like 30%
It's possible that Yellowknife's power rates could jump by around 30 percent year on year. What's happening to power in Hay River is part of that picture.
6. Dene Nation advocates for inclusion in child welfare settlement
The Dene Nation says it is advocating for "fair and equitable inclusion" in a historic settlement with the Canadian government to reform child welfare.
7. Gilbert and Mary Jane Cazon are NWT’s tour operator of the year
The Dehcho's Gilbert and Mary Jane Cazon were named NWT Tourism's Operator of the Year. Trout Rock Lodge's Ragnar Wesstrom won a lifetime achievement award.
8. Fort Smith seeks to fill specialist role helping high-risk youth
After reports of RCMP resorting to cells for impaired children as young as 12, Fort Smith's new mayor says hiring someone to help high-risk youth is a priority.
9. Imperial assessment decision due by November 22
Whether an environmental assessment of Imperial Oil's Norman Wells facility goes ahead will become clearer later this month, the regulator in charge says.
10. Northern filmmakers shine at YKIFF 2024
Seven short northern films screened during the final night of the Yellowknife International Film Festival. Here’s some highlights.
Where to watch the Challenge Cup
Yellowknife’s Wade Hamer Challenge Cup will be celebrating its 40th anniversary next week with an alumni game and visiting special guests Ter and Julaine Hamer.
The annual hockey event sees teams from Sir John Franklin and St Patrick’s high schools face off on the ice. It is named in honour of the late Wade Hamer, who helped found the game as a teen in the 1980s.
This year’s Challenge Cup is set to take place at the Ed Jeske arena on November 20.
If you can’t make it to the arena in person, Cabin Radio will be streaming a live video broadcast of the game on our website.
What we’re reading
Boring Yellowknife
For Galleries West, Sarah Swan writes about Bob Wilson’s photographs of “the real” Yellowknife. She argues while some northerners find Wilson’s work “exceedingly dull,” his photos make “boring things exquisitely so.”
Tanya Talaga Has Long Told Indigenous Stories. Now, She’s Telling Her Own
For Chatelaine, Jolene Banning writes about Tanya Talaga, The Knowing (her third book and a docuseries) and her decades-long career.
Five Wild Moments on Elvis's Canadian Tour
For Exclaim! Rachel Ho writes about Elvis Presley’s 1957 Canadian tour, the only time he ever performed outside of the US.