News/Canada/North

The Frances Lake Campground and adjacent area was evacuated Thursday night due to wildfire risk, the Yukon government posted on Facebook. 

Dreaming Roots incorporates dance, music, story-telling, theatre and visual art to tell the story of Yukon’s Indigenous history and culture. It premiered in Whitehorse and will soon tour to other communities in Yukon and beyond.

Amelia Harman of Yellowknife just graduated from law school at the University of Calgary. “My Indigenous identity is what keeps me grounded,” she said of the challenging and rewarding experience.

The camp is an on-the-land healing centre about 15 kilometres outside of Inuivk, N.W.T. It first opened in 2008 but was closed in 2012.

Levi Cayen was sentenced to 11 years for manslaughter and seven years for robbery to be served concurrently. He is the last of four to be sentenced related to the death of Alex Norwegian. Norwegian was robbed, beaten and left to die on a remote road near Hay River, N.W.T., on Dec. 27, 2017.

Canada and Iceland marked 75 years of diplomatic ties with book exchange and reading in Whitehorse.

Yukon has issued a territory-wide fire ban just ahead of the long weekend, saying hot weather, recent lightning, and already-busy fire crews have increased the risk.

The Yukon government says it fulfilled its duty to consult First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun before approving a mineral exploration project near Mayo, last year. The First Nation wants the approval quashed.

The Alianait Arts Festival begins Thursday and runs through July 3 — four days packed full of concerts, workshops and exhibits showcasing Indigenous art and music.

The 2022 Indigenous Summer Games kick off in Yellowknife Thursday, with about 120 athletes coming to town for the competition. The sporting competition is a celebration of traditional games and Indigenous people and culture, says event manager.

Defence lawyer Alan Regel argued Levi Cayen should be sentenced to time served and 18 months of probation. He said a federal sentence would be “counterproductive” and expose Cayen to “bad influences” and further isolate him from his family.

The wildfire is about six kilometres north of the Willowlake River and 40 kilometres south of Wrigley and has shut down Highway 1 between kilometre markers 553 and 690.

Hours after CBC News posted a story about vandalism at Inuvik’s new welcome centre, the damage got worse. “There’s broken shattered glass all over the boardwalk,” said Jackie Challis, Inuvik’s director of economic development and tourism.

Yukon fire crews are targetting wildfires near Carmacks and the Finlayson Lake fire, with the hopes of reopening a key highway when fire becomes less extreme and visibility improves.

The Residential School Burial Sites Committee in Yukon identified 42 students who may have died at the former residential school in Carmacks. That’s 22 more than were identified by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The Northest Territories government held a virtual briefing on Tuesday, outlining its disaster assistance plan for Hay River and the K’atl’odeeche First Nations Reserve.

After sharing a postal code with Fort Simpson for her entire life, Marlene Matou said a unique postal code for Nahanni Butte will put her small N.W.T. community on the map.

After sharing a postal code with Fort Simpson for her entire life, Marlene Matou said a unique postal code for Nahanni Butte will put her small N.W.T. community on the map.

During the second day of a sentencing hearing for Levi Cayen, Crown prosecutor Duane Praught argued Cayen should be given a 10-year sentence for robbery and 15 years for manslaughter in the death of Alex Norwegian.

The First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun in Yukon is in court this week, arguing that the territorial government “utterly, utterly” ignored its duty to consult before approving a mineral exploration project in its traditional territory last year.

Yukoners going through pregnancy in the last year have had not access to midwifery, and the rollout of a smaller measured program is garnering criticism for only including Whitehorse clients and for being delayed by at least four years.

Lawrence Norbert of Tsiigehtchic, N.W.T., said he and other residents were getting concerned in mid-June when the ferry connecting the hamlet to other communities had still not opened. 

Broken tables, chairs and locks; a damaged display board and even a pile of faeces dropped outside an entrance. Since the opening of the Inuvik Welcome Centre just days ago, an official says there has been multiple instances of vandalism there.

After last year’s devastating floods destroyed her businesses in Fort Simpson, N.W.T., Laverna Martel-Harvey received $300,000 in disaster assistance funding. Now she may have to pay it back.

The election took place on day two of the 29th Dehcho Annual Assembly underway this week in Fort Simpson, N.W.T., during the Grand Chief Candidates forum.

Jessica Frotten is now focussed on putting together “the perfect 1,500-metre” wheelchair race in Birmingham, England.

Whitehorse city council voted unanimously Monday night to put the brakes on changes to the city’s transit system and directed the city’s administration to review feedback, consult with the public and report back with a new plan by end of year.

A $100,000 KingFisher boat will be the key to more cultural programming at Ehtseo Ayha School. “We want to get as many kids out experiencing the culture, the tradition … as we can,” says the school’s principal.

Canada’s Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Nunavut Health Minister John Main will make an announcement Tuesday at Nunavut’s Legislative Assembly about long-term care funding for the territory.

An Ontario marketing and advertising agency is suing the City of Yellowknife for hundreds of thousands of dollars in what it says are unpaid invoices.

Carcross Tagish First Nation artist, Violet Gatensby, is the first Indigenous person to have their work featured inside a Yukon courtroom.

A helicopter contracted to support firefighting efforts on an Interior Alaska blaze crashed after takeoff, killing the pilot, officials said Monday. The fatality was the first related to Alaska wildfires in 22 years.

The last time Yukon Cares sponsored a refugee family coming to Whitehorse was about 18 months ago. ‘The prices [for housing] have gone up, but also there’s just incredibly low availability.’