Hi everyone,

I’m Gen, a nurse and postdoctoral fellow at McGill University and the Douglas Research Centre. My colleagues and I are looking to speak with Indigenous youth about their experiences using AI for mental health and wellness.

If you’re 18-25, self-identify as Indigenous, and have used an AI tool, app, chatbot, or website to help with stress, emotions, wellness, or mental health, we’d be interested in hearing from you.

We would like to understand what those experiences have been like, including what was helpful, what wasn’t, and any concerns you have. What you share will help inform recommendations for safer AI tools that better reflect Indigenous youth’s needs and cultural contexts.

Taking part involves a one-hour remote interview, and you’ll receive $30 for your time.

If you’re interested or just want to know more before deciding, you can DM me. Thanks!

As of June 13, ISC has been registering people under the Nicholas decision. If you have been through it what was it like and how long did it take?

Inquiry to find an e-commerce store to purchase Indigenous Medicines, Salves and Teas. I was visiting the shops on the Oneida Nation, however, very difficult to find anything other than cannabis products.

Examples of products:

1. Bear Grease for Men's Hair Growth

2. Algonquin Teas

3. Bannock Pre Made Flour Mix

Thank you.

No matter what happens in the next four years I stand with you.

I found this amazing comic on Truth and Reconciliation by iamyrae_ that I came across on their Instagram:

Instagram

With their comic, they had the accompanying post:

"To all of you, American girls… it’s sad to imagine a without you 🪶

This comic written by me and illustrated by ohamsterbolinho is about the Day of Truth and Reconciliation and homage to the missing indigenous girls of North America. As an indigenous woman, my solidarity goes to the indigenous girls of the entire world."

On October 12, I wrote to all three levels of government on the same email — Mayor Block and Saskatoon City Council (through the City Clerk), Premier Scott Moe, Minister Tim Schmalz, and federal Ministers Rebecca Alty and Mandy Gull-Masty — asking one thing in writing, on the record: do you treat Treaty 6 as the binding legal agreement it is?

I said in my first post that I would post their answers, or their silence.

This is the silence.

As of today, October 21 — 9 days later — none of them has replied. Not one substantive answer from the City, the Province, or the federal ministers. The only replies were automatic replies on October 12. I followed up on October 14. Still nothing.

My original post in r/saskatoon was also removed by the moderators of r/saskatoon. It got 0 comments.

Today, Premier Moe did find time to post on social media — on Facebook and Instagram — about his opposition's use of an LLM, circling items on page 27 of the Saskatchewan NDP's health plan and labelling them "AI Prompt," with the prompt evidence still in the document.

This is incredibly disturbing. I asked these leaders a very serious question that has been put on the back burner for 150 years — a question that dictates a people's quality of life and place in society — but they would rather pretend it is not at all an issue to give a response to.

That is how I see it.

The questions are still the same, and they are still unanswered: 1. Do you accept Treaty 6 as a binding legal agreement? 2. How do your decisions comply with the treaty as our ancestors understood it? 3. How do your decisions reflect the oral promises, not just the Crown's text? 4. Will you review the Indian Act provisions that still label and govern us, with the people they affect?

I will keep posting their answers, or their silence.

The University of Toronto has established a framework to work to combat Indigenous identity fraud in the university community. The framework applies to applicants for study, jobs, and other programs who self-identify as Indigenous in their application materials. It was developed by Indigenous members of the UofT community and will be handled by the Office of Indigenous Initiatives.

There is a pathway to establishing Indigenous belonging for those without Indian Status. The framework also provides guidance regarding Indigenous peoples from communities beyond Canada.

Personally, I am grateful to all the Indigenous people who participated in developing this framework. This kind of work is absolutely brutal, but meaningful change was badly needed.

Does anyone else know of other universities and colleges that also have defined frameworks? I am curious about how other unis handle this. For example, one criticism I am aware of is that settler women who gained status through marrying Indigenous men pre1985 are still considered Indigenous by virtue of their status cards.

I am very much indebted to the assistance and guidance of two Métis Elders and Language Keepers, Rita Ducharme and Maureen Belanger for their assistance on this episode. Maarsii!

Inuk musician Willie Thrasher has been enjoying a later-career renaissance, ever since some of his old songs were included on the Grammy Award-nominated compilation Native North America. His music often celebrates his culture and traditions, which were stripped away from him when he was sent to residential schools as a child growing up in the Northwest Territories. Thrasher speaks with Piya Chattopadhyay about how he reconnected with his roots through music, the reissue of his 1994 album Indian/Inuit Country, and what he wants to see come from the meeting of Indigenous representatives, Catholic officials and Pope Francis at the Vatican next week.

This day in 2013

Epic timing on this clip where a Conservative candidate appears to be saying something deplorable then when given more time explains the necessity of following international law.

Not sure if is the right sub for this but here I go.

I think the chapter was about the westward settlement of Canada and the early Metis. It depicted an interracial couple and their children. A European man and some of the older children were standing by a cart, meanwhile his aboriginal wife was sitting in her wigwam off to the left with some of the younger children, perhaps telling a story or teaching a lesson.

It was a landscape style image similar to https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/william-george-richardson-hind-mission-seven-isla-25-c-0d0436aaa2 maybe ink, I dont remember. The textbook itself was for grade 5 or 6 and I lived in newfoundland 2002-3. If that helps.

Like I said not sure if this is the right place to ask about this painting, this seems like a community who might know. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Has anyone had NIHB cover (or a portion of) an official OCD assessment ?? Not regular therapy (ERP, CBT) but the ACTUAL assessment .

This is actually a reupload of a video from earlier this week: I made a error and had to fix some pronunciation. I am still learning the language myself, but hoping that these can be the gateway to more community collaboration through some grant funding. As always, please let me know what you think!

Since Park Royal South is located on Squamish Nation's Capilano Reserve, any goods/services purchased or income* generated here is tax exempt under the Indian Act. I noticed there is a Canada Post outlet that I can get mail sent to here, but a company I was looking to purchase from said the tax exemption would only apply to a physical address and not a P.O. Box, even if that P.O. Box is located on reserve.

Since the company is in Winnipeg, I thought about mailing it to my Father's address on reserve in MB, and I could either pick it up next time I visit or have him forward it on, but he says it's impossible to get deliveries because of how rural it is.

Any ideas? I know there isn't a lot of information around indigenous tax exemptions and it varies by province or vendor. Even the basic/obvious ones aren't entirely understood by many. There wasn't anything on the government websites or in the Act I could find that explicitly states rules around P.O. Boxes (except where P.O. Boxes were not on reserve). I thought about renting a 'virtual office' that has a physical address at Park Royal which handles mail, but I'm worried about security of the parcel as it is an expensive purchase. If nothing available, I see perhaps a gap in the market we could use.

*Tip: Not a single bank advisor mentioned this to me (I even had to educate them when I left), but if you hold funds in banks situated on reserve, any interest is tax free -- except for accounts managed off reserve like in mutual funds. I transferred from RBC in Burnaby to RBC at Park Royal and all of the advisors here (I went to a few banks) were a LOT more familiar with indigenous banking. Really helpful advice from all of them, especially CIBC, but presumably depends on the advisor. Wish I had known about it sooner.

I have to read Green Grass Running Water for my english class, written by Thomas King, known recently for being very much not Cherokee as he has claimed his whole life. Whatever the circumstances of the author I have to read this book and there is writing in the book that is not english, I presumed it to be Cherokee but I cannnot find it in any Cherokee to english dictionaries and when I just google the words the only things that come up are sites referencing the book which all claim the words are in Cherokee and do not define them. Im losing my mind guys, anyone got a clue?

I’m not sure if i can even post this here, but I just have a question that I’m hoping somebody can help me with?

I put in my application for status in person at the Vancouver office back in February of 2026. They told me I would receive my card in the mail no later than August of 2026. It is now October, my entire family who put their applications in after me, most mailed in, not even in person, have received their status cards and I have heard nothing.

I have tried calling for 2 months. they never answer, my mom and I have both left voicemails, emails etc. is there an alternative number for the Vancouver office or a better way to get ahold of them? It’s very difficult for me to get there during opening hours in person, as I hold a full time job Monday - Friday, as do most people, and this is honestly getting ridiculous!! I’m going to have to take a whole day off just to go down to Vancouver to figure out what exactly is going on, I’ve tried calling the office in Ontario as well and they have no answers for me.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.