TORONTO — More Indigenous-led services are needed to help communities deal with tragedies and mental health issues, an Indigenous leader who lost loved ones in the Saskatchewan stabbing rampage said Friday.
Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand – whose sister, Bonnie Burns, and nephew, Gregory Burns, were killed in the attacks earlier this month – told a national summit on Indigenous wellness that such services were crucial to supporting families affected by what took place on the James Smith Cree Nation and the nearby village of Weldon.
“We put in mental health workers, we put in elder services, we put in transportation to and from the hospital, we provided meals,” said Arcand.
“We even threw kids a birthday party, we brought out the city fire department. The kids were so happy to come on the fire trucks… it kind of let them forget about what happened back home.”
At the summit, which took place in Toronto, Indigenous leaders shared knowledge, resources and solutions for issues such as mental health, substance use, lack of housing and suicide prevention.
Arcand said Indigenous-led services, like some of the programs offered by his organization, allow for nuanced supports and resources that account for issues such as intergenerational trauma from residential schools. Existing services — like systems in place for incarceration, child welfare and health care — have historically abused people from First Nations, he added.
“These are things that people forget to understand, that they look at us different as First Nations people,” said Arcand.
“But when we as a First Nations organization is Indigenous-led, I can talk the same language as another First Nations person and have a quicker understanding and a better response time compared to a non-Indigenous organization that doesn’t understand.”
Speaking at the summit, Arcand discussed the effectiveness of some of the Saskatoon Tribal Council’s community-based services, including their Health Bus program, which brings paramedics, mental health teams and dental services directly to members of First Nations communities who experience barriers to health services in urban areas.
The Saskatoon Tribal Council services over 25,000 people from First Nations, as well as non-Indigenous people, Métis people, newcomers and whoever else needs support, he said. The tribal council also runs a homeless shelter in the city.
Arcand also said he supports the creation of a First Nations police force, as James Smith Cree Nation Chief Wally Burns called for following the stabbing attacks.
“First Nations reserves and infrastructure is not there, or proper services, but these are things that need to be addressed,” Arcand said. “Unfortunately, it takes a tragedy for people to wake up and it’s got to stop. It’s got to be preventative instead of reactive.”
Prevention and harm reduction were major themes at the summit, which Arcand said mimicked the function of Indigenous-led services, where experts and community workers can provide culturally-relevant support that is self-determined.
Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu said Friday’s meeting, which she hopes to make an annual event, was the first of its kind to bring together Indigenous leaders and community experts from all over Canada to share resources and knowledge.
Hajdu said the summit aimed to bring together people who are designing programs “through the lens of Indigenous experience, reality and connection to old age tradition, that are actually having more effective outcomes than Western-imposed programs that for far too long Indigenous people have suffered through.”
However, she added that an important function was to allow community workers to connect and support each other.
The minister said her office plans to gather findings from the summit and apply them to programs, services and funding models offered through the federal government.
Carolyn Bennett, federal minister of mental health and addictions, said she was particularly interested in proposals for mental health response teams that include elders and knowledge keepers, as well as respite care to allow caregivers to rest and prevent burnout.
Bennett said there’s interest in holding a second Indigenous mental wellness summit in Saskatchewan.
“But what today is about is preventing those [tragedies] in terms of people who have been damaged, in terms of perpetrators, as well as victims,” she said.
“This is about prevention and about wellness and letting everyone have the tools and the pathways to be as healthy as they possibly can be — mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2022.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.
The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.
McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.
The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.
After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.
He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.
Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.
The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.
San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.
BRUSSELS – Canada walked away with some hardware at the Diamond League track and field competition Saturday.
Alysha Newman finished third in women’s pole vault, while Marco Arop did the same in the men’s 800-metre race.
Newman won a bronze medal in her event at the recent Paris Olympics. Arop grabbed silver at the same distance in France last month.
Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who captured gold at the Summer Games, again finished atop the podium. Sandi Morris of the United States was second.
Newman set a national record when she secured Canada’s first-ever pole vault medal with a bronze at the Olympics with a height of 4.85 metres. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., cleared 4.80 metres in her second attempt Saturday, but was unable conquer 4.88 metres on three attempts.
Arop, a 25-year-old from Edmonton, finished the men’s 800 metres with a time of one minute 43.25 seconds. Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya was first with a time of 1:42.70.
Djamel Sedjati, edged out by Arop for silver in Paris last month, was second 1:42.87
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.
Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.
Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.
AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.
Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.
Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.
Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.
Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.
Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.
Unbeaten sides
Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.
Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.
On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.
Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.
The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.
Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
