Survivors gather at former residential school site near Brandon

BRANDON — Marjorie Prince had tears in her eyes as she searched to find her and her brothers’ names among more than 3,000 orange flags pegged in the ground at the site of the former Brandon Indian Residential School.

The flags represent children who never returned home as well as survivors.

The woman from Dakota Tipi First Nation said it was her second time returning to the site since she was taken from her family at seven years old with her three brothers.

She couldn’t recall what year she attended the school or how long she was there.

Manitoba’s newspapers portrayed province as rife with untamed potential — to the detriment of the Indigenous community

Historian Howard Zinn once compared the historian’s perspective to that of the mapmaker. We have the human tendency to see the world from our point of view, regardless of our best intentions and feigned attempts at objectivity.

Such is the same for newspapers, both historically and in their present form. Newspapers carry with them a certain perspective — a leaning of sorts that is inherent and molded in the perspective of owners, editorial boards and journalists themselves.

You can’t be neutral on a moving train, as Zinn would argue.

In the 19th century, however, newspapers notoriously and explicitly saw the world and tried to shape it from the perspective and agenda of its owners. George Brown’s Globe in Upper Canada, for example, was a classic example of a partisan media that used its platform to undermine rivals, the French and various governments.

Indigenous hoopster’s son on mission to get dad inducted into Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame

Terry Garrow already received his flowers. Now he’s on a mission to make sure his late father gets his.

By his estimation, his father has been overlooked for far too long when it comes to recognizing the most influential players, fearless leaders and forward-thinking builders who have helped shape Canadian basketball.

He understands that his pleas come from a point of bias, but that doesn’t change the facts in his mind: Alex Garrow deserves to be in the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame.

Not for the success he experienced during a short career in the early 1960s, but for his resilience as a trailblazer during a time in which Indigenous athletes were largely an afterthought. And how fitting it would be for Alex to be the first Indigenous player immortalized.

Tories question CBC funding of spoof-style Indigenous show on residential schools

OTTAWA - Conservatives are questioning why CBC is funding a spoof program that used false pretences to lure high-profile people accused of downplaying the damage caused by residential schools into sitting for interviews.

Several current and former Conservative politicians have gone on social media to denounce the production “Northland Tales." The show is being produced for CBC and APTN.

The show is described by the Indigenous Screen Office — which works to increase Indigenous media representation using federal funding — as a satire program meant to “flip the script” on modern and historical injustices against Indigenous Peoples.

Frances Widdowson, who has described herself as a “known controversial figure” and has publicly questioned the history of residential schools and unmarked graves of children at the site of a former school in Kamloops, described her interview for the show in a video posted to social media this week.

Exhibit helps tell story of Sikh immigrant who put life on line

A Sikh Century of Service is on display Friday at the University of Winnipeg.

Manitoba’s flag: A symbol of shared heritage at 60

On a fair spring afternoon 60 years ago, the Flag of Manitoba made its debut at the provincial legislature. In what the Winnipeg Free Press called an “impressive ceremony,” then-lieutenant-governor Richard Bowles formally proclaimed the new provincial flag on May 12, 1966.

Winnipeg’s forgotten Stanley Cup champ

On what would be his 150th birthday, the story of Maj. John Robinson Benson — Winnipeg’s forgotten Stanley Cup champion — deserves to be told.

On May 10, 1876, Dr. Edward Benson’s wife Annie gave birth to a son they named John Robinson, after the boy’s grandfather, Col. J.R. Benson. Dr. Benson had arrived in Winnipeg in January 1874 by horse-drawn sleigh via the end of the rail line in Minneapolis. He quickly established his medical practice and became one of the founding physicians of the Winnipeg General Hospital.

Young Rob — as the family called him — grew up in a household that helped build the institutions of a frontier city. At 19, he was the youngest member of the 1896 Winnipeg Victorias, the team that brought the Stanley Cup west for the first time. He had already earned his place across two Anderson Cup-winning seasons and appears in every team photograph from the era: the championship portraits, the Montreal dressing room, the commemorative poster. Listed as the squad’s spare, he was not a marginal figure. In a seven-man game with no line changes, the spare was the one player trusted to step into any position at any moment.

On Valentine’s Day, 1896, the Victorias entered Montreal’s Victoria Skating Rink for a sudden-death challenge against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Montreal Victorias. Winnipeg’s starting seven included some of the finest athletes in the country: Captain Jack Armytage, who had founded the Victoria Hockey Club and played in the first hockey game in Manitoba history; Dan Bain, later voted Canada’s outstanding athlete of the last half of the 19th century; Rod Flett, the Métis point player whose steady, unshakable defence anchored three Stanley Cup campaigns; and George “Whitey” Merritt in goal, who startled the Montreal crowd by wearing protective cricket pads on his legs — a western innovation the easterners had never seen.

Feds, province urge court to toss ’60s Scoop lawsuits

Lawyers for the provincial and federal governments argue two lawsuits filed by the Manitoba Métis Federation over the apprehension of Métis children during the ’60s Scoop should be rejected.

In its first claim, filed in the Court of King’s Bench in November, the federation says the federal and provincial governments owe it damages for the harm caused by the ’60s Scoop to the Red River Métis as a whole.

In separate statements of defence filed in April, the two governments argue that lawsuit should be dismissed.

The Manitoba government, in its response, said it acknowledges children’s aid societies apprehended Indigenous children, including Métis, at a disproportionate rate and that many were placed for adoption in non-Indigenous homes across Canada and in the United States, which contributed to a loss in culture.

Despite discrimination, Winnipeg proved to be good fit for Jews fleeing Holocaust

Freda Shiel was 10 years old when the train from Halifax pulled into Winnipeg in 1948. Other families on the platform were met by relatives. Freda and her parents stood there alone. “It was a heartbreaking moment,” she recalled 40 years later, when the Winnipeg Second Generation Group came to record what she remembered.

In the years after May 8, 1945, the end of the Second World War in Europe, hundreds of thousands of survivors and refugees had to find somewhere to go. Some of them, through routes that were rarely straightforward, ended up here. By the late 1950s, roughly 1,000 Holocaust survivors had settled in Winnipeg — more than five per cent of the city’s Jewish population. Forty-eight testimonies including Freda’s, recorded in 1988 and 1989 and now held at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, are still relatively unknown. What they say about this city is more precise, and more complicated, than either a story of welcome or of failure.

Winnipeg did not simply receive these newcomers. It admitted them on terms they would spend decades reshaping. Philip Weiss arrived the same year as Freda. He had survived the ghettos and labour camps of occupied Poland and finally the Nazi concentration camp Mauthausen, where American troops liberated him on May 5, 1945 — a date he carried for the rest of his life. He landed in Halifax on Feb. 11, 1948, his birthday, and took the train west. After years in cattle cars, he marvelled at the white tablecloths and silver cutlery in the dining car, at cherry pie and banana splits that seemed almost unreal on the Canadian Prairies.

Like Weiss, most survivors came through schemes like the Tailor Project, a joint initiative of the Canadian Jewish Congress, garment manufacturers and the federal government that offered entry on the condition that they work in the needle trades.

Stirring oratorio pays homage to Indigenous veterans

‘My war wasn’t in Europe. My war was when I came back to Canada and I couldn’t vote until 1962,” says composer Andrew Balfour. He’s paraphrasing a quote by an Indigenous veteran and the inspiration for his oratorio notinikew (i went to war).

Holocaust survivors, family members mark solemn day by remembering not to forget

Rob Berkowits carries a black and white photo in his wallet — of his father, Alex, and fellow prisoners in a Nazi Germany concentration camp — as a constant reminder the challenges in his life are small.

Burdett Sisler, Canada’s oldest known living man, Second World War vet, dead at 110

Burdett Sisler, the oldest known living man in Canada and one of the oldest Second World War veterans in the world has died. He was 110.

Sisler’s son Norman says his father died with family members by his side after his health took a turn for the worse in recent weeks.

“It's bittersweet. You don't want to see him go, of course. But he had a long life,” Norman said. “It was a great life.”

A statement from Gov. Gen. Mary Simon's office says she and her husband were saddened to learn of Sisler's death and are sending condolences to his friends and family.

Canadian sovereignty is not just about borders, but culture too

It was “elbows up” in Davos — then came “leg up” in Ottawa.

The bawdy moment between Prime Minister Mark Carney and actor Hudson Williams happened in late January when both were at a gala celebrating the country’s film and TV successes.

“Do the leg thing,” Carney instructed Williams, one star of Heated Rivalry, the Canadian-made gay love story about hockey rivals and overnight international smash hit. Williams swung one leg up onto the prime minister while photographers captured the viral moment tossed into their lap.

Whether or not Carney has seen Heated Rivalry, it’s hard to imagine a sleeker image for elbows-up nationalism: loudly Canadian but still cosmopolitan, pro-hockey but not exactly hoser-ish — and eager for international markets.

Trump plays games with Canada’s sovereignty

What in God’s name is U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent doing commenting publicly about sensitive national unity matters in Canada?

Modern, historic letters showcase love in dangerous times

Love is in the air at Oseredok.

The Ukrainian cultural and educational centre’s current exhibition, Love Letters: A Timeless Experience, bears witness to the fraught and emotional journeys of past and present Ukrainian-Canadian couples through historical love letters, digital declarations and personal artifacts as they navigated courtship, separation and reunion.

Spanning the 20th and 21st centuries, the exhibition draws on a combination of archival material, including the cultural centre’s collection of rare wedding photographs and studio portraits, and visual installations to trace the love lives of Ukrainian-Canadians across the decades.

A letter-writing manual penned in 1913 by linguist and author F. Dojacek forms the backbone of the immersive show.

Is the concept of Canada as a ‘middle power’ meaningless?

Does the middle power concept have any relevancy today?

When you read through Prime Minister Mark Carney’s notable Davos speech, he makes a number of references to the term “middle power.” This was no accident for sure.

Government officials, commentators and journalists often refer to Canada as a middle power as if it’s supposed to mean something important. But it is really little more than a term of convenience — and a self-serving one for Canada.

Does the concept still have any meaning today? Does it denote a certain status, influence or position in the international hierarchy of states? More to the point, what makes Canada a so-called middle power?

A forgotten chapter: The stories of Allied POWs in Nagasaki during the atomic bombing

NAGASAKI, Japan (AP) — Hundreds of prisoners of war from Allied countries were held at brutal Japanese camps in Nagasaki when the United States dropped an atomic bomb 80 years ago.

Their presence during the Aug. 9, 1945, bombing is little known, and family and researchers have been collecting and publishing testimonies to tell the stories of these often unrecognized victims.

In September, dozens of relatives of Dutch POWs and descendants of Japanese bombing survivors came together to commemorate both those who were abused at the camps and the tens of thousands of Japanese who were killed that day. The dead included at least eight captives at one of the Nagasaki camps.

Descendants and survivors reckon with a painful past

Métis federation launches second class action over ’60s Scoop

The Manitoba Métis Federation has launched a second court action over the apprehension of Métis children during the ’60s Scoop.

The federation and Albert Beck, a Métis man who was adopted by a non-Indigenous family, filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the Manitoba government in the Court of King’s Bench last week.

The proposed class action seeks damages over the harm suffered by Métis kids who were taken into care and placed with non-Indigenous families in Canada and the United States over several decades.

“The (‘60s) Scoop caused significant, irreparable harm to the Red River Métis children that were removed from their homes and communities. They suffered trauma and physical, sexual, and psychological abuse,” reads the proposed class action.

Indigenous artifacts from the Vatican collection return to Canada

MONTREAL - First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders welcomed back dozens of Indigenous artifacts released from the Vatican collection at Montreal's airport Saturday.

The 62 items will ultimately be returned to their communities of origin as an act of furthering reconciliation.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said it was an important and emotional moment for all First Nations, and she hoped it would be important for all Canadians.

"We've come a long way, and we have a long way to go," she said at the airport.

Métis federation sues Ottawa, Manitoba over Sixties Scoop

The Manitoba Métis Federation is suing the federal and Manitoba governments for damages caused to the Red River Métis as a whole when an unknown number of children were placed with non-Indigenous families during the Sixties Scoop.

Churchill’s future has looked bright in the past, then politics dimmed the lights

The future of the often-troubled and chronically overlooked Port of Churchill and Hudson Bay railway looks exceedingly bright.

First Nations sue over oil-rich land

A pair of First Nations are suing the provincial and federal governments, claiming land and mineral rights to a swath of land in southwestern Manitoba that generates more than $1.3 billion annually from oil and gas production.

Canupawakpa Dakota First Nation and Dakota Tipi First Nation filed a statement of claim in Court of King’s Bench on Thursday calling for a declaration of title and subsurface rights over Manitoba’s portion of the Williston Basin.

The oil-rich basin stretches from southwestern Manitoba into southern Saskatchewan and over the U.S. border. The Manitoba portion hosts at least 14 identified oil fields and is home to all the current oil production in the province, the lawsuit states.

The plaintiffs are claiming rights over the entirety of the basin in Manitoba, including the “right to economically participate in the extraction, development and production of subsurface minerals.”