#FirstNations

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Ainu storytellers #japan #japandreamscapes #日本 #写真好きな人と繋がりたい #写真 #ファインダー越しの私の世界 #旅行 #旅 #travel #travelphotography #photooftheday #picoftheday #photographylovers #hokkaido #firstnations #ainu #アイヌ #北海道

[usa-journal]

Relief as Canadian Serial Killer Found Guilty in Deaths of Four Women

Tearful cheers erupted in a packed Canadian courtroom on Thursday as a judge found Jeremy Skibicki guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of four Indigenous women. The verdict brought some sense of justice to the grieving families and communities, but for Jeremy Contois, whose younger sister Rebecca was among the victims, the relief was tempered.

"I feel a little sense of relief," Mr. Contois said, though he acknowledged that true closure would not come until Skibicki is formally sentenced.

A Landmark Verdict

In his oral verdict, Manitoba Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal dismissed the defense's argument that Skibicki was not criminally responsible for the murders due to schizophrenia. Prosecutors successfully argued that Skibicki deliberately killed Rebecca Contois and three other women in 2022 in crimes that were calculated and racially motivated.

The guilty verdict marks a significant moment for Canada's Indigenous community, which has long struggled with violence against women. The court was packed with the victims' families and friends, who displayed photos of their loved ones as a poignant reminder of the human cost of these crimes.

The Victims

Skibicki's victims include Morgan Harris, 39; Marcedes Myran, 26; and Rebecca Contois, who was 24. The fourth woman remains unidentified and has been given the name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, meaning Buffalo Woman, by Indigenous elders. Throughout the trial, a buffalo head sat on a red cloth near the prosecutors in tribute to the unnamed victim.

Details of the Crimes

According to court documents, Skibicki targeted and exploited vulnerable women he met at local homeless shelters in Winnipeg, a city of 820,000 in the prairie province. He assaulted the women, strangled or drowned them, and then committed sex acts on them before dismembering their bodies and disposing of them in garbage bins.

The killings went undetected for months until a man looking for scrap metal in a bin outside Skibicki’s apartment found partial human remains in May 2022 and called police. These remains were later identified as those of Rebecca Contois. More of her remains were discovered at a city-run landfill the following month. In police interviews, Skibicki admitted to killing Contois and three other women, revealing murders that authorities had not yet discovered.

Community Impact

Judge Joyal emphasized the profound impact the case has had on the entire Manitoba community, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. The guilty verdict was a step towards justice, but the search for the remains of two of the victims, Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris, continues. A formal search of a Winnipeg landfill is scheduled for this autumn after months of pressure from their families.

A Plea for Justice

Krista Fox, a family member of one of the victims, highlighted the broader significance of the verdict. "We, as First Nations people, are not statistics. Every single one of us has a name and a family that misses us dearly," she said.

Skibicki's lawyers argued that he was not aware of the severity of his actions due to schizophrenia, claiming he was hearing voices that instructed him to commit the crimes. However, prosecutors demonstrated that Skibicki was fully aware of his actions, which were "intentional, purposeful, and racially motivated." They supported this with DNA forensic evidence, surveillance footage, and testimony from Skibicki’s ex-wife, who detailed a history of physical abuse.

A Step Forward

The case has unearthed deep wounds within Canada’s Indigenous community, which has faced a high number of cases of missing and murdered women. Winnipeg, in particular, has been a focal point of this crisis. According to a 2019 inquiry, Indigenous women in Canada are 12 times more likely to be murdered or go missing than other women.

Despite the relief of the guilty verdict, many in the community, including Rebecca's brother, Jeremy Contois, continue to grapple with the senselessness of the violence. "Why did he have to do it?" he asked. "I wish I knew that."

As the community seeks healing, the focus remains on ensuring that such tragedies are not repeated and that justice continues to be served for all victims.

[ozdigitalimages]

[thelildragonstudio]

Learning to weave and she's looking a little funky but that's fine, she's unique. Definitely harder than I thought it would be but luckily I can find all my materials from the dollar store so I can practice at home✨

[mobtok]

#PARTITION DESIGNS (2025.05.16) part2

[talkingpictures2020]

Antonio Briceño The Marvel of Boundless Diversity

For the Venezuelan photographic artist Antonio Briceño, the manifold diversity of humanity and of Nature is not something to fear, but something to celebrate and from which to learn. His images make visible the powerful mythologies and metaphors by which the various indigenous peoples of the southern Americas wove the narratives that gave life meaning. Narratives that emphasise the interdependence of humankind and nature, and the moral imperatives that this mutuality bring with it. In these images, people are not separate from nature, but part of it; just as the indigenous peoples do not see themselves as the masters of nature, but among its subjects.

Antonio Briceño reflects upon his work, and the cultural diversity it portrays, at Talking Pictures.

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Enter To win McDonald's Sample

[futures-improbable]

Queensland police service sacks First Nations advisory group after members refuse to sign gag clause

[japandreamscapes]

Ainu dance & crafts in our latest newsletter! #japan #japandreamscapes #日本 #写真好きな人と繋がりたい #写真 #ファインダー越しの私の世界 #旅行 #旅 #travel #travelphotography #photooftheday #picoftheday #photo #photographylovers #ainu #firstnations #hokkaido #art #アイヌ #北海道 #アート #職人

[ozdigitalimages]

[sublimeobservationarcade]

Why Wealthy White People Won’t Share?

Following the failure of the Voice to Parliament referendum for Indigenous Australians some folks are wondering why. Why wealthy white people won’t share? I mean, after all these many years why keep the boot on the throat? Why deny constitutional recognition to First Nations people? Well, it is always about money and power. It is not mere racism alone but that in combination with their pragmatic interests. Certain wealthy people, many of them involved in the mining industry did not want any more power vested in Aboriginal voices in this nation. Treaties and things like this invariably cost money for those doing business in Australia.

No respect for Captain Cook by Pauline E is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0 Wealthy White Miners Didn’t Want A Voice For Aboriginals Spending a few million dollars on a campaign to deny Indigenous Australians a voice to parliament is well worth it. Anything that galvanises an anti-Aboriginal movement or popular trend is money well spent. Especially if you are digging things up out of their land for profit. Mining Czars and the like don’t want any more power vested in First Nations people or groups. People like Tony Abbott get paid to do their level best to promote the interests of white Australia at the expense of things like reconciliation and treaty. The Liberal Party of Australia and the Nationals are firmly in the big business camp.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com Wealthy White Rupert & Lachlan Spreading Lies Sowing false fears and anxiety via negative campaigning is a Tony Abbott speciality. The Murdoch News Corp bandwagon is always close at hand to spread the false flags. Exploiting the stupidity of the Australian people is a never ending source of revenue for the Murdoch empire. Sky News Australia, like Fox News, is committed to making money from the right wing audience and big business. Truth telling is something so alien to this organisation it would lie to itself if there was a buck in it. Murdoch’s Fox News was fined a billion dollars in a libel suit for lying about the 2020 US election. It is outrageously biased and unrepentant. There are calls for a Royal Commission into Murdoch’s media empire in Australia.

“In place of quality journalism, Mr Murdoch and his inner circle of executives use the News Corp beast to distort the news to push their political agenda. Tabloid columnists and SKY television shock jocks stoke fear and division in our communities to get clicks and sales. The Murdochs trade media coverage for political favours, distorting our democracy and weakening our voices.” - (https://murdochroyalcommission.org.au/)

Photo by Josh Withers on Pexels.com Turn News Into Entertainment & Nobody Then Cares Murdoch turned news into entertainment some decades back. Opinion pieces in newspapers replaced investigative journalism. PR took the space once reserved for actual reporting. This continued in current affairs programming on TV. Populist fodder kept the punters’ attention. Tabloid news spread everywhere and balanced coverage became a distant memory. Shock jocks on radio kept up the diatribes. Polarising news became the order of the day. Everything was turned into a competition like a reality TV show. Political coverage was turned on its head and remains a click bait, sound bite affair. Once news became entertainment truth went out of the picture. This is where we find ourselves now. Deflecting Via Disinformation & Lies

Photo by Zakaria HANIF on Pexels.com Why wealthy white people won’t share? Australia is the only colonised country which doesn’t recognise its First Nations inhabitants constitutionally. Mining companies in Australia pay very little tax in comparison with many other resource rich places like Norway. Power and wealth have delivered undue influence within our political sphere. Rich people don’t want to share. Not even with their own kids in some instances. Dumb Aussies keep backing fat rich people in hope they will get a few crumbs. Downward envy is a thing in Australia, as it is easier to beat up on the weak and dispossessed than take on the big end of town. Racism gets a look in too but it is more about material greed. 32% of corporations doing business in Australia paid no tax at all in the last financial year. The only people paying their fair share of tax are ordinary workers. Rich folk have accountants to set up trusts to ensure they minimise their tax. Mining companies donate large sums of money to both major political parties. They have bought their seat at the big table. The media in Australia does not speak truth to power – it is largely corporatised and is susceptible to threats by big advertisers to pull their ads from the mastheads, networks and programmes. Indigenous Australians were shafted by the establishment and a No campaign financed by miners and investors. Simon Fenwick is a name to look our for.

Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of Money Matters: Navigating Credit, Debt, and Financial Freedom.  ©MidasWord

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[in-joylife]

The WellCare team at In-Joy Life would like to acknowledge our first Nation brethren and pay homage to their day of Truth and Reconciliation. May we all learn to live as one. https://bit.ly/3sRahC6

[ainuworldmusic]

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Freedom - Imagine you are climbing mountains and you are on the top and spread your arms to fly and you are feeling the freedom to fly and you start dancing like the white eagle that represents the inner freedom you have within you. Just like the dancers from different ethnic cultures who spread their arms with colourful hoops to fly. 

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