Investigates

Two Mohawk fishermen went fishing on the Bay of Quinte eight years ago. They never came home. Police ruled that their deaths were accidental, but the families believe they were killed. APTN Investigates reporter Kenneth Jackson sets out to discover what really happened that night.

The move is on to remove people whose claims to Algonquin citizenship are based on questionable information. But legitimate Algonquin are asking themselves, has political and cultural damage already been done?

The remains of Indigenous women in Winnipeg landfills sparked outrage. Reporter Brittany Guyot speaks to those affected and uncovers just how many Indigenous women have gone missing or murdered in recent years in the city.

Two Indigenous mothers are seeking answers. Allegedly, staff at Saskatchewan hospitals told them that their babies died shortly after birth. Years later, there's evidence these babies may have survived. The families tell Investigates' Christopher Read that they're now hoping for a reunion with their stolen children.

If we're in a war against climate change, then Canada's north is arguably on the front line of that battle. Reporter Christopher Read recently went to the Yukon to look at efforts to reduce the number of diesel generators.

They are polar opposites of Canada's correctional system. On one side, a supermax prison is criticized for extreme isolation, excessive confinement, and no services. On the other, an Indigenous healing lodge with cultural services and many empty beds. Find out who ends up where in The Prison Within.

For years, APTN Investigates has been following the story of Odelia and Nerissa Quewezance. The Saulteaux sisters were convicted of the second-degree murder of Anthony Dolff in 1994. Their cousin admitted to killing the farmer. Still, the sisters were put in prison where they've been – for the most part – for nearly 30 years.

John Derek Mills is a Cree man from Waterhen First Nation. He's a '60s Scoop survivor with a long juvenile record. A life of crime culminated in a botched armed robbery in 1996. Originally sentenced to seven years, Mills is still behind bars nearly three decades later. He feels he has fallen through every crack in the justice system.

Although solitary confinement was abolished in 2019, it continues to operate under different names. Joey Toutsaint estimates he has spent more than 2180 days in isolation. And he says every day has been a battle to overcome his thoughts of suicide. APTN Investigates is taking viewers inside corrections facilities to see what's really behind the overrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples in Canada's justice system. See the four-part series here: aptnnews.ca/insidecorrections

There's a silent epidemic of sexual abuse in First Nation communities across Treaty 3 territory in northwestern Ontario. APTN speaks to survivors who say the only way to stop it is by talking about it.

It was meant to be the largest settlement agreement in history. Forty billion dollars for Indigenous children who have suffered in Canada's child welfare and health care systems. Noah, now 21 years old, is among the leaders in this fight for dignity, compensation and the well-being of future generations.

Marilyn James has fought for recognition for her people for three decades, facing opposition every step of the way. The feds consider her people extinct. BC courts ruled she has no standing. And now her cousins south of the border have a supreme court victory granting hunting rights. Members have frozen her out. Denouncing her claims as false. Her story is one of genocide, identity and baskets.

Violence on the streets of Winnipeg is at an all-time high with random attacks and murders. APTN Investigates goes right to the root of the problem through the lives of former gang members and finds a message of hope that things can change.

Nuxalk people want to protect their pristine ecosystem and stop mining exploration. To do so they're employing a unique tactic - placing totem poles in the mountains as a warning to outsiders.

APTN journalist Brittany Guyot identifies alleged Catholic Church abusers who worked at various residential schools and in Indigenous communities. She speaks with survivors and a priest who left the country after charges were brought forward.

In the quiet border town of Fort Frances, Ontario, women and children are being sexually exploited and too often by the very people and institutions that are supposed to protect them. APTN Investigates speaks to the victims, identifies convicted sex offenders and alleged abusers.

This summer, Pope Francis apologized for the role the Catholic church played in Canada's Indian residential school system. APTN Investigates takes a look back at the historic apology and speaks with survivors about a path forward.

We are all climate disaster survivors. That's the belief of the creators of the Climate Emergency Project – a nationwide network of academics, journalists, and students who are creating an oral history of victims of climate change disasters. In B.C., APTN Investigates teamed up with Megaphone Magazine, The University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria to help tell the stories of climate disaster survivors from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

There have been renewed calls for the disbanding of the Thunder Bay Police Service. For more than two decades, the embattled police force has been criticized for their mishandling of sudden death cases involving Indigenous people.

For more than two decades, the Thunder Bay Police Service has come under fire for their mishandling of sudden death cases involving Indigenous people. APTN Investigates meets with families and community leaders that are still seeking justice.

APTN Investigates first reported in 2021 on the push for museums to decolonize and also repatriate Indigenous belongings and ancestors. In this update, Christopher Read takes you inside efforts to retrieve a Nuxalk totem pole currently in the possession of the Royal British Columbia Museum.

Last year, more than 2,200 British Columbians died from toxic overdoses, according to the BC Coroner Service. Ann Marie Sexton's son, Chad, was one of the many people who died in 2021. Now she's fighting to help her younger son enter recovery.

Three militarized police actions in support of pipeline megaprojects have taken place on Wet'suwet'en traditional territory in the last seven years. The Wet'suwet'en call them invasions. On this episode, Rob Smith takes you inside their battle against pipelines and shows you why they keep putting their bodies on the line.

The discovery of unmarked graves on residential school grounds raises a lot of questions. Why weren't survivors believed when they testified about the graves? Is there more evidence that the churches or Ottawa haven't disclosed? Can the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement be re-opened? APTN Investigates finds the answers.

Crime and policing are big issues in rural Alberta. The provincial government is looking at ways to improve response times, including a study that will look into the creation of a provincial police force. Alberta has three Indigenous police departments. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled in February 2022 that Ottawa's First Nation Policing Program is discriminatory in its funding. APTN Investigates explores how a provincial police transition and the recent CHRT ruling could affect two of Alberta's three Indigenous police departments.

Cree-Metis men Jacob Sansom and Maurice Cardinal had just finished a moose hunt when police say they were confronted and shot on a northeastern Alberta backroad by two non-Indigenous men. Now, those two men stand accused of murder and a family is left to struggle with the loss of two knowledge keepers and family providers. APTN Investigates met with the family and visited the backroads that many say are scary for Indigenous people.

An APTN Investigation reveals a staggering number of missing and murdered Indigenous men and boys across the country. With the prairie provinces seeing the highest numbers, reporter Brittany Guyot speaks with the families impacted in Manitoba.

APTN Investigates reporter, Brittany Guyot, reveals numerous Indigenous men and boys have been murdered or vanished along the infamous Highway of Tears. Several families in Prince George say they want to see a national inquiry to look deeper into the issues Indigenous men and boys face.

The stories don't stop when the cameras go away. Melissa Ridgen updates her report about a Saskatchewan doctor's unprofessional conduct related to prescribing opioids. Brittany Guyot shares the next chapter in the Winnipeg Art Gallery's display of Inuit art produced in tuberculosis hospitals.

APTN Investigates reported in 2020 on the search for a community that would be willing to house radioactive waste. With nuclear power back in the spotlight as a carbon-free energy source, there have been several new developments.

Sexual exploitation crosses class, gender and race. Anyone can be a victim, but it's often marginalized people that are most at risk. APTN Investigates looks at how this abuse is impacting the city of Kenora, Ontario and the vulnerable women who are exploited.

In the city of Kenora, Ontario the sex trade is rooted in the streets and Indigenous women are the main target. But who are the people buying? APTN Investigates finds out and demands answers about what's operating in plain sight.

When you want to vote but can't because your polling station is hours away, something is wrong. APTN's Christopher Read takes a closer look at barriers encountered by Indigenous voters in the 2021 federal election, with a focus on Kenora.

There have been new developments since we originally aired Melissa Ridgen's Cindy's Story in 2017. In a new feature on APTN Investigates, we're providing updated information on past stories. Bradley Barton was originally acquitted of a manslaughter charge in the death of Metis and Cree woman Cindy Gladue in an Edmonton hotel. But that was not the end of the story.

On this episode of APTN Investigates: We're exploring the tactics Indigenous peoples are using to break free from Canadian colonialism.

On the season premiere of APTN Investigates, we're exposing the tactics Canada uses to conceal residential school horrors and to also deny Indigenous justice and sovereignty.

The Tthetsënɂotı̨́né of Rocher River, Northwest Territories are still fighting to reclaim their culture and identity after being forcibly removed from their traditional homeland. Now, more than 60 years later, they are looking for answers and an apology from the Canadian government.

A small group of Dene say Canada forcibly removed them from their traditional homeland in the N.W.T. in the 1960s. Since then, the Tthetsënɂotı̨́né have fought to hold on to their culture. APTN Investigates explores this chapter in the history in "Refugees in our Land."

APTN Investigates visited a community with infrastructure and governance problems but almost 5000 kms away Membertou's chief, Terry Paul, says his community's success is about having transparent policies and sticking with them. Also, a look at a Ktunaxa man who has started an organization to help band members who can't find accountability.

First Nation citizens across Canada have nowhere to turn with their concerns about their on-reserve government. APTN Investigates speaks to a member of one of these communities whose concerns are echoed. We found corruption and mismanagement aren't as widespread as stereotypes suggest, but when it does happen, does the Indian Act system allow it? In fact, many experts say the Indian Act is the problem.

Nadine Moostoos is speaking out for the first time since she joined a U.S. class action as "Jane Doe #44." The former foster child says her healing is in limbo while she waits for Winnipeg Police to investigate her allegations against former fashion mogul Peter Nygard.

Winnipeg fashion magnate Peter Nygard is wanted for alleged sex crimes in the US after the FBI charged him last year. Now, his alleged victims who are Indigenous have come forward to tell their stories and question why Canadian authorities are failing to investigate their cases.

Human trafficking is making headlines in Nova Scotia, with high rates in the province relative to the rest of Canada. APTN's Trina Roache looks at why and what makes Indigenous women vulnerable in APTN Investigates: Exploited

Among curators and other museum professionals, "decolonization" is a buzz word everywhere these days. APTN Investigates visits the Royal British Columbia Museum where the decolonization conversation is at the boiling point, prompting staff departures and an internal investigation.

It's no secret that museum collections have benefitted from the colonization of countries occupied by imperial powers such as Britain and France. But in recent years, spurred in part by the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, there is a global push to decolonize museums.

What does five decades of pushback get you? Millions spent on modern treaties. Decades spent in court. Arrest and incarceration for standing up. Indigenous people know it's the good fight for current and future generations. But there's a cost when you're looking to down the barrel to defend your homeland and assert your identity. And it appears to be a battle with no end in site.

The RCMP raid on Wet'suwet'en territory last year painted a troubling picture of the state of the relationship between Indigenous people and Canada. Colonial attitudes, racism and the economy continue to roll over the rights of the First Peoples. But there are those who fight back at the negotiating table, in the courts or on the land.

Long-term care facilities are ground zero for the Covid-19 pandemic. Reporter Brittany Guyot travels to northern Manitoba's Rod McGillivary Memorial Care Home, where all 28 residents came down with the virus. She speaks to family who say their loved ones are falling through the gaps in care.

APTN Investigates reporter Brittany Guyot examines long-term care for Indigenous people in Canada. Through that lens, she examines Winnipeg's KeKiNan Centre beset by security concerns, lack of medical attention and gaps in accountability.

Indigenous people in Canada are over represented in every area of the justice system. And in Prince George, they are dying in cells. Reporter Lee Wilson examines why death in custody happens so often in Prince George's RCMP detachment.