Xavier Kataquapit – First Nation Writer / Columnist
Tuesday, July 8, 2025
Canada – A family of four is paddling 400 km down the Attawapiskat River, turning the waterway into a moving protest against Ontario’s Bill 5 and Ottawa’s Bill C-5.
…. to view the video story, please click on the link below
Northern First Nation chiefs and leaders came together on the Attawapiskat River on July 1 to show their support for a youth-led protest against Ontario’s Bill 5 and Canada’s Bill C5.
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They came to meet with Jeronimo Kataquapit, a First Nation youth from Attawapiskat First Nation who is leading a protest to occupy the land and water way that the people of the Attawapiskat River call home.
…. to read the full story, please click on the link below
Northern First Nation Chiefs and leaders came together on the Attawapiskat River on July 1 to show their support for a youth led protest against Ontario’s Bill 5 and Canada’s Bill C5. They came to meet with Jeronimo Kataquapit, a First Nation youth from Attawapiskat First Nation who is leading a protest to occupy the land and water way that the people of the Attawapiskat River call home. Kataquapit and the Chiefs held a gathering that included leaders and community members and youth from Neskantaga First Nation to discuss their concerns and show to government that their people still use and live on the river.
…. to read the full story, please click on the link below
https://wawataynews.ca/breaking-news/here-we-stand-%E2%80%93-call-action
First Nation youth are rising up to protest Canada’s Bill C5 and Ontario’s Bill 5 which both threaten the most pristine wilderness in Northern Ontario. These new bills threaten to bypass the idea of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) which is a principle within the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) that emphasizes the right of Indigenous peoples to give or withhold their consent to activities that affect their lands, territories, and resources.
Both the Federal government and provincial government used the excuse of American tariff threats to push through these bills. It should be noted both governments also used this excuse in their bid to win recent elections and this worked for them. Arrogantly they have refused to include First Nations before setting up and pushing through these historic bills.
…. to read the full column, please click on the link below
a report by CBC News National
A First Nations encampment has been set up in Ontario’s mineral-rich Ring of Fire region to protest provincial and federal laws created to fast-track development. Organizer Jeronimo Kataquapit, a member of the Attawapiskat First Nation, explains why he and his family travelled 400 kilometres by canoe to get to the site of the encampment.
…. to read the full news story and video, please click on the link below
Liam Casey The Canadian Press
Jun 26, 2025 Updated Jun 26, 2025
A political decision one thousand kilometres from Jeronimo Kataquapit’s home in a remote First Nation near James Bay set the course for his summer.
Now, the 20-year-old from Attawapiskat First Nation, his father, mother and older brother are headed upriver in two 24-foot freighter canoes on a 400-kilometre journey to “reassert First Nations’ presence” near the Ring of Fire region in northern Ontario.
…. to read the full news story, please click on the link below
by Faith Greco (with files from Markus Schwabe)
A family travelling on the Attawapiskat River in Ontario’s far north has been planting flags — created by Attawapiskat First Nation families — as a symbol of protest after the passing of provincial and federal laws created to fast-track development.
Bill 5, the Protecting Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, allows Ontario to create special economic zones, where companies or projects can be exempted from having to comply with provincial laws, regulations or municipal bylaws.
Attawapiskat First Nation is downstream from the mineral-rich Ring of Fire, which Premier Doug Ford wants to designate as a special economic zone.
…. to read the full news story, please click on the link below
A northern Ontario Indigenous family from Attawapiskat is going on a paddle planting flags to protest the government and protect their land.
…. to watch the full video of the news story, please click on the link below
I’ve been filled with a renewed sense of hope for the future through the work of filmmaker Jeronimo Kataquapit, who has made it his mission to highlight the connection that the people of Attawapiskat have to the land and its waters.
“We keep hearing government and industry saying that nobody uses the land up there anymore — so, according to them, developing the Ring of Fire should have minimal impact on First Nations,” he said.
…. to read the full story, please click on the link below
https://www.timminspress.com/opinion/here-we-stand-aims-to-show-ring-of-fire-is-occupied-land
I’ve been filled with a renewed sense of hope for the future through the work of Jeronimo Kataquapit, who has made it his mission to highlight the connection that the people of Attawapiskat have to the land and it’s waters. He is the son of James Kataquapit and Monique Edwards who are both deeply connected to families in Attawapiskat and Fort Albany First Nation. James is also my cousin. Jeronimo’s grandparents Alex and Susan Kataquapit and Daniel and Elsie Edwards have always represented traditional Cree families who are deeply connected to the land.
…. to read the full column, please click on the link below
https://www.wawataynews.ca/blogs-columns/here-we-stand-%E2%80%93-call-action