Dispatches from the Prairies.

1/ I have never said this publicly. But, I will also say it now. As a Black woman reporter in Canada & specifically in Saskatchewan, I have for years held myself from reporting on hate groups for my own safety. 2/ Hate groups run by white supremacists are extremely dangerous to me in the practice of my job as a Black journalist. As we know, women and specifically women of colour are disproportionally attacked by trolls. It is profoundly sad to feel unsafe as a Black journalist.

Dispatches from the Prairies
On #SuicidePreventionDay, facts in #Saskatchewan
A Thread
1/ Overall suicide rates are four times higher in the Indigenous population than in the province's general population. #skpoli 2/ The @fsinations analyzed coroner's reports from suicides in Saskatchewan between 2005 and 2016 and concluded that a First Nations teen girl is 29 times more likely to kill herself than a non-Indigenous teen girl.

À l’approche du discours du Trône du premier ministre canadien, la Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne demande à @JustinTrudeau un engagement à déposer un projet de loi sur la modernisation de la Loi sur les langues officielles d’ici la fin de 2020. #rcsk #frcan La FCFA veut aussi que cet engagement figure dans la lettre de mandat de la ministre des Langues officielles. #frcan #cndpoli

At a press conference on the #GreatGreenWall in the #Sahel and #Sahara
Deputy Secretary-General of the @UN @AminaJMohammed says it is vital to complete the wall. "The #GreatGreenWall provides solutions to properly respond and recover from the current challenges." The #GreatGreenWall is meant to tackle climate change, land degradation, and loss of biodiversity in the #Sahel and #Sahara from Senegal to Djibouti. 65% of African land is currently degraded. #ClimateChange #desertification

Dispatches from the Prairies
1/ I started the Dispatches from the Prairies months ago, in the midst of the #BlackLivesMatter protests, as I was reporting on the historical & present day echos of the movement on the Prairies as a way to give context & analysis to the facts. 2/ Since then, I have expanded the Dispatches from the Prairies to map out the complexities of race, blackness and to include literature, politics, stories of present day Black Canadians on the Prairies, photography of this gorgeous geographical space, and much more.

Dispatches from the Prairies
A Thread
1/ This morning, a group of Conservative MPs holding a rally in Regina's Victoria Park to voice support for the statue of #JohnAMacdonald that stands there were met by protesters calling for the statue's removal. #cdnpoli #skpoli 2/ The event was hosted by Andrew Scheer, MP for Regina-Qu'Appelle, Michael Kram, who represents Regina-Wascana, and Warren Steinley, the MP for Regina-Lewvan.

At a @UNCCD press conference on the Great Green Wall for the Sahara. The GGW aims to create a 15km wide and 8,000 km long green corridor stretching across Africa from Senegal to Djibouti to combat #desertification. Desertification is a significant challenge in the region. "We need to move forward and help the local populations," @greatgreenwallafrica ambassador @Innamodja said. #climatechange #desertification

Lindsay Sanderson is a Saskatoon mom who says she won’t send her son to kindergarten come September. She’s protesting in front of Education minister, Gord Wyant’s office. "I’m angry. We’re not going away."
#safeschoolscanada #skpoli Sanderson wants smaller class sizes, more funding for janitorial services in schools, alternative learning options for immunocompromised students. She joined other Canadians who are pushing back against their provincial governments back-to-school plans. #safeschoolscanada #skpoli

Fascinating, Leslyn Lewis won... Saskatchewan. #cnpoli #CPCLeadership #cpcldr Lewis’s win in Saskatchewan is interesting. She had solid support from some conservative heavyweights in the prov. She is a social conservative, pro-life. Fascinating to note the impact of groups like Campaign for Life Coalition on the ground/at the ballot box #cpcldr #cdnpoli

The president of Mali resigned late Tuesday hours after he was arrested by military officers who staged a coup following months of protests, further destabilizing a West African country that has been battling a violent insurgency.

via @nytimes nytimes.com/2020/08/18/wor… Huge. In a country which has been grappling with instability for years. The instability has affected neighbouring countries such as Niger and Burkina Faso. Security remains a central issue in the Sahel.

La famille de Samwel Uko demande une enquête publique sur les suicides en Saskatchewan. #rcsk La date et le lieu de l'enquête sur la mort de Samwel Uko n'ont toujours pas été annoncés. #rcsk

1/ Samwel Uko's family is calling for a public inquiry to examine the high rates of suicide in Sask. Uko died after drowning in Wascana Lake. Prior to his death, he sought help at the Regina General Hospital while in the throes of a mental health crisis.
#skpoli #mentalhealth 2/ "We're looking for some changed. This isn't a partisan issue. What happened to Samwel shouldn't have happened," Justin Nye said. #skpoli #mentalhealth

Day 2 since the Saskatchewan government announced K-12 students and staff won’t be required to wear masks when schools resume in September. Anger, anxiety, and shock are still palpable among many parents and teachers. #skpoli

Expect tweets about #education on my feed today. A petition demanding a "better back-to-school plan" has been signed by 8000 people in the last 24 hours. And counting.

"The government of Saskatchewan’s plan does not offer an effective way for staff and students to avoid infection," the petition says. #skpoli

Sask. will send its K-12 students back to school next month without requiring them or their teachers to wear masks and without a plan to reduce class sizes. Ministry of Education says it's planning to buy masks if the COVID-19 situation worsens. #skpoli

cbc.ca/news/canada/sa… The government says Saskatchewan’s 27 school divisions have plans in place. #skpoli

Thread

1/ Today marks the 30th anniversary of the term Two-Spirit.

It was received in ceremony in #Winnipeg in 1990

I spoke to Two-Spirit individuals about what the term means to them. #Twospirit 2/ Dr Alex Wilson is a Neyonawak Inniniwak from the Opaskwayak Cree Nation and renowned Two-Spirit professor at @usask.

"The term for me means a recognition and validation of personal identities but also of a powerful movement that has impacted the lives of many people." #yxe

Dispatches from the #Prairies

1/ Hearing instances of Black women being barked at on the streets of #Saskatoon and wondering about backlash after #BlackLivesMatter 

This is not new here.

We have seen Indigenous people behind attacked around Gerald Stanley's trial. #skpoli 2/ We’ve seen thousands of people on the streets of various Saskatchewan cities during the #BlackLivesMatter protests in a province that rarely accounts for Black lives.

With more people out after covid related post-confinement in the province, I seriously wonder about this.

Dispatches from the Prairies
A thread
1/ Over the last two years in Saskatchewan, young Black men have mostly made headlines after they have died. #skpoli #canpoli 1. 20-year-old Samwuel Uko died on May 21, 2020 after drowning in #yqr. Prior to his death, he sought help for his mental health. Last night, I broke the story that the Saskatchewan Health Authority apologized to the family. An inquiry has been announced. #skpoli #canpoli 2/

"Artistic directors will often say right out loud, we can maybe do one 'risky show' every season," Claxton said. "It's often expected that those shows won't be well-attended, and there's a fear that people will tell their friends 'don't go to this.'"

cbc.ca/1.5657440 "[A senior member of the theatre administration] started yelling at me and pointing at me from the podium," Martin-Arcand said. "He said the most striking thing: there just aren't enough local Indigenous artists who are at the right level for me to put them on the Main Stage."

1/ Le premier ministre Scott Moe indique que les trois quarts des nouveaux cas de COVID-19 en Saskatchewan sont dans une communauté huttérite de la municipalité rurale de Lawtonia. #rcsk 2/ Scott Moe appelle les Saskatchewanais à ne pas discriminer les huttérites de la province. "Il est important de ne pas discriminer les huttérites," dit-il.
Le gouvernement communique avec les leaders huttérites et demande de limiter déplacements non essentiels. #rcsk

A new record-high one-day increase #COVID19 cases in Saskatchewan.

There are 60 new cases of COVID-19 to report today, bringing the total to 1,030 cases.

Of the 60 cases reported today, 48 are from colonies in the southwest and west central regions.

#skpoli Premier @PremierScottMoe : "Nearly three quarter (of those cases) are from a Hutterite community in the RM of Lawtonia." #covid19 #skpoli

Dispatches from the Prairies
Important facts about #policing in #Saskatchewan
1- Despite years of calls, Saskatchewan still doesn't have an independent police oversight body. People have been calling for more transparency and accountability for years. #skpoli 2- The Saskatchewan government recently announced nearly $12 million in funding to the Saskatoon and Regina police forces. The announcement comes amid calls in the province to defund police. #skpoli #canpoli