From challenges over Aboriginal land claims in Australia to major-project consent in Canada and Indigenous-led investment in Thunder Bay, today’s stories share a central question: who controls the land, capital and decisions shaping Indigenous futures?
THUNDER BAY — INDIGENOUS NEWS — Thursday, September 17, 2026 — Indigenous rights, jurisdiction and economic ownership are driving major news developments in Canada and around the world.
Internationally, Aboriginal land councils in Australia are warning that new legislation could affect thousands of unresolved claims. In the United States, two California tribes have won an important preliminary court ruling involving gaming jurisdiction on their lands.
Across Canada, a new $130-million fellowship program will invest in more than 1,000 young Indigenous leaders. At the same time, First Nations leaders are telling governments and investors that major projects cannot be promoted without consent, consultation and Indigenous ownership.
Closer to home, Neskantaga First Nation continues to challenge Ring of Fire development, Northern leaders are demanding answers following the death of a Fort Severn woman, and a Thunder Bay-based Indigenous investment firm is setting out an ambitious plan to connect First Nations with major projects and global capital.
International: Australian Land Councils Challenge New Crown-Land Law
Aboriginal land councils in New South Wales are warning that newly passed legislation could reduce the amount of Crown land available for return to Traditional Owners.
The state parliament passed the Crown Land Management Amendment Bill on Wednesday. The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council says the legislation gives the lands minister power to change land tenures retrospectively, potentially affecting areas where an Aboriginal land claim has already been filed.
There are more than 44,000 unresolved Aboriginal land claims in the state, including some that have been waiting for decisions for decades. According to the land council, only 0.2 per cent of Crown land has been returned to Aboriginal ownership since the Aboriginal Land Rights Act was adopted in 1983.
The state government says the amendments are intended to protect established community and sports facilities. Aboriginal leaders argue that the legislation was developed without adequate consultation and could weaken existing land rights. The council suspended its participation in Australia’s Closing the Gap process in protest.
Why it matters: The controversy will be familiar to Indigenous communities in Canada. It shows how governments can recognize Indigenous rights in law while later changing the rules governing how those rights are exercised.
U.S. Court Backs Tribal Authority Over Prediction-Market Gambling
Two California tribes have secured a preliminary injunction preventing prediction-market operator Kalshi from offering sports-event contracts on their lands.
The unanimous ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals involved Blue Lake Rancheria and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians. The court found that the tribes were likely to prove that the contracts violated the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and their own gaming ordinances.
Kalshi argues that its event contracts are regulated financial products rather than conventional gambling. The appeals court concluded that purchasing the contracts amounts to placing a bet or wager and that Kalshi had not received authorization to operate on the tribal lands.
The decision is a preliminary injunction, not a final judgment. The case returns to a lower court, and Kalshi may appeal. However, the ruling recognizes the tribes’ ability to challenge unauthorized gaming activity occurring within their territories.
U.S. Audit Finds Gaps in Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Unit
A federal audit has found serious staffing and management problems within the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs unit responsible for missing and murdered Indigenous people.
The review found that nearly half of the Missing and Murdered Unit’s positions were vacant by 2025. Investigators reportedly faced heavy caseloads, while communication with families and victim-support services remained inconsistent.
Funding for the unit increased between 2021 and 2024, but auditors found that some resources were redirected and that staffing did not keep pace with the unit’s responsibilities.
Why it matters: Families in Canada have raised many of the same concerns about fragmented investigations, poor communication and a lack of sustained action on missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people.
Chief Raoni Receiving Palliative Care in Brazil
Chief Raoni Metuktire, one of the world’s best-known Indigenous environmental leaders, is receiving palliative care at home after being diagnosed with cancer.
The 94-year-old Kayapó leader has spent decades defending the Amazon rainforest and Indigenous territories in Brazil. The Raoni Institute says his care includes medical, nursing, nutritional, physical, spiritual and intercultural support.
Palliative care is focused on comfort, symptom management and quality of life. Chief Raoni is resting with his family and community in Mato Grosso.
National: $130-Million Fellowship Will Support Indigenous Youth Leaders
The Mastercard Foundation has launched a national program intended to support more than 1,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis youth over the next decade.
The foundation is committing C$130 million to the Mastercard Foundation Fellows Program. Its first 25 Fellows will be hosted by the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies and the Gabriel Dumont Institute.
Each Fellow will receive mentorship and coaching, along with up to C$50,000 to support a self-directed leadership journey. Eligible activities could include courses, workshops, professional development, cultural learning and land-based education.
The first cohort is based with the two inaugural institutions. A phased national expansion involving additional Indigenous-led host organizations is planned, but details about future application periods and regional partners have not yet been announced.
What Northwestern Ontario should watch: Indigenous youth, education providers and leadership organizations should monitor the expansion closely. Northern Ontario is not identified as an inaugural host region, but the program is intended to grow nationally.
First Nations Tell Investors: Ownership and Consent Must Come First
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Canada Investment Summit has attracted billions of dollars in proposed investments—and strong warnings from Indigenous leaders.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said investors can reduce the risk of expensive legal disputes by speaking directly with chiefs and First Nations before advancing projects.
Her message was that First Nations must become owners and suppliers, rather than simply providing construction labour after the important decisions have been made.
Other Indigenous leaders and environmental groups protested outside the Toronto summit, arguing that Canada cannot market resources, energy projects or transportation corridors without addressing rights, title and consent.
The summit promoted investment opportunities. It did not grant regulatory approval to individual projects. Mines, pipelines, roads and energy developments remain subject to their own financing, environmental-review, consultation and permitting requirements.
Regional: Anishinabek Nation Says Resources Are “Not Theirs to Give”
Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige says Canada must build trust with First Nations before promoting investment in resources located within Anishinabek territories.
The Anishinabek Nation represents 39 First Nations and approximately 70,000 citizens across Ontario.
Debassige said the organization is prepared to work collaboratively where economic development is equitable, protects the environment and advances reconciliation. However, she rejected the idea that governments can offer Indigenous lands and resources to investors without the participation of the people who hold rights and responsibilities connected to those territories.
Neskantaga Continues Ring of Fire Consent Challenge
Neskantaga First Nation is warning governments, mining companies and investors that proposed Ring of Fire development does not have its consent.
The First Nation says the Marten Falls Community Access Road, Webequie Supply Road and proposed Northern Road Link must be assessed as parts of a larger industrial corridor—not simply as separate transportation projects.
Neskantaga has emphasized that it respects neighbouring First Nations seeking all-season road access. Its principal concern is that the Northern Road Link would cross the Attawapiskat River and affect Neskantaga’s homelands, waters and Treaty rights.
The Northern Road Link has not received final project approval, and no individual road approval automatically authorizes a mine. Neskantaga also argues that the wider Ring of Fire Regional Assessment should be completed before governments create conditions that make large-scale mineral development appear inevitable.
NetNewsLedger’s full report outlines Neskantaga’s position and the status of the road proposals.
Northern Leaders Demand Investigation After Fort Severn Woman’s Death
Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority are demanding an independent investigation into the death of Miranda Mamakwa of Fort Severn First Nation.
Mamakwa died on September 8 after undergoing open-heart surgery earlier in the year. NAN and the health authority allege that problems with the federal Non-Insured Health Benefits program prevented medical travel from being arranged for four follow-up appointments.
Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty said she directed department officials to urgently establish the facts and promised to meet with NAN and health-authority leadership.
The allegations have not yet been tested by an independent investigation. NAN and the health authority are seeking a public accounting of the decisions made in Mamakwa’s case and funded changes to medical-travel systems serving remote First Nations.
Why it matters: Medical travel is essential infrastructure in fly-in communities. A specialist appointment has little value if the patient cannot obtain transportation, accommodation and timely confirmation.
Anishinabek Educational Institute Receives Accreditation
The Anishinabek Educational Institute has achieved accreditation as an Indigenous Institute through the Indigenous Advanced Education and Skills Council.
The accreditation followed a quality-assurance assessment and allows AEI to begin seeking approval for academic programs it develops independently.
AEI is working on four priority programs:
- Community Resource Worker focusing on neurodiversity and exceptionalities;
- Childcare Management;
- Community Development Worker; and
- Anishinaabemowin.
AEI was established in 1994 and delivers culturally grounded education through campuses in Nipissing First Nation and Munsee-Delaware Nation, as well as through community-based programming.
Local: Thunder Bay Indigenous Investment Firm Sets Out Ambitious Mandate
Thunder Bay-based Anishinaabe business leader Jason Rasevych has announced the launch of Making Ground River Capital Corporation.
According to launch materials supplied to NetNewsLedger, the Indigenous-owned firm intends to provide early-stage capital, transaction structuring and due diligence for First Nations seeking equity positions in major projects.
The company also plans to pursue acquisitions in technology, environmental services, defence, infrastructure, health and critical-mineral logistics. Its stated strategy includes acquiring established businesses and moving them toward majority Indigenous ownership.
The announcement reflects a broader shift in economic-reconciliation discussions: from jobs and impact-benefit agreements toward equity ownership, governance and long-term wealth creation.
However, the firm’s investment targets and forecasts are forward-looking. The launch announcement did not identify completed acquisitions, committed assets under management or closed investment funds. Those results will need to be measured as the company moves from strategy to transactions.
Wake the Giant Begins Accountability Work After Festival Controversy
Wake the Giant organizers are promising changes after Flo Rida’s closing performance included alcohol-related props that had not been approved for the sober Indigenous-youth event.
The organizers said the artist’s team had been told that alcohol was not permitted onstage. Wake the Giant accepted responsibility for booking the performer, apologized for the harm caused and said its values would play a larger role in future artist selection.
The incident should not erase the larger achievement of Wake the Giant. The movement was created to make Thunder Bay safer and more welcoming for Indigenous students travelling from remote First Nations to attend school.
The 2026 festival again brought thousands of people together and provided Indigenous youth with a highly visible place in the city’s cultural life. The test now is whether organizers strengthen artist agreements, stage supervision and consequences for performers who disregard festival rules.
Read NetNewsLedger’s report on the apology and the festival’s continuing mission.
The Central Story for September 17
Across these developments, Indigenous leaders are making a consistent argument: consultation after the key decisions have been made is not partnership.
Whether the issue is a land claim, a mine, a highway, an investment fund, education or medical travel, the demand is for Indigenous people to hold real authority over the decisions affecting their communities.
For Northwestern Ontario, the next questions are practical:
- Will First Nations have meaningful equity and governance roles in major projects?
- Will governments address consent before seeking investors?
- Will medical-travel failures produce funded reforms rather than another review?
- When will Northern Ontario organizations become hosts for the new national fellowship?
- Can new Indigenous financial institutions convert ambitious strategies into completed investments and lasting community wealth?
Those are the stories NetNewsLedger NewsHawks should continue watching.
Summary
Indigenous NewsHawk Update for September 17, 2026: land-rights battles, a $130-million youth program, Ring of Fire consent, Northern health care and Thunder Bay Indigenous investment.
This report reflects information available on the morning of September 17, 2026. Developing legal cases, government responses and project proposals may change. Statements and allegations have been attributed to the organizations making them.
