Indigenous communities seek cultural recognition

March 24, 2016

Located two and a half hours from both Toronto and Ottawa, North Hastings borders on soil shared with indigenous communities such as Tyendinaga Mohawks to the south; Pikwakanagan Algonquins to the north, and Curve Lake Ojibwe to the east. The 2006 Aboriginal population census found that the area is home to 1,450 indigenous residents. Numbers are the highest in Bancroft where there are 430 identified and 65 registered status residents. For the region served by Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit, 5,455 indigenous clients have been identified.

What’s ahead for the arts in North Hastings

Despite overall gains within the cultural sector, which has seen a Theatre District designed in downtown Bancroft, as well as new venues such as A Place for the Arts and Bridge Street Gallery, questions are rife about the status of longstanding events such as the summer theatre program.

Economic crystal ball seems cloudy

ome people foresee a sunny year developing; some find the horizon very cloudy. To a degree, it’s like the opening of Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us.”