Elementary school graduating classes are heading out on special trips all over the country. I remember what a big deal that tour was for my classmates and I when we visited Toronto and Niagara Falls. Up to that point I […]
Post Tagged with: "Attawapiskat"
A tale of two communities
Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities opens his novel with: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch […]
Letters of Hope – Eeyou Istchee launches writing campaign for Attawapiskat youth
An Air Creebec flight scheduled to land in the northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat May 21 won’t just be carrying the usual mix of passengers and freight. Organizers of a Cree letter-writing campaign are working hard to fill it with […]
Attawapiskat crisis draws national attention to Cree community
Suicide and attempted suicides have long plagued First Nations communities, where suicide rates can be two to 12 times higher than the Canadian average. A recent wave of suicide attempts in the Cree community of Attawapiskat – more than 100 […]
Action needed to foster hope in First Nations
Suicide has always been an issue in First Nations across Canada. The problem recently exploded with reports of a suicide pact between 11 teenagers in my home community of Attawapiskat. There are many reasons young people in remote First Nations […]
Uncle Jean’s suicide solution
Many people think of former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien fondly, as the slightly embarrassing aging uncle who means well, but from time to time gleefully puts his foot in his mouth. Asked once about the liberal use of pepper spray […]
Making Education a Priority
In recent conversations with several First Nation Chiefs in northern Ontario I learned that they are dedicating a lot of time and energy to make education a priority for Native people. I understand how important education is if we want […]
Negotiation is better than conflict
My people have come a long way in obtaining a life with more opportunity and hope. Through education First Nation people all over Canada are moving into leadership roles in government and private enterprise, in both Native and non-Native initiatives. […]
Diamond mine fails to improve conditions in Attawapiskat
Few stories illustrate the widening chasm between rich and poor as clearly as the story of Attawapiskat. The chasm is captured in Vicki Lean’s inspiring documentary, After the Last River. When the world’s largest diamond company, De Beers, opened a […]
Charlie Angus chronicles Treaty 9 and the stolen wealth of northern Ontario in a new book
New Democrat MP Charlie Angus’ new book Children of the Broken Treaty is a history of Treaty 9, from its signing through the nightmare years of St. Anne’s Residential School in Fort Albany, past the ’60s Scoop, the crises in […]