Local Initiatives for Community Growth and Development

Kashechewan First Nation

The Kashechewan First Nation is a Cree First Nation located near James Bay in Northern

Ontario. The community is located on the northern shore of the Albany River. When thecommunity of Kashechewan came into being, the new residents chose the name"Keeshechewan" (meaning, in Cree, of "where the water flows fast"). However, an accidentalmisspelling led to the name "Kashechewan" - which has become the official name of thecommunity.

The community lies on the flood plain of the Albany and many of its buildings are susceptible to

flooding in the springtime. There were two major evacuations in 2005 as a result of floods.

In late 2005, over 900 members of the First Nation were evacuated after E. coli bacteria wasdiscovered in their water supply system. The evacuation is estimated to have cost $16 million. The First Nation had been under a boil-water advisory for two years. The drinking water was supplied by a treatment plant built in 1998. Later investigations found that local operators had notbeen adequately trained to run the treatment plant. In October 2005, high E. coli levels werefound in the reserve's drinking water and chlorine levels were increased dramatically “to shock"the water and kill the bacteria. This led to a worsening of common skin problems, such asscabies and impetigo.

Serious medical cases were treated in Timmins or Cochrane, both about 450 km to the south. a

temporary portable water filtration system, capable of producing 50,000 litres per day of clean,drinkable water through reverse osmosis, was transported to the community. Phil Fontaine, chiefof the Assembly of First Nations, has stated that over 100 aboriginal communities in Canada are currently living under permanent, long-term boil-water advisories.

In January of 2007, 21 young people in Kashechewan - including one nine-year-old - attempted

to commit suicide. Studies have estimated that the suicide rate among Canadian First Nations isfive to six times higher than among non-aboriginal Canadians. Member of Parliament CharlieAngus (NDP - Timmins-James Bay) spoke in the Canadian House of Commons about the crisis, calling on the government to deal with the crisis and to increase education funding to helpimprove special education and crisis counselling services in First Nations schools.

In July, 2007, the government of Canada signed a memorandum of agreement with the First

Nation, giving the Kashechewan First Nation reserve a much needed overhaul of $200 millionfederal dollars to improve on infastructure, housing and to repair a dyke around the locality tolessen the impact of any future other flooding. The people of Kashechewan First Nation weregiven the option of moving to a new geographical location, but the decision was made not torelocate.

(Information from CBC News in Depth and CBC Digital Archives.)

Communities in Crisis: from Davis Inlet to Natuashish

"We are a lost people." That description by an Innu chief seemed fitting when a shocking video of

six gas-sniffing teens, screaming they wanted to die, was broadcast to the world. The town ofDavis Inlet had been established in 1967 after government officials decided the nomadic Innu ofLabrador should settle down in one place. Deprived of their traditional lifestyle, the Innu of DavisInlet struggled with isolation, poverty and addiction. There was little to keep people occupied. Alcoholism became rampant and many of the children of Davis Inlet were addicted to sniffinggasoline. The community suffered from one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

News reports detailed how unbearable life was in the Innu community of Davis Inlet. Crammed

living spaces. No running water. Buckets for toilets. No reliable heating. The federal government

reacted with a second relocation, this time from the shantytown of Davis Inlet to the newcommunity of Natuashish, some 15 kilometres distant. It started out with hopes for a newbeginning. After years of living in squalor and struggling with social problems, the 680 residentsof Davis Inlet packed up in December 2002 to head for a new settlement that had been built forthem.

The new community of Natuashish had better physical facilities, but the same social problems

haunted the traditional people of the Innu. A government report stated that despite the injection of millions of dollars, there was virtually no progress in the level of frustration that the Innupopulation experienced.

Natuashish was soon a town flooded with booze. Unscrupulous salespersons have no trouble

finding customers for their $300 bottles of liquor. There were only two social workers trying tocope with a staggering caseload.

In 2005, a long-pledged safe house had not yet been built. In a survey, 80 per cent of women in

the town reported physical violence at home. Many reported that their children had also beenabused. The safe house would be a sanctuary for women seeking protection from an abusivespouse and a sanctuary for children wanting to hide out from parents staggering through adrinking binge.

The local tribal band was accused of corruption and the tribal for many years declined to ban

alcohol in the town. However, in January 2008 the community voted narrowly to ban alcohol onthe reserve. The new bylaw, passed by a margin of only two votes, prohibits the sale, purchase and possession of alcohol in the community.

(Information from CBC News in Depth and CBC Digital Archives.)

Local Initiatives for Community Growth and Development

Assignment

Part A: Fill in the Blanks

  1. The Kashechewan First Nation is a ______First Nation community.
  1. The community is located on the Albany River near ______Bay.
  1. In late 2005, over 900 members of the First Nation community were evacuated after ______was discovered in their water supply system.
  1. In October 2005, inexperienced water treatment plant operators “shocked” the drinking water with large amounts of ______.
  1. Some members of the community – including many children – were affected by skin problems such as ______and ______.
  1. Studies have estimated that the suicide rate among Canadian First Nations is ______times higher than among non-aboriginal Canadians.
7.Phil Fontaine, chief of the Assembly of First Nations, stated in 2007 that over ______Aboriginal communities in Canada are living under permanent, long-term boil-water advisories.
  1. The town of Davis Inlet was established by ______in 1967
  1. The town of Davis Inlet is found in ______.
  1. The residents of the town were the former nomadic ______people.
  1. Due to terrible living conditions, the federal government reacted with a second relocation, this time from the shantytown of ______to the new community of Natuashish, some 15 kilometres distant.
  1. In a survey, ______per cent of women in Natuashish reported physical violence at home.
  1. A new bylaw, passed by a margin of only two votes, banned alcohol in Natuashish in what year? ______

Part B: Discussion

1.Describe what you believe are the causes of the problems in each community. How have governments’ action or inaction led tothe problems and issues facing the residents of the two communities?

2. Comment on Innu Nation President Ben Michel’s comment that “Money is not going to solve their problem. They have to solvetheir problems themselves. The people, if they don't want to help themselves, no matter how much money is being poured intoany of those communities, the problem is not going to go away."

3.What healing strategies could the people of Natuashish or Kaschechewan employ to rebuild their communities? Explain.

4.What plan of action would you propose to solve and heal Aboriginal communities in crisis? Be sure to include which groupswould be stakeholders (government, tribal councils, agencies and/or institutions which support renewal and reconciliation) andwhat each stakeholders’ role will be in your proposed solution.

Rubric

Unit 5: Renewal and ReconciliationActivity 1