Attawapiskat

[zipped]

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/1305119208001#.TthH0YE5rm0.email

[DEFCON]

Evidence of why 'socialism; doesn't work?

Crap like this makes me ill; we're expected to work our lives away to pay the taxes necessary to ensuring the continuation of this form of 'community'??? Bravo Harper!

[Seeker]

Evidence of why 'socialism; doesn't work?

Crap like this makes me ill; we're expected to work our lives away to pay the taxes necessary to ensuring the continuation of this form of 'community'??? Bravo Harper!

You're blaming Harper for this? You do realize this is been the going on for a hundred years or more right? Just a liiittle before Harper's time.

[chockalicious]

We as a society have infantalized the Natives instead of doing what we should have done way back when.

Settle all land claims and then turn off the tap. Close the Department of Indian Affairs. If a first nation wants to live in the middle of BumF^&$ then they can figure out a way to be self sustaining or move.

[DEFCON]

Actually, I was trying to say; good for Harper, because it's time for someone responsible to take charge of the money.

[Seeker]

Actually, I was trying to say; good for Harper, because it's time for someone responsible to take charge of the money.

Ohh, OK then, we agree.

[Moon The Loon]

I've been asking for decades for a PM with gonads, balls, nuts, whatever...a politician with vision. While Harper's total vision may not be to my liking or agreement, the bulk of what he has done and is doing strikes me as a politician with vision. Something we as Canadians have not seen since the early 1970's.

I won't know what to think when he crosses the line and goes too far...

[mrlupin]

I've been asking for decades for a PM with gonads, balls, nuts, whatever...a politician with vision. While Harper's total vision may not be to my liking or agreement, the bulk of what he has done and is doing strikes me as a politician with vision. Something we as Canadians have not seen since the early 1970's.

I won't know what to think when he crosses the line and goes too far...

It's easy to pick on the natives that live on James bay's coast... let's see how the PM deals with natives nearer to the large cities...

I have been to Kasheshewan in that area. It's definitely not a hospitable area but there is very little the natives can do to counter the actions of the government. It isn't much of a match up.

[Guest longtimer]

Former co-manager of Attawapiskat facing fraud, theft charges

Attawapiskat financial audit released

. (Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS)The Canadian Press

Published Tuesday, April 8, 2014 12:28PM EDT

ATTAWAPISKAT, Ont. -- The former co-manager of the troubled northern Ontario reserve of Attawapiskat is facing fraud and theft charges.

Police say Clayton Kennedy, who is also the romantic partner of the band's high-profile chief Theresa Spence, has been charged with fraud over $5,000 and theft over $5,000.

The Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service says an investigation carried out in February last year into a complaint about a fraud committed in Attawapiskat led to the charges.

Attawapiskat First Nation Chief Theresa Spence re-elected to second 3-year term

http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/attawapiskat-first-nation-chief-theresa-spence-re-elected-to-second-3-year-term-1.1429827

Ottawa seeks to create pool of third-party managers for financially troubled reserves

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/ottawa-seeks-to-create-pool-of-third-party-managers-for-financially-troubled-reserves-1.1599392

The 62-year-old Kennedy is currently the co-manager of the Taykwa Tagamou Nation in Cochrane, Ont., south of Attawapiskat.

He was Attawapiskat's director of finance, co-manager and band manager between 2001 and 2004.

He returned as the band's co-manager and director of finance in July 2010 before leaving the job two years later.

In 2011, Attawapiskat became a flashpoint for relations between the federal government and First Nations after a housing crisis on the reserve triggered a state of emergency.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper accused the band of mismanaging finances and Spence staged a six-week hunger protest over living conditions on reserves and treaty issues, sparking nationwide demonstrations.

.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/former-co-manager-of-attawapiskat-facing-fraud-theft-charges-1.1766406#ixzz2yJUJkAsY

[Seeker]

Wow, I'm shocked by this development, NOT!

[Guest]

Once again Attawapiskat sadly is back in the news. This time it involves youth committing suicide .  It seems to me that the whole exercise in attempting to provide for certain Northern reserves is doomed to failure in that with the Internet the young folks on the reserve see what is available for youth in the south and want the same. The only way this can be achieved is to either move the affected Northern reserves south close to the benefits enjoyed by living in or near a large urban center or build / maintain all the missing infrastructure in the Northern Reserve. You notice I say move the reserves, not just the young folks. This way they would still have their community support.  It does not seem feasible to build and maintain the infrastructure that is lacking for the young people so a move would appear to be the only cure.

There are some problems for youth living on reserves close to large urban centers but they seem to be much fewer than those suffered by the youth in some Northern Reserves.  Housing also does not seem to be as big a problem either.

The problem with doing this of course would be a lack of desire by older band members to move and then of course finding suitable land to move to. Southern bands and communities might not support such a move.

Here is the latest news update:

 

Quote

 

5 more Attawapiskat youth attempt suicide, chief says

'We have to get away from our government attitude that they can sit and wait,' MP admonishes

Thomson Reuters Posted: Apr 16, 2016 8:13 PM ET Last Updated: Apr 17, 2016 10:42 AM ET

Attawapiskat bonfire and march celebrate positives of life 1:29

 

 

 

Attawapiskat bonfire and march celebrate positives of life 1:29

662 shares

Facebook

Twitter

Reddit

Google

Share

Email

Related Stories

• Attawapiskat reserve life: $22 for a 12-pack of pop

Five children tried to take their own lives Friday evening at the Attawapiskat First Nation, its chief said, nearly a week after the community declared a state of emergency over repeated suicide attempts.

Chief Bruce Shisheesh confirmed the news in a brief telephone conversation on Saturday. It was not immediately clear how old the children are.

• Desperation in Attawapiskat: First Nation leaders fear for their young
• Attawapiskat youth need inspiration to overcome barriers, resident says
• TIMELINE: States of emergency Attawapiskat has declared in recent years 

The community, on James Bay in remote northern Ontario, has been plagued by poverty and a lack of infrastructure and declared a state of emergency last Saturday after 11 of its members attempted suicide in one weekend and 28 tried to do so in March.

About a dozen teenagers in the community attempted suicide on Monday, after the declaration.

Regional, provincial and federal governments sent support and crisis workers to the community in response to the state of emergency. Parliament held a special session Tuesday night to address the suicide attempts, calling them "completely unacceptable" and vowing steps to keep them from happening again.

People pass by the secondary school in Attawapiskat, Ont., a remote reserve near James Bay. A suicide crisis in the community has sparked a call for more help. (CBC)

MP Charlie Angus, whose riding includes Attawapiskat, said the attempts on Friday are the result of growing despair in the area due to neglect by the federal government.

"We have to get away from our government attitude that they can sit and wait and wait," he said in an interview.Attawapiskat has declared five states of emergency since 2006. It previously sounded the alarm over flooding and raw sewage issues, poor drinking water and a housing crisis.

Angus and Canada's Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett said in a joint statement on Friday they would visit the community.

Shisheesh tweeted hours later: "Busy night at the hospital.... Pray for Attawapiskat."

 

 

[J.O.]

Moving to larger communities isn't much of a picnic either. They often face nasty racist comments from the "white" kids and alcohol and drugs become their way of easing the pain. Whenever a Canadian criticizes the way blacks are treated in parts of America, I wish they'd look at the skeletons in their own closets first. The answers are far from linear or easy.

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, J.O. said:

 Moving to larger communities isn't much of a picnic either. They often face nasty racist comments from the "white" kids and alcohol and drugs become their way of easing the pain. Whenever a Canadian criticizes the way blacks are treated in parts of America, I wish they'd look at the skeletons in their own closets first. The answers are far from linear or easy.

Def. no easy answers J.O. but there are some reserves in the lower half of Canada that do very well, or at least we don't hear of many major problems. Then of course there are a lot of Northern Reserves that also do much better than Attawapiskat, perhaps they should be studied to see if any of their solutions would fit Attawapiskat.  The most disappointing thing that happened with our new government was the cancelling of the need for all Reserves to be accountable for their funds etc. You have to wonder if  money is being  funneled off by a few to the detriment of the majority. In other words is the money going to them being used correctly rather than for large salaries etc.  There was a study done by the feds of 3 remote reserves but I don't know what happened with the data http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/top-first-nations-success-to-be-studied-102047333.html

[blues deville]

Started my flying career in the wilds of northern Ontario spending a summer living on a reserve (crown land section) and got a first hand look at what life was like for aboriginal people. That was nearly 40 years ago and what is being discussed here are the same problems they had back then. Nothing has changed. Alcoholism, violence, housing, clean water, etc.

My first medivac into a nearby reserve with a doctor and nurse was an eye opener for a 21 year old Montreal suburbanite. Followed them into a government built house to assist with a women in labor and noticed the interior walls were all but gone. I was told the wall studs made for easy access firewood although the houses were surrounded by a forest of pine trees. (It was also my first night time water landing. Apparently it was either that or mother & baby might not have made it.) 

A few years later flying fuel oil to another reserve transferring a DC3 load into 45 gallon drums, I'd watch the local kids sop up spilled fuel with their mittens as we taxiied away. A quick 'high' from the fumes. The reserve had a community center named after a teenager who had died from lead poisoning. A cargo load into the same place would consist of diapers, cases of pop and potato chips. The big three.

Another time I flew a team of RCMP officers into a reserve to rescue teachers baracaded in a small school. The officers told me "don't shut down the engines.....we'll be right back". One of the students had been punished and some parents were trying to settle the score with rifles. It was like something out of a movie. 

These stories were all situations which had been going on long before I arrived on the scene. My wife who worked in a YTH bank told me how much money was being deposited into the band council accounts by the Chiefs. Lots and lots of money.

So in my opinion, throwing more money at this problem is not the only solution. The whole reserve system needs an overhaul and brought into the 21st century. 

[Guest]

For those who are interested here is a link to their 2014 Financial report:

http://www.attawapiskat.org/wp-content/uploads/Attawapiskat-First-Nation-2014-Consolidated-Financial-Statements.pdf

And the CBC look at it: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/attawapiskat-financial-statement-error-slips-by-ottawa-auditors-1.2506694

[Fido]

With a balance sheet like that they should be able to look after themselves.  After all they are a Nation.

[Moon The Loon]

7 minutes ago, Fido said:

With a balance sheet like that they should be able to look after themselves.  After all they are a Nation.

Many, if not most, are. But the dung-holes like this place have Chiefs and leaders who care nothing more than the money they can suck out of Ottawa and put in their off-shore accounts. It will be very, VERY interesting to find out the findings of the CRA, should Justin actually follow through and beef up their forensic audit section as he's promised.

[mo32a]

About 1600 people living on the reserve and they pay over 20,000,000 in administration costs. Unbelievable.

And all those suicide "attempts", anytime someone uses drugs they class it as a suicide attempt. By that measure we must have a couple of million suicide attempts everyday in Canada.

Out of all those attempts they had one "success".

You were given a brand new house, if it is a rat hole now it isn't the governments fault.

And moon, dear leader Justin has exempted them from any further financial reporting, so it will just get worse not better.
 

[Seeker]

Like blues deville I spent years flying into all the northern communities (reserves) in NW Ont.  And when I say "years" and "all" that's not hyperbole.  I have been to every single one.  I also lived on a reserve for almost a year and have been to Attiwapiskat dozens of times.  I have also been to almost every reserve in northern Manitoba and a bunch in the territories. 

So here are some observations;  These communities were set up in locations that somewhat approximated the traditional settlement range for groups of people with the belief that being close to traditional hunting grounds would be in their best interests.  The aboriginal people were primarily concerned, at the time, with having continued access to the only resources they knew - hunting and fishing.  The people who traditionally hunted around James Bay were given a community and support on James Bay.  It wasn't as if the government rounded up a bunch of people and forced them to go to Attiswapiskat, an isolated spot if I've ever seen one.  It's my understanding that this is what those people wanted at the time. The problem is that no-one, from the government side or from the aboriginal side could forsee how the world would change.  I don't believe that small isolated communities of ex-European Canadians were too much different at the time.  My parents were both born into a pretty sparse existence in rural Sask - living in what was not much more than an unheated shack without central heat, electricity or running water. 

The problem is that as the aboriginal people came to rely less and less on their traditional way of life there became less and less reason for living in an isolated location.  I would bet that virtually no-one in Attiswapiskat relies on hunting for their main source of food.  There are no jobs and nothing to do.  These communities have massive problems but this is not some failing that is only native.  I would bet that if you took 1600 white folk and subjected them to this existence you would get exactly the same result.  This is why some reserves in more southern parts of Canada can make it work - they aren't trapped, there are businesses and jobs and the ability to travel in and out of the community easily.  The only solution for Attiswapiskat is to shut it down and move everyone but this is no solution at all because in doing so you destroy the community ties.  The young people watch western culture on the tv and internet and they want it, of course, who wouldn't. 

You can point to issues such as mismanagement of money or malfeasence from their leaders but that's a side issue and even if you fixed that the problems would still exist.

[J.O.]

+1 Seeker, well said.

[DEFCON]

I think Seeker nailed the situation down fairly, but I'm not sure the Reserves in southern Ontario could be called a success as all the same issues that have such a deleterious impact on the residents of northern Reserves, even isolation, plague the southern ones too.

Natives do not adapt to life in the cities either, just look at Winnipeg for example.

     

[mo32a]

The Indians want their remote reserves partly because of the resources being withdrawn from their land. In the oil sands area every company had to hire a certain quota of natives. They didn't perform any actual work, they just collected a paycheque. If they were "encouraged" to actually learn a trade or job and perform it they would eventually have more respect for themselves and better outcomes for their families. Right now it is generational welfare and doesn't serve anybody well.

[Boney]

Some time ago in Europe there use to be kings that own the land and peasants to work the land, pay taxes for land they didn't own. The place was a mess and eventually people finally got the message and either revolted or moved.

This is the same thing happening to the aboriginals in Canada. The chiefs, aka kings, are mismanaging funds given to them and there is no sense of ownership. Just take a drive to the nearest reserve and look at the state of their homes. Its not their fault but if you "own" your property, you tend to take care of it. Also, if aboriginals paid taxes, like the rest of Canadians, they too would be asking questions about how their taxes are being spent. They don't and feel they are entitled to funds from taxpayers without any questions asked about how its spent. This entitlement is like those spoilt kids from rich families that don't care. Just walk down some of our major cities like Winnipeg, Regina, Prince George, to name a few, and see the aboriginals. Makes one very sad.

The current suicide attempts by kids are the "canary in the coalmine" in that there is a problem and they are crying out for help. This must be addressed, inspite of the mismanagement of their chiefs. The aboriginal kids, looking at life outside their reserves on the internet, want to have this as well, but when they look out of their own homes, seeing the state of their reserves, witinessing the abuse of alcohol by their elders, no wonder why they have given up.

The aboriginals need to ask if the current system is working for them, and when they answer that question, consider another system for their people. Maybe, ownership and responsibility may be their only answer, else, the end of their way of life, whatever life that is.

IMHO

[Moon The Loon]

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/drugs+fuelling+crisis+attawapiskat+police+much+about/11871802/story.html

Doesn't really seem like a surmountable problem. Sad.

[blues deville]

5 hours ago, Moon The Loon said:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/drugs+fuelling+crisis+attawapiskat+police+much+about/11871802/story.html

Doesn't really seem like a surmountable problem. Sad.

Sounds to me like some of these reserve police officers may be on more than one payroll. Many remote communities have this same issue with drugs and alcohol but with only one entry /exit point, it shouldn't too difficult to monitor. 

Years ago in Rankin Inlet the local RCMP were having unusual problems in the community with drug related domestic disputes. These same officers met all flights searching luggage and cargo. After some good investigative work it was finally determined to be one of the pilots who was shipping items via COMAT. He was arrested (and fired) and the community returned to a more normal situation.