Attawapiskat needs a school!

[fern hill]

There's a blogburst going on over the efforts of the Cree community of Attawapiskat to get a new school. Read about it at Peterborough Politics.

Then go sign the petition.

[skdadl]

Signed; also joined all available Facebook groups.

There's also a pogge post on subject -- well, there was a blogburst, so there are lots. Chuck Strahl: ptui.  :evil:

[lagatta]

Is there any way the great banner with the kids could be put up on the b+r site?

Both inspiring and daunting, this story. Inspiring to see the emergence of someone like Shannen Koostachin  who might become an Aboriginal leader in ten or twenty years... daunting that this crap is repeated over and over and over. Same story as "Le Peuple invisible", the documentary by Richard Desjardins.

And not to be forgotten that battered women's shelters on reserve receive less funding per woman/per family than off-reserve shelters...

[sparqui]

Signed. There are over 2500 signatures at at 5:00 pm central.

[skdadl]

New emergency unfolding at Attawapiskat

Sorry: I'm writing on the run, but Martin's thread at babble is clear and compelling.

[Boom Boom]

There's beena Facebook group on this story since the emergency erupted, and I joined almost right away:


http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref= ... 0171228894

[lagatta]

I'll ask martin if he has any resources in French about this First Nation, as that would be very useful in mobilising here.

This is ghastly, though sadly I'm not terribly surprised. Do they even see Indigenous people as ... people? :rant2:

[Boom Boom]

Charlie Angus will be interviewed on CBC Newsworld at 1215 today - in two hours.
 
The Band says they need 268 homes at an estimated cost of $200,000 each - it costs a hell of a lot of money just to get the supplies for building up there.
 
268 x $200,000 = $53,600,000.00
 
The feds have promised $500,000.00.
 
The feds are sending a fact-finding crew up there next week, a month after the Chief asked for emergency help. 
 
ETA: John Duncan on P&P last night said Attawapiskat will get a new school in the spring; supplies will be going up on the ice road this winter.
 
ETA: The Red Cross is assessing the needs of the community. I wonder how their findings will differ from those of the federal flunkies going next week.