This is a picture of children from the Cree community of Appawapiskat. The community and these kids have been advocating to the federal government for years for funds to help build a new school to replace their old one, which has been declared condemned. They had received promises from both federal Liberal and Conservative Indian Affairs Ministers that the school would be built, but nothing has been done. Now, however, the ultra-compassionate (said with sarcasm) Chuck Strahl has point-blank said that the school wouldn’t be built. Not on the priority list, according to Chuck, even though these kids have been without a school for eight years.
In the meantime, one of the kids, Thirteen-year-old Shannen Koostachin, has been nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize for her efforts in getting the new school. That award is given out by the same folks who give out the Nobel Peace Prize. It would be a great honour for Shannen, and at the same time an extreme embarrassment to the Conservative government, if she were to win that award and the school had still been refused funding.
That isn’t the only action these kids have taken:
The youth have sent notice to the federal government, letting them know they intend to send a report to the UN detailing Indian and Northern Affairs’ failure to build a school. It will be addressed in the upcoming review of Canada’s obligations under the Conventions on the Rights of the Child. “We want what every other kid takes for granted, we want a new school,” said Shannen Koostachin, 14…The group would like to invite the UN to visit Attawapiskat and “walk a mile in our moccasins” to see what students are forced to live with every day — a request Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Minister Chuck Strahl denied when students visited Ottawa.
Of course Chuck would deny the UN the opportunity to visit the community – because it would guarantee international condemnation (which it still might anyhow). It would show the world that while the Conservatives may mouth apologies for past wrong deeds and speak nice words (which still get sneered at by the likes of Pierre Poilievre), it can’t act on current wrong deeds.
H/T to Cam for highlighting the plight of the kids and community of Attawapiskat and asking if other bloggers would also highlight this to try and raise awareness. I’m happy to do so.
UPDATE@7:08pm: Robert over at Blast Furnace Canada has also blogged about this.
UPDATE 2@7:11pm: I see that Troy had also bogged about this earlier. I feel a blogburst coming on.
UPDATE 3@9:08pm: Impolitical joins in, as does Wandering Coyote in an addenum to a blogpost
UPDATE 4@9:14pm: Jim over at the Progressive Right chimes in.
UPDATE 5@9:50pm: Jim Curran doesn’t do a blogpost does a blogpost, which is a CC of my blogpost, and does put up a link and pic on his sidebar. Stageleft does the same thing at their site, and adds his own blogburst
UPDATE 6@Aug 7,2008, 5am: More bloggers posting about this story here, here, and here.
UPDATE 7@9:46am: Canadian Cynic mentions this here.
UPDATE 8@10:06am: Jimbobby blogs about this situation here.
UPDATE 9@1:30pm: Pogge and Skinny blog about this.
UPDATE 10@1:35 pm: Dr Dawg blogs it.
UPDATE 11@5:53pm: Saskboy blogs it, and to his credit, Darcey at Dust My Broom, a Conservative-supporting blog, does as well, though the commentators at his blog are for the most part, showing their ignorance typical of the right-wing these days.
UPDATE 12@10:00pm: Paladiea over at her blog comments on this shameful situation.
UPDATE 13@11:00pm: Northern BC Dipper and A Creative Revolution also chime in.
Thanks for this! I’ve sent a link to my friend at Harper Valley, and I’ll put up a post, too.
Thanks for the help Scott. It’s great when we can work together to help a community in need. Let’s get this done and show the children of this community that the people of Canada are with them. Miigwetch.
Is there an action a concerned citizen can take? A letter to an editor of a daily paper, for instance? Or a call to one’s MP? Or some kind of action designed to shame the cons into actually following through?
Hi Jenny:
Yes, if you hadn’t seen or read it yet, I provide the link to a petition at my newest blogpost
Darcey Jerrom over at Dust My Broom has blogged it as well.
@Dr.Dawg – I give him credit for it, though I dont give credit to his commentators, who appear to be SDA-like in their sympathy or lack thereof over their situation.
thanks for bringing this awareness….these children rock. maybe they can get the mills and forestry people around there to donate logs and build a school that’s actually suited to the weather conditions and has non-chemical man-made poisonous materials.
will post this on my site.
[...] Filed under: Political Humour — harpervalley @ 6:10 pm scott tribe’s post on the fantasic children in a canadian indigenous community with no school who are working hard to [...]
@scout vagabond – Hey, that’s a really good idea, Scout. What about strawbale? It’s an excellent insulator, and very healthy for living, not to mention uses a waste material.
This situation has been going on for years and years. Where’s the money that was designated for this 10 years ago?
My dear friends, I know personally that this place was a disaster in 1997/8. People were getting sick then from working there, where has all that funding gone to?
Unless you make it a dry reserve this community will never thrive.
Sorry reality hurts someones feelings, please check with the ones in charge of where the money goes k?
[...] Scott’s DiaTribes:: Attawapiskat: the human faces to Conservative indifference Scott Tribe’s post on the fantastic children in a Canadian indigenous community with no school who are working hard to get one…. This is a MUST READ!! What the Conservative government is doing to these children is abominable! Fellow bloggers, I urge you to put a link to this post on your site and raise awareness about the plight of these amazing children who are working so tirelessly to have the school they were promised by both the Liberal and Conservative governments – but those promises were broken, like so many are where First Nations people are concerned. http://scottdiatribe.gluemeat.com/2008/08/06/attawapiskat-the-human-faces-to-conservative-indifferen... [...]