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EQUITY & HUMAN RIGHTS ATTAWAPISKAT FIRST NATION DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY The Northern Ontario First Nation of Attawapiskat has declared a state of emergency amidst a suicide epidemic that has seen over 100 suicide attempts in the community since last September. Eleven suicide attempts were made on a single Saturday night and on the following Monday, 13 youths, including a 9-year-old child, were detained by police in an effort to thwart an ongoing suicide pact. As the country grappled with the crisis, Idle No More and Black Lives Matter protesters staged sit-ins at Indigenous and Northern Affairs offices in Toronto and Winnipeg to demand immediate and long-term government action to address the th Oti Fit Nti f Att crisis. The OFL supports these demands and, at a recent meeting of the OFL Aboriginal Circle, declared its solidarity with the people of Attawapiskat and other First Nations communities. In response to the direct appeal from the Attawapiskat Chief Bruce Shisheesh and eight councillors, Ontario’s Health Minister Eric Hoskins has pledged $2 million in mental health support and Health Canada also sent 18 health workers, mental health workers and police to the community. However, these temporary solutions will do little to address the systemic problems at the root of a crisis that is generations in the making. ii Th OFL t th dd d t Attikt h b ld f Attawapiskat has been plagued for years by annual spring flooding, contaminated drinking water and a condemned schoolhouse built on the site of a massive diesel spill. There can be little doubt that today’s mental health crisis that is gripping the community of Attawapiskat and so many other Indigenous communities is part of the lingering legacy of Canada’s colonial history. The OFL calls on affiliates and allies to help amplify the pressure on all levels of government to take immediate and sustained action to end the grinding poverty and desperation that haunts communities like Attawapiskat. ANNUAL STRAWBERRY CEREMONY REMEMBERS STOLEN SISTERS While February is not a time when strawberries are in season, Indigenous and community activists have long recognized that the violence facing Canada’s Indigenous women on a daily basis is also a disruption in their traditional ways of life. On February 14, Strawberry Ceremonies were held in communities across Canada to honour women, girls, trans and two-spirit people who have died violent and premature deaths. ar and p powerful service led b reasurer P dir er Patty Coates and Human Rights & Women’s Director Carrol Anne werful vigil for Canada’s “stolen sisters.” Photo: Joel Duff tar 16 er Patty C ed powerful vigil SPRING 2016 • VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2 PHOTO: CBC NEWS