ATTAWAPISKAT, ONTARIO

'Attawapiskat First Nation' is an isolated community located in Northern Ontario, Canada, at the mouth of the Attawapiskat River which drains into James Bay. According to Indian and Northern Affairs Canada statistics, there were 2,800 registered members of the Attawapiskat First Nation. In 2001 the on reserve population of Attawapiskat was approximately 1300.

Contents

Historical

Political

Transportation

Social Services

Education

Media

Radio

Television

Cost Of Living

External links

Historical

Attawapiskat is home to the Mushkego or Omushkego James Bay Cree. The location of the town has always been a gathering place for local Native people for centuries. Originally it was a seasonal camp that was visited in the spring and summer to take advantage of the prime fishing on one of the main drainage rivers of James Bay. Historically, in the wintertime, families left the location to live in other trapping, hunting and gathering sites along the coast, inland or on Akamiski Island. Attawapiskat has grown from a settlement of temporary dwellings, such as tents and teepees, in the 1950s to a community with permanent buildings, which were constructed in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Political

Attawapiskat was officially recognized by the government of Canada under the Treaty #9 document. Although the original document was signed in the years 1905 and 1906, it only included the communities south of the Albany River in northern Ontario. Attawapiskat was included when adhesions were made to the treaty to include the communities north of the Albany River. Attawapiskat was numbered as Indian Reserve 91 as part of Treaty #9. The treaty set aside reserve lands on the Ekwan River, a parallel river north of the Attawapiskat River that drains into James Bay. In time, it was decided by local leaders to instead establish the community in its present location on the Attawapiskat River, due to an existing trading post and better access to James Bay shipping routes. The new reserve was then numbered Indian Reserve 91A.
Local leadership is an elected government of a chief, a deputy chief and twelve councillors who serve three years terms. The current chief (2004-2007) is Mike Carpenter (former Mushkegowuk Deputy Grand Chief) and the deputy chief is Miriam Wesley.
Attawapiskat First Nation is part of the regional Mushkegowuck Council, an Aboriginal political group representing the James Bay Mushkego or Omushkego Cree. The community and the Council are together represented under the Political Territorial Organization, Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN), which represents 50 First Nations in Northern Ontario. NAN is the representative political body for the First Nations that are part of Treaty #9.

Transportation

Travel to Attawapiskat is limited to flight year-round using a gravel runway that was constructed in the 1970s. During the winter months a "Winter Road" is constructed that connects the community to other coastal towns on the James Bay coast. Winter roads are temporary routes of transportation that are constructed mostly in January, February, March and even April throughout remote parts of Northern Ontario. The seasonal James Bay winter road connects the communities of Attawapiskat, Kashechewan, Fort Albany, Moosonee and Moose Factory. From Moosonee the Ontario Northland Railway runs south to Cochrane. In 2004, two teenage adventurers attempted to reach Attawapiskat overland from Pickle Lake, Ontario, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. That expedition was recounted in the book, "Sense of Adventure: An Account of a Journey in the Canadian Wilderness." Historically, journeys of this type were made by the Cree people in canoes in order to trade at present-day Attawapiksat with the Hudson's Bay Company.

Social Services

Attawapiskat is policed by the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service, an Aboriginal based service that replaced the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). This change took place in the early 1990s in most remote northern communities in Ontario.
Basic health services are provided by the Attawapiskat Wing of James Bay General Hospital which provides sixteen beds for pediatric, medical/surgical and chronic care. Health services are provided by a nursing staff. However, like other remote communities on the James Bay coast, there is no doctor in the community. A physician from Weeneebayko General Hospital in Moose Factory visits Attawapiskat, as well as other communities along the coast on a regular basis during each month. Patients with serious injuries, or those requiring surgery must be transported to a larger centre for treatment. These emergency patients are transported by air ambulance airplane or helicopter to medical centres in Moose Factory, Timmins, Sudbury or Kingston, depending on their situation.

Education

Primary school students attend J.R. Nakogee School which was constructed in the 1970s. J.R. Nakogee School was closed on May 11, 2000 due to a diesel leak in the area and the students and staff have since been in portables. Secondary school students attend Vezina Secondary School which was established in the early 1990s with additions built in following years. The secondary school was founded by John B. Nakogee and it was named after Father Rodigue Vezina, a local catholic priest that has served the community since 1975.

Media

Radio

★ FM 89.9 - CKMT, First Nations community

★ FM 101.5 - CBCA, CBC Radio One

★ FM 107.1 - CJBA, First Nations community

Television

★ Channel 10: CICA-TV-90 - TVOntario

★ Channel 12: CBLET - CBC Television

★ Channel 16: CJOL-TV-33 - Ontario Parliament Network

Cost Of Living

The cost of living in Attawapiskat is quite high, due to the expense of shipping goods to the community.

External links

★ Link to Keewaytinook Okimakanak website (KNET) - community profile

★ James Bay General Hospital

★ Weeneebayko Health Ahtuskaywin regional health authority