Last week I read a Huffington Post headline:
“Attawapiskat And Fort McMurray Prove
Not All Crises Are Seen As Equal”. I thought,
‘Wow I want to write an article with that title’!
Of course, I could not just take the headline of
award-winning journalist Nick Fillmore, but
I will borrow some of his research and points
in order to build and develop a working class
case.
Attawapiskat & Fort McMurray: 2 Crises
Since the beginning of this year I have been
writing articles for Fire This Time Newspaper
with a strong focus on the challenges facing
Indigenous people in Canada today, including
my article in our last issue, “Have you heard
of Attawapiskat?”(FTT V10I5). Attawapiskat
is an Indigenous community of about 1,800
people in the James Bay region in Ontario,
Canada. The current crisis in Attawapiskat,
that has garnered national headlines, is an
epidemic of youth attempting to take their
own lives. In April 2016 the community of
Attawapiskat declared a state on emergency
after 11 people attempted to take their own
lives in one night, 28 people had also tried
in the month of March. However this is
not the first time this community has faced
major challenges. In fact, in the last 10 years,
this small community has had to declare 5
different states of emergency: the water crisis,
the sewage crisis, the housing crisis, the
flooding crisis, and now, most recently, the
youth suicide crisis. Unfortunately the native
youth suicide epidemic is also not limited
to Attawapiskat; in the last three months at
least 3 First Nations communities in Canada
have declared a ‘state of emergency’ due to
horrifyingly high numbers of suicides and
attempted suicides. In a CBC article from April
16, 2016 a fourth Indigenous community,
Neskantaga First Nation in northern Ontario,
reminded Canada that it has been under a
‘state of emergency’ for 3 years due to high
levels of suicide. The chief, Wayne Moonias,
refuses to stop sounding the alarm until the
root causes of the crisis are addressed.
While these states of
emergencies have been
declared, we heard
about another tragedy
happening in Canada.
In the first week of
May 2016, over 88,000
people were forced to
flee their homes in Fort
McMurray in Alberta,
Canada as forest fires had
engulfed much of their
community. According to
a 2015 Wood Buffalo municipal census (Fort
McMurray is part of the regional municipality
of Wood Buffalo) the region counts 125,032
inhabitants. It has been estimated that about 1
in 5 homes in Fort McMurray were destroyed
by the fires last month and many still have
not been able to return to their still-standing
homes due to the toxic ash covering the
area. Remarkably, no one died in the fires in
Fort McMurray, although two people were
unfortunately killed in a road accident while
evacuating the town.
Both McMurray and Attawapiskat represent
real tragedies for the people of Canada. Both
communities deserve our help, support and
solidarity in their time of need. However,
the response to these two tragedies has
been markedly different, especially by
governments. Also the causes of these two
crises are quite different: one is Mother
Nature and the other, I would argue, is the
longstanding racist policies of the government
of Canada.
Attawapiskat & Fort McMurray: 2
unequal government responses
In his aforementioned article in the
Huffington Post, Nick Fillmore explains his
perspective: “By the time Fort McMurray is
rebuilt, it’s likely that governments will have
spent $2 billion or more. Donations from
Canadians will reach into the millions. And
a representative of one of the big insurance
companies estimated they will be required
to pay as much as $9 billion to restore
homes and businesses. I have no quarrel
with anything that is being done to help the
people and community of Fort McMurray.
The destruction and emotional distress
suffered by residents is taking a heavy toll.
Like thousands of other folks, I have made
a financial contribution. What I do object
to is that, in comparison, the federal and
Ontario governments are doing practically
nothing and spending a pittance to alleviate
the suicide crisis in Attawapiskat, a poverty-
stricken, isolated community of 2,000 located
720 kilometres north of Sudbury.”
Before the fires were even put out in Fort
McMurray the Red Cross, private companies
and governments were already pitching in to
help those who had lost everything. People
across Canada saw the emergency on the
news and social media and were quickly
given websites and phone numbers to call to
make a donation towards the cause.
Headlines in mainstream media reported on
the incoming support:
• “Help floods in after massive blaze
engulfs Fort McMurray”
• “‘Most important cash transfer’
in Red Cross history: $600 per
adult, $300 per child. Province also
making pre-loaded debit cards with
$1,250 per adult and $500 per child
available today”
• “South African firefighters arrive
eager to help fight Fort McMurray
wildfire”
• “Red Cross to help pay for Fort
McMurray residents to return home.
Another $40 million has been set side to cover transportation and
resettlement costs for evacuees”
Headlines in mainstream media on
Attawapiskat in comparison:
• “A First Nations cry for help gets
little government attention: Star
investigation”
• “Federal government under fire
as Attawapiskat suicide crisis
continues”
• “Justin Trudeau to meet
Attawapiskat chief in wake of more
suicide attempts”
• “Canada poised to embrace UN
Indigenous rights declaration
even as it remains under fire for
Attawapiskat”
• “New mental health workers for
Attawapiskat"
That last headline is from May 12, 2016,
interestingly Health Canada could not actually
say when the new health workers would be
“on the ground” in Attawapiskat and do you
know how many mental health workers they
plan to send? According to the article, “two
additional mental health workers and a case
manager for youth in Attawapiskat.” So even
the good news, is minimal news.
Going back to Nick Fillmore’s article, he
explains, “In April, federal Minister of
Indigenous Affairs Carolyn Bennett made a
trip to Attawapiskat and promised funding for
a new youth centre and some programming
for young people. In addition, a youth
delegation from the region will be invited to
visit Ottawa. The Ontario government has
pledged $2 million over the next two years
for health support and a youth centre for the
community.” He continues, “Where is the
empathy in those kinds of promises? A lack
of money is not the problem. The federal
government is sitting on about $4 billion
to be used to improve lives, particularly
education facilities, on reserves. What is hard
to understand is why the
federal government isn’t
dipping into its stashed-
away billions to assist First
Nations communities such
as Attawapiskat.”
There was no national Red
Cross campaign, no new
money promised, just the
repetition that the new
Liberal budget is the best
budget in recent memory
for native people – $8.4
billion over 5 years. But
remember, as I mentioned
in previous articles, much
of this money comes in
to play the last 2-3 years,
not immediately. Besides 5
years from now there will
have already been another
election, so all of the
money promised after the
4 year mark is a magician’s
money trick that may or may not ever show up
for Aboriginal people in Canada.
At the same time, there were plenty of
shortcomings in Fort McMurray too. Other
countries offered to help fight the fires, such
as Russia, but were turned away by the
government of Canada. Also, the mandatory
evacuation notice was left very late and traffic
was disorganized, endangering the lives of
many as we have seen from the videos posted
online of people fleeing their community.
So I am not arguing that Fort McMurray has
had it easy or was perfectly handled by the
governments of Alberta and Canada. But I am
saying the support has been structured, well-
funded and tremendous.
Negligence, Ignorance and Hypocrisy for
Hundreds of Years
On May 6, the Canadian Press published an
articles stating, “Premier Rachel Notley says
cabinet has approved a payment of $1,250 per
adult and $500 per dependent at a cost to the
province of $100 million.” According to
a CBC article published on May 11, $67
million was donated to the Red Cross by
people across Canada to Fort McMurray,
as the headline mentioned above said, it
totals $600 per adult and $300 per child.
Additionally the CBC article explained,
“more than 700 Red Cross staff and trained
volunteers from across Canada are in
Alberta to help evacuees at shelters, with
registration, family reunification and to
help meet urgent, basic needs.” On May
23, 2016 the Red Cross announced it has
now received a total of $100 million in
donations.
Interestingly, Attawapiskat even donated
$5000 to the Red Cross for Fort McMurray.
The community held a fundraising
campaign, looking past
their own tragedies to try
to help others. This was
a heartwarming gesture
and teaches us about the
generosity of people living
in Attawapiskat.
This is also not to say
that people across Canada
have ignored the plight
of Attawapiskat, tones of
schools and community
groups have written letters
with positive messages
to youth in Attawapiskat.
Ottawa students are
sending essential library
items to the community,
Sudbury students and
school staff are hosting a
‘Walk for Attawapiskat’,
and a Toronto high school
is organizing a week-long
soccer camp in Attawapiskat
this summer, to mention a few examples.
However I keep coming back to the title of
Nick Fillmore’s article, “Attawapiskat And
Fort McMurray Prove Not All Crises Are Seen
As Equal.” Why did this title grab my heart?
Because while I do not agree with all of his
points, fundamentally the story is the same,
there is a racist double-standard in Canada,
especially when it comes to Indigenous
people. Of course, I see the government
of Canada as the main force creating and
implementing laws and policies that have
helped to justify this double-standard.
However, non-Indigenous people in Canada
also need to recognize their prejudices and
wilful blindness to the challenges facing
Indigenous communities in Canada today.
The government of Canada has finally signed
on to the United Nations Declaration on the
rights of Indigenous peoples – this document
makes a lot of promises to Indigenous people
around the world about respect, rights and
self-determination. It is up to Indigenous and
non-Indigenous people to stand together to
demand the government of Canada respect
the Indigenous people of this land and their
right to determine their own future, their right
of self-determination.
It is not time for people in Canada to dump
humanitarian aid on Attawapiskat, or to
heap a bunch of money onto Indigenous
communities. It is time for people in Canada
to listen, to really hear what Indigenous
communities are asking for and to ask them
what form our solidarity and support should
take. It is only when Indigenous people have
control over their own communities and
future that they will be able to overcome.
Follow Tamara Hansen on Twitter:
@THans01
Back to Article Listing
