Local leaders hope new educational panels will help educate people about First Nations communities, dispel myths and start conversations.
Timmins and District Hospital and Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) partnered for Community-Building Campaign Panels that were unveiled Monday (May 15) at the hospital. The project aims to address racism experienced by students who leave their remote First Nation communities to further their education.
The panels feature information about residential schools, the different treaty areas and aim to dispel myths around topics such as taxes or people getting free post-secondary education. A number of them also feature the main points from Bob Joseph's 21 Things You May Not Know about the Indian Act.
It all stems from the 2016 Seven Youth Inquest that looked into the deaths of Jethro Anderson, Curran Stran, Paul Panacheese, Robyn Harper, Reggie Bush, Kyle Morriseau and Jordan Wabasse. All seven died between 2000 and 2011 while attending high school in Thunder Bay. After an eight-month hearing, a jury delivered 145 recommendations to improve accountability, safety and education outcomes for NAN students.
The local project came together when NAN reached out to TADH about the services being offered to Indigenous youth admitted to the hospital.
After hearing about the seven youth in Thunder Bay and the educational materials being used in other areas, TADH's Natalie Carle said the hospital knew it needed to do something.
The panels will be on display in the hospital promenade and will also be shared with the community.
"The intent is really to try and get them out there, spread the word because there is a lot of valuable information in there and some myth busters as well that I think is important for our community and people beyond our community to see,” said Carle.
In NAN territory, which covers Treaty 9 and the Ontario portion of Treaty 5, there are 49 First Nation communities. Of those, Deputy Grand Chief Bobby Narcisse says 35 are fly-in communities with various degrees of remoteness.
Many, he explained, have education systems that stop at a particular grade.
"So once that is completed, many of our students have to leave their communities and some of them at a very young age, sometimes they’re 12, 13 years old and they have to go to hubs like (Sioux Lookout) or Thunder Bay and even Timmins as well to pursue their educational goals and aspirations," he said.
The Seven Youth Inquest had hard lessons to learn and Narcisse said NAN wanted to share that experience and be more proactive and work with all levels of government to have social supports available and start conversations.
"There’s various degrees of racism and discrimination that happens in many of our municipalities and various hubs across Ontario as well. A lot of the racism stems from a lack of knowledge or education or that willingness to have those conversations on treaty partners, on the First Nations experience and how municipalities and various levels of government are partners as well," he said.
"It’s that information that will also foster a lot of those discussions as well and dispel many of those myths that are there."
NAN wanted to work with the hospital because Timmins is a hub for First Nation communities in Mushkegowuk and Wabun territories, said Narcisse.
