Information

Name: Attawapiskat (meaning)

Population: 1, 200

Tribe: Cree

Schools: J.R. Nagokee School (grades 1-8) and Father Vezina High School (grades 9-12)

Timeline

  1. *In 1979, there was a diesel leak underneath J.R. Nagokee School (houses grades 1-8). 30,000 gallons of diesel was spilled, making it the largest spill in Northern Ontario.

  2. *Over the years, the government did not investigate claims of toxicity in the school.  Children and teachers started getting sick- nausea, headaches and ---.

  3. *In 2000, the Attawapiskat Education Authority discovered the leak under the school and parents pulled their kids out of the school. The government provided portables. Minister Robert Nault agreed in 2000 to begin plans for a new school.

  4. *Three Indian Affairs Ministers- Robert Nault (Lib.), Andy Scott (Lib.) and Jim Prentice (Con.)- promised to build a new school.

  5. *In August of 2007, Minister Jim Prentice and the community approved the final draft of the plans for the new school. Construction was to begin Spring of 2008.

  6. *In December 2007, the new Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl cancelled the plans for a new school. He said there were other communities who took priority and that there were no health & safety concerns in Attawapiskat.

  7. *In March, Strahl told the Toronto Star that he “ just can't tell them right now when it is going to be built," (Toronto Star, March 10)

  8. *On May 29, the grade eight students of Attawapiskat cancelled their school trip to Niagra Falls in order to go to Ottawa. They met with Minister Strahl who again emphasized that there were no plans to build a school. The kids later led the Ottawa National Day of Action protest.

  9. *Teachers have noticed a considerable drop in attendance rates, with some reporting kids as young as ten not attending school on a regular basis. The diesel under the portables has caused the ground to shift- this has caused the windows to be jammed shut and created gaps under the doors, allowing cold air in. This is also affecting emergency doors, sealing them shut. In the winter, many kids wear their winter coats in class. They have to walk across the yard to use the gym or the computer lab, which cuts into class time.

  10. *See pictures of the portables and community here.