'Children of the Broken Treaty' exposes Canada's shameful treatment of Indigenous people | rabble.ca

7.1.16

'Children of the Broken Treaty' exposes Canada's shameful treatment of Indigenous people | rabble.ca: In 1976, the J.R. Nakogee Primary School opened to great hope for change in the Treaty 9 territory. Families were excited about the primary school because it meant they could be involved in their children's development.

From the beginning, the J.R. Nakogee school was bare bones compared to other schools being constructed in the rest of Ontario. However, to the parents in Attawapiskat -- who had suffered through the notorious St. Anne's Residential School -- it was everything they could wish for because it meant that their children could stay in their community and not be taken away like they had been during the residential school era.

During the early 1980s students and teachers began to complain about headaches, nausea and other ailments. It was found that while digging to make an extension to the school that leaked fuel was discovered.

In 1984, the Department of Indian Affairs sent in a team to assess the situation. Band-aid solutions were made but 12 years later in 1996, the damage was done -- diesel fuel heavily saturated the grounds in which J.R. Nakogee School sat.