Geographic and Historical Overview

Transcription

1 Geographic and Historical Overview The community of Attawapiskat is located 52 degrees north and 82 degrees west. It has a land area of 1.32 km and is located along the Attawapiskat River, 5 km inland from the James Bay coastline. It s an isolated community, which has Timmins as the nearest urban center located approximately 500 km south. It is situated approximately 160 km north of Moosonee. Catholic missionaries founded the village of Attawapiskat in 1893 when, due to the number of people hunting in the area, the missionaries decided to build a chapel on the shore of the Attawapiskat River. Since about 1850 the missionaries had visited the area. In 1901, the Hudson's Bay Company built a store in Attawapiskat. Originally, the people in the area around Attawapiskat lived in the bush along the river throughout most of the year. They only traveled to the mission or trading post for the purpose of participating in religious services, social events, to buy food, and other supplies. By 1930 the village became more of a permanent settlement. In the James Bay Treaty (Treaty #9) of 1905/1906 the Attawapiskat people were included as members of the Fort Albany First Nation. Fort Albany was at the time the north most settlement along James Bay and the treaty commission negotiated that they become Fort Albany First Nation members. It seemed that it was out of convenience for the commission to consider the people north of Fort Albany. The topography of the Attawapiskat area is generally flat and is surrounded by muskeg. The soil conditions are generally the same throughout the north. The fertile soil is approximately 0.8 meters deep, which is underlain with by a clay and silt. During the spring break up the water level of the river rises 1 or 2 meters, and on rare occasions the water may rise over the riverbanks flooding the community entirely or partially. The climate of the Hudson Bay Lowlands is of long cold winters and short warm summers. James Bay has the effect of retarding the warmer temperatures during spring and prolonging them during fall. Rainfall averages about 28 inches a year, most of which occurs during the summer. The highest accumulation of snow is during the month of March. Ice covers the river during winter thus providing an alternate means of transportation. Permanent ice may appear between late November and stays until the end of April or early May. The Hudson Bay Lowlands has been described as having a sub-arctic appearance because of the predominance of open cover of stunned black spruce and tamarack in the muskeg. The wildlife of the area consist mainly of geese, ducks, caribou, moose, beaver, bear, wolves, wolverine, marten, rabbit, muskrat, otter, and others. There are a total 217 houses and 266 households in Attawapiskat survey by Jackie Hokimaw-Witt

2 Form of Government The Attawapiskat First Nation governs the community of Attawapiskat. The First Nation consists of a chief, deputy chief and 10 Councillors. The First Nation provides services such as health, education, development, and recreation. They each have their own board of directors. The First Nation Administration office itself provides the community with social and technical services; water, sewer and sanitation services; housing, band membership, and day care. The Health Services Authority is responsible for the community s health care needs. It provides the community with a substance abuse and treatment center, a safe house, and a community health representative. The Education Authority is responsible for the educational needs of the community. Elementary, Secondary, and Post-secondary programs are all administered through the authority. The Development Corporation is responsible for community development. They take care of construction projects and anything relating to development. The Maytawaywin Authority is responsible for the community s recreational needs. They maintain, provide, and supervise recreational facilities and events. Overview of Local Economy The local economy is primarily based upon government services (First Nation) and small businesses. The Northern Store provides a banking machine (interact) that is able to deal with banks. Deposits are done through the mail, that is in order for deposits to be made they must be sent through the mail to the bank that they deal with. Like many other First Nations in the area, there is still some dependence on the land. Some families leave the community during the spring and fall to camp for a month or so. During these months the people hunt and trap various forms of wild life such as, geese, ducks, moose, caribou, beaver, rabbit, etc

3 Population 1 Population Total Male Femal e Total 1, Aboriginal 1, Age Age Age Age Age Age Age Age 75 and over Education Total Elementary 362 High School 110 Post Secondary 5 Language 98% of the population speak Cree and most also speak English. Labour Force The total Labour force (between the ages 15 and 65) is 650. During the summer, the total increases because students are off at this time. Skills available: Social services - director, bookkeeper, and secretary. Band administration - administrator, finance officers, bookkeeper, clerk officer, registry officer, secretary, housing director, maintenance workers, house keeper, heavy machine 1 Stats Canada

4 operators, mechanics, supervisors, chief, deputy chief, secretary, construction and Labour workers. Hospital - security guards, nurses (20), kitchen aids, maintenance workers, nursing aids, housekeepers, and x-ray technicians Attawapiskat Development Corporation - manager, bookkeeper, secretary, cable technicians, and trainees. M.T.O. - maintenance supervisor and maintenance worker. Northern Store - manager, supervisors, finance clerks, bookkeepers, cashiers, and stock workers. Education Authority - teacher aids (20), teacher s (5), director, administrator s (5), resource teachers, and maintenance workers. Maytaywaywin Authority manager, supervisor, maintenance worker, recreation workers, bingo managers, bingo callers, and a recreation director Health Services director, social workers (5), supervisor, and an assistant director. Anticipated skills needed or shortages: managers, directors, nurses, doctors, teachers, lawyers, translators / interpreters. The number of people on social assistance is 300. Employers (Postal code is the same for all) Attawapiskat First Nation 41 employees Address: P.O. Box 148 Attawapiskat, ON P0L 1A0 Phone #: Fax: James Bay General Hospital 40 employees Address: General delivery Phone #: Education Authority 104 employees Address: P.O. Box 15 Phone #: Northern Store 24 employees Address: C/O Northern Phone #: Health Services 14 employees, 6 volunteers Address: P.O. Box 248 Phone #:

5 Maytawaywin Authority 12 employees Address: P.O. Box 500 Phone #: ? Paytabun Nursery School 5 employees Address: P.O. Box 248 Phone #: Technical Services 10 employees Address: Phone #: Ontario Hydro 1 employee MTO (airport) 2 employees Phone #: Okimaw s Motel Phone #: Peter Okitiquo Logging Gerald Kioke s Store Nishnawbe-Aski Police Services 5 employees Address: Phone #: Thomas' Coffee & Donut Shop: Abel s: 2 employees Bell Canada 1 employee Canada Post 2 employees Phone #: Air Creebec 6 employees Phone #: Keeshig Airline 1 employee Phone #: Rita s Gas Bar 4 employees Phone #: M. Koostachin and Son 8 employees Address: P.O. Box 256 Phone #: Maurice Kataquapit 4 employees Address: General Delivery Phone #: Kimberly s 4 employees Phone #:

6 Payukotayno James Bay and Hudson's Bay Family Services 2 employees Address: General Delivery Phone #: H & R Block 1 employee Address: General Delivery Phone #: Future Projects or Employment Technical services and the First Nation will be looking to hire in the future depending if there is enough money available. Utilities / Communications Water & Sewage The community has a water and sewage system that is provided by the first nation. All households within the community have both water and sewage capabilities. Telephone There is telephone service that is provided by Bell Canada; 50% of the community is connected to the service. There is no cellular service in the community. The Internet can also be accessed through Onlink for $20 a month. 15% of the households have Internet capabilities. Postal Services Postal service is provided 5 days a week and mail is delivered everyday. Sanitation Garbage pick-ups are also available 3 times a week. Service is provided by the first nation. Electricity Ontario Hydro provides electricity to all households within the community. Television Television signals can be picked up via an antenna; CBC and TVO can be received. There is also a cable service that is provided by Attawapiskat

7 Development Corporation. Their services serve 90% of the households, and the remaining 10% own their own satellite systems. Radio There is a local radio station received at FM, and Wawatay radio can be received at 89.9 FM. Teen radio request line can be heard every night from 9 PM to 12 AM, 7nights a week. Transportation During the spring to fall months, Attawapiskat is only accessible by air. Air Creebec and Keeshig airlines both provide passenger and cargo service. Cargo is $1.60 / Lb. from Timmins to Attawapiskat and the opposite way also. Airfare on Air Creebec is $ return (seat sale) or $ return (regular), for a to or from Timmins flight. For Keeshig the fare is $ return (there are no seat sales with this airline) to Timmins. During the winter months people have access to other coastal communities by using snow and automobiles that can travel along a winter road. The road connects all communities from Attawapiskat to Moosonee, including Fort Albany and Kashechewan. Pasico Development Corporation based in Moosonee have a contract to maintain the road during the winter, but calls upon Attawapiskat Technical Services to maintain the road half-way to Kashechewan from Attawapiskat. Winter is the only time during the year that the community can have access to other communities. The community itself contains gravel surface roads that are maintained by the First Nation. Community Services Social Services Payukotayno Family Services is a satellite office for an organization that is situated in Moosonee. It provides family and prevention social programs for community members. A child service worker makes frequent trips to the community. The mandate is to provide quality social services; so children are not removed from the community, development and implementation of prevention programs for on reserve members. Churches A Roman Catholic Church and 2 Pentecostal Churches are present in the community

8 Medical and/or Treatment Centres In the hospital there are 14 full-time nurses and 13 part-time nursing aides. A doctor flies in once a week for 1½ days. An Optometrist comes in every 2 months for 2 days. There is also a psychiatrist that arrives every 2 months and an in community mental health worker. Expected mothers are flown to Moose Factory or Timmins. Emergency cases are flown to Moose Factory, Timmins, or Kingston depending on the severity of the case. The clinic is open every afternoon during working hours. There is also a treatment centre that serves only substance abuse. Employees are provided with accommodations. Recreational Facilities The community has a brand new sportsplex that was opened in August The sportsplex has an arena, community hall and a gymnasium. There is a field located behind the sportsplex to accommodate any outdoor sport, such as, Baseball, Football, Soccer, etc Community Centres There is a community hall that is part of the sportsplex. It is used for dances, social gatherings, bingo s, and other activities. A drop in centre is available for the youth. And a parish hall is also present which serves many purposes. Resource Centres The resource centre is equipped with 5 computers that have Internet access. It is open to the public and there are fees charged for its use. There is also a library in the community, but it is not open to the public it is only for student use. Police Services Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN) Police provide policing services with 5 constables. They work 18 hours a week from 10 AM to 4 AM. And also, because the First Nation has implemented prohibition for the community, the First Nation employ s Peacekeepers who conduct luggage and vehicle searches at the airport and winter road. The peacekeepers also perform community patrols. Fire Protection The First Nation provides fire protection. There is a Fire Chief and 10 volunteers

9 Legal Services Lawyers are called up from southern communities such as Timmins, Cochrane, Hearst, and Kapuskasing. Occasionally the parish hall will have hearings with a presiding judge. There are also 2 elders present in the court who occasionally suggest traditional native laws. Payukotayno provides Probation Officers for young offenders and there is a local Probation Officer who handles adult offenders. Schools Within the community there is an elementary school and a highschool that was opened in The Education Authority administers the schools. Before the highschool was opened students were required to attend school in a southern community, such as, Timmins, North Bay, or Ottawa. Adult education and night school may be attended at the highschool. The Education Authority tries to offer college courses depending on demand. If it isn t available to those who want a post-secondary education they must seek it elsewhere