JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
UPDATE-APRIL 13,2016-07:33AM
SO THERES ONLY 2,000 PEOPLE ON THIS INDIAN RESERVE.AND HUNDREDS HAVE TRYED TO COMMIT SUICIDE IN THE LAST 5 YEARS OR SO.WHATS GOING ON HERE.ARE THE INDIANS ON THIS RESERVE PULLING A ARAB TRICK LIKE THEY DO ON ISRAEL. CLAIM THEIR OPRESSED BY THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT-BUT ACTUALLY ITS AN ALCOHOL-DRUG ADDICTED LIFESTYLES WERE THE PARENTS LET THE KIDS DO WHATEVER THEY WANT. INSTEAD OF DISCIPLINING THESE KIDS. AND THEN THE KIDS DECIDE THEY WANNA KILL THEMSELVES FOR KICKS.OR FOR THEIR BELIEFS IN THE CREE INDIAN SPIRITUALITY. SO THESE KIDS CLAIM THEY GOT NOTHING ON THEIR RESERVE TO DO BUT GO ON THE INTERNET AND GET INFLUENCED BY PEOPLE WHO TELL THESE INDIANS TO KILL THEMSELVES.SO THE KIDS THEN MAKE SUICIDE PACTS SO THEY TRY TO KILL THEMSELVES. I MUST ASK-WERE ARE THE PARENTS.THEY OVIOUSLY DO NOT TALK TO THEIR KIDS. OR THEY WOULD KNOW THEIR GOING TO KILL THEMSELVES IN THESE PACTS. WITH ONLY 2,000 PEOPLE ON THIS RESERVE.HOW DO THE PARENTS NOT KNOW WHATS GOING ON WITH THEIR KIDS. BUT INSTEAD OF TALKING TO THEIR KIDS.THE PARENTS BLAME THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT FOR THE KIDS COMMITING SUICIDE. BECAUSE THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT CONTROLS EVERYTHING THEY DO ON THEIR RESERVE THEY CLAIM. BUT IF THAT WAS THE CASE.THEN THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT SHOULD BAN ALL ALCOHOL AND DRUGS AND PILLS THAT ALL THE PEOPLE ON THIS RESERVE ARE ADDICTED TO. BUT BLAME THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT FOR ALL THEIR TROUBLES.INSTEAD OF TAKING RESPONSIBILITIES THEMSELVES FOR THEIR KIDS AND LIVES. OVIOUSLY THE CREE BELIEF SYSTEM HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THEIR ACTIONS. I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY BELIEVE THOUGH.BUT I KNOW ITS NOT THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT THATS TELLING THESE KIDS AND OLD PEOPLE TO KILL THEMSELVES BY SUICIDE PACTS.I HEARD AT LEAST 25 PEOPLE HAVE TRYED TO KILL THEMSELVES IN APRIL 2016 ALONE. ALL I GOTTA SAY IS-THESE 2,000 CREE INDIANS IN ATTAWAPISKAT BETTER START TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS.AND THE PARENTS BETTER START DISCIPLINING THEIR KIDS AND GETTING MORE INVOLVED IN THEIR LIVES.AND LESS ALCOHOL AND DRUG PARTYING AND MORE RESPONSIBILITY ON TRYING TO MAKE THEIR CREE RESERVE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE.AND QUIT COUNTING ON THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT. AND GET OUTTA THE RESERVE AND GET JOBS KIDS.THEN USE HAVE MONEY AND CAN BUILD YOUR SPORTS FACILITIES AND STUFF USE WANT ON YOUR RESERVE.THERES SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON AT THIS RESERVE.BUT THERE JUST BLAMING EVERYTHING ON THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT INSTEAD.
WHAT THEY WANT ON ATTAWAPISKAT RESERVE
https://twitter.com/hashtag/attawapiskat
https://www.buzzfeed.com/emmaloop/young-people-in-attawapiskat-are-taking-action#.vvMW3yYRy
CREE INDIANS WHAT YOU WANNA KNOW ABOUT THEM
http://www.everyculture.com/knowledge/Cree.html
Cree, Western Woods - Religion and Expressive Culture
Religious Beliefs. Throughout history, Cree have always been reticent about sharing their beliefs with scoffing outsiders. Beliefs in a Great Spirit ( misi-manito ) or Evil Spirit ( macimanito-w ) may be of postcontact origin. The cannibal giant ( wi-htikow ) was greatly feared. The religion was animistic, and all living beings and some inanimate objects had spirits, or manitowak. Humans, through dreams and visions, were able to secure the help of powerful animal spirits in such activities as hunting, warfare, and love. Since all beings, including humans, had spirits, there was no concept of the supernatural.Religious Practitioners. All individuals had some power, but some men or women had more. There was no priesthood.Ceremonies. No ceremonies are recorded for the earliest periods, but in recent history tea dances of thanksgiving were held in spring and autumn. Feasts and dancing were held following successful hunts. Christian rituals are now common.Arts. There was a rich oral tradition that included both sacred and secular tales. Wisakecahk was the hero of the popular trickster or transformer tales. In the past, the face and body were tattooed and painted with elaborate designs. Women worked with quills and, later, beads.Medicine. Sickness and injury were considered the result of personal malevolent forces, for which treatment by a shaman was necessary. Treatment included herbal medicines and setting broken limbs, but the spiritual help invoked in the ritual of the shaking tent or the sweatbath was equally Important.Death and Afterlife. Fatal illness was greeted with equanimity, but the dying person required that his survivors avenge his death, for death was believed to be the result of witchcraft. Burial was in a grave or on a scaffold. A gun was fired in the tent to drive away the spirit.Read more: http://www.everyculture.com/North-America/Cree-Western-Woods-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.html#ixzz45hmAnG00
About Attawapiskat
CP — The Attawapiskat First Nation declared an emergency in October, 2011, because 25 families were living in housing too flimsy to face the harsh winter. The story made national headlines after a HuffPost Canada blog about the crisis by NDP MP Charlie Angus, whose rising includes Attawapiskat, went viral. In response, the Red Cross raised $300,000 from Canadian donors and flew in emergency supplies for families in the most precarious conditions. Federal and provincial emergency officials are refitting a local healing centre as a temporary shelter for the winter. And the federal government has purchased 22 new modular houses, with the hope that they'll be in place later this winter. At the same time, however, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has accused the band of mismanaging federal money and not producing adequate results for the $90 million transferred to the community over five years. He has ordered a full audit and placed administration of the band's finances in the hands of a third-party manager — a decision that angered band leaders and sparked a legal fight. - With a file from The Huffington Post.
Book Excerpt: Children of the Broken Treaty-ATTAWAPISKAT-The state of emergency was declared on Oct. 28, 2011, by Attawapiskat's new chief, Theresa Spence. I had known her through her work on council. She didn't strike me as a firebrand or overly political. She was worried that, as the arctic winter descended on the community, people in these makeshift quarters could die. Days turned into weeks, and the temperature kept dropping. Officials from the regional office of Aboriginal Affairs spoke with the community about advancing some money to repair some of the condemned houses, but there was no offer to help get the families out of the tents and shacks.Charlie Angus-Charlie Angus is the Member of Parliament for Timmins-James Bay.
Attawapiskat Suicide Crisis: Police Break Up Suicide Pact Between 13 Youths-CP | By The Canadian Press-Updated: 04/12/2016 5:23 pm EDT
ATTAWAPISKAT, Ont. — A suicide pact by 13 young aboriginal people, including a nine-year-old, has been thwarted on a remote First Nation in northern Ontario where local leaders say they're so overwhelmed by the suicide crisis that extra police officers have been called in from nearby communities.Anna Betty Achneepineskum of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation said the youths were overheard making a pact to kill themselves on Monday and police brought them to the local hospital in Attawapiskat for an evaluation.But the hospital was already treating other patients who had attempted suicide in recent days and couldn't see all of the new arrivals, Achneepineskum said, so about half of them temporarily waited in jail for treatment, the only other place where officials felt their safety could be secured."There are so many things that are needed here,'' she said in an interview. "So many things.''Achneepineskum said the entire community of about 2,000 in the James Bay region is so overburdened by the rash of suicide attempts that three of the reserve's four health-care workers were sent to Thunder Bay for counselling and rest as reinforcements came in to help.The emotional distress of the teens and the dearth of resources in place to help them is a direct result of more than a century's worth of fraught relations between First Nations communities and the federal government, one leader said.Ontario Regional Chief Isadore Day said the pervasive ills plaguing aboriginal Canadians can be traced back to the Indian Act of 1876, which is marking its 140th anniversary.Day said the act, which effectively transferred all decisions affecting First Nations to officials in Ottawa, set the stage for decades of turmoil, including residential schools, where young aboriginals endured horrific abuse.Those experiences are at the heart of issues that include addiction, poor health and unemployment, all of which tend to converge on Canadian reserves that include Attawapiskat, Day said. Officials responsible for collecting demographic data on Attawapiskat did not respond to requests for the information.Governments are still controlling the flow of money going to troubled First Nations, Day said, adding that until that happens, nothing can significantly change."There's a lot to be said about the link between control of resources . . . and the actual ability with those resources to have types of programs and services that are needed,'' he said.Financial resources are not as scarce for Attawapiskat as they are for other communities.In 2008, global diamond giant De Beers began production from its Victor Mine, 90 kilometres west of Attawapiskat. It provides employment and royalties to the community, including contributing to a trust fund which is now reportedly at $13 million.In addition, Michael Gravelle, Ontario's northern development and mines minister, said the community receives $2 million in revenue share from the Victor project.While Gravelle said reserves need to determine how that money is spent, Day countered that First Nations are still at the mercy of governments and other partnerships that allocate amounts well short of what's actually needed to address long-standing issues.Day pointed to a community plan for Attawapiskat in 2011 that earmarked $2.7 million for repairs of delapidated housing, but said the same plan also identified the cost of a complete overhaul as closer to $60 million.Mental health resources are in a similar state of crisis on the reserve."There is no youth mental health worker, there is no recreation co-ordinator." —Achneepineskum, Nishnawbe Aski Nation deputy grand chief-The Attawapiskat chief declared a state of emergency Saturday evening, citing the community's 11 suicide attempts so far in the month of April and 28 recorded attempts in March.Achneepineskum, a deputy grand chief with Nishnawbe Aski Nation, a political organization that represents 49 First Nations communities including Attawapiskat, had already made plans a month ago to come into the community to talk about the crisis when the latest wave of suicide attempts was reported."There is no youth mental health worker, there is no recreation co-ordinator. There's a few people that are taking it upon themselves to organize little activities for the young people, but we need more help,'' she said.Day said he senses a new spirit of co-operation among government officials along with heightened awareness in the Canadian public at large. Such sentiments will be key to making long-lasting changes, he added."It's going to be based on how fast the action will occur, how much the government will veer away from its old top-down approach and actually include us in discussions that will affect our lives.''In Attawapiskat itself, though, officials are focused on more short-term concerns.Achneepineskum said some of the young people who made the suicide pact have been released back to their parents, while others are being treated for a variety of mental health issues.A boy who was airlifted out on the weekend after trying to kill himself is set to return to Attawapiskat on Tuesday, she said."What happens to him?'' she asked. "We've heard of some where they come home and that night they're back at the hospital again because they attempted suicide.''___Follow ?liamdevlincasey on Twitter
Attawapiskat State Of Emergency Over Suicides 'Not Surprising At All,' Resident Says-CP | By Diana Mehta, The Canadian Press-Updated: 04/12/2016 4:49 pm EDT
Chelsea Jane Edwards was deeply saddened when she heard her remote northern Ontario First Nation of Attawapiskat had declared a state of emergency over a recent spate of suicides.But she wasn't surprised.Edwards, who's now studying policing in New Brunswick, knows first-hand how hard life can be in the James Bay community of about 2,000, particularly for young people."It's not surprising at all; it's devastating," the 20-year-old said of the news that has put Attawapiskat in the national spotlight this week."When you've been living your entire life in poverty it comes with many issues. They will range from mental health, to inadequate housing, to not having enough to eat because you have to share the food with everyone in the household ... I just feel like the action was long overdue."The federal health minister said Monday that five mental health workers have arrived in the community to address what she called "one of the most serious and pressing tragedies that our nation is facing."The state of emergency was declared by Attawapiskat's chief and council on Saturday evening after the community's 11th suicide attempt in the month of April and 28 suicide attempts in March."I was depressed every time I would go back. I had a hard time readjusting coming from off the reserve to back on the reserve."For Edwards, the community's plea for extra resources to deal with the situation was one she understood."The services provided are really inadequate and under-funded," she said. "I was depressed every time I would go back. I had a hard time readjusting coming from off the reserve to back on the reserve."Edwards' family moved to Attawapiskat, where her mother's side is from, when she was a baby. She left the reserve to go to high school but went back and forth between the reserve and cities in northern Ontario as she had trouble finding families who would board her.She still considers herself lucky because her family supported her through high school and she was also able to get involved with Shannen's Dream, a youth movement calling for better education for First Nations children.Her activism took her to Ottawa, Toronto and even Switzerland, where she led a delegation of aboriginal youth before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.After graduating high school, and despite the adjustment issues that resulted from going back and forth, she returned to Attawapiskat for an entire year before starting her post-secondary degree. She continues to call the community home."I was really exhausted. I needed to be around my family," she said of her decision to return. "I needed to be home."Attawapiskat is a place, however, that comes with its challenges, she said."I felt isolated, I couldn't really interact with other people, I just felt like I was in my own little bubble and it was hard to talk to other people about certain things."There was a time when Edwards had to sleep on a couch because there was no room for her to have her own bed, she once had to wait months to see a counsellor and even when she did, it was uncomfortable to open up because the person she was speaking to was part of the community where everyone knows everyone.The need for counselling and mental health support, particularly for the reserve's young people, is significant, Edwards said."Honestly, there's no social activity," she said. "For myself, I felt isolated, I couldn't really interact with other people, I just felt like I was in my own little bubble and it was hard to talk to other people about certain things."For all its problems, however, Edwards still plans to return to live in Attawapiskat in the future because she believes the community still has its merits."Attawapiskat is a very beautiful place. We have a lot of land and we're very rich in our language and culture," she said."I lived in Attawapiskat almost my entire life and the things I got to do, I want to bring back and show other youth they can do it too. I lived in the isolation and I've overcome the barriers. I feel like if they had other people who had overcome those challenges and they came back, they'd feel more hopeful."———Follow @dianamehta on Twitter.
SO THERES ONLY 2,000 PEOPLE ON THIS INDIAN RESERVE.AND HUNDREDS HAVE TRYED TO COMMIT SUICIDE IN THE LAST 5 YEARS OR SO.WHATS GOING ON HERE.ARE THE INDIANS ON THIS RESERVE PULLING A ARAB TRICK LIKE THEY DO ON ISRAEL. CLAIM THEIR OPRESSED BY THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT-BUT ACTUALLY ITS AN ALCOHOL-DRUG ADDICTED LIFESTYLES WERE THE PARENTS LET THE KIDS DO WHATEVER THEY WANT. INSTEAD OF DISCIPLINING THESE KIDS. AND THEN THE KIDS DECIDE THEY WANNA KILL THEMSELVES FOR KICKS.OR FOR THEIR BELIEFS IN THE CREE INDIAN SPIRITUALITY. SO THESE KIDS CLAIM THEY GOT NOTHING ON THEIR RESERVE TO DO BUT GO ON THE INTERNET AND GET INFLUENCED BY PEOPLE WHO TELL THESE INDIANS TO KILL THEMSELVES.SO THE KIDS THEN MAKE SUICIDE PACTS SO THEY TRY TO KILL THEMSELVES. I MUST ASK-WERE ARE THE PARENTS.THEY OVIOUSLY DO NOT TALK TO THEIR KIDS. OR THEY WOULD KNOW THEIR GOING TO KILL THEMSELVES IN THESE PACTS. WITH ONLY 2,000 PEOPLE ON THIS RESERVE.HOW DO THE PARENTS NOT KNOW WHATS GOING ON WITH THEIR KIDS. BUT INSTEAD OF TALKING TO THEIR KIDS.THE PARENTS BLAME THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT FOR THE KIDS COMMITING SUICIDE. BECAUSE THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT CONTROLS EVERYTHING THEY DO ON THEIR RESERVE THEY CLAIM. BUT IF THAT WAS THE CASE.THEN THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT SHOULD BAN ALL ALCOHOL AND DRUGS AND PILLS THAT ALL THE PEOPLE ON THIS RESERVE ARE ADDICTED TO. BUT BLAME THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT FOR ALL THEIR TROUBLES.INSTEAD OF TAKING RESPONSIBILITIES THEMSELVES FOR THEIR KIDS AND LIVES. OVIOUSLY THE CREE BELIEF SYSTEM HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THEIR ACTIONS. I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY BELIEVE THOUGH.BUT I KNOW ITS NOT THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT THATS TELLING THESE KIDS AND OLD PEOPLE TO KILL THEMSELVES BY SUICIDE PACTS.I HEARD AT LEAST 25 PEOPLE HAVE TRYED TO KILL THEMSELVES IN APRIL 2016 ALONE. ALL I GOTTA SAY IS-THESE 2,000 CREE INDIANS IN ATTAWAPISKAT BETTER START TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS.AND THE PARENTS BETTER START DISCIPLINING THEIR KIDS AND GETTING MORE INVOLVED IN THEIR LIVES.AND LESS ALCOHOL AND DRUG PARTYING AND MORE RESPONSIBILITY ON TRYING TO MAKE THEIR CREE RESERVE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE.AND QUIT COUNTING ON THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT. AND GET OUTTA THE RESERVE AND GET JOBS KIDS.THEN USE HAVE MONEY AND CAN BUILD YOUR SPORTS FACILITIES AND STUFF USE WANT ON YOUR RESERVE.THERES SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON AT THIS RESERVE.BUT THERE JUST BLAMING EVERYTHING ON THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT INSTEAD.
WHAT THEY WANT ON ATTAWAPISKAT RESERVE
https://twitter.com/hashtag/attawapiskat
https://www.buzzfeed.com/emmaloop/young-people-in-attawapiskat-are-taking-action#.vvMW3yYRy
CREE INDIANS WHAT YOU WANNA KNOW ABOUT THEM
http://www.everyculture.com/knowledge/Cree.html
Cree, Western Woods - Religion and Expressive Culture
Religious Beliefs. Throughout history, Cree have always been reticent about sharing their beliefs with scoffing outsiders. Beliefs in a Great Spirit ( misi-manito ) or Evil Spirit ( macimanito-w ) may be of postcontact origin. The cannibal giant ( wi-htikow ) was greatly feared. The religion was animistic, and all living beings and some inanimate objects had spirits, or manitowak. Humans, through dreams and visions, were able to secure the help of powerful animal spirits in such activities as hunting, warfare, and love. Since all beings, including humans, had spirits, there was no concept of the supernatural.Religious Practitioners. All individuals had some power, but some men or women had more. There was no priesthood.Ceremonies. No ceremonies are recorded for the earliest periods, but in recent history tea dances of thanksgiving were held in spring and autumn. Feasts and dancing were held following successful hunts. Christian rituals are now common.Arts. There was a rich oral tradition that included both sacred and secular tales. Wisakecahk was the hero of the popular trickster or transformer tales. In the past, the face and body were tattooed and painted with elaborate designs. Women worked with quills and, later, beads.Medicine. Sickness and injury were considered the result of personal malevolent forces, for which treatment by a shaman was necessary. Treatment included herbal medicines and setting broken limbs, but the spiritual help invoked in the ritual of the shaking tent or the sweatbath was equally Important.Death and Afterlife. Fatal illness was greeted with equanimity, but the dying person required that his survivors avenge his death, for death was believed to be the result of witchcraft. Burial was in a grave or on a scaffold. A gun was fired in the tent to drive away the spirit.Read more: http://www.everyculture.com/North-America/Cree-Western-Woods-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.html#ixzz45hmAnG00
About Attawapiskat
CP — The Attawapiskat First Nation declared an emergency in October, 2011, because 25 families were living in housing too flimsy to face the harsh winter. The story made national headlines after a HuffPost Canada blog about the crisis by NDP MP Charlie Angus, whose rising includes Attawapiskat, went viral. In response, the Red Cross raised $300,000 from Canadian donors and flew in emergency supplies for families in the most precarious conditions. Federal and provincial emergency officials are refitting a local healing centre as a temporary shelter for the winter. And the federal government has purchased 22 new modular houses, with the hope that they'll be in place later this winter. At the same time, however, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has accused the band of mismanaging federal money and not producing adequate results for the $90 million transferred to the community over five years. He has ordered a full audit and placed administration of the band's finances in the hands of a third-party manager — a decision that angered band leaders and sparked a legal fight. - With a file from The Huffington Post.
Book Excerpt: Children of the Broken Treaty-ATTAWAPISKAT-The state of emergency was declared on Oct. 28, 2011, by Attawapiskat's new chief, Theresa Spence. I had known her through her work on council. She didn't strike me as a firebrand or overly political. She was worried that, as the arctic winter descended on the community, people in these makeshift quarters could die. Days turned into weeks, and the temperature kept dropping. Officials from the regional office of Aboriginal Affairs spoke with the community about advancing some money to repair some of the condemned houses, but there was no offer to help get the families out of the tents and shacks.Charlie Angus-Charlie Angus is the Member of Parliament for Timmins-James Bay.
Attawapiskat Suicide Crisis: Police Break Up Suicide Pact Between 13 Youths-CP | By The Canadian Press-Updated: 04/12/2016 5:23 pm EDT
ATTAWAPISKAT, Ont. — A suicide pact by 13 young aboriginal people, including a nine-year-old, has been thwarted on a remote First Nation in northern Ontario where local leaders say they're so overwhelmed by the suicide crisis that extra police officers have been called in from nearby communities.Anna Betty Achneepineskum of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation said the youths were overheard making a pact to kill themselves on Monday and police brought them to the local hospital in Attawapiskat for an evaluation.But the hospital was already treating other patients who had attempted suicide in recent days and couldn't see all of the new arrivals, Achneepineskum said, so about half of them temporarily waited in jail for treatment, the only other place where officials felt their safety could be secured."There are so many things that are needed here,'' she said in an interview. "So many things.''Achneepineskum said the entire community of about 2,000 in the James Bay region is so overburdened by the rash of suicide attempts that three of the reserve's four health-care workers were sent to Thunder Bay for counselling and rest as reinforcements came in to help.The emotional distress of the teens and the dearth of resources in place to help them is a direct result of more than a century's worth of fraught relations between First Nations communities and the federal government, one leader said.Ontario Regional Chief Isadore Day said the pervasive ills plaguing aboriginal Canadians can be traced back to the Indian Act of 1876, which is marking its 140th anniversary.Day said the act, which effectively transferred all decisions affecting First Nations to officials in Ottawa, set the stage for decades of turmoil, including residential schools, where young aboriginals endured horrific abuse.Those experiences are at the heart of issues that include addiction, poor health and unemployment, all of which tend to converge on Canadian reserves that include Attawapiskat, Day said. Officials responsible for collecting demographic data on Attawapiskat did not respond to requests for the information.Governments are still controlling the flow of money going to troubled First Nations, Day said, adding that until that happens, nothing can significantly change."There's a lot to be said about the link between control of resources . . . and the actual ability with those resources to have types of programs and services that are needed,'' he said.Financial resources are not as scarce for Attawapiskat as they are for other communities.In 2008, global diamond giant De Beers began production from its Victor Mine, 90 kilometres west of Attawapiskat. It provides employment and royalties to the community, including contributing to a trust fund which is now reportedly at $13 million.In addition, Michael Gravelle, Ontario's northern development and mines minister, said the community receives $2 million in revenue share from the Victor project.While Gravelle said reserves need to determine how that money is spent, Day countered that First Nations are still at the mercy of governments and other partnerships that allocate amounts well short of what's actually needed to address long-standing issues.Day pointed to a community plan for Attawapiskat in 2011 that earmarked $2.7 million for repairs of delapidated housing, but said the same plan also identified the cost of a complete overhaul as closer to $60 million.Mental health resources are in a similar state of crisis on the reserve."There is no youth mental health worker, there is no recreation co-ordinator." —Achneepineskum, Nishnawbe Aski Nation deputy grand chief-The Attawapiskat chief declared a state of emergency Saturday evening, citing the community's 11 suicide attempts so far in the month of April and 28 recorded attempts in March.Achneepineskum, a deputy grand chief with Nishnawbe Aski Nation, a political organization that represents 49 First Nations communities including Attawapiskat, had already made plans a month ago to come into the community to talk about the crisis when the latest wave of suicide attempts was reported."There is no youth mental health worker, there is no recreation co-ordinator. There's a few people that are taking it upon themselves to organize little activities for the young people, but we need more help,'' she said.Day said he senses a new spirit of co-operation among government officials along with heightened awareness in the Canadian public at large. Such sentiments will be key to making long-lasting changes, he added."It's going to be based on how fast the action will occur, how much the government will veer away from its old top-down approach and actually include us in discussions that will affect our lives.''In Attawapiskat itself, though, officials are focused on more short-term concerns.Achneepineskum said some of the young people who made the suicide pact have been released back to their parents, while others are being treated for a variety of mental health issues.A boy who was airlifted out on the weekend after trying to kill himself is set to return to Attawapiskat on Tuesday, she said."What happens to him?'' she asked. "We've heard of some where they come home and that night they're back at the hospital again because they attempted suicide.''___Follow ?liamdevlincasey on Twitter
Attawapiskat State Of Emergency Over Suicides 'Not Surprising At All,' Resident Says-CP | By Diana Mehta, The Canadian Press-Updated: 04/12/2016 4:49 pm EDT
Chelsea Jane Edwards was deeply saddened when she heard her remote northern Ontario First Nation of Attawapiskat had declared a state of emergency over a recent spate of suicides.But she wasn't surprised.Edwards, who's now studying policing in New Brunswick, knows first-hand how hard life can be in the James Bay community of about 2,000, particularly for young people."It's not surprising at all; it's devastating," the 20-year-old said of the news that has put Attawapiskat in the national spotlight this week."When you've been living your entire life in poverty it comes with many issues. They will range from mental health, to inadequate housing, to not having enough to eat because you have to share the food with everyone in the household ... I just feel like the action was long overdue."The federal health minister said Monday that five mental health workers have arrived in the community to address what she called "one of the most serious and pressing tragedies that our nation is facing."The state of emergency was declared by Attawapiskat's chief and council on Saturday evening after the community's 11th suicide attempt in the month of April and 28 suicide attempts in March."I was depressed every time I would go back. I had a hard time readjusting coming from off the reserve to back on the reserve."For Edwards, the community's plea for extra resources to deal with the situation was one she understood."The services provided are really inadequate and under-funded," she said. "I was depressed every time I would go back. I had a hard time readjusting coming from off the reserve to back on the reserve."Edwards' family moved to Attawapiskat, where her mother's side is from, when she was a baby. She left the reserve to go to high school but went back and forth between the reserve and cities in northern Ontario as she had trouble finding families who would board her.She still considers herself lucky because her family supported her through high school and she was also able to get involved with Shannen's Dream, a youth movement calling for better education for First Nations children.Her activism took her to Ottawa, Toronto and even Switzerland, where she led a delegation of aboriginal youth before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.After graduating high school, and despite the adjustment issues that resulted from going back and forth, she returned to Attawapiskat for an entire year before starting her post-secondary degree. She continues to call the community home."I was really exhausted. I needed to be around my family," she said of her decision to return. "I needed to be home."Attawapiskat is a place, however, that comes with its challenges, she said."I felt isolated, I couldn't really interact with other people, I just felt like I was in my own little bubble and it was hard to talk to other people about certain things."There was a time when Edwards had to sleep on a couch because there was no room for her to have her own bed, she once had to wait months to see a counsellor and even when she did, it was uncomfortable to open up because the person she was speaking to was part of the community where everyone knows everyone.The need for counselling and mental health support, particularly for the reserve's young people, is significant, Edwards said."Honestly, there's no social activity," she said. "For myself, I felt isolated, I couldn't really interact with other people, I just felt like I was in my own little bubble and it was hard to talk to other people about certain things."For all its problems, however, Edwards still plans to return to live in Attawapiskat in the future because she believes the community still has its merits."Attawapiskat is a very beautiful place. We have a lot of land and we're very rich in our language and culture," she said."I lived in Attawapiskat almost my entire life and the things I got to do, I want to bring back and show other youth they can do it too. I lived in the isolation and I've overcome the barriers. I feel like if they had other people who had overcome those challenges and they came back, they'd feel more hopeful."———Follow @dianamehta on Twitter.
