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National Indigenous News April 30 · National Indigenous Newscasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: This is a look at your national Indigenous news.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Daryl Stranger.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: A new report by Amnesty International warns that overcrowded and unsafe housing in an Atikomic community north of Montreal is reflecting a broader crisis putting Indigenous peoples' health, safety, and rights at risk across Canada.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: In Manawan, about 250 kilometers north of Montreal, community leaders say families are regularly reaching out for emergency housing support as homes become increasingly overcrowded and conditions deteriorate.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: The report is based on a two-year investigation into housing conditions in the remote community.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: It found severe overcrowding, aging infrastructure, and long delays in building new homes, pressures local leaders say have pushed the system beyond its limits.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: According to Amnesty International, the housing shortage goes far beyond the lack of physical structures with widespread consequences for fundamental human rights.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Many families are forced to live in unsafe and overcrowded homes, often plagued by mold and poor conditions that contribute to illness and stress.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Although the report focuses on Manawan, it also says similar conditions exist in many of the country's more than 600 indigenous communities.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Data cited by the Assembly of First Nations, Quebec Labrador, suggests that$139 billion is needed to address housing needs in Indigenous communities across Canada, including roughly$8 billion in Quebec alone.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: As a state of emergency remains in place in Long Lake No.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: 58 First Nation over the toxic drug crisis, the Northwestern Ontario community is creating new safety and wellness roles to help protect vulnerable members.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: The Ojibwe community of 550 people, located roughly 40 kilometers east of Geraldon, declared the emergency on January 30th after the death of a young woman from neighboring Genoogaming First Nation.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Chief John O'Nabagon says the crisis has deepened since then, with another young woman dying of an overdose in April, and that existing supports are unable to meet the needs of the community.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Long Lake No.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: 58 is located within the Thunder Bay District, which continues to have the highest opioid-related death rate in Ontario, more than five times the provincial rate, according to the Office of the Chief Coroner.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: The emergency declaration says the community is frustrated by the ongoing presence of drug traffickers who are supplying to vulnerable members.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: The First Nation has earmarked$150,000 to hire two new staff.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: One person who will work closely with community leadership and police to prevent drug traffickers and people harboring trespassers, those who are not from the community, in their homes, and another dedicated to developing a mental health strategy and community well-being plan.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: The community is currently crafting a strategic plan to guide those efforts.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Plans are underway to form a new governing body to manage an indigenous high school in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Sakeway High School has been open for almost 25 years.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Around 250 students are currently enrolled there, roughly 60% from the urban area and 40% bust in from surrounding First Nations.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's estimated 90 to 95% of the students are First Nations or Metis.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: On March 30th, the Living Sky School Division and Light of Christ Catholic Schools, the public and Catholic school divisions for the area announced that they were withdrawing from a partnership agreement to manage Sakhaweu as of June 2027.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Work is currently underway to create a new board to oversee the school.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: A meeting has been requested with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education to work out a mechanism for funding for provincial students to flow through to the new Sakeweo Governance Board.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Currently, funding flows through the public and Catholic school divisions.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Funding agreements with individual First Nations or the federal government would also need to be signed so that students living on reserve could attend Sekeweo.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's a look at your national Indigenous News.