Kashechewan First Nation
Kashechewan is prone to flooding during the annual spring break up of ice on the river, and has built dykes to mitigate the damage caused, but these have been repeatedly found to be insufficient.
They and other Algonquian peoples organized themselves in loose patrilineal bands based around the extended family, which gathered into larger groups during the winter.
The Northern Waterworks Inc. field manager fixed the chlorine injector and ordered a different coagulating agent, polyaluminum chloride, from Fort Albany and Attawapiskat, and it arrived later on October 15.
By October 17, the field manager had been able to conduct an E. coli test, and found the water to be free of harmful bacteria, and the chlorine levels were "below Ontario's standard recommended maximum.
On October 22, at the request of Kashechewan's health director, Edward Sutherland, a team from Moosonee's Weeneebayko General Hospital, led by Dr. Murray Trusler arrived in town.
Meanwhile, following a meeting with Dr. Trusler on October 25, the Government of Ontario led by Premier Dalton McGuinty announced that it would evacuate all people of Kashechewan requiring medical attention.
[20] The federal government announced a plan to create a "First Nations Health Organization" to coordinate the inconsistent and uneven medical services offered to indigenous communities.
[1]:154 On November 5, the federal government published a report that stated, "recent test results of water samples show no E. coli, no total coliform bacteria and maximum chlorine levels that fall within provincial standards.
[25][5][1]:142-3 In March 2007, a further survey of community members found that the majority rejected INAC's proposed move to the outskirts of Timmins, preferring to relocate within their traditional hunting grounds 30 kilometres up the river.
[31] Against the backdrop of the 2019 Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick floods, community members from Kashechewan held a rally in April 2019 on Parliament Hill to demand a relocation.
[33] An acute outbreak of COVID-19 in June 2021, which led to around 300 infections in a few weeks, reignited calls to relocate the community quickly, in order to alleviate the dangers of overcrowding.
[1]:111-112 A ring dyke built along the north shore of the Albany River in 1997 provides limited flood control, though two reviews of the construction in 1997 and 2001 found deficiencies and advised remedial work, which was not done.
[5] Alexandra Shimo's 2016 book Invisible North: The Search for Answers on a Troubled Reserve about her time living in Kashechewan in 2010 provides a population estimate of 1,800.
In terms of purchasing power parity, Shimo compared the relative income in Kashechewan to South Sudan, Haiti, and Afghanistan, which she calls "economies that have been ravaged by conflict and war."
[5] Under the Stephen Harper government, the band council was placed under third-party management, allowing an outside company, Crupi Consulting Group to completely control the Nation's finances from 2007 to 2014.
However, when the INAC representative arrived, rather than take a reading of the wind by the shore, he measured the Beaufort scale next to the band office, in the centre of town.
After receiving no response and submitting the proposal a second time, the Ministry responded that they would have to test any salt produced by this project, and that INAC lacked the resources to do so.
[1]:52-3 In 1990, as part of an effort to create sustainable food options for the community, the band council issued a $17,000 proposal to the Ministry of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to raise fifty chickens in a wooden barn.
He noted that some community members were hopeful regarding the development of the De Beers Victor Diamond Mine near Attawapiskat and the potential for hydroelectric generation in the lower Albany River.
Some of these are described in Alexandra Shimo's book:[1]:86 the Walking Out ceremony, where kids who had recently learned to take their first steps "walked out" of their tent through a flap facing the rising sun, dragging a small dead animal behind them, circled a tree, then returned to the tent to give the food back to the elders, symbolizing both their growing independence and the circle of life.
Another such ceremony to instill bimboleytosowin [self-reliance] was Vision Quest, where children aged around eight had to spend one night alone in the bush, while an elder slept a stone's throw away in case they got into trouble.
At the provincial level, the community, tribal council and political territorial organization participate in a province-wide coordinating body, the Chiefs of Ontario.
[5] A 2009 inquest into the disaster concluded that major issues that contributed to it were the lack of an adequate fire department in the community, the disrepair of the jail facilities, and low morale of the staff.
[64][1]:24 In 2006, Pope identified significant problems with vandalism, reckless driving, and "out-of-control conduct" in Kashechewan, noting the apparent absence of any attempt by the band council to intervene to provide law and order, though he expressed hope that then recently-elected Chief Jonathon Solomon could improve things.
[70][71] Earlier, Alan Pope's 2006 report on the community found that the under-resourced nursing staff could only provide acute and emergency care, with the situation "deteriorating and unacceptable.
"[5] The Mushkegowuk Council declared a state of emergency in response to the August 2022 nursing shortages in Kashechewan and other communities, which was lifted in October.
[76] Doctors flown into the community by Health Canada found 26 people, mostly children, with skin conditions; the patients were diagnosed variously with scabies, mild impetigo and, most commonly, eczema.
[5] Alexandra Shimo's book Invisible North: The Search for Answers on a Troubled Reserve claimed that, as of 2010, there were 274 "one- to three-bed bungalows" in the community of 1,800, which led to people sleeping "in garden sheds, on floors, or anywhere there's a spare nook.
[81][82] There is a dump, which as of Alan Pope's 2006 report, was not properly maintained and was situated next to the floodplain of the Albany River, posing a threat of contamination to the water supply.
[88] Alan Pope's 2006 report on Kashechewan noted that attendance had dropped, computer equipment was antiquated, math and science was not offered due to inadequate class sizes, and the quality of education did not meet provincial standards.
