FORT WILLIAM FIRST NATION – Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Fort William First Nation and the City of Thunder Bay have signed a historic agreement to address the crisis after an escalation violence and racism against Aboriginal people in the city.
It absolutely had to happen, said FWFN Chief Peter Collins, a signatory to the deal, which follows in the shadow of yet another tragic Thunder Bay spring that saw the death of two more Aboriginal teens, both found dead in May in the Neebing-McIntyre floodway.
Almost immediately Thunder Bay Police, who are now under investigation of claims of systemic racism within the department, were accused of not conducting a thorough enough investigation into the deaths of 17-year-old Tammy Keeash and 14-year-old Josiah Begg.
The agreement comes a year after 145 recommendations were unveiled following a lengthy inquiry into the deaths of seven Aboriginal youth who died in Thunder Bay between 2000 and 2011.
“The significance of this document is the opportunity to work together and change the landscape in Thunder Bay with our partners from the north and the City of Thunder Bay. We have to work together to bring safety and awareness in our communities to change the landscape and that’s where we’re going with this document,” Collins said.
“Hopefully it helps and it’s a positive step in the right direction.”
Collins is confident it will help, adding only working as one can solutions that work be found.
“It outlines for us to work together and try to bring safety and awareness to the young people who migrate, not only from the North and the Robinson-Superior region, and our community, into the City of Thunder Bay,” he said.
“What we want to do is hopefully guide them in the right direction and give them that chance and opportunity to get their education so they don’t get lost in any other system.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said the commitment by all parties was the right way to go.
Fiddler, who earlier this year asked the city to declare a state of emergency, oversees a territory that includes 49 communities, and it’s his people who are most often the victims of violence in Thunder Bay, many paying the ultimate price with their lives.
“I’m very happy that all the parties agreed to sign this and I think it’s a significant step forward toward addressing the needs and the concerns that have been expressed by our students and our families for the last few months,” Fiddler said.
“First of all, just to send a signal, not just to our communities, but to everyone that all of us are committed to working together on this very important issue and there are some short-term things that we can definitely work on.”
Acting Mayor Joe Virdiramo said the agreement had to happen sooner, rather than later.
“We know there are issues in the city of Thunder Bay, whether it’s racism and violence, which are no different than other communities. However, we admit there are these issues here and we’re going to work together co-operatively with our partners to try to resolve some of these issues,” Virdiramo said.
“We were trying to put things in place to try to create more safety for students coming to Thunder Bay … and we’re going to work on other issues together.”
