THUNDER BAY – The chief of Fort William First Nation says the raising of his community’s flag outside city hall is a significant symbol of the commitment to work together.
The Fort William First Nation flag was hoisted Monday morning at Thunder Bay city hall, following a vote by council last week.
That flag will fly permanently, alongside the flags of the city, Ontario and Canada.
Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins said having the flag fly is a sign of partnership and formalizes the link between the two communities.
“It really means a lot to our community because of the contribution we’ve made to the city of Thunder Bay,” he said.
“I think this gives us strength in changing the landscape in our communities. Whenever we grow in our community, the city of Thunder Bay grows with us.”
Collins pointed out the working relationship between his community and Thunder Bay, as well as the former cities of Fort William and Port Arthur. He said in 1905, during a health crisis, Fort William First Nation provided water across the river.
The flag was raised by a trio of youth from the communities, Angela Collins and Jersey Bannon from Fort William and Jack Metcalfe from Thunder Bay.
“It’s good for them to be a part of it because they see the impact and how they look at it as a youth and they change the landscape with the way they think and how they think as they grow older,” Collins said.
The decision to raise the flag was made last week with council unanimously backing the motion to have it become a mainstay outside city hall.
Collins said his community will discuss ways to reciprocate the gesture.
“I think we need to do something to show we are fully intending to be strong partners and have a strong partnership and relationship,” he said.
In 2011 Fort William and Thunder Bay agreed to a declaration of commitment to form a collaborative relationship.
Collins said while the flag raising is a good step, there are other issues such as homelessness, addiction and incarceration that must be addressed.
“This is the next step and we have many more steps left to take to get to where we want to be,” Collins said.
“If you look at the city of Thunder Bay and you look at Fort William we need to create economic development. But in saying that we must not forget about the social issues we have not only in Thunder Bay but Fort William.”
