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“A First Nations NDP MP has written a biting, satirical letter to Justin Trudeau to “thank” him for controversial remarks he made about Indigenous youth, while taking aim at the prime minister’s suggestion that some chiefs are out of touch with the needs of young people living on reserve.
Trudeau had suggested that most of the Indigenous youth he talked to wanted “a place to store their canoes and paddles so they can connect back out on the land.”
Romeo Saganash, who represents the northern Quebec riding of Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou, and serves as his party’s Indigenous affairs critic, told Trudeau he had no idea there was such a problem until he watched the prime minister’s town hall appearance in Saskatoon. (Trudeau repeated the canoes and paddle comments, nearly verbatim, the next day in Winnipeg.)”
– CBC News, Trudeau’s ‘canoes and paddles’ remark called borderline racist by First Nations MP.
“Ooshag spoke passionately, without notes for about five minutes, after first asking chiefs for a moment of silence for the families who have lost loved ones to suicide and then telling them to put down their smart phones and listen.
Young people who attempt suicide are sent out of their First Nation for a few days and then return to the community that has few resources to help them, said Ooshag, who works as a mental health counsellor in Eabametoong.
“We need more resources, or even just a safe place to go,” she said, telling leaders they need to talk to youth, not just about them.
That safe place to go is a youth centre, not a canoe shed, Ooshag said, in reference to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s comment that First Nations youth are interested “in a place to store their canoes and paddles.””
– CBC News, Counselling, not canoe sheds needed for First Nations youth, mental health worker says.
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Download the 18″x24″ poster (.pdf), Indian Country 52 #4 – Canoe Sheds for Youth Centres.
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Indian Country 52
Indian Country 52 is a weekly project by David Bernie that uses the medium of posters that promote issues and stories in Indian Country.
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This work by David Bernie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may download, share, and post the images under the condition that the works are attributed to the artist.
