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As It Happens

Attawapiskat woman says she still has hope for her community

Since the Cree First Nation of Attawapiskat declared a state of emergency after a series of suicide attempts, people have called the community a lot of things. But Chelsea Jane Edwards calls it home. We spoke with Ms. Edwards when she and friends succeeded in getting a new school built there. And tonight, we speak with her again.
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Chelsea Jane Edwards was deeply saddened when she heard her remote northern Ontario First Nation of Attawapiskat had declared a state of emergency over a recent spate of suicides. But she wasn't surprised. (Keith Minchin/The Canadian Press)
As It Happens18:42Attawapiskat woman says she still has hope for her community

Chelsea Jane Edwards says she understands why young people are struggling with poverty and despair in the Attawapiskat First Nation. She grew up in Attawapiskat and when she returns there in June she hopes to bring hope and inspiration to the young people in her struggling community.

"I feel that they don't think that they're cared about or cared for, and a lot of times a lot of these youth don't know who to turn to or they have nowhere to go," says Edwards. "So I think, in my opinion, that this is a cry for help for them."

The Chief and council in Attawapiskat declared a state of emergency April 9, after 11 people attempted suicide in the community in one day. But amid the anguish, Edwards tells As it Happens host Carol Off  that she still finds hope.

Edwards says simple things can make life better for the young people in Attawapiskat.

"YMCA, a swimming pool, every community should have a place where children can just be children and play with one another."

[The suicides] are a voice for the youth.- Chelsea Jane Edwards, student from Attawapiskat

Edwards says many adults in Attawapiskat attended St. Anne's Residential School in nearby Fort Albany, and the effect of the residential schools is still being felt through the generations.

Teen boys throw rocks in the northern Ontario reserve of Attawapiskat, Ont., on Monday, April 16, 2016. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

"You see youth who are not being loved because their parents weren't shown affection and love by their own parents."

Like many youth from remote First Nations, Edwards left home to attend high school in the city. She's now attending school in Fredericton and says being away from home is difficult for First Nations youth in particular.

"You start to lose your language, your identity, your culture, your background. You forget those things. It's hard to maintain your education and then your background, your identity."

When she returns to Attawapiskat this summer, Edwards plans to reach out to the youth in her community and share what she has learned in her time away.

"I still have hope. I still have expectations that things are going to change. It starts with the youth, even the preteens or the younger youth. We have to tell them that they're loved, because that's when they're most vulnerable, right?"

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