La Loche Murders: Deranged youth kills four , Friday, January 22nd.
This tragedy in the northern Saskatchewan town of La Loche leaves families and community in mourning. On Friday a 17 year old youth shot and killed four young people, two teenaged brothers, Dayne and Drayden Fontaine in a home and, a few minutes later, a teacher, Adam Wood , and a 21 year old teaching assistant, Marie Janvier, in the Dene building of La Loche Community School. Several others in the building suffered wounds and were taken to hospital. These horrific events make one try to examine the nature of this community and ponder possible factors contributing to this terrible loss of young lives.
La Loche is a small, remote town in northern Saskatchewan of about 3,000, at the end of Highway 155 which begins at Prince Albert, a six hours drive to the south. It is located in boreal forest, its inhabitants known as Dene. Fort McMurray is closer, but the route impassable during part of the year. La Loche is a community in transition from its traditional way of life to present day urban culture. A large majority of its people are Métis, and a minority of 700 plus are non-treaty first nations. A small number are non-indigenous. In 2011 nearly half of the population was 19 years old or younger. Most of the inhabitants are bilingual, speaking Denesuline, an Athabaskan language, and English.
Living off the land no longer provides a viable economic basis, though fishing, including ice fishing, produces good catches. Groups involved with wildlife and the environment complain that mining has degraded the land and water, and the animal population is decreasing. There is no mining now in the district and, it seems, no local industry. The staff of the school are the largest group having an income. Few job opportunities, poverty, substance abuse and isolation contribute to residents’ loss of hope and outbursts of violence. For youth the future looks very uncertain. One resident, in an interview with the Toronto Star, said that government authorities had struggled to provide even basic services for young people, and had yet to complete a youth centre that had been in the works for years. ( Jan.24/16). The suicide rate is three times that of South Saskatchewan. Older people deal with the bitter legacy of two local Catholic residential schools.
The community has basic services provided by a community arena with rooms for meetings, post office, hospital, RCMP post, federal Service office, Catholic Church, bus line, and flights by a chartered airline. The La Loche Friendship Centre provides a social centre and various kinds of help for non-reserve residents. School enrolment is about 900 students and these can obtain a complete secondary school education in La Loche, one of only two such institutions in northern Saskatchewan. The programs and facilities of the secondary education building appear capable of providing a good learning environment. Nevertheless,,the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies in 2011 ranked the community school 169th out of 170 in Saskatchewan (Globe and Mail, Jan. 25/16). Perhaps the school is now doing better; its website states that its teaching staff, are “always engaged in implementing innovative and creative programs that are found nowhere else in the country.” There is an emphasis on extracurricular sports as well. The closest centre for postsecondary education is the Saskatchewan Polytechnic in Prince Albert which has applied skills programs that are designed for northern residents. The college also offers Distance Education.
This afternoon the CBC radio’s Cross Country Checkup dealt with the tragedy at La Loche. A caller, who had spent many years with first nations in the north, stated his opinion that the solution for the plight of La Loche has to lie, firstly, with the people themselves, and that community leaders must get together, draw up plans and monitor the results in regular meetings. Another spoke strongly about racism which she believes still exists. Other callers paid tribute to first nations’ valuable cultural heritage which is necessary for them to recognize and acquire a sense of their worth to heal the inner self. Another praised Trudeau as the first federal leader to give hope of real change to indigenous people. In my opinion the time has arrived in the country when large numbers of Canadians are convinced that there is a pressing need for government and citizens to assist first nations to improve their lives, and have confidence that substantial change is possible.
Charlotte Hardnen
This tragedy in the northern Saskatchewan town of La Loche leaves families and community in mourning. On Friday a 17 year old youth shot and killed four young people, two teenaged brothers, Dayne and Drayden Fontaine in a home and, a few minutes later, a teacher, Adam Wood , and a 21 year old teaching assistant, Marie Janvier, in the Dene building of La Loche Community School. Several others in the building suffered wounds and were taken to hospital. These horrific events make one try to examine the nature of this community and ponder possible factors contributing to this terrible loss of young lives.
La Loche is a small, remote town in northern Saskatchewan of about 3,000, at the end of Highway 155 which begins at Prince Albert, a six hours drive to the south. It is located in boreal forest, its inhabitants known as Dene. Fort McMurray is closer, but the route impassable during part of the year. La Loche is a community in transition from its traditional way of life to present day urban culture. A large majority of its people are Métis, and a minority of 700 plus are non-treaty first nations. A small number are non-indigenous. In 2011 nearly half of the population was 19 years old or younger. Most of the inhabitants are bilingual, speaking Denesuline, an Athabaskan language, and English.
Living off the land no longer provides a viable economic basis, though fishing, including ice fishing, produces good catches. Groups involved with wildlife and the environment complain that mining has degraded the land and water, and the animal population is decreasing. There is no mining now in the district and, it seems, no local industry. The staff of the school are the largest group having an income. Few job opportunities, poverty, substance abuse and isolation contribute to residents’ loss of hope and outbursts of violence. For youth the future looks very uncertain. One resident, in an interview with the Toronto Star, said that government authorities had struggled to provide even basic services for young people, and had yet to complete a youth centre that had been in the works for years. ( Jan.24/16). The suicide rate is three times that of South Saskatchewan. Older people deal with the bitter legacy of two local Catholic residential schools.
The community has basic services provided by a community arena with rooms for meetings, post office, hospital, RCMP post, federal Service office, Catholic Church, bus line, and flights by a chartered airline. The La Loche Friendship Centre provides a social centre and various kinds of help for non-reserve residents. School enrolment is about 900 students and these can obtain a complete secondary school education in La Loche, one of only two such institutions in northern Saskatchewan. The programs and facilities of the secondary education building appear capable of providing a good learning environment. Nevertheless,,the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies in 2011 ranked the community school 169th out of 170 in Saskatchewan (Globe and Mail, Jan. 25/16). Perhaps the school is now doing better; its website states that its teaching staff, are “always engaged in implementing innovative and creative programs that are found nowhere else in the country.” There is an emphasis on extracurricular sports as well. The closest centre for postsecondary education is the Saskatchewan Polytechnic in Prince Albert which has applied skills programs that are designed for northern residents. The college also offers Distance Education.
This afternoon the CBC radio’s Cross Country Checkup dealt with the tragedy at La Loche. A caller, who had spent many years with first nations in the north, stated his opinion that the solution for the plight of La Loche has to lie, firstly, with the people themselves, and that community leaders must get together, draw up plans and monitor the results in regular meetings. Another spoke strongly about racism which she believes still exists. Other callers paid tribute to first nations’ valuable cultural heritage which is necessary for them to recognize and acquire a sense of their worth to heal the inner self. Another praised Trudeau as the first federal leader to give hope of real change to indigenous people. In my opinion the time has arrived in the country when large numbers of Canadians are convinced that there is a pressing need for government and citizens to assist first nations to improve their lives, and have confidence that substantial change is possible.
Charlotte Hardnen