Tragedy So Close-The People of Kattawapiskak River Reflection
I thought that the housing of more than 1,700 Cree people on the Attawapiskat reserve in Northern Ontario shown in the film is definitely not ideal living situations. Many are living in crowded, unheated shacks with no running water in a -40°C weather. The filmmaker used raw footage of the crisis with footage of the shacks and trailers that housed up to 90 people. This was really shocking to see that people on the reserves, so close to us, are living in Third World like situations. The film also showed the views of the Canadian Government and House of Commons debates on the subject through news footage. Their band chief, Theresa Spence was their main voice.
Another topic in the film that affected me personally was the high rate of teen suicides within the reserves. Though there are many things the community worked for to try fix this ever growing problem. The community raised funds to build, open, and run a sports complex, which I thought was an amazing accomplishment; showing that the community can sustain itself without the help from the government. Yet some television hosts thought that this was the wrong thing do because of the housing crisis.
-Marlee <3
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