] by Ian Austen @ nytimes.com - ] school shooting in remote northern SK community leaves 4 dead, 7 injured. ] shooter is a lone 17 y/o youth captured by the RCMP at the scene and in custody. ] first school shooting in Canada since 1989
] idealic natural setting, hub for surrounding community of approx. 4k
] minimal retail services - no sit down restaurants, banks, movie theatres, not even a timmies
] The town has a government-owned liquor store and two bars, despite the lack of restaurants
] not enough of an economy to support business, ecomomy is gov provided public services ( school, hospital, police, )
] many of those jobs are performed by outsiders, outsiders often leave when the work is done.
] youths finishing school have 3 options ] leave town, ] stay and get gov job, ] stay and do nothing
] La Loche Community School was a bright spot. The high school building is modern, clean, well equipped and well staffed. It would not be out of place in a prosperous town in southern Canada.
] even a good school filled with dedicated teachers could not always engage students whose parents’ lives are disrupted by alcohol.
] Students may find themselves sharing a small house with 10 other people because of a chronic housing shortage.
] Fort McMurray, Alberta, the heart of Canada’s oil sands.(80KM by air) It was Canada’s greatest boom town until the recent decline in the price of oil. But the lack of a road, other than a very rough ice road in the winter, has meant that few La Loche residents have been able to take jobs there.
] The residents of La Loche who have escaped a reliance on welfare tend to be older and follow traditional Dene methods of living off the land through hunting and fishing. Few of the town’s young, Chief Cameron said, have such skills.
] “You take away the land, you take away the traditional livelihoods, you feed them booze, you introduce smallpox in your trade wars,” he said. “We won’t call it genocide, because we’re white guys and white guys don’t do that. That’s just other evil people in the world.” the decline of the traditional Dene way of life had been devastating for the community. “I began to understand that colonization isn’t something that’s a long time ago, it’s something that’s at work right now.” - Stephen King, School Principal
] The point is that for those of us that know this place we understand that this is just a symptom of the problems of the north. If this tragedy results in anything I hope it results in a better understanding of these places so I have taken the time to share what I know.
] La Loche is a Meitis community on one of the oldest fur trade routes in Canada and it borders the Clearwater River Dene First Nation (CRDN, aka "the reserve", "the rez"). The community is located about 80 km from Fort McMurray AB and is majority aboriginal.
] 11k median income, 50% of what CDN poverty level is
] crime rate - 16.57 times the national average with violent crime clocking in at about 23 times the national average
] If you ever want to see a liquor frenzy, go to the SLGA (liquor store) in la loche on a cheque day and sit in the parking lot.
] The cops don’t enforce DUI laws in town and generally don’t leave the detachment at night unless called out. Sounds scary? It is.
] The reserve is dry, unlike the adjacent town. The Dene people in the area all speak Dene and have largely retained their culture. An alcohol free lifestyle is common among elders and there is a real understanding in the community of the damage that alcohol does.
] Alas because there are few economic opportunities for youth there is much crime. I have no stats but from experience, a high proportion of the youth are engaged in the criminal justice system and have spent time in prison.
] There is a strong anti-police sentiment in the area because some RCMP gunned a guy down a few years ago when trying to execute a warrant for something. He ran, they shot him out in the bush behind his house. A subsequent inquest cleared them and relations with the RCMP have been strained- nuff said.
] The story of la loche is not a story of gun control or of mental health. It’s not a story of oppression or racism. It’s not a story of the nearby oil bust in fort mac. It’s a story of the consistent neglect in northern first nations.
] It’s a story of the consistent neglect in northern first nations. - I know people who travel 12 hours by truck for basic medical car because the nurses will only prescribe Tylenol unless you are missing some appendages. I know people who have lost children to appendicitis because nurses would neither diagnose them nor authorize the cost of medivac. People in the north still die of tuberculosis- something that has been all but eliminated in the south through the use of vaccination and antibiotics see
] I know some of the most honest, hard working, and sincere people I have ever met are from First Nations Communities in Northern Saskatchewan.
] what they need is for you- yes you- to understand that their communities are not the sum of their problems.
] They need provincial and federal governments to listen to their needs and address them.
] - I call upon you to tell them that you support solutions to the problems of these communities. Instead focus your words on your representatives and seek to make changes in how Canada deals with northern communities. If you happen to live in Saskathcewan I hope you find a way to call out Premier Wall whose civil servants directly sell or licence the sale of alcohol in the community.
] If you know the Dene people you will now that they are proud and strong. you will know that they care little for words but much for action.
] crime - Drove through with oil exploration company and stopped for fuel. As soon as we stopped 5 people approached us. Some made it quite clear not to stick around and the others came to beg for money. Also it was off-putting to see so many people just hanging around the liquor store. As well as every building had metal mesh or boarded up windows. We inquired at the hotel in case the camp where we were at was full. The desk clerk told us of a story. Another contractor was staying town and was robbed. Not only were trucks, quads, and equipment stolen, they broke into the room with chainsaws…yes, chainsaws! They cut the wall open while the contractors were still inside! Now I cannot verify this story. But needless to say we did not stay there
] drugs -
] alcoholism -
] wild dogs - packs of them, running free, being shot (culled)
] nurses and hospital - live in a fenced compound
] rcmp / population - aminosity, re: incident
] judge - sleeps inside the jail if he has to stay over night in town
[00:00] comments from laloche resident in post ___, post shooting, before media