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NAN press release

Windigo and NAN Applaud Landmark Decision to Add Stirland Lake and Cristal Lake High Schools to the List of Recognized Indian Residential Schools

THUNDER BAY, ON, Aug. 18, 2011 /CNW/ - Windigo First Nations Council (Windigo), supported by Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), is pleased following the decision by Chief Justice Winkler, Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, to add Stirland Lake and Cristal Lake Residential High Schools to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA).  This is also a precedent setting case as this motion to determine the parameters for adding further schools to the IRSSA is the first motion to be decided across Canada.

"This is a good solid victory for not only those who have been directly impacted by these particular schools but also First Nations across the country," said NAN Deputy Grand Chief Mike Metatawabin.  "This landmark decision paves the way for other First Nations people who have been institutionalized to be included in this national settlement and we hope they too will continue to fight for justice."

"The former students of Stirland Lake and Cristal Lake Residential High Schools will now be able to begin their healing journey through the Common Experience and Independent Assessment processes offered by the IRSSA," said Frank McKay, Council Chair of Windigo First Nations Council, who spearheaded this court challenge.

The significance of this decision is that all former students, estimated at approximately 600 students, will now be eligible to apply for the Common Experience Payment (CEP).  The CEP is awarded to all former students who attended any recognized Indian Residential School throughout Canada.  The students are each entitled to receive $10,000 for their first year of attendance, and another $3,000 for each additional year of attendance.  The students will also receive an apology from the operating institution. In addition, those who may have been sexually or physically abused, or mistreated as defined by the IRSSA, can apply for further compensation under the Independent Assessment Process (IAP).

Susan Vella, legal counsel for Windigo and NAN says:  "We are ready to assist these former students with pursuing their legal rights under the IRSSA.  We are grateful to the Court for rectifying the oversight in the IRSSA's failure to include these schools in the original schedule of Indian Residential Schools."

About

Nishnawbe Aski Nation is a political territorial organization representing 49 First Nation communities in James Bay Treaty No. 9 and Ontario portions of Treaty No. 5 - an area covering two thirds of the province of Ontario.

Windigo First Nations Council is comprised of seven (7) remote northern Ontario First Nation communities and works to deliver a number of programs and services to Bearskin Lake, Sachigo Lake, North Caribou Lake, Cat Lake, Koocheching, Whitewater Lake and Slate Falls First Nations.

BACKGROUNDER 

STIRLAND AND CRISTAL LAKE HIGH SCHOOLS

• Stirland Lake High School (also known as Wahbon Bay Academy) was established in 1971 by the Mennonite organization Northern Youth Programs Inc., funded by Indian Affairs.  The residential school was established to educate and house twenty (20) Aboriginal boys; students attended and lived at the school for ten (10) months of the year.  It was located at the remote location of Stirland Lake in Northwestern Ontario, approximately 170 miles north of Sioux Lookout Ontario.
• Cristal Lake High School was later established in 1976, to house Aboriginal girls sent there for their education.  It was located in an equally remote area as Stirland Lake High School, and like Stirland High Lake School, was only accessible by float plane.
• As the years passed, the number of students enrolled increased in the two schools.
• Both Stirland Lake and Cristal Lake were funded by Indian Affairs to provide high school education to aboriginal children in a residential school located far away from their homes and communities.
• In 1986, Stirland Lake and Cristal Lake High Schools merged operations, and Stirland Lake continued as a co-educational residential school for aboriginal children.
• Stirland Lake operated like any other Indian residential school in Ontario, with a strong Christian religious presence.
• All of the students who attended were removed from their homes and communities, and flown to a remote setting for the purpose of obtaining an education in a residential school.
• Around 1991, Stirland Lake High School closed its doors.
• In October 2007, Windigo First Nations Council, supported by Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), formally requested that the Stirland Lake and Cristal Lake Residential High Schools be recognized under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA), following a resolution unanimously endorsed by NAN Chiefs-in-Assembly in August 2007.
• In the spring of 2008, the request for recognition by Windigo and NAN was rejected by Canada.
• In December 2008, Windigo and NAN filed a motion to the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, asking the Court to exercise its power under the IRSSA by adding the two (2) schools to the list of recognized Indian Residential Schools within the meaning of the IRSSA.
• Written arguments were filed with the Court setting out the respective positions of Windigo and NAN, and also Canada, in great detail.  Formal affidavits containing sworn evidence and documents were also filed, and cross examinations on the affidavits were conducted over the course of the last two years.

For further information:

Amy Harris, Director of Communications - Nishnawbe Aski Nation (807) 625 4906 or (807) 252-2806 mobile or by email aharris@nan.on.ca.
www.nan.on.ca 

Susan Vella, Legal Counsel for Windigo and NAN :  Rochon Genova LLP, (416) 363-7627, 1 866 881.2292, or by email to svella@rochongenova.com.
www.rochongenova.com