Donated library books arrive in Fort Severn and Sandy Lake
Toronto Star story at http://www.thestar.com/article/186133
Planes bring books to remote reserves
Feb 27, 2007 - Louise Brown - Education Reporter
In two remote First Nations reserves, reached only by "winter roads" that have been thwarted this year by milder weather, literacy is landing by parachute this week as children wait below knee-deep in snow.
More than 7,000 children's books were dropped from a plane yesterday afternoon in tiny Fort Severn; novels and picture-books donated by families around the province as part of the second book drive for aboriginal children conducted by Ontario Lieutenant-Governor James Bartleman.
Another several thousand will be dropped today on the frozen waters of Sandy Lake, another fly-in community where poverty, low literacy levels and underfunding of federally run schools historically left bookshelves empty in both schools and homes.
While most of the 185,000 children's books collected last month from across Ontario are being driven to reserves across the province's northern woodlands by Canadian Armed Forces trucks, Fort Severn and Sandy Lake posed a problem because the winter roads were either too remote or too dangerous because of global warming, said Bartleman yesterday in a telephone interview from Fort Severn.
The vice-regal activist waited with local school children on the snowswept banks of the Severn River for the airborne book drop, and said it was a dramatic fly-by.
"It was spectacular! The sun was shining, it was 10 below and suddenly the big Hercules came swooping into view, tipped its wings from above 800 feet above us and out came eight parachutes with crates of books floating to the ground," said Bartleman from the tiny community about two hours from Hudson Bay.
"We all jumped on the back of snowmobiles and pulled sleighs out onto the ice to load up the books. Some of the children ripped open the boxes and started to read the books right there in the snow.
"It was beautiful to see; these children so excited about the books, starting to read on the river on top of four feet of ice."
Since taking office five years ago, Bartleman has championed the cause of literacy among northern native children in the province and collected more than a million books to help promote literacy and reduce the despair he sees in many of these communities.
An aboriginal Canadian himself, he believes reading is the key to confidence and opportunity for the children often forgotten by mainstream Canada.
The Canadian Armed Forces agreed to ship 110,000 of the donated books in the trucks that were heading north last week to deliver supplies and rations to the Canadian Rangers, which are special First Nations units of the reserve forces that serve in 15 remote communities, said Major Guy Ingram.
But the dilemma of delivering books to Fort Severn and Sandy Lake was solved when it was discovered the Air Force training base in Trenton had scheduled a training run to these communities.
"So we just piggy-backed His Honour's books as part of the para-drop, where the big Hercules flies by low, pops open the back and the chutes come out carrying the books in special heavy plywood boxes," said Ingram, commanding officer of the 3rd Canadian Rangers Patrol.
Other books are being delivered to less remote communities by army trucks, which annually resupply the First Nations patrols with military stores, training equipment and rations, said Ingram.
Bartleman said more books are slated to be delivered this spring to First Nations communities by the private trucking firm Manitoba Transport and the native-run Wsaya Airways, but this week's army deliveries helped get the books quickly to some of the province's most needy children.
"It took extraordinary means to get these books to the kids, but it was particularly needed in Fort Severn, where the school building was shut down two years ago because of mould contamination and the old library books were condemned.
"The kids are still going to school in portables, but at least they have books for a library again."
Bartleman also will ship some of the donated books to children in Cree communities in northern Quebec, and to Inuit children across Nunavut.
He has also started a book club across Ontario's north, where each of 5,000 schoolchildren receives a new book four times a year. Bartleman's term is slated to end this summer.