Wawatay News
AUGUST 30, 2012
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Pikangikum needs to embrace culture in education, says Algoma grad Continued from page 1
Troubles with education Pikangikum’s struggles with education have been well documented, and the chief coroner’s review draws a clear link between education and youth suicide. “A cluster of deaths occurred shortly after the destruction of the school,� the report read. “Children not attending school will experience increasing isolation from the mainstream Pikangikum society, lack of programming and healthy activity, and could easily fall into the lure of solvent abuse.� The report explains that the reserve has only around eight high school graduates each year and that in 2009 there were not any high school graduates who sought a postsecondary education in college or university.
“In Pikangikum, the language is strong, they need to focus on the traditional aspects now.� - Cheryl Suggashie
“Almost none of these children seek post-secondary education,� reads a line in the report. Upon hearing of the coroner’s report on the deaths in her home community, Suggashie was not too shocked or appalled. “All I really hear are complaints and investigations, long-going investigations and that’s it,� Suggashie said. “My cousin just committed suicide not too long ago, and we are a good family. Abuse is what triggers (suicide), emotional and verbal abuse. It’s not always about gas sniffing and alcohol.� Suggashie feels that all the negative stories in the media about Pikangikum helped inspire her to get an education. She attended school in Pikangikum as well as in different places like Northern Eagle High School in Ear Falls when it was still operating, and in Thunder Bay and Sandy Lake. But she knows all is not well in Pikangikum. Suggashie attributes many of the problems to an imbalance along generational lines. She suspects there is a weak relationship between the youth and the Elders, so that youth struggle to learn their identity as Anishinabe people. Suggashie said that Pikangikum should go back to the traditional ways and reintroduce the Anishinabe culture to the community with things like sharing circles. She said that the circles could start with a family on its own instead of something overwhelming like a community-sized circle. Suggashie feels that Pikangikum is lucky in the sense that the reserve still speaks their language, something that is lost
Cheryl Suggashie of Pikangikum credits her culture and family support for her success in education. She cautions that a new school in the community is only one step in encouraging youth to embrace education. in a lot of other communities. “In Pikangikum, the language is strong, they need to focus on the traditional aspects now,� she said.
New school not enough John Duncan, minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, announced in early August of this year that Pikangikum would be getting a new school. Suggashie said the community will “be happy at first about the school, but they will need to do more things.� She feels that a community recreation center would benefit the youth and help keep them active. Another aspect that could benefit the youth of the reserve would be welcoming the Elders of the community into the school on a regular basis for cultural teachings and activities, much like the Elders program that is running at Dennis Franklin Cromarty highschool in Thunder Bay. “The Elders could share their old stories, their ceremonies,� Suggashie said, just as the Elders had done with her. She said she did not know much about things like drumming before she spent
time with the Elders. “They should get together with the youth.�
Family support key Besides her culture, Suggashie credits the support of her family for helping her succeed, most notably her grandparents George and Martha Suggashie. Her “gramma away from home� was Josephine Mandamin, an Elder with whom she graduated this year. “You do need the support of your family when you’re away at school,� Suggashie said. Support also came from her own culture, which she describes as “strong.� “It took me a long time to get through college, but I did it. I wanted to show my family that I wasn’t just out here for nothing,� Suggashie said. “I think once you are educated, you can do anything.� Suggashie is currently working on putting together a traveling youth panel to speak to other communities about being third and fourth generation residential school survivors and their experiences as such. “I think people need to listen to the youth, they are smarter than they think.�
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