Indigenous education in Thunder Bay was broken. Now there are signs of hope
Derek Monias,. Photo by Matteo Cimellaro / CNO
By Matteo Cimellaro
You may have heard about the Fallen Feathers, seven students who left their First Nations in the North for high schools in Thunder Bay, Ont., and never returned home.
Between 2000 and 2011, teenagers Jethro Anderson, Curran Stang, Paul Panacheese, Robyn Harper, Reggie Bushie, Kyle Morrisseau and Jordan Wabasse died while attending school in Thunder Bay, hundreds of kilometres away from their families. Bodies of five of the students were found near waterways, two others in their homes. All the deaths were ruled accidental or their causes undetermined by Thunder Bay police in investigations many criticized as mishandled.
These were the young people named in a 2015 provincial investigation called the Seven Youth Inquest. The eight-month probe made headlines and revealed the dismay of Indigenous communities who believed police investigated the incidents with apathy. In the end, the inquest made 145 recommendations for all levels of government, the police and Indigenous organizations.