— Infrastructure —

A 2% funding cap is the primary source of all these issues. Schools lack the necessary books, computers, and staff to provide children with a high quality education.  The results can be seen in reports on post-secondary degree attainment rates in Indigenous populations, which are significantly lower than non-Indigenous.

In Ottawa, she was told by the Minister of Indian Affairs that school in communities like hers were not a priority. In response, she spoke out publicly on the parliament steps, demanding betters schools for all Indigenous children. 

Listen to one of her speeches here

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In this video, Ryan Yan discusses the limited infrastructure available to schools in Indigenous communities. He focuses on the impacts of a government-imposed funding cap, as well as one girl's mission to change everything. 

See the transcript here

A diesel leak resulted in the closure of J.R Nakogee, the only elementary school in the community of Attawapiskat, in 2000. Since then, children had no choice but to attend school in makeshift portables, shown on the left. This inspired one student, Shannen Koostachin, to begin her campaign for better schools.

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