THUNDER BAY – Students from nine Matawa First Nations communities could have a new opportunity for high school education in Thunder Bay through the unprecedented acquisition of a former long-term care home.
At next Monday’s meeting, Thunder Bay city council will consider signing a letter of intent to grant the former Grandview Lodge home for the aged building to Matawa First Nations Management for it to be redeveloped as a student education and care centre.
David Paul Achneepineskum, the chief executive officer of Matawa First Nations Management, said the facility is expected to be able to accommodate 100 students and give them both a place to learn and live while in Thunder Bay.
“We believe it’s going to be a safe place and we want to see our students succeed,” Achneepineskum said on Tuesday.
“We want to see our students moving beyond high school. They can be anything they want to be. They can be doctors, lawyers, they can be anything they want. That’s what we want to give them. A place where they can live their dreams.”
Pending council’s approval to sign the letter of intent to hand over the building, Achneepineskum said Matawa hopes to have high school programming running later this year with the first graduates next June. The organization would be targeting to have the accommodations ready for September 2018.
Grandview Lodge, along with the former Dawson Court home for the aged, were both closed by the city in early 2016. While Dawson Court is in the process of being sold, Coun. Iain Angus said there was little private sector interest for the 810,000 square foot Grandview building.
“It’s a unique opportunity. Cities don’t normally have vacant buildings that can house 100 students,” Angus said.
“We’re spending $15,000 a month just to keep it available for sale. We have to keep the heat on, we have to keep the water running. If worst came to worst, it would cost $1.5 million to tear it down.”
Improving the educational experience for Indigenous youth attending school in Thunder Bay from remote communities was a prominent theme of many of the 145 recommendations from the coroner’s inquest into the seven students who died between 2000 and 2011.
One of those youth, 15-year-old Jordan Wabasse from Webequie First Nation, was a student at the Matawa Learning Centre when he went missing in February 2011. His body was found in the Kaministiquia River three months later.
While many of the 300 Matawa students already attending high school in Thunder Bay are enrolled with the local school boards, Achneepineskum said the existing Matawa Learning Centre is maxed out with 50 students.
The students already in the city are either housed in boarding homes or have been accompanied by a parent. Achneepineskum said many of the students are joined by one parent, while the other parent remains in the home community to raise other children. That separation is not good for families, he added.
Having student accommodation along with the high school will help provide the students with the sense of having a home while studying, Achneepineskum said.
“Our primary goal is to ensure the safety of students here. We’re going to ensure it’s going to be done,” Achneepineskum said. “We will have proper staff to work with the students. If they have issues, there will be someone there 24/7 for them to go to and talk and seek help.”
Achneepineskum said Matawa would be operating the school with a “holistic approach,” which would include having elders and traditional healers working with the students. The location on Lillie Street also puts the students in close proximity to recreational facilities, he added.
