From: Peter Webster

Subject: Sad, sad, sad

 C B C . C A   N e w s   -   F u l l   S t o r y :

Relocated Innu community plagued by social problems
Last Updated Fri, 01 Oct 2004 19:47:49 EDT

HAPPY VALLEY GOOSE BAY, NFLD. - Alcoholism and gas sniffing continue to be
a problem for people living in Natuashish, two years after the Innu
community was relocated from Davis Inlet.

The community of about 700 has seen four suicides in the past few months,
and drug and alcohol abuse is rampant, say local officials.

Former Mushuau Chief Katie Rich says she has never seen anything like it
before.

"With kids on the streets and children on the hills screeching and on the
gas and stuff like that," she said.

Rich says children are going to school hungry because their parents are
drunk or stoned.

And she says the new graveyard in Natuashish is filling up with people who
have taken their own lives. The latest victim is a 21-year-old man who
committed suicide Thursday morning.


* FROM DEC. 14, 2002: Moving day arrives for some Davis Inlet Innu

RCMP officers in Labrador agree with the assessment, saying alcohol-related
problems in the community are worse than ever.

Happy Valley-Goose Bay RCMP Sgt. Frank Gallagher, who oversees officers in
Natuashish, says there's more liquor in Natuashish than ever before, in
part due to an Innu Nation election campaign fueled by free alcohol.

"The amount of intoxicated persons passed out all over the community, on
the streets in the woods...we're seeing the results of it," he says.

George Rich dropped out of the race for Innu Nation president, saying he
can't win unless he provides alcohol and drugs.

He's calling on the candidates still in the race to stop the flow of
alcohol to Natuashish, before another young person commits suicide.


* FROM DEC. 13, 2002: Innu fear problems may follow them to new home

The federal government relocated the entire community from Davis Inlet in
December 2002 due to their squalid living conditions, including no heat,
running water or plumbing. Many people used buckets for toilets.

The community was also wracked by high rates of gas sniffing and alcoholism.

The new community of Natuashish is about 15 kilometres from Davis Inlet.

Written by CBC News Online staff

Copyright ©2004 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved

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