N.L., Innu agree to inquiry into treatment of Innu children in provincial care

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Bluesky
• Share on X
• Copy Link

The provincial and Innu leaders said they will ask the federal government to participate, with the hope that the inquiry will begin by Sept. 30, 2017.

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

On Canada Day, Tshakapesh and other Innu leaders confronted federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett at an event in Toronto.

A CBC video shows a tearful Tshakapesh shouting at Bennett, asking her to change a system that sees Innu children routinely removed from their communities for treatment.

“We are going to change it,” she told Tshakapesh. “It’s unacceptable.”

In an interview last month, Tshakapesh said he wanted funding for a multicultural youth treatment centre to be built in central Labrador.

“The question for me now is, how did the system fail him so badly and what can be done to change this situation?” Tshakapesh asked in an open letter.

“He was in the system and he took his life,” Tshakapesh added in an interview. “He was damaged physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. He wasn’t the same. He couldn’t recover.”

While the removal process may keep vulnerable youth safe and sober, it also destroys connections to their family, language and community, Tshakapesh said.

Leaders and residents in Natuashish, the Innu community relocated from Davis Inlet, met in May after two boys, aged 11 and 17, were injured in a fire at an abandoned house known for gas-sniffing.

The Canadian Press