Akwesasne Setting Example For Others
Director of Health Sakokohe Pembleton, Minister of State for Public Health Carolyn
Bennett, and former Grand Chief Angie Barnes
Cornwall Standard Freeholder
By Terri Saunders
January 6, 2006
Reprinted with permmision
Akwesane is a “real jewel” when it comes to things like water, community health, governance and leadership, the federal minister of state for public health said on Thursday.
“It was very inspirational,” said Carolyn Bennett of her visit to the native community. “As a nation even in the face of the kind of jurisdictional nightmare the face, they are doing it and doing it well.”
Bennett and the Liberal candidate Tom Manley met with leaders in Akwesasne to gather information related to advances the community has made in areas such as water, sewer and municipal infrastructure.
“At the water treatment plant, there is an exemplary level of training taking place,” said Bennett.
“They will be able to help other First Nations, as the put it, gain the confidence that they too can do this.”
In late October, residents of Kashketchewan, a native community in northern Ontario, were evacuated after their water supply was tainted by bacteria.
In Akwesasne officials have been working for 30 years to ensure their community has the technological capacity to deliver clean and safe drinking water to homes on the municipal system.
“This country is only as strong as its individual communities,” said Bennett.
“I have huge respect for communities who work from the bottom up.” Manley said what’s happening in Akwesasne is an example of what can be accomplished when residents take control of their own problems and seek viable solutions.
“What we are seeing here is local initiative,” he said spreading the word about the work being done in Akwesasne will help other native communities facing similar problems.
“There may be opportunities for people from other communities to come to Akwesasne as interns and experience what’s happening there,” she said. “They will then be able to go back to their own communities and apply the knowledge they’ve gained.”
