AROLAND FIRST NATION — A move closer to home could be in the cards for Elders from Aroland First Nation.
Aroland is set to receive over $20 million – through the federal government’s Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) program – to build their very own Elders Lodge.
The announcement was made by Minister Patty Hajdu and Chief Sonny Gagnon on March 19.
Band Coun. Chad Kashkish said that the project is a big deal for Aroland First Nation – especially in terms of proximity.
“We’re excited to get this project off of the ground and we’re excited to bring a lot of our elder people home,” Kashkish said.
He said there are members of Aroland that live all across the region – including Thunder Bay, Geraldton, and Longlac.
“A lot of our elder population move out for better access to health care and stuff like that. A lot of them are eager to come home,” he said.
“In the first place, many of our Elders didn’t really like to move out of the community – they’re left with no choice because of the limited services that are available to them.”
Kashkish went on to say that having the Elders return to Aroland could present the community with opportunities to build programs around knowledge-keeping and other activities steeped in the First Nation’s culture and language.
Health director Annabelle Mendowegan said that she estimates there are about 30 Elders living outside of the community.
She also said this new Elders Lodge will somewhat alleviate an ongoing housing shortage.
“There’s not a lot of housing available in the community. We are a growing community – we have around 800 people on our band list and 400 live on reserve,” Mendowegan said.
In terms of accessibility, she said the nearest hospital is 80 kilometres away from Aroland.
Hence why there are plans to include a nurse’s station in the lodge as well.
“We can have our local nurse go in to do things like foot-care, diabetes screening, a lot of different health programs . . . we do have a full-time nurse in the community and a personal support worker, so it’s centralized . . . they can go in to see their clients daily [and] they can run programs in the lodge,” she said.
Housing manager Bernard Gagnon, who has worked in housing for over 16 years now, echoed Kashkish and Mendowegan, saying that current housing in the community isn’t suitable to meet the needs of their aging Elders and construction of the new lodge is about vastly improving their quality of life closer to home.
He also said that over the course of his 16 years in housing this is the most funding he has ever seen a project in Aroland receive.
Gagnon and Sam Kashkeesh, Aroland’s economic development officer, worked together with council and Matawa to apply for the GICB funding and draw up a plan for the lodge.
Kashkeesh said that Penn-co Construction, out of Winnipeg, has been enlisted for the project.
Once completed, the Elders Lodge is going to have 20 units with a shared common area, dining room, fitness room, craft room, nursing station, and kitchen space.
Each unit has its own washroom, kitchen, and living area.
Gagnon mentioned that there will also be a large outdoor gathering space behind the building.
He said they’re looking to break ground around late April or early May and that construction should take just under two years.
The site they’ve chosen is right near the shores of Wawong Lake.
A news release from Infrastructure Canada noted that, as part of the GICB program, the new Elders Lodge will be a “net-zero carbon building” built to withstand the northern climate with respect to environmental impacts of the structure itself.
Speaking to Dougall Media, the Minister of Indigenous Services Canada, Patty Hajdu, congratulated Aroland First Nation for their successful application, acknowledged the work that was put into meeting the criteria of the GICB grant, and addressed how the Elders Lodge will keep Elders connected while retaining their independence.
“This project is important to Aroland but, really, to all of Northern Ontario because it allows Elders in Aroland to be able to stay close to home, stay connected to the community – and Aroland is contributing to the net-zero economy that we are seeking to pursue,” she said.
