EABEMET LAKE – Ten months after a fire destroyed the community’s school, Eabametoong First Nation has a new school up and running.
A few things need to be added to truly complete the temporary new learning site, according to Chief Solomon Atlookan, but it is able to accommodate the remote community’s 300-plus children and youth in kindergarten through Grade 10.
“We officially opened the new school on the 12th of November,” he said in a phone interview.
“The only problem now is we do not have the cafeteria ready yet,” he added. “We’re still waiting for some of the furniture, fridges and stoves and all the things that the cafeteria needs.”
Also, he said, “we don’t have a gymnasium. Of course, kids need a gymnasium. Children should not go without a gymnasium. So we’re working on that.”
Construction “went pretty fast,” though with “a few hiccups” such as hitting bedrock while trying to install water and sewer lines, he said.
Atlookan said credit for the quick build goes to many people.
“As far as the development, we have a technical team in the community that put together a plan right away after the fire,” he said.
The federal government, Matawa First Nations Management and suppliers all played important roles in tackling the challenge – as did nature’s cooperation in keeping the winter road to his community usable, he said.
“We’re pretty fortunate we had the winter road and we managed to get everything – almost everything – in through the winter road,” he said.
He made particular mention of Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, Thunder Bay-Superior North’s member of Parliament, for “helping us and supporting us in our meetings and understanding that every child needs to go to school.”
Danielle Yellowhead, the Eabametoong First Nation Education Authority's education director, said children in the community were “very excited” to see the temporary school open.
A permanent school is planned for completion in five to seven years, she said.
Outdoor land-based programming was the focus while the temporary school’s structures were being prepared, school principal Thomas Stanley said.
He said the young folks seem “OK with” the new indoor settings but “I think they really enjoyed being outside.”
Atlookan said the destruction of the John C. Yesno Education Centre, which was open in the community along the shore of Eabamet Lake for more than 55 years, by fire on Jan. 25 had a deep emotional impact on many residents.
“The kids really took it to heart, and a lot of them were in tears,” he said. “As well as adults too, because it’s the school they grew up in and it’s been here for a while. A lot of memories.”
Nishnawbe Aski Police investigators determined the fire was likely caused by arson. Four youths were arrested and charged shortly after the blaze.
Provincial Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford and federal Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu quickly offered support, with Hajdu announcing $3 million in funding.
“We are wholeheartedly with Eabametoong First Nation as the community rebuilds from this tragic loss,” Hajdu said in early February.
The province announced $540,000 in “one-time funding” on April 24.
