It was only a year ago that Attawapiskat was hogging major headlines around the world. The remote Indian reservation had a majority of its members living in housing that was so far below any conceivable standard of habitation that news organizations the world over were lavishing attention on the story.
Twelve months roll by, the government delivers a couple dozen double-wides to Attawapiskat, and the story is gone.
But it isn't. Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence is at this moment in the second week of a hunger strike just a few minutes from Parliament Hill. A thousand miles away the majority of her people once again face winter in housing far below any contemporary health and safety standards.
But this time around the world's media seems pre-occupied with other stories. Even Canadian mainstream outlets, with the notable exception of the Huffington Post, haven't found much space for the issue beyond a back pages paragraph or two.
It's the standard Canadian response to uncomfortable stories; close your ears and eyes until it goes away.
Well here's to you, Chief Spence; may God give you the strength to keep up the struggle until the deaf and blind find the courage to open their ears and eyes.
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