Day Three of Pikangikum Led Fast
There are now 13 fasters who continue to wait for
the answers to address the health crisis in their communities. Peoples
of Pikangikum First Nation and Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug began
to fast on Friday, April 9, 1999.
Chief Paddy Peters and Chief Donny Morris remain inside the Sioux
Lookout Zone Hospital. They entered the hospital shortly after 12:00
pm Friday, stating that the hospital is seen as a symbol of health
throughout the northern Sioux Lookout Zone. This hospital has been
virtually closed since July 1 998. At the request of hospital administration
on Friday, they moved into the hospital chapel, a small room approximately
8 feet by 10 feet, with no windows or ventilation. They have fasted
for over 53 hours, at the time of this press release.
Outside the hospital, fasters from Pikangikum and one faster from
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug continue. Many of the fasters began
in their community of Pikangikum at 12:01 am, Friday morning. Early
Saturday morning, a woman faster was admitted into Hospital, suffering
dehydration. It was then that Chief Paddy Peters urged the women
fasters, some of whom have Type II Diabetes, to begin eating. Now
11 fasters remain outside, including 6 men and 5 women. They have
taken shifts outside the hospital and stay there into the night,
where temperatures are dropping below freezing.
The two Chiefs specifically request:
- an immediate, face-to-face Meeting with federal Health Minister
Allan Rock, federal INAC minister Jane Stewart, and Ontario ealth
Minister Elizabeth Witmer;
- reinstatement of full-time, indeterminate nursing positions;
- a commitment from the three people they wish to meet.
The resolve to continue for as long as it takes remains strong
amongst the fasters who remain. Now, they await for the response
they seek, from the people who hold the answers - and the resources
to implement them. |
