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“We need to ask what can be done to relieve their suffering so that they do not follow many of their sisters and brothers into alcoholism, depression or suicide.”

The premier told Nipissing students and staff, and aboriginal community members the KI visit gave her another chance to experience the “joys and the challenges” of life on a remote reserve.

“The impressions and memories … will inspire me and motivate me,” she said.

“All of the mandate letters of my ministers will come out within the next week or so and it will be very clear that my expectations, across government, to make sure that we work in this context to improve our relationships, that that is part of the mandate of this government.

Being on a reserve with a member of the Royal Family was a special reminder of the importance of the treaty between First Nations and government, Ms. Wynne said.

“In 2014, to take it to another level, we need better and more progress on sharing resources, one education, on land-use planning, on housing, on water — and the list goes on. We need to move into a better relationship on all those fronts.”

The KI reserve is on the edge of Big Trout Lake and is closer to the Nunavut border than to Toronto or Ottawa. It is only accessible by air, except from January to March, when temporary winter roads are built over frozen lakes and rivers to allow heavy supplies to be brought in.

Two small planes flew the delegation and a security detail in on Thursday. The Countess and other VIPs met the elders in a traditional teepee, shared in a communal feast of fresh-caught wild game and fish and were served a traditional field breakfast by members of the Canadian Rangers, a military reserve unit largely composed of aboriginals living in the north. They also toured the community’s facilities, particularly its overcrowded and under-resourced school.

Accommodation was so tight the Canadian Rangers, there to organize the ceremonial guards, slept on the floor of a church.

“It’s about reconciliation and gaining a better understanding of each other,” said KI’s deputy chief, Darryl Sainnawap.

“What better way than to have people come live in our homes, to share our strength, our challenges and our history and just teach them about who we are.”

National Post

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