Host: In early January, Cassuan First Nation declared a state of emergency. Its water system had failed. Its nursing station was flooded with raw sewage. Residents of the First Nation, located on the west coast of James Bay, were evacuated to places like Niagara Falls, Timmans, and Kingston. Others have chosen to remain. Since then, the situation has only gotten worse. Test results show water in the community is contaminated with cryptosperidium, a parasite that causes gastrointestinal illness. Medical staff who were on site have now also been evacuated. We'll get an update on what's happening on the ground and what it will take to make the community safe. Then we're going to zoom out to Adawapascat First Nation, a place that has also faced its share of significant challenges. Things like inadequate housing, youth suicide and a lack of clean drinking water. Juno nominated musician Adrien Sutherland is from Adawapascal. He's often asked why he chooses to stay. We talked to him about his new memoir and his connection with the land and his community. Welcome to the rundown.

Host: Frozen pipes, evacuations, now water contaminated by a parasite. Cases First Nation is in the grips of a severe crisis. So, how is the community responding and what needs to happen now? Tyson Wesley is the executive director of Casseswan First Nation and he joins me now on the program. Tyson, how are you doing?

Tyson Wesley: I'm pretty good, thank you.

Host: Thank you. We appreciate your time under the circumstances, of course. Um, as we know, it's been just over a month uh since a local state of emergency was called. What's the latest update on the situation in Kashwan?

Tyson Wesley: Well, we have 1,700 people that have been evacuated over five sites in Ontario. Kingston, Niagara Falls, Cochran, Capis Gasing, and uh Timonss. So, and we have 300 less than 300 people still in the community. Uh so far, we've kind of uh made some progress with u the clinic that had sewage backing into the basement. So that's been completely uh remediated and all our uh clinic staff kind of moved all the equipment back into the nursing station. However, the as the test results came in for crypto, the nursing staff had to leave.

Host: Uh in terms of the illness for for for people who hear this parasite, um people have become quite ill. They can be ill for a couple of weeks. how serious uh give us a sense uh for people who are quite healthy but also people who have cororidities as well.

Tyson Wesley: Yeah. Um a lot the r the symptoms range from um like real like dehydration um a watery uh diarrhea vomiting nausea um people experienced bloating um sore stomachs. So um these symptoms kind of vary like between people. Some people are still experiencing symptoms after uh two weeks of um contracting uh crypto and it's it's kind of varies from person.

Host: At last reports there were about just north of 60 people uh who uh reported uh feeling ill. Um I understand those numbers probably under reportported as well. Uh do we have any updates on those figures?

Tyson Wesley: I think we're at about 73 confirmed cases um with crypto with about 19 that are kind of not been tested, but they believe that they do have cryp crypto. Uh but uh the numbers that we're kind of having are kind of the lower end. Uh that's the floor I'm being told and the ceiling is probably much higher since testing wasn't immediate. And um if one person gets crypto and or gets diagnosed with crypto uh tested confirmed they don't test for the their family members in the same household.

Host: All right. You had mentioned uh the locations uh that uh members have been evacuated to. Just want to pull up a map just to show people how far as you mentioned some have moved to uh have been evacuated to Capus Casing and Timmans but of course some as far as Kingston and Niagara Falls. Help us understand how are those locations determined?

Tyson Wesley: Uh it's um the locations are determined by their capacity to accommodate um accommodate people but at the same time there is an assessment of their health facilities um if they're able to uh meet demands uh for an excessive amount of people entering the area. So um they do an assessment on those. we it's like um if we send our people there, are they going to be waiting long to get um long for hospital visits and whatnot? So, that's one thing that they really determine. Um but um yeah, it's it's it's a bunch of stuff that they kind of assess prior to uh evacuating our people there. So,

Host: help us understand there, as you mentioned, there's about 300 uh people, several families who are still uh in Cesawan. help us understand why are they still there? How are they uh able to access u clean drinking water or how in terms of concerns if there are medical issues uh where is the next uh possible place that they could go?

Tyson Wesley: Yeah. Um those people that are staying behind as our crews that are still kind of like uh watching people's homes, watching um pets, like we have a high number of dogs in the in the community, so we're helping feed them. And but the other thing is we've been evacuated for so many times over the years and some people are just fed up with being evacuated and decided to stay to be in their comfort at home. We do have set guidelines right now to kind of avoid the use of water to do not consume it uh to make sure that follow the rules that public health has kind of set up. Uh I think as I said I think they're just evacuation fatigue that's happening in the community. Uh as I said the nurses have been pulled out and right now there is no medical staff that can um treat anybody uh in the community. However uh since the winter road is open at the moment uh they can access um uh health facilities in Fort Albany which is about an hour away. We've been we've been trying to work with ISC to kind of build a shorter uh winter road to Fort Albany, which would cut the time in half, but we haven't received any response yet. I I want to talk a little bit about the logistics for the people who have had to evacuate. Um what are some of the difficulties that you're hearing from being so far away from home? We're talking we're talking a wide range of of demographics and when we talk about you know elders, but we're also talking about students who are in the midst of of finishing class as well.

Tyson Wesley: Yeah, it's uh um it's it's been very difficult, very difficult on our people to be evacuated u in these host communities and I know education is a big thing in our community and we're trying to make accommodations to our to our uh students to make sure that they're still kind of um doing their schoolwork. I think there's uh homework packages that are being set up by the education authority to kind of um just the continuation of a school. Uh but however, this situation is is really difficult uh for our students to kind of um still get the level of education that they require. So it is it is difficult and exhausting. And uh what we've been hearing with people is they're they're tired. they're exhausted from having to deal with these constant uh states of emergencies for our community. So, it is it is frustrating and I know um our people are are just tired of it. I can hear it in your voice and I know Tyson, you are no stranger to this. 2005 is not that uh long ago when uh an evacuation for E.coli happened that uh you had to experience as well. I know you're speaking here as an official, but I do have to ask, how are you doing uh psychologically, you know, with having to deal with this, but also, you know, having to explain uh to us something that has been in the headlines before, uh unfortunately.

Tyson Wesley: Yeah. Uh I was in the community back in 2005. I I remember showering in brown water, >> uh having to kind of uh my little cousins having skin issues and whatnot. And I do remember that it's it's not it's still fresh in my mind and I know even with the community it's still fresh in their mind and having to to to experience something again is is quite difficult to really uh to uh to go through I guess. Uh I did contract crypto myself. Um, I've been sick for the past like probably over two weeks now and it's it's been frustrating to to still have these symptoms even though they're kind of going away slowly. So, um, but uh it just brings back memories of what happened in 2005 and now that it's happening again, it's it's it's kind of uh frustrating and um yeah, it's it's it's quite uh it seems um generational trauma at this point. Um, I remember one of our adviserss speaking um I think he remembers bathing his children in um in in a in a bucket with with bottled water and now that now his ch his child has to do that to his grandson. So, it's it's it's kind of uh really emotional to kind of see that happen again and kind of um reoccurring again which I think could have been avoidable.

Host: Well, let's talk about that in terms of um solutions. Uh what would solve this in the long term?

Tyson Wesley: I think uh like like right now we are u in the midst of a water crisis and and once it just say everything is finished by March we go home and our community has to prepare again uh to evacuate because of the flooding that happens every year and the risks associated with that. our people are in this loop uh that's that's always happening and we have to do it again in a few months and it it is frustrating. The long-term solution would be to relocate our community and to expedite these processes. Tyson, we did reach out to Indigenous Services Canada for a statement on the crisis and spokesperson Eric had sent out one and it reads in part, Indigenous Services Canada ISC continues to work closely with Kashawuan First Nation, provincial partners, Mishkawa Council, Wnebago Area Health Authority and Nishanab Aski Nation in response to the community's ongoing state of emergency. Minister G Masti has been in contact with Chief Wesley directly and with National Chief Woodhouse Nepanak regarding the community's declaration of emergency and evacuation. ISC is working alongside leadership and health partners to make sure that community members have access to the necessary supports during this extremely difficult time. How do you look at the the progress on potentially relocating your community?

Tyson Wesley: The progress has been slow. Well, I think we should have been definitely further ahead and in and moving the community. However, like we still have to go through uh additions to reserve land where we've where we need to kind of get land from the government to kind of move the community there and and just um I don't know I would say reducing these these studies like um um I know we can do it but uh it's just these processes have to be expediated and u just to make sure that this is not a annual thing that we and do like I'm sorry it's just just frustrating like um uh we've been dealing with this for over 18 years and the money the amount of money that the government has spent um evacuating our community must must amount to a large amount of money. So So is is the government's idea to to continue on this this spending dur is it cheaper for them to evacuate us every year and and not move us? Tyson, uh, we're going to have to leave it there. We appreciate you taking the time under the circumstances. Uh, we sense your frustration. Uh, we wish, uh, you and your your community, uh, well, and hope things, uh, do get fixed. Thank you so much.

Host: Thank you.

Host: Juno nominated musician Adrien Sutherland was born and raised in Adawapiscat First Nation, and now he's raising his family there. His new book, The Work of Our Hands, a cremeditation on the real world, explores the challenges and rewards of choosing the hard path. Walking out from the shadows,

Host: Adrian, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us. A lovely book. What I found interesting is it reads like a memoir but also reads like a meditation. I'm curious what did you have in mind when you started to write it?

Adrien Sutherland: It was clear earlier on that I wanted to write it in a way that was uh more of a a philosophy or or learning and not so much Leon trying to lecture people. So I wanted to uh to ensure that we were able to do it that in that sort of way to sort of sharing my stories and and my journey. The first scene in your book uh depicts quite a serious event and I'm curious if you can tell us what happened in that in that scenario. It was a time in my life where it was I found very difficult and I knew that uh that's where everything kind of really changed for me and things kind of was a a major turning point in my life. So, and it started, I think, uh, it started that night and that sort of set off, you know, a sequence a sequence of other events that kind of led me to rehab. Certainly, I think I hit what they call rock bottom

Adrien Sutherland: and uh that was a scary moment and for me it it really got me thinking about uh my life and and and wanting to get better. So, um, so when we back up and we look at how difficult things might have been growing up, you know, the loss of my father and, um, I had alcoholism, uh, in my home, just a lot of a lot of hardships and loss. Um, being separated from my siblings and and things like that and and also being rejected, I think because of my mixed ethnicity. Uh, feeling that rejection, you know, come from my maternal and paternal grandparents, my grandfather particularly. It wasn't easy. I found it really difficult and I felt it, you know, at a young age. Um, and it was it was hard for me to uh to kind of process that, especially uh in my younger years.

Host: People know you for your music. Uh people know that uh through this book, the challenge that you go through. Wonder if you can help connect that. How has music been a refuge for you through some of those hard times?

Adrien Sutherland: When he talked about hitting rock bottom earlier and wanting to take my own life, what I certainly felt in that moment was I had no control. Uh I lost control of everything. And that that was a scary feeling to to have that complete loss of control over over yourself and scaring the people around me that I cared about. And then moving forward into rehab from there and and uh you know understanding what was going on with me and learning about that and how to cope with all those things and rediscovering music while in rehab and being able to use that as a tool to kind of um you know let go of certain things. um um like to be able to release, you know, kind of saying art is really uh good for being able to uh find a place for those emotions and those feelings to kind of live, you know, and let go and put them out into the world.

Host: Part of that journey is also uh experiencing the sweat lodge. You describe your first experience where you weren't planning to take part in a in a fast. Uh you were there to help. What do those rituals mean for for someone like you, but also for CRE people uh to to be able to take that space in in a sweat lodge and and and spiritually? What does that mean for you?

Adrien Sutherland: Well, I think yeah, the first fast I ever went to, I mean, I was always aware of those things because uh my family was around them and I I've seen them and I've, you know, certainly heard a lot about them growing up, but never really felt that I wanted to be in those places because uh, you know, what was going on personally with me. And it wasn't until I got um through rehab and then I went uh went to the ceremony up in French River just just uh just west of the moose factory, the community moose factory. And I attended a ceremony there um for the first time with my brother uh who always invited me, you know, when he'd come through. He said, "You need to come." And I always say, "Yeah, I'll get you next time." But anyway, I went that year and I had no real intention of of doing it, you know, being really fully participating in anything that was going on, but I just wanted to know more about what it was about. And uh so I went

Adrien Sutherland: and uh they started off by building the lodge that day. And you know, people have their camps and they build their tents and set everything up. And uh we had a feast that night. And you know the the person running the ceremony began by you know rendering us the pipe ceremony and then and then the prayer started then the singing started and it was such an amazing experience for me and I felt really connected to to to all of that even though um I didn't really you know put myself and immerse myself into that growing up but I felt like I was meant to be there and and there was something that really called to me that that particular night and uh And when they asked how many fasters are here and I had like I had not even thought about it and I just I'll fast. Um so I uh I you know I volunteered to fast and uh and that was my first fast. Uh was probably it was a young man and uh and and it was a very for me it was a it was a very uh it was almost like an awakening I guess in some way and it really opened my eyes to a lot of a lot of things. cuz I never looked at the world the same way again because when you do something spiritual like that um it changes you um and uh some of the things you experience uh that are difficult to believe but you know like I seen it with my own eyes. I felt it.

Host: Well, there are something that happens on sort of the last day.

Adrien Sutherland: Yeah. Yeah. You get uh you know you go there and you ask for the things like good health uh protection to have the strength to to be able to do things but you also go go there to get to know who you are. And when you stop the water and the food for several days, um just like your human grandparents and creator, they get concerned. Why are you not eating? Why are you not drinking? It's the same thing on the spiritual side. They say they get concerned and they and they come, they say they come to see you and visit with you and and uh because they care about us even on the spiritual side. Um so it's important for us to not only get to know the physical world and and our grandparents and uh we need to get to know that spiritual side as well and that's how we one way uh cre people and other indigenous cultures um are able to do that. you are fluent in Cree. Um, and you talk in your book of, you know, being able to speak to, uh, people in your language, uh, and some people who aren't, uh, able to, um, and how that that there's some bonds that you make because of, uh, your fluency in it. What does it mean to you and your family that you are able to speak your language?

Adrien Sutherland: Well, for me it's it's it's I feel like I'm very uh fortunate um to be able to speak my language and I because I I meet a lot of people who who aren't able to speak their language and I feel really bad for them because I know they're they're they're trying to reconnect. They're trying to learn their language and it's it's very difficult for them um not growing up around their language, not not hearing it and not able to speak it. And uh I hear that it's it's like a it's almost like a mourning, you know, like I I feel that sort of uh it kind of give off that kind of feeling. So I'm just been very very fortunate that I was able to learn my language and uh I think a big part of that is because I a lot of far north bands are very uh they have very uh strong language retention because of the isolation. you sort of describe yourself as a teacher when you talk about your sweat lodge, but even with through language as well. And I'm curious, how does your vocation as a teacher uh overlap with being a musician?

Adrien Sutherland: Oh, good question. Um, I I think well in the music uh I I always tried to do it in a way I mean it's a little bit politically driven but it's always been uh it's always been that way but I always try to take you know it may even if it's not about something that's very positive I always try to get to a better place with the music. Uh I believe it's for everyone, you know, and uh like the book, I tried to to make this book uh um for everyone. And uh so I've always tried to use music in a way that is uh um again just sort of universal themes that we all can kind of understand and we can all relate to. Um and yeah, I mean in some of the music is teaching, you know, we we we talk about uh um in some of the songs I talk about uh loss, you know, um I talk about some of the songs are in Cree. So those are some of the songs I thought that would be really good to make um so people can, you know, learn to sing the song in Cree and then they learn are also learning at the same time about their language. So, so and those are some of the ways I I try to use music as as uh as teaching tools.

Host: Ain't no hiding in here. This is precious.

Host: You describing carrying water uh from the age of five up until today uh as an act of love. Tell me about that.

Adrien Sutherland: Well, from the earliest age, well, um we used to have these little pills that were small and they you uh we bought them at the Hudson's Bay. They come they usually lard in there. So that we always had one for water and just carrying different things. Um so my grandma made me go get water uh to fill the washer for dishes and and you know um bathing or whatever like like daily thing and then we did snow in winter um which we collected in those I don't know if you've ever seen them but the Canada Post bag usually blue or orange bright colors but we use those cuz they're made of polyester >> so it won't break

Adrien Sutherland: and Yeah. So, we use those and we'd fill them with snow and uh we also had a barrel that we use in the winter that we would put down sideways and we my grandfather cut a hole uh through the top and we'd fill that thing with a little cup cuz they they keep the ice uh open. They keep it a hole in the ice open all winter long so we could you know put in ice, snow and water and we kind of mix it all together. So, that was kind of our job. Um and we do that on the little snow machine. Um, so like yeah, the tools sort of varied, you know, to collecting water, but it it it was I remember it always being my job and it still is, you know, my job, my son's, it's their job now to to make sure that we have the water.

Host: Throughout your book, you talk about sort of these key moments, uh, one where you go hunting and stuff like that, but even something as simple as that we look at here, something as simple as getting water. What's the message to your son in that moment?

Adrien Sutherland: Well, for me, it's it's not just like a chore. It's a philosophy and I think it's a rhythm, you know, of life that we get into up there. Whether it's building or we harvest something to eat with our hands, it's always something to do with our hands. I think getting water, yeah, it's it's it's physically demanding and it's an it is uh it does feel like an inconvenience and some days there's a lineup. It's something that we do because we have to do it. It's not a choice uh for us up there. And uh even though it's difficult at some days to to push yourself to to make sure, you know, if you're if you're down with the flu, like you got to get water still, like you know, you're down for the flu for a few days, you still got to go and do it. Like it's it's not like, no, I'm going to do it when I'm better. No, it's like you got to get up and go get it. It's something I accept. And uh uh even though it's it's it's very hard at times, um I still think I I live a very beautiful life up there.

Host: A lot has probably changed uh from how you grew up and where you grew up in Adawapsa to what it is now. Can you tell us a little bit? Is is there a big change in sort of what you see that is always home that will always be home for you, but is it has it changed a lot?

Adrien Sutherland: There's been Yeah, there's been there's been change. Um in some ways though we I feel like we still we still live in the stone age uh or still living in the stone ages but but uh there has been change I think uh I mean the water has improved the water quality has improved you know from having no running water as a kid up until it was like 95 90 98 I think we got plumbed our house got plumbed so we we didn't have anything prior to that so yes there has there have been changes but I mean you could never drink the the water from the tap like uh for for many many many years you know that water is like poison drinking poison. So and you know people bathe in that and uh the the information the advice we were getting from Health Canada was do not bathe longer than 2 minutes in that water. Um you know don't breathe the vapors from the water tap. Uh so when you hear those kinds of things you're just like what like what is going on here? uh anyone I think uh would find that very very alarming

Host: with that those you know unfortunately those are the headlines that a lot of people read but I'm curious what do you want people to know out of Wabiscat for

Adrien Sutherland: we're not asking to be rescued we're active participants in our in our own lives and and you know I think we are surviving we we all are in a rhythm of survival up there we uh we have a wealth of knowledge about how to survive on the land and I think most of us that are up there choose to live there because we love the lifestyle. As I mentioned earlier, you can live a very hard life, but you can also have a very beautiful life at the same time. Those two things can coexist. Um, and I love the connection to the land. I love the CRE culture, the CRE tradition. Uh, that's why I'm there.

Host: Adrian, we're going to leave it there. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it. I ain't ashamed of where I came from. I hold my head up high and dream.

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