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'Children of the Broken Treaty,' by Charlie Angus, tells Shannen's story

Author Charlie Angus officially launched his new book Children of the Broken Treaty on Thursday evening at the Timmins Museum National Exhibition Centre.

Author Charlie Angus officially launched his new book Children of the Broken Treaty on Thursday evening at the Timmins Museum National Exhibition Centre.

The book tells the story of Shannen Koostachin, a young activist from the Attawapiskat First Nation, who wanted access to safe, clean and modern education facilities in remote areas of Canada - something that is taken for granted by most.

In 2007, she was attending Attiwapiskat's only elementary school, J.R. Nakogee, which consisted a cluster of makeshift portables since 2000, when the previous school was condemned and closed due to fuel leaks and water damage.

Shannen realized that the Government of Canada was not providing proper funding for education in First Nations communities across the country.

She became an advocate for change, and visited Parliament Hill in 2008 to make her voice heard.

In 2009, at the age of 14, she was nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize.

Shannen Koostachin died tragically in a car accident on May 30, 2010.

Her father, Andrew Koostachin, was on hand Thursday and spoke about her legacy.

“It's an honour to be here. It's heavy at the same time. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about my daughter. Losing a child is a very devastating force. It's been five years since her passing, and my wife and I still have our moments. But now, we can reflect and look back on the things that she did with joy and with honour,” he said.

“We have a beautiful school now. Just to see the kids with their smiles, it means so much.”

Attawapiskat opened its new school in the fall of 2014, largely thanks to the advocacy of Shannen Koostachin.

Angus told TimminsToday about his inspiration for the book.

“I started writing the book in March of 2014 after speaking to a school of 600 students in Markham who were totally on fire about the story of Shannen. I thought it was time someone looked at why her story has affected so many people. At that time I was also going through about 2,000 pages worth of government documents I had on St. Anne's residential school (in Fort Albany) and I realized there's a real pattern here,” said Angus.

“I worked every night when I was home from Parliament, and on weekends. I had a manuscript ready for the publishers by early September.”

He talked about the lasting impact that a single individual can make in the world.

“Shannen brought this story of inequity that First Nations leaders and education experts have been fighting for decades. She put it on the national agenda. She's the face of this issue. She's the story that people tell. We got that school in Attawapiskat because of her struggle. I can say as a politician, we were up against a government that was not going to relent. They relented because of the intense pressure from young people,” said Angus.

“In First Nations communities, we need youth heroes, we need role models. What is staggeringly impressive about Shannen is she's a role model, not just on reserves, but downtown, inner-city, urban kids, they look to Shannen. They see a youth who stands up, and they want to be like her.”

Museum curator Karen Bachmann described how the museum got involved.

“We started talking in late June. We like to do a number of book launches at the museum. We try to do things that are pertinent to the community and that will bring people out. We're pleased to work with him. I think its an important story for everybody to know about. There's a lot of local connections to Shannen,” said Bachmann.

Angus said he has been overwhelmed by the support he's been shown for his latest work.

“This book is getting a huge response. It's only been out for five days, but we're getting a lot of attention because people want to know how things went wrong, and they want to know how things can be made right, and this book covers both issues,” said Angus.

Ottawa and Toronto are the other two cities where a book launch will be held.

The book is available for sale at the Timmins Museum, Cole's Books in the Timmins Square, as well as other book stores in the area. It sells for $27.95.