Al6 Terrace Review — Wednesday, May 8, 1991

Northern studen

‘by Tod Strachan

ee

_- The Iskut band council is seeking
_ development and operational fund-

ing fora student dormitory at
- Dease Lake but have been waiting
for some time for some kind of a
. peaponse from either the Depart-

"ment of Indian Affairs and North-

em Development, The provincial
Ministry of Native Affairs, the
Ministry of Education or School
District 87. The Regional District
of Kitimat-Stikine supports the
idea ‘and has sent letters of support
to all of the above in the hope that
it will help the band in achieving
their goal.

Area ’D’ regional director Dave
Brocklebank explained the situ-
ation to the regional board at their
most recent meeting. The school at
Iskut is funded by the Department
of Indian Affairs and offers grades
one through nine. The school at
Telegraph Creek is the responsibil-
ity of School District 87 and also
offers grades one to nine.

Until the current year, the school
at Dease Lake only went as far as
grade 10 but in September bowed
to public pressure and for the first
time offered grade 11 as well.
Next year, says Brocklebank, grade
12 will be added.

This offers a new opportunity to
Iskut and Telegraph Creek stu-
dents. In the past, those students
wanting to go on to high school
gtaduation and beyond, were sent
out to communities like Terrace,
Smithers, Whitehorse and
Vancouver, where they stayed in
boarding homes.

Boarding homes opening their
doors to native students received
$350 per month for their trouble
and the band assumed the respon-
sibility of finding appropriate
‘homes ana covered the cost of
transportation. Boarding homes
receiving non-native students
received only $250 per month,
until recently when that was upped
to $350 per month as well, but
parents were responsible for find-
ing a boarding home and covering
the cost of transportation.

The boarding home system hasn’t
worked well. Not that there was
anything wrong with the boarding
homes themselves. It was the lure
of the big city on students who
had lived all or most of their lives
ina tiny rural settlement with very

It’s Time fora Chane

Helmut Giesbrecht
New Democrat for Skeena

little in the way of recreational or

entertainment amenities. And on
top of that, there are long stretches
of time away from home, family
and friends. "Basically being thrust
into a world of strangers,” is how
Brocklebank describes it.

With the addition of grade 11
and next year grade 12. at the
Dease Lake school, Iskut started

busing their older students. This is

difficult and somewhat dangerous,
however. It’s a 60-mile drive, 120
miles or three hours every day,
_ and in the long northern winter it’s
not uncommon for temperatures to
drop to -60 or -70 degrees Celsius.

_. This, however, isn’t really an
option for Telegraph Creek -stu-
dents. The one-way distance from

that community is around 60 miles -

as well but the road is narrow,
winding, and, where the Tuya,

Tahitan and Stikine rivers. mect,

far from ideal for busing school

_ students. The worst stretch is about
10 miles long, Steep hills, switch:

backs, and @ two-mile climb up the
face of a cliff where drivers pray
no one is coming the other way,
make the trip a challenge even in
summer.

For all these reasons everyone
seems to support the Iskut proposal

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for 'a dormitory at Dease Lake that
will.be open to both: native and
non-native senior students. Cassiar
has always offered grade 12 but

has never been considered a good.

option. It’s a company town
another 120. miles further north
with little or no extra accommoda-
tion to spare. Also, the future of
Cassiar is on hold. ‘The company
may close the town soon. .

Even the staff at the Dease Lake
school support the idea. They had
to give up their lunch room, but
that was alright. And according to
Brocklebank the Ministry of Edu-
cation has approved a portable to

aoe

ts get-better access to high school

"properly" accommodate the new
students, But next. year staff and
school will have to somehow
accommodate their first-ever class
of grade twelves.

If. there is any real support for
the idea of a’ Deane Lake-dormitory
within any of the ministries men-
tioned above, Brockiebank hasn't

-heard- of it, But this doesn’t .sur-
' prise Brocklebank. "As. is ustial

with senior government,” he offers
in a report to the regional board,
"the need has to be proven before
a commitment is made — except
for Coquihalla Highways and Expo
86's."

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