Rosemary Breschuk-Chiu, Newmarket, Ontario
This week, the children in my suburban neighbourhood of Newmarket, Ontario (an hour north of Toronto), completed erecting our fifth annual Shannen Koostachin Memorial Dream Garden in my front yard, to honour this courageous warrior who fought for "clean and comfy" schools for indigenous children in remote communities, replete with all the amenities enjoyed by non-native children in Canada. Her campaign has been memorialized in a film, her character is the basis for a comic book super hero, and she stood up to parliamentarians in her quest to realize her dream, starting at the age of 13. Sadly, just before her 16th birthday, she was taken away from us too soon, on June 1 2010, in a vehicular accident. Shannen may be physically gone, but there are thousands of us who have taken up the torch and push to continue to make Shannen's dreams for a good education for ALL indigenous, First Nations, Inuit and Metis children. Shannen's Dream Lives on, and this week she was honoured as one of Canada's most important citizens for #Canada150. Rest in Paradise, Shannen, and we shall continue to fight for your dreams as you look on............ Love and prayers to Shannen's parents, family, friends and followers.
Friday July 7, 2017 at 6:54 pm