Utoo Radio with Other News Sources - September 29, 2024 - The First Nation of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory in northern Canada is facing a jurisdictional battle over funding for a new elders home.

The long-term care license for the facility, built in 1972, is set to expire next year.

The facility is too small to meet demand for spaces, has no room for cultural events, and needs costly repairs. If the First Nation cannot secure funding for a planned new building, it will be forced to relocate 50 Anishinaabe elders, most of them survivors of residential schools, to other nursing homes scattered across the province.

The community's former chief, Rachel Manitowabi, said some of the elders have Alzheimer's or dementia and find it hard to speak the English language.

The First Nation is $20 million short of the $60 million it needs to build a new nursing home. Ontario committed $30 million toward the project, while the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation contributed $7.5 million and the community collected more than $2 million through fundraising efforts.

The new building would have 96 beds and space for programming so elders can share their knowledge with youth.