NU screening Hi-Ho Mistahey!

Nipissing University’s Office of Aboriginal Initiatives is pleased to present a screening of the feature length documentary film Hi-Ho Mistahey! Every Child Needs to Have a Good School, by Alanis Obomsawin, on Monday, March 24 at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph Scollard Hall Secondary School (675 O’Brien St., North Bay).

In 2008, 14-year-old Shannen Koostachin, a student from the Cree community of Attawapiskat, launched a campaign to build a suitable school for the children of her village. Two years later, tragedy struck when Shannen was killed in a car accident. Her campaign for a new school in Attawapiskat became a national movement, bringing people from all walks of life together to make Shannen’s Dream—the dream of fairness in education for First Nations children, in schools that are safe and welcoming—a reality.

Alanis Obomsawin’s documentary Hi-Ho Mistahey! portrays a community seeking justice and fair treatment. The director brings together the voices of those who have brought Shannen’s Dream from town to town—across Canada and all the way to the United Nations in Geneva, in a larger-than-life adventure.

In February 2012, a motion on education for First Nations children passed unanimously in the House of Commons. The voice of the children had been heard, and construction of a new school in Attawapiskat could finally begin.

A moderated discussion with the family of the late Shannen Koostachin will follow the screening.