Plans to rebuild Catholic church in Attawapiskat to take shape this year

Nearly three years after it was destroyed by fire, there are plans to rebuild the Catholic church in Attawapiskat.

The diocese plans to use $3 million in insurance money to build a smaller church on the same site overlooking the Attawapiskat River in the fly-in community on Ontario's James Bay Coast.

"Without having that church there. I find that it's not nice, it's not normal. It's just so hard. We need a church," said 53-year-old Rosie Koostachin, a regular parishioner and one of the dozens who watched the church fire back in April 2021. 

"It's always been there." 

Pierre-Olivier Tremblay, the bishop of the Diocese of Hearst-Moosonee, said he visited Attawapiskat to discuss the future of the parish and the message from the community was clear. 

"It was unanimous. People were very, very eager to see the church rebuilt. They were very sad about the whole thing, about the destruction of the former church. And it kind of was and still is a symbol for the community," he said.

"A symbol of a community that has a lot of challenges, but a lot of hopes and a lot of dreams to go forward."

A CBC investigation found that the Attawapiskat church is one of 33 to burn down in Indigenous communities across Canada in recent years, with only a handful being ruled accidents.

A 37-year-old man has been charged with arson in the Attawapiskat church fire and is set to make his next court appearance on Wednesday.

While some of the fires might have been motivated by the enduring legacy of colonialism in First Nations, Tremblay does not believe that's the case here.

"What I heard from the people in Attawapiskat, that it was not felt like this burning was done in an expression of anger. People were not putting that on the same context," he said, adding that he sees the rebuilding of the church as a step toward reconciliation.

"I have to be an agent of building awareness and openness to others and to be an agent of intercultural encounters."

Every Sunday, Koostachin attends mass, which is being held in a parish hall in Attawapiskat, and is disappointed to only see a handful of parishioners.

But she also considers herself a very traditional Cree person and feels her community needs both. 

"My parents are residential school survivors, but they still respect the church. That's how they survived they said: the prayers," said Koostachin.