{"id":102233,"date":"2026-02-24T10:44:48","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T15:44:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=102233"},"modified":"2026-02-24T10:44:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T15:44:48","slug":"kin-not-evacuees-inside-kingstons-support-for-kashechewan-cree-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/kin-not-evacuees-inside-kingstons-support-for-kashechewan-cree-residents\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Kin, not evacuees\u2019: inside Kingston&#8217;s support for Kashechewan Cree residents"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Michelle Dorey Forestell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Kingstonist.com More than a month after arriving in Kingston, residents from Kashechewan First Nation are still living in hotel rooms far from home, adjusting to unfamiliar routines, coping with uncertainty, and navigating the emotional strain of displacement. More than 250 people from the northern Ontario Cree community were relocated to Kingston beginning Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, after a critical failure in Kashechewan\u2019s water system left residents without safe drinking water. Many are considered &#8216;tier one&#8217; or especially vulnerable evacuees, including elders, young families, and individuals with complex medical needs. At the centre of the local response is the Kingston Native Centre and Language Nest (KNCLN), which has been coordinating cultural supports, programming, and community connections for displaced people. For Executive Director Brandon&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F02%2F24%2Fkin-not-evacuees-inside-kingstons-support-for-kashechewan-cree-residents%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Michelle Dorey Forestell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Kingstonist.com More than a month after arriving in Kingston, residents from Kashechewan First Nation are still living in hotel rooms far from home, adjusting to unfamiliar routines, coping with uncertainty, and navigating the emotional strain of displacement. More than 250 people from the northern Ontario Cree community were relocated to Kingston beginning Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, after a critical failure in Kashechewan\u2019s water system left residents without safe drinking water. Many are considered &#8216;tier one&#8217; or especially vulnerable evacuees, including elders, young families, and individuals with complex medical needs. At the centre of the local response is the Kingston Native Centre and Language Nest (KNCLN), which has been coordinating cultural supports, programming, and community connections for displaced people. For Executive Director Brandon... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F02%2F24%2Fkin-not-evacuees-inside-kingstons-support-for-kashechewan-cree-residents%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&#039;Kin, not evacuees\u2019: inside Kingston&#039;s support for Kashechewan Cree residents - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/kin-not-evacuees-inside-kingstons-support-for-kashechewan-cree-residents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#039;Kin, not evacuees\u2019: inside Kingston&#039;s support for Kashechewan Cree residents - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Michelle Dorey Forestell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Kingstonist.com More than a month after arriving in Kingston, residents from Kashechewan First Nation are still living in hotel rooms far from home, adjusting to unfamiliar routines, coping with uncertainty, and navigating the emotional strain of displacement. More than 250 people from the northern Ontario Cree community were relocated to Kingston beginning Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, after a critical failure in Kashechewan\u2019s water system left residents without safe drinking water. Many are considered &#8216;tier one&#8217; or especially vulnerable evacuees, including elders, young families, and individuals with complex medical needs. At the centre of the local response is the Kingston Native Centre and Language Nest (KNCLN), which has been coordinating cultural supports, programming, and community connections for displaced people. 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