WATERLOO—Jayda Otosquaiob was a 13-year-old Anishinaabe girl from Manitoulin Island who had been in the child-welfare system all her life. She was bright, talented, loved children and had the most beautiful smile. She was a daughter, sister, granddaughter, great granddaughter and auntie. However she like many young people faced issues such as bullying and racism and, without proper supports in place to help her deal with mental health issues, this all contributed to her tragic death just a few weeks ago.
“Jayda was really good with kids, she was a really bright person, and she loved to laugh and kid around,” stated Emily Granville, her foster sister, who is currently attending her second year at Wilfrid Laurier University towards her Bachelor of Music. “She loved art and she was the classic 13-year-old kid. She loved TikTok and other similar things.”
“Yes, my parents, and me too, we are just going day to day, taking it slow right now,” said Ms. Granville. The family is still grieving, quietly adjusting to the loss of their foster daughter, who they first took into their home 11 years ago. “I am taking a couple of weeks off school.”
Ms. Granville explained that no one knew exactly what Jayda was going through. “Not really. My parents knew that something was going on, and they tried to get her some support from a local case worker support agency, but they did not get a very good response. When I went to elementary school on the Island, I know there wasn’t any outreach in place for students to get assistance. There was nothing like that when I went to elementary school, and I imagine for the most part it is the same still. I just wish there were more supports available. There is obviously a lack of resources, especially being that it is a rural community.”
Ms. Granville said her foster sister shared stories of bullying at her school. She feels having had more support in the school and community may have helped her foster sister, before the situation became hopeless. “There are things that I’ve seen in southern Ontario, for example, like social workers at schools—you don’t see that on Manitoulin Island.” (There is one social worker available for all Rainbow Board Island schools.)
“I have a feeling that a lot of Northern Ontario is in the same boat, especially for Indigenous populations and rural areas,” said Ms. Granville.
“I know when I had mental health issues when I went to high school, if it was not between Monday-Friday between 9 am and 5 pm during the school day, the closest support was in Sudbury,” said Ms. Granville.
“I think this is all something that we can relate a lot to in Northern Ontario,” said Ms. Granville. “We all heard about the epidemic of student suicides in Attawapiskat. It was awful … and now she is part of a statistic. This is an issue that needs to be addressed.’
“I am raising funds on the GoFundMe page to collect for a bursary for Indigenous students in the child welfare system,” Ms. Granville said. “I’m hoping the bursary will help alleviate some of the financial burdens on those students, even if it’s just enough money so they don’t feel extra pressure to find part-time work in addition to their studies ao that students can focus on what they should be focussing on, school.”
“And the bursary will show them that someone wants them, believes in them and wants to support them,” said Ms. Granville. “I know when I get someone that shows they support me it always goes a long way,” she added, noting she has received Inspire, Music Counts, Cambrian College and Wilfrid Laurier bursaries. “This support helped a lot. Especially in terms of work, I didn’t have to cut down on the hours I work to support myself in school, and it allows me, and what I hope will be the same with the bursary I’ve started through the fundraising campaign, so students can focus on what they need to—their education.”
“I have a fundraising goal of $7,500 but have set no limit on how much is raised,” said Ms. Granville. “I would like to raise as much money as we can, if I can keep it (bursary) going for 20 years and can help out other Indigenous students going into post-secondary school, I would love this.”
“I am hoping to do other fundraising as well, and hopefully keep the donations going.” As of Thursday of last week over $5,000 had been raised through the GoFundMe campaign.
“I miss her and love her, and it’s very tragic what happened to her,” said Ms. Granville. “I started this campaign to keep her in memory and to give people who need support. This and Jayda’s memory keeps me motivated to fundraise.”
Click here to support the GoFundMe campaign for the ‘Jayda Otosquaiob Memorial Bursary’
