"Boycott May Last Till December"

OHSWEKEN - It may be December before 1,200 children on the Six Nations reserve can start school, Chief Coun. William Montour said Monday.

More asbestos is being found in the schools and it may take several more months to remove it, he said after a tour of the schools and a press conference.

The 12 schools were to open Sept. 5, but parents have kept their children home to protest health and safety problems in the old, rundown buildings.

Chief Coun. Montour also set a deadline of Oct. 31 for the Department of Indian Affairs to commit itself to building three new schools promised in 1985.

Six Nations will take its fight to the United Nations if it does not receive the commitment, he said.

Indian Affairs decided after the boycott started to demolish eight classrooms and replace them with portable classrooms and fix the rest of the buildings. The work was estimated to cost more than $400,000. Some of the classrooms have been demolished and the portables are expected to arrive next week. It is expected to take two more weeks to get them ready to open.

The community set up a 13-member Education Crisis Committtee to monitor the work and tell parents when it is safe to let their children start school. The committee will present a report at a public meeting Thursday.

But this is only a "Band-Aid solution at best," Chief Coun. Montour said. "We are serving notice that we will not be content with Band-Aid solutions any longer."

A report by the government and Six Nations in 1985 said all but two schools should be demolished and replaced with two new schools. The two schools remaining were to be renovated.

Renovation of one of the schools is just being completed, but construction has not started on any of the new schools.