First Nations teen found dead was living in group home in Thunder Bay, Ont., chief says

A 17-year-old girl from North Caribou Lake First Nation was in the care of the child welfare system when she was found dead in Thunder Bay, Ont., on Sunday, according to Alvin Fiddler, grand chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation.

The body of Tammy Keeash was discovered in the Neebing-McIntyre floodway around 9 p.m. on Sunday. Police asked for help in identifying the girl and on Tuesday released her name and photo asking for more assistance in piecing together her final hours.

Keeash is the fourth teen from a remote First Nation in northern Ontario to die while in the custody of a child welfare agency since October.

• Ontario First Nations call for mandatory inquests when children die in child welfare system
• Friends and family of teen who died in Orlans fire shocked by her death

"It's another tragic loss for our communities, knowing that we have lost so many of our youth," said Fiddler during a break in a chief's assembly in Timmins, Ont., where leaders from 49 northern Ontario First Nations are meeting this week.

Keeash's name will be added to the chiefs resolution on Wednesday calling for mandatory inquests into the deaths of children in care, Fiddler said.

The push for inquests came last month after two girls from remote First Nations died within days of each other in the Ottawa area.

Amy Owen, 13, from Poplar Hill First Nation died on April 17 after being in care in a group home in Prescott, Ont. The official cause of her death has not yet been determined. It is also not clear where she was when she died.

Courtney Scott, 16, from Fort Albany First Nation, died in a house fire at her foster home in Orlans on April 21.

Their deaths followed the loss ofKanina Sue Turtle, 15. She died on October 29, 2016, while in a group home in Sioux Lookout.

Other deaths in the river

Fiddler said Keeash's death is also a reminder of the five other First Nations teens whose bodies have been discovered in rivers in Thunder Bay since 2000.

The deaths of Jethro Anderson, Curran Strang, Reggie Bushie, Kyle Morrisseauand Jordan Wabassewere part of a coroner's inquest in Thunder Bay last year.

The jury at the inquest recommended a safety audit of areas known to be dangerous for Indigenous teens.

"That's one of the questions we have for the cityand also for the police," Fiddler said."One of the recommendations from the inquest was to increase security in certain areas of the city, including the McIntyre Riverfloodway and as far as we know those measures have not been put in place."

• CBC News Investigates: The lives and deaths of First Nations teens in Thunder Bay, Ont.