Issue 3: Wa Ni Ska Tan Spring 2018 Newsletter

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WA NI SKA TAN AN ALLIANCE OF HYDRO-IMPACTED COMMUNITIES Inside this Edition Our Third Wa Ni Ska Tan Newsletter for Hydro-Impacted Communities Kelly Janz, Coordinator. University of Manitoba.

Welcome to the third edition of the Wa Ni Ska Tan Newsletter. Inside you will find a wide array of

2017 Youth Camp. Photo Credit: Emily Unger.

Nay-Na-Bush and the Lily

By Diana Traverse Many moons ago there was a spirit that roamed the lands of our grandfathers, called nay-na-bush.

He took many forms, sometimes causing a lot of trouble.

One day nay-na-bush was getting tired. He needed to lie down to sleep. Nay-na-bush started looking for a place to sleep, he started crawling around to get cozy. As nay-na-bush was getting more tired, he noticed this long stem plant, this plant was long. He looked down on the plant, it was long enough for him to crawl in. The plant was that deep. As nay-nabush started to fall into a deep sleep, nay-na-bush started curling up, causing this plant to turn into a small ball. The lily stem got knotted by nay-na-bush moving around while he was sleeping. Nay-nabush slept for a very long time. Soon nay-na-bush started getting warm, it stirred him to wake up. As nay-na-bush woke up he yawned, stretched inside this plant, causing it to form to his skinny body as he crawled out of the plant. He was so pleased with his sleep that he blessed this nice plant. Talking to it, so that it blooms every year. Reminding nay-na-bush of his sleep, the petals an indigo blue, reminding nay-na-bush of the pleasant colours of early nights, early morning colours, and the canga bulb where nay-na-bush slept started blooming into lovely lilies with indigo petals, reminding him of his good sleep.

articles with themes related to water, hydro impacts, and culture that not only focus on Manitoba, but other regions in Canada and internationally. You’ll also find a recipe for wapos (rabbit stew), stories, photography, interviews, and research updates.

This issue is coming out as we wrap up our second official year as a SSHRC-funded Partnership Grant project and so much has happened.

We kicked things off with the Annual Spring Gathering in Norway House Cree Nation. The primary outcome of the Gathering was the need for less talk and more action. Major themes for action were identified with practical ideas to move things forward. Despite the ferry breaking down and the extended stay, we had a great time in the community with a community tour, medicine picking, and performances by Christina Cater Memorial Square Dancers and fiddlers Clayton and Ryan D’Aoust. We also give many thanks to

bush had caused it to form into a round bulb. Sometimes when he slept he curled up like a small ball. Nay-na-bush could still hear the laughter of the soft voices of the women gatherers. Nay-nabush fell back to sleep. Again he was awoken. This time by a pounding, the continual pounding on his head. Nayna-bush woke up! He flew up looking down on the gatherers. He watched the gatherers, pounding his small bed, he was pleased he had a good sleep, he allowed the gatherers to feast on his bed. He yelled out and called across the gatherers, as they gathered this strange looking plant. Wondering what to call the lovely purple flower, nayna-bush yelled, “caay gah”, meaning it stinks, because he was awoken up from his long, long, long sleep. This bulb was used to make bread. It was pounded, kneaded, finally cooked, and the bread lasted for many days. Our grandfathers of long ago had eaten it as bread.

Northern Manitoba Fisheries

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WHA Research and Community Project Update

Norway House Chief & Council for their generosity in making sure everyone had a place to stay and keeping us up to date on the ferry repairs.

Youth and land-based programming remain a key focus of Wa Ni Ska Tan, leading to our second annual youth camp, this time held in Nelson House in late July. Highlights from the youth camp included a youth participation in the full process of smoking fish, from pulling up the nets to building the smoke house, to taking some home for dinner.

The youth also had the chance to go on a hike, play our newly developed role playing game, Who’s Got the Power? and learn about hydro-impacts on the community.

Summer students this year included Emily Unger, Hasini Fernando, Cody Blacksmith, Robin Continued on page 2.

Pickerel Narrows First Nation The People of Granville Lake

By Jack Lovell

Put the Kettle on. Photo Credit: Jack Lovell.

I had the opportunity during the 2016 Annual Spring Gathering in Brokenhead Ojibway Nation to engage with Chief Gordon Bighetty Jr. of the Pickerel Narrows First Nation, a traditional Cree community currently based in Leaf Rapids, Manitoba. Like many Indigenous communities in Northern Manitoba, their story shares a common but tragic theme of a people under pressure to survive as a distinctive community. This historical Cree community has been established for centuries on the shore of pristine Granville Lake, with the oldest written historical records from the Legislative Library dating back to 1794 with the establishment of a Hudson’s Bay Trading post.

One evening nay-na-bush was awoken by this shaking laughter. Nay-na-bush tried falling back to sleep as he laid in the bottom of the plant. Nay-na-

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Spring 2018 Newsletter

Continued on page 2.

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Champagne and Aishihik First Nations Territory

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August 2017 Hydro Tour

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Water Sampling in Tataskweyak Cree Nation

Pickerel Narrows First Nation.

Continued from page 1.

A great catch! Photo Credit: Jack Lovell.

However, a ‘catastrophic failure’ of the residential water and sewage system in March 2003 led to an immediate evacuation to nearby Leaf Rapids. Under the Northern Flood Agreement, the Manitoba government had promised to rectify the problems. However, the return of the Pickerel Narrows First Nation to their home on Granville Lake was to be short lived. In 2006 the population was again evacuated to Leaf Rapids due to ineffectual ‘repairs’ to their water and sewage system and government promises remain unfulfilled to this day. Undaunted, the people of Pickerel Narrows have proved themselves a resilient and innovative group, working in traditional occupations such as commercial fishing and hunting. The people of Pickerel Narrows are also engaged in seasonal work, like building roads and bridges, and bush clearance for Manitoba Hydro transmission line construction.

Chief Gordon Bighetty Jr. and members of Pickerel Narrow First Nation have been active members of Wa Ni Ska Tan: An Alliance of Hydro-Impacted Communities since the 2014 Thompson Gathering.

This summer, Chief Gordon Bighetty Jr., his Elder council, and community members have put a renewed priority on returning to their traditional home on Granville Lake. Chief Gordon Bighetty Jr. says, “We want our lives back to normal, with proper water and sewer. We should be entitled to a perfectly normal home, just like everybody else.”

As part of the renewed priority of returning to their traditional home is a project to build an Elders

Lodge on Granville Lake at a site called “Thunderground”. The lodge will be a place where Elders can meet, share, teach and heal on this spiritually charged site where Sun Dance ceremonies are held every June, drawing visitors from many parts of Canada.

During my recent visit to Leaf Rapids and Granville Lake in early summer I was awed by the natural abundance and beauty of the lands and waterways of the region while camping at “Thunderground”. My PhD work is primarily based upon working with the leadership and people in the establishment of The Elders Lodge as a ‘hub’ for a unique economic model that incorporates authentic traditional Cree culture within a multifaceted economic program designed to meet modern day needs.

Thanks to $15,000 in community project funding from Wa Ni Ska Tan, construction will begin soon for a modest start on the Elders Lodge at the Thunderground site. This exciting new initiative represents an important early step in Pickerel Narrows First Nation’s planned return to their home and ancestors on Granville Lake.

Inside this Issue.

Continued from page 1.

Neckoway, Maddie Soldier, and visiting intern Ema Coleman from Indiana University. Our summer students have been integral to the planning and coordination of events, research, and bringing fresh ideas and perspectives to the Alliance. You can read all about their role and contribution to our work on our website.

In the Fall we hired our first Community Coordinator, SadiePhoenix Lavoie. We’re very excited to have her join the team and look forward to working with her on a number of events that we hope will bring public awareness and urgency to the issues facing hydro-impacted Annual Gathering communities. You can • June 6-9, 2018 read more about Sadie • University College of the on our website and North, Thompson MB we’ll be posting more • www.hydroimpacted.ca about upcoming events • info@hydroimpacted.ca in our e-newsletter and social media so please stay tuned!

2017 gave way to the approval of five research projects and three community projects, which you can find summaries of on pages 4-5. These projects range from oral history projects to the construction of an elders’ lodge to geographical mapping using traditional environmental knowledge.

We’re looking forward to so many more research, community projects, and events in 2018 and I’m excited to announce that our Annual Gathering will be taking place at the University College of the North this year in Thompson from June 6th to 9th.

Remember to sign up for our e-newsletter at www.hydroimpacted.ca/contact-us/ so that you don’t miss out on opportunities, events, and announcements. Don’t hesitate to call or email if you’d like to get more involved, apply for funding, or contribute to the next issue of our newsletter, e-newsletter, or website. I hope to see you all at the Spring Gathering.

Until then, happy reading!

Last group to leave the Norway House Annual Gathering.

Photo Credit: Jarvis Brownlie.

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100 Days of Cree Excerpts from Neal McLeod’s Book

By Neal McLeod This book is an introduction to one of the most widely spoken Indigenous languages in Canada and acts as a guide to understanding the world, and ourselves, in another way. Find your copy through the University of Regina Press. All royalties received will be donated to a student scholarship fund.

“Now is our time, now is the time to bring back the sound of our ancestors to the world, and to leave a legacy for our children and grandchildren.”

- Neal McLeod Day 9- Facebook / Internet Slang All too often people think that technology and television are negative factors leading to the decline of Indigenous languages, including Cree. However, I would say that the Internet, including Facebook, is a tool that can help with language retention. Social media played a key role in the writing of this book.

Words were posted, and then people from all over Canada and the United States contributed to our ongoing quest to document the Cree language.

• Facebookipitamawin – ‘facebook me!’

• ê-wî-postopitamân – ‘I will post that’

Northern Manitoba Fisheries Panel Discussion Recap

By Emily Unger with Gerald McKay This article is based on a Fisheries panel discussion held during the 2017 Wa Ni Ska Tan Spring Gathering in Norway House Cree Nation.

South Indian Lake Fishing was the main economy in South Indian Lake before the community was flooded by Manitoba Hydro from 1973-1976. With no production, unstable income, and hefty start-up costs, being a fisherman is now a faraway dream. The flooding affected the fishing industry by forcing fish upland, to smaller lakes when the water was high. The water receded, leaving fish behind in these areas, and making spawning difficult with fluctuating water levels.

Grand Rapids In Grand Rapids, 1600 square miles of land was flooded to make way for the Grand Rapids generating station, built between 1960 to 1968. The deal made with Manitoba Hydro provided about eleven cents, per person, per day to compensate losses worth much more. Today the fishing economy of Grand Rapids has been reduced to 10% of what it used to be, with numbers dwindling from 1000 to 100 fishers since the flooding.

Manitoba Hydro Manitoba Hydro’s efforts to repair these issues included temporary efforts in funding motor repairs and downstream fishing. This aid has since expired,

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• ni wallim – ‘my wall’ • konita-tôtêm – ‘Facebook friend who you really have no real connection with’. konita really means ‘for no purpose’ • cah! – Don’t say “jks” – be a neechie and say cah! (pronounced “cha!”). Assimilation starts in small little steps, and this is one of them. If we are to survive, we much draw the line here. We must bring back the cah!

Day 56 - Forests The theme for today is forests. I grew up on the James Smith Reserve – which is just at the edge of the parklands and where the heavy bush begins – and it was here that my father, Jerry McLeod, taught me many things. He left us in June 2011, and his passing brought home to me the necessity of working hard to preserve and pass on our language. We are, after all, the living present of ancestral legacy.

I have to thank my father for giving me the seeds of language and history, which have given me the foundation upon which I stand today.

• sakâw – ‘bush’; ‘woods’; ‘forest’ • sakâwiyiniwak – the Plains Cree name for the ‘Woods/Woodland/Bush Cree’ • kawâhtik – ‘fallen tree’ • mahihkan – ‘wolf’ (an important being of the forests) • maskwa – ‘bear’ (another important being of the forests) • wayakêsk – ‘tree bark’ • sakimêskâw – ‘there are lots of mosquitoes’

as Manitoba Hydro now calls fishing and trapping a hobby. This lack of support caused an economic crash and increased reliance on social assistance for many people in northern Manitoba, not just South Indian Lake and Grand Rapids.

After losing their jobs, land, independence, and way of life, the people of northern Manitoba have great reason to be upset, to be angry in fact.

However, what most people want is to be able to sit down at the table and work with Manitoba Hydro, not against them. Manitoba Hydro has created separate relationships and agreements with each of the hydro-impacted communities, a tactic known as divide and conquer. But now the Wa Ni Ska Tan Alliance is working to remove these barriers of separation, allowing everyone to share their stories and work together for a better future. Gerald McKay, a fisher from Grand Rapids, says that, “We should all stand together, because it is the same story in every community.”

Fishers Supporting Fishers In 1969 the government-run Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation (FFMC) took over marketing for the fishing industry in Manitoba. Its responsibility was to increase economic returns to fishers and find inter-provincial and export markets for freshwater fish. However, in August 2016 the government announced its withdrawal from the Freshwater Fish Marketing Act. The government promoted the move in saying that it will give fishers more options and the freedom to make their own marketing decisions. However, others argue that it will make it harder for smaller, independent fishers.

The government has shown that they will not

Boating in Nelson House. Photo Credit: Jonathan Ventura.

support the fishers, the hunters, the trappers, and the livelihoods of people in hydro-impacted communities. We must begin to do things for ourselves.

Finding a location to create a privately owned and run fishing co-op could become the beginning of a fantastic partnership. This idea was shared by Gerald Mckay, during the 2017 Spring Gathering in Norway House. The vision is that fish could be transported from any participating community, and products could be made and sold from the fisherman’s co-op. Using 100% of the fish, new products such as wallets from fish skins, guts as fertilizer, and crushed fishbones in animal feed could create a new economic boom and begin to repair the damage caused to the fishing industry. The idea of creating this community-owned and operated space would provide a great deal of benefits for all communities involved.

Although this is just an idea at present, it is clear that no matter what the future holds, by sharing our ideas and helping one another, the possibilities are endless.

WHA Research & Community Project Update

Grand Rapids Documentation & Archival Project

of Indigenous communities because of these physical changes.

2017 Funded Projects

Who? Gerald McKay, Grand Rapids

The proposal lays out four specific objectives:

By Kelly Janz, University of Manitoba

How much? $17,746

Long Spruce Generating Station on the Nelson River.

It is hard to believe we’re already two years into this research partnership. We received a number of proposals throughout 2017. Here is a brief synopsis of the approved projects from 2017.

We are continuing to solicit more proposals from community members and researchers.

This purpose of this project is to preserve historical pictures and articles that were written before the construction of the Grand Rapids dam. This will include what life was like before the dam was built, the fishery that was said to employ one thousand workers at Horse Island, the trapping industry at Summerberry marsh, and the importance of the rapids to the community, physically and economically. The project will involve Grade 12 students from Grand Rapids School and include outreach to former residents who have moved to Easterville, Selkirk, The Pas and Winnipeg.

Proposal intake dates for 2018 are: • Monday January 15 • Monday April 16 • Monday September 17

Sagkeeng & Peguis High School Land Based Education

For more information go to: www.hydroimpacted.ca/funding

Who? Allan Courchene, Educator

CURRENT PROJECTS:

An oral history and analysis of experiences and future opportunities in O-Pipon-NaPiwin Cree Nation (South Indian Lake) Who? Leslie Dysart, Community Association of South Indian Lake Ian Mauro, Melanie O’Gorman, Alan Diduck, and Jerry Buckland – U of Winnipeg How much? $47,176 This research project is a partnership between the Community Association of South Indian Lake (CASIL) and the University of Winnipeg. The project is focusing on the creation of a film and oral history about hydro development in the community of South Indian Lake. This Cree language oral history will explore the perspectives of hunters, trappers, fishers and other local residents to better understand their lived experience with hydro through five short films.

1. A film capturing conversations with Elders regarding the impact of the flooding of South Indian Lake 2. A film discussing the collapse of the fishery as a result of hydroelectric development 3. A film on Wuskwatim and the politics surrounding the creation of O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation 4. A discussion of the tactics used by Manitoba Hydro to ‘divide and conquer’ community members in order to reduce resistance to hydroelectric development 5. A film on youth visions for the future in South Indian Lake and how this future will involve hydro.

How much? $16,361 Sagkeeng Anicinabe High School and Peguis Central School are joining forces for a week of land-based education at Nutimik Lake in Whiteshell Park Provincial Park in late May 2017. They are bringing together 30 students from each school to teach their youth about the impacts of the seven dams built in their territory along Lake Winnipeg. They will learn about fish ladders and elevators and the impacts of sturgeon spawning areas. They will also participate in learning their cultural heritage and land-based skills such as medicine picking, bannock making, fish filleting, etc… Hikes, swimming, and games are also going to be part of the outdoor adventure.

Mapping Geographically and Spatially Northern Manitoba Hydro-Impacted Indigenous Communities’ Traditional Environmental Knowledge Who? Victoria Grima, Graduate Student with advisor Stef McLachlan How much? $16,687 The current understanding of environmental changes caused by hydroelectric development is limited because the scientific world has ignored, not consulted or inadequately incorporated Indigenous Traditional Environmental Knowledge in their research. The aim of this research project is to combine Western technology and knowledge with Traditional Environmental Knowledge to fully comprehend the effects of hydro development on the shorelines and tributaries of the Great River and Nelson River, as well as the direct lifestyle changes

1. Identification and documentation of changes through time of hydro-related environmental impacts 2. Spatial documentation on the effects of hydro developments on indigenous traditional cultural land-use and harvesting practices 3. Research on adaptations of traditional land-use and harvesting practices 4. Analysis of geographical correlations.

Pickerel Narrows First Nation Elders’ Lodge Who? Elders Gordon (Sr.) and Irene Bighetty, Pickerel Narrows First Nation Jack Lovell, PhD Candidate with advisor Stef McLachlan How much? $37,800 This project is focused on the preservation and enhancement of Indigenous spiritual and cultural identity and is intended to help retain and preserve the uniqueness of the Pickerel Narrows First Nation (PNFN) community despite the many long years since their unexpected displacement. The main activity of this project is the construction of an Elders’ Lodge to be located on the “Thunder Ground” camp-site on the shore of Granville Lake on PNFN tribal lands. This is the site of their annual Sun Dance. The intent of the Elders’ Lodge is to provide a safe and holistic place throughout the year where elders, adults, and youth are to made welcome to share their knowledge and pass on the critically important ‘core Indigenous knowledge and spirituality’ to preserve a way of life that is being threatened with cultural assimilation from ongoing effects of colonialism.

Sundance and Manitoba Hydro’s (Re) settlement Regime Who? Jonathan Peyton (U of Manitoba) and Matt Dyce (U of Winnipeg) How much? $14,500 This is an archival research project that examines the social, economic, and environmental effects of Manitoba Hydro company towns and abandoned landscapes, with an initial focus the abandoned town of Sundance. Sundance was built in the mid-1970s for housing labour and infrastructure of the Limestone Dam. Three objectives of the research are the: 1. Development of a historical record of company towns built by Manitoba Hydro 2. Use archival materials to develop further case studies on other abandoned towns

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Archive Alive 3. Development of community partnerships.

The aim of the project is to show that the management of water in Manitoba has been as much about the management and production of a wet landscape as it has been about the management of people, populations and land.

Archival and Oral History Research Project: Cross Lake, South Indian Lake, Grand Rapids, and Easterville Who? Erin Yaremko, Graduate Student with advisor Jarvis Brownlie How much? $10,943 This research project plans to build a collection of oral history, focusing on merging traditional Cree storytelling practices with oral history techniques and technology. The project will work with four communities in Northern Manitoba: Cross Lake (Natimik, Wapak and Saggitawak), South Indian Lake (O-Pipon-Na-Piwin), Grand Rapids (Misipawistik), and Easterville (Chemawawin). The research will explore how life story interviews can be incorporated into community healing processes through the use of a community archive centre. This research will be used as part of a graduate thesis and assisting the four communities in creating or expanding their community archive centres.

Harvesting on the Churchill River: Indigenous sovereignty and the harvesting lifestyle in Northern Manitoba Who? Joseph Dipple, PhD Candidate with advisor, Peter Kulchyski How much? $7,091 The objectives of this doctoral research are to review the implications of hydroelectric development’s vast and wide-ranging impacts on the Ininiwak harvesting lifestyle in northern Manitoba, to learn from and experience the harvesting lifestyle first-hand, provide recording opportunities for this form of knowledge, gain an understanding of unique perspectives of land to both individuals and communities, gain knowledge about the importance of respectful relationships to the land, and to support the knowledge of Ininiwak harvesters as experts.

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Producing a Living Archive One of the core goals of Wa Ni Ska Tan: Alliance of Hydro-Impacted Communities is to produce a ‘living archive’. This digital and physical archive will contain the video, audio, and written stories of our members and the impacts that hydro has had on their lives, their families and their land. It will also house peer-reviewed articles, art, photographs and video, GIS data, chemical analysis data, news articles and other information that can be held for a very long time. Building an archive or library used to be as simple as staffing a brick and mortar building with a severe looking and bespectacled librarian.

The Supreme Court of Canada showed us that the politics and policies surrounding archiving are not as straightforward as some would, mistakenly, believe.

The details of the archive and how it will form and operate are in the beginning stages. These points will be hammered out in future Wa Ni Ska Tan gatherings by members and by the Steering Committee. On a practical, technical level, we’ll have to decide what infrastructure to use or buy, where to house it and

from the participants to have their stories held in the archive. This is where I have spent some time analyzing the Supreme Court’s (S.C.) decision regarding statements of emotional, physical and sexual abuse that were used to determine compensation for residential school survivors. The S.C. ruled 7-0 against government archivists who wished to house the documents in the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), located on the University of Manitoba campus. Proponents for the archiving argued that these stories were simply too important to shred; there was too much research to be done and not enough time to do it before the deadline for destruction; the archives outline a terrible history in the country and should be kept for posterity; participants and historians assumed that they would be kept.

Assumed. That’s where the whole thing went sideways. Like the cheeky saying goes, when you assume, you make an a** out of u and me.

Not everyone assumed that they would be kept forever. In fact, they were guaranteed to be strictly confidential. For a myriad of reasons I won’t be getting into, the spectre of keeping the documents in an archive, even a tightly sealed one, for longer than necessary was deemed by the courts to be insufficient for the promises made. The government also clarified the right for participants to have their records kept at the archive, but they must respond before the deadline in October, 2019. For those who have already passed, there is no recourse.

It is because of this unfolding tragedy that we are committed to ensuring that such an explosive disruption will not happen to our own archive. This will involve a transparent dis“A library is like an island in the middle of a vast cussion with our members sea of ignorance, particularly if the library is very at gatherings to help define tall and the surrounding area has been flooded.” our goals and uncover potential minefields; a comLemony Snicket, Horseradish prehensive explanation of the project and it’s goals each time we sit down to record or gather data; and a operate it. Additionally, we’re collaboratively constructed form of consent to be thinking about how to catalogue signed by participants that outlines all these goals the documents, digital and and provides choice on how to participate. physical, once we have them.

This is to make them easy to find The prospect of keeping a living archive containfor future generations and to ing stories of those impacted by hydroelectric dekeep the original context, and velopment is exciting and important. However, as codex, from being lost to time. we have learned from the NCTR fiasco, we realize that it will require more than good intentions and The most important aspect, a computer server to ensure the fidelity of our own however, is to gain consent aims.

Victoria Grima’s Research Mapping and Indigenous Traditional Environmental Knowledge

By Victoria Grima, M.Env Candidate University of Manitoba In 2003, Victoria was awarded the Bachelor of Engineering and Architecture (Honours) Degree from

the University of Malta and in June of 2012 was awarded the Advanced Post-Graduate Diploma for Geographic Information Systems Technology offered by Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba. From December 2004 till April 2014, she was employed with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) as a Planning Officer and subsequently held the position of an Environmental Protection Officer. The Master’s research project intends to apply GIS platforms/technologies to

analyze geospatial and temporal impacts and changes on shorelines.

It will also be carried out in collaboration with Indigenous elders and harvesters to better understand how and to what degree the changes have affected traditional harvesting and land-uses practices.

Who’s Got the Power?

opment projects, negotiations, and partnerships between public utility companies and Indigenous communities.

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An Educational Role-Playing Game

By Emily Unger

Wa Ni Ska Tan Funding Available We are accepting research and community project proposals!

If you have any questions or need assistance with your proposal, please contact Kelly Janz at: kelly@hydroimpacted.ca or 204-474-9316.

Please visit www.hydroimpacted.ca/funding for proposal guidelines.

Proposal deadlines: • Monday April 16, 2018 • Monday September 17, 2018 • Monday January 21, 2019

The need to develop an educational resource that engages youth became a key priority after our most recent spring gathering. Who’s Got the Power? was developed by summer student Emily Unger and summer intern Ema Coleman during the summer of 2017. The intention of the game is to educate youth on the impacts of natural resource development and foster a better understanding of the consultation process when the resource is on Indigenous land.

The game follows a role-playing style, allowing everyone to freely choose their point-of-view and negotiating style. This freedom means that the game can result in different outcomes every time the game is played. At the outset, youth are split into four teams: a major urban centre, a public utilities company, a community dealing with affects of resource development in their territory for forty years, and a community where the public utilities company has future plans to build a dam. Groups are encouraged to work together to negotiate for what is best for their group. The game uses fictitious scenarios, though they are modeled after the realities experienced by past and present devel-

Emily, along with Michael Tyas, Who’s got the Power Game?

Photo credit: Michael Tyas. first had the chance to pilot the game when invited to the Four Arrows Regional Health Authority land-based youth camp in July 2017. From that experience the game was refined and brought to Nelson House for the Wa Ni Ska Tan youth camp later that month.

Now titled, Who’s Got the Power?, the game has undergone more revisions since its initial trial runs this summer. We still need to work out some kinks, but we are hopeful that we will be able to provide it as a free downloadable resource in the near future. We also hope to bring the game to more land-based and culture camps across Manitoba and continue to engage youth in learning about resource extraction, hydroelectric development, and the realities of consultation processes.

If you’d like the game brought to your land-based camp, contact us at info@hydroimpacted.ca

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Portraits of the North A Review of Gerald Kuehl’s Unique Book This is a truly unique book. It offers an unprecedented glimpse into the storied faces and intimate profiles of more than a hundred First Nations and Métis elders from Canada’s North. Gaze deeply into Author and Artist, Gerald Kuehl. these exquisite pencil portraits that have been rendered with love, respect, and masterful realism.

Travel back in time, far from the mainstream of Canadian experience.

Retrace fascinating stories through the poignant facial features, lines, and weathered wrinkles bearing witness to lives ravaged by the harsh outdoors, while often hiding remarkable achievements, sustained resolve, patient persistence, and deep-set defiance to the enduring hardships, suffering, discrimination, and cultural genocide imposed by colonization.

in the respectful, precise portrayal of these Indigenous elders, while at the same time striving to conserve the intimate, gripping oral accounts and anecdotes that this “last generation born on the land” has shared with him through their personal encounters. By so doing, Kuehl offers an exceptional glimpse of a mostly-hidden and almost-forgotten generation of Canada’s “First People,” creating both a compelling homage and an enduring historical legacy.

Retail Price: $35.00 Available at: • McNally Robinson Booksellers • Amazon.com • WAG at the Forks

For the past two decades, talented Canadian artist and storyteller Gerald Kuehl has immersed himself

Sagkeeng Peguis Land Based Camp A Week in the Whiteshell

By Allan Courchene

Cliff Jumping. Photo Credit: Allan Courchene.

The camp had high school students and elders from both Peguis and Sagkeeng. We went to camp for one week in Whiteshell Provincial Park at Betula Lake. The campsite was provided as an in-kind donation from the Province of Manitoba Natural Resources. Natural Resources also provided us with free sleeping bags for some students and access to large boats for our netting of sturgeon and pickerel.

Each school brought a school bus and chaperones for the wonderful weeklong camp. Each community also brought elders to do various teachings to the students and chaperones. This was very educational. The students made lots of new friends that have carried into the new school year. This was also an excellent opportunity for the elders making new friends and getting resources from one another.

The days were filled activities. The first day we set up our camp and a large teepee that Elder Sutherland brought. This was a learning experience for a lot of the students, as we had to take it down twice before we got it set up right. After we set up we went over the rules of the camp and made teams of camp cooks and cleaning crews. The students and adults were all placed in five teams and each team was responsible for cooking and cleaning on a specific day. The days were filled with events, such as setting nets to catch pickerel for supper one day and also setting nets for sturgeon. The elders from Peguis had never netted sturgeon before so this

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was an eventful process, which they liked.

We also had fishing rods to use, which was fun. One another day we went swimming and cliff jumping. We had a 15km hike to a sacred site at Bannock Point where students learned the history of the petro forms. One thing that stands out in the student’s camp trip is the large round rock at a crossroads in the trail, which made this enormous sound that rattles a large boom when it was hit. This could be heard all over. Another day we went to the decommissioned dam in Pinawa. The students were able to see how the dam works internally and see what happens when it is in operation. This was an excellent site as the students got to use a natural water slide – a scary activity that 95 percent of the students attempted.

The day when we caught the sturgeon we had eight Natural Resource officers come to the site and question what we were doing. The situation made our students reflect on how communication within and between departments in government is not always conveyed. In the end the scientists that helped us get the sturgeon showed the letter from the big boss of the park and all was good. When we caught the pickerel the students learned how to prepare and fillet the fish. This was fun because many of the students had never filleted fish before.

A highlight of the camp was a hike to Sturgeon Falls, a beautiful place where we set our nets. The hike was around five kilometers and very scenic and hilly. There are all kinds of natural plants we do not see on the river system where there are dams. This is a notable effect of the dams.

Overall the camp was excellent and we are hoping to do another camp this summer for all students from different communities in our Treaty 1 territory, where all First Nations used to meet in gatherings.

Top to Bottom: Group photo, Catching sturgeon, Pinawa Dam, Swimming at Sturgeon Falls. Photo Credit: Allan Courchene.

Remembering the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations Territory Yukon Panel Recap Lorraine Stick, James Allan, Sujata Manandhar Forty years ago, the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations (CAFN) territory in the Yukon was beautiful. Waterfowl and trout were abundant in Aishihik Lake. There was a freshwater spring right beside the lake that people from the village used to get their water. Unfortunately, the spring is no longer usable because of permafrost damage due to flooding.

Today much of the land in the territory has been washed out due to a hydroelectric dam, constructed between 1973 and 1975. A reservoir and a diversion channel were also created, reducing the flow of water to Otter Falls down to a trickle. Whitefish spawning grounds and access to streams that used to provide clean water have since been depleted.

The CAFN people were removed from their traditional territory, closer to the Alaskan Highway, where they could no longer hunt and were forced to develop a new lifestyle. What non-First Nations people failed to realize is that there is an unspoken rule that if you grew up in Aishihik that was your traditional territory for your family, but if you moved to a different area, that area belonged to someone else and could never be used by you for hunting or other purposes.

The prospect of hydropower in the Yukon began with little consultation between the First Nations and the territorial government. An unfortunately familiar process experienced by other communities in Canada, such as those in Manitoba impacted by resource development. The people were taken advantage of and environmental impacts became a catalyst for negative social implications. In the Yukon, the CAFN people sought justice. In 1973 the First Nations chiefs presented a proposal to the Prime Minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau. They wanted to negotiate a treaty that addressed the hardships and pressures caused by development and inequality. Known as “Together Today for Children Tomorrow,” the Umbrella Final Agreement and Self-Governance agreement took 20 years to develop. In 1993, CAFN signed land claims agreements, which were later ratified in 1995. These agreements provided a land base, allowing the Champagne and Aishihik people to have rights to make laws and develop land use policies on their lands. This gave them power over the use of the land, providing rights to certain resources, their own environmental assessment regime, and involvement in strategic investments.

In January 2016 the CAFN and Yukon Energy Corporation signed a protocol agreement, establishing a formal co-management relationship enabling the parties working together to pursue common objectives for the Aishihik Water License renewal, and to strengthen relations between the parties. This agreement also ensures the meaningful engagement of the CAFN community and integration of traditional knowledge in the project definition and field studies.

Sujata Manandhar is a post-doctoral researcher at Yukon College and University of Saskatchewan. She is presently involved in the water strategy project for CAFN. She explains the role of the CAFN in the relicensing process, “They are trying to make a baseline inventory of their values of the land, water, plants, and animals, using traditional knowledge to help identify the impacts and valued components that need to be addressed or mitigated.” Documenting present impacts from oral history interviews will allow for future mitigation measures to be taken, and previous undocumented impacts to be accounted for. The involvement of First Nations in the relicensing process provides hope for other Indigenous communities whose voices have been silenced by government projects.

The co-management agreement has been difficult at times, Sujata explains, “There are impacts on their values, their belongings-belongingness, their cultural and traditional uses, how we explain those impacts in a tangible way in the proposal, that’s one of the difficulties the [traditional knowledge study] team is facing.”

Overall the co-management process has been beneficial in providing a voice and developing a positive relationship between involved parties.

Lorraine Stick is from the CAFN and has been involved in the re-licensing process. She shares hope for the future, reminding us that the CAFN want to make sure that the lake is seen and respected as a living being, not a reservoir.

It is with great thanks that we acknowledge Lorraine Stick, James Allan, and Sujata Manandhar for sharing their stories and experiences with us at the 2017 Wa Ni Ska Tan Spring Gathering in Norway House Cree Nation, and allowing us to share their knowledge with others.

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Gold Rush: First contact with new settlers

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Alaska Highway built

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Mining was booming in the Yukon; Northern Canada Power Commission (NCPC) supplied power

Yukon First Nations chiefs presented their proposal for a treaty “Together Today for Children Tomorrow” to the Prime Minister

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Construction complete on the Aishihik Dam

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Champagne and Aishihik First Nations sign lands claim agreement, providing them with a wide number of rights, resources, and interests

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Timeline from the Gold Rush to Dam Construction to the latest Hydropower Re-Licensing Period

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Re-licensing operations for the Aishihik Dam

Next re-licensing period

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Conclusion and signing-off on all land claim agreements

The Champagne and Aishihik First Nations + Yukon Energy Corporation sign a protocol agreement, the beginning of co-management of the re-licensing process. YEC is asking for a 25-year operation license, but CAFN would like to give it 10 to 15 years so the impacts can be monitored more frequently.

Hydro Lines off Highway 6. Photo credit: Jonathan Ventura

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Nay-na-bush + Koko’s Bannock

By Diana Traverse Nay-na-bush roamed the lands of our grandfathers, taking many forms, sometimes causing a lot of trouble as he went around our vast lands.

He came upon a village where koko had lived in this cozy log house, made out of logs, mud and peat. All of her family lived together. Koko needed to make something to eat for her family. The men had gone on a large hunt and brought back moose and elk.

Koko was making this food. She kept pounding in a wooden bowl, she had a rounded end of thick wide stick, she used dried corn, different grains, causing it to turn into this fluffy cream looking powder. Koko added water to this powder and started kneading the powder. As she kneaded the powder, it started getting harder. She rolled out this strange looking soft dough. She looked around her cozy room, she looked around outside, for flat rocks. She put them around the fire pit, she laid the rocks on the fire logs, causing them to get hot. Koko laid the soft

The Break Chapter 1 from Katherena Vermette’s Book The Break is a piece of land just west of McPhillips Street.

A narrow field about four lots wide that interrupts all the closely knit houses on either side and cuts through every avenue from Selkirk to Leila, that whole edge of the North End. Some people call it nothing and likely don’t think about it at all. I never called it anything, just knew it was there. But when she moved next door, my Stella, she named it the Break, if only in her head. No one had ever told her any other name, and for whatever reason, she thought she should call it something.

It’s Hydro land, was likely set aside in the days before anything was out there. When all that low land on the west side of the Red River was only tall grasses and rabbits, some bush in clusters, all the way to the lake in the north. The neighbourhood rose up around it. Houses built first for Eastern European immigrants who were pushed to that wrong side of the railway tracks, and kept away from the affluent city south. Someone once told me that North End houses were all made cheap and big, but the lots were narrow and short. That was when you had to own a certain amount of land to vote, and all those lots were made just inches smaller.

The tall, metal Hydro towers would have been built after that. Huge and grey, they stand on either side of the small piece of land, holding up two smooth silver cords high above the tallest house. The towers repeat, every two blocks, over and over, going far into the north. They might even go as far as the lake. My Stella’s little girl, Mattie, named them robots when the family first moved in beside them.

Robots is a good name for them. They each have a square-like head and go out a bit at the bottom like someone standing at attention, and there’s the two arms overhead that hold the cords up into the

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dough on the flat rocks as she kneeled watching this amazing soft white dough baking on the flat rocks. Again nay-na-bush was getting tired. Looking at koko, he saw the soft white dough. He flew down and tried to cover up with this white soft dough.

Nay-na-bush once again fell asleep, this time he was awoken by the shaking, laughing by koko’s family as they looked at the strange looking dough, now cooked into a deep dark brown. Koko started breaking apart the cooked dough. Her family asked her what she called this. Nay-na-bush was mad that he was woken up and cold. As he flew up and looked down at koko, nay-na-bush yelled out, leaving behind the cooked dough with holes of nayna-bush sleeping nooks. He yelled out as he was flying up away from koko, “Bad nook”, nay na bush kept saying it over and over, “Bad nook! Bad nook!

Bad nook!” When koko’s family asked her what she called this amazing cooked dough, she heard nayna-bush yelling in the distance, “Bad nook”; Koko was hard of hearing so all she could hear was, “Bannock! Bannock! Bannock!”, as nay-na-bush flew away yelling. She told her family, “Bannock”, as they broke the bannock apart, they noticed the holes, air pockets, from nay-na-bush trying to sleep.

sky. They are a frozen army standing guard, seeing everything. Houses built up and broken down around them, people flooding in and out.

In the sixties, Indians started moving in, once Status Indians could leave reserves and many moved to the city. That was when the Europeans slowly started creeping out of the neighbourhood like a man sneaking away from a sleeping woman in the dark. Now there are so many Indians here, big families, good people, but also gangs, hookers, drug houses, and all these big, beautiful homes somehow sagging and tired like the old people who still live in them.

The area around the Break is slightly less than the rest, more working class, just enough to make the hard-working people who live there think that they are out of the core and free of that drama. There are more cars in driveways than on the other side of McPhillips. It’s a good neighbourhood but you can still see it, if you know what to look for. If you can see the houses with never- opened bed sheet-covered windows. If you can see the cars that come late at night, park right in the middle of the Break, far away from any house, and stay only ten minutes or so before driving away again. My Stella can see it. I taught her how to look and be aware all the time. I don’t know if that was right or wrong, but she’s still alive so there has to be some good in it.

I’ve always loved the place my girl calls the Break.

I used to walk through it in the summer. There is a path you can go along all the way to the edge of the city, and if you just look down at the grass, you might think you were in the country the whole way.

Old people plant gardens there, big ones with tidy rows of corn and tomatoes, all nice and clean. You can’t walk through it in the winter though. No one clears a way. In the winter, the Break is just a lake of wind and white, a field of cold and biting snow that blows up with the slightest gust. And when snow touches those raw Hydro wires they make this intrusive buzzing sound. It’s constant and just quiet enough that you can ignore it, like a whisper you know is a voice but you can’t hear the words. And

Nay-na-bush got mad at his bed nook! His said to the bread from this day to remind us, he had a bad sleep when he had slept in koko’s bread, that she called bannock!

Growing up, my aunt took care of me on her small beef farm in Lake St. Martin reserve, Manitoba.

Many times, she would cook homemade bread and bannock, fried or baked. The first time I heard her say, “Oh look, nay-na-bush slept here.”

I would ask her, “Where?”

She would point out the air pockets in the bread or bannock, baked or fried!

Katherena Vermette Biography Katherena Vermette is a Métis writer from Treaty One territory, the heart of the Métis nation, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Her first book, North End Love Songs (The Muses Company) won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. Her National Film Board documentary, this river, won the 2017 Canadian Screen Award for Best Short, and her novel, The Break (House of Anansi), was bestseller in Canada and won the 2017 Amazon.ca First Novel Award.

In 2015, Portage & Main published her children’s picture book series, The Seven Teachings Stories. She has been a proud member of the Indigenous Writers Collective since 2004, and holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. Current projects include new poetry and a young adult graphic novel series exploring Metis history, A Girl Called Echo (first book in late 2017).

Vermette lives with her family in a cranky old house within skipping distance of the temperamental Red River.

even though they are more than three storeys high, when it snows those wires feel close, low, and buzz a sound that is almost like music, just not as smooth.

You can ignore it. It’s just white noise, and some people can ignore things like that. Some people hear it but just get used to it.

It was snowing when it happened. The sky was pink and swollen and the snow had finally started to fall. Even from inside her house, my Stella heard the buzzing, as sure as her own breath. She knows to expect it when the sky fills with clouds, but like everything she’s been through, she has just learned to live with it.

Second Annual Youth Camp Wa Ni Ska Tan Camp Memories

By Emily Unger From August 14th-18th youth from six communities joined together in Nelson House for the 2nd Annual Wa Ni Ska Tan Youth Camp.

We began with a long day of arrivals and introductions. The first evening was spent setting up camp, enjoying a delicious dinner of stew, and hanging out on the beach with a bonfire waiting for the final arrivals. We arose early the next morning for a hike that lead up to a viewpoint overlooking Nelson House and two of the three rivers that meet near Nelson House.

The long trek through the bushes and up rocky terrain became rewarding when we arrived at the top. A stunning view of Nelson House presented itself in the distance. We spent time picking medicine, watching Michael’s drone tour the area, and catching our breath before heading back down to the waiting boats.

One of the key activities of the youth camp was teaching the youth how to smoke fish. In the afternoon we went out to find live tamarack and spruce trees in preparation for the smokehouse we would build. Youth learned how to identify spruce and chopped them down, carrying them together through the bush back to our boats. The youth worked hard removing the bark off the trees and together built the smokehouse, awaiting the arrival of the fish. That evening, the instruments came out, and we were entertained with songs, and later, storytelling around the fire.

The next day youth braved the morning rain, going out with community guides to pull out the fishing nets from three locations. They caught and identified whitefish, pickerel, and jackfish.

They also stopped at the graveyard along the way home, learning some of the community history. They then learned how to properly fillet and prepare the fish. After a ceremony to commemorate the new smokehouse, the youth placed the fish in the smokehouse, and patiently waited. The weather cleared up and we found a place to swim and cool off after a long and tough day. Later that evening the youth played a role playing game that allowed them to learn about the impacts of hydro development. Let’s Build A Dam, created by summer students Emily Unger and Ema Coleman, allowed the youth to better understand crown corporations and negotiations, and the frustrations faced by many communities throughout these processes. Hearing stories from different hydro affected communities in the Green Waters documentary gave youth additional insight into these processes. Our evening was full of stories yet again, and we caught a glimpse of the northern lights before we put our heads down to rest.

Youth finished the camp with a boat ride out to the footprints of Nelson House. Here they learned the history of the footprints and the land that the footprints originally resided on before being moved by Manitoba Hydro.

Finally, on our last night,we had a Closing Ceremony, gathering together for song and prayer before we all went our separate ways.

The 2017 youth camp in Nelson House was a success. Youth came together and formed friendships with one another, and learned about the impacts of hydro development through land based activities and traditional teachings. The stories shared and relationships built would not have been possible without the youth, elders and staff who participated.

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August 2017 Hydro Tour Chaos on the Waters of Northern Manitoba

By Peter Kulchyski

A boat left stranded by low water levels near Nisichawayasihk.

The August 7 to 14, 2017 tour of hydro-affected communities, our fourth such tour, was a remarkable trip. By now the communities we visit – Grand Rapids, Norway House, Pimicikamak/Cross Lake, Gillam (Fox Lake Cree Nation), Tataskweyak (Split Lake), O-Pipon-Na-Piwin (South Indian Lake) and Nisichawayasihk (Nelson House) have a very good idea of what we want to see and are prepared for us. Because of the mostly good weather we were out on boats in four of the communities, traveled far up lakes and rivers, and got a shocking view of the environmental and social costs of Manitoba Hydro’s “developments”. The tour was led by Peter Kulchyski and Ramona Neckoway, and included scholars Melanie O’Gorman (U of Winnipeg, Economics), Jessica Jacobson-Konefall (U of Toronto, Art History) and Marida Brown (U Manitoba, MA Candidate), as well as activist Laura Tyler, photo journalist Whitney Light, and for the last couple of communities, film maker Kevin Lee Burton.

We began at Grand Rapids with a pickerel feast and stories of past and present provided by Gerald Mckay, then moved up to Norway House for an overnight. The next day Langford Saunders took us out over Playgreen Lake to the north shore of Lake Winnipeg through two-mile channel and to Warren’s Landing, the old mouth of the Nelson River system. We saw continual erosion and heard stories of the destructive impact of Hydro’s system on the fisherman of Norway House. In Pimicikamak we visited with Rita Monias, who told us first hand of the 2014 occupation that she initiated at the Jenpeg dam, a welcome story of strong resistance as Pimicikamak continues to attempt to get the Northern Flood Agreement (NFA) respected.

(Although many of us know that a schedule in the NFA promised studies and plans to “eradicate mass poverty and mass unemployment”, did you know that the NFA also commits the federal government at 6.1 “to ensure the continuous availability of a potable water supply on each of the Reserves” and that “the quality of water shall meet the health and safety standards set by Canada to protect the public health”!!??)

After a night in Thompson, we moved on to Gillam, where elder Noah Massan told stories as he drove most of the guests in his truck out to the site of the construction of the Keeyask dam. We stood on ground that was cleared so it could be flooded and looked across the Kitchee Sipi (‘Grand River’, the Nelson River) at the giant work cranes and construction activity, and learned that the dam was already off schedule and would need an additional year, at least. The cost overruns will be huge, and this will of course affect the First Nations partners. The same story happened with the Wuskwatim dam (which cost twice as much as estimated to complete and so far, has been sinking in debt) and was predicted for Keeyask, but the experts at Manitoba Hydro arrogantly ignored the warnings and ridiculed anyone who questioned them at hearings into the project.

We also drove to the site of the Conawapa dam, a dam that was explicitly denied approval by the Public Utilities Board (PUB). In spite of that we saw a fully operational and occupied construction camp, and saw that the Bi-pole three line and transformer station had detoured one hundred kilometers north and west (on a journey that actually is supposed to go south and east) so that Conawapa can be built as soon as a more compliant PUB changes its mind.

Millions of dollars and enormous environmental impact are being spent on a dam that is not economically viable.

Nisichawayasihk the next day. There we traveled on a river that was at historic lows, pre-hydro levels we were told, where beaver and muskrat homes were high and dry, open to predators. We visited the relocated and returned footprints and a traditional camp (site of the 2017 youth camp).

While the boat trips at Norway House, Tataskweyak, O-Pipon-Na-Piwin, and Nisichawayasihk were highlights, seeing the devastation in all the communities, learning about the recent mismanagement of water levels on South Indian Lake and the Churchill River, and seeing the infrastructure designed to support the rejected Conawapa Dam was overwhelming. Taken together, all this tells us that from one end of the Kitchee Sipi to the other, and on the Churchill River and South Indian Lake, Manitoba Hydro and both levels of government are showing an incredible disregard for peoples and lands. We have to help those who stand up in resistance to change this narrative!

We overnighted in Tataskweyak and the next day went far up the Kitchee Sipi towards the Kelsey Dam, not quite reaching it but seeing firsthand the shoreline erosion and debris issues created by years of Hydro water management. We also talked about the difficulties of the community in getting reliable, safe drinking water. It is ironic to read the NFA commitment and heartbreaking to see firsthand what the violation of that commitment has meant to places like Tataskweyak.

Our last couple of days were truly dramatic. On South Indian Lake we learned from Les Dysart and others how the melt off last spring lead to a huge overflow of the lake, leaving boats and docks stranded far back in the bush when they had to dump water to lower the lake levels. Manitoba Hydro’s engineers had to scramble to dump water through Missi Falls control structure, which contributed to the famous flooding of the Churchill River and flooded out duck and goose nests, and all the island animals including baby moose born on islands on the river. Imagine weakened baby moose swimming in circles until they drown and you get the picture. Every year when Hydro dumps water like this it is proven to be a bad year for the fishers as huge amounts of fish get swept through the structure. Yet each year Hydro gets its augmented flow program, which violates the original license, approved by the provincial government.

After leaving South Indian Lake, we spent a night at the Churchill River Lodge and then headed on to

Top to Bottom: Touring by boat on Kitchee Sipi from Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Construction at Keeyask, Group photo at camp, near Nisichawayasihk.

Recipe for Wapos Rabbit Stew This recipe is from the Wild Food Recipe Calendar 2016-2017, a project of the Ithinto Mechisowin Program and the community of South Indian Lake.

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Fry wapos meat with light vegetable oil, salt, pepper, and onion for 12 to 15 minutes over low heat.

Add chopped carrots, potatoes, peas (or your choice of vegetables); mix well with meat and cook for 15 minutes over medium heat.

Add one cup of water and cook over medium heat with a lid on until meat is tender and the gravy is thick.

“Rabbit meat has less fat. It is easy to digest.”

- Elder Juliet Spence

Community food champion Roger Moose teaching rabbit snaring techniques during Wassassihk gathering. Photo credit: Asfia Gulrukh Kamal.

Water Sampling in Tataskweyak Cree Nation Northern Manitoba Research

By Hasini Fernando

I am grateful for both the assistance of both Michael and Mike Flett. It was a blessing to have them around in my field visit.

Photo Credit Michael Tyas.

The hydropower plants of northern Manitoba have greatly impacted Tataskweyak Cree Nation (TCN) environmentally and socially.

Community members are more frustrated than ever, without having supports in place for the community. Robert Spence, a councilor in TCN, requested Wa Ni Ska Tan to perform water quality sampling in Split Lake. He was highly concerned about the fact that there are no previous records of both lake and home water quality. Many people have previously conducted sampling in TCN, however the results were never provided to the community.

Councilor Spence brought our attention to the issue and explained how important it is for TCN, and other communities, to begin community-based water quality monitoring programs.

Under Dr. Stéphane McLachlan’s guidance, I conducted my first visit accompanied by Michael Tyas for water sampling in Split Lake during the summer of 2017. In total I visited ten homes and the community’s schools. During my visit we were introduced to a teacher, Suzie Atkins, and her assistant, Sylvia Jean Cook-Saunders. They took us around the community and provided us with a better understanding of water distribution. It was noted during our observations that most houses have not had their water tanks cleaned for many years.

The health of the people in the community was extremely affected by the water quality. They mentioned strange rashes on their skin, especially on children. Cancers and skin diseases are common in the community and have contributed to many painful deaths. I checked the chlorine and E. coli levels in the ten houses I visited, along with the school. I am currently working on teaching some TCN youth how to collect water samples from their homes. They are very excited to help their community. Suzie and Sylvia will be great guides for the youth when collecting samples for metals, E. coli and checking chlorine levels.

Left: Measuring the chlorine level in the water.

Seven Teachings Implications

By Stan Wilson, OCN Citizen I would like folks to know that the “7 teachings” are only one half of what’s needed to be taught to young people. Let me explain what I mean. Using what has been a traditional Indigenous way of maintaining and perpetuating Indigenous ways of being and doing is great. But the whole prescription for minnopimatisiwin (the ‘good life’) needs to be taught. Not just half of it. The other half usually left out is “pastahowin and otcinawin”. This is simple natural law from ancient Indigenous knowledge.

It means that there are consequences for doing the opposite to the teachings. Anyone not being respectful, for instance, and being disrespectful will also get disrespect in return. Anyone causing harm to those considered to be part of our relations will be held accountable for their actions as part of natural justice. That is natural law. Western science explains it this way. For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. Ancient Indigenous peoples observed this in nature and understood that because human beings are part of nature they too are under this law. When any of our relations are harmed or damaged by human beings then all will suffer the consequences. Examples include climate change, Chernoble, Fukushima, the deadly consequences of plastics in our ocean. That’s when the Great Law made by the Creator comes into effect.

Pastahowin takes effect. Ki pastahisoon appo ekwa kikapastahitonanow. We create our own repercussions for abusing any part of the natural world. I remember how the old timers lived according to this law. They kept their camps and home-yards

clean. No garbage. They kept and lived within this law.

A contemporary example of how this works is that those humans responsible for bringing children into the world and then abandoning them to pastahisowak. They neglect a sacred responsibility for taking them care of them and nurturing their growth. That will come back to them big time.

So, it’s good to teach people about love, humility, honesty, wisdom, courage, truth, and respect; but if that is all in the sacred teachings then what happens if you hate? Pastahowin and otcinawin means we are accountable for all our actions to all our relations.

This simple law applies to all. Even when an event is witnessed, when someone does harm to any of our relations and you don’t intervene and try to avoid a confrontation or just look the other way you can still ka pastahisoon. This avoiding behaviour is shirking a sacred responsibility. The ethic of non-interference does not apply in this case. That ethic applies only in circumstances where there is no need to interfere.

And so it is important to remember our responsibility to ourselves and all our relations. We must be accountable for our actions as well as take responsibility for the wellbeing of others. When we teach pastahowin and otcinawin along with the 7 teachings, then we have the whole prescription for minnopimatisiwin.

Councilor Spence arranged boat rides for the second day of our visit. Sylvia and the fishermen explained how things have changed around the lake. The water color was tremendously brown or dark green, which concerned them the most.

Twelve random samples were taken from where the Nelson River and Burntwood River connect with Split Lake and where the Clark Lake mouth begins.

These samples were checked for their mercury levels, total metals, and organic pollutants. Mercury contamination is a huge problem in Northern communities. It was necessary to check the mercury level in the lake water before analyzing living organisms. It is natural to find metals in the environment up to a certain limit but there could be excess metal contaminants due to mining in Thompson, industrial production, and some contaminants due to generation of electricity. Sample data was collected using the ALS commercial lab. The data analysis proved difficult to observe contaminant levels which would affect people. This outcome leads me to recommend that in the future we should observe more living organisms rather than water to have better understanding of hydropower impacts on the community of TCN and their water quality.

Right: The Colour change to pink represents the presence of chlorine when adding the chemical to measure the chlorine level.

Hydro Research Alliance Newsletter Contributors Principal Investigator: Stef McLachlan, University of Manitoba stephane.mclachlan@umanitoba.ca Editors: Emily Unger, University of Manitoba emily@hydroimpacted.ca

Kelly Janz, University of Manitoba kelly.janz@hydroimpacted.ca Newsletter Design: Dayna Kroeker, University of Manitoba kroeker.dayna@gmail.com Issue Contributors: James Allen

Gerald McKay

Hasini Fernando

Lorraine Stick

Allan Courchene Victoria Grima Kelly Janz

Asfia Gulrukh Kamal Peter Kulchyski Jack Lovell

Sujata Manandhar

Diana Traverse Michael Tyas Emily Unger

Katherena Vermette Stan Wilson

Questions and Comments: Environmental Conservation Lab

303 Wallace Building, University of Manitoba R3T 2N2 Winnipeg, MB

Ph: 1.204.474.9316 / Email: kelly@hydroimpacted.ca www.hydroimpacted.ca

www.EnvironmentalConservationLab.com

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Neal McLeod