Chief Jean-Maurice Matchewan on Rapid Lake Reserve Situation

Ken McVay (kmcvay@oneb.wimsey.bc.ca)
Sat, 1 Jun 91 07:00:26 GMT

"The federal government had been discussing the creation of a reserve for
us since 1919. Only in 1961, however, did the federal and provincial
governments - urged by the church especially - decide between themselves
to establish a reserve at Rapid Lake. Again, the Algonquin people did not
consent. The reserve was set up by provincial order-in-council in 1961. The
Quebec cabinet, in that order-in-council, referred to us as savages ("les
sauvages") simply because we maintained our traditional way of life,
harvesting from the land. The minister responsible for this racist insult
was Jean-Jacques Bertrand, who was the Premier of Quebec before Messrs
Bourassa and Levesque took over in the 1970s.

This reserve at Rapid Lake is only 24 hectares (54 acres) and totally
inadequate for our needs. It is located on the ever-changing, ever-eroding
shoreline of Cabonga reservoir. Though it was established without our
consent, it has created an immense problem for us because the federal
government now claims that its interest, and ours, in our territory, is
limited to these few hectares. And, as far as the Quebec government is
concerned, we have all the land we need or are entitled to.

This whole story is a classic example of the way in which Canadian
society has acquired aboriginal lands, taking them over for other uses
in violation of their own laws and completely without consultation or
compensation. In other circumstances, Canadians call this sort of thing
stealing.

For centuries, we have roamed our huge territory. We used the plants and
animals for our livelihood and depended upon no outside agency to help us,
trying our best to maintain our way of life, our language, and our culture.
Increasingly, we became surrounded by people who proved to be alien to
our way of life, hostile to our view of the world, and indifferent to our
rights or our needs.

Through no choice of ours, we now find ourselves living on 24 hectares
of sand, which is eroded year by year. The waters of the reservoir
contribute to this erosion because the levels are changed according to the
decisions of Hydro-Quebec, people living away from the land. The pattern
of operation of the reservoir is determined by the needs of others,
not ours. The very fine sand on which we live just cannot sustain such
overcrowded conditions. Every spring and summer, the effects of wind,
rain, and run-off cause terrific sandstorms and even the collapse of the
foundations of houses."

Chief Jean-Maurice Matchewan, Barriere Lake Indian Government, as quoted
in "DRUMBEAT: Anger And Renewal In Indian Country" (ISBN 0-929-091-03-5)

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