(The following are extracts from the foreword, prepared for the media
package. For a complete copy, please contact the Innu Nation Office,
PO Box 119, Sheshatshiu, Labrador, A0P 1M0)
Since time immemorial, the forests have sustained the Innu way of
life. More recently, mounds of logs have been abandoned to rot in the
woods by commercial operators, large clear cuts, disfigured hill sides
and access roads slice into our lands. The road network attracts cabins
and other developments, alienating our hunting and trapping grounds.
The land and the forests have never been ceded or treatied by the
Innu. We never gave our consent to these operations that concentrate
on a quick buck and then leave us with an altered landscape that may
never recover.
Renewed interest in the exploitation of our forests by forest operators
convinced the Innu Nation that we needed an independent assessment
of our forests ... The Innu Nation sought out George Marek, a well-
respected professional forester with extensive experience with black
spruce ecosystems. He was retained to examine past operations in our
forest, to evaluate management prescriptions and techniques, review
government documents, and provide the Innu Nation with an expert
opinion on these issues.
The Innu Nation believes that the forests of FMU#19 belong to the
Innu people as the original occupants of the land. We have used the
forests for thousands of years in such a way that their health, diversity,
ability to support wildlife and protect fish has never been diminished.
Forestry development here, which till now has been relatively minor,
has resulted in the construction of an extensive access road network.
This increases non-Innu access to the country, allowing hunters and
sports fishermen to compete with us for a limited resource. Then
cabins quickly follow. The cutting which occurred here in the past also
raises serious concerns: will the new forest be suitable for the wildlife,
will it result in insect infestation, and is it suitable ecologically for the
region? The equipment has also left many scars on the land: ruts from
heavy equipment, which fill with water and erode on hill sides; blocked
drainage; land stripped of soil and reduced in its ability to support
life; abandoned equipment, etc.
The government is in violation of its own Environmental Assessment
Act; according to the act no operations can take place before the
management plan for FMU#19 undergoes an environmental
assessment.
The Innu Approach to Forest Management
It is not up to the government to develop a management plan, since this
is our forest. The Innu Nation will have the lead role in developing a
management plan, and this report is part of the process of developing
an ecologically valid management plan.
The first issue that must be addressed, if forestry operations are to
proceed on a scale going beyond meeting local needs, is, can any
form of commercial forestry operations occur in our forests in a way
that is ecologically sustainable? The tree line is nearby. The climate
is harsh, the growing season short, the soils poor, and the ecosystem
fragile. We are not interested in discovering that after twenty years
of cutting we have deteriorated the land, the forest and wildlife to
the extent that they will take years to recover.
The next step would be to prepare a zoning plan for our forest. This
plan would identify important wildlife areas, environmentally
sensitive areas, areas of cultural value to the Innu people, and
areas where harvesting can occur. This would then allow us to
determine the amount of wood that can be harvested from FMU#19
without compromising these other values. Then a management
plan will be prepared, which will detail the techniques to be used
from harvesting to controlling other development pressures resulting
from the increased ease of access.
The forestry operations themselves raise a number of issues. Our
people can now lead two lives: the life on the land, and the wage
earner life. We want our people to be able to continue to live off
the land in some form for generations to come ... The transition to
a wage economy has already caused serious social disruption to
our communities. We want to ensure that any further economic
development does not cause increased social disruptions, alcohol
abuse, and cultural deterioration.
The Innu have lived alongside settlers for many years. We realize
that they now have nowhere else to go. In the past, development
of the Nitassinan forest has not benefited the Innu, nor has it
benefited so-called Labradorians or non-Innu people who have
come to call themselves settlers.
The harvesting techniques proposed by new operators are very
capital intensive and use a minimum of labour. The local situation
for both Innu and settlers is that there is a shortage of capital and a
surplus of labour. Therefore, we would want to see a harvesting
approach that was less capital intensive (and less harsh on the land)
and more labour intensive. Innu society is based on sharing and
cooperation, and this is a tradition that we incorporate into our
approach to economic development.
In summary, then, here are the issues as we see them:
1) the future of the Innu people is closely linked to the land
2) we see the forest as ours, and any development of the forest
must have our approval
3) it must be proven that the forest can support forestry operations
4) forest zoning must be prepared to ensure the protection of
ecological and cultural values, and to determine how much wood
can actually be harvested
5) a management plan must be developed which details forest
management techniques
6) forest operations must benefit the Innu people and not cause
further social dislocation
The province's approach to FMU#19 is inappropriate on two counts. First
and foremost, the forest in question is not the province's to dispose of
at will. Secondly, an independent expert has now raised serious doubts
about the province's forest managment practices in Nitassinan.
Last year, our people blocked forest access road construction to
protect their rights and the forest. If the province plans to continue
to disrespect our rights and the land, we now have added reason to
meet them on the road.