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WHAT YOU SHOULD DO TO HELP THE INNU PEOPLE
PROTECT THEIR CULTURE AND THE EARTH.
The traditional Innu people of Nitassinan, whose ancestral home lies in the
pristine sub-Arctic forest of the North Shore region on the St. Lawrence
seaway, are asking for your help in maintaining their way of life and
protecting the rivers and forests from destruction by Hydro-Quebec,
Write: Prime Minister
Langevin Block, Parliament Bldg..
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-995-0101
With copies to:
Prime Minister of Quebec Cabinet Minister Indian Affairs
885 Grande-Allee est 875 Grande-Allee est
Ediface J, 3e etage Ediface H, Bureau 2-400
Quebec, PQ G1A 1A2 Quebec, PQ G1R 4Y8
Fax: 418-643-3924
La Presse Ltee. Globe & Mail
7, Rue St-Jacques 444 Front Street W.
Montreal, PQ H2Y 1K9 Toronto, ON M5V 2S9
Demand that the Canadian Government respect the Innu right of self-
determination. That they respect national and international law with regard to
Innu sovereignty and let them define the basis for their own future. Demand
that the draconian 30-year injunction against the Innu be lifted
immediately.
Send donations to: Join the Innu Support Committee:
Coalition for Nitassinan 100 Cave Hill Road
7 rue Pinashure Leverett, MA 01054
Maliotenam, PQ G4R 4K2 phone: 413-367-2202
The Innu People occupy and live in a land they call Nitassinan, which the
colonizers named Quebec and Labrador. They have occupied that land for 9,000
years. Their rights to that land have never been ceded to the Canadian
Government through treaty or land claims agreement. The InnuUs relatives
and ancestors are buried beside the rivers and lakes of Nitassinan. Their oral
traditions, mythology and personal reminiscences all involve events that took
place there, and the collective wisdom of the Innu People is largely based on
an intimate knowledge of Nitassinan. Traditional Innu people live off the land;
without it they will perish.
Nitassinan is part of the Great Boreal or sub Arctic Forest, sometimes referred
to as the Amazon of the North. It is the largest remaining pristine stand of
old growth forest on the continent and it is under siege by the Great Boreal
Land Rush being engineered by nationalist and multi-national corporations
motivated solely by profit. The Boreal Forest is an integral part of the
Earth's ecosphere. Its destruction will irreparably damage the environment
of the North Country and beyond.
Such destruction knows no borders. Mining, forestry, and hydro-electric
damming are the three horsemen spearheading the assault. Hydro-QuebecUs
current St. Marguerite-III Project (SM-III) threatens the regionUs largest
salmon habitat as well as flooding a territory of 450 square kilometers,
contaminating rivers with mercury, clear-cutting vast areas of forest and
destroying wildlife habitat. It will also have devastating impact on the
traditional Innu way of life should the project be implemented. The Cree and
Innu people to the west and north face similar threats.
THE FIRST PEOPLES OF THE NORTH ARE ASKING FOR YOUR HELP IN ENDING THE
SIEGE.
-- Peter d'Errico voice: 413-545-2003 Legal Studies Department fax: 413-545-1640 University of Massachusetts/Amherst 01003 derrico@legal.umass.edu