And some people ask Indians: "When are we going to stop having to be
responsible for things that happened so long ago?"
The answer: "When you stop repeating the same patterns in your own era."
Read on for but one example:
_____________________________________________________
THE RIVER
The Nechako River drains the east side of the Coast Mountains of British
Columbia and the north-central interior plateau. It is 170 miles long, and
is one of the major tributaries of the mighty Fraser River. The Nechako is
home to seven species of fish with commercial or recreational value
including rainbow trout, bull trout, sockeye and chinook salmon, mountain
whitefish, white sturgeon and burbot. Fisheries experts estimate that it
supports between a fifth and a third of the sockeye and pink salmon in the
entire Fraser River system, the world's richest salmon river.
THE PEOPLE
Prior to 1952, the people of the Cheslatta Indian Band had a largely self-
sustaining lifestyle, based on the fish, game and plant life of their
traditional area. They developed extensive herds of horses, cattle and
other livestock and cultivated clover and hay as well as vegetables for
their own use. While trade with surrounding communities was extensive,
contact with government was limited prior to 1952.
KEMANO 1
In 1952, the B.C. government granted the Aluminum Company of Canada (ALCAN)
the right to all of the water flowing into the Nechako River. ALCAN planned
to build a dam, create a reservoir, and then re-direct the water through
tunnels to giant turbines at Kemano to generate electricity for its
aluminum smelter at Kitimat. To avoid shutting off the river flow entirely,
it was decided to use Cheslatta and Murray Lakes as a secondary reservoir
to maintain enough water in the Nechako River to support its valuable fish
stocks.
Cheslatta Lake, however, was where the Cheslatta people lived.
THE RELOCATION
On March 28, 1952, the decision was made by ALCAN and the B.C. and federal
governments to flood Chreslatta and Murray Lakes. Six days later, the local
Indian Agent convened a meeting of the Cheslatta people and advised them
"to start moving now". Within a week the small dam had been completed and
the water had begun to rise. The pressure on the Cheslatta people to
surrender their lands was intense. Despite this, the people insisted that
certain conditions be met, including the relocation of graves above flood
levels, relocation costs, and adequate compensation for lost buildings and
other immovable property. These terms were finally agreed to by the
Government and the company.
The Cheslatta people then trekked northward to Grassy Plains, carrying only
the barest essentials. As soon as they had left, contractors hired by ALCAN
and the Ministry of Forest moved in and burned all of their buildings to
the ground before they could retrieve any of their belongings. Of the many
graves situated on the old reserves, ALCAN eventually moved only four.
Grave markers were collected and burned. When the people revisited the area
several years later, they found that the discharge of water from the
Nechako Reservoir had washed away cemeteries that ALCAN had promised would
be "safe". The Cheslatta people were forced to retrieve the bodies, bones
and caskets of their loved ones from the waters and shorelines of the new
reservoir.
The Cheslatta people, once a close-knit, stable society, were now scattered
in all directions. Their ties to their traditional land had been severed,
and their sense of community destroyed.
KEMANO 2
In 1983, ALCAN unveiled plans to "complete" the Kemano project by
constructing a new powerhouse with four additional turbines. (The recent
completion of B.C. Hydro's grid into the area would allow ALCAN to sell any
excess power on the open market for the first time, including to the U.S.).
The Kemano 2 Project, however, required the diversion of more water from
the Nechako River, reducing its flow to one-tenth of its original level at
some points. Public hearings were held in various communities, including
Prince Rupert and Vancouver, where 84 per cent of submissions oppose the
plan.
GOVERNMENT APPROVAL
ALCAN's plan for Kemano 2 was also opposed by the federal government's own
fisheries experts, who saw it as a serious threat to the salmon stocks in
the entire Fraser River system. Despite the scientific basis for their
position, they were ordered by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, the
Hon. Tom Siddon to take a more "reasonable" stance towards the company and
the project. Siddon met behind closed doors with ALCAN officials and
emerged in September 1984 with an agreement to let ALCAN proceed with the
project.
In the Fall of 1990, opponents of the project went to court to quash the
agreement between Ottawa and ALCAN, and to force the federal government to
conduct a formal environmental review of the project. Within two weeks of
the first application being made to the courts, the Mulroney government
passed an Order in Council exempting Kemano 2 from any Environmental
Assessment Review Process hearing.
THE COURTS
In May, 1991, the Federal Court of Canada quashed the agreement Ottawa had
made with ALCAN and ordered that a full environmental review be held. In
May 1992, the Federal Court of Appeal overturned this decision. In February
1993, an attempt to appeal this latter decision to the Supreme Court of
Canada was turned down. (Shortly afterwards, the House of Commons did
endorse a Senate-Commons report which called the ALCAN exemption "both
illegal and subversive of constitutional government.")
A Message from the Cheslatta People:
"We would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to all of you, who continue to
offer your spiritual, political, financial and moral support. It helps fan
the flame of hope ... It is a David and Goliath battle since Alcan is a
multibillion dollar corporation with very deep pockets. But we can't give
up the fight, because the cost of not fighting is even higher..."
If you would like to contribute to this fight, please send your cheques to:
The Kemano 2 Defence Fund
c/o Cheslatta Nation
P.O. Box 909
Burns Lake, B.C. VOJ 1EO
Canada
or deposit directly at any branch of the Royal Bank of Canada, to account
#500249-8, Burns Lake branch.
Please write Chief Marvin Charlie at the above address if you do make a
direct deposit.
THE CHESLATTA SOLIDARITY CARAVAN
The Cheslatta Solidarity Caravan will leave Ottawa on Monday June 13th and
travel across Canada to rendezvous with the Cheslatta people during their
annual camp-out on their traditional lands on June 25th prior to its annual
flooding by Kemano I. Led by Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chief, Ron George, the
Solidarity Caravan will stop in fourteen communities across Canada to
conduct workshops, presentations and public forums on the Kemano II project
and its impact on the Cheslatta people. Mr. George will be accompanied by
members of the Innu, Algonquin, Mohawk and Carrier nations. The Solidarity
Caravan and Cheslatta camp-out will be recorded on film by Ottawa
documentary filmmaker Sheila Jordan, for broadcast later on television.