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Grassy Narrows: Fighting for Land and SovereigntyCANO, Jueves, Julio 24, 2003 - 22:45 Since December 3, 2002, the Anishnaabe community of Grassy Narrows has been blockading a logging road at Slant Lake, 80 km north of Kenora, to prevent logging trucks from entering cut blocks on their traditional lands. Until the blockade was set up, members of the Grassy Narrows community had been protesting through official channels clear cutting by Abitibi Consolidated. Stucked between the federal government that claims it can’t do anything as resources and territories are not under it’s jurisdiction, and the provincial government that won’t discuss any treaty issues, the Anishnaabe realized noone but themselves would do anything to fight the destruction of their land. But further from the struggle against Abitibi Consolidated and its clear-cuttings, the Firts Nations’ fight for self-governance and sovereignty takes shape. By Dave Brophy* Since December 3, 2002, the Anishnaabe community of Grassy Narrows has been blockading a logging road at Slant Lake, 80 km north of Kenora, to prevent logging trucks from entering cut blocks on their traditional lands. Until the blockade was set up, members of the Grassy Narrows community had been protesting through official channels clear cutting by Abitibi Consolidated. The community’s concerns were repeatedly ignored by Abitibi as well as by the federal Ministry of Indian and Northern Affairs (INA) and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR). INA is responsible for representing Canada as signatory to the First Nation Treaties, and thus deals with Aboriginal and Treaty Rights, while OMNR claims jurisdiction over land resources in the province of Ontario, and is thus responsible for issuing logging permits. Before issuing these permits, OMNR is obliged to consult with First Nation communities, but decisions are often made without the support of the communities affected. This was the case with Grassy Narrows, whose participation in the consultation process with OMNR and Abitibi amounted to little more than tokenism. Despite the community’s staunch opposition to clear-cutting, OMNR consistently approved plans that allowed Abitibi to clear-cut on traditional lands. OMNR has backed corporate interests by overseeing timber extraction in the area for decades, although the industry has had a catastrophic affect on the ecosystem and on human health. For example, logging permits awarded to Weyerhaeuser Corporation in the 1970s led to the mercury contamination of the English Wabigoon River System, on which the Grassy Narrows community is located. TACTICS AND STRATEGY
Grassy Narrows' website: documentation, pictures, history, and petition against Abitibi Consolidated's shameless clear-cutting
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