10.0 Human Use
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LABRADOR SHELF OFFSHORE AREA STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT UPDATE Human Use July 2021 10.0 HUMAN USE As per section 7.2.3 of the C-NLOPB’s Final Scoping Document, this section provides an overview of the existing human environment, with a focus on the various human components and activities that occur in and around the Labrador Shelf SEA Update Area. This includes a description of the regions and communities and a discussion of traditional and cultural activities, marine recreation and tourism activities, and other ocean users. For many parts of the Labrador Shelf SEA Update Area, there is strong IK on the distribution of various species; however, there may be geographic bias of the observations towards more populated areas of the coast related to concentration of hunting and travel by community members. Therefore, a lack of mapped data should not be inferred to mean a lack of species presence. In addition, the IK included within this SEA Update does not represent the total land usage or knowledge held by Indigenous groups with respect to the Labrador Shelf SEA Update Area. 10.1 REGIONS AND COMMUNITIES Labrador, the mainland portion of the province of NL, is separated from the Island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle and is the largest (294,330 km²) and northernmost geographical region in Atlantic Canada. Labrador is bordered to the west and the south by Quebec. Nearly 30,000 people live in Labrador, distributed in some 30 communities, which range from small coastal settlements to larger centres in central and western Labrador (Nalcor Energy 2012). Labrador encompasses a diverse range of social, cultural, and economic landscapes and is comprised of various regions – Central Labrador, Southern Labrador, the Labrador Straits, Labrador West, and the North Coast. The Labrador Shelf SEA Update Area extends along the North Coast, Central Labrador and Southern Labrador. The North Coast is the most isolated region in Labrador. Communities in the North Coast include Hopedale, Makkovik, Nain, Natuashish, Postville, and Rigolet. These communities are accessible via water or air transportation. Southern Labrador extends along the coastline between the Quebec North Shore and the Mealy Mountains of Central Labrador. It includes the towns of Cartwright, Charlottetown, Port Hope Simpson, St. Lewis, and Mary’s Harbour, and the communities of Paradise River, Black Tickle-Domino, Norman Bay, Pinsent’s Arm, and Lodge Bay. There are also several smaller coastal settlements in the region that are inhabited on a seasonal basis (Nalcor Energy 2012). Central Labrador (or Upper Lake Melville) is the most populous region of Labrador and includes the Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, North West River, the Innu community of Sheshatshiu, and the smaller settlement of Mud Lake. 10.2 TRADITIONAL AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES Labrador’s Indigenous peoples have lived in the coastal territories for millennia. This connection to the land continues today, with the Labrador Innu and Inuit dependent on the Labrador marine environment for their social, cultural, and economic wellbeing. 10-1 LABRADOR SHELF OFFSHORE AREA STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT UPDATE Human Use July 2021 This section includes an overview of the three Indigenous communities in Labrador, whose territories fall within the Labrador Shelf SEA Update Area, and a description of their historic and current traditional and cultural activities, such as travel routes, hunting and gathering, and other harvesting activities. 10.2.1 Innu Nation 10.2.1.1 Community Profile The current population of the Labrador Innu is approximately 3,200, residing in primarily two communities – Sheshatshiu and Natuashish (Innu Nation n.d.). Sheshatshiu, formerly part of the community of North West River, is in Central Labrador, and Natuashish is on the North Coast of Labrador. Some Innu also reside in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and elsewhere in Canada (Innu Nation n.d.). The Sheshatshiu Innu and the Mushuau Innu of Natuashish are individual reserves, with an elected Chief and Band Council. Innu Nation represents both communities in land claims negotiations and on other matters of common interest. Sheshatshiu Innu Nation has a population of about 1300 and is governed by the Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation Band Council (Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation n.d.). This council is formed by the chief and six councilors and is in charge of several services and eight departments. These include Health, Education, Community Services, Economic Development, Finance, Operations, Public Works and Recreation (Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation n.d.). The Mushuau Innu First Nation in Natuashish has a population of 935, based on the 2016 census (a 31.7% increase over the 2006 population estimate) Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (2020). The council is formed by a chief and four councilors. The community of Natuashish was constructed between 1997 and 2003 as part of the Mushuau Innu Relocation Agreement, with relocation to the community occurring between 2002-2003. The Mushuau Innu chose the Natuashish site, with reserve lands being approximately 4265.486 hectares (Nametau Innu n.d.). Innu Nation claim Indigenous rights and title to most of Labrador and parts of Quebec. In September 2008, Innu Nation and the Government of NL signed the Tshas Petapen (“New Dawn”) Agreement. The New Dawn Agreement resolved key issues between Innu Nation and the Province related to the Innu land claim (Government of NL 2011). Since that time, Innu Nation and the provincial and federal governments completed detailed agreements on tripartite Labrador Innu Land Rights Agreement-in-Principle, signed by all parties in 2011 (Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs Office n.d.). 10.2.1.2 Historic Activities The Labrador Innu are descendants from Algonkian-speaking hunter-gathers and are the easternmost group of a widespread people known as the Cree (Heritage NL 2018). Traditionally, the Labrador Innu were a nomadic people, whose movements aligned to the seasons and migrations of game animals which they relied upon (Nexen Energy 2018). The Labrador Innu harvested a wide range of terrestrial and marine species for food and clothing including caribou, beaver, porcupine, fox, hare, marten, migratory birds, and seals (Nalcor Energy 2010). They also harvested Atlantic salmon, pike, whitefish, suckers, and sturgeon, and a wide variety of plants were gathered for food and medicinal purposes (Innu Nation 2007; Nalcor Energy 2010). 10-2 LABRADOR SHELF OFFSHORE AREA STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT UPDATE Human Use July 2021 Limited information is publicly available regarding Innu hunting territories and social structures prior to the arrival of Europeans in North America. However, historic evidence suggests that broadly dispersed groups remained in contact through long-distance travel throughout the interior. Historic documents from trading posts in Labrador demonstrate that the Innu travelled throughout the region, from George River and Voisey’s Bay in the north, south to Hamilton Inlet and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and west to the height of land and beyond (Nalcor Energy 2010). Innu knowledge of the land is reflected in their many place- names that testify to Innu travel routes and harvesting activities. Between 1900 and 1930, many Innu spent most of the year south of the Mealy Mountains (Tanner 1977). Families, typically from the Lake Melville area, would travel south in August along the Kenamau River then move to the north into the Mealy Mountains to hunt caribou in the fall (Tanner 1977). In the spring, they would fish and hunt waterfowl throughout the region then travel to Hamilton Inlet, where they remained for the summer. This general pattern of land use and harvesting continued until the establishment of permanent settlements in the 1960s. 10.2.1.3 Current Activities Following the establishment of Innu settlements in the 1960s, the Labrador Innu’s traditional land use and harvesting practices changed dramatically. With government housing and the requirement for children to attend school, woman and children largely remained in the community for most of the year while men spent considerably less time on the land hunting and trapping (Nalcor Energy 2010). In the 1970s, an Outpost Program began to help families finance travel to and from camps in the interior of Labrador and enabled Innu to travel into the country. This program served as a means of maintaining cultural identity and physical, emotional and spiritual health (Nalcor Energy 2010). Access to funding altered how traditional activities were undertaken, including how individuals traveled to and from seasonal harvesting areas. Whereas traditionally hunters walked and travelled by canoe to harvesting areas, preferred modes of transportation evolved to vehicles, snowmobiles, and motorized boats (Nalcor Energy 2010; Armitage and Stopp 2003). Available funding also allowed for aircrafts to be chartered to transport hunters to interior harvesting areas (Nalcor Energy 2010). Because of these changes, traditional Innu travel routes and camp locations were used less frequently (Nalcor Energy 2010). As indicated by Innu Nation (1997), approximately 42% of members of the Innu Nation participated in the country-based harvest year-round, with the spring being the most popular season, with 48% of participants spending at least one week in the country hunting, fishing, and gathering wild foods (Nalcor Energy 2010). Over half of the people surveyed indicated that they used the Outpost Program and 44% of those stated that they would