CHISASIBI COMMUNITY VOICES ON THE FUTURE OF THE MARINE REGION

A conversation with Chisasibi community members on what they value, the issues they face, and their vision for the future of the Eeyou Marine Region

Compiled by the Eeyou Marine Region Planning Commission February 2019

EEYOU MARINE REGION

The Crees of Eeyou Istchee have occupied and cared for the coastal regions identified in the Eeyou Marine Region Land Claim Agreement (EMRLCA) for millennia. The EMRLCA is a result of several decades of on and off negotiations between the Crees and Canada which began in the 1970s.

These negotiations resulted in the EMRLCA (a modern treaty) which came into effect on February 15, 2012. The EMRLCA covers approximately 61 270 square kilometers of James Bay and south eastern Hudson Bay off the coast of Quebec.

LAND USE PLANNING

Land use planning in the Eeyou Marine Region aims to protect and promote the existing and future well-being of the people of Eeyou Istchee. For this, we needed sit down with people of the coastal Cree communities including representatives of local government, youth, elders, women, tallymen and land users to hear from them:

• what is important to them about the marine area, • what issues they are facing, and • what is their vision of the future of the marine region?

These conversations will help define the goals for land use planning in the Eeyou Marine Region and are described in this report.

The Eeyou Marine Region Planning Commission will continue this conversation with Chisasibi through several activities in the community in the coming months and years, before a plan is tabled for consideration and approval. 82°0'0"W 80°0'0"W 78°0'0"W 76°0'0"W

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N22 THE EEYOU MARINE REGION PLANNING COMMISSION (EMRPC)

The Eeyou Marine Region Planning Commission (EMRPC)

The EMRPC is an independent body created out of the EMRLCA. The EMRPC is responsible for developing a land use plan to guide development and conservation in the Eeyou Marine Region. The EMRPC is made up of two commissioners nominated by the Grand Council of the Crees, one nominated by the government of Canada, and one nominated by the government of Nunavut. The commission also includes a chairperson selected by the other commissioners.

At the time of the consultations, the EMRPC included:

• Chairperson: Tina Petawabano • Cree Nominee: Chantal Otter Tetreault • Cree Nominee: Chris Beck • Canada Nominee: Lorne McNeice • Nunavut Nominee: David Alagalak

The EMRPC works closely with the Eeyou Planning Commission formed out of the 2012 Cree-Quebec Governance Agreement. The EPC includes Commissioners from each of the Cree communities and is chaired by the Cree Nation Government.

The EPC commissioner for Chisasibi is:

• L. George Pachanos, Commissioner • Matthew Chiskamish, Alternate WHAT DO CHISASIBI CREES VALUE MOST ABOUT THE MARINE REGION? VALUES

THE LAND AND WATER “I love spending time out on the land going on long boat rides.”

HUNTING “My favourite moment was fall hunting on eelgrass. The eelgrass is important to me. We don’t have it anymore. Going from Chisasibi to my camp on Beaver River. In the spring, when birds came, we would go out hunting before and after work.”

FISHING “I love fishing, we have traditional fishing areas out there that need to be protected.”

GATHERING “I love collecting firewood along the shores. I used to go out for duck eggs we would go find the eggs under the rocks. Berry picking is also important, I love berries, cloudberries, blackberries, Labrador tea. Gathering traditional medicine out on the land is also very important.”

CONNECTING WITH OTHERS WHILE OUT ON THE LAND “I love being on the land and enjoying cultural activities with my family.”

CREE KNOWLEDGE “One study for Cree Nation of Chisasibi found that there are 30 Cree words describing different types of wave action/waves. This is very important when it comes to safety. If you don’t know place names you could be in trouble.”

TEACHING “The passing down of traditional knowledge is very important to me, something must be done for it to be kept alive.” WHAT ARE THE ISSUES THAT CHISASIBI CREES ARE FACING IN THE MARINE REGION?

Photo by: Felix Boulanger ISSUES

EROSION “LG-1 has caused and continues to cause a lot of erosion in the river.”

CHANGES TO WATER AND ICE “The changes in water turbidity and salinity have impacted the freezing of the bay. And that impacts our ability to access the area.”

CHANGES TO FISH “Arctic Char is rare these days. In the past, people would get 20 per week and now it’s one per month. Today the elders do not want to eat the fish that was caught from the reservoir they say that they taste different than before the HQ dams.”

AND BIRDS “Brant (eewabuuwaau) and the Artic loon we don’t see them anymore. The Geese are slowly disappearing and the Loon (ashmauuk) hunt is no longer being practiced. I miss the red throated loons. We stopped going out to the bay after the loon became more scarce.”

IMPACTS TO HARVESTING “The salinity of water is an issue. Fresh water ice melts a lot faster and this is a major concern for the spring hunt. The increase of fresh water in the bay has contributed to a decline of fall hunt and means that we are less able to pass on skills and language.”

LOSS OF EELGRASS “The loss of eelgrass is a big issue. The geese were abundant when the eelgrass was present. We are trying to find out what is going on.”

CHANGES TO CREE WAY OF LIFE “There are canoe racks that used to be used, but now people don’t use them and the bush has grown over them because of the effects of LG2 on the bay. Because of the changes, I don’t hunt anymore on the coast. The taste is different.”

LANGUAGE LOSS “We are losing the language of the coast. The language we use out there is being lost. For example, specific terms about setting nets, kids don’t use those anymore. We are also losing the Cree names of the islands. Now it’s mostly fishing derbies. People don’t have the same feeling anymore as they did before the projects.” ISSUES

LAND MANAGEMENT CHANGES “Before there was a certain amount of control. Someone guided the harvest. When I used to go out with my father to pick eggs, there was a certain time to go, not anyone at any time. You leave them alone. Nowadays people take them anytime. Same with game there was a certain time to harvest caribou and you needed to recognize the female. Some people overharvest now.”

SAFETY “The elders knew about the safety of being out in wiiniibauukwch (bay) now the younger generation don’t know about the safety. The elders that would tell us if it was safe to travel are no longer with us. Ice is different. It is more soft and dangerous to travel on now.”

CREE NAMES “One issue related to safety and navigation is that people don’t know what you’re talking about when you use some specific Cree names or coastal terminology.”

POLAR BEAR “The polar bear now comes searching for its food on the land.”

SPORTS HUNTING “Last year there was a big issue with caribou hunting. Some outfitters said they were allowed to go on an island to hunt caribou. At one point, we had to block the road to prevent them accessing the area. They left lots of remnants of caribou. There seems to be some sort of dispute around permits for hunting in the area.”

ANIMAL COLLARS “Putting collars on the animals is not healthy for them. Tranquilizing the polar bear isn’t good for their well-being. They cannot eat well with when neck collars are put on them. A lot is being done to the animals that shouldn’t be done to them.” WHAT IS THE VISION THAT CHISASIBI CREES HAVE FOR THE FUTURE OF THE MARINE REGION?

Photo by: Felix Boulanger VISION

RESTRICT SPORTS HUNTING “I don’t want to see caribou hunting as a sport hunt.”

PROTECT FISHING AREAS “We need our fishing areas to be protected.”

CLEAN UP “Need to educate our communities to keep areas clean.”

RESTRICTING DEVELOPMENT... “I don’t want to see windmills or towers of any sort.”

AND TRAFFIC “When talking about a potential park at Roggan and Seal river one main concern is traffic from a potential park.”

RESTORE CONTAMINATED AREAS... “I want to see clean-up of former outfitting camps and military sites and the dump sites on the islands need to be cleaned.”

AND WATERFOWL HABITAT “I want the salt water to be strong once again and I want to see eel grass growing once again. Every mammal relies on that.”

PRESERVING AND PASSING DOWN KNOWLEDGE... “People need to be taught the when and why’s of harvesting. Eggs should only be picked when they are ready.”

WAY OF LIFE “I would like to see the Eeyou to be able to continue to harvest enough to feed their families.” VISION

AND LANGUAGE “I would like our language to be strong once again. This is where the children learned more of this mother tongue when they were out on the land with their families.”

SAFETY “I would like to see safety check points with shelters at random spots for all seasons. There should be areas where we can communicate from and identifiable shelters. For example, we thought to have one at Long Point for in case the wind changes.”

USE CREE NAMES “It is very important when people are navigating to have Cree names. For example, if someone’s motor goes out, they need to be able to say where they are so they can be rescued.”

COMMERCIAL FISHING “I would like to look into the possibility of commercial fishing things like lobster, shrimp, muscles.”

TOURISM “I would like see tourism but only for bird watching not hunting. I’d like to see tourists with cameras not guns.” For more information on the Eeyou Marine Region Planning Commission please see:

https://www.eeyoumarineregion.ca/

You can contact the Eeyou Marine Region head office at:

819-895-2202

P.O. Box 580 4 Chief Isaiah Salt Road Waskaganish, Quebec, J0M 1R0

Front Cover Photo by Felix Boulanger