<text>Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1991 08:30:39 ESTReply-To: Peter Kevan <EVBKEVAN@VM.UOGUELPH.CA>Sender: List Owner <davep@acsu.buffalo.edu>From: Peter Kevan <EVBKEVAN@VM.UOGUELPH.CA>Subject: Great Whale River, the Cree, and Quebec sovereignty The matter of the giant hydro-electric plans for northern Quebec are now on semi-hold. New York state is delaying its decision to sign or not to sign the contract, worth about 1/3 of the revenues from the project in Quebec as I understand it. Hydro Quebec and the Provinical government are relieved as the pressure is now off for completion of the project. Nevertheless, they are quite convinced that the project will go ahead and interpret NY's delay as positive (i.e. NY will sign on). The price of the energy to various buyers has come under close scrutiny as it appears it will be sold below the cost of production. Does anyone know the details? This approach is not new to Canadian politics of primary resources (e.g. coal deals in the West with Japan, some coal mining operations in New Brunswick) and would seem to have some basic corruption associated with their institution. The Cree people have gone on record as not supporting Quebec separation and have indeed indicated their intention to explore the possibility of their separation if the former comes to pass. Anyone who looks at an historical atlas of Canada will realize that most of Quebec as we know it today was part of the Northwest Territories until very recently (?1940's).The situation has the potential to become very interesting and for me, I support the Cree viewpoint in their complaints about both the Quebec and Federal Canadian governments. The issue of Quebec's separation may be laid to rest as a serious threat to Canada. The Economist has analysed the potential effect to Quebec and the scenario is not rosy! The recent PC hat-dance seems to have done some good.The Spicer Commission report has been generally well received, nit-picking notwithstanding. The racist policies of Quebec are being recognized more and more outside Quebec (anti-black, anti-English, anti-Mohawk, and even by the recent establishment of the KKK there!). Constitutional impasses have been recognized by many people as a huge media-cum-politico-bureaucratic non-issue. All in all, it seems that we may get back to sanity in the next year or two. The environmental issues in all of the above are crucial and the pressure must be kept up in support of the ecological arguements, in support of the Cree, and in support of US and Canadian laws about the minimization of environmental impact of imports/exports.</text>
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<text>Date: Mon, 3 Jun 91 17:16:41 ESTReply-To: nn.general@gnosys.svle.ma.usSender: List Owner <davep@acsu.buffalo.edu>Comments: Resent-From: "P.A. SUTHERLAND" <35002_3014@uwovax.uwo.ca>Comments: Originally-From: NativeNet@gnosys.svle.ma.usFrom: "P.A. SUTHERLAND" <35002_3014@UWOVAX.UWO.CA>Subject: Chief Jean-Maurice Matchewan on Rapid Lake Reserve Situation Original-Sender: kmcvay@oneb.wimsey.bc.ca (Ken McVay) "The federal government had been discussing the creation of a reserve for us since 1919. Only in 1961, however, did the federal and provincial governments - urged by the church especially - decide between themselves to establish a reserve at Rapid Lake. Again, the Algonquin people did not consent. The reserve was set up by provincial order-in-council in 1961. The Quebec cabinet, in that order-in-council, referred to us as savages ("les sauvages") simply because we maintained our traditional way of life, harvesting from the land. The minister responsible for this racist insult was Jean-Jacques Bertrand, who was the Premier of Quebec before Messrs Bourassa and Levesque took over in the 1970s. This reserve at Rapid Lake is only 24 hectares (54 acres) and totally inadequate for our needs. It is located on the ever-changing, ever-eroding shoreline of Cabonga reservoir. Though it was established without our consent, it has created an immense problem for us because the federal government now claims that its interest, and ours, in our territory, is limited to these few hectares. And, as far as the Quebec government is concerned, we have all the land we need or are entitled to. This whole story is a classic example of the way in which Canadian society has acquired aboriginal lands, taking them over for other uses in violation of their own laws and completely without consultation or compensation. In other circumstances, Canadians call this sort of thing stealing. For centuries, we have roamed our huge territory. We used the plants and animals for our livelihood and depended upon no outside agency to help us, trying our best to maintain our way of life, our language, and our culture. Increasingly, we became surrounded by people who proved to be alien to our way of life, hostile to our view of the world, and indifferent to our rights or our needs. Through no choice of ours, we now find ourselves living on 24 hectares of sand, which is eroded year by year. The waters of the reservoir contribute to this erosion because the levels are changed according to the decisions of Hydro-Quebec, people living away from the land. The pattern of operation of the reservoir is determined by the needs of others, not ours. The very fine sand on which we live just cannot sustain such overcrowded conditions. Every spring and summer, the effects of wind, rain, and run-off cause terrific sandstorms and even the collapse of the foundations of houses." Chief Jean-Maurice Matchewan, Barriere Lake Indian Government, as quoted in "DRUMBEAT: Anger And Renewal In Indian Country" (ISBN 0-929-091-03-5) -- 1B Systems Management Limited - Canada's FrontDoor/TosScan source! SCO / Telebit / USR / TK-IDM Computer Systems dealer FrontDoor automated mail systems our specialty.. +1-604-754-7423 | Nanaimo, British Columbia, CANADA</text>
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<text>From: delisle@eskimo.celestial.com (Ben Delisle)Newsgroups: alt.native,talk.environment,soc.culture.usa,pnw.general,alt.save.the.earthSubject: The Battle of Snoqualmie Falls, Part II.Keywords: Snoqualmie Falls, Puget Power, distructionMessage-ID: <1647@eskimo.celestial.com>Date: 24 Dec 91 02:57:33 GMTOrganization: ESKIMO NORTH (206) 367-3837 SEATTLE WA.Lines: 111 Article from The Seattle Times, Seattle, Washington 98111 September 19, 1991. ------------ v -------------- Begin article ------------- v ------------ ** "The Battle of Snoqualmie Falls, Part II" ** ** By Ron Adams, Special to the Seattle Times. ** In the 1990's, Three private industries which own land on and around Snoqualmie falls have plans to carve up the landscape and eat it like a Thanksgiving turkey. If they have they have their way, in five years there will only be a "bare bones" of the falls will remain to remind us of what once was. The true beauty and power of the falls will never be known by our future generations. How did we come to this? For hundreds of years before the comming of European settlers, Snoqualmie falls was revered by by Northwest native people as a sacred place. The falls is an integral part of the identity of the first people to this region; it is the setting for Snoqualmie creation stories. To this day, members of the Snoqualmie tribe find spiritual solace and renewalat the falls, in much the same way that Christians find spiritual solace in churches and cathedrals. SNOQUALMIE FALLS is a "stolen jewel." In 1866, Snoqualmie Falls was removed from the care of the Snoqualmie people. Back in those days, all you needed to acquire choice land was the right ethnic origin and the right piece of paper in your hand. The new custodians of the falls brought different ideas of stewardship of natural resources. In 1898, they blasted away the face of the falls and constructed a power plant in the rock below. The protests of the Snoqualmie People were ignored. Who cared what a bunch of Indians thought? Over the years, owners of the sight have built additional structures and altered the falls' landscape - all done in the name of "progress." Piece by piece, the falls are being consumed. A regional treasure may soon all but dissappear. Snoqualmie Falls currantly faces serious threats. Puget Sound Power and Light Co., in its request for a 40 year license renewal, is asking the federal governemntfor 60 percent more water for its hydroelecrtic generators. If this request is granted, the dynamic character of Snoqualmie Falls, already greatly lessended,will be even further diminished. The falls will more closely resemble resemble a fountain in a business park, with constant, regulated flows 290 days of the year. Additional structures proposed for the site sound innocuous enough - "interpretive center," "museum" - but each will require that another piece of this sacred landscape is cut away. Weyerhaeuser, for its part, plans to convert its land holdings around the falls into exclusive residences and a golf course. Currant plans call for 2,000 housing units, and how many more for the future? Puget Western, a subsidiary of Puget Power, is also exploring its development options. THESE PROPOSED "improvements" to the falls do not enhance its natural beauty. To the contrary, they destroy it. For thousands of years, people have been deawn to the falls for simply for what it is in its self: an awe-inspiring work of nature, a gift from god. The question is: Should private companies, whose ultimate concern is profits for their shareholders, manage a community resource such as Snoqualmie Falls? Simply put, "Should the fox guard the hen house?" History suggests that if left in private hands, the falls will be exploited, not for the good of the community, but for the short term profits of the shareholders. Private industry dose not owe its allegiance to the community, but rather to its owners, regardless of its public posturing. Puget Power has used Snoqualmie Falls as more than just a source of electricity. Indeed, the falls generate less than 1 percent of the electric power sold by them The power company has yet to ackmowledge to the public the greater value of Snoqualmie Falls as a public-relations tool. How many private utilities in the country own a major tourist site, visited by 1.5 million people people a year? How many private companies in the U.S. can boast of such a PR windfall? Puget Power's assertion that they are "objectively balancing the competing interests" of useage of the site, without acknowledging their own self interest for profit as a company, their own primary self-interest as a for-profit company, exhibits a fundamental lack of integrity. Regardless of the appearance of sincerity, it just ain't so. Yet, this golden egg may hatch into an ugly duckling; Puget Power may be known in five years as the company that destroyed a shrine, so that its shareholders could receive larger dividends for a few years. Weyerhaeuser "the tree-growing company," may become notorious for the inappropriate conversion of its huge timber holdings into fancy residential developments. IT MAY SURPISE many people that Snoqualmie Falls, the second-most-visited attraction in Washington State, is not on private lands. It is time for Puget Power, Weyerhaeuser, and Puget Western to return to the people of the region the "stolen jewel" of Snoqualmie Falls, before they destroy it. The Falls should belong to all the people of this region, a living symbol of that we truly value. In 1987, leaders of mainline Cristian denominations pledged to help the native people recover sacred sites. This Saturday, at the time of the autumnal equinox, the time when light and dark are ballanced, Christian leaders will join with the Snoqualmie and other native people at the Snoqualmie Falls to bless and prey for the preservation of this natural cathedral. We pray as that the private owners of this sacred landscape will acknowledge the transcending value and power of Snoqualmie Falls, and balance their duty to return to the region this sacred site. There are few places left in our world where our souls can soar, where natural conditions help us to look within ourselves. Snoqualmie Falls is one of those places - certainly the most accessible to the people of this region. We owe it to our selves and our children to preserve it.------------------------------------------------------------Ron Adams is the director of the Native American Task Force, Church Council of Greater Seattle, and the director of the Snoqualmie Falls Preservation Project.------------------------------------------------------------ ------------ ^ ------------- End of article ------------- ^ --------------For more information or to send your support you can probably contactThe Snoqualmie Tribe,18525 Novelty Hill Road,Redmond, Washington 98052 (206) 885-7464---/ | || ||| ||||| |||||| delisle@eskimo.celestial.com ||||||| ||||| ||| || | The world is a really neat place, please help keep it that way.</text>
