Far North Act a valuable legislation to protect lands for future generations: Dewey

Dear Editor:
My name is Patrick William Dewey and I am a treaty Native from Sioux Lookout, Ont. I am writing because I became very upset and concerned after reading the Aug. 5 newspaper regarding the Far North Act, Bill 191 (re: Leaders question MNR minister’s Far North tour) – a very good bill I would say.
It includes a good amount of protected land. I know this because I worked with a tribal council while this act was being drafted and also because Nishnawbe Aski Nation released a pamphlet about the bill. I have also worked with a very respectable and hard working executive director. I assisted with land use planning, the new mining table, as well as this Far North Act. I collated material and did meeting minutes and stuff a tribal council assistant would. It gave me a chance to understand Native politics. I became a little upset at what was being said with this.
Bill 191 was drafted in order to protect our Native way of living and also the future of our people. I do listen to my Elders and I did hear what they said, after all it is a very important Native teaching we have. Our Elders stress the importance of land protection as a way of living. Our land feeds us. It gives us clean water to drink. It gives us food when we are short of any.
This Bill 191 prevents catastrophe, like what happened in Big Trout (Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug) a few years back.
That itself could have led to a sort of uprising, like as what happened in Ipperwash in 1995, leading to the death of one person.
I remember the time when we fought against an-all season road. I remember how important it was to our Elders at that time.
One of the reasons it was important was mining. Another was easier access to alcohol and the drugs that was also not wanted in and around the communities. Just as how important the land and land-use planning is to them now.
One time, I was at a memorial for an Elder in Sandy Lake and there was this tree with money taped to it representing the symbolism of what this Elder stood for. As long as we have clean unpolluted water and wild food to eat we will never go hungry. Plus what does money bring? Artificial foods with sugars and preservatives bringing diabetes or drugs and alcohol to a people in healing.
I think as Native people we are still in a healing process and may not be ready for this sort of thing yet. Money is what I am speaking of. And not the kind of money that grows on trees, but the kind of money that cuts them down and pollutes all around them.
We do need to protect our land. To me, this permanent protection means protecting our way of living. It also means protecting the future generations of our children.
I do have a couple of questions for some. Do you see yourself as a Native holding a wallet of money for yourself? Or do you see yourself holding a fishnet for everyone?
Why do some even contradict the bill? We do have good health care and education, although it is slowly slipping for all of us in all treaties. Should we not be concentrating on that now?
What I mean is education and health is a basic essential the government agencies assist with and that it is an agreement with already existing treaty rights. So what’s all this need for money? Also, our Elders are wise and understanding. Have our leaders not been listening to them? And I am not talking about the middle aged around the table Elders. I’m talking about our Elders, the wise and understanding, the ones who have seen conflicts with our government their whole lives.
And what do the Elders have to say about all of this? I myself would personally like to see every single foot of that 200,000 to 250,000 square kilometre land permanently protected.
And also why do we even consider contradicting some of the things we have been fighting for years for?
Patrick Dewey
Thunder Bay, Ont.