Remember ancestors who fought for the land

To the Editor:
I am from Sandy Lake First Nation and 19 years old.
When I first heard about Bill 191, I didn’t get what was the big deal. Then I saw a press conference on the news and I started to wonder what would happen to us as First Nation people. The Ontario government is taking 21 per cent of our land for a park.
Though First Nation chiefs in Ontario are fighting hard for our land rights, we all need to stand together and help fight for what is rightfully ours. I strongly believe we have rights to our land. We all carry pride in who we are and what we do.
Our ancestors were the first ones to care for the land and they travelled throughout it.
My father Jonas Fiddler, a respected Elder in the Nishnawbe Aski Nation territory, would tell me stories about it. He would tell me his late-father Chief Thomas Fiddler would travel all through the land to go to the Hudson Bay trading post on foot or by canoe.
We have to remember our ancestors and fight for our land. My father was one of the many Elders to walk these lands and he taught us to take care of the land and to treat Mother Earth with love and respect.
We the First Nation people don’t expect royal treatment. We work hard to get what we want and to make our families happy. We don’t have fancy houses or nice things.
The thing we can hold onto is having pride in ourselves. We walk with pride and show others respect. We are not bad people. We respect visitors to Sandy Lake and we make sure they enjoy themselves.
Now the government of Ontario is coming out of nowhere and taking our land from us.
If only it was as simple as asking Ontario to drop everything and let us keep our land. It is one of the many things that represents who we are.
Claudia Fiddler
Sandy Lake First Nation