A landmark case involving Lac Seul First Nation and the federal government goes before the Supreme Court of Canada Tuesday.
The Southwind case relates to unlawful flooding of Lac Seul in 1929 when the Ear Falls Dam was built to supply hydroelectric power to Ontario and Manitoba, resulting in nearly one-fifth of the reserve being rendered unusable.
It also damaged the gravesites of community ancestors and the erosion continues today.
The community stresses no legal authorization was ever obtained for the flooding of the land.
Officials say community members have repeatedly faced the emotional burden of reburying eroded remains and witnessing destruction of their burial sites for over 90 years.
The First Nation has been seeking assistance to resolve the issue but they say the provincial and federal governments have not taken responsibility or offered any meaningful support.
Lac Seul has been fighting since 1985, since the First Nation first filed this claim, to find a resolution with the government.
Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa says he stands in solidarity with the community in their fight, noting the people of Lac Seul have been waiting more than 90 years for a resolution.
The NDP critic for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation says Indigenous people and their ancestors sacrificed a great deal in the treaty process and still they have to beg the provincial and federal governments to uphold their treaty responsibilities.
In a prepared statement Mamakwa states:
“Without honesty, fairness and respect from Ontario and Canada, what we have is not a relationship. It is abuse.
That is why I do not stand for the royal anthem or the Canadian anthem at Queen’s Park. I stand for respect and fair treatment.
I stand for our ancestors: to demand respect for the treaties they signed. I stand for the fair treatment of Indigenous people so that our children can access education, clean water and safe housing.
It’s time for the governments of Ontario and Canada to keep their side of the Treaties, so that another generation of Indigenous children doesn’t have go without clean drinking water and safe schools.
Only then, will we stand together.”
In 1977, Chief Ningewance, a former Chief of Lac Seul First Nation, presented the gravesite erosion issue publicly before the Royal Commission on the Northern Environment.
He stated “Everyday, of every month, for the past few years, the remains of my forefathers have been washing up from their sacred burial grounds. There they sit on the edge of our lake, disturbed from what was to have been their eternal resting place. The remains act as a constant reminder that Indians pay a harsh price when the white man an the white man’s power visit the land of my people. We were never given full compensation for the flooding. And were never given the resources to move our ancestors’ graves and save them from a watery destruction. None of us understood that our sacred burial grounds would be mangled and destroyed. We were never told.”
