wfn.org | (LWF) Canadian Native Groups Describe Hydroelectric Damage

["Frank Imhoff" <franki@elca.org>]

LWF Tenth Assembly, Winnipeg, Canada, 21-31 July 2003

PRESS RELEASE NO. 30

Canadian Native Groups Describe Hydroelectric Damage to Northern Communities
LWF Asked to Support Aboriginal People in Quest for Self-Sustainability

WINNIPEG, Canada, 29 July 2003 * When massive hydroelectric power plants were
constructed in northern Manitoba, Canada's central province, during the 1960s
and 1970s, they brought more electricity to the general public but at great
cost to the native people of the area.

Huge dams built along the great Churchill River diverted water where Nature
never intended it to go. Native communities were flooded. Hunting and
trapping grounds were damaged. Debris from flooded timber littered the
shorelines and made boat navigation unsafe. Mercury poisoned the fish,
ancestral sites were destroyed and the quality of the water itself was
reduced.

All of this happened without proper consultation with the native people whose
traditional lands were affected, aboriginal groups maintain.

"The government came and built, and after that they said we will talk," said
Victor Spence, development manager with the Tataskweyak Cree Nation (TCN) of
Split Lake in north-central Manitoba.

Today, however, native groups say they are determined to be masters of their
own fate concerning future hydroelectric developments in the region.

That was the message a TCN delegation brought to the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) Tenth Assembly in Winnipeg on July 29.

"We are here today to have understanding of what our goals and aspirations
are in the community of Split Lake," Chief Norman Flett said.

"Understanding is what we ask for. Lisen to what we have to say and judge for
yourselves what will benefit our community."

In a PowerPoint presentation, the TCN delegation outlined how they and other
similarly-affected native groups dealt with the federal and provincial
governments, and Manitoba Hydro, the province's publicly-owned electric
utility, to ensure better treatment.

Since 1977, native groups have negotiated agreements with governments and
Hydro for remedial, compensation and development measures related to flood
damage.

TCN and Hydro together assessed the damage caused by electrical power
developments and worked toward developing better models for dam projects.

TCN, a Cree community of 2,600 people, insisted that its consent by
referendum would be necessary for future electrical projects on its
traditional lands to proceed. Such projects must have social, economic and
cultural benefits for native peoples, TCN stated.

"This is totally different from the 1970s era," Spence said.

Primarily members of the Anglican Church of Canada, TCN people claim support
from Lutheran and other Canadian churches in determining their own social and
economic future.

"If aboriginal peoples are to realize their aspirations as peoples and
nations, they must be architects of their own future, freely and
responsibly," said a 1987 pastoral statement by leaders of the Christian
Churches on Aboriginal Rights and the Canadian Constitution.

The TCN delegation said the LWF could help them by speaking out for
aboriginal rights and assisting native groups in their journey toward
self-determination and spiritual healing.

"We will determine what will benefit our community," said Flett. "Things have
changed."

The Tenth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is taking place
21-31 July 2003 in Winnipeg, Canada, under the theme "For the Healing of the
World." It is being hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
(ELCIC).

There are around 820 men, women and youth participants in the Tenth Assembly
including 380 delegatesfrom the 133 churches with full membership and three
associate members. The Assembly is the highest decision-making body of the
LWF, and meets normally every six years. Between Assemblies, the LWF is
governed by its Council that meets annually, and by its Executive Committee. 

Further information including photos, video and audio news, is posted on the
Assembly Web site www.lwf-assembly.org

To order photographs, please contact LWF-Photo@lutheranworld.org

*	*	*

The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 136 member
churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7 million of the 65.4 million
Lutherans worldwide. 

The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest
such as ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian
assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission
and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.