Saturday, March 31, 2007

Stolen Spaces and Places

There is an article in the Toronto Star titled Ottawa rejects moving reserve, which deals with the Kashechewan Indian Reserve. In 1957, the Cree Indians were forced by the government, to relocate their families and homes to their current location, near James Bay. Since then, they have had to deal with several problems that prohibit them from living under safe or habitable conditions.

Every spring, as the ground thaws, water runoff makes its way towards the Kashechewan Reserve. The author reports that since 2004, Kashechewan’s 1800 residents have had to evacuate three times because of flooding, which led to the water becoming contaminated with sewage. In 2005, there were even issues with a possible E. coli outbreak. The article states that the situation became so poor that there were pictures taken at the site of “toddlers riddled with scabies”.

A failing flood wall is the reason behind these problems, and no work has been started on fixing it. The Cree, have proposed that their reserve be relocated 450km south, toward Timmins, however the government hesitates to spend the estimated $474 million to move the site.

There are several aspects of this article which are connected to our course that jump out at me. One deals with the displacement of the Cree by the Canadian government in 1957. The land the Cree originally occupied must have held some significance to them. We have spoken many times throughout the course of the year about places with meaning, and to just take that away from someone who had claim to the land before we did just doesn’t make sense.

Like the map that roared, this article deals with much the same issue. Spiritual Native land became divided by modern inventions, such as pipelines, roads, electrical lines, and things of the like. The Cree’s connection and claim to the land was completely ignored.

What’s worse is that the area that they are now connected with is also becoming a growing concern, and they will soon be forced to move again.

What I find it appalling about this entire situation is the lack of care that the government shows towards the Natives. Firstly, they forced the Cree off their land and relocated them in an area that holds no meaning to them. And now that this new location is inhabitable, the government has been too slow to react in finding a solution to this issue. They are taking too long to either replace the flood wall (a preventative measure they provided) or relocate the reserve.

How is dwelling or a sense of place supposed to be attained or maintained when you are bullied and shown such little respect by your own government- an organization that is there for your protection.

-Matthew Paradiso

This article can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/News/article/198076

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