by Elaine Klaassen

The bad news is that in the 1970s the Manitoba Hydroelectric Company built a series of dams in northern Manitoba, reversing the flow of the Churchill Ri ver and channeling it through the Nelson River, a feat of engineering if ever there was one. The project took place without the consent of the Cree Nations whose lands, waterways and livelihoods would be affected, although the official, obligatory meetings were held. The project took place despite the serious and vocal misgivings of prominent scientists and despite numerous protests in Canadian universities.

I learned about this source of Minnesota’s electricity from a guy named Fred who showed up at my church. He had protested the new dams when he was at the university in Winnipeg in the ’60s. Then, in 1999, after many years away from Manitoba, he was going to Winnipeg from Minneapolis and met a Cree Nation trucker at a wayside rest stop. George, the trucker, told Fred about serious damage to his village, South Indian Lake, when a control dam was built nearby in 1972—the beginning of the massive hydroelectric project. I have felt a personal connection to the people who have had to suffer for my electricity ever since then. The connection seems extraordinarily direct.

The outcome of the new dams was a massive amount of cheap electricity available to Minnesota, among other buyers, and increasing hardship for the affected Cree bands, as well as considerable damage to the northern boreal forests.

The good news is that in 1977, Canadian churches met with the affected aboriginal people to listen to their plight. Out of those meetings came The Northern Flood Agreement, considered by the Cree to be a treaty, that provided for compensation and mitigation for damages suffered because of the dams.

The bad news is that throughout the 1980s and most of the ’90s, getting the treaty to work was like pulling teeth. Four of the affected Cree bands gave up trying to receive compensation and signed new, and, in my opinion, inadequate agreements.

The good news is that one of the bands, Pimicikamak Cree Nation, started paying their electricity bills into a trust for the benefit of their own community. One of ways they used their funds was to hire a person to represent their story in Minnesota, and to fund trips to Minnesota to tell their story. Since then, the Star Tribune, the Pulse, the Southside Pride, the Pioneer Press and the Winnipeg Free Press have run numerous articles about the situation, thus raising general public awareness.

And, in 1999, another interchurch inquiry was held. Part of their eloquent statement is the following:

“For better of for worse, it has often been the role of the Churches to serve as mediators between Aboriginal peoples and the dominant society. And so it was in the 1970’s when Manitoba Hydro, in partnership with the Governments of Canada and Manitoba began construction of massive dams in the traditional territories of the Cree and M’etis people of the North.

The public inquiry that was conducted by the Inter-Church Task Force on Northern Flooding was an historic moment in Canadian history; for the Churches it was a sacred moment. For one of the first times in the history of Canada, Aboriginal people were able to dialogue with dominant society in an effective and public way.

“There is a unique history of church involvement with Aboriginal communities affected by hydro development. The faith community contributed to the NFA (Northern Flood Agreement) process, and in a sense has stood as a public guardian of the treatment of affected peoples. We believe that the churches have a moral obligation to see that there is an honourable and fair relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples. By conducting the inquiry they are saying that if kilowatts of power flow between peoples at either end of the transmission lines, there should also be a flow of understanding and goodwill.

“In a 1987 statement entitled ‘A New Covenant,’ Canadian Church leaders from eight major religious denominations recognized ‘that the rights of Aboriginal peoples are not simply a legal or political issue, but first and foremost, a moral issue touching the very soul and heart of Canada.’ In that statement, they expressed their profound hope that ‘Canada could become a living example, before the rest of the world, of a society that is coming to terms with the historic demands for justice affecting the descendants of its original inhabitants.’”

The bad news is that when Pimicikamak Cree Nation petitioned for a contested case hearing to study the effects of the dams in an attempt to stop the renewal of Xcel’s contract with Manitoba, it was unanimously rejected by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, and the contract was renewed.

The good news is that in Cross Lake on the 25th anniversary of the signing of the NFA, Manitoba government ministers announced an ambitious 15-month plan to begin, in earnest, implementing the Northern Flood Agreement. There was no signing, no deal, no new agreement. It is simply an action plan to do what was agreed 25 years ago.

The action plan includes:

* transfer of new reserve land in exchange for affected reserve lands, and commitments to continue the land transfer process beyond the 15 months

* construction of a $25 million bridge (arises directly out of the NFA)

* cleanup of the waterways behind the Jenpeg dam and planning toward further environmental cleanup as there are other much larger areas that need cleaning up

* construction of recreation facilities (playgrounds, outdoor rinks, etc.) And planning for much more significant facilities

* numerous other smaller initiatives

* all of this will include major employment and training.

Pimicikamak signed away nothing in return for these initiatives.

Manitoba Hydro, in an official statement, said, “This marks a new stage in the relationship between the First Nation, Manitoba and the Crown Corporation. It signals a significant move away from past confrontations that have plagued the relationship and toward a new spirit of working together cooperatively, both in Manitoba and elsewhere. The plan is intended to shift the emphasis from ongoing debate and process to increased delivery of programs and works that fulfill NFA obligations …”

If it weren’t for the churches of Canada, for Fred, for all the different presses in search of justice, and for the strength of Cross Lake leaders, the aboriginal people of Manitoba could have been completely violated; the rest of the world would have gone on obliviously running their air conditioners.