Cloudy weather and a cool breeze. A small white house on the edge of Lake Taillardat. A man near his truck, with his big dog… This is Pierre Pelletier. He has lived here for seven years now.
His house is one of about sixty that borders this lake, located in Innu territory, about thirty kilometers from Pessamit (Côte-Nord).
The cohabitation between the Whites and the Innus is not always peaceful in Nitassinan, the territory claimed by the Innus of Pessamit and which extends over 138,424 km2.
With Mr. Pelletier, things seem to be going well.
When the territorial agents of Pessamit come to see him, the atmosphere is relaxed. Benoît Labbé, one of the agents, pets Pierre Pelletier’s dog, Rex. It’s about snow removal and tank.
The Indians, they are fine… I have no problem with themsays Mr. Pelletier.
My family has had this cottage for 40 years. There is an Innu who also lives around the lake and we have no problem with himsays Karine Tibo, owner of three chalets around Lake Taillardat.
Around Pearl Lake, same story, but on the Innu side. The Kanape family has their camp, in the middle of a few cabins of non-natives. We help each other, they monitor our facilities when we are not there and we do the same with theirssays Michel Kanape.
Most people are okay…but there are always bad apples. We often have problems with locals, less vacationers who come from Montreal or Quebecsays Benoît Labbé.
For the past few years, houses and chalets have been swarming in this territory and the pandemic has only accelerated things a little further. Quebecers want to go green, recharge their batteries.
Today, 3,000 resort leases (including basic shelter leases) have already been issued by the MRC of Manicouagan around Lac à la Loutre, Lac Migneault and Lac du Chardon. These are public lands.
In short, they find themselves all on Innu territorysays Philippe Poitras, director of land management at the MRC Manicouagan.
It’s here MRC which, mandated by the Quebec Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, issues these leases.
For several years, Mr. Poitras has been showing Quebecers’ interest in finding a little corner of paradise on the North Shore. It’s not so much new requests that we receive, because there are a lot of lease transfers, but we have seen an increase of 300 to 400% in registrations for leases offered in the drawhe explains.
Thus, in 2021, 17 plots were allocated.
A problem for the Innu. We don’t feel at home anymore, but we’re going anywayanswers the leader of Pessamit, Jean-Marie Vollant, who evokes barricades, fences and signs private property planted in front of these houses installed on the Nitassinan.
I understand the principle, but I didn’t force anyone. This is a problem that goes beyond mereplies Karine Tibo, throwing the ball into the camp of the MRC.
This feeling of being dispossessed of one’s territory leads to clashes.
Already in the 1960s and 1970s, the Innu no longer went hunting during the hunting period open to whites. It was too dangeroussays Adélard Benjamin, project manager at the band council, referring to the amateurism of some non-Aboriginal hunters.
He remembers, for example, that one of them once killed a caribou thinking it was a moose…
Benoît Labbé himself has already had an altercation with a chalet tenant. He says that while he was carrying out an operation in the area, a man would have appeared, rifle in hand, explaining to him that he had been hunting there for 40 years and that the salt marshes supposed to attract game were his.
Mr. Labbé said he then explained to him that he was not there to hunt, simply to do his job as a territorial agent. You’ve been here for 40 years, but our ancestors have been using the territory for hundreds and hundreds of years.he replied.
Consultations required
When the MRC receives a lease application, it is up to Quebec to consult the Innus of Pessamit.
We are asked if we are in favor, if we have any concerns. We then meet the people directly concerned. The majority tell us that they do not agree, because it reduces their own access to the territory, that it impacts the game and that there are already many vacationers in the sector.explains André Côté, Director of the Territories and Resources Sector at the Pessamit Band Council.
The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MERN) did not wish to answer the questions of Espaces originees in an interview.
By e-mail, however, he indicated that consultations provide an opportunity for the affected community to voice their concerns to the MERN with respect to the requested land. The representatives of MERN act in such a way as to promote the most harmonious cohabitation possible between the various users of public land.
The problem, says André Côté, is that the department does not seem to take into account the opinion of the Innu. They tell us that we did not clearly explain how it was going to impact ushe continues.
A misunderstanding between two cultures. The Innu does not occupy a square territory, but a vast space. One year he will be there, the other a little furtheradds Mr. Côté, to illustrate that the concept of border is not evident in the mentality of Aboriginal people.
Word border does not even exist in the Innu language. Proof that the very concept is, at the base, totally foreign to them.
Chef Jean-Marie Vollant is well aware of the situation. We would like those who hold these leases to respect the Innu, to stop putting up barricades. We are at home and we will continue to go there anywayhe said.
Money stories
But behind all that, there is also a question of money. Each year, the ministry collects part of the taxes attached to all these leases. The other part comes back to the MRC.
These taxes depend on the value of the building. According to Philippe Poitras, it’s about $300 for resorts and $100 for basic shelters.
Except that we don’t have any property rights, we, says Chef Vollant. Translation: the Innus of Pessamit receive absolutely no money in return for these leases established on the territory they claim.
Is this normal? Asked about this question, the MERN first explained that he simply follows what is dictated by law.
Subsequently, when Indigenous Spaces asked for clarification, the MERN recalled that Quebec and Ottawa have entered into agreements with, among others, Pessamit on the sharing of these royalties the exact terms of which will be negotiated in the treaties.
Except that Pessamit left the negotiating table in 2005. A choice that explains, according to the MERNthat the community receives no royalties.
Indeed, Pessamit chose the court route to claim its ancestral rights on its territory. A long legal battle started in 2005 and which continues today.
Source: Radio-Canada
