TETLIT'ZHEH/FORT MCPHERSON - Concern over the future of water resources took centre stage at the 38th annual Dene National Assembly in Fort McPherson last week.

Before the meetings even got underway, Dene chiefs had met with Premier Floyd Roland on Monday afternoon in Inuvik.

"There was a lot of discussion on water that comes from the border. We don't yet have an agreement with other governments," said Sahtu Grand Chief Frank Andrew.

With at least three conferences on water planned in the next six months, including a national water conference to be held in Yellowknife this November, some chiefs were calling for a public inquiry into how the Alberta tar sands operations are using water from the Athabasca River.

"We have to make this as big or bigger than the Berger inquiry. We drink water. We don't drink oil," said Tlicho Grand Chief George Mackenzie.

Environment and Natural Resources Deputy Minister Gary Bohnet made a presentation to the assembly acknowledging the stress on territorial waterways from both internal and external sources.

"People shouldn't be fighting amongst themselves from region to region," said Bohnet, pointing out that water is a common necessity.

He called on each of the Dene regions along with the Inuvialuit to provide a representative for a working group on water issues.

The Alberta tar sands were named time and time again as the main source of strain on the territory's water systems. Chief Francois Paulette of Smith's Landing said he would like to see a moratorium on new development in the Alberta tar sands.

"We're being hit twice. First they want to poison the river. Second they want to kill the river by damming it. They say it (the dam) is a run of the river but it's not. It is a reservoir they want to create that will increase the water level by 40 metres," said Paulette.

Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus commented that water has always been a topic of discussion at the assemblies, but has become a more urgent matter recently.

"Water is a huge concern, especially realizing as downstream users that our waters are getting contaminated and they're not like they used to be."

The federal government's recent residential school apology was also on leaders' minds as they gave their opening remarks.

"It will be interesting to see what Canada will do now, given this recent apology," said Dehcho Grand Chief Gerald Antoine. He called on everyone to move forward with the apology and be part of the solution. Other delegates were not quite as pleased with the apology. Paulette asked what the federal government is going to do to repair the damages that were done. Liz Hansen of Inuvik also spoke out on the apology.

"An apology is not good enough because we have impacts from the residential school system. We have parents without skills. We need programs to repair the damage," said Hansen.

Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Phil Fontaine attended the first two days of the assembly. He will attend the 29th annual Assembly of First Nations in Quebec City this week. Fontaine spoke positively about the apology and its effects in the past month.

"No longer will there be a denial of our rights. I believe that the apology is a launching pad to a whole new world: one that respects the rights of all citizens, including us," said Fontaine. "That means there is a lot of work ahead of us."

Even with what Erasmus called a light agenda, the topics of mining and water took up an entire day of discussion.

"The difficulty with a national assembly is that there are a lot of delegates and a lot of people want to speak. And it's difficult to hear everyone speak on a subject. So sometimes we run late but we try to accommodate people as much as possible," said Erasmus.

The meetings were followed each night by dancing, handgames, and talk amongst old friends. The community of Fort McPherson set up a large stage for events next to the Anglican church, and there was a festive atmosphere in the air despite the serious nature of the talks throughout the day.