LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - A free barbecue in Fort Simpson provided the setting to discuss strained relations between the federal government and Dehcho First Nations.

Chief Jim Antoine of Liidlii Kue First Nation speaks about the protection of Edehzhie and devolution to a group of residents at the Fort Simpson arbour on Nov. 5. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

On Nov. 5 Liidlii Kue First Nation offered a free hamburger and hotdog lunch at the arbour for Fort Simpson residents, setting the stage to discuss the federal government's decision to remove sub-surface protection from the area known as Edehzhie.

"This is a big concern to me, a big concern to a lot of the leaders in the Deh Cho," said Chief Jim Antoine of Liidlii Kue First Nation.

The area, which encompasses the Horn Plateau, Mills Lake and Willowlake River, is a source of clean water and elders have asked it be protected, Jim said. Dehcho First Nations (DFN) together with other groups has been working for over a decade to fulfill this request.

DFN has been using the NWT Protected Areas Strategy process to receive a National Wildlife Area designation for Edehzhie. Following a resolution passed at its annual assembly in June, DFN sent a letter to Jim Prentice, the then federal Minister of the Environment to grant the designation and provide both surface and sub-surface protection.

"As Dene people we want the sub-surface protected too," Jim said.

On Oct. 29 DFN was informed the federal government would be renewing the interim land withdrawal has protected Edehzhie since 2002 but only the surface protection, not the sub-surface. The area is now open for mineral staking and in the worst case scenario it could be staked by different people and the local first nations would loose control of it, said Jim.

DFN is considering launching a court case based on the lack of proper consultation from the federal government and the free entry system in Canada's mining act that allows prospectors to stake an area without permission from groups like DFN.

"We are considering every action we can take to protect Edehzhie," said Ria Letcher, DFN's executive director.

"We have to do what we have to do to protect clean water sources for our future generations."

Jonas Antoine also spoke about his disappointment over the federal government's decision. Antoine was a member of the Edehzhie Working Group and has been part of the project for more than 12 years.

"We were hoping for the best and it didn't happen," said Jonas.

Through the Dehcho Process the federal government and the DFN are suppose to be working side-by-side but instead Canada wants everything for themselves, he said.

"We told them all you have to do is listen to us and you can brag to the rest of the world how well you treat aboriginal people and they don't want to listen to us," Jonas said.

Working together and involving first nations in decisions is also what's needed in the case of devolution, said Jim.

When aboriginal leaders met in Yellowknife at the end of October to discuss devolution the message was First Nations need to be in involved in actions that affect our lands, Jim said.

Because land and resources are a large part of the Dehcho Process it's a problematic time to be going through devolution, he said.

"It's going to cause a lot of problems for us in this whole negotiation," Jim said.

Jim said he wanted residents to be aware of what's happening with both Edehzhie and devolution. The lunch meeting was planned as a different way to get people interested in issues because often attendance is low at more formal meetings. Based on the success of this meeting he said Liidlii Kue First Nation will use the format again.

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