Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Liard (Nov 05/99) - The winds of change have blown through Fort Liard and Chief Harry Deneron seems very pleased with what has blown his way.

Deneron, speaking during a ceremony Friday evening to recognize Acho Dene Koe's service sector work for Chevron, said the world is a changing place. In the past, community members used to trap for the Hudson's Bay Company, he noted. Kids today, he said, couldn't survive in the bush and don't realize how hard a life it is on the land.

"I believe that people have changed," he said.

On the East and West Coasts, First Nations people are fighting over their the right to catch fish, he suggested.

"If we are going to fight over our treaty rights, I believe we are on the wrong track," he said.

Although the Acho Dene Koe haven't been involved in negotiating a land claim with the federal government since the agreement in principle died in the early 1990s, they have still managed to move forward, according to Deneron. Fort Liard is the only place in the Deh Cho where oil and gas activity is under way, he said.

"We must benefit to the max. It's here for a short time and (then) it's gone forever," he said of the work, but added that the Acho Dene Koe will still benefit long-term from a pipeline built in the future.

Premier Jim Antoine, on hand for the event, echoed Deneron's statements. He said, "For a small community, this community has come a long ways.

"I know that the band here and the people in this community, by opening up their traditional lands, have tried to maximize on their opportunities," said Antoine, adding that the GNWT has committed $3.5 million to economic development projects in the Fort Liard area over the past five years and hopes to remain supportive in the future.

Dick Filgate, Chevron's vice-president of exploration and development for western Canada, said his company is grateful to the band for opening up their land.

"That was a bold move and one that we certainly recognize," Filgate said. "We've found what I consider to be a world-class discovery in the Fort Liard area."

He said Chevron is seeking approvals to build a pipeline this winter and will be "proactive" in attempting to discover additional gas reservoirs that exist around Fort Liard.