Dave Sullivan
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sept 03/01) - Young people don't want a pipeline through the Mackenzie Valley, according to delegates who went to a territory-wide youth conference.

"Everyone was speaking against development and the pipeline," said Colville Lake's Patricia Duncan. She's president of the Territorial Youth Association, which hosted the conference in Yellowknife.

"We want our land. We want to be able to hunt. We'd rather have the land than the pipeline money, it's where our heart is," she said.

When Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development Department officials visited the four-day conference last week, all 30 delegates raised their hands when asked how many opposed the pipeline.

The youths, all young women except three males, are from 30 NWT communities. In order to attend the conference, each had to be recommended by 10 people.

"Thirty years from now, I want my kids to do the things that I do, to go out on the land," Duncan said.

The 18 year-old is going to Edmonton this fall to take financial courses.

She plans on returning to the North and be "a strong Aboriginal leader and work toward preserving my land."

The anti-pipeline theme was hammered home during panel discussions at the conference, the association's third annual general assembly.

Youths also expressed frustration that full-grown adults don't take them seriously.

Since people under 30 represent 65 per cent of NWT's population, conference delegates said they need to be heard.

"One issue they've echoed loud and clear is they have no voice in the community," said conference chair Viola Thomas.

Youths said they want to be represented on band councils.

Delegates spent much of the conference talking about big problems in small Northern towns like drinking and lack of services to help.

Delegates also denounced stricter gun control laws and lowering residency restrictions for hunters.