Fort Simpson (Sep 20/04) - The chair of the Aboriginal Pipeline Group is venting his frustration at Herb Norwegian, grand chief of the Dehcho First Nations.

Fred Carmichael says the Deh Cho's court action against a prospective Mackenzie Valley pipeline could deny NWT residents the self-sufficiency they deserve.

"For (Norwegian) to take that away from the rest of us without even talking to us or consulting with us, I have an issue with that," Carmichael said Friday.

Last week, the Dehcho First Nations filed a second legal challenge against the pipeline -- this time seeking an injunction to stop Northern public hearings on the project. On Sept. 2, the Deh Cho filed a lawsuit to force the federal government to give the First Nations two seats on a pipeline review panel.

Norwegian countered that he had unanimous support from leaders at the Dene National Assembly in Yellowknife before filing any court action.

Carmichael accused Norwegian of being influenced by his "southern advisors," questioning whether he was truly reflecting the will of the Deh Cho people.

Norwegian replied that he only takes advice from lawyers and advisors if it advances the Deh Cho's objectives. He said that his direction ultimately comes from the elders and the Creator.

As nearly 40 per cent of the pipeline will traverse Deh Cho territory, the regional First Nations are seeking two seats on a seven-member panel, which will oversee environmental aspects of the project. They were only granted one representative, who was named on their behalf.

Carmichael urged the Deh Cho to make their goal a provision of a settled land claim rather than taking it to court. He added that the Gwich'in and the Sahtu each had to settle for nominating a single member of the panel.

According to Norwegian, the Deh Cho exhausted all means of negotiating for greater input on the panel and was left with no choice but to go to court.

Push this group

"You're not going to push this group of people around and try to corner us in a teepee, not on our homeland, man," he said.

The Mackenzie Valley Producers Group had yet to analyze the Deh Cho's latest legal challenge as of Friday, according to Hart Searle, spokesperson for Imperial Oil.

He said the oil and gas partners were still preparing to file their applications for the pipeline, but wouldn't say when that will happen.