Fort McPherson (Feb 27/06) - The mood is changing in the Mackenzie Delta.

As the Joint Review Panel continues to hear all voices, people are starting to realize the Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP) is not, afterall, a done deal.

Barb Crawford, left, sits with Roberta Alexie, who reads a letter to the JRP from her sister, Elaine Alexie, during a hearing in Fort McPherson, Feb. 17. - John King/NNSL photo

Many resigned themselves into thinking the proposed MGP is "just a fact of life" -- that nothing could stop the momentum of the mega-project.

But discord within the Gwich'in Nation became more than apparent as the JRP hearings travelled to Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic.

As leaders welcomed the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project, many elders and youth spoke out against it.

It seems support amongst the Gwich'in has now been put into question.

This after an overwhelming rejection of the access and benefits agreement for the proposed MGP by Fort Good Hope and a complete refusal to even conduct a vote in Colville lake.

"There was never a date set for a vote," said Alvin Orlias, a director with the Colville Lake Land Corporation. "Fort Good Hope residents voted overwhelmingly no," he added.

"The date of our vote was a misunderstanding. We cannot make an informed decision with inadequate information."

Now more than ever, support for the proposed pipeline looks to be wavering.

But for Charlie Furlong, Aklavik band chief, who spoke on behalf of the Gwich'in leadership at the JRP hearing in Fort McPherson, the pipeline is an opportunity to rejuvenate the Gwich'in Nation.

"The Mackenzie Valley Pipeline proposal will provide the opportunities to build the needed economic base to become a proud nation once again," Furlong said.

For Woody Elias, the pipeline question has more serious implications for younger generations of Gwich'in.

"The pipeline is not for me," said elder Woody Elias during the McPherson hearing.

"The younger people, most of them can't go on the land... So they're in the middle again."

"Nobody's got education... so how will you train people in two years?" Elias asked the proponents.

The proponents responded with no tangible answer on how they will go about training aboriginals for pipeline jobs.

"We are putting together a list of people who are looking for work," replied Randy Ottenbreidt, adding proponents are looking at ways to work with educational institutions like Aurora College to identify potential workers.

In a letter written by Fort McPherson resident Elaine Alexie, which was read by her sister Roberta, she said she fears the loss of Gwich'in values.

"This development project will destructively affect and worsen the social, cultural, spiritual, physical and environmental well-being of our communities," wrote Alexie.

"The only way our culture is to survive is for us to secure our language, our spiritual and traditional beliefs and a land that still maintains to sustain us. What is our leadership doing to implement the preservation of our own people?" she questioned.

In Tsiigehtchic, one elder blasted the hearing over the lack of comprehendible and accessible pipeline information, as well as presenter time constraints.

"I heard somebody out there say, 'You want to talk, you talk for 15 minutes.' That's not the way we make a meeting," said Gabe Andre in Tsiigehtchic on Feb. 20.

"White man talks for three hours and nobody says nothing to him. But if an Indian talks a little bit, they go, 'That's enough.'"

Andre also showed his disgust for how the proponents have handled public relations for the proposed pipeline.

"I cannot read anything... They give me paper right there about this meeting. I don't know what is in there," Andre said.

The lack of education acting as a barrier to take advantage of business and job opportunities, mistrust for oil and gas companies, and the loss of culture are all reasons why many in the Gwich'in Nation are not only uncertain about the proposed pipeline, but downright oppose the project.