LLI GOLINE/NORMAN WELLS - Families in the Sahtu are demanding an apology and compensation from Imperial Oil for the exploration giant's alleged destruction of their ancestors' homes upon the discovery of oil in Norman Wells close to 90 years ago.

Walter Blondin says Imperial Oil has "signalled the alarm to battle" by not responding to his family's request for an apology and compensation related to the alleged destruction of their ancestors' homes in the Sahtu decades ago. - NNSL file photo

Walter Blondin grew up hearing about the hardships his grandparents endured when, he said, Imperial Oil officials forced the family out of their homes at Bosworth Creek and bulldozed their cabins over the riverbank. Blondin said his ancestors – many nearly starving to death after the loss of all their food and possessions – had no choice but to move to Tulita. He said at the time, Zaul Blondin and other leaders didn't understand that by signing Treaty 11 they would have to give up everything they owned and be forced out of their homes, often in the middle of winter.

Before his father Joe Blondin died in 1999, Walter promised him he would make right the injustice that had never before been fully brought out in the open.

Several prominent members of the Blondin and Yakeleya families have banded together to fight the case as Walter's nephew, filmmaker Raymond Yakeleya, wraps up a documentary on the matter that has been more than a decade in the making. But the fight has been one-sided so far. Through their lawyer, the family received a written note from Imperial Oil four years ago that stated the company "will not be responding to the requests made" for compensation and an official apology.

"Before I thought this could be resolved in a fair and equitable manner where the right thing is done. But now all they've done is signal the alarm to battle," said Walter Blondin, who now resides in Fort Simpson. "Of course this means war."

The family tried, unsuccessfully, to get compensation for their lost property in the 1930s and 1940s, and Walter said most of their descendants have decided enough is enough.

"Our elders have asked us for years and finally it came to the point where we decided to move with it," he said.

They are calling for the federal government to hold a public inquiry into those historical events.

Raymond Yakeleya said he's optimistic his family will finally get the justice he believes they deserve – he's recorded the "heartbreaking" stories in hours of interview footage with many elders who have since died.

"It broke my heart to hear of our relatives being treated like this," Yakeleya said. "It's almost as if Imperial Oil was murdering our people while they were still alive."

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