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THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
Almost three years after construction began on a cabin for Metis elders in Wood Buffalo National Park, it has finally been officially opened.

An opening ceremony was held Sept. 6 for the cabin, which was built by the Fort Smith Metis Council near the Salt River day-use area, about 25 km south of Fort Smith in the Alberta section of the park.

Ken Hudson, president of the Fort Smith Metis Council, said it obtained permission from the park and started to build the cabin in October 2009. A month later, the park ordered construction to halt after concerns were raised by Smith's Landing First Nation about possible impact on a band member's trapline in the area and a lack of consultation.

An agreement on the cabin was reached in the summer of 2011 after two sessions of negotiations in Edmonton involving the three parties.

"We finally came to an agreement at the second meeting that we held out there," said Hudson. "Part of the agreement that we signed was a confidentiality agreement, so the details of it I guess I shouldn't be discussing."

The Fort Smith Metis Council has received a lease for the land on which the cabin is built.

Hudson said after construction of the partially-completed cabin was halted, it was unprotected for months and a temporary roof was put on it, and it was finished over a year ago.

The cabin has not yet been used by any elders.

"The cabin is completely done," Hudson said. "It will be occupied fairly soon."

Parks Canada welcomes the settlement of the issue.

"Parks Canada has a close and valued relationship with local First Nations and Metis," said Rob Kent, superintendent of Wood Buffalo National Park. "We seek to work with all parties in a respectful manner to arrive at solutions that respect Treaty 8 rights and accommodate asserted Metis rights for any issues that may arise, and we are pleased that we were able to resolve this issue."

Hudson noted there are other unresolved issues between Metis people and Parks Canada.

"It sounds like it might be a door opening," he said of the elders' cabin. "But, in fact, there are so many doors that need opening in the park to allow people to exercise their rights in there that it's going to take a long time before we actually feel comfortable in the park as much as we feel out of the park."

He also noted the issue of possible other cabins has to be dealt with in the future.

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