Meetings spark fracking dialogue
Fort Nelson First Nation leaders provide reality check for Sahtu residents
Laura Busch
Northern News Services
Published Monday, March 24, 2014
SAHTU
Sahtu residents have it pretty good.
This was one of the main arguments presented during three community meetings in Tulita, Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope earlier this month from Fort Nelson First Nation Chief Sharleen Gale and lands and resources director Lana Lowe.
The pair were in the region to talk about their experiences with hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, and the cumulative impacts of development on their traditional land.
"The point was to foster a conversation between Dene peoples sharing experiences with accumulative impacts of shale oil and gas exploration on their territories," said Shauna Morgan of the Pembina Institute, which organized the speaking tour. "People talk a lot about cumulative impacts, but it's often seen as this technical thing that's too complicated for ordinary people to understand. So, the point was to hear about cumulative impacts through stories of real experiences as opposed to computer models."
Sahtu Renewable Resource Board (SRRB) executive director Deborah Simmons attended the March 3 meeting in Tulita, which she said was very well attended by about 45 residents.
"They were super engaged," she said of the audience. "I think they were so appreciative to have a dialogue with other First Nations people who have experienced fracking first hand."
In explaining their experience working with the industry groups developing shale gas on their traditional lands, Gale - who has been given a mandate by her membership to support fracking activities but in a sustainable way - somewhat scolded the people of the Sahtu for failing to take advantage of the tools at their disposal to control how development happens in their region.
"It was made clear that there are many differences between what's happening in the Sahtu and in B.C.," said Simmons. "(In B.C.) it's shale gas, not shale oil. There there's no land claim and we have a land claim.
"I think the people in Tulita who were listening to that story were hugely inspired," she said. "I think they have begun to realize that if they take a strong responsibility and they take action about being involved in research and monitoring, they're going to be much better positioned to provide strong input into the decisions that will be made in the coming months and years."
Morgan agreed that the sessions fostered many productive discussions.
"Most of all, I think people in Sahtu communities realized how many tools they already have through their land claim to manage their land and their territory in comparison to the tools available to the Fort Nelson First Nation," she said. "But they heard how proactive Fort Nelson First Nation has been in getting out there and monitoring and asserting that there should be more limits and controls placed on development."
Although the original plan included Gale and Lowe visiting schools in Tulita and Norman Wells (Chief T'Selehye School in Fort Good Hope was on March Break at the time), those presentations were cancelled.
News/North could not confirm by press time exactly why the plug was pulled on the school presentations.
"My analysis is that the government and everybody else in the Sahtu are extremely aware of how volatile and extreme the situation is right now," said Simmons of fracking. "There's a concern to ensure that the students get a well-balanced education for sure."
The SRRB looks forward to working with the Sahtu Divisional Education Council and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment in the future to ensure students are exposed to all sides of the development debate and are given the tools they need to become critical thinkers, she added.
In general, the knowledge exchange between the two Dene cultures was a productive one whose impact was seen in a larger than normal turnout for a subsequent fracking information session in Tulita sponsored by the Sahtu Land and Water Board, where roughly 25 people attended.
"That's a remarkably big turnout for that type of meeting," said Simmons.
"To me, that was a huge sign that this kind of dialogue needs to continue happening. People need to continue learning about what's involved in this kind of development.
"It doesn't matter which side of the fence you're
on. The region has been becoming increasingly polarized, I think, and I think that kind of event brought people together in that people realized it's not about being for or against fracking, it's about understanding this very complex situation we're in the middle of."
