SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A packed auditorium at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife gave former Justice Thomas Berger a rock star’s welcome March 3.
Gabrielle Mackenzie-Scott and Patrick Scott met during the Berger Inquiry and married a year after it finished. Patrick was a cameraman with the CBC and a young Gabrielle spoke out for her community during the inquiry. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo |
People of all ages and backgrounds filled every chair, stood in every corner and even sat on the windowsills, all squeezing in to see the return of the man many credit with being the first to advocate for the voices of Northern indigenous people on the national political stage.
Berger headed the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry in the 1970s, also known as the Berger Inquiry, which took comment from people in indigenous communities along the Mackenzie Valley and ultimately led to the Canadian government suspending plans for the pipeline until land claims were settled and environmental protections put in place.
Forty years have passed since the inquiry began at the Explorer Hotel in 1975 and to commemorate it, the heritage centre has opened an exhibit chronicling the event called Thunder in our Voices.
Berger had been tasked with writing the inquiry but felt stacks of expert opinion from industry, though valuable, did not cover all of the input he was going to need. That set him on a Northern adventure through indigenous communities to listen to what people living in the affected area had to say.
"It was a marvellous experience," said Berger in his hour-long presentation to the attentive crowd.
He visited hunting camps, fishing camps, saw the Porcupine Caribou herd.
"It was an experience that perhaps no Canadian had ever enjoyed. I still think about it often."
Now 82, Berger said one thing was clear during all his community meetings-people of the North wanted to have a say, and land claims needed to be settled before a pipeline could come through.
"At the time in the ‘70s, people didn’t know much about the North," said Berger. "I didn’t. I’d never been to the Northwest Territories or the Yukon or Nunavut. I was learning and I think Canadians learned along with me."
He said people across the country were interested in hearing what people from Northern indigenous communities had to say.
"They’d never heard them speak up and speak out before," said Berger. "There was a lot of interest. When I went to law school in the 1950s, nobody ever brought up the question of the rights of aboriginals. Nobody. None of the professors in the courses, and none of us students ever raised it."
A series of small cases taken to the Supreme Court in British Columbia in ensuing years and then the Berger Inquiry helped open that door, bringing indigenous voices into political discussion today.
"The future for the Northwest Territories looks bright," said Berger.
His speech ended with a long standing ovation.
Inquiry creates love connection
For many, the Berger Inquiry forged a connection between indigenous voices in the North and people in the rest of Canada. For a specific couple, it formed a connection in love.
Gabrielle Mackenzie-Scott was a young woman when Berger came to her community. Patrick Scott was a wide-eyed television producer for the CBC following Berger.
"We met when the inquiry came into my community," recalled Mackenzie-Scott. "He was a cameraman. He had a really good eye."
The inquiry ended in 1976 and the two got married the next year.
Mackenzie-Scott spoke up for her grandmother when Berger came.
"It was an opportunity for me to voice the topics she talked about," she said.
"At that time I did not want the land to change. It was really pristine. We had lots of caribou, lots of wildlife. I didn’t want that to change."
Berger’s arrival marked a turning point for her.
"Now, somebody’s listening to me," said Mackenzie-Scott.
"At that time we were saying ‘I’m a Dene’ and we were starting to declare ourselves as who we are. It’s important for young people to know who they are and the Berger Inquiry was a turning point for that."
Patrick Scott was a young man from Toronto and at the time didn’t know anything about the North.
"It was an absolutely phenomenal experience," he said. "It was like taking an honours degree in Northern Studies and getting paid to do it. Travelling to every community, having the privilege of listening to people tell their stories ... I learned new things day after day after day."
He said travelling with Berger not only changed how he thought about indigenous rights, but changed who he was as a person.
"I was interested in making movies, documentaries–that’s why I came up," he said. "I thought the inquiry would be a great kickoff for a career in production. It became much more than that because it really did change me."
Carrying the torch
Muriel Betsina was a young married woman when Berger came to Dettah in the ‘70s.
She idolized her father, a skilled trapper who provided for his family without wasting any parts of the animals he hunted. Her mother made moccasins from animal hide and the family lived off the land.
"I always want to keep that precious gift," she said.
When Berger came to Dettah, she told him that one day she would have grandchildren and she wanted to pass that gift on. She now has 21 of them.
"I’m running with a torch, an Olympic Dene torch," she said. "I’m still carrying it. I want to keep what my dad gave me. It’s a very strong gift."
But things have changed since then.
"There are no more caribou," said Betsina. "You’ve got to get permits from the territorial government to kill one or two caribou. It’s not enough.
"I don’t think my grandchildren know how to skin a caribou. They lost that gift that I was supposed to give to them from my dad."
But that hasn’t changed her life’s mission.
"We will not give up," she said.
