Dettah gives headframe mixed reviews
A beacon to some, an eyesore to others
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, October 7, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
There are mixed opinions among Dettah residents as to whether Con Mine's Robertson Headframe should remain standing or torn down as proposed.
The Robertson Headframe looms over Great Slave Lake and the community of Dettah some seven kilometres away. Some residents call the structure a monument to the mining industry that damaged the water and the land and should come down. Others say it's an important beacon to those out on the land. - John McFadden/NNSL photo |
Some in the community, seven kilometres from the city as the crow flies, believe it is a monument to colonialism and the gold mining industry which they said poisoned the air, water and land. Others feel it has stood as a beacon that has allowed hunters and others to determine where they are and where they are going.
Unlike several areas of Yellowknife where the headframe is not visible, in Dettah the structure can be seen from virtually everywhere and even though it is a ways away, it seems to loom over the small community.
Natasha Black lives in Dettah and said the structure has value to her
and her people.
"I think it should stay. A lot of the elders and hunters who are travelling here - that's the first thing they look for," said Black.
James Sanderson also lives in Dettah and said he does a lot of hunting in the area.
"It's a landmark. When your are way out there you can use it," said Sanderson pointing to the big water on Great Slave Lake. "It helps the hunters and people who come in from Lutsel K'e. That's how they find Yellowknife."
Sanderson said he is adamant everyone is entitled to their opinion on whether the headframe should be torn down or not and added that he respects that.
Retired Yellowknife airport fire captain Pat Fowler does not live in Dettah - he lives in Yellowknife.
But he told Yellowknifer while he was in Dettah on Wednesday that he spends a fair bit of time with his family there.
He said he is all in favour of letting the iconic structure stay.
"It's something that has been there for years and years," Fowler said. "My son has property out toward Wool Bay and it comes in handy for guys getting back into Yellowknife in the wintertime or by boat ... Will it collapse in 20 years? I don't know. To me - I'd leave it."
Fowler said there are a lot of former miners in town and a lot of miners' families. He said that it is a monument to the legacy of the gold mining industry in Yellowknife and that he thinks it should stay.
Dettah resident Junior Charlo had mixed feelings about the headframe. He said he too uses the structure as a landmark and to help him travel.
"If they tear it down it's going to make it hard," Charlo said. "I can still make it home. But when I see that beacon it makes things better."
Charlo and his friend who did not want to give his name both say gold mining has damaged their traditional land and hunting grounds. They said their elders have told them about the days when caribou came almost right into Dettah but that the caribou left the area once the Giant and Con mines started operating.
 | It should be torn down | 
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Another Dettah man, who didn't want his name used, said the headframe should come down. He said it stands for everything that has made indigenous people in the area feel disrespected.
"All the mine structures around Great Slave Lake should be torn down," he said. "It should be torn down. Our legacy is all gone. Why should that one stay? All our traditions are gone - but you want to save yours."
Another man who lives in Dettah who did not want to give his name also agreed it is time for the headframe to go.
"Tear it down. It's an eyesore," he said with a laugh as he drove away.
An appeal board hearing was held last night at city hall to possibly decide the fate of the headframe. Walt Humphries, the president of the NWT Mining Society, appealed the headframe's planned demolition. He said it is one of the last monuments to a bygone mining era. He also said it could be turned into a tourist attraction with people using it as a lookout. The outcome of the hearing and the board's decision were not available as of press time.
