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EspañolASUBPEESCHOSEEWAGONG FIRST NATION
(Redirected from Asubpeeschoseewagong)
'Asubpeeschoseewagong' (''Asabiinyashkosiwagong'', in the Anishinaabe language), also known as 'Grassy Narrows #149', is an Ojibwe Indian reserve located 80km north of Kenora, Ontario. It is home to the ''Asabiinyashkosiwagong Nitam-Anishinaabeg '' (Grassy Narrows First Nation). It has a registered population of 778 as of September 2005. It is part of the Treaty 3 territory, and is a part of Anishinaabe Nation.
In 1970, mercury contamination from a Dryden paper mill was discovered in the English-Wabigoon River system, leading to closure of the commercial fishery and some tourism related businesses. The Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong First Nations sought compensation for loss of jobs and way of life. On March 26, 1982, Canada contributed $2.2 million to Wabaseemoong for economic development, social and educational programs. Wabaseemoong also signed a settlement with Ontario in January 1983. On July 27, 1984, Canada contributed $4.4 million to Grassy Narrows for economic development and social service development/planning. [1]
In 1985, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed committing government and two companies (Reed Limited, and Great Lakes Forest Products Ltd.) to a one-time compensation payment. In 1986, the Government of Canada's ''Grassy Narrows and Islington Indian Bands Mercury Pollution Claims Settlement Act'' and the Government of Ontario's ''English and Wabigoon River Systems Mercury Contamination Settlement Agreement Act'', facilitated the creation of the Mercury Disability Fund (MDF) and the Mercury Disability Board, based in Kenora, Ontario. The federal and provincial governments, as well as the two companies involved, paid a total of $16.67 million for the MOA compensation. Canada's contribution was $2.75 million. Part of the First Nations' MOA settlement ($2 million) was placed in a trust fund (which the Province of Ontario is responsible for replenishing when the balance drops below $100,000). The Board administers the trust as well as a benefits mechanism. [2]
Nevertheless, the community members have seen little of this money, due to strings attached to its use, but also because of the bureaucratic red tape by the band councils. Similarly to other First Nations communities, the federal government's unilaterally imposed Indian Act governance system has rendered band council and its Chief and councilors paralyzed to do their best for their people.
[3]
Chief Sakatcheway was the first leader of community when the treaty was signed and mainly wanted education for the community.
Grassy Narrows land is being logged by Weyerhaeuser and Abitibi, which is opposed by the Grassy Narrows First Nation. Grassy Narrows members have non-violently protested the destruction of their lands, and staged a logging blockade towards the end of 2002, which has had many similarities to the civil disobedience and non-violent direct actions of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., but of course with its Indigenous uniquenesses. On 2006 February 7, the Nation sent a cease and desist letter, saying "We are not consenting to the clear-cutting of our traditional lands, which is an assault on our culture, our way of life, and indeed our very existence." [4] The First Nations community has held an ongoing blockade for a few years, but staged a blockade that blocked Highway 17 on July 13, 2006.
★ Grassy Narrows & Islington Band Mercury Disability Board web page
★ PASSING ON OJIBWAY LIFEWAYS IN A CONTEMPORARY ENVIRONMENT [5]
★ Grassy Narrows and Islington Indian Bands Mercury Pollution Claims Settlement Act (1986, c. 23) - Justice Canada version
★ Grassy Narrows and Islington Indian Bands Mercury Pollution Claims Settlement Act, 1986, c. 23, Royal Assent as of 17 Jun 1986 - CanLII version
★ Census Information
★ Free Grassy Narrows - anti-logging campaign of the Rainforest Action Network
★ Open Letter to Weyerhaeuser and Abitibi, February 2006
★ CBC Digital Archives - Mercury Rising: The Poisoning of Grassy Narrows
★ Amnesty International Canada: Rights ignored at Grassy Narrows
★ Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Fact Sheet: English-Wabigoon River Mercury Compensation
'Asubpeeschoseewagong' (''Asabiinyashkosiwagong'', in the Anishinaabe language), also known as 'Grassy Narrows #149', is an Ojibwe Indian reserve located 80km north of Kenora, Ontario. It is home to the ''Asabiinyashkosiwagong Nitam-Anishinaabeg '' (Grassy Narrows First Nation). It has a registered population of 778 as of September 2005. It is part of the Treaty 3 territory, and is a part of Anishinaabe Nation.
In 1970, mercury contamination from a Dryden paper mill was discovered in the English-Wabigoon River system, leading to closure of the commercial fishery and some tourism related businesses. The Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong First Nations sought compensation for loss of jobs and way of life. On March 26, 1982, Canada contributed $2.2 million to Wabaseemoong for economic development, social and educational programs. Wabaseemoong also signed a settlement with Ontario in January 1983. On July 27, 1984, Canada contributed $4.4 million to Grassy Narrows for economic development and social service development/planning. [1]
In 1985, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed committing government and two companies (Reed Limited, and Great Lakes Forest Products Ltd.) to a one-time compensation payment. In 1986, the Government of Canada's ''Grassy Narrows and Islington Indian Bands Mercury Pollution Claims Settlement Act'' and the Government of Ontario's ''English and Wabigoon River Systems Mercury Contamination Settlement Agreement Act'', facilitated the creation of the Mercury Disability Fund (MDF) and the Mercury Disability Board, based in Kenora, Ontario. The federal and provincial governments, as well as the two companies involved, paid a total of $16.67 million for the MOA compensation. Canada's contribution was $2.75 million. Part of the First Nations' MOA settlement ($2 million) was placed in a trust fund (which the Province of Ontario is responsible for replenishing when the balance drops below $100,000). The Board administers the trust as well as a benefits mechanism. [2]
Nevertheless, the community members have seen little of this money, due to strings attached to its use, but also because of the bureaucratic red tape by the band councils. Similarly to other First Nations communities, the federal government's unilaterally imposed Indian Act governance system has rendered band council and its Chief and councilors paralyzed to do their best for their people.
[3]
Chief Sakatcheway was the first leader of community when the treaty was signed and mainly wanted education for the community.
Grassy Narrows land is being logged by Weyerhaeuser and Abitibi, which is opposed by the Grassy Narrows First Nation. Grassy Narrows members have non-violently protested the destruction of their lands, and staged a logging blockade towards the end of 2002, which has had many similarities to the civil disobedience and non-violent direct actions of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., but of course with its Indigenous uniquenesses. On 2006 February 7, the Nation sent a cease and desist letter, saying "We are not consenting to the clear-cutting of our traditional lands, which is an assault on our culture, our way of life, and indeed our very existence." [4] The First Nations community has held an ongoing blockade for a few years, but staged a blockade that blocked Highway 17 on July 13, 2006.
| Contents |
| External links |
External links
★ Grassy Narrows & Islington Band Mercury Disability Board web page
★ PASSING ON OJIBWAY LIFEWAYS IN A CONTEMPORARY ENVIRONMENT [5]
★ Grassy Narrows and Islington Indian Bands Mercury Pollution Claims Settlement Act (1986, c. 23) - Justice Canada version
★ Grassy Narrows and Islington Indian Bands Mercury Pollution Claims Settlement Act, 1986, c. 23, Royal Assent as of 17 Jun 1986 - CanLII version
★ Census Information
★ Free Grassy Narrows - anti-logging campaign of the Rainforest Action Network
★ Open Letter to Weyerhaeuser and Abitibi, February 2006
★ CBC Digital Archives - Mercury Rising: The Poisoning of Grassy Narrows
★ Amnesty International Canada: Rights ignored at Grassy Narrows
★ Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Fact Sheet: English-Wabigoon River Mercury Compensation
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