CPTnet
April 2, 2004
ASUBPEESCHOSEEWAGONG: Trees as living community members
by Elizabeth Woodyard
[Note: Woodyard, along with six other high school students, joined CPT in
Grassy Narrows for their March break. During their time in Grassy Narrows
the students were able to meet with community members, teachers and Abitibi
officials. This is the first youth delegation to be hosted by CPT in Grassy
Narrows.]
It is amazing how quickly relationships can develop between people. Over a
six day CPT delegation, seven youth and two sponsors from the Ottawa
Mennonite Church (OMC) were welcomed with overwhelming hospitality into the
Grassy Narrows community. Through informal lessons and hands-on experience
from trappers, teachers, elders, and youth, the OMC group learned about
Anishinabe culture, traditions, and the current conflict with Abitibi
Consolidated and the Ministry of Natural Resources.
An important part of the week for me was witnessing the clear cuts. During
the two-hour drive through the deteriorating landscape, a community member
shared with us many meaningful experiences from his life. He told us a
story from his childhood when his father took him into the forest, gave him
a gun, and instructed him to shoot a birch tree. After doing so, he noticed
a clear sap leaking out of the wound in the tree. His father taught him that
every living thing has a life force and needs to be treated with the respect
and love that one gives to their family. He told us that before one takes
from nature, one must first ask permission from the four directions, and
afterwards one must offer a gift in gratitude.
After hearing and understanding the Native peoples' respect for trees, it
was devastating and frightening to witness the geographical genocide of the
clear cuts. The landscape before our eyes, that was once a rich forest and
habitat to numerous species, had been drastically diminished to a stark and
lonely graveyard, consisting of stump remains and broken branches. I can now
only begin to comprehend the pain that the people of Grassy Narrows feel
after repeatedly witnessing the mass genocide of these community members.
In addition to murdering thousands of trees, the Abitibi logging practice is
destroying trap lines, an important part of Native culture and income.
Trapping is a sustainable way of living off the land. Trappers are careful
to monitor the traps and observe trends to ensure a sustainable yield of
species. Conversely, clear cutting is non-sustainable, environmentally
harmful, and culturally destructive.
After witnessing the clear cuts from the perspective of years of history and
connection to the land and wildlife, I can only begin to understand the
suffering that the Native people have endured. I do not comprehend how
Abitibi Consolidated can consciously enforce such a destructive threat on
nature. I join my voice with all others who cry with determination for the
protection and preservation of Aboriginal culture and land.
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