Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org


CPTnet
ESGENOOPETITJ: Sunday Morning, Sunday Afternoon
by Natasha J. Krahn
September 19, 2001

My first thought was, "They're going to run over us." The 16foot long
motorboat I was in was temporarily stopped; a line from one of the lobster
traps had gotten tangled in our propellor. Suddenly, a 45foot long,
nonNative commercial fishing boat came racing towards us.

Ever since the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the Mi'kmaq's Aboriginal
treaty right to hunt, fish and gather to sustain a moderate livelihood, the
members of Esgenoopetitj First Nation (EFN) have attempted to fish lobster
in Miramichi Bay, the front yard of their reserve. And the Department of
Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and nonNative fishers in the area have attempted
to stop them.

On Sunday, September 16, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer
drove onto the reserve and talked with a community member. He informed the
community that fifty nonNative fishing boats from the surrounding area were
coming in to the bay to have a "peaceful protest." During a similar
"peaceful protest" in October 1999 EFN fishers lost over 3000 lobster traps.

When one community member went out on his motorboat, I went with him,
bringing a video camera. When we reached the place where the nonNative
boats were, I could only see about twenty of them. The nonNatives were
yelling and their boats were circling our motorboat, creating huge swells.
Our motorboat bounced up and down as I held onto the seat with one hand and
the camera with the other.

NonNative fishermen threw beer bottles, rocks, and buoys they had cut from
lobster traps at us and the six other EFN dories in the vicinity. One
community member jumped into the water when he saw a nonNative fishing boat
racing towards him.

That's when we stopped, caught by the line tangled in our propellor. The
nonNative boat swerved at the last second and instead of running over us,
went speeding past. This maneuver happened twice. The third time our
propellor was finally free and we sped back towards the shore.

The entire time an RCMP helicopter was flying overhead, but that didn't
stop the "peaceful protesters."

Back on the shore, CPTers counted around fiftyfour nonNative fishing boats
as well as six RCMP boats. The RCMP boats remained on the sidelines and
showed no attempt to stop the nonNative fishers. As we stood watching the
scene on the bay, shots were fired out on the water. One of the men
standing at the shore yelled, "Kids, get behind the house! Now!" and all
the children raced behind the house while their parents stood on shore,
potentially in the line of fire.

The official story from the DFO is that the nonNatives were protesting the
closing of the herring fishery. But why did they cut Native lobster traps
and attempt to swamp Native boats in the bay?


On two previous Sundays this fall, nonNative fishing boats have entered the
bay to "demonstrate." One time, twenty boats entered the bay, the other
time it was ten. One question I have heard over and over again from members
of this community is, "How can people go to church on Sunday morning and
then commit these kinds of acts on Sunday afternoons?"

As a Christian, I don't have an answer.

Christian Peacemaker Teams has maintained a violence-reduction team at
Esgenoopetitj since April 2000 at the invitation of the community.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative among Mennonite and Church of
the Brethren congregations, Friends Meetings and other Christians that
supports violence reduction efforts around the world. Contact CPT, PO Box
72063, 1562 Danforth Ave., Toronto ON M4J 5C1, ph 416-421-7079, fax
416-467-1508, or CPT, POB 6508 Chicago, IL 60680, ph
312-455-1199, fax 312-432-1213
To join CPTNET, visit us on the WEB: www.cpt.org



Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org

Canada's best online source for Aboriginal news and information. 500,000
hits a month . . . and growing!