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

For Immediate Release


Assembly of First Nations Confederacy Condemns Federal Treatment of
Barriere Lake

Algonquin Unsurrendered Territory/Ottawa ­ December 7, 2001 -- The
Confederacy of Nations has given a ringing endorsement to a national and
international campaign against Ottawaıs treatment of the Algonquins of
Barriere Lake. In a resolution passed at the Confederacy of Nations
assembly in Ottawa, First Nationsı representatives from across Canada
condemned Ottawaıs decision to walk away from the Trilateral Agreement ­ a
pioneering land management plan for the territory of the Algonquins of
Barriere Lake.

Chief Harry Wawatie of Barriere Lake brought forth the resolution, which
reads, in part:

³The Trilateral Agreement has been recognized as an important model for
reconciling conflicting resource (uses) by the Royal Commission of
Aboriginal Peoples and is strongly supported the forestry industry and the
environmental community in Canada and internationally.²

The resolution condemns the fact that Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault
³unilaterally decided to stop funding the Trilateral Agreement just when it
was on the verge of completing the Integrated Resource Management Plan² for
the Algonquin territory.

Naultıs decision has plunged the region into an economic crisis. Without a
process in place to harmonize forestry with traditional activities, logging
operations have been suspended. Over 1,000 logging jobs are on the verge of
being lost in the La Verendrye Park region of Quebec.

Naultıs attempt to walk away from this signed agreement with the Algonquins
of Barriere Lake comes at a time when the Minister is desperately trying to
gain credibility and trust with other First Nations for his new governance
and accountability process. The Barriere Lake issue, however, continues to
dog Naultıs attempt to portray himself as a man that can be trusted in
negotiations.

And with the help of the Assembly of First Nations, the Barriere Lake issue
will continue to haunt Nault until the Federal government agrees to live up
to its fiduciary responsibility and complete the land management process.

The resolution states, ³The National Office shall provide support to the
Algonquins of Barriere Lake in a national and international campaign to
bring attention to the high-handed and dishonourable conduct of the federal
crown.²


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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Grand Chief Carol McBride (819) 629-7884
Russell Diabo (Background Info) (613) 799-8160

For more on the Algonquins see
http://www.turtleisland.org/news/news-algonquin3.htm


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