Eastside Revolt
16th May 2011, 03:25
The Dene Suline of Cold Lake First Nation (CLFN) Alberta (http://www.clfns.com/index.php) have won an interim injunction to halt construction on campground improvements to be made on Sacred Land – Sacred Land that was being occupied by a “cultural camp” set up on May 6, 2011 by the Dene Suline to prevent the construction of an RV park on their traditional territory.
The interim injunction was granted by Court of Queen's Bench Justice Don Manderscheid and will continue until the courts can hear an injunction application that was filed by the Cold Lake First Nations back on May 10, 2011. As part of the injunction, members of the cultural camp must remove all signs or blockades from the road into the campground and allow representatives of the Ministry of Tourism, Parks and Recreation to access the area.
"We're not going to relinquish our access or our rights to this land," said Chief Cecil Janvier. "We're going to voice our opposition to their proposed development.”
The contested campsite in the English Bay Provincial Recreation Area, locally know as Berry Point, is on territory used by the Dene Suline for fishing, hunting and gathering medicines since time immemorial. The earth also cares for the bones of their ancestors buried in gravesites there. For these reasons, the area slated for construction holds tremendous cultural and historical significance for the CLFN.
On the location, a small campground has been operating since the 1950’s, which the Province of Alberta seeks to expand into a larger and more extensively developed campground suitable for large recreational vehicles (RVs).
The expansion project was stopped soon after it began in 2006, when historical artefacts were discovered on the land – some over 4,000 years old – which prompted a wider archaeological study of the site. The project received the go ahead again earlier this year.
The interim injunction was granted by Court of Queen's Bench Justice Don Manderscheid and will continue until the courts can hear an injunction application that was filed by the Cold Lake First Nations back on May 10, 2011. As part of the injunction, members of the cultural camp must remove all signs or blockades from the road into the campground and allow representatives of the Ministry of Tourism, Parks and Recreation to access the area.
"We're not going to relinquish our access or our rights to this land," said Chief Cecil Janvier. "We're going to voice our opposition to their proposed development.”
The contested campsite in the English Bay Provincial Recreation Area, locally know as Berry Point, is on territory used by the Dene Suline for fishing, hunting and gathering medicines since time immemorial. The earth also cares for the bones of their ancestors buried in gravesites there. For these reasons, the area slated for construction holds tremendous cultural and historical significance for the CLFN.
On the location, a small campground has been operating since the 1950’s, which the Province of Alberta seeks to expand into a larger and more extensively developed campground suitable for large recreational vehicles (RVs).
The expansion project was stopped soon after it began in 2006, when historical artefacts were discovered on the land – some over 4,000 years old – which prompted a wider archaeological study of the site. The project received the go ahead again earlier this year.