I’ve wanted to come back here for a long time. I’m here to get inspiration for the next volume of my novel Nish. It lasted 22 years.
Posted at 1:00 p.m
The first time was during a student exchange I organized between schools in my community, Wendake, Matimekush and Kawawachikmach. Kawawa-what? These Indigenous community names are probably unfamiliar to you and I assure you it is not uncommon. What if I told you they are on the outskirts of the town of Schefferville, does that help a little? But admit that even this mining town, made famous by a Michel Rivard song of the same name, a town that is nevertheless very much in Quebec, might be difficult to locate on a map.
We are therefore very close to the 55th parallel, at the gates of Nunavik to the north and Labrador to the east. I ended up at the Auberge Guest House, the very one where Maurice Duplessis died in room number 2 after suffering a stroke.
The place is definitely steeped in history. This week, the Innu, Cree, and Naskapi are also making history, or at least setting their course.
The places have hardly changed in two decades. Of course there are new infrastructures: an arena for the Naskapis of Kawawachikamach, a health center too, but overall I know where I am. The local restaurant is always busy at lunchtime. Free-roaming dogs roam the streets. I’m a bit scared of dogs, it’s not the same here. freedom is good
PHOTO PROVIDED BY AUTHOR
“The world is beautiful from here. »
I can’t wait to see my first fox or white rabbit – it all fits so high in nature – and if I’m lucky, maybe some Northern Lights. A few days ago someone photographed a black bear at the top of the Caniapiscau reservoir. Not normal at this time of year.
It’s -43°C this morning. Last but not least !
I arrive simultaneously with a large delegation for a meeting primarily concerned with caribou management and the division of territory. A meaningful meeting for all, perhaps even more so for the Matimekush-Lac John Innu who had been waiting 47 years for this meeting with the Cree Eeyou, a date that corresponds to the signing of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. which they did not sign. I didn’t know that such a meeting took place here this week, it’s a coincidence. I’m often very lucky.
In 2017, the Cree Eeyou, Naskapis, Inuit, and Innu adopted a caribou conservation strategy. Caribou have been part of the way of life of these peoples for thousands of years.
As evidence yesterday when I arrived, a large thigh was thawed on a table in the arena I was in, a place that also serves as a community hall. The village elders spent hours preparing the caribou and showing the younger ones good practices. They kept the legs, the fur, the bones. You know what to do with it. We do not throw away any of the animal that has given itself to us.
But the caribou is a free creature. He knows no boundaries. It is sometimes found in the Naskapi, Innu, Cree, or Inuk areas. Be that as it may, everyone observes that the herds are declining year after year.
I don’t want to bore you with statistics, but 15 years ago the herds were running up the mountain I see from my bedroom. Today you have to travel long distances to see them. If there are still disagreements over the various territories between nations that overlap – a term introduced by governments, certain chiefs – everyone knows there is a need to protect the animal. After all, they are the custodians of the territory.
An almost three-day meeting to get to know each other better, to talk to each other, to protect an animal and the associated traditional way of life, that moves me. There is something noble about all this. humility, at least. The elders said, “It is the caribou that brings us together today. »
Some should take the seed. Living in harmony with the territory, that’s it. It means respecting the beings that live there, loving them enough to make the efforts necessary for their survival. It is about understanding and acting on the fragile balance of ecosystems, of what surrounds us, even if this fragility is not caused by us. While I was hoarsely naming the causes and furrowing my eyebrows, an elder told me that it was just not time to point the finger anymore. There is no respect in anger and if we don’t respect it we don’t listen and we don’t forgive. And it all has to start from there.
I dream sometimes, often even. I would like to get all the MPs and other elected officials, the CEOs of mines, forestry and environmental companies, some hunters too to do a month-long internship with seniors in the area. I am sure that after that everything would be different. A month to change the world.
The world is beautiful from here. Lakes, mountains, spruces and aspens, also scattered or small, sometimes the sound of wolves, the beauty of the starry sky, dancing northern lights.
Wealth is here, on the other side of the world.