Dear Editor,
The Swampy Cree Tribe must never use the term “Land Claims” it is all our land, the Swampy Cree Tribe lands. Indigenous people do not have any land to make claims to. Our land is our land.
Development that occurs on Swampy Cree lands, with out the consent of Swampy Cree people, must be stopped. Development which is occurring on Swampy Cree Tribe lands without consultation, need to consult.
Before the treaties were made and before the Indian Act became law, we had a life that was based on invaluable, inherent rights and a way of life that was inspired and guided by our ancestry. We want to see that way of life again, by having our powers and authority restored. We want to have total jurisdiction over our life and our ancestorial lands.
Swampy Cree treaties have been genocide by these colonizers since 1886 they negotiated issues like dams on our waterways. These have destroyed much of the environment and many different species of living things on our Indian Lands. Many creatures, wildlife, vegetation and fish as well as our people are suffering with diseases.
These colonizers and colonizations used our identity to fraud the Federal Government using falsified Metis cards and Treaty cards. Why has the government been buying Treaty rights and Treaty lands to amalgamated into small reserves, is it so they can take all the resources from our lands? Without consultation, that is theft.
History of colonialism continues, the chances to save the environment is becoming slimmer everyday as corporate interest seem more important to the government of Canada including environmental racism and so does poverty.
Hereditary Chief William Seawap and Chief Mike Dorion
