The northwestern Ontario First Nation community of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) has rallied the support of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in calling for protection of its traditional lands from mining activity.
In a Sept. 20 letter to Michael Gravelle, Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry, the association said the community's burial sites, sacred and spiritual lands are “potentially being threatened” by mineral exploration.
The group said it raises serious issues on constitutional and international law for indigenous people to have the right to maintain and protect historic, religious and cultural sites.
The letter said an area known as the God's Lake reserve has been accessed for mineral exploration without “the knowledge or consent of the community.”
The association asks for a confirmation of the Ontario government's position on the manner.
In a statement, Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy said the province must step in to exploration without the community's traditional territory. KI Chief Donny Morris wants Premier Dalton McGuinty to personally intervene.
“This province is failing to recognize First Nation jurisdiction over our homelands,” said Beardy.
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