Treaty, Métis hunters harassed

Recently, the government of Saskatchewan has been harassing treaty and Métis sustenance trappers and hunters in northern Saskatchewan and using heavy-handed tactics (such as the removal of traditional dwellings) to diminish Indigenous rights.

In doing so, Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Environment is infringing on the harvesting rights of these sustenance Indigenous gatherers. The province seems unconcerned by the fact that these harvesting rights are entrenched in Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution.

This government also seems unconcerned by the fact that Indigenous people living in northern Saskatchewan continue to live off the land and feed their families by harvesting animals for sustenance.

The recent decline of the uranium industry has made things particularly challenging for northern residents. The increased economic challenges make it that much more important that Indigenous people have the assurance of country food availability. This assurance can only be provided when all levels of government respect Indigenous harvesting rights and our traditional ways of life.

For whatever reason, this government seems to feel that confiscating rights-bearing Indigenous gatherers’ cabins and preventing them from harvesting their food off the land is the right thing to do. These attacks on Indigenous rights and way of life amount to attempted cultural genocide of Indigenous peoples and are, at their very core, wrong and mean-hearted.

I had hoped that by the year 2020, this government would be beyond needlessly taking away the roofs from over people’s heads and letting families go hungry.

Vince Natomagan, Pinehouse