Pigeon Lake communities divided over wild rice harvesting
Property owners, First Nations at odds
While Pigeon Lake may not physically divide the people who live on it, there is a symbolic divide.
On one side are First Nations people fighting to protect their culture, traditions and food sources. On the other are cottagers and homeowners who want to protect their waterfront investments.
And after talking to those involved the story becomes much deeper than it initially appears, delving into conversations of respect, culture, race and racism
Hundreds of people showed up to a meeting Nov. 3 regarding the seeding and harvesting of wild rice on Pigeon Lake.
Larry and Marilyn Wood of the Save Pigeon Lake group said they first started to notice an influx of wild rice on the lake around 2008 and 2009.
According to the couple, when they moved onto Pigeon Lake it already was home to some wild rice, also called Manoomin, which was originally a source of food for Canada’s Indigenous peoples.
The Woods noticed an airboat driver was beginning to collect the wild rice as it continued to grow throughout the lake. The operator of that airboat was James Whetung, a Curve Lake First Nation resident and the owner of Black Duck Wild Rice.
In Canada, Indigenous people have the right to hunt and harvest, including the harvesting of wild rice.
In 2012 the Woods were informed by neighbours about a radio interview with Whetung where he told the interviewer he was intentionally seeding the lake.
That seeding, they say, has led to the conflict between the cottagers and Whetung.
“Our homes are being depreciated in value, that’s an irrefutable statement,” says Larry Wood.
Members of the Save Pigeon Lake group say the wild rice is clogging up the lake, making it impossible to traverse the lake by boat, or to swim in it.
The cottagers are seeking a solution to protect their waterfront and Whetung seeks to keep growing and harvesting wild rice on the lake.
But everybody involved says the issue goes deeper than that.
“I’m rehabilitating (the lake) and trying to protect our inherent right to eat our traditional foods,” says Whetung, contacted Monday.
Whetung says about 38 years ago he approached his community’s elders to ask about the traditions of wild rice, including where it used to grow.
“So I follow their practice,” he says.
While the traditional approach to harvesting wild rice used a canoe, Whetung says the world has changed significantly since the crop was more commonly harvested.
“Things have changed since the colonizers came here,” he says.
Because of that he now uses an airboat to harvest the Manoomin on the lake.
Whetung says it’s his right to seed and harvest the rice, due to both a declaration signed by the federal government but also the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Regardless, he says the harvesting of wild rice is an Indigenous tradition and something he will continue to do even if the government steps in to stop him.
And he adds those fighting his harvesting aren’t just doing it to protect their property values, but are carrying on the traditions of Canada’s white colonial roots.
Whetung says they do it “to carry on the genocide program that John A. Macdonald imposed upon us.”
But Marilyn Wood says the cottagers aren’t trying to stop Whetung from harvesting the rice, but are trying to come up with a compromise that respects the property owners on Pigeon Lake.
“It appears, and I understand the First Nations, that they want to protect what they feel is rightly theirs,” she says.
She says it’s without question that Whetung has the right to harvest rice on the lake, but she says those who own waterfront property want some kind of compromise that allows them to continue to enjoy their lake.
On the Save Pigeon Lake website, property owners have left comments supporting actions to defend their shorelines.
“The aboriginals have the right by treaty to harvest the rice with a canoe and paddle. The treaty does not give them the right to seed,” one comment says.
Another comment reads; “Please let people enjoy and use this beautiful lake in the proper way.”
On the website there are pictures of high stacks of organic material from the wild rice washed up on the shore, which cottagers have been removing. Marilyn says it’s getting harder for some of the older cottagers to pull the stuff out of the lake.
The Woods say they’ve been involved in advocating for some kind of solution since 2011 and have spoken to different levels of government, including the municipal government, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of the Environment and more.
But the bulk of responses they’ve received from those groups have told the Woods they’re still seeking a solution, though one has yet to materialize.
At one point the Woods received a permit to tear up the wild rice from 40,000 feet of shoreline, but shortly afterward were told by Parks Canada to stop.
The Nov. 3 meeting was meant to come up with a solution, with government representatives and a Curve Lake band councillor sitting in.
Selwyn mayor-elect Andy Mitchell says there was some good discussion in the room from members of the community and a variety of different perspectives.
He says he hopes those perspectives will play out in a final solution. One of the outcomes of the meeting was an advisory committee which will come back within 90 days to provide recommendations.
"I think that makes good sense," he says.
Larry Wood says he’s hoping from that meeting some kind of compromise is found soon.
“I do respect their rights, but at the same time I believe in this age people should be able to get together to come up with solutions that will satisfy all people, First Nations and the rest of Canada,” he adds.
He also says without a solution property values will continue to drop. He explains he’s worried about what will happen if they ever try to sell their property to afford a nursing home in their old age.
Larry Wood adds he wants an outcome that respects people who live on the lake now while also allowing Whetung to continue to harvest.
Also attending the meeting was Caleb Musgrave, who spoke in support of Whetung, and has helped him in harvesting the rice.
Musgrave says it’s unfair to target just Whetung because it’s not only him harvesting rice on the lake. But he says the cottagers are willfully ignoring that.
Musgrave says he’s been ricing since high school and it’s not just a food source, but the stalks and grasses from it are used as a material to make crafts.
And the cultural meaning of the rice runs deep in the First Nations people around Pigeon Lake.
“What wheat, corn and soy bean are for Canada financially, is what Manoomin was - and is for my people; the Michi Saagiig. Our ceremonies require the presence of Manoomin. It is a food for our spirits, as well as for us,” says Musgrave.
He adds the wild rice creates a healthier habitat for fish and filters out pollutants from the lake.
When it comes to the accusations of racism against the Woods, Larry says it hurts to be accused of that.
He says they’re not trying to say anything about all Indigenous people, and it’s just one person he’s taken an issue with.
But Whetung doesn’t see it that way. He says it’s not just about him and Pigeon Lake but the rights to harvest for Indigenous people across Canada.
“This is not an individual issue, this is a sovereignty issue,” he says.
He adds he will continue to seed wild rice throughout Pigeon Lake and wants to see other lakes host the traditional food source. He says he’s sold thousands of pounds of seeds and wants to see more being planted in other area lakes.
“I want to see rice back in Rice Lake,” he says.
Musgrave adds while there won’t be one solution to the issue which makes everyone happy, he says there could be an outcome “with compromises on all sides.”
He says he doesn’t have an issue with Pigeon Lake becoming known for its Manoomin and becoming a hot-spot for ecotourism.
“I know for a fact that Pigeon Lake has been in the news enough to make hundreds of people curious,” adds Musgrave.
Musgrave is right, as eyes from both national and international news organizations have covered the issue of wild rice in Pigeon Lake.
International news agency Aljazeera wrote about the issue in a 2016 story titled “Canada’s wild rice wars.”
In Toronto a theatrical production of the issue is in its second year, titled Cottagers and Indians.
When talking with Larry and Marilyn Wood one word keeps popping up: respect.
“All we’re asking for is respect,” says Marilyn. “I cry all the time because I feel so disrespected.”
But Whetung says if there’s something to respect it’s his right to seed and harvest the Manoomin.
“This is one of the rights of Indigenous people,” he says.