Labradorians walk against environmentally destructive Lower Churchill Dam developments

by Jenny McCarthy

	Robert Penashue, Elizabeth Penashue. Tamara Hill, Christine Rich, and Stephen Penashue make their way up the rocky road towards Gull Island.

It was from her TV set that Elizabeth Penashue first learned of a deal between the Innu Nation and the province on the development of the Lower Churchill.

At first the Sheshatshiu elder went to her room and cried.

"I didn't know what to do," she said.

What she did do was what she does best and that was to bring attention to her cause while showing the beauty and usefulness of the land she has always known.

She relative recently began a four-day walk to Gull Island to protest the 'New Dawn' deal and its implications on the ecosystem of the Churchill River and surrounding areas.

For 13 years she's been doing canoe trips; walks and snow shoe treks to bring attention to environmental issues and the effects a dam would have on Lower Churchill. Memorial University awarded her an honorary doctor of laws degree for all the work she has done.

Still, she said, the government doesn't seem to respect all the work she has done and the pace at which the agreement was signed reflects this lack of respect.

"I thought when I did all of this, it would be for something. Nobody respects what I've been doing."

As for the leaders of Innu Nation's part in signing the New Dawn agreement, Elizabeth said she couldn't even talk about it without wanting to cry.

She doesn't give up so easy however, and a group of nearly 20 men, women and children walked with her on her trek carrying signs that read "consult us," "NO DAM WAY," "Protect our river," and "money isn't everything."

She said she is happy there are young people accompanying her on her journey because young people often don't understand the seriousness of what's happening.

She has a message she wants the premier of Newfoundland to hear. She said he and the Innu Nation signed the agreement as if the development was a small thing but to her and her people a dam on a river that has long been a part of their way of life is a huge deal. For her the deal came too fast.

"You better slow down Danny Williams. You have to slow down," she said.

She said she understands the deal can bring jobs to her people but her concern is about the environment and the land. She said Innu people always lived off the land and made money for provisions by selling some of what they caught.

"Innu people never needed government money before," she said.

Elizabeth knows she is getting older and she said all the walking has made her tired. She uses a stick to help her along as she makes her way up the hard-gravel road towards the destination of Gull Island. She calls herself a teacher and said she hopes when she is gone, one of her children or grandchildren will take over the work that she's been doing to protect the land, which Innu people have called home for more than a thousand years.

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