Aboriginal forestry in New Brunswick: conflicting paradigms (1).

Many Mi'kmaq and Maliseet people maintain that they were alienated from the land when they became wards of the federal government. Since the provincial government had no jurisdiction or responsibility to Aboriginal people, they became outcasts in the province. Since the 1980s, Aboriginal frustration with the provincial government has resulted in a move toward civil disobedience in order to attempt to change the laws and to draw attention to their situation. In particular, exclusion from the lucrative forest industry has led to an effort to bring about change. In 1995, following an act of protest, Thomas Peter Paul was charged with illegally harvesting bird's-eye maple on Crown land. Although the charge was eventually dismissed, the province was dissatisfied with the outcome and appealed the decision. In November of 1997, Justice John Turnbull ruled in Regina v. Paul, that the provincial Crown lands were reserved for the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet of New Brunswick and that they had the right to harvest Crown resources.

After the announcement of the Turnbull decision in November of 1997, two to three hundred Aboriginal people in New Brunswick began to harvest wood on Crown land. They purchased machinery and sub-contracted machinery and skills of non-Aboriginals, anticipating a prosperous future in which they would be able to economically provide for their families. Unfortunately, during this period of sudden access, the Aboriginal community did not have the chance to institute proper social or economic regulations, guidelines, or training programs for wood harvesters. Some Aboriginal harvesters were cutting wherever they wanted, indiscriminately felling all types of trees.

The reaction of the Euro-Canadian community was swift. Opposition was mounted by the large forestry corporations, some of which refused to buy wood cut by Aboriginal loggers. Threats of physical violence against Aboriginal loggers and confiscation of their trucks and equipment were common (Kennedy 1998). Non-native tempers flared and a provincial Minister made an improbable announcement that in the space of a few months, native loggers had undone 16 years of forest development and management undertaken in partnership by his department and the forest industry (Graham 1998). As First Nation chiefs met with the Premier in an attempt to develop a Forest Management Strategy, groups of independent native logger associations sprung up, jostling for the opportunity to represent the interests of Aboriginal people.

This confusing period ended prematurely when the question of rights was decided by the courts in another ruling. In April of 1998, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal reversed the November decision and the Aboriginal loggers were ordered to cease cutting (The Telegraph Journal 1998). In a statement by the Premier's office (Government of New Brunswick 1998) Aboriginal people were urged to negotiate an agreement whereby the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet communities would be allotted 5% of the annual cut, which would be deducted from the wood supply of New Brunswick's forestry companies. Through this 5% plan an estimated 14 million dollars would be injected into 15 Aboriginal communities within the province. Several First Nation communities negotiated agreements with the province and experienced varying degrees of success. The remainder of this paper discusses the forestry experiences of one reserve that encountered unanticipated difficulties from conflicting constructions of natural resources that emerged on federally-created reserves. The discussion illustrates the contradictions that contemporary Aboriginals face in coping with the two worlds. Names and numerical data specific to the First Nation have been altered to protect their privacy. However, names of Aboriginal cultural groups (Mi'kmaq and Maliseet) and provincial government officials are unchanged.

Methods

In the fall of 1998, I was contacted by the councillor in charge of lands and forests at Two Rivers First Nation (2) and asked to conduct research on the current forestry situation under the interim logging agreement, to document recent events, and make recommendations toward the development of an Aboriginal forestry program. The active collaboration of the people at Two Rivers was sought in the research and complementary information and interviews were also obtained from traditional people and natural resources personnel from two other Maritime reserves. First-hand observations and interviews were conducted with those involved in Aboriginal forestry at Two Rivers. Those interviewed included: traditional leaders who provided knowledge regarding their Aboriginal relationships to the land and methods of forest management; members of the band council who were involved in the implementation of forestry activities under the Interim Agreement; the coordinators from Two Rivers and the Department of Natural Resources; Two Rivers loggers; the regional Warrior chief; and an enforcement officer from the RCMP. The information gathered from interviews and observations was supplemented with an extensive literature review of both published and unpublished materials pertaining to Mi'kmaq and Maliseet relationships to the land and to forestry in New Brunswick.

Two Rivers First Nation: their story (3)

In mid 1998, Two Rivers negotiated a 'Without Prejudice' Interim Harvesting Agreement to help calm the dispute while awaiting the final outcome of the Supreme Court decision. (4) Two Rivers gained access to 45,000 cubic metres of Crown timber with an estimated value of $2.5 million. Although the chief and councillors were uncomfortable negotiating with the province, some council members thought the agreement would facilitate a move towards sustainability and co-management of the resource. These councillors wanted their leaders to make careful plans regarding the harvesting of forest resources in cooperation with provincial forestry strategies.

After the agreement was negotiated, First Nation Forestry (5) was established and operated out of the Two Rivers band office. Two coordinators were to be appointed, one representing New Brunswick's Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the other an Aboriginal person from Two Rivers. Two Rivers had appointed an experienced coordinator earlier, during the Turnbull cutting period. However, once an agreement had been signed and logging had been opened up to all individuals, the appointment of a coordinator became a highly politicized issue. Both the career loggers and the new loggers pressured the band council to appoint different coordinators who would represent their respective goals and interests. Chief Peters felt pressure from the DNR to appoint a coordinator quickly. According to the band councillors, this pressure resulted in Peters making a quick and uninformed decision to appoint a close relative as coordinator. The chief's relative was also on the band council and one of the new loggers. As occurs on many reserves, positions of power are often occupied by close family members (Ginnish 1993), which can be seen as a carryover from times when clan-based governments were responsible for major decisions. Chief Peters claimed that he never thought about conflict of interest or the improper management practices that this appointment could produce. Several decisions made during this time were done quickly and without proper consultation and the results of these decisions caused problems throughout the interim period.

Two regional forestry companies provided the coordinators with forest blocks, which were scheduled for harvesting according to their 25 year Forest Management Plan. All blocks were predominately balsam fir and designated for clear-cuts only. Aboriginal loggers were assigned clear-cut blocks because many did not have cutting experience and the DNR claimed they were concerned for the logger's safety. On this premise a hasty decision was made to use delimbers; large, expensive pieces of forestry equipment used for clear-cutting operations in order to quickly remove limbs from trees. Due to the size and lack of mobility, delimbers must remain on roadways and trees have to be hauled out of the woods to the road for processing. Many people at Two Rivers were uncomfortable with these decisions--they would have preferred to use selective cutting practices, leaving smaller trees to mature. Some community members complained that clear-cutting would leave nothing in the woods for the future. Also the heavy machinery was expensive and required specialized skills. However, many on the band council were concerned that if they did not comply with the DNR's regulations, clear-cutting and using the delimber, they would lose their share of the provincial 5% allotment and the financial benefits that accompanied it.

Two Rivers' 45,000 cubic metre allotment was designed to accommodate approximately 18 skidders, each with a three person crew, for a period of ten months. During the first few weeks of the interim agreement there were all--Aboriginal crews in the woods operating 11 skidders and chainsaws. While some Aboriginal logging crews had over 15 years of experience, some had no experience at all. Several new loggers purchased skidders at a cost of $125,000-$150,000 each, financed through banks on the basis of contracts that had been negotiated with the pulp and paper companies. Councillors also ordered skidders under the name of the Two Rivers band council.