[R-G] Quebec filmmaker decries the genocide of the Algonquin

[Macdonald Stainsby]

Quebec filmmaker decries the genocide of the Algonquin

             Marianne White
             CanWest News Service


       Sunday, December 02, 2007


       QUEBEC -- Quebec and Ottawa are closing their eyes to the 
genocide of the Algonquin people who are living in African-like grim 
conditions, charges Quebec filmmaker Richard Desjardins in his most 
recent documentary.

       Le people invisible (The Invisible Nation) chronicles the gradual 
decimation of a people and a culture that once numbered more than 80,000 
but has shrunk to 9,000. They are the poorest of the aboriginal nations 
in Quebec and most of them live with less than $15,000 a year in 
miserable conditions.

       Unlike the Crees who gained from the James Bay Treaty, the 
Algonquins have signed a treaty with neither the federal nor provincial 
government. They are not even negotiating.

       "They are our own Third World. We have to do something about it," 
said Desjardins, who is also a singer.

       He directed the film with his longtime friend Robert Monderie. 
They made their first documentary together in 1977 and have worked 
together on other projects, including L'erreur boreable (Forest Alert) 
in 1999. The shock documentary generated a public outcry when it was 
broadcast across the province, detailing the clear-cutting of Quebec's 
northern forests and arguing it endangered the environment and the forests.

       The documentary led to a public inquiry into the forestry 
industry. Now the duo wants to have the same impact with their new film. 
But Desjardins has some doubts.

       "The forestry industry is worth billion of dollars, an Indian is 
worth nothing," he said in an interview.

       The singer and poet grew up in the Abitibi-Temiscamingue region, 
in western Quebec near Ontario, and explains at the outset of the 
documentary how he has always looked at the Algonquins living beside him 
from a distance. He decided to turn his camera toward them and what he 
discovered was a living hell.

       "They have nothing. Most of them don't even own their house. They 
live near a hydroelectric dam, but they don't have electricity. They are 
surrounded by forests, but still they can't cut a tree. They don't even 
have the bare minimum," decried Desjardins.

       He and Monderie don't hesitate to use the word genocide when 
talking about the Algonquins. They visited various towns and reserves to 
make their case.

       Step by step, the National Film Board production details how 
their territory has been carved up and how the Algonquins have been 
pushed back to small reserves plagued by health problems, criminality, 
domestic violence and a high suicide rate.

       Packed with file photos and films, the documentary, which is 
available with English subtitles, goes back over the "dark history" of 
the Algonquin people, including the Oblate missionaries who tried to 
convert them to Christianity, but which led to many cases of sexual 
assaults on young native boarders. Desjardins also recalls the fact that 
the Algonquins had to stay 15 kilometres away from the roads in the 
Abitibi so as not to frighten tourists.

       But Desjardins and Monderie say the situation is not much better 
now.

       In the Algonquin reserve Rapid Lake -- dubbed one of the most 
miserable villages in Quebec by Desjardins -- one elder tells the 
camera: "It's easier to buy coke (cocaine) than flour here."

       Desjardins recalled that when they were filming in this village, 
police were investigating a robbery at the school. Some kids broke in to 
steal Pogos (snacks) because they were starving and their parents were 
partying.

       In the community of Lac Simon, half the kids have tried to commit 
suicide, stressed Marianne Cheezo, a member of the community. She added 
that many of the young women have up to six kids just to cash in on the 
family allowances.

       "(The governments) are closing their eyes to this. They act as if 
they don't want the Algonquins to exist. But we can't let people live in 
African standards here at home. It's unacceptable. Otherwise, we have to 
give them international aid," said Desjardins.

       The documentary blames the governments for ignoring the problem.

       "It's the collusion between the two (political) powers that led 
to the political black hole they are in right now," said Monderie. "It 
has never been profitable for political parties in Quebec to recognize 
the aboriginal nations' rights, because it would mean acknowledging the 
federal government's sway over their territory." The natives are 
governed by the federal Indian Act.

       Quebec Native affairs minister Benoit Pelletier doesn't agree 
with Desjardins' view.
       "There are disparities in the different Algonquin communities and 
it's not true that everything is going wrong. The village of Kitigan 
Zibi is a healthy one and things are looking good in Lac Simon and 
Timiskaming as well," said Pelletier.

       He stressed that the governments cannot be blamed for everything. 
"The Algonquin also have a responsibility with regards to their 
situation. But I agree that things are moving slowly and we should give 
them more support," he said.

       Federal Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said his government 
is very concerned by the situation.

       "We have to learn from the past," he said in a statement from his 
office. Strahl added that his government is committed to settling the 
historical grievances that natives have.

       The documentary received the support of the Algonquin nation and 
the Assembly of the First Nations. "I hope that this film will have a 
great impact. This is something we have to talk about and the film is 
within the reach of everyone," said Ghislain Picard, head of the Quebec 
and Labrador chapter of the AFN.

       Picard and the film directors hope to change the bias of 
Quebecers towards native people. In the documentary, Desjardins asks 
some white local francophones what they think of aboriginals. One 
couple's comment is revealing. "They always have new Ski-Doos, they can 
hunt or fish whenever they want and they don't need a permit," said an 
elderly man. When asked by Desjardins if they would trade their life 
with them, the couple answers in a split second: "Never in my life!"

       The filmmakers think that telling the story of the Algonquins 
could make a difference when they start negotiations with the governments.

       "I think that after you've seen the movie, you can't help but say 
'I would have (ended) up like that if I were them'," said Desjardins.

       © CanWest News Service 2007
-- 
Macdonald Stainsby
Coordinator, http://oilsandstruth.org
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