May 10, 2018

Re: Social Media Misinformation

Kwe kwe. We want to take this opportunity to address some rumours about a man we deeply
respect, Russell Diabo, who is now running for National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
Russell has worked off and on with the Barriere Lake Algonquins for almost three decades. He
was first an advisor to our past customary Chief Jean Maurice Matchewan and then to our
customary Chief and respected Elder Harry Wawatie. Russ has always advised us in our best
interest, has shown integrity and honesty, and has steered us away from federal and provincial
policies that could undermine our inherent title and jurisdiction to the land.
So we want to set the record straight about our long time advisor, Russell Diabo and dispel the
falsehoods circulating on social media.
In 1991, our community signed a Trilateral Agreement with the federal and provincial
governments. It was outside of the federal Comprehensive Claims Policy and Process, which
leads to the extinguishment of Aboriginal Title and Rights. It is a unique agreement in Canada.
The Trilateral Agreement is a resource co-management plan that we fought for because in the
1980s our lands were being destroyed by clear-cut logging and our hunting, fishing and trapping
was negatively affected by competition from sports users using the newly created logging
roads. We stood on the roads with our children and with our families to protect our lands. But
we did not want our grandchildren to have sacrifice weeks, months, and years of their lives
stamping the heat back into their feet on frozen highways. We sought a sustainable land
management plan over our territory.
Our community of the Mitchikanibikok Inik was united about this agreement at first. Everyone
participated in the early land use and knowledge mapping stage that would help us to develop
harmonization plans with other land users of our territory. We agreed to share our territory if
we, the Anishinabe, were the decision-makers on our lands, guided by our sacred constitution,
the Mitchikanibikok Inik Onakinakewin. Resource extraction like logging would be permitted,
but only if it did not jeopardize the long-term ecological health of our lands. We would receive a
modest share of the revenue from this logging that we could use to run our own programs and
services and delink from the colonial oversight of the governments.

BARRIERE LAKE INDIAN GOVERNMENT  GOUVERNEMENT AUTOCHTONE DU LAC BARRIÈRE

To make a very long story short, Canada and Quebec quickly regretted signing the Trilateral
Agreement. The Trilateral was a watershed agreement that would have created what Canada
considered a dangerous precedent for other bands to follow. We took no loan funding,
maintained title over our lands, created an Indigenous consent-based regime, and raised funds
to support our independence from Indian Affairs.
But the Agreement started to fall apart at implementation. Canada stopped funding the
research/negotiation process for long periods. Quebec kept walking away from the table and
causing long delays in putting a short-term measures to harmonize forestry process in place and
completing the long-term Integrated Resource Management Plan contemplated by the
agreement. No progress seemed to be made. Divisions began to grow in the community.
The Trilateral Agreement was not intended to give resource companies a free pass onto our
lands. The socio-economic benefits of the Trilateral resource revenue sharing feature were not
intended to encourage extraction. We do believe in negotiations on a case-by-case basis with
companies. That does not mean we will say “yes” to projects that could harm our lands in the
long-term. We were at the forefront of the blockade against Resolute Forest Products Inc. at
Poigan Lake, in our territory; we were at the forefront of a struggle against Copper One Inc.
when they tried to explore and develop a mine on our territory; and, we will continue to be on
the frontlines to defend our lands, water, and territory.
The 1991 Trilateral Agreement is a landmark agreement that was held up as an example of a
model agreement by the United Nations and by Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.
Unfortunately, our community remains divided on which direction to take on implementing this
agreement and for our future relations with Canada and Quebec, but this is an internal
community matter and does not involve our long-time advisor Russell Diabo.
We have always trusted Russell and valued his work with our community, his independence of
thought and action, as someone who is never after favours or personal gain or glory.
We wish him the best of luck in his pursuit as National Chief.

___________________________ __________________________
Jeannette Wawatie, Councillor Peter Poucachiche, Councillor

_____________________________________
Norman Matchewan, Councillor

BARRIERE LAKE INDIAN GOVERNMENT  GOUVERNEMENT AUTOCHTONE DU LAC BARRIÈRE