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Changing a Way of Life
 The Churchill River Diversion (CRD) was constructed in the 1970s as part of Manitoba Hydro's massive hydroelectric development in Northern Manitoba.
The CRD caused changes to the water levels of our rivers and lakes, which resulted in flooding and disruptions to our waterways that affected our hunting, fishing, trapping and sacred sites. At that time, we could not prevent the massive CRD from going ahead and did not foresee the resulting changes to our environment and way of life.
The 1977 Northern Flood Agreement (NFA) was negotiated in an attempt to define compensation for the damage caused. But in those days, we had considerably fewer negotiating skills and resources. Governments had no duty to consult with First Nations about the use of our natural resources.
Fortunately, Cree People are strong, resilient and adaptable. We realized after 20 years of struggle for proper compensation, that we needed to look ahead and not back.
So, in 1996, after hard, careful negotiations, we signed the NFA Implementation Agreement with Manitoba, Canada and Manitoba Hydro. |
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