VUE WEEKLY

Natives Tell Weyerhaeuser to Screw Off

March 2, 2006 By Ross Moroz

Ontario’s Grassy Narrows First Nation wants an American pulp-and- paper conglomerate to stop felling trees on native land. On Feb 28, band leaders sent a letter to Weyerhaeuser and Abitibi-Consolidated, claiming that industrial activity has “poisoned our waters with mercury and other toxins, nearly eliminated our ability to practice our way of life, and robbed us of economic opportunities.” The letter is the latest in a series of attempts—including lawsuits, public protests, and a three-year blockade of logging roads—by the Kenora-area First Nation to subject Weyerhaeuser to public and government scrutiny. A lawsuit between Grassy Narrows and the federal government—over whether habitat disruption keeps band members from exercising treaty rights to hunt and trap on traditional land—remains unsettled.