The First Nations of Québec - The Micmacs - Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

The Micmac are part of the Algonquian linguistic family. They are a little over 4,500 in Quebec, of which nearly 2,500 live on-reserve. The Micmac are mainly located in Gaspésie. There are three Micmac communities in Quebec: Listuguj, Gesgapegiag and Gespeg. However, the latter is not considered a reserve. The Micmac were once nomadic and relied on fishing, hunting, trapping and small fruit gathering.

It’s been four years since Catherine Johnson first climbed into a single engine plane and flew over the Baldwin Territory in the Haute Gaspésie. But she remembers, as though it were yesterday, what she saw as she peered through the window at the ground below. “It was the first time I had seen clear cutting. The earth looked absolutely ravaged. I couldn’t believe it. I was near tears. I asked myself how it could have happened. Then I thought, ‘We have to find a way to stop this.’ ”

Ms. Johnson, who had just been hired as the Gesgapegiag Band Council’s Director of Economic Development, is quick to point out that the forestry companies hadn’t violated any agreements with the government. She understands that they’re there to make money. But that day, she vowed she’d find a way for the companies, the government and her community to work together to develop the forest without destroying it. And she’d do it in such a way that her people would also profit.

Catherine Johnson has been true to her word. When she was hired in 1998, the Gesgapegiag Band Council already had a few small contracts with local forestry companies. “They were doing pre-commercial clearing, thinning the brush from young growth forests so the marketable trees can grow more easily. But things hadn’t been going well.” The workers were inexperienced and Ms. Johnson realized that job training was the key to quality results. She insisted that the members of her community get the training they needed to do the job.

“I didn’t want to get contracts because the forestry companies felt they had to respond to some sort of social obligation,” says Johnson. “I wanted to get these contracts because I knew we could do the work as well as anyone else.”

Since then, she’s helped establish several training programs with local forestry companies like Tembec, Rexforêt, Cederico, G.D.S. and St. Alphonse Forestry Products. Where there were once three jobs, there are now 15. Another dozen workers, half of them women, are in training. Most of the seasonal positions are filled by community members between the ages of 18 and 25 who now have a reason to stay.

Leonard Leblanc, a supervisor at Rexforêt, stresses that the goal is to train these young people for permanent jobs. “There’s a lot of potential. There are a lot of young people in this region who are looking for work. If we want to keep them in this region, we have to make sure they can get the work,” he says.

The revenue the band earns from these contracts allows them to buy the equipment they need for pre-commercial clearing. It’s a simple equation: better equipment leads to more long-term contracts, and more jobs for members of their community. “With the money we’ve made — and a grant of close to $600,000 from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development’s Marshall Strategy — we were able to buy a ‘Menzi Muck’,” says Ms. Johnson. “It’s a harvesting machine from Switzerland that’s very agile on steep slopes and doesn’t tear up the soil as it works an area.”

That respect for the land is important to Catherine Johnson and other Gesgapegiag Micmac. “Sustainable development is not a new concept to us,” she explains. “A lot of those strategies are based on traditional First Nations knowledge.”

Wildlife management is another sector with the potential to generate more jobs in the community. The Gesgapegiag Micmac are currently negotiating with Quebec’s Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec and the Société de la faune et des parcs du Québec (FAPAQ) to jointly manage the Lac Ste. Anne/Baldwin area. For the past three summers, nine young people have worked with local company PESCA Environnement to draw up a wildlife inventory, clean the riverbeds, and build a visitor reception centre.

Quentin Condo, a 22-year-old member of the Gesgapegiag community, is one of those young people. He has worked as a field researcher for PESCA Environnement for four years, from the thick of black fly season to the first freeze-ups of December. Some days would begin at 3 a.m. with a two hour truck ride into the bush. From there, the research team would set off in canoes on the rushing waters of the Grand Cascapedia River. Their mission: to see how erosion, caused by the past clear cutting in this area, has affected the spawning grounds of the Atlantic salmon.

“Some days, there’d still be ice on the river,” Condo explains. “Our fingers would be freezing as we’d clear away the snow from the banks of the river to check on the erosion. But occasionally, we would come up ever so quietly on a school of Atlantic salmon in a deep pool. They’re so beautiful, they just take your breath away.”

Quentin Condo has also worked with biologists to create an inventory of the different species of trees, plants, fish and wildlife, has cut walking trails and helped to build the visitor reception area at Berry Lake. Not surprisingly, he is tremendously enthusiastic about his work.

“I could have worked at a forestry job,” he says, “but I was really interested in a job that would allow me to explore ways of protecting the Baldwin territory. This is our future. Tourism is big business in the Gaspé. If you take away the trees, the salmon, the Baie des Chaleurs area, we’re left with nothing.”

This fall, after his fifth season with PESCA Environnement, Condo will begin a course in Eco-Interpretation at the CÉGEP de la Gaspésie et des Îles. He hopes it will give him the skills he needs for a career in the eco-tourism field. “This is my home. I want to stay here. I want to work here,” he says. “Most of all, I want to share the beauty of this area with other people.” It’s stories like Quentin’s that keep Catherine Johnson looking for ways that her community and local companies can work together. “It’s not always easy, finding and keeping that needed balance between making money and protecting the environment,” she says. “But it can be done. It takes dedication, knowledge and assertiveness. We’re seeing results. But it takes time. Like a tree in the forest... it doesn’t grow overnight.”

MICMACS OF GESGAPEGIAG
Co-operation Agreement Reinforces
Municipalities' Firefighting Power
by Annabelle Dionne

The volunteer fire fighters of the Micmacs of Gesgapegiag on the Gaspé Peninsula have twice won the championship in the First Nations National Fire Fighters Competition: in Vancouver in 1997, and in Calgary in 2000. Their success in these competitions enhanced an already solid reputation. "The people in the community feel secure now, because they know they are well protected," says Gesgapegiag Fire Chief Jacques Martin. "Other Aboriginal communities have even come to film us in order to study our techniques."

The Gesgapegiag community fire department was created in 1995, following a tragic fire in the community in which two lives were lost. About 10 men from the community then decided to get the necessary training and form a team of volunteer fire fighters to prevent this kind of tragedy ever happening again.

The nearby municipality of New Richmond was aware of the reputation the Gesgapegiag team has built up over the years. Michel Leblanc, Director of the New Richmond fire department asked the Gesgapegiag fire fighters if they wanted to be part of an existing mutual co-operation agreement. Under the agreement, the participating communities assist each other in fighting major fires.

Gesgapegiag's Fire Chief saw this request as a sign of recognition. "We are regarded as equals by the surrounding municipalities," Martin says.

The proposal to include the Gesgapegiag fire fighters in their municipal system was welcomed by all four surrounding communities participating in the mutual co-operation agreement. "The Carleton, Maria, St-Jules Gascapedia and Caplanc municipalities recognize our professionalism," Martin emphasizes. "With our training and the proper equipment we now have at our disposal, we have proved that we can intervene quickly and efficiently."

Martin has many reasons to be proud of his team of volunteers. Most of the fire fighters, ranging in age between 26 and 54, are trilingual. They also represent a wide range of jobs in the community, including policemen and taxi drivers. In spite of their differences, one thing unites them: they are ready to intervene at all times when a fire breaks out.

"To become a fire fighter, one must have a sincere desire to help one's own community," Martin says. "Many people would like to be part of our team. Above all, we need people in shape, who understand what is involved in becoming a fire fighter. You can see their desire in their eyes, their words and their gestures."

This year, the Gesgapegiag fire fighters will once again defend their national title. If you ever drive by their neighbourhood, don't be surprised to see a group of fire fighters practising beside the main road. These community volunteers practise about three times a week in order to maintain their very high standards.

There is no doubt about the Gesgapegiag fire fighters' commitment to their mission. "We will never forget why we are here," concludes Martin.

The Gespeg interpretation centre is a replica of the 1675 Micmac's way of life. This ethno-tourist centre, which is one of the most developed across the province, opened its doors in the summer of 1995, following training of about 15 craftsmen-guide. In a few years only, visitors increased from 3,000 to 8,000 per year. Mainly European, the clientele is quickly captivated by the lifestyle, the beliefs, as well as the Native People from that era. While visiting the museum, the interpretation site, the craftsmen area and the gift shop, visitors enter the heart of an era where Native People had to survive while making what was necessary for their survival out of what they found in nature.

The interpretation site is divided up in six small islands. Since the Micmac were nomadic at that time, they had to establish a different site according to the time of year. To begin with, the fall island is the place where the first large hunts and the last preparations for winter took place. It is the place where Natives worked on the skins, made weapons for hunting, as well as snowshoes and toboggans. The winter island is the place where the Natives prepared what was necessary to go hunting and fishing for this season. The spring island is where the Micmac practiced maple growing and transformed maple syrup, among others. The summer island is where fishing, craft production, fruit gathering and tobacco cultivating took place. Then, the hunting island is where it is possible to observe the various kinds of traps and temporary camps used at that time. Finally, the general island is the place where several activities took place.

In order for everyone to live in harmony and for the tasks to be accomplished appropriately, the roles among men and women were clearly define. Men had five tasks: they protected the family during conflicts, fished, hunted, looked after exchanges with Europeans, and smoked the pipe. As for her part, the women looked after all the rest. Unlike what we could think, women had tasks which required great physical fitness, in opposition to men. The only resting times they carried were during their moon time. Once a month, they had to isolate themselves for three days in a smaller tent, because of the maleficent powers they had which could be prejudicial for hunting or fishing. Luckily enough, the beliefs are no longer the same nowadays.

By using their imagination, they could make more than one thing with practically nothing. In fact, everything could be recuperated to make something practical. They used cedar bark to make some rope, while cattail leaves, birch and ash bark were used to handcraft baskets. They used spruce roots to sew bark and fir gum to waterproof the baskets. For instance, smoked fish could be preserved up to five years in ash baskets, making "tupperware" fanatics green with envy! Picture of tools and Ash basket

Tools were made out of bones up until the arrival of Europeans. Dishes and plates were made out of poplar, a soft and light wood which was easy to carry, given the frequent changes of location. They used bear fat to prevent germs from penetrating the wood. To entertain children, they made soft balls out of deer hide which were sewn with a bone needle and deer sinew. They then filled it with moose hair.

In the eyes of the Micmac, the bear was the animal which resemble most human beings. Consequently, hunting was a body contact thing, done with the help of a knife. This adventure comprized some risks, you will agree. Luckily enough, Native hunters knew that upon the moment the bear felt trapped, he stood up on his hind legs and closed his eyes for four seconds. Thus, it was at that moment that they had to target the bear's heart to kill him. Each second must have felt longer than eternity...

For food, the Micmac also hunted moose, beaver, and other large animals. They fished eel, smelt, salmon, sturgeon, alewife as well as Atlantic tomcod, and completed their diet with fruits, roots, leaves, shells and even bird eggs.

For those wanting to find out more or wishing to visit the interpretation centre, you can do so between June 15 and the end of September.

The Marshall agreement signed in June 2000, brought about an important change among the Micmac community of Listuguj. The amount of $16 millions received enabled the creation of numerous employment opportunities and over the past year, the social assistance recipient rate witnessed a 50% drop. "We have a lot of people wanting to work. The signing of the agreement now allows us to provide them with the tools necessary for the community's development", says Chief Allison Metallic.

Thanks to the nine commercial fishing permit which were allocated to them in June 2000 for snow crabs, lobster, turbot, and shrimps, the Listuguj community purchased nine boats. Three additional permet for fishing rock crab were granted to them in July 2001 by Fisheries and Ocean Canada. The Listuguj Micmac must learn everything about fishing, thus explaining why they are paired with Non-Native fishermen and captains during fishing season, and undergo training courses in the wintertime, in order to learn the trade. It may take ten years to train a boat captain.

"The Natives have great willpower in learning the fishermen trade" says Yvon Savage, the John Duncan boat captain since August 2000. "This trade is far from being easy even for Non-Natives", he adds. For instance with waves reaching sometimes over 30 feet, changin winds, and entire weeks spent at sea, becoming fisherman is more than a calling. Those wanting to become fisherman need great determination. In Listuguj, there are approximately 24 such determined Natives, aged between 20 and 30.

The community's economic impact even reaches the forest industry. Over 60 Listuguj Natives aged between 18 and 25 are hired annually to trim and cut down forest trees. The Band Council is actually working with the forest company Tembec, in order to obtain a greater volume of forest land. Negotiations are also underway in order to build a sawmill in the community.

With the newly found vitality in the community, the construction field is also in full bloom. More than 100 people work at it. For Chief Allison Metallic, establishing partnerships with neighbouring communities is fundamental for development. "We cannot progress alone", he says. The community's development is also achieved through the region's development. As part of the partnership contracts where the community is involved, it is agreed that 70% of workers must be Native.

An interesting phenomenon is that more and more potential youth come back to the community with the intention of establishing themselves and build a career. Allison Metallic also notices a greater sense of pride among the Listuguj population. "Self-esteem that people develop will have major impacts in the community", he warns. In seeing the work accomplished over one year, the change forecasted will surprize more than one.