Federal government to apologize for forced relocation of Sayisi Dene in Manitoba

TADOULE LAKE, Man. – The federal government is to formally apologize and provide compensation today for the forced relocation of a First Nations community in northern Manitoba 60 years ago.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett is to fulfil an agreement reached three years ago with the Sayisi Dene over a forced move that led to death, hunger and violence.

Chief Ernest Bussidor, who was born one month before about 250 residents were forced out of Duck Lake to a barren area near Churchill, said many have suffered post-traumatic stress.

“I probably witnessed a lot more tragic events than I should have … and most of us of that generation have that same notion,” Bussidor said Monday. “A lot of children died. That kind of stuff never leaves you.”

The Sayisi Dene were relocated partly because the Manitoba government believed they were causing a steep decline in the caribou herd, an idea later proven untrue. In their new location near Churchill, food was scarce and housing inadequate.

The Dene turned to scavenging the dump and were assaulted by Churchill residents.

About one-third of the relocated Dene died “as a result of poverty, racism and violence,” the Manitoba government said in a 2010 apology for its role.

“People freezing to death, fires, you name it,” Bussidor recalled.

In 1973, the Sayisi Dene left the Churchill area and moved back to their traditional territory at Tadoule Lake.

The federal apology comes with a $33.6-million settlement package, aimed partly at economic development, which was approved by the community three years ago. Bussidor said the money will help the community’s youth, but seems a bit “hollow” given decades of suffering caused by the relocation.

“I’m an elder now. I’m 60 today, and 60 years it took for the government to step up and say that something was wrongfully done to your people.”