Lost in flames

When Keith Bearskin and his sons built their cabin in the woods in northern Quebec, they built it large so everyone could hunt and be together without the interruptions of technology.

Its all burned now, one of the many casualties of the forest fires raging across Cree territory.

With the cabin went all their gear canoes, boats, motors, generators, traps, guns and an ATV, and even a homemade goose-down feather blanket that belonged to Bearskins late grandfather, Daniel.

I grew up in that area with my late grandparents so it meant a lot to me, said Bearskin, whose camp is 150 kilometres from any road, north of the La Grande 3 Hydro-Qubec reservoir in northern Quebec.

To see it all gone just like that, its very sad.

Bearskin and his sons are experiencing the wave of heartbreak thats building in Quebec Cree territory. As wildfires continue to rage and hunting camps continue to burn, many across Eeyou Istchee the traditional name for Cree territory in Quebec are expressing profound grief at the loss of places where Cree culture is close and the Cree language is strong.

Bearskin, the local president in Chisasibi for the Cree Trappers Association, which supports land users, is far from alone in his grief. On the day he confirmed his cabin was gone, he saw seven others and supplies for an eighth that were consumed by the flames.

Since early June, more than 2.5 million hectares of forest have burned in the northern region of Quebec, according to SOPFEU, the provincial fire prevention agency. The majority of those have been a region called the Jamsie, which includes Cree territory.

Eastmain, Wemindji, Nemaska and Waskaganish are busy evacuating their communities of the most vulnerable residents. Convoys are being organized to get supplies up north, and most highways and community access roads remained closed Thursday.

On Friday, Cree Grand Chief Mandy Gull-Masty is planning a state of the nation address to update the Cree population on recovery efforts and discussions.

Fires that begin threatening communities or infrastructure are fought aggressively, SOPFEU said. But thats not the case for other fires, where communities arent at risk but cabins are. Those fires are fought less aggressively but for the Cree, they are threatening their connection to culture.

Officials say its impossible to know how many hunting cabins have been lost yet or even how many cabins there were before the fires started in early June.

But they do know that only 262 cabins were insured under the Cree Trappers Association cabin insurance program.

In mid-June, the Blacksmith family of Mistissini was allowed to visit their trapline near kilometre 62 of the Route du Nord, a gravel road linking Chibougamau with the Billy Diamond Highway.

It was heartbreaking to see 10 cabins burned down. Its a big loss for everyone, said Nannie Blacksmith. Only one of the 10 had cabin insurance.

We will miss the precious memories we had with our dad in this camp, she said.

Blacksmiths sister Charlotte kept her wedding rings in her cabin after her husband died.

Irreplaceable items and connections to Cree ancestors have been lost.

For Allan Saganash Jr., the destruction to Cree camps and the resulting loss of access to the territory and impacts on wildlife will affect Cree people for generations to come.

Ive never experienced anything in my life like this, said Saganash, adding there have been unprecedented losses.

For more than 40 years, Saganash has worked in forest management and protection of his peoples traditional lands around Waswanipi, located 730 kilometres north of Montreal.

The wildlife is impacted, the environment is impacted. Everything is burned and the water can be polluted. The Crees are being displaced from their hunting grounds, said Saganash, who is aware of some Waswanipi traplines that are 100 per cent lost.

Once this is over, theres nothing on their trapline. If its all burnt, therell be no wildlife, he said. Traplines are the Quebec Cree system of organizing traditional lands by family. Each trapline has a steward, or whats called a tallyman.

Cree officials have begun assessing the damage and discussing how to help land users rebuild, as the vast majority of the cabins were uninsured, officials say.

Just assessing the damage is a huge undertaking, made much more difficult by fires that are still burning.

Allan A. House is the secretary-treasurer with the regional Cree Trappers Association (CTA), an organization that supports Cree people to access the territory, among other things. House is also the administrator of the CTA cabin insurance program.

He says its impossible to know how many cabins are impacted by these fires, but does say its safe to say the majority of them were uninsured.

He says some land users are most concerned about the loss of traditional landmarks.

Somebody, a member from Wemindji, wasnt so much worried about the material, he was more concerned with the loss of traditional harvesting sites, such as bear dens, said House, adding there will also be an immeasurable loss of language, because on the land the Cree language is different.

The CTAs cabin insurance program receives administrative help from the Cree Board of Compensation, a body administering compensation flowing from the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, signed by Quebec Cree in 1975.

The board helps link the CTA with major insurance companies in the South and helps negotiate better rates and offers support if a claim is made.

It is very heartbreaking to see people lose their property this is a home away from home, said Derrick Neeposh, the boards chairman.

One big barrier to getting more Cree cabin owners insured is administrative, said Neeposh the sheer manpower required to find and gather characteristics of cabins that in some cases no one but the builder knows about, in a territory two-thirds the size of France.

What we want to encourage is that people really consider the benefits of insurance, said Neeposh.

Neeposh goes on to say that Cree officials are preparing for several different scenarios when the Board of Compensation begins negotiations with major insurance companies for another year of coverage. It could range anywhere from a flat-out refusal to insure, to an increase in premiums, to a cap on how many cabins will be insured.

Keith Bearskin and his sons from Chisasibi are among the many, many Cree land users without insurance.

I kept forgetting. I dont blame anyone. Many times I had the chance to insure my cabin I guess I was one of the people who thought its never going to happen, said Bearskin.

Regardless, the Bearskin family like so many other Cree are vowing to rebuild. Bearskin says he will for sure try to access insurance moving forward.

My message to the leadership is to understand that no matter if the cabins were insured or not, we need these out there because we need to have our people out on the land, said Bearskin.