The Innu Nation is accusing the NCC—or NunatuKavut Community Council—of trying to rewrite history and claim Indigenous rights in southern Labrador to the detriment of the Innu Nation.
The Nunastiavut Government, which represents the Inuit in Labrador, does not recognize NCC as an Inuit group, despite their claims as southern Inuit.
The Innu Nation is calling for the cancelation of an MOU between Canada and the NCC stating NCC is capable of holding section 35 rights. A federal court hearing scheduled for today has been postponed.
Innu Nation yesterday outlined their concerns at a news conference in Ottawa. NunatuKavut has made four failed attempts at land claims in territory currently being negotiated by the Innu Nation, who are recognized by Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution.
Innu Nation Deputy Grand Chief Chris Rich says NunatuKavut is trying to gain access to land benefits and programs and funding intended for Indigenous students.
“NCC knows how to work the system,” says Rich, “NCC does not have recognized rights, but they tell a very good story. They tell the story in English, which is a language most people understand. We cannot do that; Innu is our first language.”
Former Innu Nation Grand Chief, former MP and land claims negotiator, Peter Penashue didn’t mince words. He says the NCC’s history dates back to the early 80s and the Innu fight against low level flying. He claims the province introduced the Labrador Metis Nation at that time to gain support for low level flying. He says the switch from Metis to Inuit came about when the Metis were told they cannot make Indigenous claims to land.
“There is money involved in being an Indigenous group,” says Penashue, “so now you have people coming from everywhere, declaring themselves or purporting to be an Indigenous group. It’s happening in Labrador, but it’s happening right across the country. Someone has to put a stop to this.”
Meanwhile, the Nunatsiavut Government is backing the Innu Nation.
In a release issued yesterday, President Johannes Lampe says “fake Indigenous groups” are “threatening health, well-being, and legitimate connections to lands.”
The Nunatsiavut Government finds it “deeply concerning that Canada proceeded to sign” the MOU “despite having categorically rejected the NCC’s claims on four separate occasions over two decades.”
The Nunatsiavut Government does not recognize NCC as a legitimate Indigenous collective capable of holding Section 35 rights.
The NunatuKavut Community Council meanwhile says it is once again denouncing what it calls “baseless allegations” and “intentional misinformation” by the Innu Nation.
President Todd Russell says his group is not at all surprised by the news conference, accusing the Innu Nation of “intentionally” spewing misinformation and rhetoric about NCC and what he calls the rights of NunatuKavut Inuit.
He says rights recognition “is not a zero-sum game where one group loses when another group makes progress.” He says overlap with other Indigenous groups is very common in land claims processes.