The Lansdowne Letters: Forerunners

I'm sure that when my father wrote this letter in January 1961
he couldn't possibly imagine what was to happen
to the people of Lansdowne House in the coming decades.
I don't think anyone could have imagined.

Beautiful Lake Attawapiskat

Photo by Don MacBeath, Spring 1961

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved 

It's not my purpose in this post to address the violence, 
the strife, the despair, and the worsening poverty 
into which the community descended 
as its traditional lifestyle 
was replaced by government dependency.

Nor am I going to write about the long, difficult struggle 
of its aboriginal people to attain self-determination
and to preserve their culture, traditions, and values,
a struggle that continues today amid dire living conditions
and a persistent suicide crisis among its youth.

But I will comment on a recent occurrence
that has the potential to dramatically improve 
the standard of living for the people of Lansdowne House
(now known as Neskantaga) 
and other remote aboriginal villages in its vicinity.

My father had no idea, when he chatted with two visitors at Father Ouimet's,
that they were forerunners of others whose work
could change this part of Northern Ontario irrevocably.


Sunday, January 15, 1961
My father wrote to his extended family:

Hi There:
Today was one of those days that just didn’t
seem to get off the ground till sometime after supper.  

Actually I got up quite early (for Sunday that is),
and although I seemed to be as busy as a beaver
I didn’t seem to get a hell of a lot done,
except carry in wood and write a long letter to Sara.
I slept all afternoon.

There were two prospectors who came through Lansdowne House today,
by air, and they stopped at the Father’s to hire an Indian as a guide.

Another Evening, Another Prospector

Father Ouimet's Kitchen

Pilot Chicago Bill, Uno Manilla, Father Ouimet, Brother Bernier, Prospector Mr.  Baker

Photo by Don Photo MacBeath, Fall 1960

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved 

Of course, I can’t remember their names,
but they said they were working for an outfit from Toronto,
and I asked them if they knew Herbert Cox.  
They didn’t know him personally,
but they said their boss was a friend of his.  

I asked the name of their boss, but they declined to tell me
because they were up on a rather hush hush project;
they wouldn’t tell us where they were going,
or for what for, or who sent them.

There is a lot of activity about these parts.
They are developing quite a large strike at Fort Hope
which is only about fifty miles southwest of here.

I think it is a copper mine,
and I think that it is Anaconda that is doing the development.
I’ll check on this with the Father tomorrow, and let you know.  

In addition to this activity at Fort Hope,
the bush of Northern Ontario is lousy with prospectors.

Tonight Uno and I were invited to a nice turkey dinner at the Flaherty’s.  
It was Anne’s birthday.  Duncan and Maureen were there also.

I must have eaten too much turkey,
because I feel definitely uncomfortable now,
four hours after the meal.  

You know, I have been spelling that name wrong
for quite a time.  Actually it is O’Flaherty.

I think that I had better sign off, as it is late.
I am dead on my feet, or to be more exact, on my seat,
and I want to get up early and get a good start for the first of the week.

Bye now,
Love, Don


After checking with Father Ouimet,
my father added on his copy to his mother-in-law, Ella MacDonald:

Dear Mac:
Re:  Fort Hope and mining development.
Not too accurate at this.
It was gold, not copper,
and there are three companies in here:
Hollinger, Dome, and Pioneer.

Thanks so very much for the books you sent.
They will be greatly appreciated by all concerned.

Bye now,
Love Don.

Another Evening, Another Letter

The Bedroom in My Father's Two-Room Shack

Lansdowne House (Neskantaga) Fall 1960

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved 

In 2007 all those decades of prospectors tramping around 
in the Northern Ontario bush paid off big time 
with the discovery of one of the world's largest chromite deposits, 
now known as The Ring of Fire mineral belt.

These deposits contain an array of other valuable minerals, 

including copper, zinc, nickel, platinum, vanadium, and gold.
Estimates of the value of the minerals vary wildly,

ranging from  tens of billions to over a hundred billion dollars.

Lansdowne House (Neskantaga) is one of nine Ojibway and Cree communities

that belong to a group called the Matawa First Nations.

This group is impacted by the location of the mineral belt in its traditional lands.

These communities recognize the economic potential

of the mineral-rich Ring of Fire,

but they are also keenly aware of the environmental threat

that mining poses for the wetlands and forests.

The Ring of Fire extends from the boreal forest into the Hudson Bay lowlands,

two vast and biologically diverse ecosystems

largely intact because of the remoteness of the region.

Hudson Bay Lowlands

Flicker ~ Ted and John Koston   License

The Matawa Nations maintain that they have the right
to be consulted about development on their traditional lands,
that they must give written consent before that development can proceed,
and that they must share in the economic benefits of that development.

They have opposed the construction of a north-south access corridor
that would cross three major river systems, including the Attawapiskat,
cutting through the heart of their ecologically sensitive lands.

They are currently studying a possible east-west road
that would link the Ring of Fire, Lansdowne House (Neskantaga)
and three other first Nations communities to Pickle Lake,
the most northerly community with year-round access by road.

If the necessary infrastructure is approved and built, 
it would dramatically improve the living conditions
for these First Nations communities by providing them
with potable water, cheaper food, fuel and supplies,
and grid electrical power.
And jobs!

It would also provide mining companies with the access
they need to develop the mineral resources in the Ring of Fire.

Unfortunately, everything is a standstill for now with plenty
of blame to go around:  legal battles, environmental protests,
lack of infrastructure spending, government ineptitude,
mining policy, and a commodity slump.

I am no expert on the Ring of Fire and the complex social, environmental,
economic, and legal issues surrounding its potential development.
But it is my hope that when the Ring of Fire is developed,
the First Nations peoples of Northern Ontario will prosper,
living in sustainable communities in the land they love
and preserving their rich culture and heritage.

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue



On the Shore of the Annapolis Basin
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
July 24, 2016
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Notes:  

1.  Father Ouimet:
     He was a member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate,
     a missionary religious congregation in the Roman Catholic Church.

2.  Herbert Cox:
     Herbert Cox was the stepson of my father's Aunt Maude.
     I know almost nothing about him.  Herbert's father, Harry Cox had died well before this time.
  
3.  Uno Manilla:  
     Uno was the teacher at the Roman Catholic Day School at the mission.
     He shared a two-room shack with my father.

4.  Mike O'Flaherty:
     Mike was the nurse at the nursing station in Lansdowne House.
     He was married to Anne (Garrick) O'Flaherty.

5.  Duncan and Maureen McRae:
     Duncan worked for the Department of Transport, and one of his duties was running the weather
     station in Lansdowne House.  He and Maureen were the parents of Baby Duncan.

6.  Chromite is essential in the production of many metal, chemical, and manufactured
      products, especially in the manufacturing of stainless steel.  Geology.com 

7.  Matawa First Nations: 
     The Matawa First Nations is a tribal council consisting of nine Ojibway and Cree First Nations in
     Northern Ontario, including the four communities closest to the Ring of Fire:  Neskantaga
     (Lansdowne House), Nibinamik (Summer Beaver), Webequie, and Eabametoong (Fort Hope).
         Matawa

8.  Ring of Fire:
     I read dozens of articles and papers on the Ring of Fire before writing the above summary;
     some of the most helpful were:
     Wawatay News  12/01/15    The Sudbury Star 3/8/16    The Globe and Mail 4/21/16  


For Map Lovers Like Me:

Location of Lansdowne House

Known Today as Neskantaga

Wikipedia

For a map showing the location of the Ring of Fire:  Click here

For a map showing the location of the Matawa First Nations:  Click here   

It gives one the sense of just how much surface water covers Northern Ontario.