Voices of the Elders
 
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Dams

The construction of hydro-electric dams have impacted the traditional activies of many First Nation communities. The following are stories from Barriere Lake.

 
 Click on the title to hear Audio
 Jacob Wawatie tells Terry Tobias how the dams have affected hunting.
 "So would you say the reservoir, all the islands and the lands around the reservoir is real important for moose around the summertime for most hunters?" "yea, 'cause the way they play with the water, when they bring the water too low, the greens that was growing is out the water, it dries up and there is no more food. But you see what happens is where the water is at, was at last year, the sun couldn't reach it then so the weeds didn't grow, they were just starting to grow, now they are bringing up the water again so there is not going to be much feed for the moose again." "Moose come into the water to feed on the reservoir. That's related to the water fluctuations like, up and down all summer they do that, or is it one or twice?" "once or twice in the summer" "But it is enough to just throw everything off?" "yea. Dozois Reservoir where it drops twenty feet in there, every year, twenty feet. Makes it very dangerous to hunt there. That happens the same thing to the beavers that lives in that reservoir, makes it almost impossible to hunt the beavers. And it ruins their pelt because they have to walk around in the water, in the mud. They get bald spots in their back or in their stomach so they are not worth trapping. And they are skinny also because they don't have any feed."
  
 

Clifford Miranda explains the dangerous ice conditions caused by the Barriere Lake dam
"Christmas and New Years around there they open the dam for at least two weeks, maybe 10 days." "They open the Barriere Lake dam" "yep" "and that causes open water" "yes" "which means you can't cross there" "yeah" "makes it dangerous for crossing" "yes sir, 'cause it snows a lot too, and the snow keeps it… the water goes down fast, the beaver that stays on the Cabonga lake they die in there, they freeze sometimes, sometimes they get crushed by the ice." "That's because the water is being released from the east side of the reservoir and the west side of the reservoir at the same time in winter." "yea" "So it hurts the beaver?" "And us too it hurts, when we travel there." "So what's happening then when they open the dams for let's say ten days, the water level goes down and the ice sinks, the ice falls down too. Then when they close the dams and the water level starts raising again, the ice level stays where it was so you get water and a lot of snow building up on top of the ice sheet now." "It's dangerous now to travel on top of the ice where we used to travel, before they built that dam. That damn dam."

 
 

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