Below you will find a collection of letters of support that come in for the Mi’kmaq protesting logging activity on Hunter’s Mountain, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. This page will be updated as more letters of support come in.
If you or your organization would like to send a letter of support you can e-mail micmacrights@gmail.com and/or post on X, Instagram and/or Facebook and tag @micmacrights.
Community Members Plan Protest on Hunters Mountain
The Maw-lukutijik Saqmaq (Assembly) have been made aware that a community-led protest has been planned for Hunters Mountain on September 4.
We want community members to know that we support them in this peaceful protest and amplifying Mi’kmaw voices in this way.
The proposed demonstration appears to be directed at the province’s mismanagement of the Highlands eco-system, which has contributed to a decline in the moose population and the overall ecological health of the region. The Assembly acknowledges that these concerns are valid and deserve serious attention. The Assembly agrees there is merit in those concerns.
“We are supposed to be co-managers of these lands, waters and resources, yet decisions continue to be made that are impacting our position and our Rights,” said Chief Tamara Young, Co-Lead of Environment, Energy and Mines for the Assembly. “Our concerns are often overlooked and dismissed, and it is clear that community members are frustrated with the position that puts us in as a Nation.”
“We are all frustrated that the co-management of these resources feels limited and isolated, rather than part of a more wholistic conversation with the Mi’kmaq about the Highland’s ecosystem and the impacts of forestry, herbicides, recreational use, and mining exploration. We are proud to see community members raising their voices on these important issues,” said Chief Carol Potter, Co-Lead of Environment, Energy and Mines for the Assembly.
The Assembly agrees that it is encouraging to see community members expressing their concerns through demonstration as this helps to keep these important discussions at the forefront.
“Our Mi’kmaw organizations and community members can play a pivotal role in developing studies and initiatives to promote looking at the eco-systems here in Mi’kma’ki, through a more diverse and inclusive lens,” continued Chief Young. “We hope that the province hears these voices, and it leads them to commit to meaningfully including the Mi’kmaq in discussions on the environment and resource management in all regions of Nova Scotia.”
Assembly Calls for a Wholistic Eco-System Management Plan for the Cape Breton Highlands
(Mi’kma’ki) – Last week, the Maw-lukutijik Saqmaq (Assembly) issued a media release supporting the original intent behind a community-led protest held on Hunters Mountain on Thursday, September 4. We learned the event was peaceful and impactful. The Assembly fully supports community members in efforts to make their views heard. The Assembly will continue to provide communities with facts and information regarding the Cape Breton Highlands to help inform thoughts and opinions.
It is important for community members to also know that these concerns regarding the eco-system, forestry practices and moose habitat have been and will continue to be raised with the province and companies involved. We are committed to dialogue with Premier Houston and his Ministers to talk about the health of the Highlands. It is our goal that the issues raised during Thursday’s protest become a starting point for deeper conversations with the province and all parties involved.
Therefore, the Assembly is calling for a wholistic eco-system based, co-governance and
co-management plan for the Cape Breton Highlands. A plan that incorporates Mi’kmaw laws around appropriate land and resource use, Mi’kmaw laws that emphasize the importance of stewardship and sustainability for the next seven generations.
In the past, we had similar concerns with proposed mining exploration in the Cape Breton Highlands and as a nation, we were able to put a halt on exploration activities to address those issues on a nation-to-nation basis with Nova Scotia. With the support of our Mi’kmaw science organizations and community members we know we can do that with the issues surrounding wholistic eco-system management for the Highlands.
The Highlands are a unique and sacred eco-system, and all parties need to come to the table and create solutions. Recent unilateral decisions by the province, like the prohibition of access to Crown lands, has created distrust among community members who want to see the Mi’kmaq have a say in the ways lands are protected and managed.
Taking our responsibilities as stewards seriously, we are also committing to another one-year moratorium on moose-harvesting to allow the species to continue to recover. The population numbers are growing, but still not at sustainable levels. No harvesting and continuing work to build a more wholistic view of the eco-system in the Highlands – with Mi’kmaw laws, values and understanding – is what we need to do.
Sipekne’katik First Nation Stands with Protectors of the Unama’ki (Cape Breton) Highlands
The Chief and Council of Sipekne’katik are voicing strong support for Mi’kmaw and peaceful protestors that are protecting the Unama’ki Highlands from ongoing logging operations.
Despite the provincial decision to close the highlands to hunting and other human activity, logging continues unchecked. This unjust double standard threatens the Mi’kmaq people’s treaty protected rights.
“Detailed information about the health and sustainability of the moose population in the Highlands has not been shared with our community,” said the Sipekne’katik Chief and Council. “Closing the area to Mi’kmaw harvesters while allowing industrial activity like logging undermines our Treaty rights and our stewardship responsibilities.”
Sipekne’katik has long upheld its responsibility as caretakers of Mi’kma’ki, along with it’s traditional and treaty rights. Sipekne’katik emphasizes that decisions about the land and its resources must be made with full transparency and with absolute respect for all Mi’kmaq rights.
“Our members do not feel that their voices or rights are being respected,” added the Sipekne’katik Chief and Council. “The province’s actions contradict its stated commitments to reconciliation and to the environment. We will continue to stand in solidarity with those on the ground defending the Highlands from further harm.”
Sipekne’katik calls on the province to immediately halt logging operations in the Unama’ki Highlands and to work with all Mi’kmaq communities to ensure that land management decisions reflect our inherent rights, values, and responsibilities as Mi’kmaq people.