'We want to be owners': Fort McMurray First Nations and Mtis unite on pipelines

First Nations and Mtiscommunities in the Fort McMurray region are expressinginterest in becoming business partners in the pipeline industry.

The indigenous communities wantto either buya stake in the Trans Mountain pipeline or partner andbuild another future line.

"We want to be owners of a pipeline," Allan Adam, chief of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, said in an interview. "We think that a pipeline is a critical component to the oil and gas sector, especially in this region.

"If FortMcMurrayand Alberta aregoing to survive, the Athabasca Tribal Council has to be alongside."

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Adam, a board member with the Athabasca Tribal Council, an umbrella organization that represents the region's five First Nations, admitted, the details still need to be worked out.

Ron Quintal, president of the Athabasca RiverMtis, theorganization that represents fiveMtiscommunities in the region, confirms itis also on board with the proposal.

But Quintal saidhe expects they would need backers to help guarantee loans to help fund the multi-billion dollar project.

Tired of fighting oil companies

The announcement happened on the heels of the groups's meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeauin the basement of a FortMcMurrayhotel on April 6.

Participants say it was the first time the region'sCree,DeneandMtiscommunitiesmet together with the head of the federal government. Typically, such high level meetings don't take place with everyone at the table.

Also in the background is the uncertainty over the fate of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion which would ship bitumen from Alberta to the B.C. coast.

Kinder Morgan announced recently it will halt"non-essential activities" and related spending on the project and set a May31 deadline to decide whether the project will proceed. The company declined to comment for this story.

Premier RachelNotleysaid the May deadline is a serious concern, suggestingAlberta maybecome a co-owner in the pipeline's construction.

The announcement from Adam is a change in position for the chief, who isno stranger to pipeline opposition. The chief has posedwith celebrities and activistscritical of the oilsands'environmental legacy.

Most recently, Adam was pictured with Hollywood actress Jane Fonda, who described the oilsands on a 2016 trip to FortMcMurray as if "someone took my skin and peeled it off my body over a very large surface."

Adam denied he was ever anti-pipeline or against the oilsands. Butthe chief said he iscritical ofthe feverish pace for oilsands development without enough environmental considerations.

Adam also admitted that fighting oil companyand industry expansion has been tough and it is time for a change.

"The fact is I am tired. I am tired of fighting. We have accomplished what we have accomplished," Adam said. "Now let's move on and let's start building a pipeline and start moving the oil that's here already."

ArchieWaquan, chief of theMikisewCree First Nation, alsosupports apipeline partnership.

"No disrespect to the other First Nations that are against the pipeline in B.C.,"Waquansaid. "From our end from this northern territory where theoilsandscomes from we would like to see more things happen and hopefully this will go ahead."

Ultimately we are the keepers of the land

The region'sMtiscommunities say havingpipeline ownership would help alleviate roadblocks oil and gas projectshave been facing lately.

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Quintal saidFirst Nations and Mtisinvolvement would provide ease of access for apipeline route on their traditional territory.

Also, he said, Indigenousowners would take the utmost care to ensure the pipeline route wouldavoid sacred or sensitive land areas and thatinfrastructure is maintained to the highest standards to prevent spills.

"From our perspective, the Mtis have always for the most part been pro-pipeline," Quintal said."I am not saying that it's an open book or a blank cheque for the industry to develop pipelines.

"Ultimately we are the keepers of the land and it is of the utmost importance that lands are protected as much as possible."

Quintal said Indigenous owners behind a pipelinemight also lend credibility to a project that could quell someopposition.

Follow David Thurton, CBC'sFort McMurraycorrespondent, onFacebookandTwitter, or email him atdavid.thurton@cbc.ca