Colonial governments continue to destroy Innu land and traditional culture, says longtime activist and elder

Mistreatment of Innu people by colonial governments continues today, said an elder and activist who has fought for decades to protect the Innu's traditional culture and landin Labrador.

"I will start on how we have been treated by the white man, and the treatment is still ongoing today," said Tshaukuesh(Elizabeth) Penashue, on Thursday when she began her testimonyat an inquiry examining how Innuchildren and families have been affected by the child protection system.

When I'm gone, who's going to teach the children? The government takes away everything.- Tshaukuesh Elizabeth Penashue

"You may have seen or heard on the news regarding the children that were found in the burial sites at residential school. Heard about anInnu woman in Quebec who wasmistreated in the hospital in Quebec by this nurse or doctors. We are very saddened by this treatment from the police, nurses, and doctors who have treated [people]badly. Losing lives. It hurts me to see this, to witness the mistreatment, because I have kids too and grandchildren and that hurts when I think about it."

Child taken

Penashue also testifiedabout seeingan Innu childtaken from theirfamily.

"Social workers are not doing their jobs because I have witnessed a child being taken away from their family. The social worker who took the child didn't get enoughinformation about the family. That also hurts me to have witnessed it because of the wrongthat the social worker did to that family. When that child was taken, immediately they wanted to go back home to their family.They said they wanted to go back to their mother."

Penashuealso spokeabout Innu life before it was influenced by colonial governments.

"Before the governmentbroke our land, we had everything, everything. Water was clean, trees, rivers, animals, berries, medicine. Why did the government come here to break our land?" she asked, speakingin English andfighting back tears.

"When I'm gone, who's going to teach the children? The government takes away everything."

Then testifying in Innu-aimunand translated into English, she said:

"Ever since the government has destroyed our land, where are we going to teach our next generation?Our children, the youth. Therehas been so much damage done. Dammed our rivers. Destroyed the land. When I do my walks on the land I take the youth with me to teach them about our way of life on the land. The land is where we have survived for thousands and thousands of years," said Penashue.

Penashue, 78,was born near Churchill Falls,Labrador, and moved with her community to Sheshatshiu in the 1960s. Land the Innu lived on,including traditional burial grounds, are now underwater in the area flooded to create a reservoir for the Churchill Falls hydroelectric project.

"I am not the only one who misses our way of life being Innu. I know there are still some elders in our communities who miss it too, who miss seeing and hearing children whoare well and healthy within their families."

Book describes protests

In 2019, Penashuepublished a book, Nitinikiau Innusi: I Keep the Land Alive, about her work to protectthe Innu's land and traditional culture.

The book, which began as a diarywritten in Innu-aimun, describes her experiencesprotesting NATO's low-level flights and bombtesting on Innu land in the 1980s and 1990s. Those protests resulted in her and nine other women being arrested andjailed.

She has also protested the development of the Voisey's Bay nickel mine and the Muskrat Falls hydro-electric project on the lower Churchill River.

Penashue began testifying at the inquiry on Thursdayand continued Friday.

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