Struggle with Platinex

Darryl Sainnawap Contributor

Darryl Sainnawap, 24, recalls the ordeal that landed him in jail for standing up against resource development. Sainnawap was one of six Kitchenumaykoosib Inninuwug members sentenced to six months imprisonment. The following are excerpts from his personal account. For full details, read the entire article online at www.sevenyouthmedia.com

My name is Darryl Sainnawap. I am 24 years of age. My spirit name is Wichitaso Muskwa as was given to me in a sweat lodge ceremony. I am a father of two beautiful outgoing children, and soon to be married. I am a member of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inniniwug (KI). I also serve as a councillor for my community.

I would like to take this opportunity to share our story with my fellow youth on KI’s struggle to preserve our traditional lands and the journey we have travelled as a community. As you may know, our community has been in an ongoing struggle with the Province of Ontario and an exploration company named Platinex Inc., a publicly traded company under TSX. Our community has been faced with a 10 billion dollar lawsuit, scares of bankruptcy, and the incarceration of the KI chief and council.

In January of 2006, shortly after being elected to the KI chief & council, an elder had come into the boardroom and raised concerns about a company disturbing and interrupting his trapline with line cutting and other work.

The community leadership began sending letters to Platinex, (who had begun their drilling program on our traditional land) that said they were to halt their exploration work immediately. However, Platinex continued their drill program.

February 2006 – Platinex had a crew ready to mobilize their drill onto the land using the winter roads to begin their work. KI responded with a peaceful protest, which meant no guns, weapons or violence would be tolerated at the protest. The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were present throughout the protest. After three days of protesting, drinking tea and socializing with the drillers and OPP officers, Platinex finally decided to abandon their drill program and left.

April 2006 – We were served with court papers informing the community that we were being sued for $10-billion! My first thought was of the movie Austin Powers when the character Doctor Evil asks the United Nations for $100 billion in the 1960s and they laugh hysterically in his face and mock him: “I want a kajillion, bajillion dollars.”

June 2006 – We first entered the courtroom in front of Justice Patrick Smith in Thunder Bay, Ont. Our Lawyers argued that the Ontario’s Mining Act was unconstitutional as it did not respect Aboriginal and Treaty rights. Platinex argued they would go bankrupt if drilling did not proceed. Platinex also said the land they staked was public land, which they obtained legally through the Mining Act, a 135-year-old legislation that gives a prospector the right to stake claims on any lands in the Province of Ontario.

On July 28, 2006 Justice Smith released his decision that the Province of Ontario failed in its duty to consult KI before granting permits to Platinex. Justice Smith recognized that “KI’s connection to the land was the essence of its being.” Smith also found that KI did not act illegally or improperly during the protest in February of 2006 and that Platinex left no other option for KI but to confront them at the drill site. However, Platinex was prohibited from drilling for a period of five months.

During the five months, KI, Platinex, and The Province of Ontario were ordered to meet and try to develop an agreement about mineral exploration.

January 2007 – After failed attempts to reach an agreement, the Province of Ontario, specifically the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, was added as a party to the KI-Platinex litigation. The hearing to determine if the injunction should continue was re-scheduled to April 2007.

April 2007 – All parties were before Justice Smith. The Province of Ontario argued that the Trout Lake Band signed the James Bay Treaty 9 adhesion in 1929, which ultimately states that all Indians cede, release, surrender all titles and privileges to the lands. Therefore, KI had no rights to the land other than the traditional vocations of hunting, fishing and trapping.

May 2007, Justice Smith released his decision that KI had no veto over its traditional lands as it was surrendered in the treaty.

He also stated that the consultation process could not be used in an attempt to claw back rights that were surrendered in 1929.

Platinex was then granted access to its proposed exploration site on our traditional lands to proceed with the drill program with the supervision of the courts.

When that decision was announced to the community, disappointment was in the air. The chief and council were stuck between a court order and community direction. But the community did not waiver in its position of no mining, which was later reaffirmed through a community referendum initiated by the chief and council. Once again the chief and council received direction from the people.

Platinex was given notice that if they attempted to proceed with their drilling program, community members would confront them. Chief Donny Morris, Deputy Chief Jack Mckay, Joseph Mckay, Mark Anderson, Wallace Moskotaywenene, John A. Mckay, Edward Anderson, Lyle Ostaman, who is no longer with us today, set up camp at the drilling site to prevent Platinex from entering the traditional lands. They all stayed at the site for 20-plus days.

December 2007 – We were once again in front of Justice Smith to answer to the contempt of court motion by Platinex.

Our lawyer was directed not to defend the motion and to inform the court that KI would not give Platinex access to the proposed drill site. Although we couldn’t pay any fines, due to the costly legal fees we had already incurred, we informed the court we would prefer jail time as we had community direction to follow. Justice Smith ordered all contemnors, which were Chief Donny Morris, Deputy Chief Jack Mckay, Head Coun. Cecelia Begg, Coun. Samuel Mckay, Coun. Darryl Sainnawap, former councillors Evelyn Quequish, John Cutfeet and Enus Mckay and former lands and environmental director Bruce Sakakeep to appear in court on Jan. 25 2008.

March 17, 2008 – I’ll never forget the day of the sentencing.

That morning Justice Smith stated that although he understood the beliefs and principles we held in our stand, he went on to say “that the system of justice and rule of law are paramount and must be protected at all costs. Simply put, there is a fine line that no segment of society can be allowed to cross.” Chief Morris, Deputy Chief Mckay, Head Coun. Begg, Coun. Mckay, Sakakeep and along with myself accepted the sentence.

What stands out in my memory is Justice Smith reading his disposition and the words: “You are hereby each sentenced to six months in jail.” At that moment, reality set in – I was going to jail. Many thoughts flooded my mind after the sentence was passed. To be honest, I was nervous as I didn’t know how jail was going to be since I’d never been in custody in a correctional centre.

Amidst all my thoughts, I told myself that I was not going to compromise our people’s direction and purge contempt. I told myself that I had an oath to uphold our land and our people.

My oath partly states for me to “accept the guidance of our Creator and abide by the traditional values of our people, such as our role of being stewards of the land.”

I knew we all missed our homes and families but we did what we believed in our hearts was right. We served 68 days out of the 184–day sentence and were released on May 28, 2008.

Would I do it all over again? This is a question that will have to wait as our dispute with Platinex is not over yet and the company still holds their legal right to commence drilling. To date Platinex has not attempted to mobilize.

Over the year since our release, we still hold the position of no drilling on our traditional lands. We have initiated negotiations with the Province of Ontario that we be an equal partner with our traditional lands and resources through a KI-Ontario co-governance process.