I purchased Elder Tshaukuesh Elizabeth Penashue’s Book the other day. It was released in May. I knew Elizabeth from her unwavering fight for Innu land and culture. She was prominent during the protests, being jailed several times.
Elizabeth began chronicling her time during the protests against low-level flying of NATO countries. During this time her posts were sporadic, but she began to realize how important it was to write down her feelings about events and how they impacted her people land and culture. The Churchill Dam had flooded vast portions of Innu land in 1967-1971. The Innu were not consulted and Innu families lost supplies like canoes and tents which were left in the country over winter. From this event she knew that she needed to fight for her land and culture for the Innu people to be whole.
Innu society functioned best in the country where each person had their roles. In the town site, the society fell apart with its high unemployment,and where their identity as a people wore down. The Innu were among the last people in Canada to be settled in communities by the government and the church during the 1960s.
Elizabeth spoke for Innu rights and land to the seats of power in Canada and in other NATO countries despite her limited English. The development of drones ended low-level flying in 2005, however the fight for the land continued with the development of the the nickel mine in Voisey’s Bay in 2005 and Muskrat Falls Dam in 2013.
Through it all, Elizabeth continues to work by taking people onto the land, children, family , community and outsiders, in her effort to keep the land alive for her people,