Occupied territories. When we ear about these land lost to political turmoil, we often think about Palestine, Gaza or other far away places. But Anishnabe are living on occupied territories as internally displaced people.
The Algonquin People, or Anishnabe as they call them self, are an Amerindian Nation of Canada. They were once living in the vast laurentian forest of Quebec as a hunter-gatherer society. For the last century, canadian government established reserves trying to...
more »Occupied territories. When we ear about these land lost to political turmoil, we often think about Palestine, Gaza or other far away places. But Anishnabe are living on occupied territories as internally displaced people.
The Algonquin People, or Anishnabe as they call them self, are an Amerindian Nation of Canada. They were once living in the vast laurentian forest of Quebec as a hunter-gatherer society. For the last century, canadian government established reserves trying to settle these nomads, forcing them to rely on the government support to sustain a living.
With the intensified presence of settlers and the desire to pursue traditional activities, some communities left these reserves and squatted on land that was once theirs.
These aboriginals are among the poorest citizens of a country member of the G8, often living conditions not dislike what one can find in some developing countries.
With the loss of land access, the community of Winneway also lost cultural references, language and values. Poverty, unemployment, use of drugs and alcohol, are among social issues that are the foundation of violence and self-destructive habits in native community.
The Anishnabe of Winneway have never given up any rights to their lands. They are excluded from decisions about the use of their traditional lands and it has led to anger and social problems. These negative feeling have been passed to younger generations and result in a broken spirit for the Anishnabe peoples.
There are few modern documents of their daily life.
After having spent many months documenting the Anishnabe community situation, I returned in may 2009, with Amnesty International Canada Francophone and on my own since then, to continue that documentation work. Here's the result, so far, from these reporting, wanting to explore other dimensions, apart from statistics about social issues or folklore imagery.
« less
