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Fighting Innu An Innu family near Sept-Îles is taking on the federal and provincial governments in a legal fight next week in Montreal. On May 20, the McKenzie family will seek a permanent injunction before Quebec Superior Court against both levels of government for failing to stop mining development on their ancestral lands. Quebec lifted a prospecting ban after a big copper and nickel discovery last October, leading to a mad rush by claim stakers. "Our ancestral rights to hunt, fish and trap have been the object of contempt for the past 30 years," said George McKenzie. "Now we're saying, 'That's enough.'"
The battle will be an uphill one. The family's own band council wants to block the injunction, saying that it will jeopardize land claims negotiations. But McKenzie says that most Innu--as well as groups in Montreal, Vancouver and New York--support their case. Many Innu chiefs will be arriving in Montreal next week in support of the injunction. Wayne Hiltz
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