It was six in the morning on Tuesday December 5th when my alarm woke me up. I was hitching a ride with the Grand Chief Dr. Ted Moses to go to Waskaganish via Val d’Or. We would be stopping to pick up newly re-elected Member of Parliament Guy St. Julien and a couple of media people from TQS.
Before we even left Montreal the pilots were telling us that Waskaganish might not be possible as there was a storm front coming in.
Moses with a grin said to try anyway and we were off. In Val d’Or it was good news as the ceiling was expected to stay at around 1000 feet. Landing in Waskaganish we were warmly greeted by Chief Robert Weistche and his wife Sherri, who immediately took us out to the road opening ceremony.
I could already hear the pride and satisfaction in Weistche’s voice as he talked about the road. You could tell that it meant something to him.
But when we arrived at the site you could really tell that it meant a lot to the community. I had a chance to see what was dubbed as Waskaganish’s first traffic jam. Because of the cars and trucks lining both sides of the road we had to stop about a kilometer from the place where the ceremony would take place. Walking along, we were warmly greeted by Eeyouch, who would come up to us for hugs and handshakes. There was a feeling of warmth and community spirit in the air. The weather had cleared up a little for us and there was only a light snowfall happening, creating an almost magical look.
The Master of Ceremonies, Charles Hester, got on top of the final mounds of earth to be cleared and called on Sydney Georgekish to make the opening prayer.
Next up was Chief Weistche welcoming everyone to the ceremony amidst cheering and clapping. Weistche talked about the time and energy that it took to make the road happen. “Twenty-five years after the signing of the James Bay Agreement, we will finally be connected to the world,”
said Weistche. He talked about the opportunities the road would be able to provide for the Waskaganish people. “We’ll be able to visit friends and relatives, to shop down south and to have lower prices in our own stores because of cheaper transportation costs, to see Canada or simply to take a drive somewhere,” he said. Weistche also added that with the road comes responsibility, “to our people, our community, our loved ones and to the Cree Nation as a whole,” he said, telling people to drive responsibly.
He thanked the truck drivers, heavy equipment operators, slashers and everyone who made the road possible. He thanked the former Chief Billy Diamond for all his hard work, adding that Diamond would be the first person to drive across the road. He thanked the project manager Martin Derosiers, road coordinator Steve Diamond, Nooskan, Cree Construction and the others who were involved in the road. Weistche ended with asking everyone to drive carefully.
A moment of silence was observed in the memory of both: James Weistche and Jason Diamond. The kilometer 28 tragedy was still echoing in the hearts of Waskaganish residents. Everyone shared in the loss of the community members. There was a feeling of respect, pain, support and the beginning of healing in the crowd. A burden shared in this manner by a community shows how close everyone is to each other. There is love and strength in that.
Deputy Chief Simeon Trapper blessed the road after.
M.C. Charles Hester told the gathering that Grand Chief Dr. Ted Moses was on hand to talk. A warm round of applause started as Moses climbed the mound of dirt. Moses said he was happy to attend a historic moment for Waskaganish. He offered his congratulations to the people and to those who had worked on the project on a “job well done,” and thanked MP Guy St. Julien for his commitment to seeing the road finished, and the Liberals for the funding. He said a 25-year-old promise was finally being fulfilled and that the road brought the Waskaganish people closer to the other Cree communities. Moses said he was proud that the people “built this road for themselves.” He was talking about the fact that the community did the project management and decided on where and how to build it. The road would bring many opportunities said Moses but warned “it will also create problems for those who have their lands along the road,” because of the increase of sports hunters and fishermen. ‘There may be losses of equipment or other things left in the camps near the road,” he said. It is a fact of life that other Cree communities have complained about in the past. Moses would like to see the role of the tallyman management system extend to those hunters coming into the Cree territory.
Moses said that historically the people of Waskaganish “used to be the center of communications for Nemaska, Waswanipi, Mistissini, Neoskweskan and Nitchigan.” Rupert’s House, the old name for Waskaganish, was the first trading post of the Hudsons Bay Company said Moses adding that legend had the inland Crees joined to the Coastal Crees through Waskaganish river.
Moses said the road would bring other Crees and tourists to Waskaganish and that the road would create opportunities for local businesses and help the community to grow. “Let us try to make this road a benefit to all who use it,” he ended.
Moses was stopped before leaving by Santa Claus bearing a gift from Waskaganish. It was a pair of beautifully crafted Moose Hide gloves with a goose embroidered on each one. Pleased, Moses remarked to me after that they felt like the softest gloves he ever had on.
Guy St, Julien got up next and thanked the Crees for voting for him. He said he too was pleased to see the opening of the road and that it was the realization of hard work on everyone’s part. He said he brought the well wishes of the Liberals and congratulations. St. Julien told the crowd that he talks to his boss Jean Cretien and says that the government has to respect the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. “I tell him not 50 per cent but 100 per cent,” said St. Julien to heavy cheering from the Crees gathered there. Santa handed him a gift after also. It was another pair of moose hide gloves. St. Julien told us that it was the first pair he had ever received and he loved them. I noticed him after, offering his old gloves to an Elder who didn’t have any. It was a nice gesture and unseen to others who were around at the time. I didn’t feel that this was something done for political reasons given that.
Soon it was time and the bulldozers were being started up. They quickly demolished the mounds of dirt and the road was ready. The road crews lined up and shook hands as they congratulated each other. “Teamwork, teamwork,” was their rallying cry as spectators clapped and cheered. It was a proud moment for everyone. I felt honored to be there and said to myself that getting up so early is worth the effort to be a part of something like this. It is a moment that becomes a part of you and something that you know is part of the heart and soul of a community. Billy Diamond was the first to drive through and you could see the happiness on his face.
Then we walked through the first real traffic jam in Waskaganish history as people got into their cars, trucks and vans to leave or go to Waskaganish. Remember that kilometer of vehicles I talked about in the beginning, well there were some on the other side of the mounds of dirt. “Looks like Montreal during rush hour,” we all joked.
Back at the airport we were looking at wicked winds and the increasing blizzard that was coming in. We managed to make it out before it hit full force. I couldn’t help but feel the Creator and the land gave Waskaganish a break, a moment in the sun as it were, to see this happen.
