|
Buffalo River Dene Nation |
Geography:
Buffalo River Dene Nation is located in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada, and comprises a territory of 8,259 hectares.
People:
Population
It has a total population of 956 registered members, of which 510 are presently residing at the reserve. The Dene Nation is seriously threatened mostly because of the loss of between 60 and 80% of their inhabitants since the arrival of colonial powers within their traditional territories.
They are part of the larger group of the First Nation Dene. Once a thriving community of 250,000 people, the Dene has lost between 60- 80 % of their population due to a prolonged period of suffering.
With the European colonization and settlements came a gradual erosion of the indigenous peoples’ traditional way of life, and social, economic and cultural disintegration ensued. While epidemics and disease wiped out large parts of the community in earlier parts of Dene history, today the people endure the effects of structural unemployment, chronic poverty, political powerlessness as well as governmental, corporate and military oppression.
Language
Dene and English (as a second language).
Religion
Traditional and Roman Catholic.
History
The Birch Narrows First Nation are Dene who were originally part of the Peter Pond Band. They divided, in early 1972, into the Birch Narrows First Nation and the Buffalo River Dene Nation. Most of the Birch Narrows Dene Nation land lies adjoined to the Buffalo River Dene Nation, about 100 miles southwest.
European contact brought with a gradual erosion of access to their land base, which in turn caused fundamental changes in their social and economic way of life. As a result, the Dene people were gradually forced into artificial communities.
Events that occurred in the past, and which influenced their nation were: epidemics and diseases which killed 60 to 80% of the population; residential schools which took as many as four generations of Dene children away from their families and raised them in institutions; drug and alcohol abuse which grew to epidemic proportions as people tried to numb the pain of chronic unemployment, poverty, political powerlessness, and personal despair.
The result of all this was the loss of sovereignty, and the Dene people lost the power to manage their social and economic destiny. The crisis deepened for several decades until the 1990’s.
Organizations:
The BRDN NGO was formed in 2003 as a non-profit organization with eight distinct organs, including a Board of Elders, a Legal Counsel and a Secretariat based in Switzerland.
The organization’s main aims and objectives are to promote and protect the fundamental human rights of the Dene People, to promote and ensure their spiritual and physical well being, and to support economic self-sufficiency of the Dene Nation.
The BRDN has furthermore proposed to develop, coordinate and implement a program of action referred to as the ‘Dene Recovery and Development Initiative’ (DNRDI). The primary purpose of this program is to advance a legal strategy for their case to be mounted in the International Court of Justice by 2007.
The organization emphasizes that although the legal and advocacy route is an important part of the overall strategy, it does not represent the sole resolution to the problems facing the Dene people. Thus, the DNRDI also seeks to tackle current social problems through a series of proposed initiatives related to education, health and the environment.
Mr. Adelard Blackman, Chairman of the BRDN NGO and Special Emissary of the Buffalo River Dene Nation, frequently attends and participates in meetings held by the various UN bodies to raise awareness and support for issues concerning the BRDN.
Statistics:
Population: 1000
Language: Dene and English
Religion: Christianity
|
