The Innu Nation, and the Sheshatshiu and Natuashish Innu first nations have written all MHAs in the House of Assembly to assert their rights to the Churchill River Waterway and to highlight their Impact Benefits Agreement for Gull Island.

The Innu say how their issues are addressed “will have important implications” for their relationship with the province and future development of those lands.

Innu Nation Grand Chief Jodie Ashini says there are “serious and important issues” involving the Innu that have yet to be resolved with government.

Innu Nation Grand Chief Jodie Ashini (VOCM News)

That includes answers from the premier and government on the history of Innu use and occupation of their own territory. Ashini says the premier remains “unwilling to reconsider” the position his government has taken, and instead, will conduct an “independent review of the Provincial Archaeology Office records” to defend how the province arrived at a timeline that’s limited to just 300 years.

Ashini says that response is “not reconciliation” and the history of the Innu in Newfoundland and Labrador cannot be defined by a provincial government timeline.