In July, I spent 12 days in Mistissini as part of my internship with the Department of Justice and Correctional Services (DOJCS) at the Cree Nation Government (CNG). Mistissini is one of the eleven Cree Nations of Eeyou Istchee, about a 9-hour drive north of Montreal. Tim Parr (the Coordinator of Strategic Management for the DOJCS) and I drove to Mistissini to attend the Annual Council Board meeting of the CNG and to help set up for the Cree Summer Games, where youth from across Eeyou Istchee travelled to Mistissini to compete in athletic competitions and attend workshops and community events. This was my first time in Mistissini and I was very grateful for the opportunity to spend time there. Every evening I wrote about what I had done and learned that day, so I could remember and reflect on my experiences. Here are short excerpts from my journal entries. I also include some after-the-fact reflections.
July 14, 2024: Drove to Mistissini today. I’m sitting on the front steps of the Triplex where we are staying. It’s a beautiful evening with a breeze, and dogs are barking in the distance. I can see Lake Mistassini, which I learned is the largest freshwater lake in Quebec. The landscape here is beautiful. I am excited to go on a walk tomorrow and explore the community.
July 15, 2024: I walked to work this morning, which took about 20 minutes. There were stray dogs wandering around which made me a bit nervous, but I mostly avoided them. I had coffee and breakfast with people who work at the Mistissini Justice Building. We then helped set up for the first day of the Cree Summer Games. I met a lot of new people today and I hung out with some kids from Mistissini. One young girl gave me a friendship bracelet.
- Reflecting on this entry: I grew up in a large city, where seeing a dog walking around without a leash is rare. I’m not used to interacting with dogs, so I was understandably nervous when I first got to Mistissini and was often approached by dogs who were off-leash. My immediate assumption was that these dogs were stray and potentially dangerous. While I was walking around one day with someone from Mistissini, I learned that most dogs in Mistissini have owners or are taken care of by community members. What I assumed to be a “problem” of stray dogs was actually just a different way of treating and raising animals within smaller communities. Since leaving Mistissini, I have learned that there is a larger and more systemic problem across Indigenous communities where rescue groups from outside of communities will take dogs whom they consider to be stray, removing them from their homes.1 The advocacy group “Save Rez Dogs” supports animal protection in Indigenous communities, working to build support and resources for dogs within communities themselves.2
July 20, 2024: I am sitting on a dock looking over Lac Gilbert in Chibougamou. I’m halfway through the 9-kilometre Tour du Lac hike. So far, I have only bumped into one other person on this hike. I found a small private beach to go swimming in. The water is so calm. Tonight, we are going to a “stag and doe” engagement party in Mistissini, which someone from work invited us to.
- Reflecting on this entry: All Cree communities in Eeyou Istchee are “dry” communities, meaning that alcohol cannot be bought and sold in the community, due to by-laws enacted by the Cree Nation Government. The exception, however, is that people can apply for personal liquor licenses when they are hosting parties for special events, such as a “stag and doe.” After attending this party, I reflected on the common practice within the Canadian criminal legal system of policing and criminalizing alcohol use. One of the clients I wrote a Gladue report for this summer has been institutionalized since the age of 13, around the time when he first developed an addiction to alcohol. The vast majority of his criminal record consists of breach of condition charges for drinking alcohol. Often, Indigenous peoples are required to remain abstinent from alcohol or drugs as a condition of release, yet are provided with little to no support to address the root causes of their substance use. This client shared how he feels that abstinence conditions are traps designed to further criminalize Indigenous peoples, who experience higher rates of substance use in their communities due to the inter-generational effects of colonialism and discriminatory state policies. This leads to a cycle of incarceration and lengthy criminal records for many Indigenous peoples, due to engaging in an activity that is legal across Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada has recognized that, in the context of bail, imposing abstinence conditions on individuals who have substance dependencies may serve to “punish them for [..] recognized health concerns.”3 Despite this, sentencing judges and the Parole Board of Canada continue to consistently impose alcohol abstinence conditions, in particular for Indigenous peoples.
July 23, 2024: Today, we were given a tour of Lake Mistassini and took a boat to visit a 10-day land-based program for youth run by the Community Justice Officer in Mistissini. The youth, mostly teenagers, are camping on a small island where they canoe, fish, and prepare their own meals for the entire 10 days. We ate fresh walleye for lunch, which one of the teenagers had caught and cleaned that morning. There were a lot of puppies running around the island, enjoying the sun and rolling in the dirt. This evening, I went on a walk through the Mistissini walking trail.
July 24, 2024: Today was a big day. I’m too exhausted to write much, but here are a few things we did:
- Drove to Chapais to attend the Annual Council Board meeting of the Cree Nation Government. The Grand Chief and the Chiefs of each community of Eeyou Istchee were present. I listened to discussions about ongoing and future projects for the Cree Nation Government, such as the development of a Cree judiciary. The Grand Chief, Mandy Gull-Masty, discussed the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision affirming the validity of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families. In discussing the future of child welfare in Eeyou Istchee, she referenced a legal memo I wrote about laws that impact Indigenous youth, which I was proud to be involved in.
- I ate goose meat for dinner, which someone from work generously dropped off.
- Donald Nicholls, the Director of the DOJCS, came for a visit at the Triplex we’re staying at this evening. A question was posed as to what a “Cree prison” would look like. I reflected on what it means for a self-governing Indigenous nation to consider developing its own version of a colonial legal tool, such as a prison.
July 25, 2024: Tonight is our last night in Mistissini. I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own bed (instead of an air mattress!), but I will be sad to leave. I’m grateful that I spent 12 nights here. I am very appreciative of everyone that I met while I was here, who welcomed me into this community, allowed me to learn from them, shared stories with me, and invited me into conversations about what justice can and should look like. Tonight, Donald Nicholls, Tim Parr and I went on a drive through Mistissini. We went wild blueberry picking. I’m watching the sunset before going to sleep.
- See Willow Fiddler, “A healthy rez dog means a healthy community: Advocates working to bring vet care to Indigenous communities” (19 August 2024) online: The Globe and Mail https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-a-healthy-rez-dog-means-a-healthy-community-advocates-working-to-bring/. ↩︎
- See Save Rez Dogs, online: https://saverezdogs.com/ ↩︎
- R. v. Zora, 2020 SCC 14 at para 92. ↩︎