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Rodney Laliberte – Green Lake A land Claim to recognize a stolen history
Rodney Laliberte – Green Lake
A land Claim to recognize a stolen history.
Rodney Laliberte is the Mayor of the Northern Village of Green Lake and a lifelong Cree/Metis resident of Treaty Six. Mayor Laliberte talks about the history of Green Lake and the stories of elders who claim that an ‘Indian reserve’ existed in this location. The research by local residents found land titles that local families had ownership before 1905. In creating the Province of Saskatchewan, the jurisdiction of the Treaty was to be protected by the Federal Government.
The signing of Treaty Six in 1876 at Fort Calton involved many Bands except Big Bear and Poundmaker who were opposed to signing treaties. The story of a Green Lake chief who was involved in Treaty Six negotiations with Ahtahkakoop and Mistawasis was Rodney’s Grandfather Pierre Laliberte.
The evidence of the 1878 copy of Treaty Six and subsequent treaty payments at Fort Carlton proved that Chief Kahopahawakinum (Pierre Laliberte) and 14 families were present. Green Lake, being the center of transportation on the Beaver River and connection to the Saskatchewan River by the Green Lake /Fort Carlton trail was a gathering place. The documented history of the Roman Catholic Church and the Hudson Bay Company in this area is critical in proving the occupation of the Cree/Metis of Green Lake.
Rodney's education experience in Green Lake was to remove the Cree language and the history of the people who lived there. In his language, he describes how this process was designed to steal the land and its resources and erase the history for colonial purposes. The government surveyed the lands and created titles on lands that were to be set aside for the people of Green Lake. The mayor believes that researching this history will prove that we have an ‘Indian Land Claim’ worth pursuing.
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