The peoples of Fort McKay have a plan and continue to work towards a partnership with the dozens of corporations and mines which extract oil from the Alberta Tar Sands area. The tar sands completely surround the small town of Fort McKay, lying within 6 km of the town in any direction. They are essentially cut off by industrial development from their traditional lands. Rather than host violent protests, they are seeking to work with industry and have helped organize a panel discussion:

“The Fort McKay First Nation (FMFN) and the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) are bringing together industry experts in Oil Sands and Energy, Aboriginal Economics and Issues, and the Environment…”

Aside from awareness and a sharing of aboriginal perspectives, I am unsure what goals this panel discussion hopes to achieve. I believe that awareness and sympathies from outside of Fort McKay will be needed to help persuade industry to hear the collective voices of the aboriginal peoples of Fort McKay. A path forward which includes honouring treaties with First Nations of the McKay peoples seems like a simple choice to me (an outsider and non-aboriginal person), however, the push to make money, whatever the political or environmental cost, is a powerful force that cannot be taken lightly.

Mel Burgess.