A Cree Woman in Defense of Mother Earth
By Dr. John Bacher & Danny Beaton

At the Montreal press conference Diane Reid, denounced the Peace of the Braves as "an agreement signed exclusively by men blinded by money and power."

This insight was developed by the veteran Cree journalist and broadcaster, Diane Reid. Wearing a traditional Cree dress, Reid related in three languages the concern of her people for the past sacrifice of the Eastmain, and planned destruction of the Rupert River.

She then sang a moving prayer, with her traditional drum, in honour of her late grandfather, whose trap line encompassed both shores of a segment of the Rupert River. Her song urged the "sacred waters" to "come into my heart."

Reid, who played a major role in stopping both James Bay Two and dams on the Arun River in Nepal, began her journalism career with CBC North in 1974. In her position with the National Aboriginal Communications Society from 1979 to 1989, she played a major role in establishing 11 native radio stations in Quebec and also fostered aboriginal broadcasting in South America, Australia and New Zealand. As the official representative of the Cree Nation, her campaign against James Bay Two took her to 20 countries.

For Reid, the anniversary of the Peace of the Braves, although described by Cree leaders Ted Moses and Matthew Coon Come, as "a great accomplishment" is not "a cause for celebration", since it was accompanied, "by the destruction of rivers."

"The Peace of the Braves created the first major difference of opinion in modern times in the history of the Cree Nation. We had for many decades shown a unity of strength and strong determination to protect the earth. This united commitment to defend our ancestral lands gave us a major impact. It was shown in Quebec, Canada and on the international stage, although we are a nation of only 12,000 people.

"In the election for Grand Chief this summer, almost 50% of the Crees voted for a candidate in opposition to Ted Moses, Matthew Mukash, who ran largely in opposition to the diversion. Ted Moses was only elected by 28 votes. Now even families are divided.

"What do you do when you oppose half your nation? I ask myself that question many times. I do it because I have a conscience. I do it because of my responsibilities to my ancestors and to the spirits of the water, which have called me to defend it.

"People may say that I am an urban Cree. But that doesn't change my responsibility to the air and the water...The only thing I have is prayer, for my people, for the rivers, the land and for their protection."

Reid sees the Peace of the Braves as a monstrosity signed by men. None of the Cree chiefs who signed the deal after three weeks of secret talks were women- nor were any of the signatories from Quebec. She called upon "all the women of the world, since the women in our community, in our tradition are the water carriers, who carry it in a sacred manner. All women around the world should rise up and take responsibility for water."

There is already some sign that Reid's call for women to take actions to save the threatened rivers of the wild northeast is having an impact. The National Council of Women, one Canada's oldest national women's groups, with a distinguished record of protecting the environment going back well over a century, is considering at its upcoming convention an important resolution. It resolves that, "mega dams should not be built in Canada's north as sources of electricity."

Both Reid and the National Council of Women have condemned the inadequacy of environmental assessment processes by the federal and provincial governments, which are being used to review the Rupert River diversion.