Members of several First Nations around the Prince Albert area are raising concerns about work the forestry plans to do near Historical Sites. The Ministry of Environment’s Island Forests 2022-2042 Forest Management Plan includes logging in areas around Holbien and Crutwell.
The Lower Hudson House is located about 35 kilometers west of Prince Albert and was the first Hudson’s Bay trading post located on the North Saskatchewan River. The forestry plans on logging in areas close to the Lower Hudson House, which could potentially cause irreversible damage.
“There’s so much to be learned yet, it was obviously a gathering place for First Nations long before Europeans showed up, so there’s a pre contact history there in and around the whole area,” explained Consultation Facilitator Dave Rondeau.
The area where the forestry plans to build the access trail was once a path travelled by Indigenous Peoples, leading to multiple forts and posts associated with European fur traders.
During the smallpox epidemic which took place from 1781-1783 there were at least three First Nations wiped out, the U’Basquia, Beaver, and Pegogamow which raises concerns now about burial sites being disturbed.
“Those people were buried right near the fort itself and the other encampments, well they just perished off out in the forest and the hills around the Lower Hudson House,” said Rondeau. “And this isn’t speculative, this is fact.”
Rondeau and several members of Sturgeon Lake First Nation met with the Ministry of Environment to discuss their concerns around the work that will be done near Holbien and Crutwell. The Ministry of Environment stated that they don’t intend to destroy any cultural sites and plan to work at a sustainable level.
Members of First Nations also expressed concerns over traditional medicine gathering and hunting for future generations in those areas.
As of now the Ministry of Environment hasn’t said if they will re-evaluate the work they plan to do in those areas, but it’s still early in the consultation process.