We are
getting in the routine of leaving in the morning around 9 AM, and stopping to
make camp around 5 or 6 PM. It gets dark late: around 10, and light around 5
AM. We have the luxury of abundant daylight. Because the water is low enough
at this time of year, we also have the luxury of camping on sand bars. This
means lots of space to camp, no concerns about starting a forest fire, and
above all, fewer black flies and especially mosquitoes. Even on the beach, once
the sun goes down, the mosquitoes are very annoying. However, in the woods,
where the humidity is higher, and there
is shade and little wind, hordes of mosquitoes are active for much of the day.
People with cabins along the river mow the grass around the cabins: it reduces
mosquito activity.
Bruce's photo of a sunrise on the Athabasca River
The
group is functioning more and more like a group now. I am not sure if we are an
“environmental or other radical group” but that is what our federal Natural
Resources Minister, Joe Oliver, has called people who are concerned about the
tar sands industry (i.e., see something besides dollars).
L to R crouching: Alex, me (Eli), Brittany. Lying down: Willow. (Photo courtesy of Curtis Phillips).
Clifford,
Kelly and Kevin, an uncle and two nephews from the Ministikiwan First Nation in
Saskatchewan, are here primarily because their reserve faces a new oil
development on land adjacent to their Saskatchewan reserve being carried out by
the Onion Lake FN. They are concerned by what this will mean to their homeland.
They tend to hang out together, although they are open to the group. Kevin,
late 30s, is a Cree teacher and grad student in Cree language education. He is very articulate and level-headed, and has a
great sense of humour. He has already been a Band Councillor, and he is a
natural leader. Clifford, in his 40s, is
a calming presence and follower of traditional Cree ways, and is conducting
pipe and other ceremonies during the trip, which are helpful in dealing with
the emotions that the trip is provoking. Kelly, 25, is very helpful and quiet.
Alex,
26, from Edmonton, and Tristan, late 20s, have become a couple recently and are
both very dedicated to environmental and social issues. Alex is intense, an
artist, and has dedicated a lot of her life to activism and causes. She is very
knowledgeable about many issues and activist tactics. Over the trip, she has
started to relax a bit with the group. Tristan is from a farm in Virginia, relaxed
and open, and is a Rutgers University (New Jersey) grad student, taking a more
academic look at how tar sands activism
is taking place. They both have a lot to share with the group. I call Tristan
the “foreign terrorist”, with a nod to Joe Oliver.
Howie,
60, a former IT specialist and a musician, is a long-time canoeing enthusiast from
Toronto and has raised his three daughters to be the same. He is always helping
out, always eager, always has a positive word.
Brittany is the big city girl in the crowd although she did some
canoeing as a teen. From Toronto and now living in New York, she is a photography
grad student. Her inexperience in the bush does not slow her down: she is both refreshingly
unself-conscious, as well as being a good sport. Howie, who has been a family
friend since Brittany was little, is also watching over her. Heather, in her
50s, an administrator with Catholic Social Services, is easy to get along with
and has been plying the group with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of home-made cookies. Her quest on this trip is
to listen to the land and to the river and try to understand what she needs to
be doing to effect positive change in this area.
Bruce,
59, a Métis actor and teacher, is one of the most outgoing and generous people I know. He
has been our social director, organizing singing and dancing and buffet suppers, and getting
us in touch with a person he knows at both ends of the trip. He has seemed a bit “off” on this trip. I imagine it has a lot to do with the
major life changes he is going through: splitting up with his wife of 20 years,
moving across the country and away from his teenage children and leaving his position
with the Canada Council.
Then
there is my dog, Willow. At almost 12, she has been on more wilderness
expeditions than I can count, in all seasons. She is getting arthritic now but
I knew she would want to be on this trip: she loves the water and people, and
has made friends with everyone. Bruce, whose family took care of her for 8
months last year, is especially close to her. I have had to drag her away from
his boat on more than one occasion to get her in my boat. As for me, I am 58, a
high school teacher, wilderness guide and former research scientist, in the process of moving to Kamloops and looking for a teaching position. I had a vision last August,
while in Colombia, that I needed to make this canoe trip. And so I have. I am
filming and photographing the trip and interviewing people along the way. Not
sure where this will lead, but I am confident it will become clear.
We
see less tar sands activity today. We do go by several very large pumping
stations taking water out of the river. Each tar sands project takes 2-3
barrels of water for every one of the 1.5-2 million barrels of oil being
produced in the tar sands every day, leaving it highly polluted. It cannot be
returned to the river so instead it is contained in “tailings ponds” which are
really toxic lakes. These structures which were never meant to be permanent
leak the toxic water back into the
ground water and into the river. The industry states that they recycle water
and they do. But they need an additional 3-6 milion barrels of water every day. That means that 3-6 million barrels of water
are being added to the toxic lakes daily.
Howie and I see a black bear cub running along
a beach. At least I think it is one. Howie says it is a dog. We decide to go to
shore to find out. The tracks in the sand do not lie: a bear cub. Today we
begin to see more wildlife other than beavers: besides the bear, muskrats and
an otter. We have also seen very few birds so far: a few songbirds and a few
eagles.
On
tonight’s sand bar we expect to finally get some peace and quiet. However,
shortly after setting up camp, machinery and lights start up on another oil
sands development about one km downstream. They go all night.
At
tonight’s buffet, I make bannock with chocolate chips for dessert.
Unfortunately, my collapsible wood stove has been put together backwards and so
the small oven space below the fire is not available. Therefore I improvise, burning
the bannock a little. Still, we are camping: it all disappears quickly.
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