Richard Mollen
October 27, 2011
Unamen-Shipu

"Young people stay here because they don’t have a choice."

Richard Mollen, Innu

For many indigenous people, the end of geographical isolation is an answer to many problems, for others, like Richard Mollen, it raises several questions. Of course, a road would be easier to obtain goods and food at a better price and all year round. It would also make it easier for young people to find employment outside the community and to return often. But would a road turn into a highway of exile? And what would happen to the territory that’s become accessible to all? Would the calm of the lakes and fishing sites be preserved? What about culture? These are all unanswered questions that Richard Mollen’s thinking about.

Close-up of Richard Mollen sitting at the wheel of a parked car. He’s wearing a black coat and cap, as well as glasses. Rocks and coniferous trees are visible from the window.

Richard Mollen

According to the Ministry of... the government, in 2014 or 2015, we would probably be connected to the rest of Quebec. Because, right now, we... there’s no, no road that reaches here. It's... Access to here is by plane or boat only. Or in winter, we can come on snowmobile. The remainder of the time, we're completely isolated.

Change in film shot. We see a close-up of Richard Mollen.

Interviewer

What would be the bright side?

Richard Mollen

Well, on the bright side... I'd say that you'd be able to shop elsewhere than here. It's so... We're so far away that prices here are exaggerated. If, if I... Look... The day when it will be accessible, if I say, “Today...” I say, “I want to go do the groceries.” I can go grocery shopping either at the market in Natashquan, which is rather big, but in Havre-Saint-Pierre, it's even bigger. So, you, you probably know that a supermarket is, is much cheaper. There are more specials than... than a little village convenience store eh, in a village where you’re not connected. Y’know, the difference in milk here, uh, in town, I'd say that at the supermarket, it's maybe $3 a... a quart of milk. But here in our communities, it's $4-5. Especially since all our food here in La Romaine arrives by boat. We receive our food once a week. All the equipment we buy is received once a week. But the boat transporting these goods stops in the first week of January and starts again in the first week of April, so we’re three months without service. The stores must make supplies.

Interviewer

Are you afraid that once Route 138 reaches here, that the young people will leave the community to join Sept-Îles or Havre-Saint-Pierre, or Natashquan, or, uh...?

Richard Mollen

It's not... it's not a fear, it's going to be a reality. There aren’t even any jobs in our community. Nothing is being done to encourage young people to stay here. Okay, the young people stay here because they have no other choice, I'm saying. They have no money to leave, to go to other centres. The day the road opens, any youth who, who wants to leave and go to Sept-Îles, will go by the side of the street and hitch a ride. Look, he'll leave the very same day. He can... he can come back that very same night eh. That's what's going to be different. But, by having access to the road, perhaps the young people who are in the community and who don’t want to move away to work, will be able to do so because they’ll also be able to return.

The windshield is covered with rain and the wipers operate intermittently. Through the windshield, you can see rocks and coniferous trees. In the rear-view mirror, the reflection of Richard Mollen's eyes is visible.

It’s very difficult to leave a community to which you’re very attached. Family ties are very strong among Indigenous people. What the road will bring us... We're going to receive... we're going to have lots of visit from people we don't know. Tourists are going to come, and might want to create something, to create a company? But they’ll also... We’ll be allowing access to our territory. When you think about it, it's a territory that belongs to us, I would say, that's unknown to the rest of the world. If... When the road reaches here, we’ll pass over lakes, bodies of water, where we go fishing and hunting. Then, anyone will be able to bring their boat and wander on our rivers, and fish, and.... Y’know, we're going to have, we're going to have more visitors.

The camera turns to the right. The window on the passenger side is covered with rain. The window is lowered to show the landscape: coniferous trees in the distance, low vegetation and rocks near the car.

But, as I said, on the road, we're, we're going to get a lot of people that we don't know. Who will come here? What will they do here? Uh... Security will also be compromised a little bit. We feel safe here. But, you open the door... Who says that at some point, a lunatic won't come to our community, take a little kid and leave with him? How do we know that won't happen?

In the distance, there’s a lake.

[…]

Sequence change. The moving car lets the landscape scroll by. Some tents appear through the spruce trees.

Interviewer

What are all the tents we see along the road there?

Richard Mollen

Those are, those are tents that... when there was... when they built the road. The Indigenous people, the Innu of our region, wanted to be surrounded by nature, huh? Being stuck in a village, when you have access to a road, they can isolate themselves a little bit from the community. It's, it's like that tent over there. It's like being in the woods, in nature, how we once lived. That’s... That's what I think the Innu are looking for... searching for, by setting up their tents like that. They want to return to the past when they felt good. Today, I’m sure that there are many people, many elders who are aware of our reality. Who... say to themselves, “Back in our day, it was like that.” That's why they set up their tents like that, to continue their traditional activities. Because it seems to me that... they must forget some of their worries when they're in a tent. In a tent, you have nothing to think about. You're in the woods. Sometimes people don’t have a phone, don’t have a TV. You... You’re far from societal problems. You're in the woods. You have to provide for yourself. You have to work, you have to.... Y’know... Work forces us to forget a little about our, our worries.

Megan Lukaniec. Louis-Karl Picard-Sioui. David Sioui
February 15, 2011
Wendake

"Our language reflects a different way of thinking."

Megan Lukaniec, Wendat

You don't necessarily have to live in a remote area to live in isolation. This can happen in the midst of urban development, such as in Wendake, a suburb of Quebec City. Over centuries of continuous contact with another culture, the Huron-Wendat community has seen part of its identity eroded and is now working to rebuild it. At the heart of this process is the rebirth of its language, because the language of a people expresses its unique way of thinking through its words and grammar. To revive it is to follow in the footsteps of its ancestors.

Interview with a group of young adults from Wendake. A picture of them graces the sound of their voices.

Megan Lukaniec

I would just like to raise the point on language, because I'm biased. I'm working on language, but it's like France said earlier... Yes, that we’ve... We've lost our language, but we're reviving it. And the other nations are also losing their languages. That's what... We've experienced a lot of things, events which perhaps occurred before other Indigenous nations, because of our geography, our location. And I think it should be part of the exhibition. Like... how we rebuild our culture, our traditions and our language. And how this is done, when you’re surrounded by a dominant society. It's a special case. It's not... It's not something that happens every day. Well um, at least I think what we do with the Wendat language isn’t something that’s done every day... It's... We're rebuilding a language that hasn't been spoken for 150 years. No one speaks it... we only have documents... we don't have phonetics. We don't have anyone to tell us the exact pronunciation. But we have the interest of the community. Why? It's not like...There'll be another place to visit where, and we'll be able to talk in Wendat. It must first happen in Wendake. It's not like a language of, of...

Louis-Karl Picard-Sioui

We're not going to use it at Wendake Beach right!

Megan Lukaniec

Yeah. Right!

Louis-Karl Picard-Sioui

No one speaks Wendat at Wendake Beach.

Interviewer

But now I'm trying...

Louis-Karl Picard-Sioui

Wendake Beach exists y’know! Well yes! It’s like Palm Beach. Wendake Beach.

Interviewer

I'm trying to bridge the gap between what you just stated about the language and what was being discussed earlier, ok, the union of values, etc. I wonder what does the Wendat identity mean to you nowadays, uh? We talked about blood bonds, earlier. We're talking about language. We talked about values. What is it today? Where does it stand? When we stated that there are requirements, uh, dictated by, uh, by the government or by... others, to state, uh, “You belong to the nation. You don't belong...” What would be your criteria, regarding being Wendat?

Louis-Karl Picard-Sioui

I don't think there are two people in the community who completely agree on this subject. [Laughter]

David Sioui

We agree on that!

Louis-Karl Picard-Sioui

We agree that people don't agree. No, but that's how it is.

Megan Lukaniec

Well, I think it’s mainly people who are rebuilding the Wendat identity. Because, often... as in past generations, in my family, there was a great loss of this identity. It's like my grandmother who told me, “When we went out dancing, we didn't say we were Indians, because nobody would want to dance with us eh, with me and my sisters. We didn't say anything about it. If we were able to..."

Louis-Karl Picard-Sioui

I would have danced with her!

[Laughter]

Megan Lukaniec

I'll pass on the message to my grandmother. If I understand correctly... You would go dancing with her. [Laughter] No, but that's it… it's like…the attitude towards it has changed a little as well. Because it's certain that in the past, being Indian, being Indigenous, it wasn't a good thing, but I think it’s no longer that way. We’re more and more... accepted as we are, and our desires, our interest in… our heritage has changed as well. So that’s it. I think that language is an integral part of that, of what we’re talking about, what we’re doing, we’re reincorporating... Because, if I go to an exhibition, there should be words in Wendat or expressions in Wendat accompanying the text given. Because, otherwise, it won't showcase the flair of my people. That's what will be missing.

David Sioui

Because, at the same time, what I’ve noticed when you, uh, when you speak the language, it’s that it connects us to stories from our past, to our way of thinking, which is different...

Megan Lukaniec

Yeah! Yeah.

David Sioui

...you also explain this in depth during class...

Megan Lukaniec

Yeah!

David Sioui

... that we had a different way of thinking, and how... how the words are placed reflects that.

Megan Lukaniec

Yes, that's right. All, all the grammar, the semantics, behind expressions. It shows us that exactly. It makes us discover... rediscover, uh, the thoughts of our ancestors somewhat. That's it.

David Sioui

Ways of seeing the world.. values.

Megan Lukaniec

Yes, yes. It's like with relatives. It's always the oldest person who’s like the officer and the youngest person, the patient. So, it's somewhat like subject-object; respect for elders, which is really part of grammar. So, uh, that's what I find interesting. And I think that should be part of our knowledge as a people, too, to retrieve that knowledge.