In Little Buffalo, Alberta, Canada, the Lubicon Cree indigenous people have been battling for three decades for the right to control their lands and hold to account the oil, gas and logging companies that have devastated their environment and destroyed the traditional way of life of the Lubicon Cree.
Canada is now officially supporting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In a public statement on November 12, John Duncan, the federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development said: "Canada has endorsed the Declaration to further reconcile and strengthen our relationship with Aboriginal peoples in Canada."
The test of the government's sincerity will be how it now deals with the outstanding human rights concerns facing Indigenous peoples in Canada. Such as the situation of the Lubicon Cree.
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The impact of oil and gas development on the Lubicon Cree
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than 2,600 oil and gas wells have been drilled on Lubicon Cree land.
This intensive development has taken place against the wishes of the
Lubicon people. There are fears that even more destructive forms of
extraction are planned for the future