Labrador Metis Nation

The Research and Natural Resources department is diverse and integral in defining who the Labrador Metis people are and ensuring a traditional way of life is maintained.

Roland Kemuksigak oversees all projects and activities undergoing in the Natural Resources Department.

Roland Kemuksigak, Natural Resources Coordinator
Phone: 709-896-0592 ext. 241
Fax: 709-896-0594
Email: rkemuksigak@labradormetis.ca

Wayne Russell, Senior Fish and Wildlife Guardian
Phone: 709-960-0407
Port Hope Simpson, NL, A0K 4E0
Email: wrussell@labradormetis.ca

George Morris, Fishery Guardian
Phone: 709-960-0407
Port Hope Simpson, NL, A0K 4E0

Jim Martin, Fishery Guardian
Phone:709-938-7149
Cartwright, NL, A0K 1V0

The Inuit-Metis of Labrador have a strong spiritual connection to the land. Our Aboriginal ancestors have lived off its bounty since the beginning of time. When Europeans first arrived to the shores of Labrador, they encountered an unfamiliar land occupied by people they did not understand. A new nation emerged, built in the spirit of its Aboriginal ancestors - a nation whose people continue to rely upon the resources of the land, the water and the sea.

We have been raised with an Aboriginal perception of the land and the riches it offers. The land is a resource from which we draw the necessities of life. It is not a mere possession to be exploited and pillaged by others. The fish, sea mammals, birds, caribou, forests, minerals and other resources have always been an integral part of our way of life.

It is for this very reason we are adamant on having input into the use of the resources from our land. Our vast knowledge and understanding, gained though years of reliance, can only benefit the social and economic development of our territory. This knowledge and understanding should not be viewed as a threat, but rather as a means to protect, preserve and sustain future development of the land's vast natural resources for generations to come.

Our territory is being threatened. New economic ventures - such as mining and forestry operations, highways and hydroelectric plants - are under way or being promoted.

While we are entitled to respect all levels of government, we are also entitled to be consulted when actions they may take could impair or interfere with our rights. We have to be involved in the management of our natural resources from our lands, and to exercise our communal harvesting rights - free from interference from authorities and under our own management regimes.

Our resources belong to us.

The Inuit-Metis of Labrador have relied upon the resources of the land and the water from time immemorial. Fish, sea mammals, birds, caribou, forests, minerals and other natural resources now form, and have always formed, an integral part of our way of life. Whether inland, on the coast or on the sea, we are in our traditional territory, living our traditional way of life.

The use of Labrador and its natural resources reflects a cultural diversity which has been fused by the use of Inuit traditions and European techniques for living and surviving off the land.

Depending on the season, survival often saw the Inuit-Metis and other Aboriginal peoples migrating to various parts of Labrador. In autumn, we traveled to our trapping grounds and remained there until late winter. In summer, we built houses and boats and by September were ready to return to our trap lines. We lived off the bounties our great land has given us, and we sustained a way of life that will last forever.

Our use of the land was, and remains, distinctly Aboriginal, and in tune with the seasons. These ties to the land and its resources form the core of the Inuit-Metis existence, making us a strong and proud people.

We belong to the land and the sea.