Green Green Water Vlog

Justice Seekers of Nelson House

Thu, 03 Nov 2005 04:32:00 CST

Justice Seekers of Nelson House

Carol is the leader of the Justice Seekers of Nelson House, a group that formed after the controversial election of Chief Primrose and the current band council of the Nisichawaysihk Cree Nation (NCN). The Justice Seekers recently "tabled" (which means "publicly presented" in Canada) a petition by hundreds of NCN band members asking the Manitoba government to bring in monitors for the vote over the Wuskwatim Dam. The ATEC Centre she is referring to in this bite is the new Atoskiwin Training and Education Centre of Excellence that was under construction in August of 2004 when we were there. The ATEC Centre is intended to train NCN members in construction trades to "take full advantage of opportunities created by extensive hydro development and other projects that will be taking place in northern Manitoba over the next 20 years".

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Justice Seekers of Nelson House

Thu, 03 Nov 2005 04:31:00 CST

Justice Seekers of Nelson House

Humor amidst sadness. There was incredible humor in these communities. Here a member of the Justice Seekers of Nelson House talks about the impact of their "sewage lagoon", which is allegedly leaking into the community's drinking water and waterways.

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Justice Seekers of Nelson House

Thu, 03 Nov 2005 04:30:00 CST

Justice Seekers of Nelson House

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What makes your community strong?

Fri, 28 Oct 2005 04:30:00 CST

What makes your community strong?

On one of our final days in northern Manitoba we met with a group of Pimicikimak Nation members out on the deck of their tribal offices, this excerpt is from that gathering. The Pimicikimak are the only community to hold out in signing an Implementation agreement with Manitoba Hydro, agreements that effectively terminate their rights under the 1977 Northern Flood Agreement (including the "eradication of mass poverty") for a lump sum of money. In September, the Pimicikimak unanimously rejected a $205 million Implementation Agreement offered by Manitoba Hydro, stating that that agreement was "improper" and Manitoba Hydro should stop wasting its time trying to get them to sell off their children's birthright and stick with the NFA.

www.greengreenwater.com.

Who has the power?

Mon, 24 Oct 2005 04:30:00 CST

Who has the power?

Recorded December 19, 2002 right after the Minnesota Public Utilities commission voted to approve a $1.7 Billion contract between Manitoba Hydro and Xcel Energy. During that meeting one of the commissioners commented to a Band Council member of the Nisichawaysihk Cree Nation that he was a good speaker. This echoed in our heads as something one says to a child after they've given their first speech, not to a community leader. It was as though he had said, "What a good speaker you are little buddy..." So after all of this, we pulled Ken Bradley from ME3 (Minnesotans for an Energy Efficient Economy) aside and asked him about the issue of environmental racism in regard to this situation. Would this have happened in a predominantly white community?

www.greengreenwater.com.

Trailer

Wed, 19 Oct 2005 09:31:00

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Welcome our new visitors! (Thanks, iTunes!)

As an introduction to what "Green Green Water" is all about, here is the 13-minute trailer for the film. We are showing a 95-minute work-in-progress of the film at the City Pages Get Real: Documentary Film Festival on November 5 at 7:30 pm at the Lagoon Cinema in Uptown Minneapolis. If you're in the area, check it out! www.citypages.com/getreal/2005/

We are also searching for distributors, corporate sponsors, and donors to complete this film. If you have any leads, please contact us through the film's website www.greengreenwater.com.
(www.cloudcult.com)

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Editor's Rant

Thu, 21 Jul 2005 09:30:00

Editor's Rant Today's Vlog entry was whipped together by Jamie, our co-director/editor. Jamie got a bee in her bonnet after editing a section of the film highlighting a Minnesota Public Utilities Commission meeting.

Music: 'Ad Brainwash pt. 1' by Cloud Cult from 'Who Killed Puck?'
(www.cloudcult.com)

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Ever stand beneath huge electricity transmission lines?

Tue, 07 Jun 2005 17:30:00

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Ever stand beneath huge electricity transmission lines? It's a pretty surreal experience. After my first trip in December of 2002, I was surprised to hear an incredibly loud humming on all the footage shot under these lines. Apparently the high amount of electricity had effected the way my camera recorded sound. Ken also had problems with the pictures he took with a digital still camera under those same lines. This video is from August 2004 under the same lines (I think). This time we're using a different camera and you can actually hear what we heard standing there...An eerie crackle of electricity. I kid you not, they were honestly that loud. I apologize to Jim, our Director of Photography, for including his voice in this shot. I was chatting away with Erin Stojan of ME3 while he was recording and...let's just say we were annoying Jim. He knew that the crackle was being recorded. Thank you for shutting us up, Jim!

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Carol Kobliski - Justice Seekers of Nelson House

Fri, 27 May 2005 09:10:00

Carol Kobliski
Justice Seekers of Nelson House
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Dr. Peter Kulchyski

Wed, 25 May 2005 09:20:00

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Dr. Peter Kulchyski - Peter's interview was last interview we conducted in Canada. Sometimes I wonder, what is the value of fighting for what you believe in if you lose that battle? I personally don't handle defeat very well. I'm a highly competitive person. But maybe it's not really defeat...To fight for what you believe in is a victory in itself.

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Blackie Island

Tue, 24 May 2005 10:40:00

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Blackie Island - Carol gave us a tour of the island she grew up on. About 2/3 of the island is washed away due the fluctuating waters from dams along the river. Carol's family was forced to leave the island and her father had to burn the family's home to the ground, as well as all the larger trees. There are hundreds of stories like this in other communities including South Indian Lake. At first I was confused about the need to burn the homes and trees. Later I discovered that this was done so that when the initial floodwaters were released by this dam system, there wouldn't be as many big trees and debris floating downstream, creating major navigational hazards. That said, navigational hazards created by the fluctuating waters are still a major problem in these communities.

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The first time you will see me

Thu, 19 May 2005 09:17:00

The first time you will see me (Dawn the director of this film) in the Vlog! I'm the blonde gal. The guy I'm talking with is Ken Bradley of Minnesotans for an Energy Efficient Economy's Just Energy Campaign. We both look pretty serious here, but he's actually a really funny guy. Ken was actually a stand-up comic in a pastlife…Anyhoo, I'm not nearly as funny as Ken in real life, but also not as serious as this segment. Ken has been visiting the northern Cree communities for a few years and was my guide through much of my trip in August.

Regardless, this is about 3/4 of the way through our journey and we pull off the main highway to go to a state park. This was the first time in my life I had been to a completely untouched forest (for you Minnesotan's, no, I haven't been to the Boundary Waters). The floor of the forest was thick with this squishy moss that apparently takes centuries to grow. As we discuss in this clip, this may be an example of what the Nelson and Churchill Rivers looked like BEFORE they were dammed. In the next clip that we post, you'll see what the rivers look like AFTER they were dammed. You can also see that in the trailer for the film which is atwww.greengreenwater.com/trailer.
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Vivian is an Elder in the South Indian Lake community

Tue, 17 May 2005 08:52:00

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Vivian is an Elder in the South Indian Lake community. Translated by Frank Dysart, Vivian remembers her grandmother's predictions for the future of aboriginal people.

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Chief Primrose recalls the impact

Fri, 13 May 2005 09:00:00

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Chief Primrose recalls the impact of the first series of dams on his community, balanced with the financial realities faced by the Nelson House community.

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Chief Primrose and his council support the Wuskwatim Dam project

Thu, 12 May 2005 15:00:00

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Chief Primrose and his council support the Wuskwatim Dam project and want Nelson House to own 1/3 of the project.�In order to do that, they must take out loans and invest millions of dollars into the construction of this new project.�Are there any risks for Nelson House in undertaking this investment?

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Carol is the leader of a group called the Justice Seekers

Wed, 11 May 2005 12:00:00

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Carol is the leader of a group called the Justice Seekers. This group was formed after a controversial band election of Chief Primrose and the current band council. �Here Carol remembers a band meeting where she confronted representatives of Manitoba Hydro, asking them to drink the water that Nelson House residents have to drink.

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Ken Bradley, Minnesotans for an Energy Effiicient Economy (ME3) Just Energy campaign

Mon, 28 Apr 2005 12:00:00

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Ken Bradley, Minnesotans for an Energy Effiicient Economy (ME3) Just Energy campaign: Ken works on a US campaign focused on educating consumers about the impacts of Manitoba Hydro's large-scale dams on people and the environment. Here he answers the questions: Why did the dams built between the 1970's and early 1990's have such a big impact? What makes them different from other dam systems in the United States?

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Glenn Schneider, Director of Public Relations, Manitoba Hydro

Tue, 26 Apr 2005 12:00:00

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Glenn Schneider, Director of Public Relations, Manitoba Hydro: What does Manitoba Hydro think of U.S. activists? How about accusations that rising suicide rates in northern Manitoba are a result of Hydro's dam system?

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On our first night in South Indian Lake

Mon, 25 Apr 2005 12:00:00

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On our first night in South Indian Lake, we were invited to their community feast. This gathering was organized to address the increasing number of suicides in South Indian Lake as this community of under 808 people had just experienced its third suicide within six months.

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DRSIL (Displaced Residents of South Indian Lake)

Wed, 20 Apr 2005 12:00:00

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DRSIL (Displaced Residents of South Indian Lake): DRSIL are a group of former residents of South Indian Lake whose families moved away from their homes when the fishing industry was devastated by hydro development. Because they left South Indian Lake, the members of DRSIL have not received any reparations from Manitoba Hydro.

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Chief John Miswagon, Pimicikamak Cree Nation (Cross Lake, Manitoba)

Tue, 19 Apr 2005 12:00:00

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Chief John Miswagon, Pimicikamak Cree Nation (Cross Lake, Manitoba): This was the beginning of one of the most amazing interviews I've ever been a part of. The Pimicikamak are the only Cree community that has not signed any implementation agreements with Manitoba Hydro, but are instead holding the company to its original treaty, the NFA (Northern Flood Agreement).

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Glenn Schneider, Director of Public Relations, Manitoba Hydro

Mon, 18 Apr 2005 12:00:00

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Glenn Schneider, Director of Public Relations, Manitoba Hydro: This was the beginning of our interview where Mr. Schneider describes what it means to be a "Crown Corporation" and a brief overview of the company.

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