Hydroelectric Development in Easterville, Chemawawin

Hydroelectric development in Easterville, Chemawawin began in 1962. By the early 1960s a new era began to emerge in Northern Manitoba with the development of hydroelectric projects. In 1962 the government of Manitoba contacted the Chemawawin Cree Nation asking them to surrender their lands so that the Grand Rapids Dam could be constructed. Subsequent flooding of the land that belonged to the Chemawawin people meant relocating them to Easterville, Manitoba. The Grand Rapids Forebay Administration Committee, or Forebay Committee for short, sent what is known as the "Letter of Intent" or "Forebay Agreement" to the Chemawawin community stipulating a number of promises to them should they decide to relocate. Ultimately the Chemawawin people relocated to Easterville and continue to live there today. The agreements made between the government of Manitoba and the Chemawawin Indian Band are highly disputed in terms of whether the agreements were fulfilled.

The signing of treaties by Northern Indians, in what is known today as Manitoba, began in 1875 when land was signed over to the Queen of Canada. The Chemawawin Indian Band signed Treaty 5 in 1876, significantly reducing their lands to a small reserve portion. Although the Grand Rapids Dam did not come into fruition until over eight decades later, the memory of the loss of land stuck in the minds of the Chemawawin people and played a large role in their hesitation towards the project.

In 1960 the Chemawawin community was small, at about 350 people. Chemawawin was located at the meeting point of the Saskatchewan River and Cedar Lake. The town was relatively isolated, so community members would travel by boat to either The Pas or Grand Rapids for trading. The community members made their living primarily through fishing and trapping. The community was resource-rich, although to some officials of the government of Manitoba it may have seemed that the community was actually quite poor, ultimately justifying the proposal by the government for the relocation of the community to Easterville.

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