In the first evening lecture, Miles Howe spoke about the anti-fracking movement that occurred in New Brunswick. Focusing primarily on the Elsipogtog First Nation, he discussed the Aboriginal resistance and the clash between the Mi’kmaq Warriors and the RCMP. While Howe’s story occurred in 2013, he went back to the 1700s as he believes that the encroachment of the French and British on unseeded Indigenous territory provides context for the upset and discontent that Aboriginal peoples currently have. Then, Howe outlined how hydraulic fracturing came to New Brunswick in 2009, without public knowledge. For this reason, many New Brunswick citizens reacted through various forms of protest including rallies, petition, vandalism, and blockades. However, the bulk of Howe’s lecture was focused on the Elsipogtog First Nation and the Mi’kmaq Warriors and their clash with the RCMP. Howe spoke negatively about the RCMP officers stating …show more content…
For both Aboriginal peoples and non-Aboriginal citizens of New Brunswick one of the largest problems was the failure of a democratic system. Howe made a bold statement that the democratic process is not longer here to serve the people but rather to serve the corporations. However, this statement can be backed up by the fracking situation. During the whole process, several local governments did not feel as if they were being heard when it came to decisions regarding shale gas (“N.B. deaf,” 2013). For example, in Kent County the vote for a moratorium on shale gas exploitation resulted in a 14 to 1 vote against it (“N.B. deaf,” 2013). However, this vote was not taken into consideration by the provincial government. Regarding the Aboriginal peoples, long before the anti-fracking movement, First Nations leaders had been raising concerns about the lack of consultation with government and industry before developments went ahead (Schwartz & Gollom,