Enlighten Xcel

by Nikki LaSorella, C.R.E.E. and WAMM

Our lights come on when we want them to; our refrigerators work; we switch on the television or radio for their version of news. We get our electric bill each month, and it's cheap. But where does this energy come from and at whose expense?

Xcel Energy purchases more than ten percent of its energy from Manitoba Hydro, a province-owned regulated subsidiary of the province of Manitoba. Hydroelectricity, which is considered "renewable" seems innocent enough. However, the damage caused by the nine dams and reservoirs cannot be calculated in dollar amounts. Millions of acres of boreal forest and 3,000 miles of lake and river shoreline have been forever altered. Flight patterns of birds have shifted. Trees, soils, and other organic materials pollute the waters. And, in terms of human rights, the subsistence communities of indigenous peoples dependent upon hunting, trapping, and fishing have been devastated.

In 1977, an agreement negotiated between the governments of Canada and Manitoba, Manitoba Hydro and five Cree nations promised compensation for injury or of loss of life on the waterways. The agreement, known as the Northern Flood Agreement (NFA), called for the removal of debris, the securing of eroding shorelines, and the restoration of burial sites. It promised land exchange. And, most importantly, it called for the "eradication of mass poverty and mass unemployment."

Manitoba Hydro has not lived up to this agreement. Over the years, Manitoba Hydro has tried to extinguish the NFA by offering monetary settlement. Four of the five nations have, under extreme economic distress, ended their treaty rights under the agreement and settled for compensation. Only the Pimicikamak Cree Nation is continuing to wage a courageous struggle for what was promised to them in order to heal and rebuild their community.

As consumers of Xcel Energy, we have an opportunity to support the human rights of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation. See the suggestions below.

WAMM Action

Looking for ways to challenge Xcel Energy's use of electricity produced at the expense of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation? Here are some ideas:

1. Learn more. Come to WAMM's Third Monday Movie, 6:00 p.m., March 19, 2001, St. Martin's Table, 2001 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis. Or, attend the Resource Center's Saturday Morning Coffeehour, 10:00 a.m. on March 10, 2001, Resource Center of the Americas, 3019 Minnehaha Avenue, Minneapolis.

2. Join the consumer campaign geared towards persuading Xcel Energy not to purchase energy from Manitoba Hydro until it operates sustainably from both an environmental and human rights perspective. For more information, contact C.R.E.E. (see below).

3. Support the Xcel Shareholders' Resolution that would require Xcel to use "renewable resources that do not have undue adverse environmental, socioeconomic and human rights impacts upon Pimicikamak Cree Nation and other indigenous peoples."

4. Join the Witness for Environmental Justice vigil each Wednesday through April 25, 2001, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in front of Xcel Energy, 800 Nicollet Mall, downtown Minneapolis.

For more information contact the Campaign to Respect Energy and the Environment (C.R.E.E.)
612-870-3442 (phone)
cree@creecampaign.org
www.unplugmanitobahydro.org