By Ryan Silke -- Work in progress: aboriginal people and the mining sector
"In the mining future of the north, we must not overlook the large native population already resident here. In these people, already acclimatized to northern living, we have one of our greatest resources.” Colin Macdonald, Discovery Mine manager, 1966.
Since the early years, the Northern mining industry has hired aboriginal people. Sahtu men were out staking and selling claims around Great Bear Lake in the early 1930s. “Not only are they blocking in large areas of ground, but they are collecting samples as they go,” wrote author and prospector Fred Watt. “Their interest in geology, sketchy though it may be, is filled with the greatest of enthusiasm.”
During the original Yellowknife gold rush, dozens of greenhorn prospectors arrived who didn’t have the skills to succeed in the bush. Aboriginal people were there to assist. Mines needing fresh meat looked to native hunters to harvest it. Dene men cut logs for boilers and packed supplies on dog teams. Johnny Baker was particularly thankful to the native men who helped him build cabins and the wharf at Yellowknife’s first gold prospect, the Burwash Mine, in 1935. Mineral activity, as strange and foreign as it seemed, allowed aboriginal participation in a new economy, just as the fur trade had. Despite ongoing challenges, mining companies in the NWT and Nunavut made positive strides in the 20th century and continue to show improvement.
The Byrne family recognized the value of aboriginal labour and the Rayrock uranium mine north of Behchoko had a large aboriginal presence. Tlicho families set up a tent community on the opposite side of Sherman Lake. They were expert woodcutters and could be found on surface work crews.
In 1958, the vocational wing of Sir John Franklin high school in Yellowknife was established. Government hoped to use it to educate aboriginal people in mining trades, and looked to mining companies for help. The Con mine offered to bring on four Dene students in 1959 and teach them the art of underground mining. The mine also hosted underground tours during a 1959 prospecting school for aboriginal men who were learning the basics of claim staking and geology. While the intent of these programs was to acclimatize participants to careers in mining, there was little follow-through by government until the 1970s. At the time, it was personal initiative that drove aboriginal participation in gold mining: Sahtu-born George Blondin worked at Giant Mine for 20 years and was, by all accounts, an exceptional worker.
The Pine Point lead-zinc mine was active in promoting aboriginal employment, although it was always a tenuous relationship as nearby aboriginal communities were uncomfortable with the massive project. Nonetheless, significant progress was made. Its mine manager in the 1970s, William Gibney, had a special interest in aboriginal communities because he grew up on an Alberta reserve. “We try to show them that if they are good workers, conscientious and attentive, they can become supervisors in the operation,” said Gibney, referring to the company’s efforts to train aboriginal men as shift bosses in the open pit. Cominco tapped into territorial apprenticeship programs for both Pine Point and Con Mine, and with the commitment of its staff developed several training programs for aboriginal workers. By the end of 1977, Pine Point had 52 aboriginal people on its payroll.
Cominco regularly visited communities on both sides of Great Slave Lake to promote employment opportunities to band councils. Arrangements were also made to fly community leaders to Yellowknife and Pine Point to experience a mining operation and alleviate misunderstandings about working at a mine.
Looking across the Arctic, aboriginal involvement in the industry dates back to the Rankin Inlet nickel mine on Hudson’s Bay in the 1950s. It was short lived, but the mine made incredible progress in using Inuit labour. The same theme carried over into planning for the Nanisivik mine in the 1970s.
Social licensing started in the 1980s, when projects such as Cullaton Lake, Polaris, and Lupin signed socio-economic agreements with the territorial government, guaranteeing Northern employment. Several Yellowknives Dene found long-term employment at these High Arctic mining operations. Colomac signed similar deals with Tlicho communities when it started construction in 1989.
Back then, the standards for community consultation and socio-economic and environmental performance were vastly different. But the record shows that job opportunities were plentiful for those that wanted them and mines were proactive in bringing aboriginal workers into the mining way of life. Ultimately everything is a learning experience. The lessons of the 20th century have guided current industry-aboriginal relations, and these too will evolve in time.
Ryan Silke is an analyst with the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines.
