Friends of the Lubicon Alberta (FOLA)

lubicon logo

FOLA is an advocacy group based out of the University of Alberta.  We exist to promote awareness of the plight of the Lubicon and demand compensation for the destruction of Lubicon land and the recognition of the Lubicon’s right to self-government. 

We are working closely with national Friends of the Lubicon, based out of Toronto, who are the chief negotiators for the Lubicon Nation. We have met with Chief Bernard Omniyak and Lubicon elders as well and hope to go back up to Little Buffalo again soon.

The Lubicon Lake Cree of Northern Alberta are a distinct culture that has never ceded their traditional land to the federal or provincial government.  They were overlooked during the signing of Treaty Eight.  This has not stopped the Province of Alberta in leasing traditional Lubicon land for oil and gas development.  The Lubicon Nation has not received a penny of the 13 billion CDN in resources extracted from their land since 1979.  Instead, they have seen their traditional way of life, a bush economy, destroyed by oil and gas extraction.  The federal government refuses to acknowledge the right of self-government of the Lubicon.  There is evidence that the federal government has also negotiated in bad faith with regards to compensation and self-government.  The United Nations has condemned Canada on two separate occasions for the treatment the Lubicon people have received.

How to get Involved:

FOLA has been having many of its planning and organizing discussions online at www.ecope.ca for the past several months. This has allowed us to do a lot of our work without the need for group meetings that are often difficult to arrange given our collective schedules. It also makes our group transparent in the sense that one can quickly get a sense of what we're up to and what we're about by browsing the forums. The Lubicon chief negotiator and main public contact is a member, as well as representatives from allied organizations such as KAIROS and Amnesty International.

Would you like to join our discussions and activities? If so, please go to ecope.ca , register, and then request to join Friends of the Lubicon Alberta . One of our steering committee members will then get in touch with you to welcome you (and verify your identity as a real person) before adding you to the group. Check out the new users forum on how to join FOLA or if you have any other questions, or contact us directly at info@lubicon.org.

 

FOLA meets at the APIRG office every Tuesday. Please contact us for times during summer months.

Links

For more information you can email fola@lubicon.org