An unfortunate incident has occurred in Labrador. Though Labrador is an integral part of the province of Newfoundland, it is located on the mainland near Quebec, in eastern Canada. An endangered herd of caribou exists there, known as the Red Wine herd. The area in which it occurs has been declared off limits to hunting by the provincial Department of Natural Resources, in order that this herd may be allowed to regain population strength. Quebec Innu have disagreed with this provincial order, and have registered this disagreement by illegally hunting these animals.

In March, because of this breach of provincial law, officers confiscated caribou carcasses and a number of guns. In protest of this action, Innu hunters from Quebec came into the area of the Red Wine herd, and again, slaughtered over thirty of these animals, leaving some in defiance of the law, and taking some back home with them. They did so at a time when the provincial conservation officers were off work, due to a strike over a labor dispute. Therefore, the herd, which was thought to have numbered around 100 animals, has been cut down by first, some 34, and then in protest, over 30 more.

The action is not universally supported by other Innu people in Newfoundland and Labrador, and in Quebec. The concept of necessity of conservation of the herd by prohibition of hunting is a cultural pattern widely accepted by non-native inhabitants.

Some native people apparently also support such an action. After the confiscation of guns and animals by conservation officials, Innu demanded a meeting with the premier of Newfoundland, and are offended that such a meeting has not yet taken place. Their second illegal hunting action is a direct statement by them of their dissatisfaction with this situation of power over the land and the game and those who use it.

This culture clash hurts Innu, in that their aboriginal rights to hunt may be further curtailed through legal actions taken due to these incidents. It has become a case of power defined and refuted, and redefined, so that the chances of negotiation are lessened.

The Red Wine caribou herd has lost some sixty percent of its numbers, but reports are that they may be mingling with another herd nearby. The natural world is never static, and the boundaries made by men are often disputed. No cultural group has a lock on the moral high ground in all cases, and the priorities of conservation versus aboriginal rights to hunt are not soon to be resolved to everyone's satisfaction.

IWMC regrets this situation as much as do the people of Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and we urge all participants to meet as respectful equals in resolving the several disputes that have evidently been going on out in the bush.