Mushkegowuk Council 27th Annual Mamowihitowin

Resolution No. 2012-09-12

Attawapiskat First Nation

Kashechewan First Nation

Fort Albany First Nation

Moose Cree First Nation

Taykwa Tagamou

Chapleau Cree First Nation

Chief Derek Stephen Kashechewan First Nation

Christine Kataquapit, Proxy Attawapiskat First Nation

Missanabie Cree First Nation

Certified copy of a resolution passed on September 14, 2012

September 14, 2012

Taykwa Tagamou Nation

Mushkegowuk First Nations Demand Partnership or Cancellation of Proposed Ring of Fire Mines

WHEREAS the mines proposed by Cliffs Resources and Noront in the so­called Ring of Fire area will impinge on the sacred ancestral lands of the Mushkegowuk First Nations; and

WHEREAS the proposed mines are being put forward without seeking or obtaining the consent of the Mushkegowuk First Nations, contrary to our inherent Aboriginal rights and our Treaty rights; and

WHEREAS this Mamowihitowin of the Omushkego reaffirms the moral and legal obligation of government and industry to obtain Omushkego consent for development affecting our lands and resources, as agreed to in the Treaty; and

WHEREAS the Cliffs and Noront mines would benefit many economic and governmental interests, but there has been no significant discussion or engagement by the federal and provincial governments and the mining companies about how the proposed Ring of Fire mines could benefit the Mushkegowuk people and could

potentially be developed in partnership with the Mushkegowuk people, whose lands and territories and communities would otherwise suffer decades of negative effects from the mines; and

WHEREAS the Mushkegowuk Council has for more than a year sought serious engagement and a real commitment from the federal and provincial governments and from Cliffs and Noront to have our lands and rights protected and to have the Mushkegowuk First Nations share the benefits of proposed economic development that impinges on our lands, but the companies and the government have not taken the Mushkegowuk First Nations seriously;

the lands of which the Creator made us stewards.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Mushkegowuk Council First Nations express their urgent demand that all mining activities by Cliffs and Noront on First Nation lands immediately cease, and that all government approvals and permits be frozen and eventually cancelled, unless Cliffs and Noront, and the federal and provincial governments, begin and commit to serious, good faith, engagement and negotiations with Mushkegowuk First Nations, with the intention of obtaining the informed and considered consent of the Mushkegowuk First Nations, and of providing the Mushkegowuk First Nations with a fair and generous share of the benefits of the proposed mines (such as revenue sharing, equity ownership, and other benefits), and real participation in monitoring and control of the mining operations, so as to protect