Item ASC33172 - Interviews for "Voices from the Odeyak"

• Sound recording

1 audio file (39 min., 35 sec.) : WAV

Item is an audio recording of one of a series of interviews done as research for Michael Posluns' book "Voices of the Odeyak". This is a preparatory interview with Marie Symes-Grehan, the Great Whale Hydro task force assistant from the Cree Village of Whapmagoostui, who acted as a coordinator during the voyage. The conversation starts with them relating news about mutual acquaintances, including comments on Alcoholics Anonymous programs aimed at Indigenous people and an incident with a helicopter that was reported on in the news. Michael Posluns then relates the basis of "Voices of the Odeyak" and what work he's done on it so far. He talks about the campaign to save the Great Whale River, negative press about the Cree circulated by Hydro Québec, and they discuss the the contributions of Doris Delaney, Ian Goodman, and Anne Stewart. Marie then recounts how she got involved with the grassroots campaign to save the Great Whale River and the Indigenous communities around it and her impressions of a memorable night during the trip of the Odeyak to New York, when participants had a "collective breakdown". They then discuss Mary Hines, a long-time grassroots campaigner for many causes, an Indigenous community at [Walliston Lake?] that has been manipulated by the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians, and politics about chiefs and the ensuing problems. The audio drops at 00:32:30, then picks up again speaking about a female reporter and the manipulation of the media by Hydro Québec during the voyage.