Kitigan Zibi

51st edition (not state!) coming soon

By Kendall Knowlton

About a dozen years ago, a fishing trip in Kitigan Zibi wound up at the Supreme Court of Canada.

It’s the lead story in ‘Up The Gatineau!’, which was first published 51 years ago.

Gilbert Whiteduck, president of the Gatineau Valley Historical Society (GVHS), and Toby Sanger, another board member who has written for Up The Gatineau! in the past, collaborated on the story. It is about an important case in which the Indigenous community fought the Quebec government up to the Supreme Court of Canada. It took 12 years to fight a $75 fine for illegal fishing, and they spent $2.5 million in the process.

“It’s trying to summarize this case, this very important case. It’s one of many Supreme Court of Canada cases in Canada that came to acknowledge Indigenous rights on, in this case, unceded territory,” explained Whiteduck about the story called ‘A Fishing Trip That Ended Up in the Supreme Court of Canada.’

Whiteduck was a band council member in Kitigan Zibi when it occurred.

He told the Low Down he remembers it happening, and that he remembers how long the case took.

Sanger said he wrote the first draft, and Whiteduck wrote the second.

“I ended up going through more of the legal documents, but Gilbert’s got a good history of it himself,” said Sanger.

Up The Gatineau! includes several other stories including Horses in the Gatineau Valley: A Photo Essay by Randy Kidder, which is a detailed description of horses in history with old photos.

Not only has Whiteduck written a story and become the president of the GVHS, but he also helped change the logo about two years ago, according to Louise Schwartz, director of publications at the GVHS.

She said the logo used to be a broad axe.

“Broad axe representing settlers coming in and taking down all the forests for the logging industry, which was really totally inappropriate if one wants to be inclusive as we should be,” said Schwartz. She told the Low Down that they hired a designer.

No spoilers, but you might find some new information about things like horses in the Gatineau Valley’s past, what settlement in Low looked like in the 1850s or even a story about an outhouse. You’ll have to read it to know more!

This edition will be launched on June 14 at Le Fab sur Mill at 2 p.m. A short ceremony will take place at 2:30 p.m. and refreshments will be served.

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Call for action beyond ballot box

Local Journalism Initiative / The Low Down / May 20, 2025 / Anishinabeg First Nation, Environment, Gilbert Whiteduck, Kendall Knowlton, Kitigan Zibi, Maniwaki, Pontiac-Kitigan Zibi

By Kendall Knowlton

For Gilbert Whiteduck, a recent NDP candidate who ran for the Pontiac-Kitigan Zibi riding on April 28, the recent federal election was about more than just winning – it was about the community.

Despite not winning the riding, there are many issues he said he wants to continue advocating for, such as preserving the environment.

“I will stand with people who stand for the truth, who stand for the protection of the environment, who stand with honesty and goodness in their heart,” he said, adding that there are many pressing issues that need to be addressed.

One of those issues was the voter turnout in Kitigan Zibi, a First Nations reserve of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, near Maniwaki, which has a population of roughly 2,000. It was a higher than normal turnout, although it was still low.

Speaking about the low turnout – 68 people in total – he said the issue with the U.S. “took priority” and pushed aside environmental and Indigenous issues.

Language is also a topic that he said is on his mind. He mentioned Canada’s history and said that “our language has grown dormant because of colonization and the implications of that,” referring to Indigenous languages.

For historical reasons, he explained that English is the main language picked up by most Indigenous communities. Whiteduck said that receiving services in English in Quebec can be difficult. Providers will often not speak English, which makes it hard to receive proper healthcare alongside other services, according to Whiteduck.

“Our answer to that was, ‘Okay, yeah, but you’re on Algonquin land. If you want to play that game, you should be speaking Algonquin,’” he said, referring to service providers unwilling to speak English to Indigenous Peoples in the province.

When it comes to language and discussions around it, Whiteduck said he also believes that his own party, the NDP, needs less dialogue and more action.

“Dialogue is important, but you can’t just have dialogue,” said Whiteduck. “There’s gotta be action. There’s gotta be movement” – something that may be harder to do for a party that has since lost official party status.

He also spoke about partnership with Indigenous communities, such as working with the elected Liberal government to advocate for Indigenous issues.

Yet he has come across his own challenges as a candidate who is Indigenous.

“I encountered some people – not many – in the riding, saying, ‘I would not vote for you. Why would I want to vote for an Indigenous person?’” he told the Low Down about his experience campaigning for the recent election.

He said he thinks that good dialogue can lead to change, though, saying that people just have to listen and be prepared to do things differently.

Whiteduck, who ran for the first time as a political candidate, came in fourth in the federal election. Prior to that, he was the former chief in Kitigan-Zibi. He’s presently a knowledge holder at the University of Ottawa, a therapist-counsellor and sits on multiple committees, including the Ottawa River Keeper and other environmental groups. He is also currently president of the Gatineau Valley Historical Society.

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