Melissa Daniels is a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN). She uses the salt from the Wood Buffalo salt shakers in a bath product for her skincare line. “Canada is trying to eliminate my harvest rights from my traditional territory, something that had been agreed with the Crown since 1899 but, in practice, has been in place since time immemorial,” Loren McGinnis told CBC Trailbreaker presenter . The letter, which Daniels posted on Twitter, was written by a Canadian Park ranger and congratulates her on her successful small business. He then asked her to stop removing salt from the park, citing a national regulation and Parks Canada’s responsibility to protect the “ecological integrity” of the salt flats.
View of the salt flats in Wood Buffalo National Park. (Submitted by Melissa Daniels)
Daniels said the letter shows why her community is pushing for an apology and compensation from Canada for the historic displacement and denial of harvest rights from the park.
A report on the history of Wood Buffalo, published by the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation last year, states that “the park’s current management strategies are not Denésuliné peoples ».

Memories of Gaddy

ACFN chief Allan Adam, in a press release, compared Daniel’s situation to the “Salt March” led by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930, protesting against British colonial law banning people in India from collecting salt. “The law became a symbol of everything that was unjust under the colonial system,” says Adams. Daniels said the letter made no mention of being a member of the First Nation Athabasca Chipewyan, adding that “it has reaffirmed the constitutional and inherent rights of Indigenous people and the conditions to use this land which in fact prevails over any park regulations.” . In a statement, Parks Canada spokesman Tim Gauthier wrote that they prefer to handle “such issues” through dialogue with Indigenous partners and regrets that this did not happen. However, the statement said that “commercial salt harvesting in the national park, which is also a World Heritage Site, is not allowed at this time.” Borealis Bath Blend by Naidié Nezų contains three types of salt, hand-picked flowers, calamine powder and colloidal oatmeal. (Naidié Nezų)
Daniels disputes the term “commercial”, noting that business practices and harvesting practices are based on Dene law and its products will never be mass-produced. She said the products, including her salt bath, are a way of reconnecting people to the earth, especially Den who can not go out and pick up medicines for traditional use. The salt he collects is only part of a product produced for Naidié Nezų, Daniels said. “The conclusion that my hand-picked practice is a threat to the natural environment is offensive to me, our nation, our ancestors and the land itself,” he said. Daniels’s younger sister picks up sweet grass the way their grandmother taught them. (Submitted by Melissa Daniels)
Daniels also does not accept Park’s Canada’s statement of regret. She wants an apology and recognition of her right to harvest, which she says she will continue to do.
“If Parks Canada really wanted, you know, to reconcile or regret how they dealt with this issue, which they say now only after I brought in a bunch of people, they would have contacted me, something they have not done,” Daniels said. . he said. Gauthier also wrote that Parks Canada would address the Wood Buffalo Cooperative Management Committee, which includes 11 indigenous governments, to “start a dialogue” and “investigate this matter.” Daniels is skeptical about the process, saying that her previous work with park committees had left her “disappointed”. “I am very much in favor of a peaceful settlement, but … I am not going to let them erase my rights and these relationships that I cultivate.”