In the video, Elder Albert Marshall representing the elders of Nova Scotia spoke in Mi’kmaw at the beginning of his message to the Wheeler Commission on July 23. 2014. I wish I had worked harder in language classes at the Mi’kmaq Friendship Centre in Halifax because I would have appreciated more clearly that the Mi’kmaw language reflects an understanding of the relationship between humans and the environment. For 18,000 years Mi’kmaq have depended upon and lived within a sustainable environment. This holistic experience is what they bring to an understanding of what is good development and whether fracking is or is not environmentally sustainable.

“Nature has rights; humans have responsibilities” And that responsibility is to protect the integrity of  nature for 7 generations in the future. The test of good development is “Does it harm the environment? From what Mr. Marshall understands of the fracking process which includes “the poisoning the water”, it is not environmentally sustainable.

Hear his prophetic words at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkhM_NJb73c&sns=fb