Celina Harpe
Native woman questions oil's benefits
Celina Harpe, 69, is the daughter of a Chipewyan chief and his Cree bride. Fort McKay, where she lives, is only two hours from Fort McMurray; its council not only endorses oil sands development, it also runs businesses that service the oil patch. Her son drives for a band-owned outfit and she has watched young people in the community of 1,200 make enough money to buy big homes and new trucks.
She worries there is a link between the rising fortunes and an epidemic of alcohol and drug abuse.
She also feels that extracting the oil has poisoned the river her family once relied on for drinking water. The oil companies insist their impact on the Athabasca is relatively modest.
To which Ms. Harpe replies: "I tell them, 'I might look stupid, but I'm not stupid. I know what it was like 50, 60 years ago and what it's like now.' I tell that them that, from the time Suncor started more than 40 years ago, we are not able to drink the water."
As soon as she can, she says, she will move away from home and start over somewhere else.
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