History made as Anishinaabe community turns the lights on after decades in the dark

Residents clapped, danced, sang and cried in the Anishinaabe community of Kitcisakik this week when the lights were finally turned on for the first time. 

The community of about 400 people, located 450 kilometres northwest of Montreal, has been waiting to connect to Hydro-Québec's grid for about 60 years. 

Resident Jimmy Papatie called it the “electric Messiah.” 

“It’s a big step. It's going to bring us an opportunity,” he said.

Papatie calls himself the generation of the generator. In all his years, he’s never before had electricity in his home and previously used firewood and spent tens of thousands of dollars on fuel for a generator for heat. 

Now, children in the Anishinaabe community will know a different reality, he says. 

“It's the gift for their generations and the generation that’s going to come after them,” he said, calling this a historic moment.

"Quebecers, they take the power for granted and us, we've been excluded," he said. "It's like a bit of justice."

The absence of power in the community had real consequences on some residents, says Papatie — pointing to an example of a mother who was afraid of wasting milk for her baby without proper refrigeration. 

With no power comes less food and access to cooking, he says. 

“Yesterday after the announcement when they turn on the power, we just started living our life now. We're not in a state of survival anymore," Papatie said.

For several decades, Papatie says leaders have been meeting with Hydro-Québec twice a year, promoting projects and systems, without success. 

But when Sophie Brochu was appointed president of Hydro-Québec in 2020, things started to change, he says. 

It took until May 2022 for the Quebec government to announce the construction of a power line between the community and Val-d'Or, Que. — about 90 kilometres north.