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When the IOC mining operation opened the first Labrador iron-ore mine in the 1950s at SCHEFFERVILLE - the other rail terminus, 190km beyond Labrador City - they recruited a band of migratory Naskapi as cheap labour, so beginning a particularly woeful episode in the history of Canada's native peoples. In 1978 the natives signed an agreement giving them compensation for their lost land and exclusive hunting and fishing rights, but by that time the majority were so debilitated by alcohol that a return to their former existence was impossible. When the mine closed in the late 1980s, the Naskapi were left to fend for themselves while the white workers moved on to employment in other mines. Schefferville is now a run-down, blackfly-ridden reserve where houses can be bought for less than $10. Lying just over the border in Quebec, the town is essentially a dead-end spot and only worth visiting as the terminus of the spectacular rail journey from Sept-Iles (there's no vehicular access); the only accommodation is the Hotel-Motel Royal , 182 Rue Montagnais (tel 585-2605; $60-80).
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