As about 300 Canadian Forces and RCMP personnel began a series of simulation exercises in the Northwest Territories this week, the head of one First Nation has declared the soldiers unwelcome in the area.

"We're shocked and we're being treated with total disrespect," Grand Chief Herb Norwegian of the Dehcho First Nation said in advance of the arrival of about 40 soldiers to Fort Simpson, N.W.T.

Norwegian said he believes the military presence is an attempt to intimidate his organization because of its opposition to the proposed Mackenzie Valley Pipeline.

The chief said in early April that if Ottawa does not agree to its proposed land-use plan, it will block construction of the pipeline, which would carry northern natural gas to southern markets.

The head of Joint Task Force North, which oversees military operations in the three territories, said Monday she will meet with Norwegian in the afternoon to discuss the exercise.

But Brig.-Gen. Chris Whitecross said she was surprised to hear Norwegian had not heard of the exercise until Thursday, since the military had consulted communities — including the Dehcho First Nation — when planning began two years ago.

"The exercise will carry on as planned. Right now, we haven't had any plan to adjust the operation as it is …," she said.

During Operation Narwhal, which started Monday and runs until April 27, personnel will respond to a simulated terrorist attack, air disasters and pandemic in the Mackenzie Delta.

In one exercise, soldiers will secure the Imperial Oil field near Norman Wells, N.W.T., and an 870-kilometre pipeline linked to the Rainbow Pipeline system in Alberta, against a mock terrorist threat.

About 40 soldiers will also secure the perimeter of the airport in Fort Simpson, about 470 kilometres south of Norman Wells along the Mackenzie River. Those troops will be based at the airport during the scenario.

Doesn't want troops visible

Norwegian said he had only heard of the exercise on Thursday, adding that he does not want to see personnel walking around in the community. The Dehcho First Nation includes Fort Simpson.

"We'd rather not have the military be visible when they're doing these kinds of things here," Norwegian said.

"If it's an internal thing for themselves, then keep it internal. Don't parade around town here and give the impression that the military is here, because the last thing that we want to hear is that we've got people coming right from … Afghanistan to the Dehcho."

Whitecross responded by saying the Fort Simpson part of the exercise "is really aligned basically with the airfield on the airport side, so it doesn't have as much impact on certainly on the local community."

Norwegian claimed the military presence is the Canadian government's way of responding to Dehcho opposition, noting that the First Nation is also in the midst of land-claim negotiations with Ottawa.

"They are actually coming here and going to play this subliminal war game, this mind game, with us to have them show their muscle," he said. "Is that what this is all about?"

'Absolutely not'

Capt. Bonnie Golbeck, a spokesperson with Operation Narwhal, rejected Norwegian's claim that the military exercise has anything to do with the Dehcho's First Nation's political opposition to the proposed pipeline.

"Absolutely not," she said.

The Dehcho First Nation, which represents 10 communities in the southwest region of the territory, is the only aboriginal group without a land-claim agreement along the route of the proposed 1,200-kilometre Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

A major sticking point in the land claims negotiations has been a land-use plan the Dehcho has proposed that calls for 60 per cent of their lands to be protected.

The federal government has rejected the plan as is, saying it protects too much land from development.