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Nesika: The Voice of B.C. Indians -- Vol. 1 No. 2 (October 1972)
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Nesika: The Voice of B.C. Indians -- Vol. 1 No. 2 (October 1972)
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1.06-01.02 Nesika: The Voice of BC Indians
1.06.-01 Newsletters and bulletins sub-series
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October 1972
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english
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Allan Fedorak
Roger Adolph
Angus Dickie
Nicholas Prince
Brendan Kennedy
Dave Stevenson
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Continued from Page | setting and placed into one that’s foreign to them. He said that his department will “steer the direction of the welfare thrust . . . to the prevention area.” Mr. Levi said there will be no increase in welfare rates because “we want to look at.a number of other options ...We’re very in- terested, for instance, with social welfare recipients. We'd like to see people getting into food co- ops ...and we are prepared to provide the manpower and the hody to help develop these kinds of cooperation.” IF DIA DOESN'T On the question of availability of provincial funds for setting up a receiving or group home on a reserve, he answered: ‘“‘We’re not going to stand around waiting for the Indian Affairs department to do anything ... If there’s a need, and that’s all 1 am interested in — seeing the need — then we’ll provide it if you’re having trouble getting the funds from elsewhere. “Tf Indians approach us, well, we'll talk with them. We’ll get hold of the Indian Affairs department and find out what they’re doing and if it looks. like it’s going to take six months to do something, then we're going to move right in there _and make available whatever need is there.” Mr. Levi added it’s a question of whether Indians can show what they need. Appointment hit by chiefs Continued from Page 1 Their third objection dealt with Calder himself as they both felt that he lacked both the province- wide knowledge of Indian problems, and the support of the Indian people to effectively represent them in the provincial government. CALDER IS ALIENATED Paul cited three ways how Calder had alienated himself from the majority of Indian people: (1) His support of the federal government’s 1969 white paper which, in very general. terms, called for the phasing out of the special status.for Indian people in Canada. (2) His opposition to the B.C. Land Claims presentation in Ot- tawa this year, and ‘ (3) His criticism of labour unions, which according to Paul, contain a fair number of Indian workers. _NOT PERSONAL “Adolph was careful to point out that he and Paul did not object to Calder specifically, just to” his appointment to look into Indian people’s problems. ‘“‘In all. sin- cerity,” Adolph said, ‘‘we do ap- preciate the fact that he has been elevated to a ministership.”’ Senator Guy Williams, who had earlier blasted the provincial for “lack of confidence” in Calder’s abilities when Calder was not given a cabinet portfolio, was not available for comment on Calder’s assignment. Calder, when interviewed, said that he was not going to make a regular survey of Indian problems, “as many such surveys had already been done, but rather, he planned to look into areas where “the province can be bold in moving in to offer aid.” In this. context, he referred specifically to provincial public servants. Calder aiso said that he hopes to make a press release outlining his aims. by the'time he meets with the Chiefs’ Council of the. Union later this month in Victoria, rotest interrupts Continued from Page 1 the fish population and had: no’ intentions of cutting their own throats. by overfishing. Williams first decided to. take action on the issue on Monday, October 9, when he hurriedly called for support from neigh- bouring bands to stage a-march to the federal building in Tofino. On the very short notice close to 200 Indians.turned out in support in the late afternoon. MARCH AND MEETING They marched through the strangely deserted streets of town and then finally to the federal building where they held a meeting among themselves that lasted into the evening. The idea for Wednesday’s march was arrived at during this meeting when they found out from one of the members about the pending arrival of Jack Davis in Port Alberni. They also had a chance there to discuss and iron out the demands they would present to Davis. On. Wednesday afternoon about 125 people gathered and marched through downtown Port Alberni to the Liberal campaign head- quarters. They then discovered that Davis was at that time taking a cruise of the harbour. AGREE TO. MEET DAVIS They marched to the main wharf but after fifteen minutes decided that the best course of action would be to return te the Liberal headquarters. At the headquarters they finally obtained an agreement for a meeting with Davis later that afternoon at the Friendship Centre. At the meeting, which lasted over an hour, other issues: were raised besides fishing privilege. Nelson Keitlah spoke in protest over the increasing complexity of federal commercial fishing policies. Increasing numbers of ~ new regulations have caused. confusion and some hardship especially among the older fishermen he said. An instance of this is the freeze on salmon licences. Some of the fishermen had not renewed their licences or sold them and then discovered that it was no longer possible to get new ones. ASK LICENSING REVIEW Keitlah asked for a review by the department of all Indian fisherman who have given up their licences. Davis said he would look into the matter. Dan David Sr, of the Clayoquot Band in Tofino spoke in his native language, translated by his son, Chief Ernest David, in which he pleaded with Davis to understand the plight of the Indian people. You aré the people’ he said, “who have set. up these policies that have taken away our. rights. Please, please eorrect these mistakes!” In an interview with NESIKA, Chief Simon Lucas of Hesquiaht Band said he felt that the fisheries department still did not really understand the feeling of matters. the Indians on the DEPARTMENT IS SUSPICIOUS The officials, he said, continually : suspect political motives for Indian actions when the Indian is only interested in establishing what he considers. to be his right. “Although we made a breakthrough at the meeting,’’ he said, ‘ ‘They still have no idea what we have in our minds.’ UNION STAFF MEMBERS GORDON ANTOINE, DAVID STEVENSON . took part in panel discussion at welfare conference Summer vacation for 21 Mount Currie elementary students hasn’t ended yet — and might not end for some time — as meetings between School District 48, the Mt: Currie School Committee and repre- sentatives from Indian Affairs continue to try and arrive at some solution. Parents. of the’ students have refused to send their children to grades six and seven in the provincial school in nearby Pemberton. They claim: that their children:, are. not. benefitting scholastically and are suffering socially by attending elementary school in Pemberton. Mrs. John Williams, principal of the Indian Day School at Mount Currie, and whose two oldest children .are among the 21 not attending school, has said that she is not in agreement with the type of educational system used in the provincial school and that she is AT MT. CURRIE prepared to quit her job and teach her children herself if necessary. She said that most of the students suffer. from reading problems and can not cope with the curriculum offered. in the provincial schools which she described as ‘“‘extremely dull’. STUDENTS NOT ANXIOUS Mrs. Adeline Williams, welfare aide for the Mount Currie Indian reserve, said that there: is definitely a problem with students going to school. in. Pemberton. “Students are not anxious to go to school. at Pemberton,’’ she said, and then added that they had. been having problems for the last three or four years. : ' According to the principal of the Indian Day School, the provincial school system robs Indian students of their self-confidence and many students begin to have trouble in adjusting to life on the reserve as well as adjusting to outside society. it of Mrs. John Williams stated that what the school committee wishes to do is hire a teacher to teach the grades six and seven on the reserve. ‘This way we could have | more control over how our children are taught and see that they are taught in ways that benefit them.” Her own ideas on how their schooling should be conducted include more emphasis on over- coming reading disabilities, more emphasis on Indian culture to help Indian students regain a sense of - dignity in their ‘‘Indianness’’ increased. attention to “human relations” plus more attention to developing the children’ s athletic abilities. SOME DISAGREE Although the move to keep the students on the. reserve is sup- ported by a. Band Council resolution, not all band members agree with it, according to Ronald Dan, band manager. the - _ their behalf... Indians are a iy s 2 There is much about Indian Ife ti We have been held back but we are o iN OCT. 30th VOTE FOR THE LIBERAL IN KAMLOOPS. CARIBOO RETURN LEN MARCHAND YO OTTAWA (Published by the Len Marchand Campaign Committee} “Among our problems are those which concern the Indian people. I am the first Indian to sit as a member in this House and Iam conscious of my responsibilities, I recognize that the people of Kamloops-Cariboo did not send me here to represent only a segment of that population, I know I must strive on behalf of ali my constituents, However, I have an obligation which I could not escape if I wished to, and that is my obligation to my fellow Indians.,J am an Indian who is a Meraber of Parliament. | am not just the Indian peoples’ member; but I.must speak as well as We all know that in respect of income, standards of living and health conditions many Indian people are below that standard of acceptability in this country, They are isolated from their fellow Canadians and they are shut off from many aspects of Canadian life . The cost of neglecting this social problem left unsolved for too long, is — great. This cost in terms of unproductive lives and misery is more than Canada can afford ... proud race. We have much in our past of which we can be proud, Our culture can make an even greater contribution to Canada than the very considerable one it has already made. it it good and there is much for Canadians to learn about it. the move today.” —From @ speech in the House of Commons, Ottawa. CANDIDATE IN YOUR BREA... PAGE SIX NESIKA OCTOBER, 1972 TOFINO —- History was made here in this tiny provincial court room on October 13 when Charles Carl Ehlers became the first person to be convicted under the B.C. Archeological and Historical Sites Protection Act of 1960. . Ehlers ‘was fined $300 for the removal of the mummified’ remains of an Indian woman from her burial cave. Ehlers was arrested on July 29 in Tofino after the discovery of the body by Mr. John Stertz who had recently bought Ehler’s property in Surrey. Mr. Stertz and a friend discovered .the plywood box con- taining the mummy under a table in a. storeroom off the kitchen. They immediately. called the Surrey R.C.M.P. TOOK INDIAN MUMMY FROM CAVE NEAR TOFINO It was not until Surrey R.C.M.P. arrived in Tofino on Jyly 30 that Ehlers was formally charged..He then claimed that he had thought that the body was lost. n passing sentence Judge owen-Colthurst noted that Ehlers, who immigrated from Germany to Canada in 1956, had no previous criminal record but alse added: “. . . although he seemed to have good intentions in removing the mummy he had full knowledge that his actions were illegal.” The maximum penalty was a $500 fine or six months in jail or both. : In fining Ehlers Bowen-Colthurst said, “I must fix the fine suf- ficiently high so as to deter. any others from. crimes of this.sort but - f By NICHOLAS PRINCE CDW, Lakes District ~ PRINCE . GEORGE programs to encourage more _Indian people, young and old, to come to the centre were set at general meetings of the Indian Friendship Centre and the DOH- DAY-DE-CLAA in Sept. 27 and Oct. 11. ‘The club has moved to a new location and the new address is 1990 Renwick Crescent. The building is only across the street from the old centre so there is not much danger of a person getting lost. This has been a very good move in-that in the new centre we have better facilities and there is more room for activities that. will be beneficial to all age groups. Robert Sebastian, a young Carrier Indian from Hazelton, is the new director of the centre. lam sure that he is well known by the Indian people in this area. He is a very energetic. person with a dynamic personality which we feel will stand him in good stead. He may be young in years but old in the.ways of Indian wisdom. (There were other candidates for: this job and we feel that the enthusiasm shown proves that there is con- siderable interest in the centre.) The director’s work is a real . challenge in that there are Indians from all over Canada, students from as far west as Prince Rupert, north to Fort Nelson, south to New Williams Lake who came to the centre. It is a known fact that te help the Indian people and to en- courage students from so vast an area, one has to be adaptable not- only to the culture of the areas. More and more = Indian youngsters are taking advantage of the education that is given to them. This is where the work is: to - introduce students and young people to the urban way of life, to help them make friends in a strange city. Thus are the students encouraged, to continue their- education. Here I should mention that In- _ dians; young or old, have always had strong family ties. The change of surroundings is not unlike the days when my dad used to: make me go into what we used to know as a sweathouse and then have a roll in the snow; the transition is that great. We also have a new secretary; she is Marian Michell, a Carrier Indian from the Lake Babine band. She was hired on the basis of her experience, enthusiasm and personality. We take pride in that she was the president of this club and a secretary for PACIFIC. She has done a considerable amount of travelling around the country which we think is valuable ex- perience for her position. Our board of directors include young and old members. Many. of them have been very active in the past. We give a vote of thanks to these people. Coqualeetza to close? — board has one month - The interim planning committee has less than a month left to con- vince the Department of National Health and Welfare not to close down the Coqualeetza project. The department informed the Coqualeetza Advisory Board — made up of representatives from the Union of Chiefs, National ‘Health and Welfare, Indian Affairs and the township of Chilliwhack — in late August that the project was costing $22,000 per month to keep the buildings open and that the project would be closed down for a period of four months starting November 1, 1972. In order to prevent the closure, the board set up a interim planning committee to study and suggest programs for the project over the four winter months. At a meeting in early October, several proposals were discussed by the interim planning committee but members expressed doubts as to whether or not the department of health and welfare will even act on their proposals. ‘“‘We have no guarantee that these projects will be adopted, or even that the department will take any action on the recommendations at all,”’ said Bob Hall, of the Skulkayn Indian Band. Coqualeetza project, according to the planning committee, has been used in the past mainly as a hotel or convention centre. Current plans for the facilities will include training for community health workers, educational, vocational and cultural programs. The committee hopes to gain financial support of the project from other government depart- ments, on both the federal and provincial level. Committee. members are not certain that they can present enough programs to cover the $22,000 per month operating and maintenance costs. for the four month period. ‘But at least,” Alderman Rochester of Chilliwack township said,.“‘we may be able to cover some of the cost of the operation.” - R.C.M-P. office each time. the . at the same time be fair to Mr. Ehlers’ particular case.” Ehlers had apparently been visiting the.cave since 1968 and had noticed that fewer and fewer ar- tifacts remained each year due to animals and humans and had consequently tried to get it sealed. He wrote a letter to the Cen- tennial Museum in Vancouver asking them if they would be in- terested in acquiring the mummy. They wrote back saying that they were interested in the site but warned that it was illegal to knowingly dig for or remove ar- tifacts. Ehlers again wrote to the museum and presumably got the same reply. He was living in Prince Rupert at this time. It was not until April of this year that Ehlers decided. to take the matter into his own hands: and remove the mummy. After his arrest. Ehlers volun- tarily gave the R.C.M.P. these letters but the bottom half of one, which contained the warning, was cut off. This was verified by a file of the same letter at the Centennial museum. : Ehlers pleaded not guilty on August 16.and a date for the trial was set for early September. But the case suffered postponements when it rained the day before the hearings began. The water rushed down the mountains with such- force that a great chunk of the highway by Kennedy Lake fell off; no one could get in or out for the next two days. This included the . presiding judge from Nanaimo and Clayoquot Band Councillor Joseph Frank. The trial was finally reset for October 13. , Ehlers dutifully reported. to the He claimed that he had nothing to hide. What he had done, he said, was done in good faith. After the mummy’s discovery by Stertz in Surrey it was first taken to the morgue at the Royal Columbian Hospital where pathologist, Dr. C. J. Coady identified it as female and probably 50 to 60 years old. He said that it was nota mummy in the Egyptian sense as Indians have never practised that but simply very dried out. This drying process had preserved it very well as the skin still covered the skeletal remains although there was no trace of hair. He attributed the fact of its drying out to the location and at- mosphere of the cave. The cave, about 15 feet wide, 12 feet deep and 7 feet high at the entrance is located about 35 miles by road from Tofino at Kennedy Cove on Tofino Inlet. More exact information was given by Daniel David, 68, a Clayoquot Indian from the Opisat reserve across the inlet from Tofino. Although only 19 at the time he remembers the burial of the woman in 1923. He led the police to the cave where the burial took _place though he had not been there for 49 years. The mummy was taken from the Royal Columbian Hospital to the Provincial Museum in Victoria where it is under the care of provincial archeologist, Mr, Bjorn Simonsen. . ‘ Mr. Simonsen did not permit any photographers from the major’ newspapers to take pictures of the mummy but said that it was up to the Indian people at Tofino - to decide whether or not they wanted it to be photographed. NESIKA photographers were allowed to take pictures after he had secured our promise that we would also get the permission of the band leaders at Tofino. Per- mission was given by Councillors Dan David Jr., and Joseph Frank. Mr. Frank said that the body would be evenutally- reburied. He also said that there were many more artifacts already on display at the provincial museum that have been acquired by the same means’ as the mummy. That is, - people either innocently or knowingly have dug artifacts and given them to the museum. Since most of these can be identified as belonging to certain bands they should be given back, he said. Any enquiries about certain artifacts at the museum or information regarding the Ar- cheological and Historical Sites Protection Act should be directed to the provincial archeologist, Mr. Bjorn Simonsen. Dorothy Jeff, a member of the Anahim Band, was_ recently awarded the Bill and Elsie More - Many bands lists are stilll needed A staff member reports that many bands have yet-to send in complete mailing lists: for their bands. In order to. make NESIKA’S operation more efficient and to see that the paper reaches as many Indian people as. possible, we urge each chief to send us a mailing list for his or her band. The mailing list should include the names and addresses of all heads of households living on reserve. This will save time for everyone concerned as we will be able to distribute NESIKA directly by mail. For others wishing to get on our mailing list, there is a subscription form on page.3 of this issue. Sask. artist had big show Within an hour of opening, Allan Sapp had sold nearly $10,000 worth of his paintings. when. a private Vancouver art gallery recently held a showing of his latest pain- tings. rs Allan Sapp is a 43-year-old Cree Indian born on the Red Pheasant Reserve in northern Saskatchewan who have overcome such_ han- dicaps as total lack of education. to become one of Canada’s best known artists. His paintings centre around life on the rural Saskatchewan Indian reserves that Allan Sapp knows well and are noted for their sim- plicity and directness rather than technical perfection. Words most often used when describing his paintings are “warm” and ‘‘personal’’. TORONTO — A new cradle board for Indian babies has been designed to allow the child to curl up and thus prevent hip ‘dislocations. Cradle boards used by northern tribes have been found to cause hip dislocations because they were designed to keep the baby’s legs straight. Bursary which will be awarded annually to status or non-status Indian students who want to continue their education after high school. Dorothy is presently taking a course in recreation leadership at Cariboo College. . The basis of this award as well as the basis of the First Citizens’ fund awards are educational potential, leadership potential and financial need. The Bill and Elsie More Bursary also requires an active involvement of the student in promoting the cause of Indian people. The awards from the First Citizens’ Fund also require community involvement. All are straight bursaries to be given for a year and will not require repayment by recipients. The Bill and Elsie More Bursary is approximately $400, while the First Citizen’s Awards are up to $500. At press time, no awards from the First Citizens’ Fund had been granted. A BCNITA committee headed by George Wilson as chairman. is handling screening and selection for this year’s awards. These awards are an attempt to encourage Indian students to continue post secondary education, said Alvin McKay, executive director of the Indian Education Resources Centre.at UBC. The Bill and Elsie More Bursary and the First Citizen’s Awards are both for continuing beyond high school into an academic or vocational course, but the latter. will encourage students who want to go to university or junior college. McKay also emphasized that the BCNITA screening committee can recommend more than one for the First Citizen’s Awards depending on the number of qualified can- didates. The Bill and Elsie More Bursary was established by the family and friends of the late Reverend Bill More and his wife Elsie as a tribute to their memory. Rev. More is noted for his work with the Indian people. The fund is handled by the Vancouver Foundation. Besides these awards there are at least nine scholarships for which Indian students may apply to the Department of Indian Affairs, according to Bob Sterling, assistant executive director of the IERC. in Okanagan-Boundary Bruce Howard Works For YOU @ ON Oct. 30, Re-elect... BRUCE HOWARD-LIBERAL {Inserted by the Bruce Howard Liberal Campaign Committee) OCTOBER, 1972 NESIKA ke ok o& (EDITOR'S NOTE: While Brendan Kennedy’s assignment as a Community Development Worker in the Nazko area for the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs may appear to be the most ex- citing of all C_D.W. postings — what with having to travel on horseback, spend days and nights alone in the wilds and generally live very close to nature — there is no doubt that his job as’ “advisor’’ to our native people in area is also the toughest and most demanding. And, although this paper is not going to get into the habit of printing C_.D.W. reports on a regular basis, we hope that by reading a recent report filed by Mr. Kennedy to the Union office you will get some idea of and thus appreciate the nature of his work, and perhaps understand. how it is with just one segment of our people. It is interesting to note that while the report, in letter form, was sent to Tim Spinks, Tim is no longer co-ordinator of the C.D.W. program, having taken a field position himself. Mr. Kennedy had been unaware that Gordon Antoine is now co-ordinator, since he had been away making his rounds in Kluskus when the change took place, and news of the switch had not. reached him. His reference to the training course further bears out the communication problems experienced by everyone in the area — he had no way of knowing that the course had to be set back. In fact, because mail takes so long getting in and out of the area and there are no telephones, it is necessary for the Union office to have the radio station in Quesnel broadcast a message telling him to call Vancouver. A poor signal, or a weak set of batteries and he simply does not get the message. For what it is worth, here then is his report.) | Dear Tim, . This is the first opportunity that I have had since returning from my field trip to Kluskus to attempt a report. Please excuse the delay but T have been going twelve hours a day in Nazko fora solid week since ‘returning. I felt that. the amount and complexity of my findings in Kluskus warranted something more than the regular C.D. Report. I hope to find time in the near future to compile an initial analysis of the. Kluskus area, the people and their needs, but here is a summary of my last month’s work: ‘There is no one Kluskus com- munity. The ninety people belonging or attached. to the Kluskus Band live in four separate areas, each a good day’s horsback ride from the next. All travel in the area is done on horseback except in emergencies when a plane can be* brought to the nearest lake. The first “group” of people, 27, live in three log houses 55 miles west of Nazko. Each house is a one- room log cabin. All of them need repairs. Last winter Department of Indian Affairs officials from Williams Lake. toured the area, and material from the. agency was promised for repairs, but has not yet been forthcoming. I have approached the Superintendent with the needs for roofing paper to at least. stop leakage during the wet weather. I also brought up the idea of ap- plying for a new housing program to.the people here. : During my last visit, the people in this area were busy putting up hay. Collectively they have. 17 horses used solely for tran- sportation and hunting. One of their primary interests is in getting kk a tractor, both to help with the haying and to aid in bringing in supplies from Nazko (a return trip for supplies taking four days travel time), and for plowing snow and general farm use. Cattle. ranchers? Their major ambition at present is to acquire cattle to build up a herd for the future and we have requested that the agency agriculturalist make a field trip to the area to discuss the develop- ment of a cattle ranch with them. I took several trips with. the people when we were not haying to look at their land and to find areas where land might be leased. All of the reserve lands in this area are good meadow and grazing lands. I was also shown several tracts that have traditionally been used but now reside with the crown. We will attempt to lease these before next summer. ‘ The only. major problem we can foresee is the reluctance of. the provincial government to lease land unless it is put to. immediate use. We hope that with the aid of the Department of Indian Affairs special concessions will be made in this case. Want own school I also discussed with this group the possibility of starting a school in the area; presently all of their children leave home for grade school. - — Various people of the area have asked about starting a local boarding school and I know from my discussions with the ad- ministrator at the residence in Williams Lake that somé such arrangement may be necessary in ‘the future. : As yet, though, it is too early to tell what the people would favour for their children, but it was ob- vious from their discussions. that they are deeply concerned. with having their children receive a good basic education. _ The next group of people live about twenty miles further west. Here there are eight people ina large two-room log house. The house is also badly in need of _ repairs and the promised material for the roof was never heard of since the last trip made by agency staff. The people in these families move to Nazko during most of the school months where they rent “shacks” from a merchant ran- cher there. Read to guide? The only adult male in this group owns a guiding area east of the Itcha Mountains. He does not have a guide license and since the guide: course has. become mandatory: for obtaining one his chance of losing his area is-marked. Unfortunately the man_ is illiterate and would therefore stand little chance of passing a course of instruction designed for and by non-native game guides. It is interesting to note that the man has guided for over fifteen years, yet may lose his area because of “‘illiteracy’’. We are trying to renew his license and to establish a system whereby the guide area will be available to natives should it have to change hands. : Haying time We spent two days blowing beaver dams on the meadows here to drain them for haying. The reserves here are mostly jackpine and rock-soil but the meadows PERCY PAULL poses with Linda Douglas (left) and Brenda Baker (right) on the opening night of the “Friendship through. Arts” crafts exhibition which was held at the Longhouse on Capilano Reserve from October 12 to 15. The event was jointly sponsored by the Squamish Indian Band FRIENDSHIP IN ART and the North Vancouver Community Arts Council and featured the work of forty artists: twenty non-indian artists from the north shore and twenty native 6.C,. indian craftspeople from all corners of the province. The sponsors hope to make the exhibition an annual affair. —(Staff Photo) PAGE SEVEN BRENDAN KENNEDY ... Union CDW in Nazko provide enough feed and grazing for the few horses the people keep. I found the people here, although extremely limited in formal schooling, to be very: aware and interested in band business, and I spent several nights here just familiarizing myself with background information which these people readily supplied. We also discussed the school, road improvements, cooperative buying and freighting of groceries, and housing. Twenty miles further west is the next group of people whom I had visited earlier in the summer for two weeks. Since a man came from the Tatelkus Lake area to ask me to spend time with him I went with him. 30 miles north to the. final -group. of people. Of major concern to them was the apparent trespass. of a non- native rancher on reserve land. We spent two days trying to.find the old survey line but were only able to find the south-east and east lines. The west and southwest lines, which are in dispute, were apparently destroyed by a forest fire. : It would seem, by extrapolating from the existing lines, that the rancher is using a portion of reserve land. 2 I have advised the agent of this and suggested a resurvey should be done to save hard feeling on beth sides. Presently the two families that live here reside on a quarter section of leased land five miles north of the reserve. The lease is held by the Nazko Band but payed - for by the users. While there, they showed me a great deal of land that they want to lease in the near future. BY on These people are also keenly ‘interested in starting themselves in cattle and I have advised the agency office of this in hopes that the agriculturlist will advise them in turn on how to get started. Stendards low The housing here. is, to say the least, inadequate. The twe families presently oc- cupy a one-room leg cabin over thirty years old. It has no in- sulation and poor roofing so that it . leaks. They are locking for new housing bul we may have problems since they are technically off-re status. On the whole the area has three major preblems which call for attention: communication, resources and basic comforts. Communications is perhaps the easiest to solve, which does not say that it will be done. Both audial and physicai communication is hampered by the freat distances involved relative to horse and wagon speed. The closest people are a day and a half from any services normally available even to rural people. There is no store, hospital, or school within 50 miles. The more distant people are anywhere from two and a half to four days ride from any extra community contact and services. I have made the concept of R.A.V.E.N. known and will be in contact with them to discuss: the possibility of at least establishing radio-phone contact | among themselves and. to the “outside” world Hardly jet travel On transportation, most of the people feel that the use of a tractor will aid them both to-haul in sup- plies and provide a relatively quick form of transportation in emergencies. We will discuss this point further with them, since there are a lot of implications that have not, perhaps, been fully realized such as maintenance, operation, initial capital expenditure, up-keep, etc. However, this may be the most ° logical step up from the horse and wagon, until the prospective road improvement comes through. Resources include the acquisition of land, strategically located, and of commercial value either for some form of ranching or tourism — the two major forms of business in the area. We have started discussion the possibility of tapping the tourist trade but as this is a new concept it will take time to see opinions formed. We have also discussed starting a co-operative store for the area, the only major drawback being the freighting of merchandise from Nazko to the site. We have also discussed other possibilities such as horse ranching, fishing and a tourist lodge and should be able to develop these on my next visit. Basic comforts — a term I just drummed up — is a far more perplexing problem. Seen from my perspective, semi-rural and Caucasian, the people in the area are living far below even a minimum standard of living ring the three weeks 7 spent | found severe hardships with @ diet. Every family was out of at y % the families were ies but could not affo t Cone week) during haying season to go to Nazko. There is a definite scarcity of moose and _ deer, probably from the extremely harsh winter last year. ‘Two camps. were drinking water (Continued on Page 8) PAGE EIGHT PHILLIP OPPENHEIM works on banners for the up-coming Chiefs’ Conference, The fourth annual conference will be held in Prince Rupert's Civic Centre on November 7, 8 and 9. The theme of this year's conference is education and economic development; Eiisan Dailly, 8.C. Minister of Education, Frank Caider, HARD AT WO NESIKA RK Minister without gortfclio, George Wilson, B.C. Native Indian Teachers Association, University of B.C, Native Indian Teachers Association, Bill Stanbury, University of B.C. economist, are among those invited to participate along with delegates from the 188 Indian bands and other B.C, Inclian leaders, —(Staif Photo} (Continued from Page 7) from which I caught a disease that may well have been dysenteric. Presumably they have built up an immunity but it can put a stranger in agony and even people from the next closest reserve know the effect of that particular water. Housing in ail cases, except one, is both inadequate and sub- standard. (And here you may note that my “standard” is rural log cabin and not. a reflection on suburban standards . . .) : Six new houses would have to be built immediately to properly accommodate the population now. _And, with the heavy age dif- ferentiation favoring youth, that figure will have to treble in the next ten years. : I hope to complete a fuller and more detailed report in the near future, but thought that I should get a few ideas about the Kluskus situation down on paper for you. Grant held up The situation is Nazko, although a little more cheerful, has a few rough spots. The second quarterly installment of. the administration grantis being held up until the 1971 audit is complete. There is.a complicated set of reasons for the lack of a final audit report which the administrator is not to be blamed, but I fear it might cause the administration program to stop, which the band can not afford right now. I will give you a background on that when I see you. Also, the chief is talking of resigning. Cathy Patrick has done more in her year and half in office: than was accomplished in ten years previous, and there is no likely successor at the moment. Obviously I will have to work harder to motivate more people in the band to share responsibilities and try to help the council work out the present mini-crisis. However, more importantly, we will have to work to find a cohesive force for. the community since there are signs of sitting back on its laurels or slipping back to apathy, I don’t yet know which. Signs are good: However, the general trends are good, with an increased concern for the schooling of the children, good attendance and participation at the last council meeting by ‘in- terested members, and on the whole an improvement in living beth from a physical health and mental health viewpoint. : There are no outbreaks of skin disease like. last summer, and nearly ail children got to school and all were well dressed. There is a marked decline in drinking on reserve and there has been a long period without violence and juvenile delinquency — problems which were epidemic a few years back, if half the stories are believed. life wa : SB 8 «& Most. aduits have found tem- porary employment and some are looking forward to try to get funds for another project this winter. So, although it is far from ideal, the general picture is improving. Perhaps a few personal remarks are not out of order so... . first, it is becoming very obvious that work in Kluskus, at least, and hopefully for: Nazke also, I should be speaking Carrier. Although I do not have any ap- parent inter-personal problems with any of the people, certainly communication would be facilitated by my use of the proper language. I will try to find time to work on this aspect this winter. So far I have done all of my travel in Kluskus on. horseback. This is good in as much as it establishes a definite link with the peopie there; they are easily able to identify with a rider camping out. Winter’s coming’ However, although I intend to keep using my horse in summer, the problem of winter and spring is approaching. Realizing that winter travel becomes impossible on horse-back, and yet constant work in the field is the ultimate priority, I have discussed with the people there about maintaining contact regularly during the winter. Originally we had discussed using a plane to drop in. However, we are now talking of either a snowmobile or an all-terrain vehicle. It would seem that it would be ~ best to have something which’ would bring in supplies which may be needed or could move someone if they were ill. . Of course, a snowmobile would be ideal for the snow months and would also serve to pack down the snow for their sleighs, but I think. that the six-wheel A.T.V., which also goes on snow, may be more practical for all-round use. Anyway, I thought I would throw this out for your reaction. Do you think we can find it in the budget, enough for dependable winter transportation? And if so, what is your feeling on an all-terrain vehicle or snowmobile? Would it be more economical to lease one for the winter months? Will be looking forward to seeing you next week at the training course. I expect I may be a day or so late arriving due to the amount of work I have here. After the course I hope to take a week off since I have only had five official days off since May, then a week in Nazko and maybe two weeks in Kluskus before the snow flies. Hope ali is well with you. And thanks for bearing through this lengthy letter. Yours, Brendan Kennedy. a INUVIK, N.W.T.— The board of the University of Canada Nerth project met here last winter but, after submitting a plan of action to the Donner Foundation and the secretary of state, it is still waiting for funds to get started. According to its spokesman, George Erasmus, the project aims to a learning system -‘‘that will . provide year round learning facilities to as much of the population in the north as possible.”’ Erasmus envisions a campus with as little physical structures as possible, with the University having ‘‘the flexibility and ver- satility needed to get involved in as many different learning situations as possible. He also thinks that courses and ew university of north still waiting for funds classes will be open and = ex- perimental: “Courses should be structured to encourage as much practical experience in the form of theory for. example, the Liard River Valley project; an alternate life style experiment.” Erasmus foresees one project to be started is a Medical and Psychological Department -based on a serious look at the physical and mental practices used in the north by the original people. He said that the University could be an “instrument for immediate . development in the north by northerners.”’ i ; A mobile college is another project that Erasmus sees for the University. He said a ship or something else can be converted into a ‘floating institution” that will tour the world by water. Native youth for national OTTAWA—Arthur Manuel was elected president of the Native Youth Association by delegates to the national conference of Indian youth held recently at the Red Pheasant reserve in Saskat- - chewan. Other officers elected are Ben Wuttunee, vice-president, and Joyce Petawanikwat, secretary- treasurer. The conference was the first of its kind in Canada and it was called upon the request of representatives from the provinces and territories. The association will help native youths to organize in the provinces and territories as well as serve as a communications and information centre. From an interview the newly elected president said that the association “‘is beginning to ex-° plore the possibility of a national travel and exchange program.” elect officers ” CJ s associations Manuel described the program as a means ‘‘to allow young people to travel the country, live on various reserves with various tribal groups and thereby gaining a greater. insight and understanding about the problems that face the native people.” He also mentioned that the association is planning an _ in- ternational travel and exchange program to “expose young people to other developing countries, other developing people.” Sechelt member 2nd Dan George? - Pat John, a native Indian youth from Sechelt will be seen in a new CBC television series this fall. Pat will be seen in the part of Jesse Jim, one of the regulars in the new adventure series called “The Beachcombers” which was filmed on location at Gibsons, B.C. OCTOBER, 1972 How about consulting Indians? MONT GABRIEL, Que. — UBCIC Executive Director Bill Mussell urged. scientists doing research in the North to com- municate with the native people. Speaking at the federal govern- _ment workshop on science activity in the North, Mussei noted that the conference illustrated the ap- -parent.low opinion the organizers had. of native people. He was the only representative of the native population invited. © Referring to the northern affairs | department listing of native peoples as a first priority in its policy statement, “I’m pleased to hear this and to hear Northern Affairs Minister Jean. Chretien repeat it this morning,” the UBCIC official said. “But when the native people are not included in the meeting, this indicates they have little power and not much involvement,” he { researchers in the ser spent about $12 ‘e was. no in- ve groups. : that scientists study skimes but they do not any information. called scientists stingy with their result- . Why keep the information to yourselves?” Mussel asked the 100 scientists in the audience. He said scientisis. could learn some lessons themselves. “The native people could teach you about people,” he explained. “Vd like to see this happen.” During later discussion several of the audience said scientists are having problems communicating even among themselves, let. alone with the general public or mem- volyveme are ‘bers of special northern groups. a 2 get Student given ald to continue VANCOUVER — In a recent meeting, the Native Indian Committee donated $485 toward the B.C. Association of Non-Status indians’ program to assist ten Non- Status Indian high school students from the Queen Charlotte Islands in continuing their schooling in Prince Rupert. . At the same meeting, the committee members also ap- proved expenditures of up to $400 to assist Indian students in lower- mainland boarding homes in taking part in recreational and cultural activities. The Sardis Native Women’s HIDES WANTED Club is looking for hides to use in their fall crafts classes. If. you have any to sell, -con-. tact: a | Sardis Native Women’s Club c/o. Chilliwack Area Council Box 253 Veddar Crossing, B.C. native peopie. qualifications. THE NATIVE YOUTH ASSOCIATION OF CANADA is tookingfor... AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The successful applicant will — . —be of native origin and will have considerable experience in working with ' —be responsible for financial administration of the national office; for the direction of the office staff; for the preparation of plans and budgets, and for the development of programs. SALARY will be between $7,500 to $8,500 annually depending on TO APPLY, write Mr. Arthur Manuel, Native Youth Association, 1610 Varette Bldg., 130 Albert St., Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5G4. . DEADLINE for application is October 31, 1972. December, 1972 N ES IK A Page Nine New $180,000 store completely burned By DAVE STEVENSON CDW, Bella Coola October 30 will be remembered by most Canadians as election day, but for the people of Bella Bella it will be remembered as the sad day when our Band Store burned down. The fire, which started early in the morning, took only three hours to demolish the recently built $180,000 self-service grocery store owned and operated by the band. Despite the valiant efforts of the Bella Bella Volunteer Fire Brigade, the fire soon got out of control and fanned by a strong wind razed the building. One firefighter, William Gladstone, overcome by smoke, broke both ankles when he fell off a ladder. A 19-year-old suspect was held and questioned by RCMP. He confessed to breaking into the store and setting three separate fires. He was tried and convicted in Ocean Falls and received a sentence of three years. in jail. Once the shock of losing our store, which took four years of planning, wore off the Band Council and the Store Commission quickly undertook to establish grocery service by setting up a temporary store in the basement of the Community Hall. It started operating November 15. Due to a strong need for it — people cried over the burning of the store — a new store is being planned. Hopefully it will be completed by next spring. 'Ksan dancers get ovations OTTAWA — Following their performances at the National Arts Centre here, the ’Ksan Dancers of the ’Ksan Historic Indian Village at Hazelton may be on their way to national and _— international recognition, The talented group. received standing ovations after each of their three performances at the centre, requests for performances at York and Pennsylvania universities, three other offers of engagements in the east and were asked.to stay on in Ottawa for another week. Their presentation included ceremonies, songs and dances that have come. down to the Gitksan people from ancient times. The trip which included ex- cursions to museums in New York and Washington, D.C., was financed by grants from the federal government, the First Citizens’ Fund and the Kitanmax school in Hazelton. NEW AIYANSH — A salute to pioneers of the Nishga Nation was the theme set for the Fifteenth Annual Convention of the Nishga Tribal Council held on the 16th, 17th and 18th of November. The convention wished to pay tribute, in the words of Council President and Minister-without- Portfolio Frank Calder, to ‘‘the work and energy of the pioneers which has. culminated in the en- deavors of the Nishga people now.” The convention was held sixty miles deep into the magnificent Nass Valley north of Terrace at the village community hall of New Aiyansh. The Nishga Tribal Council is made up of representatives from the four villages of the Nass Valley: Canyon City, Greenville, - Kincolith, and New Aiyansh. PROPOSE PETITION Education was stressed highly at the meeting highlighted by a proposal to petition the Provincial Government for the creation of a new school district solely in the Nass Valley and a breakaway from the existing one presently con- trolled by the Terrace School Board. Also of concern was a proposed new junior secondary school for Aiyansh coinciding with a bicultural bilingual program for all schools in the year, All the panel speakers agreed in the need for the people of the * community to take a very active part in their children’s education if they wanted the proposed new school be a success. WILSON SPEAKS B.C, Native Indian Teachers Association Chairman. George Wilson, who recently became Director of Indian Education for the education department, stressed that the most important thing that could be taught in the new school would be human relationship. He also suggested that when they chose a principal for the school they give him a full year paid leave of absence to plan and develop the educational program. Indian Education Resource Centre Director Alvin McKay said he felt that education ‘‘is a life that is changing all the time.” He felt that it was important to realize. that education was everything in life and began right in the home: “We, the Indian people, are the only ones who can make the changes we want... NISHGA TRIBAL CONFERENCE Tribute paid to pioneers through strong children.” MORE CONCERN Bert McKay, who is the principal of the elementary school in Aiyansh and also president of producing BCNITA, stated that although the. school was having problems due to inadequate financing the real problem was lack of community involvement. He asked the delegates to be more concerned about their children’s education. Another matter dealt with at the convention was the housing situation. Delegates expressed concern with the present system of house allotment from the Federal Government and the quality of house that resulted. It was suggested that the present $8,500 grant per house should ‘somehow be upgraded to provide better quality. DIA Superintendent of (Regional) Community Affairs Larry Hunter revealed that the Canada-wide allotment of 15,000 houses arrived at in 1966 still stood. HOUSING MONEY Mr. Hunter admitted that it was not adequate but he said nothing could be done about it at present. George Price from Indian Economic Development suggested the Council pass a resolution and take over money allocated toward Nishga people takes control of NEW AIYANSH — A possible Canadian first and certainly a large step towards more control of their own education by the Nishga people was begun in the Nass Valley on the 17th of November. In an amended resolution passed by the Fifteenth Annual Con- vention of the Nishga Tribal Council it was recommended that the four bands of the Council petition the Provincial Dept. of Education for the dreation of a new school district: School District 89. The proposed school district would include not just the four communities .of New Aiyansh, Greenville, Canyon City and Kincolith but all communities along the Nass River. .The communities presently come under the jurisdiction of the Cassiar School District 88. There has been, however, a growing frustration in dealing with the non- - Indian school board at Terrace. The culmination of _ this frustration is centred around negotiations for the building of a new bi-cultural, bi-lingual junior high school at Aiyansh and establishment of a _ similar program in the existing elemen- tary schools. FIRST PROPOSAL The proposal was first made in February 1972 at the last con- vention by the Nishga School Committee which consisted of members from each of the four communities. Despite the fact that the Terrace School Board has already received 50% of a 1.3 million dollar grant towards the education new school and despite intensive negotiations throughout the year to date no action has been taken towards the project’s realization. The original resolution at this year’s conference was the result of this frustration and called for the establishment of a Nishga School Board to take charge of Nishga educational matters. The resolution also called for the handing over of monies from the Terrace School Board that had been allocated for Nishga education. CALDER COMMENTS Commenting on the resolution, however, Council President and Minister Without Portfolio Frank Calder suggested that in dealing with the government they should keep clear of the word “separate.” Rather, he said, they should stress ‘‘equality of education for all citizens of the Province.” He suggested then the idea:‘of a new school district serving all the people of the valley. “Nowhere in Canada does an Indian school board exist,”’ he said, “it will be a model for the rest of the country.” He then invited representatives from the four villages to come to the opening of parliament to meet with Minister of Education Eileen Dailly and work out the feasibility of the proposal. Calder stressed, however, that the proposed new school district would serve all the people of the Nass Valley and not just the Nishga Nation. IN A HISTORY-MAKING CEREMONY recently in Victoria, seven B.C. native Indian policemen were sworn in for duty on their respective reserves. The seven, who were sworn in by Gordon Cunningham, Assistant RCMP Commissioner, were put through an extensive training 2 ToS UL ame CR Se ATR ARE, STARR TED Rn AE eH NEW INDIAN RCMP CONSTABLES TRO RRM Baker. bait ae sala allies cone a program, which consisted of many facets of poliee work- Let us all hope that people will co-operate with: Brian Thorne, Archie Robinson, Ted Seward, William Newman, Frank MacDonald, Robert Louie and larry —G. McKevitt Photo James Gosnell, housing and control it themselves. Other business at the convention included talks with officials from the Fisheries, Manpower, Health and Welfare, Forestry and Fish and Wildlife Departments. On the first day of the meeting the council was presented with a cheque from Columbia Cellulose for $2,500 as a memorial fund for Reginald Percival who died on the job last year. BRASS BAND ; . The first bursary from the fund will go to the New Aiyansh Philharmonic Silver Band, the local brass and reed band who ably entertained the delegates on the first two evenings of the con- vention. Election of Table Officers, which would normally take place, was waived and delegates voted to retain the present members. It was felt that it was not a good idea to vote in new people while the Nishga Land Claim was still in progress. The officers presently are Chief New Aiyansh; Chief Maurice Nyce, Canyon City; Chief William McKay, Greenville; Chief Harold Barton, Kincolith; Hubert Haldane, Prince Rupert — -Point Edward Local; Hubert Doolan, Chairman; Henry McKay, Secretary-Treasurer; and Minister-without-Portfolio Frank Calder as President. Guests at the convention in- cluded Senator Guy Williams, Chief Victor Adolph, who was representing the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs and Simon Baker, Chairman of the Squamish Band. It was a particularly nostalgic trip for Mr. Baker as he had played lacrosse with the Nishga team for a short period back in the early thirties. Many of his teammates he met again for the first time since then. The third and final day of the convention was devoted to ceremonies taking place in nearby Canyon City. Delegates were in- vited to help the village celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the local Salvation Army. Professionals name “Woman of the Year’ FORT ST. JOHN — Mrs. Mille Poplar was honoured by the Fort St. John Business and Professional Women’s Club last month when she was chosen as the club’s “woman of the year’. The award is presented annually to a woman in the community who has con- tributed to making Fort St. John a better place. Despite family committments to her husband and three - small children, Mrs. Poplar has made outstanding contributions to the community and especially to the native community. She has been instrumental in organizing the Keeginaw Friend- ship Centre in Fort St. John, retains the position of home-school co-ordinator for Indian students covering the territory between Chetwynd and Fort Nelson, serves on the family court committee as well as being active in her church. Born in Old Crow, Yukon which is several miles within the Arctic Cirele, Mrs. Poplar was educated in Whitehorse and later in Van- couver. Mrs. Poplar travelled around western Canada quite a bit before she settled down in Fort St. John with her family. At the same time she was declared “Citizen of the Week” for the Fort St. John District. Page Ten another chief on the first day of Ts ~ ren UNION STAFF MEMBER Marj Percival registers ~~) the Chiefs Con- ference. Watching in the background are staff N E S I K A members Susan Sparrow, Mrs. 8. Sparrow and Marie ‘Hans (standing). (Staff photo) December, 1972 — Students take study, tutoring A study hall program initiated on the Saanich Peninsula on Van- couver Island is proving itself a needed and successful aid to Indian Secondary students of the area. The program, which began in late October, provides for the bussing of students from the East Saanich, Coal Bay, and Pat Bay reserves to Tsartlip School on the West Saanich Reserve two nights a week for a two hour session of study and tutored help. Home School Co-ordinator Mollie Pelkey, who is in charge of the program, said she felt the service is meeting a real need of the students. In fact, she said, the idea for it was suggested to her by students she talked to. She said that many of the students had difficulty studying in the home and especially if they were from large families. An indication of the programs popularity is that over half of the 75 eligible students in the area (students enroled in grades eight to twelve) take advantage of it. AIDS AVAILABLE Besides bussing the program provides for two regular tutors, sessions two students from the University of Victoria, to help the students with individual problems. Some typewriters are provided too for commerce students, as well as encyclopedias and other reference materials. Mrs. Pelkey said that she hopes the program will continue right through to May. This is only ten- tative at present, however, as finances have been and are still the major problem. She originally applied to the Dept. of Indian Affairs, the Dept. of Education, the First Citizens Fund, and Welfare but ran into obstacles in all these courses. The program is presently funded up until December by a private source but what will after December is still uncertain. Mrs. Pelkey also said that ‘they were considering a program of adult education night school although she stressed that this was still only an idea at present. The facilities at the school are: available, however, and she said she felt that courses for adults: would be worthwhile if and when. they could be organized. Special projects proposed PORT ALBERNI — Indian community workshops and educational travelling vans were among projects proposed by the consultant to the U.B.C. Indian Education Resources Centre in his report to the conference of native _ Indian teachers here. The report containing the proposed projects was submitted -by Dr. Art More to the BCNITA conference and was formally adopted by the delegates. The community workshops ‘is to help Indian communities provide feedbacks to schools, while the travelling vans would move throughout B.C. to provide methodological and cultural in- formation to teachers and students, the report explained. OTHER PROJECTS The report also proposed the following special projects: A three-year program aimed at improving the language arts achievement of Indian children, both in English and their native Indian languages; - A training. program to improve the opportunities for native Indians to become certified teachers; and An Indian culture and heritage program with emphasis on the present for use by both Indians and non-Indians, PORT ALBERNI — Dr. George Clutesi, author and artist, told delegates to the BCNITA con- ference that to insure a strong basis the association must make sure the people who join are sin- cere and dedicated so that changes will be assured and real. Dr. Clutesi spoke at a dinner given by the BCNITA where he was presented with the honor of a permanent membership in the Centre Council of the association. “You must be content to start . . Slowly and grow gradually, not with a big bang,” he said. The noted Indian writer stressed -: the importance of rediscovering Indian culture. In his generation, PROBLEMS IN EDUCATION IMPORTANT PROBLEMS Dr. what he thought are the most pressing problems facing the BCNITA. The IERC consultant said that the first problem is the great lack of knowledge of non-Indian teachers about Indian children’s problems when trying to get into the existing school system, “Tf teachers could be made aware of these problems, it is likely that solutions would automatically follow in most of the other problem areas,” he said. Dr. More then detailed the low Indian-teacher-student ratio of the province, saying that native teachers make up only 0.1% of total teacher population of the province which has 5% of its total population made up of native people, in- cluding non-status Indians. MORE INFLUENCE He said that the proper ratio is 1,300 Indian teachers instead of the present 24. “This would not only lead to more influence, but the process of exposure would result in greater understanding and more positive attitudes by non-Indian teachers,” the consultant said. The More Report also examined community attitudes. Because of More. suggested these - projects as ways of dealing with the lack of understanding of problems that projects are trying to solve, often school boards turn down those projects presented for Indian children. “This and more personal prejudices can again be traced to lack of knowledge and un-~ derstanding of the non-Indian community,’ said Dr. More. NO BENEFITS According to his report some Indian parents expect things from the educational system which are not possible or are better handled in another way; many do not get the benefits from the system. Dr. More noted that, “It is easy to understand their feelings when you trace back the experiences which they have had with the school’ system in -this province.” “Most material available now is written by non-Indians and often suffers from a lack of real un- derstanding of Indian life and cultures,’’ reported Dr. More. He said that there is a tremen- dous need for material at an in- terest level which will catch the imagination of both Indian and non-Indian students. Unfortunately, information stores in libraries and museums are written in technical language and often difficult to get. : NEW PRIORITIES Reporting on funds, Dr. More noted that in general money for education has been decreasing due to new priorities of the govern- ment, and due to increasing por- tions’ commited to programs of which Indian people have little or no control. Dr. More then suggested that, besides the usual government sources, the association may apply to outside private foundations such as Carnegie and Ford. FIRST IN BCNITA HISTORY McKay elected president PORT ALBERNI — Delegates to the general conference of the B.C. Native Indian Teachers Association elected Bert McKay as president, the first in the three- year history of the association. They also gave official recognition ts the works of author and artist George Clutesi by moving to make him a permanent member of the Centre Council. Eighteen members of the Centre SINCERE, DEDICATED MEMBERS — Clutesi urges strong base he said, the Indian was told to forge. ahead and never look back. This has resulted now in the almost total loss of everything~that is Indian.’ NOW LOOKING BACK The non-Indian society has.made this same mistake and the chaos and confusion they are ex-. periencing now is the result of it, he noted. The new generation of Indians, he said, is becoming aware of this mistake — they are “looking back” and realizing that the whole makeup of the Indian is deeply rooted in the past. With this feeling for the past the Indian must prepare for the future, Dr. Clutesi said. The most positive way of assuring a bright future he: felt, was the careful raising of children. “One of the things that. has carried through our culture even to today is that we treat our children as important people.” Dr. Clutesi went on to say: “Here’s an Indian thought. It is said that to build a good fire you must start with the best and dryest wood and kindling. You must then build the fire carefully and properly and when you set a spark to it you will have a fire that will burn ina rainy night. So it is with children. You must tend and build them with the cleanest of thoughts.” Council were also elected during the conference held here October 19, 20 and 21. The conference also marked the first occasion at the newly opened cultural center of the Sheshaht Band who acted as conference hosts. TOP OFFICE CREATED Elections were held during the last day of the conference. The The best way to teach a child was through example, he added. “Tt is an easy thing to stand and preach but to set an example is difficult.” He also urged those present to ‘encourage their children to come to their elders if they wished to know something or needed advice. Touching on recognition, Dr. Clutesi said that no one can work for recognition since it only comes to those who have accomplished something worthwhile. He stressed, however, that those who have gained recognition have a duty to their people to at least meet them halfway. motion to create the office of president was carried by a unanimous vote the day before. Centre .Council Chairman George Wilson expressed the need for a person in a position to speak with authority for the association. In his acceptance speech McKay voiced optimism in the growth and progress of the association. He said he hopes that he can fulfill the confidence put in him by the delegates. The association was also imanimous in its expression of gratitude and admiration for the efforts and wisdom Dr. Clutesi has lent to the-organization. — WALK, DON’T RUN Ina speech at the banquet held in his honor Dr. Clutesi urged that the association be content with slow and steady growth. (See report on Clutesi speech in this issue.) Delegates visited the Wickaninnish Residence School and the Christie Residence in a field trip to Tofino and Ucluelet. On the second day they discussed a proposed Multi-Service Resource Centre, finances and problems of funding for BCNITA and the U.B.C. Indian Education Resources Centre. Delegates also heard a report by IERC consultant Dr. Art More on long-range projects and funding. (See story on this report in this issue.) (Continued on Page 12) “Page Eleven December, 1972 _ PORT ALBERNI — Mike Lewis first appeared back in April in Port Alberni walking across a softball field to where Sheshaht Band Manager George Watts was marking out the lines. He ex- plained that he had hopes for a cross-culture project he was working on and wanted to. involve the Indians in it. Said Watts: “If you want to help the Indian you can take this peg and walk sixty yards down the baseline and mark it there.” So began Mike Lewis’s in- volvement with the Port. Alberni Indian community. He continued to follow Watts around for the next month or so getting the same treatment and making no visible progress with his project. “T wanted to test him out.” George Watts said later. ‘““We get so many guys coming here with their grant money and their big ideas about how they are going to ‘help’ the Indian. We’re getting a little tired of it.” CONFIDENCE GAINED Lewis stuck it out however and in time has gained the confidence of both the Indian and the non-Indian community. Presently a University of Calgary student Lewis, 20, was first called out to the coast by a local United Church minister. The basic problem that he is con- fronting is the lack of trust and ‘understanding between the Indian and non-Indian communities. This situation had been bothering the Port Alberni residents for some time. They were aware of the problem but had no idea of how to even start resolving x it. Working at first at what was — called: a ‘Head Start program, Lewis: -attempted - to..-bring:: both cultures together ina concern of mutual interest: the sreaenoolid of their young. : PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS Operating out of the Port Alberni Friendship Centre and free to all involved, Lewis managed to bring some 72 volunteers from both cultures. into the program. Basically the program consisted of “HOW 70 HELP THE INDIAN PEOPLE PEOPLE The trial of Mike Lewis field trips and supervised play’ for. the children. The philosophy behind the program was first of all to give a chance for Indian and non-Indian adults to -work together with a common purpose. One of the main blocks to this communication in the past was the lack of chances to come half way to meet together. Another purpose to the program was to give the Indian people in- volved a chance to discover what resources were available in the non-Indian community that they could use. An example of this was the Park and Recreation Dept. which very often they were paying taxes to support and yet had no idea what it offered or how to go about taking advantage of the facilities. COMMUNITY MIX Head Start tried to alleviate this lack of information. Another thing the program tried to do was give the preschool children, who were often isolated within the com- munity, a chance to mix and play with other children.-of their age before the shock of first grade primary school. Finally Head Start gave the children and parents the chance to get out of the town every once in a while. If you do not own a car or have access to one you are more or less trapped:in Port Alberni as there is . no-othér transportation available for a trip to the coast say, or spend a day at Pacific Rim Park. Head Start had the facilities to provide this sort of break. Lewis's next project was a coffee : house that also took place at the Friendship Centre. The idea of the . coffee house was to bring together the two Communities. on a Social “basis; (<= ucts RELAXED, FRIENDLY Entertainment of all sorts. was presented bands, plays and singing in the hopes of providing a chance for both cultures to experience each other in a relaxed, friendly at- mosphere. The turnout for the weekly get- togethers grew each time until including dancing,’ there was standing room only in the end. The coffee house also made it possible for the volunteers" to work together and get to know each other. Lewis said he felt that in this respect the project was a bit weak as there was not enough time over - all for the volunteers to meet or to orient themselves. Possibly if it could have been continued for a loger period of time this could have been worked out. Perhaps the next project Lewis staged for the last week of August went the necessary bit farther to really bridge the gap between the two cultures. What was called a Culture Camp was held then, free of charge, in which about 70 people took part. The camp was live-in affair with a age limit of sixteen and above. BASIC IDEA Basically the idea here was to bring the two peoples together into a fulltime encounter where they really would have time to relate and gain an understanding of each other. The people worked in arts and crafts of all types from both cultures, sharing and teaching their own particular skills and philosophies. Lewis said that on the whole the experience was in- -eredibly enjoyable. Very often, he said, people came to the camp with pre-conceived - ideas about what they wanted to achieve there. They wished to discuss and bring out political and economic problems and So on; they soon discovered however that the real advantages of the camp was more on an interpersonal and festive level; a celebration of humanity. The makeup of the camp turned out to be, unplanned, about half Indian and half non-Indian. In the two groups there was a good cross- section of different ages and oc- cupations. MORE EXPERIMENTS Lewis said that he thought that only a small part of the great _potential of this type of experiment -was realized with the Culture Camp and he hoped to see the same sort thing happen again in the future. At present Mike Lewis is working with a youth group at the Friendship Centre and in general trying to re-orient himself to discover in what direction to move next. With Watts, who is now a firm ally, they have been looking into methods of developing more trust and better personal relationships within the band itself. ‘What we are striving towards in all these projects more than anything else is simply friend- ship."’ Lewis said, ‘‘That is the key to it all.’ NON-STATUS INDIANS MEET Take up housing, land claims PRINCE GEORGE — Two topics dominated the 4th annual meeting of the B-C, Association of Non-Status Indians which was held “here on November 18° and 19: “housing and land claims. Housing, according to BCANSI President Fred House is one of the top priorities. “There is-a tremendous need for- housing,”’ he said, “and. we can’t. rest until it is met.” During. the first’ day of the - conference, delegates were givena ‘run. down on what: the association had accomplished in the last year: . ACCOMPLISHMENTS Built 20 homes under a Central Mortgage and Housing Cor- poration deal and began con- struction of 67 others, some of which will be ready by Christmas; Employed 118 people to repair 182 homes under.a winter warmth program, and, ' Set up various health, welfare and educational programs to help improve the lot of the non-status Indian: people.. ~ Not. content with this ad- vancement, the association is pushing for $200,000 in Local Initiative Grant money to sup- plement the $203,000 committed by CMHC. for winter warmth; an association. operated. building supply organization to supply construction materials at lower the purchase of 70 war surplus houses from: the old Boundary Bay airport to be moved ata cost of’ about $2000 each to locations on the coast, and, no-interest housing loans. i WRITE-OFFS House said. that. the federal government must be prepared to write off the expense of organizing and planning and higher con- struction costs against the social LEVI TAKES PART A ‘ TAKING PART IN A PANEL DISCUSSION on social services at a ippdetal night session of the conference, Norman Levi replies to a question from one of the delegates. Pictured with him are, from left to right, Bob Joseph, Conference chairman; Graham Lea,. MLA for Prince Rupert; Tom D’Aquino, Special Welfare Consultant with DIA for North Island * District. Bill Mussell, who acted as moderator for the discussion, is on Levi's right. Other members of the panel were Mildred Gottfriedson, President, B.C. Native Women’s Society; Rose Charlie, President B.C. Homemakers Association; and Glen Newman, Squamish Band social worker. (Staff Photo). oals to be gained through more complete. participation of non- status Indian people in the design -and construction of their homes. "While the first day was almost entirely taken up with the question of housing, the second day dealt with two topics; the relationship of non-status Indian people to the land claims made by the registered Indian people of B.C., and the elections of officers to the association. Bill Wilson presented -a background paper..on. aboriginal title and land claims to the delegates which stated, ‘without entering into a discussion on the validity of the status versus non- status distinction, it can be stated that all Indian people who can trace their roots back to the land have a legitimate right to claim their share of any benefits ac- eruing.”’ The paper also mentioned that a “settlement could well result not only in a large financial payment but also in the restoration of some of the rights Indian people originally enjoyed in this province.” COMMITTEE REPORTS To ensure that the non-status people are quite informed of developments in the land claims question, Fred House was_ in- structed to set up a committee to keep. a watching brief on the matter and to report back to the BCANSI directors and the next annual assembly. In the elections, despite some strong opposition, from Butch Smitheran who is the founding president of BCANSI, Fred House was re-elected as president. Lawrence Gladue who ran un- successfully as the Liberal can- -- didate for Cariboo in the provincial election faced four candidates for his position of. vice-president but managed to retain it in a vote of confidence. _ The main opposition centered around complaints that association officials had lost touch with the grass roots of the organization. Wayne Clark of Sechelt who ran against Gladue accused the association of over spending a $440,000 budget and ‘‘not doing a damn thing for us non-status In- dians.”’ ‘ In reply, Gladue and House pointed to the extensive housing program undertaken in the last year. Lonnie Hindle replaces Camp- bell MacDonald as secretary- treasurer. Page Twelve KATHRYN TENE Rupert. Mrs. Teneese, ESE, only female on the 15-— member Chiefs’ Council of the Union, checks her~ notes during the fourth annual conference in Prince representative of the : Okanagan- Kootenay District, is flanked by Cecil Reid _ WOMEN’S LIB ON Col NCIL Eo es of Bella Bella, left, Howard Wale of Hazelton, right, and Heber Maitland of Kitimat, far right. Members of council were on stage to answer questions from the rest of weet: as to — ete. December, 1972 es Time Than Ours Which we have forgotten that we need. We dare not hope to make it our own. Once our white had it too - And then the mechanized work took it away from us. _ And then we moved into the lockstep of Clock work time. Time is an escapist dream. Itself to one of our deepest distress. And most forlorn yearning. We bow to clock work time. Our all body conduct and soul. Strange vortex in the ocean of life Created by the machine only yesterday Necessary as a tool. Deadly as a master. But we think it is our master. And here the maker will gainsay us And clock work time. - Which in marches to the best of the minutes. The hours. The onrushing and vanishing years. Linear time sweeps us faster and faster on. Never and we abide so briefly. Within that rush of linear time. 50 a kind of panic route. And we are old so soon. And we are done. And we hardly had time to live at all. But under the frown of clock work time. Which claims the world. We place our experience out in an eternity. Beyond the years. And beyond the stars. Not out there did the other time. Ben Abel Lummi people | farm the sea VANCOUVER (Staff) — The interest was so great that she practically had to urge the audience to go home, said Mrs. Della Kew of the Musqueam Band _ who was, the moderator of the panel discussion on the Lummi- Aquacultural Project. : The discussion was part of a six- week series at the Vancouver Maritime Museum on ‘Farming and Harvesting the Resources of the Sea.” i Since Samuel Cagey, ‘Tribal : Chairman of the Lummi people, was unable to attend, Wille Jones — - was the main speaker, along. with six other tribe members. The project was started about four years ago, without any feasibility study, with 18 trainees at the Western Washington College m the study of basic aquacultural “sciences. TO EMPLOY 20 - At full operation the $3.5 million project will employ 200 people. The Lummis built a 750-acre lagoon at their reserve near Bellingham. So far they raise salmon, trout, oysters and harvest. sub-tidal seaweeds. Now the Lummis are said to have $1 million worth of oysters to market fdr spring. Within the next two years the project will be operating at a profit and the proceeds will go toward bursaries, scholarships and housing for tribal members. — Mrs. Kew specially noted the he - following: The project has proven that there is no need to acquire a BA or BSc to undertake the project successfully: trainees are from 16 to 60 years old: and the tanks have natural sea bottoms instead of. cement, thus “supplementing instead of substituting for nature.” 10 teams play TOFINO (Staff) — At least 10 teams will compete in the Van- couver Island Basketball Tour- nament this year which was to have been held November 25 and 26. _ Participating are two teams each from Ahousat, Port Alberni, and a team each from Victoria, Dunean, Ucluelet, and Tofino. A trophy will be awarded to the most sportsmanlike team, ‘most valuable player and to the eS scoring player. : Sponsored by the Clayoquot Band, the tournament will be held at the Wickaninnish gymnasium. Last year’s winner of the tour- _ namenti is the Hesquiaht Braves of Tofino. and — other awards will be given to the | Eneas tops | elections PENTICTON — Three members of the Penticton Band Council were returned to office in the November f 16 band elections. Adam Eneas, Ernest Lezard and — - Jacob Kruger retained their seats on council. Clara Jack who was the fourth member of the last council lost out to former chief Archie Jack. Adam Eneas topped the polls with 69 votes, Lezard was second with 55, and Mr. Jack third with 44. Clara_ Jack ‘and Kruger tied for fourth spot with 41 votes each, but _returning officer Vera Gabriel ‘cast _ the tie-breaking vote for Kruger. The other two candidates running, Emory Gabriel and Jack Kruger received a total of 52 votes between! them, ‘ It. was the first time in the » Okanagan area that a band ap- pointed its own returning officer instead having Indian affairs staff member ‘carry out the duties of returning officer. - EARLY MEETING. ; Although the newly elected council may have to wait until the end of February. to officially take office due to the band’s decision to adopt Sections 74 to 80, the Indian — Act which cover band election procedures, a council meeting is _planned for early December. At this meeting, the councillors shall end who the next chief will (Staff Photo) TOFINO. (Staff) — The Hesquiaht Band elected new members of their council recently for a two-year term with L. - “Rocky” Amos as chief. Other councillors elected are Felix Charleson, Charles Lucas, Cecil Sabbas and Tim Paul. Chief Amos said he hopes to cae es involve many of his band responsible roles in band affairs. “Too many times the chief or band manager ends up doing all _ the work. If we let more people get involved in the band work, we'll have more and» more trained people running for. election.’’ CULTURAL CENTRE _ The new chief was a former band councillor and the chairman of the band’s cultural committee. Plans to build a cultural- educational centre next spring have been initiated by the band with the hiring of a linguist to make a simple written’ alphabet for everyday use. The centre, an idea worked out by the band cultural committee which the new chief headed, will house the band school of summer studies, a museum, library, ar- chives, films and tapes. Chief Amos is 24 years old and is a journeyman carpenter after completing four years of ap- prenticeship. ‘He also trains two of his own ‘registered Appaloosa horses. YOUNG COUNCILLORS Like as Amos, Councillors ~ Son takes over as chief Keeping it all in the family, Charles Gravelle replaced his father, Nicklas Gravelle, as chief of the Tobacco Plains Indian Band. __ In the band elections held on November 17, the only other candidate running for chief was Charles’ uncle, Alex Gravelle. : There are no hard feelings though, Charles said, as his uncle only ran against him to make it 2 race. _The 21 year-old chief elurned os from Vancouver to find that he had been nominated to run-for the post which became vacant ees bis "father retired. FOR TOGETHERNESS — He now finds himself as head of the 63 member tribe which he wants to keep together at ‘Grasmere. : A few of them have jobs outside the area,” he said, “but I think - most of: them would like to stay in. one band together.” In order to accomplish this, the new chief hopes to set up a post treating business, which, if it is in operation by the spring, will find a ready market in Alberta. Financing of the project is the number one problem and Gravelle, Jr., is looking for government ‘Support, but he’s not counting on it. The new chief received 19 votes to his uncle’s six in the polls. _ s elect new band chief Charleson and Lucas have been very active in band affairs. Charleson is a fisherman while - Lucas is a logger who is also well known for his dancing prowess. Councillors Sabbas and Paul are on their very first term and are in their early 20's. Paul is a staff member of the Victoria Friendship Centre; Sabbas had studied at the Van- couver City College. Moses re-elected, first woman candidate loses MERRITT (Staff) — The Lower Nicola Band re-elected Chief Don Moses and councillor Johnny Jackson and elected three new councillors, Maynard Joe, Clarence Basil and Fred Sterling. The. elections marked the first candidacy of a woman for the chief's seat. The re-elected chief said of his opponent, Diana Sterling, that “she would have made a good chief.”’ Moses said he felt that his election by a large majority, however, is a strong support for his policies. He also expressed satisfaction over the growing maturity of band members. “People voted across family lines; they voted for issues, not individuals,” Moses said. The band has been negotiating with the province about 500 acres of reserve land taken without compensation. Chief Moses said he wants a good price or exchange for reserve land. FARMING CONSIDERED - The chief and his council plan to concentrate on more specialized. and modernized farming and the setting up of ranch or farm co-ops. Chief Moses said he foresees that - the two most important problems the band will face are defining the boundaries between band and private lands, and unemployment. He said that the old council opposed him about defining Jand boundaries, but he welcomed the . : Francis Amos TOFINO (Staff) — The sports. and recreation committee chose ‘Hesquiaht Band Manager Francis Amos as acting district representative to the B.C. Native Amateur Sports and Recreation ‘Federation in a meeting held November 22. Roger Adolph, co-ordinator of the Federation, was present at the Meeting to detail the purposes of _ the organization and the activities ‘that can be seer at the band : level. : chosen rep Others who attended the meeting were basketball coaches, band counsellors, band managers, and other interested sportsmen. Amos is also the coach of the Hesquiaht Braves basketball team. He will sit on the board of directors of the BCNASRF and act as chairman of district meetings. _ Mrs. Phyllis Hanna, secretary- treasurer of the Hesquiaht Band, was present to-record the minutes of the meeting. ‘proposed opposition because this led to much-needed discussion of the problem by members. Citing cases of feuds arising from Jack of record of private individual sales of land, Moses said that the boundary question “breeds hate within reserves.” He said he would like to have a referendum so the people can decide for themselves about what ‘policy to adopt regarding land boundaries. On unemployment he said that the band needs to determine what members can do best — hunting, fishing, outdoor work, tree plan- ting, others — and start work training from these. BCNITA Meet (Continued from Page 10) Later in the day conference delegates split into a group of home school co-ordinators and coun- sellors for a session, and a group of teachers for a visit and meet teachers in local school. THANKS TO BAND j - Delegates devoted the last day to thank the Sheshaht Band and to discuss the plan for the next conference. The members of the new Centre Council,with Dr. Clutesi and McKay, are Percy Roberts, Sar-* dis; George Watts, Roy Haiyupis, Bradley Hunt, Port Alberni; Marg Vickers, Flora Baker, Victoria; Gordon Robinson, Shirley Adams, Terrace; George Wilson, Sidney; Joe Michel, Kamloops; Joan Ryan, Prince Rupert; Shirley Joseph, Smithers; Alvin Dixon, White Rock; Jim White, Joe Alex, Brenda Taylor, Burnaby. The B.C. Native Teachers Association was organized in September, 1970, when Indian teachers met in UBC to discuss the Indian Education Resources Centre. The association was formed in the belief that it would be a big step toward placing control of Indian education in native people’s hands.
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