Periodical
Nesika: The Voice of B.C. Indians -- Vol. 3 No. 12 (March 1975)
- Title
- Nesika: The Voice of B.C. Indians -- Vol. 3 No. 12 (March 1975)
- Is Part Of
- 1.06-01.02 Nesika: The Voice of BC Indians
- 1.06.-01 Newsletters and bulletins sub-series
- Date
- March 1975
- volume
- 3
- issue
- 12
- Language
- english
- Identifier
- 1.06-01.02-04.03
- pages
- 12
- Contributor
- Simon Danes
- David Chestnut
- Gordon Williams
- John Henderson
- G McEvitt
- Doug S
- ers
- Leo Paul
- Gerard Peters
- James Wilson
- Type
- periodical
- Transcription (Hover to view)
-
Published by
‘ UNION OF B.C. INDIAN CHIEFS
2140 W. 12th Avenue,
Vancouver, B.C. V6K 2N2
Telephone 736-6751
FREE TO ALL REGISTERED B.C. NATIVE INDIANS
OTHERS: $5.00 PER YEAR
Vol. Til, No.
THE VOICE OF B.C. INDIANS
12
(Chinook meaning i, .
eo
DELEGATES HEAR chairman of the meeting, Chief Don Moses of director of land research. Critics of contonaineaguite leaders will be
Lower Nicola. On his right is chairman of the working committee on
cut-off lands, Adam Aneas of Penticton, and to his left is Phillip Paul,
NORTH VANCOUVER (Staff) —
The province has been given an
April 1 deadline to announce that
they will begin negotiations to
settle the issue of cut-off lands. ‘
And,.though the date is April Fool’s
Day, delegates warn that they are
deadly serious.
If the government makes no
commitment by the deadline,
actions will be taken by the 23
bands who have had 36,000 acres of
reserve lands. cut off ‘by the
MecKenna-McBride commission
between 1912 and 1916.
Although the province has
agreed to fund a court case the 23
bands have rejected this . route
because they say the, government
has legally covered their tracks.
They want the issue pursued as a
moral, rather than a legal error.
A «telegram has been sent to
Indian Affairs Minister
Buchanan as: well, requesting. an
April meeting with representatives
of the 23 bands. The 23 bands say
Postage paid in Vancouver — Second Class Mail Reg. No. 3025
if undeliverable, please return to Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs
2140 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C., V6K 2N2, Canada
Judd _
that ‘the federal” promise to.
negotiate is not enough.
The federal government should
indicate what share of .the costs
they are willing to bear, or else the
province should reveal
correspondence they have had with
the federal government, according
to spokesman George Watts.
After-the two- -day. session in the
Squamish -band -offices, delegates
agreed that compensation in the
form of doHars was of. the least
priority. The delegates favored a
return of lost lands, and failing
this, an exchange of lands equal in
value. :
A motion: by: Jacob.Kruger reads
in part, ‘““‘We are not saying that
these people have to move out of or
leave their homes. We are saying
Inuits
“ByG.McKEVITT
OTTAWA (Staff) — The 750 Inuit
people of the village of Povung-
‘nituk on the east coast of Hudson
Bay have publicly condemned the
agreement in principle signed
between ‘the Quebec government,
the Grand Council of the Crees and
the Northern Quebec Inuit
Association and have withdrawn
from their association.
The agreement, which was
signed on November 15, 1974, was
reached inan effort to settle Native
land claims in the James Bay area
and clear the way for a huge hydro
development project by the Quebec
government.
In a press. statement released
March 20 the Inuit people of the
village state that they could not
support the agreement saying that
they were never told ‘that our
lands and future were to be
negotiated.”
NOT FOR SALE
In a step-by-step denunciation of
the agreement the statement said
among other things that:
—the settlement would in effect
‘
interested to know that the new working committee on cut-off lands
has voted to A contieue aie own honorariums.
Cut off deadline: April Fool’ f Day |
that they too are viding “of”
_ fraudulent government action. and
ask them to join with us to settle
the ‘cut-off lands issue.”” He was
referring to cut-off lands which are
now in the hands of individuals-
Delegates stress too that the
McKenna-McBride cut-offs are not
the-only way in which lands have
been unjustly taken from Indian
reserves. ;
There are many types of land
losses which the governments
must deal with, they say. A set- |
tlement of the McKenna-McBride
cut-offs is not a settlement of these
other types of land losses. These
issues, they say, are still open.
The delegates agreed to a two-
phase plan of action. First, some
bands will start using the cut-off
be setting up a reserve system for
the Inuit people. Although more
generous, they said, the agreement
represented the traditional treaty:
‘We realize that it is basically an
application to us Inuit of the way in
which the Indians have been dealt
with in the past. Unlike the In-
dians, we definitely do not want to
give up our rights to our lands.
—the land allowed for~ hunting.
would never be enough to com-
pensate in game for the loss of the
rest.
—it is unacceptable to allow
white commercial fishing on some
of the settlement lands.
—no amount. of money could
compensate for the loss of an-
cestral land because this land is
not for sale.
—a minimum annual income for
hunters, fishermen and . trappers
would undermine the Inuits at-
tempts at self reliance and self
determination.
—the allowance for'a share in
mining royalties was in-
consequential because of time
limits.
lands and ‘the resources from
them: : :
Second, there’ are further
demonstrations which might bé
held.- across - the province.
Depending on the feelings of the
bands concerned, these will be
either controlled or militant -ac-
tions. The prerogative is the
band’s.
All bands have agreed to support
each others’ actions, though not all
wil] participate in planned actions.
The working committee on cut-
off lands was reduced in size, to a
more workable five. Adam Eneas
continues as chairman. Committee
members are Philip Joe and Simon
Baker (Squamish), Harry Dick
(Songhees) and George Watts
(Sheshaht).
OH SURE
The press statement goes on to
say that the Inuit people take a
rather cynical view of powers of a
regional government which the
settlement provides for -the
establishment of. Past experience
has led them to expect’very little, it
says, and “‘. . .besides where in the
world has one people ever given
power to another? If you know of
any such instances, tell us — we
want to know about it.”
The hunting provisions of the
agreement also come under at-
tack: “Since white people think
_ that we only enjoy guiding tourists
and making carvings, we in turn
‘see all the references made to
hunting in the agreement as at-
tempts at placating us. We know
that all our. descendents will not be
hunters. Why do white people insist
on seeing us in the same light,
while everything about us is
changing?”
The statement ended by saying
that they did not want their actions
interpreted as a squabble within
the Northern , Quebec Inuit
Association but as a positive step
_ until
Bands take
over land
QUESNEL —-The Nazko and
Kluskus Bands announced on
March 18 that they declared
themselves sole owners of .the
watershed area of the Blackwater
and. Nazko rivers. The area is
comprised of several hundred
square miles in central B.C.
Warning government and _ in-
dustry not to enter the area without
permission the bands said that.
“unfortunate and unnecessary
confrontations” will result if any
unauthorized activity occurs in the
region which begins about 50 miles
west of here.
_. The bands have been opposing
logging in the area since 1973 and .
last year blocked construction of'a
’ logging road.. Resources. Minister
Bob Williams ordered a_ three-
month moratorium on further
development while studies were.
‘made.
They said that since then they
have received ‘ ‘nothing but polite
acknowledgments.”
They said that they are advising
“all departmental field.offices and
all tourist information services
that henceforth no outsiders shall,
without our permission, enter our
country to hunt, harvest timber or
otherwise deplete our resources
our legal rights are
“recognized sby the appropriate
authorities.’
They said white’ residents would
not be forced to leave the area but
applications for: hay, grazing or
other uses “‘of what.is mistakenly
called Crown land” ‘are to be
channelled through the Nazko band
office.
LATE NEWS
VICTORIA — Norman Levi,
B.C. Minister of Human
Resources, announced March 25
that the government will not
respond to the cut-off bands’
ultimatum.
Levi said that the government
was willing to continue meeting
with the bands but refuses to
have to act under the pressure
of “threats.”
uebec settle nent
wherein the local people them-
selves are at last taking their own
fate into their own hands.
WHAT'S THE HURRY?
They said that they should not be
rushed into settlement: “‘‘Im-
portant matters are usually only
conceived over a long. period of
time. Many years ago, during the
years leading up to confederation
in 1867, the people who were trying
to build the Canadian nation
deliberated some three or four
years in making plans for their
future. Why must we be the only
ones hurried into making our
plans?”
It goes on to say: “what will we
have cause to celebrate 100 years
from now if our land is so reduced
in size? Will we celebrate in our
little 250 square mile plots? Will we |
be like dogs curled up.in a storm? ~
“Surely it will be ourselves who
must- accept the blame if our
descendents go demonstrating
‘outside Parliament asking for
increased benefits, and they get -
clubbed by the police. We feel that
this is bound to occur, perhaps
sooner than one might think.”
Page Two
NESIKA
CHIEF VICTOR ADRIAN of Seton Lake, whose band had 49 acres of potato and hay fields removed by the
McKenna-McBride commission speaks. Later, some lands were added, bit these were cliffs, nD hillsides or
‘mountain tops.
Hunting, Fishing Setbacks i in Appeal Court
VANCOUVER (Staff) — The -
B.C. Court of Appeal in two
unanimous decisions ruled on
February 28 that B.C. Indians are
subject to wildlife regulations in
the taking of game and fish.
In both cases a five-man court
heard. the appeals in Vancouver.
Noll Derriksan, of the Westbank
band, failed in an appeal against
conviction under Fisheries Act
regulations for catching kokanee
salmon in- Peachland Creek in
October, 1970. His action at that
- time was part of a demonstration
“group comprised of Native Indians
from all over the Okanagan area
although Derriksan was the only
one. arrested.
The arrest was made on the
grounds that fishing was
prohibited by regulation and
Derriksan caught the fish by
methods. also prohibited by
regulation. .
~ ALSO HUNTING eae
In: the second case, both of which
were heard together on January 20
and 21, Jacob-Kruger and Robert
Manuel were charged with killing
. four deer in September, 1973,
during the closed season near
Penticton.
Kruger. and Manuel were
originally convicted in Provincial
Court.
Their, appeal, however,
allowed in county court on the
ground that Indians were entitled
to enjoy the aboriginal right to hunt
on unoccupied land.
The Crown appealed this
decision. .
THE NEW DECISION
Mr. Justice Bruce Robertson,
who wrote the judgment .of the
court in both cases, said that in
both instances under the fisheries
regulations and Wildlife Act there
was no provision exempting In-
dians from the operation of the
regulations.
“The Proclamation of 1763
(dealing with aboriginal rights)
was entirely unilateral and was
ABOVE THEIR HEADS, a video machine records the proceedings. On the second day of the meeting the
was shown. It was prepared under contract by Keith Bradbury and some
technical people for the Union of Chiefs. It will eventually be shown to the public on TV. Copies of the film
» film, “The Land is The Culture,”
was”
not, and cannot be gevetitedl asa
treaty.”
“Assuming (without expressing
any opinion) that the proclamation
has the force ofa statute, it cannot
be said to be an-act of . the
Parliament of Canada: There was
no Parliament of Canada before
1867 and by -no stretch of the.
imagination: can a. proclamation
made by the sovereign in 1763 be
said to be an. act of a legislative
body which was ‘not created: until
more:‘than 199 years later.”
. “CONVICTION PROPER
He said:he was, therefore,.of the -
opinion that the Wildlife Act ap-
plied to the two men and that they
were convicted properly of a
breach of it. .
He would allow the Crown appeal
and restore the convictions.
Turning to -the~ fisheries
regulations in the Derriksan case, _
he said he.could not see. where:the
‘atener perinitted anes e ‘eeptio
to’ the regulatione under the
Fisheries Act and. that the
regulations. applied to Derriksan.
‘Speaking about the decision
afterward,.Union of B.C. Indian
Chiefs’ legal expert. Doug San-
ders, said that it would have little
general ‘impact ‘on the whole
aboriginal rights. question. «
“It was a narrow. - technical
decision,” he said, ‘‘that simply
dealt. with the question of whether,
the Proclamation of 1763: could be
considered part of Parliamentary
law.”
Sanders said that he felt it was
wrong. to try and’ base the
argument. on the Proclamation
which he felt was “‘irrelevent” now’
in light of the Calder decision.
MAGIC
There was a time he said when
the Proclamation of 1763 - was
considered ‘‘magic’’ and the whole
question of. aboriginal rights was °~
based-on its wording: Inthe Calder: -
.
~ March, 1975
NEMAIAH VALLEY BAND
Sub-division opposed
WILLIAMS LAKE — The
Nemaiah Valley Band. gone on
record as opposing a proposed co-
- owned recreational subdivision
development on Twin Lakes under
the Strata Title Act, in a letter to
the Cariboo Regional District
Board of Directors.
The letter, read at the regional
board meeting in Williams Lake,
called for a long range planning
study before developers might be
given permission to establish the
development.
“Before considering such a
proposal for a drastic change in
our country, we feel there should
be along range planning process to
examine all our resources, and
various ways to, protect, use and
enjoy them,” the band stated.
“We have lived. here many
centuries and we want our grand-
children to be able to have a good
life here also. We want many
questions answered thoroughly
before any one development plan
gets approval.” —
The. band wanted to know if the
proposed subdivision would “cut
down the hunting, fishing and
trapping on which our people.
depend for part of theif living.”
“Will it add so many non-Indian
people that we Chilcotin Indians
will become. an even. smaller
case, however, which split the
Canadian Supreme Court decision
on the rights of the Nishga Indians
to traditional lands-in the Nass
Valley, even the judges in favor of
the: Nishgas disregarded the
Proclamation and based their
attitudes’ on the historical oc-
‘ cupation and use of the lands.
Sanders said that appeals
would be filed on behalf of
Derriksan, Kruger and Manuel and
that the UBCIC was taking over nthe
handling of the cases. -’
minority in owr own country?
“Will it make life worse for our
school children who already suffer
much misunderstanding or
prejudice in school?
“Willit ‘open up’ our country toa
new invasion of more and more
hunters, fishermen, guides and
outfitters, roads and other
developments which may be hard
on Indians and our environment
with very little, if.any, benefits?
“Will our Nemaiah Valley Band
members have any opportunity to
participate in. long-range planning
for our whole area, rather than just
being “heard’ once or twice in
respect to this particular money-
making scheme?
“Do the people proposing this
development and members of the
Cariboo Regional District board
and staff appreciate the very close
relationship. between the Indian
people and their land? It has been
well said that our land is our life.
The land*is so important to us
that we shall need much strong
evidence to persuade us that a new
subdivision in our vicinity would be
good for us or for our land.”
The band said it wants to. meet
with the board and some of the
band’s. consultants to plan. the
public hearing to be presented in
the community, ‘in sucha way
that there can be a meaningful,
two-way exchange of concerns,
facts and creative ideas.
_ “We do not want any cross-
cultural misunderstandings of the
depth of our feelings, the quality of
our thoughts about this country we
know so well, or the strength of our
determination to protect our land
and our resources for future
generations.”’
The regional board read the
letter, but took no action as the
developers had: not yet brought |
~ their plan back to the ‘board
‘District to seek |
foreign aid
PRINCE GEORGE (Staff) —
The Lakes District Council of
Chiefs are sending a represen-
tative to the National Indian
Brotherhood in Ottawa to discuss
possibilities of applying for foreign
aid.
March ‘ist saw “the district
council. unanimously reject the
$567,000 allocated by the Depart-
ment of Indian Affairs for capital
projects such as housing, elec-
trification, sewage, plumbing,
sanitation and roads..
The district represents 14 bands
and an approximate population of
Originally, on December 6th,
1974 the council voted to refuse the
funds, saying that it was in-
sufficient to meet the basic im-
madiata needs.
An additional $1 million was
requested to cover these basic and
immediate needs. On January 18th
they rejected funds a second time.
After this decision, a letter was
sent to Indian Affairs Minister,
Judd Buchanan. outlining the
reasons for rejection. A meeting
was also requested between the
council and Buchanan or his
parliamentary secretary Iona
Campagnolo, MP for Skeena.
To date there has been no
acknowledgement.
Like everyone else, they say, we
pay taxes...yet in order to
receive any benefits from them we
must get down on our knees and
beg for it. They cite bandaid
solutions and welfare type
programs which are inadequate
and ineffective.
will be available to the land claims field workers and will be shown in the communities.
(photos courtesy Ted Seward)
~ KAMLOOPS BAND .
~ Selt- -government for reserves
KAMLOOPS — Chief Mary
Leonard of the Kamloops Indian
band says Human Resources
Minister Norm Levi has promised
to recommend to the cabinet a
three-point .brief advocating self
government and taxation rights for
Indians.
The minister’s promise followed
a meeting between the Union of
B.C. Indian Chiefs and Levi.
The Indian brief asks the
government to give reserves legal
status as a unit of government, to
remove reserves from any
municipal amalgamation
schemes, and to allow reserves the
right to tax non-Indian businesses
and lessees.
“The minister. assured us he will
recommend to the cabinet these
three issues immediately,’ Chief
Leonard said.
“And if the cabinet responds
correctly and allows us to do what
must bedone, long-range problems
can be dealt with over the next few
years.”
She said Levi was very
responsive to the chiefs’ requests
“and was very serious about the
issues.’ 2
“The council of chiefs are
adamant. Any further discussion
on social issues is not.needed until
the government declares ... each
reserve shall be a local govern-
ment .. . with the authority to deal
with other municipalities on equal
terms,” she said.
“With the right to tax reserve
property and the right to manage
its own affairs, Indians will beable
to develop into self-governing
people.”
The Kamloops band has been
insisting since May, 1973, that the
province . exclude its industrial
park from the city control and
taxation that came with municipal
amalgamation in the area.
Budget not enough
PORT ALBERNI — They need:
something in the neighborhood of:
$851,000. They have a budget of
$429,000. Where does the difference
come from?
“Tt doesn’t,’ says Danny Watts,
executive director of the West
Coast Council of Indian Chiefs.
The $429,000 is the budget
allocated for 1975-76. by the
department of Indian Affairs for
the West Coast District bands and,
according to Watts, that is it; there
is no way he can appeal for any
extra funding.
“Mind you, it is up from the
previous year, when we received
$369,000,’ Watts said. ‘But they
don’t ask us what we need, or for
what. It’s all settled in Ottawa, and
that’s the end of it.” 4
It will mean that six bands will
have no money for housing this.
year and that the others will have
to make up the difference in their
housing costs from a base of just
$10,000 a unit — not enough, Watts
said, to build even a small house at
today’s costs.
“The homeowner himself will
have to be prepared to come up
with the difference, covering the
costs of plumbing, wiring, finishing
material and labor, to build any
king of proper family dwelling,” he
said. -
The chiefs will also have to cut
back drastically on other planned
expenditures. They had hoped to
spend some $380,000 in this area,
but have only $149,000 to work with.
, Page Six
“Our budget for the 1975-1976 fiscal year
has been designed to achieve greater
economic equality and social justice
“a In British Columbia.” |
“This budget is a job security budget. It contains new programs
and initiatives; new and improved services for our citizens. This
job security budget provides expenditures to maintain and increase
employment throughout the economy of British Columbia.” :
A Job Security Budget
The budgetary expenditures for 1975-1976 will
be made-with people in mind. Expenditures will be .
made to maintain present job levels and increase
employment in ‘the province while also providing
meaningful additions to the quality of life. This
budget deals with programs to construct new
schools, hospitals, low and middle income housing, -
highways, and homes for our senior citizens. This
budget will provide for special employment pro-
grams for workers in the forestry sector, public
works building construction, summer employment
progans for our younger citizens, shipbuilding in
~ our local yards, community and recreational con-
struction programs, and much more.
A Municipalities Budget
In an historic revenue ‘sharing arrangement be-
tween the municipalities and the province, with re-
spect torevenue from natural gas exports, one-third
of the net revenue produced from an export price
over $1.00 of our natural gas (taking into account
our federal tax rebate system, and other expenses)
will flow to the municipalities in British Columbia.
_ For example, if the new export price of natural gas
is set at $1.50 per mef, the municipalities would
receive roughly an additional $20 million annually.
At $2.00 per mcf (the competitive value of the fuely,
the municipalities would receive roughly $40 mil-
lion, which is equivalent to an additional $20.00
per capita payment. ,
In addition, the provincial government intends to
make additional per capita grant payments to the
municipalities this year and next, in order to ensure -
that the per capita grant program is kept up to date.
Total per capita payments to municipalities in. the
coming fiscal year will total over 570 million—
almost $7 million of this is a result of the new
provincial policy.
A Fair Taxes Budget
Again this year, there will be no general increases __
in personal income or sales taxes for the citizens of
British Columbia. Each homeowner and family
farmer will receive the benefits of a doubling of the
limits of the school tax removal poser. The maxi-
mum reduction last year was $40. This year it will
be.$80. This is in addition to the $200 homeowner
rant, .
Assistance to renters in 1975 will be provided
through a new RENTER TAX. CREDIT Program.
Credits of up to $100 will be paid to eligible renters
on low and moderate incomes. ‘ve
The rate of provincial corporate income tax for
small businesses will decrease to an effective rate
of 10%, while the provincial rate for large corpor-
". ations: will increase from 12% to 13%.
An Elderly Citizens Budget
Under the HOMEOWNER GRANT program,
elderly citizens will continue to receive the extra
$50 payment, for.a total grant of $250. The budget
includes a minimum $80 payment under.the
RENTER TAX CREDIT program for those aged 65
and over. The budg :t also proposes to continue the
RENTERS RESOURCE G T for 1975-for those
: aged 65 and over. This means that two Femene
oO
$80 (or more) for 1975. will be made to. this
group. The additional payment is designed to ease
_ the transition to the new income-related program,
‘by providing greater assistance to the elderly who
“are often the most severely affected by inflation—
those people on fixed incomes. Additional funds
will be provided to Mincome, Adult.Care, Hoéme-
makers Programs and Pharmacare to increase t!
scope of these innovative programs. Furthet
oie
"a special emphasis will be placed on providing ad- ~.. :
ditional housing for our senior citizens. °
A Social Progress Budget
$122 million will be provided to the Mincome .---
fund for: our 128,000 citizens, aged 60 or over.
Child maintenance care and special services will
receive an additional $13 million this year. An addi-
tional $102.5 million over last year will be provided |
to continue the upgrading of the province's hospitals.“
and medical care. Total experiditures for thesé pro-
grams will rise to over $587 million in 1975-76. .
C. shipyards and marine ‘construction: con-
O.million:to further the.
ies of our B.C. ferry
ized fei
: ig:
_-One of the most ‘dramatic expenditures will be
inthe field of education. Increased grants to schools
and reduced homeowner school taxes, additions to
university operating grants, student scholarships.’
and bursaries, college, technical and vocational -
school construction will account foran additional
$64.6 million of this year’s budget over last years.
An important evolution in our educational system |
is the drarnatic increase in the number ‘of Pe “time
students. This trend has been encouraged by gov-
respond to the needs of their students and of
society. One such need is illustrated by the 5-fold
increase in funding for student aid and teacher
training scholarships since 1972-73.
A Families Budget .
The budget for 1975-1976 places a high priority
on housing. The Department of Housing will be
actively involved in building projects for senior citi-
zens, as well as supporting the activities of non-
profit housing societies.
Another area of concentration will be the acces-
sibility of rental accommodation for families with
children. An aggressive land servicing policy, new
conan planning and development, and the ser-
vicing of Crown land for sale or lease to private in-
dividuals will facilitate this growth of housing and
accommodation.
In the past year, 181 communities have benefitted
. Million. This program, together wit
2: 1: A-central ry hone information” °
system will be launched this sprin : co
ernment funding. Funds will again be made avail- -
able to enable our educational institutions to
- from 516 grants from the Community Recreational
Facilities fund. The appropriation of additional funds
to this program will allow for further community
recreational projects. .
An Agricultural and
Industrial Expansion Budget
The Farm Income Assurance program, the coy
one of its kind in Canada, provides a base by whic!
production programs can be carried out with the
assurance that producer income levels can be safe-
guarded. The program will be algae by $27
the activities of
the Land Commission provides an important meas-
ure of job and income security for farmers. Agricul-
3 i
tural Credit programs willbe expanded by
$6 million. This government recognizes the vital
role agriculture plays not only in the economy of
British Columbia, but in the lifestyle of all British .
Columbians. .- ,
- In the coming year, provision is being made for .
expansion of our successful trade missions, tech-
' nical and small business assistance, and industrial
and economic studies programs. In addition, the
British Columbia Development Corporation, formed
to provide financial and technical assistance to-in-
dustry as, to the end of last month, provided 24
- loans totalling $2.8 million. 75% of these loans were
- to small businesses.
A Sharing Budget
A sum of $5 million will be allocated for world
food relief. This augments the $5 million Agricul-
tural Aid to Developing Countries, and Major
Disaster Areas Fund, from both capital and un-
expended interest earnings. The British Columbia
government will match private sector contributions
given to world food relief. If you give a dollar, the
government will match that dollar with an equal
amount, in order to assist all British Columbians
in voicing their concern.
It is the intention of your government to establish
a new provincial financial institution which will be
designed to increase. the competition in financial
markets, to lower interest rates, to support further
economic and social gevelopmest of our province,
to ensure that more of all of our money remains in
our province, and to increase the amount of credit
extended to low and middie income earners, to
farmers, and to small business.
For Your Own Copy...
If you would like your own copy of the 1975-
1976 budget write: Budget, Hon. D. Barrett,
Minister _of Finance, Parliament Buildings,
Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4.
“Our wealth is found in the skills of our people and in the resources which they own...”
- THE GOVERNMENT OF
HONOURABLE D. BARRETT, sa g°S< PREMIER AND MINISTER OF FINANCE
further
March, 1975
March, 1975
~ A legal history of ©
the land claims
By DOUG SANDERS
Part 3: The Treaties in
Ontario and the Prairies
The Royal Proclamation of 1763
established the legal ground rules
for Indian treaties. Land could be
purchased from Indians by the
“governor or commander-in-
chief” of the colony. The purchase
could. only ‘be- “for us, in our
name”, that is, only for the Crown.
The purchase agreement was to
take place at some ‘‘public
meeting or assembly”’ of the tribe.
The procedures: of the Royal
Proclamation were never applied
to the areas. where lands had been
taken from the Indians before 1763.
It was never applied in the
maritime provinces or in Quebec.
It was first applied in an area of
new . European’ settlement,
southern Ontario. After 1763 there
was.an influx of Europeans: into.
that area — soldiers looking for
government land grants, United
Empire Loyalists, Yankees — a
mofley crew. Southern Ontario was
an agricultural settlement, totally
different from the fur trade empire
that the French had established in
southern Quebec.
From 1763. on, the practice in
southern Ontario was to enter into
treaties with the Indians to acquire
land for European settlement. A
Treaty in 1790, involving the
Sandwich area of southern. On-
tario, was.a true ‘beads - and
blankets” treaty. The Indians
received 1,680 blankets, bolts .of..
scarlet cloth, penknives, ivory
combs, horn combs, ribbons, silk
handkerchiefs, laced hats, looking
glasses, plus rum and tobacco.
RECOGNIZE TITLE
In the years between 1763 and
1867, a multitude of treaties and
surrenders were entered into
between the Crown and the Indian
tribes of southern Ontario. It was
clearly the intention of government
to recognize Indian title through
the whole area, and to purchase
land from the Indians ahead of
white ‘settlement. The idea of
relocating Indians further west, a
massive U:S. pasttime in the early
19th century, was proposed in
Canada by Governor Bond Head.
He suggested that Ontario Indians
be relocated on Manitoulin Island.
The idea got nowhere. _
Two important dates for British
Columbia are 1849 and 1871. In 1849
the colony of Vancouver’s Island
was established. In 1871 British
Columbia joined Canada. What
-was the Indian land policy in
eastern Canada on those dates? -
In 1849 the government of On-
tario was committed to a -treaty
process. The following year the
first treaties covering large
territories were signed, the two
Robinson Treaties. They cover the
watershed on the north shores of
Lake Huron and Superior. Those
treaties were not entered into to.
pacify the Indians or to recognize
moral claims. They were entered
into because the whites had
discovered mineral deposits in the
area and wanted to exploit those
resources.
As Lieutenant-Governor Morris
said, the Robinson Treaties were
“the forerunners of. the future
treaties .. .” The Treaty pattern of
Indian Reserves, annuities and
hunting and fishing rights was now
clearly established.
In 1867 the provinces of Nova
Scotia, New. Brunswick, Ontario
and Quebec united to form Canada.
The new Canadian government
immediately began petitioning
England to obtain the. Hudson’s
Bay Company Lands. In 1869 and
1870 the Hudson’s Bay Company
agreed to give up the lands it held
under its charter.
GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBLE
The Company, aware of he
likelihood of Indian land claims,
wrote into. the surrender
documents that. it would be the
Government of Canada that would
be responsible for settling the
“claims-of the Indians for eom-
pensation for lands required fo!
purposes of settlement... ”’
England than turned over the
Hudson’s Bay Company charter
lands (Rupert’s Land, or the lands
draining into Hudson’s Bay) and
thé Northwestern Territory (the
lands draining into’ the Arctic
- Ocean) to Canada, spelling out the
responsibility of the Canadian
government for native claims in all
those areas. :
In 1871, the year that British
Columbia joined Canada, the
Government of Canada ‘began
negotiating treaties with Indians. °
In that, year they negotiated
Treaties No. 1 and 2 in southern
Manitoba. Those treaties covered
the area of the Red River Set-
tlement, which had been located on
land covered by an earlier, but
invalid Indian surrender.
. In. 1763 the | Government
negotiated Treaty 3, covering. the
Kenora-Lake of the.Woods area of
northwestern Ontario. This. joined
the Robinson Treaty areas. with
southern Manitoba, opening up a
railway route to the west. j
These Treaties were not the
“beads and blankets” style of the
1790 Sandwich Treaty. After 1871
the documents cover vast areas of
land, dwarfing the scale of the
earlier Treaties. The system of
perpetual annuities was not well
established. Each year Indian
Chiefs were to get $25.00, headmen
$15.00 and ordinary, rank and file
Indians $5.00. The Treaties
surrendered the entire tribal
territories. . ; :
The Federal Government
promised to establish resefves on a
formula of one square mile for
every family of five. The Treaties
promised. schools and teachers.
They promised twine and am-
munition to help in hunting and
fishing. They promised freedom to
hunt and fish on unoccupied Crown
. lands. They promised assistance in
establishing agriculture on the
reserves.
DESTROYED LIFE
The prairie Indian people revere
their treaties. Yet many people
have described the treaties as
“legalized theft’. Many of those
treaties were negotiated at a time
of great crisis among the prairie
tribes. The traditional economy
was being systematically
NES 1K A
Seems
%
destroyed and there was mass
starvation.
The Government officials made
the most extravagent statements
about the Queen and about their
own motives. Lieutenant Governor
Morris recounts describing the
Queen in the following. way in 1874
to the Cree. and Saulteaux people’
whe signed Treaty No. 4: ‘‘She has
children all over the world, and she
does right with them all. She cares
as much for you as she cares for
her white children and the proof of
it is that wherever her name is
spoken her people whether they be
red or white, love her name and
are ready to die for it, because she
is always just and true. What she
promises never changes. She
knows the condition of her people
here; you are not her only red
children , ... she wants to care’ for
them all...In other lands the
white and red man are not such
(Continued on page 11)
THE LEGAL RULES FOR INDIAN TREATIES — AN EX-
CERPT FROM THE ROYAL PROCLAMATION OF 1763.
And whereas great Frauds and Abuses have been committed. in
purchasing Lands of the Indians,-to the great Prejudice of our
Interests, and to the great Dissatisfaction of the said Indians; In
order, therefore, to prevent such Irregularities for the future, and
to the end that the Indians may be convinced of our Justice and
determined Resolution to remove all reasonable Cause of
Discontent, We do, with the Advice of our Privy Council strictly
enjoin and require, that no private Person do presume to make any
purchase from the said Indians of any Lands reserved to the said
‘Indians, within those parts of our Colonies where, We have thought
" proper to allow Settlement; but that, if at any-Time any of the Said
Indians should be inclined to dispose of the said Lands, the same
shall be Purchased only for Us, in our Name, at some public
Meeting or Assembly of the said Indians, to be held for that Pur-
pose by the Governor or Commander in Chief of our
respectively within which they shall lie. .. .
Colony
A continuing series
Land claims: a special p
ASSINIBOIN HUNTER (E. Curtis photo)
age
Page Seven
a
The Lytton Reserves
from the beginning -
THIRD AND FINAL PART —
McKENNA-McBRIDE
COMMISSION 1912-1924
The McKenna-McBride was set
up by the Provincial and Federal
governments to settle the old
dispute between them over the size
and location of Indian Reserves.
‘The McKenna-McBride Com-
“mission was not given authority to
deal with the question of Native
Title, but the Commission had the
power to allot new reserves where
it felt they were necessary. The
Commission had authority to make
cut-offs, but only where Indians
agreed to it.
In November, 1914 the McKenna-
McBride Commission held a
meeting with Lytton Band. The
Band spokesman made many
claims for additional lands and
raised a number of issues, in-
cluding water, fishing and hunting.
Most of these issues are still im-
portant today and can be included
in the Land Claim of Lytton Band.
The story of the past can be used to
strengthen the position of today.
In 1914 Paul Klawasaht, one
Chief of Lytton Band, said: “‘the
land that we areliving on... is not
sufficient for the use of the In-
dians’’.
There followed over 40 claims for
enlargements of reserves and the
creation of new’ ones.. Sub-Chief,
Harry Sam of Reserve Nos. 25, 26,
and 26A commented:’ “The land
that we have... is very hilly —
sidehills mostly — and what little
land we did have the railway has
gone through and divided it in two.
I would like to have some...
land outside of our Reserve...”
Details’ of these claims are
available from the Land Claims
Research Centre. :
’ WATER RIGHTS
The key issue in 1914 was water
rights and the Band _ strongly
protested the lack of water for
their reserves. One spokesman
said: ‘‘.. We haven’t got very
much water on this reserve, and
what little we have we have had to
divide it with some white men that
have taken up ranches with
us...”
When the Indian agent, H.
Graham, was examined he sup-
ported the Band’s protest over
water. He testified that the
Provincial Water Board was not
cooperating at all with Federal
requests for Indian water rights
and described the discrimination
against Indians: “‘They [the Water
Board] seem to have left out the
Indian records altogether.”
There were also protests over
depletion of the fishery and
restriction of Indian rights. Paul
(Continued on page 8)
March, 1975
ust what the hell
‘A PERSONAL VIEW
N ES | KA
1S land claims?
By GERARD PETERS _
I suppose if you’re hit: often
enough. with the same question it
eventually begins to sink in.
In my year and a half with
Nesika I’ve probably seen more of
B.C. than most people will in‘’a
lifetime. I’ve also had the good
fortune to have met and_ talked
with a great many people.
Because it’s the number one
issue of our times, the discussions
“usually get around to land claims.
Despite all that’s been said and
written. on the. subject, very few
people have definite ideas about
land claims. .
' ve been asked so many times,
“Just what. the. hell is’ land
--claims?” : :
I’m: supposedly on top: of ‘the
issues and: I’m. expected to have.
some. insight into the subject of
land. claims. Regretably I - must
admit that. until very recently ae
definition of our number one issue
has eluded me. .
Land claims ‘was siraelhing I
was. willing to. Jet others. worry
about. It was a vague, unclear idea
that I would let others. pursue for
me. That is, until I began to think
of it in terms of. myself.
‘My early attempts to define land
claims -was like trying to rin
before I could walk. It wasn’t until
I tried thinking of it in terms of me,
my family, my.reserve and my
future that the ideas became
clearer. :
~. MARKS OF TIME
I. should: explain’ that. ’'m. a
member of. the: Samahquam band.
We number Jess ‘than 140 and our
members.are scattered across this
country: and the: northwestern
states, mostly in the Fraser Valley. :
“No. one: lives on ‘reserve:
Late: last ‘summer my dad and
_ his brother brought me, my cousin:
and: two brothers-in-law- to the top
of a. mountain. -Gunsight: peak. ‘is
: only. one of many mountains ‘our
fathers hunted: and trapped as men.
our age.
I'm glad i had an opportunity to
sée an example of how our fathers:
lived before it was aeed: away by.
“‘progress.?”
Less. than’ 10 years ago when. I.
~ joined the Air Force there was no
highway into Mt. Currie where I
lived. Now, in place of the gravel:
road is-one.of asphalt that’s been:
broken and twisted from pressures,
of heavy logging trucks.
--The area around: the Whistler
“Mountain ski resort has. been
described to. me as a°“suburb of -
nowhere.” - Where. 10 years ago
Enrolment up
- (Continued from page-5)
Office -have enceuraged _ the
production. of:a film -dealing with”
‘pertinent aspects of land. claims.
The film will soon be available.
A draft policy is being circulated
to. Bands from, the Department: of.
Indian Affairs. It-is entitled,
“Policy « and. Administrative
‘Guidelines for the University and
-Professional Training Program for
Registered Indians and Inuit.” It
deals with the possibility where
status Indians may no longer
receive full financial aid from
D.L.A. for: college, university, or
other post secondary training. It
suggests various: formulae where
Indian students may have. to pay:
from 15 per cent or more (even up.
to a total) of. their own post
secondary education.
If you wish to receive a copy, see
your Chief, the Union of B.C. In-
dian Chiefs or the Department of
Indiary Affairs.
A book, “Success & Failures,”
parking lots.
there was nothing, today there are
hundreds. of chalets and other
weekend. homes, gas stations,
cabarets and huge, monstrous
Returning home from Vancouver
one Sunday evening we counted
over 400 cars lined up for a red
ligiit just outside of Horseshoe Bay.
Each time the light changed about
25 of thern would move ahead into
Vancouver...
I wonder how long the 400th car
had to wait. If it wasn’t so absurd it
would: be funny. To assert: their
individualism these Vancouverites
take up skis and head for. the hills
along with the rest of the sheep.
PROTEST FOR FUN 2
We: talked of. setting up a
blockade. Not to push land claims
-—but forthe pure enjoyment of it.
We were going to take a power saw. -
and put a huge fir across the high-
way. It would have been fun to
watch the sheep scatter. Perhaps it
would wake them up.
‘More and:-more white people are
waking up, moving their families
out into the sticks and living closer.
to the land. This is what: I want —
but I don’t want another Whistler
in my back yard.
I think that land claims could
assure.a less hectic way of life for
me and my family. The Nazko and
Kluskus bands are taking action
now to’ensure that there is no ) rape
of. their land.
- Before the devalapats det a
stranglehold .on.. the. lands * our. -
fathers hunted, fished and trapped, °
“where they grew their vegetables
/and harvested their fruit we must
ct. :
I doubt: if ¥ could live year round
in Samahquam, however. In winter:
there’s : only: the .snowshoe’, ora
_helicopter...'d ‘hate to rely’ on.a
snowmobile to get me or my. kids
out if we ever had to.
You might remember Attorney:
General Alex McDonald’s flippant
references to services being: more
‘important. to Indians than land
claims. This. despite the fact that.
Indians were telling him and the’.
government otherwise.
from. ~ the
mainstream of society altogether
might - not have ‘to “depend. on
MacDonald’s “‘services” ‘if a land
settlement could make us self
reliant:
“ASK YOURSELF”.
\, So, before you ask again what
land claims is really. all about —
ask yourself.
Is it an office in Victoria you’ve
never seen? Is it news reports of
demonstrations, road” blockades,
conferences, cabinet meetings? Is
it honorariums paid to leaders who
never keep. you informed?
We all agree that there’s been a
land rip-off but can. we see the
' possibility of settlement? What
effect will have on you and your
family? Your brother on skid row? »
Your uncle in. Washington state? -
_Your sister in the hospital? Your
newborn son? Your aging grand-
father:
' Isn’t land dintis people?
SHE IS tand: claims, She's m
y
_ daughter TARA. She‘ represents
We. who .woiild choose * not to: \
remove ourselves
my future and it’s in her best
- interest that | must act.
: MY COUSIN HAROLD points out a road that has been cut through our
Page Nine
reserve lands without our knowledge or consent. This is a more blatant
example of white attitude towards ‘our land: Our old log homes and °
fruit trees are. cut by tourists for easy firewood: They've shot at the
headstones and graves of my: father’s parents and brothers. And’ they
have the audacity to act resentful when we erect a gate and ask them to
‘leave, after all WE’RE NOT USING THE LAND.
HIGH ABOVE Lilliooet lake in the background; my dad Alex and his
- brother Hank. They showed us Gunsight mountain. They knew. this
land: before the old logging road was put in that they're standing on. ,
The narrow: channel between the lakes was dredged about 25 years ago
to.reduce the flood plain in the Pemberton -valley. It caused’ more
waters to run that in recent years eroded one of our cemeteries. What
bones the river didn’ t Sia we transplanted across ss the river. :
FAR FROM the world most of us know, my uncle sits in solitude above
the snows . When I. was thinking that no whiteman had ever seen’ it, a
helicopter flew over the ridge and disappeared. :
Indians in urban society by W. T. DESCENDING FROM Sunsial. If we're lucky this won't be entirely lost to our generation. Despite the devil's clubs and the vine maple I
Stanbury, will be available on book
stands at the end of March.
want to return.
(Photos by Gerard Peters)
- want
Page vee
PART V_EARLY INDIAN SOCIETY.
The first treaty, the first reserves
By JAMES WILSON
In -June 1871 Lieutenant-
Governor Archibald began talks on
the first treaty, and he explained
the idea of the reserve system to
his audience of Swampy Cree and
Qjibway in southern Manitoba:
‘Your Great Mother. wishes the
good of all races under her sway.
She wishes her red children to be
happy. ‘and contented. ‘She wishes
them to live in comfort. She would
like them to adopt the habits of the
whites, to till land and raise food,
and store it up against a time of
Your -Great Mother,
therefore, will lay aside for you
‘lots’ of land to be used by you and
: your children forever. She will not
, allow the white man to intrude
¥
. upon these lots. She will make
+ rules to keep them for you, so that
‘as long as the sun shall shine, there
shall be no Indian who has not a
= place. that he can call his home,
understood. what
“where he can ‘go and pitch his
camp, ‘or if he chooses, build his
a house ‘and. till his. land.’
- The treaty was signed on August
3, 1871.
There has been. some con--
troversy about whether the Indians
they were
agreeing to. They were hunters, to
, whom ‘the European concept of
*and there is evidence from the
memoirs of Alexander Morris, who
» took over the negotiation | of
treaties from Archibald, that some
" ciauses were promised verbally
which were never written into the
«© final document.
Some people believe that when a
chief-could not. be persuaded to
agree, across was fraudulently put
against his name’to® signify: his
‘mark’. On the other hand, con-
temporary accounts show thatin at
least. some of the treaties pain-
staking efforts were made to ex-
plain’ to the Indians the full im-
plication of signing, and the fact
that. during negotiations for some
of the’ later treaties the Indians
fought hard to retain hunting and
fishing rights over the ceded
‘territory indicates that they were
to some extent aware of what was
involved and of how to bargain
from a weak position. In the final
analysis from the white point of
view, it mattered little what the
Indians felt.
HAD NO CHOICE
Archibald recalled that when the
chiefs with whom he was talking
pressed for much larger reserves
than those he was offering, and ‘We
told them that if they wished it or
not, immigrants would come in and.
fill up the country, that every year
' from this one twice as: many in
number as their whole people there
assembled .would pour into the
province and ina little while
_ spread allover it, and that now was
the time for them to come to an
arrangement that would secure
homes and annuities for them-
selves and their children.
‘If they thought it better to have
no treaty at all, they might do
without one, but as they must make.
up their minds if there was to bea
treaty, it must be on the basis like
that offered.”
The Indians had little choice but,
as Chief Mewedopenais said, to
‘deliver over the birthright and my
lands.’ Between 1871 and 1877
seven treaties. were signed, giving |
~ the government. all the southern
part of the Prairie provinces. The
promised large-scale program to
help the Indians become farmers
never materialized and in 1885,
when Louis Riel declared a Metis
republic at Batoche, in Saskat-
chewan, half-starved Indians from
all around were encouraged to
gather at the white community. of
North Battleford to demand food
and the satisfaction of their treaty
rights. The government panicked
and responded by sending detach-
ments of the newly-formed. North
West Mounted Police’ and army
units under General Middleton to
arrest the leaders and return the
Indians forcibly to their reserves.
After. failing to defeat the Cree
Chief Poundmaker and_ his _ ill-
armed warriors at Cut Knife,
Middleton decided to move against
Riel, and hé*took, Batoche on May
12. As ‘an example;
several chiefs were executed and
other leaders imprisoned, while
the remainder of the Indians were
rounded up and sent back to their -
reserves. Next year ‘the first
through train ran from Montreal to
Vancouver, and white supremacy
in the West was finally established.
LARGER INFLUENCE
The treaties transformed ‘the
Indians almost over night from
free hunters into ‘prisoners.in their
own country. Although, before the
1870’s, all the Indians in Canada
had to some extent been affected
by the coming of the white man,
most of them, particularly in the
remoter areas, had been able to”
adapt to the new-conditions within
the framework of their own social
and cultural traditions. Now, when
they were already. weakened and
demoralized by -disease, hunger
and-the increasing problems of
following their traditional way of
life, the Victorian system, cutting
them off from their own roots-and
denying them access to the new
society that was growing up in
their former territory all around
them, confronted them with an
acute physical and cultural crisis.
They were confined on.reserves_
where they were out of the. public
eye..and could. conveniently be
forgotten in the excitement. and:
struggle of building a new country,
and their only contact with the
outside world: was through . the
small number of white men who
were paid to run their lives for
them and to eradicate all traces of
Indianness’.
The legal instrument of their
imprisonment and oppression was
the Indian Act of 1880, . which
isolated the Indian fromthe rest of
Canadian society by a rigorous
definition, and laid down the
regulations that were to govern his
life.
The Minister of Indian Affairs in
Ottawa had responsibility for
every one of a band’s resources,
including land, housing, capital
and income, livestock and
equipment, and he had ultimate
authority over medical services,
employment and _ education,
although in practice, for reasons of
piety and economy, the provision
of schools was usually delegated to
the churches. He was served by a
bureaucracy ~ consisting of
provincial and regional superin-
tendents, and an agent on every
reserve who exercised near-
dictatorial powers over the day-to-
day life of the community.
If an Indian wanted to leave the
reserve for: any reason, if he
Riel and.
March, 1975:
Two NOOTKA WOMEN rest on the beach with clam baskets on their backs, waiting for the tide to fall and
uncover the clam. beds. :
wanted to builda faasiegy cultivate
a piece of land he first had to ask.
the agent,.who might take months
reporting to and'receiving a reply
from Ottawa. The only. way ‘to
escape from this restricted. and
oppressive existence was by
‘enfranchising’ and becoming an
ordinary Canadian citizen, which
was fraught with legal difficulties
and. in-effect meant ceasing. to be
an Indian
The Act of 1880 laid down that in
a request for enfranchisement ‘the
Superintendent-General | shall
authorize some competent person
to report whether the applicant is
an Indian who, from the degree of
civilization to which he or she has
attained. and the..character for
integrity, morality.and sobriety
which he or she bears, appears to
be qualified to become a proprietor
of land in fee simple...’ If the
application was at last accepted,
the Indian had to undergo a three
years’ probation before his new
status was finally confirmed.
' GENERAL RELIEF
Because this system expressed
all the disparate themes of white
policy towards the native —
philanthropy, contempt, ex-
ploitation and ruthlessness — and
because it reflected a diversity of
doctrines regarding what could
and should become of the Indian in
the future, its long term aims were
muddled and obscure. There was
general relief among white
Canadians that the first object of
government policy had been at-
tained, that the Indians had been
cleared out of the way with very
little trouble and were now so
“Indian organization,
Vancouver Island.
license is essential.
V9Y 7L7.
HELP WANTED
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORKER
The West Coast District Council of Indian Chiefs, an independent
invites applications for the position of
‘Economic Development Worker.
This full time position, based in Port Alberni, B.C. will require
the services of.a hard. working self-starter, who is prepared to
travel and work with Indian people on the West Coast of
Some idea of business-practices would be an asset and a driver’s
Closing date is April 18, 1975. Salary is negotiable.
For more information phone 723-8165 or write West Coast
District Council of Indian Chiefs, R.R..No, 3, Port Alberni, B.C.
hemmed in that they could no
longer represent a threat. Some
people now felt that the Indian was
destined to disappear like ‘snow
before the sun’, and believed that it
was fanciful to imagine tribal-or
semi-tribal societies persisting in a
progressive modern nation life
Canada.
Adherents to. this .view thought
that government. policy should be
designed to assimilate the Indian
to. white culture as rapidly as
possible. On the other hand, many
people shared the. vision of
Alexander Morris, the treaty
negotiator, who had witnessed and
sympathized with the. .economic
plight of the nomadic tribes in the
West.
Morris wrote of the future: ‘. . I
see all the Indians, I see the
Queen’s Councillors taking the
Indian by the hand saying we are -
brothers, we will life you up, we
will teach you, if you will learn, the
cunning of the white man. . . . Isee
Indians gathering, I see gardens
growing and houses building; I see
them receiving money from the
Queen’s commissioners to pur-
chase ‘clothing for their children; -
at the same time I see them en-
joying their hunting and fishing as
before, I see them retaining their
old mode of living with the Queen’s
gift in addition.’ Morris thought
that. with
civilization’’ to ‘leaven the. mass of
heathenism and paganism among
the Indian tribes’, and with a ‘wise
and paternal government....
“Christianity and
doing its utmost to help and elevate
the Indian population’ the Indians
would be transformed into ‘loyal
subjects of the Crown, happy,
prosperous and self-sustaining. . .’
UPLIFT THE INDIAN
Despite the conflict between this
view and the ‘realistic’ concept: of
_the native as part of: a doomed
race, there was general agreement.
on the first stage of the govern-
ment’s policy. The Indian was to be
protected from his. own
fecklessness and from the danger
of exploitation by unscrupulous
whites; he was to be converted to
the Christian faith and trained in
the ‘habits and ideas of a higher
civilization.’
The implementation of these
policies brought the whole complex
system of relationships and’
meanings that made up Indian life
under concerted and persistent
attack. At one stroke the govern-
ment swept the Indian’s economic
base from under them and imposed
a stiflingly heavy and totally alien
bureaucracy on them from above.
The nomadic hunting existence
which had given shape to. native
society and made every individual
‘within it vitally important was
actively discouraged and quickly
rendered unviable for the majority
of Indians, while the values which
it promoted became increasingly
irrelevant.
(To be continued next issue)
_
person preferred.
Le
native students.
teachers.
w
qualificatons and experience.
a
to be sent to R. N.
Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta.
a
THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
Requests Applications for
a Position in Native Education -
. Desirable background includes qualification and experience in working
with native students and demonstrated teaching excellence. Native
Candidates should be prepared to offer leadership in building a teacher
education program for teachers of native students and to offer courses
in curriculum and instruction appropriate to the needs of teachers of
They should also be prepared to supervise student
. Current (1974-75) salary scale floors: Assistant — $13,345; Associate —
$17,595; Full Professor — $23,325. Rank and salary dependent upon
. Letter of application, full curriculum vita and names of three references
“Anderson, Dean of Education, University of
. Effective date of appointment: July 1, 1975.
“Page. Teele NES IKA Mareh, 1975
_ We know where to look. We know who's hiring. We
know what they're paying and how many jobs they have.
We're your local Canada Manpower Centre. And —
we work very hard to find jobs for everyone.
We also provide training and counselling Services.
Come in and talk to us. Tell us what you're looking for,
and we'll do our best to help you. |
We want to. Because we're for you.
. E we Manpower Main-—d’ceuvre
and Immigration et Immigration
Robert Andras Robert Andras
Minister | Ministre
Canada Manpower Cenfis
canada Manpower
Let's work together.
- VB10690
Part of Nesika: The Voice of B.C. Indians -- Vol. 3 No. 12 (March 1975)