Nesika: The Voice of B.C. Indians -- July 1975

Transcription (Hover to view)


Published by
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs
and
B.C. Association of Non Status Indians



NESIKA

(Chinook meaning “US”,
THE VOICE OF B.C. INDIANS

Mail Reg. No. 3025.

890-B MacKenzie Avenue
Victoria B.C. V8X 3G5 Canada
Telephone 479-7166



Postage paid in Vancouver - Second Class July °75,



eGold River
blockade

page 2

eH ditorial
policy

page 3

e Mt. Currie
pages 4, 5



e Militancy
continues

_ page 7





_ Spages 2,4, 5



Postage paid in Vancouver

Mail Reg. No. 3025

If undeliverable, pleasc return to NESIKA,
890-B MacKenzic Avenue, Victoria, B.C.



a
o The Alkali Lake Band has _—-we depend on this land for grazing land, timber, and threatened, over the past
» joined the Nazko and our living as will our other resources and willset century by the unjust,
oO Kluskus Bands in issuing children and grandchild- such fees and stipulations illegal and cxtremely des-
~~ declarations stating that ren, even those as yet as we decide for the use of tructive intrusion of non-
3 the Bands have exclusive unborn. these resources by our native people, with their
3 control over traditional The Alkali Lake Band non-Indian neighbours. No agriculture and_ industry,
ee hunting grounds. Their asserts its control over resources may be used into our lands. We do not
declaration covers ap- these lands andis prepared without our permission; hold them individually re-
proximately 500 square totake any necessary action permission will not be sponsible, nor do we seck
miles in-the Cariboo. The to re-establish our tradi- denied unless the best their expulsion, but we do

} & SOCTOLACY



R WILSON DUFF





pRaqesse

following is a section from
the Alkali Lake Band’s
Declaration of Indepen-
dence:

From PEAVINE MOUN-
TAIN atop the mountain
known as BORDER MOUN-
TAIN, half of the SPRING-
HOUSE HILLS, . straight

tional Shuswap practice of
living in harmony with
nature. We shall use our
homeland wisely and we

Alkali

interests*of our Band are
threatened. Anyone who

‘uses our land and resources

without permission is guilty

claim a just compensation
from their governments.

During the rest of this
century, we expect our
people to regain from our
long-established cultural
heritage the wisdom and
the spirit required for living

across to CHIMNEY LAKE through the twenty-first
to the Lac la Hache century in harmony with
P.S.Y.U. and down that the rest of nature, including

line to the South-East
corner of T.P. 75; back
towards the FRASER RIV-
ER along the Williams Lake
P.S.Y.U. line; and from the
FRASER RIVER back along
its bed to the PEAVINE
MOUNTAIN; Indian Re-
serve #6 (Wycotte Flats)
and Indian Reserve #16.

These lands are part of
the traditional territory of
the Alkali Lake Band of the
Shuswap Nation. We have
never surrendered any of
our lands, nor have we ever



recommend all people in
this Province to do the
same.

In compensation for the
unjust and illegal misuse

and damage done to. our

land under the authority of
the Federal and Provincial
governments we shall ac-

-cept an initial payment of
‘$1 million, to-be used in

of an offence.

Land may be leased ta
the Province for right-of+
way as long as the Band
Council agrees.

We shall develop our
resources in our own way;
we shall take only what we
need and waste nothing, in
the manner of our forc-
fathers. Our land is inti-

our non-Indian brothers
and sisters.

We have learned much
that is useful and much that
is harmful from the white-
man. In future we propose
a more effective two-way
cultural exchange so that
the non-Indians, as well as
the Indians, can benefit
from the best qualities of
both cultures in Canada.

We believe that the
social, economic, ecological
and cultural health of all

‘a people in this Province —
Z —— given up our aboriginal trust by the Band Council mately connected with our perhaps even the survival
9g ae rights to the land, water, for the restoration of our culture and our survival. of the people — depends on
bd on 0 forests, or any of the lands, this sum to-be paid Our land and our culture our success during the next
x eons resources on or under the in 1975. have been seriously dam-
i mi land. Like our ancestors, We shall control our aged, and our survival cont. on p. 7
x

DEPT.
LNT

RCMP STORM BLOCKADE AT GOLD RIVER® mill and chip piles sit on



‘We saw real unity
amongst our people”

Apparently trying to imi-
“tate the cavalry in the
cowboy and Indian movies,
a force of 30 RCMP officers
swooped in at the crack of
dawn to-arrest the Indians
manning the Gold River
blockade. The arrests took
place on the morning of
July 19th; less: than 12
hours after RCMP arrested
53 Indians at the Mt. Currie
blockade. There was a

great contrast between the’

way the RCMP acted in
each case. A handwritten
account by a Mowah-chat
member tells the story:

“On July 19, 1975, 6:15

m., the RCMP rushed at
the blockade with six patrol
cars, one paddy wagon dnd
a Gulf service station tow
truck. There was approxi-
mately thirty. RCMP offi-
cers. —

‘“The RCMP acted like real
animals with no concern
whatsoever of humanity.
They ripped down the
blockade without even tak-
ing into consideration that
there would be a person
sleeping on the other side
of the blockade. Irvin Mark
was sleeping on our side of
the blockade. As the RCMP
tore the blockade down,
one of the logs fell and hit
Irvin on the chest. One of
the logs that fell may have
also hit him on the head
and may have caused the
cut and bruise on his head.
One of the RCMP dragged
him down to the Band
Clinic and left there bleed-
ing.

“Although the Mowah-
chat Band was the first
group to. donate. money
($1,000) to the purchase of
the present ambulance that
serves this area, the RCMP
had the nerve to: call an
ordinary station wagon as
an ambulance instead of
calling a real ambulance
immediately.

‘..The police were very
destructive in what they
did. There were four people
sleeping inside a tent which
was situated on the left side
of an intersecting road. The
RCMP didn’t even have the
heart to wake up the people
inside the tent before
removing it. Instead they
grabbed a corner each and
dragged it right off the
road. The people inside the
tent had to struggle to get
out. Before the last person
woke up, the RCMP
already started to drag him
out.

“With so much cruelty and
animal like action the
RCMP could not even
consider one of the most

2 Nesika, July, 1975.

important necessities of life
which is shelter. The
RCMP took a tent and the
clothing that was inside the
tent and kept it as so-called
evidence.

‘‘And also without realiz-
ing that our carvings are
very important to. us,
because it is our culture to
carve.

And by taking. these they
also without knowledge
committed a crime, one of
their own made rules. The

Indian Act which was.

supposed to: protect our
precious arts, and our
sacred burial ground by
having the white man put a
highway right over where
our loved ones lie. They
also with total ignorance
have taken our drums into
custody. They threw one of
them to the side of the road

and with- insult beat the

drum without meaning,
feeling or heart while

‘taking us to jail.

‘‘We as a people, Natives
and the first people of the
land what the white man
now call British Columbia
have shown the white man
who really are the savages,
by peacefully and quietly
letting the white. man’s
police (RCMP) prove his
beastly and savage actions.
‘“We are a happy people
and we did prove it to the
white man by singing from
our hearts what we really
felt and by without resist-
ing our arrest and happily
going to jail. At the jail we
were also happy because
we know right where the
hearts of our people were
when they found that we
were taken to jail. And with

- this feeling we sang again

as our feeling guided us.

- **When we went in front of
the magistrate we listened’

and told of our ownership of
our drums and our carv-
ings.
under the agreement that
the twenty of us that went
to jail refrain from any
roadblocking activity until
the matter has been de-
cided by law.

““Today we saw real unity
amongst our people as we
got together, listened and
sang with each other. Some
of the people spoke on the
strength of our people as
we go together trying our
hardest to get the land
claim issue settled. Every
speaker speaks from the
heart of the ideas and
suggestions believed in.”’

The twenty people ar-
rested were charged with
obstructing a public high-

_ Variety: of reasons.

They took our |
carvings, also as evidence..

We were released



way, and have since plead-
ed not guilty, and a
September 15th trial date

_ has been set. -

The roadblock was first
erected on July 14th, for a

provincial

claims issue was the prime
reason for the roadblock.
However, the roadblock

served other local purposes -

as well. The roadblock
closed the nearby Tahsis
Co. pulp mill, a source of
many Band member com-
plaints. Hereditary Chief
Ambrose Maquinna has
stated that band members
have constant eye, throat
and skin irritations, as a
result of airborne pollution
from the mill. Another

irritation is trhat the pulp





YOUR GO
a

WHAT HE OWES

The

government’s’
failure to act on the land,

OR "ANGRY WORDS ORDERING
(PEACE OF MIND

td
OR WHO (STEALS FROM YOU FOR

AND DOESN’T ent REMEMBER
you



leased reserve land.

Jerry Jack, organizer of
the roadblock, says that the
blockade also serves: to
protect the salmon in
Nootka Sound from sports
fishermen, who band mem-
bers see as the major

. depleters of the salmon
.which is a major part of the

Mowah-chat diet. The bar-
ricades prevent the sports
fishermen from reaching
their pleasure boats at a
nearby dock.

Band members are
strongly opposed to- the
road which runs through
their reserve, a road they
were never compensated
for. An irisensitive High-



ways Department laid the
asphalt road directly over

.the graves of Mowah-chat

people.

It wasn’t long before the
rednecks in the area started
to react. A group of 30 to 40
townspeople erected a
roadblock on the highway
to prevent the Indian from
entering Gold River. The
two gas stations in gold
River refused to sell gaso-
line to Indians for a few
days, but have since started
selling gas again after a
civil rights suit was sworn
out by Chief Wilson Bob of

AND THERE IS MY PEOPLE
SLEEPING

SINCE A LONG TIME
BUT AREN’T JUST DREAMS

THE OLD CARS WITHOUT ENGINE
PARKING IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE




Nanoose. The white block-
aders were eventually per-
suaded to take their block-
ade down the same day it
was erected,

The townspeople were
blocking a public highway

— the Indians were refus-
ing to let the townspeople
cross private property. The
Indian people never were
compensated for the road
and in effect, it is still
Indian land, and not the
property. of the highways
Department. As a result,
the Attorney-General’s De-
partment had to dig
through their files to find a
1938 Government order
which supposedly gives the
Province the right to use up

to 20% of any reserve for
foads. , -

The entire “episode “has
only served to unite the
Mowah-chat people as no
other thing could. People
whe,were formerly opposed
to. the roadblock or just
didn’t care, are solidly
united with the rest of the
band. At a meeting on July
“20th, after the 20 were

released, every single per-
son on the reserve attended
and all 100 of them vowed
to continue the struggle.
They will struggle and they
will win!

SOMETIMES PD LIKE TO FALL
ASLEEP TOO,

CLOSE MY EYES ON EVERYTHING
BUT I CAN’T

I CAN’T

-Sarain Stump





Dear Friends:

I thought it was much too
long since there was
communication from ariy-
one here to the Land Claims
Office. Generally speaking,
the reserve is moving‘in a
good direction. The local
Land Claims Committee
met with eight elders last
week who outlined all of the
lands they remember the

Nimpkish River and Valley.
We'll be meeting twice
more before the July 25th
discussions...lf we’ve got
any sense at all we’d fet the
ald. pegple do ail the
negotiations for the band —
there is no confusion in
their minds about our
claim. The discussions with
Vickers will only deal with
the 12.3 acres a Band
council in 1961 was coerced
into. selling for the con-
struction of a bridge. A

was sent. out by our band
office to. community,
church, school and Union
organizations in Northern
Vancouver Island to hope-
fully undermine any back-
lash and demonstrations...
Many of the people are still
confused about what is
going on— we’re publish-
ing a Band _ newsletter
monthly which we hope will
help... There is still so much







people using across the

leaflet and covering letter -

pate bopkice fovdg we.

have a core group of about
30 people that have been

talking and explaining,

but-the Reserve is by no
means solid. We are

working on getting our own

school together — the idea
is generally acceptable but
people are so afraid of
change — sort of ‘‘yes,
that’s a good idea’’ and in
the next sentence, ‘‘but
how can it work’... Hey,
what -happened at Mt.
Currie?

Struggling with friends, _

_ Renee Taylor
Nimpkish Band

Editor: aoe

‘As. Secretary-Treasurer
of the B.C. Association. of
Non-Status Indians, I wish
to convey sincere gratitude
and appreciation to several
people who went out of
their way to- contribute to
the: Mount Currie celebra-
tion. CO

Native Brotherhood
members showed their
concern for the gathering in
various ways. Most notable
were the boys who went out

. with-Mark Recalma on his

boat, Sea Luck, and caught
550 west Coast Sockeye.
We know what a job it is to
clean the fish and appreci-
ate Charlie and Bruce
Mickey’s effort, as well as
Mark’s generosity.

WEST COAST COUNCIL

The West Coast District
Council is sponsoring an
arts and crafts festival to

. raise money for their Land
Claims Fund.

This will be held on the
Tseshaht Reserve, Port
Alberni, August 16 and 17

“between 11:00-7:30 p.m.

each day. :
Tent camping facilities
are available. Come and
‘make this a family affair.
It is hoped that there will
be a large variety’ of
NATIVE ARTS AND
CRAFTS. There will also be
a Land Claims Information
Booth; and the Union of
B.C. Indian Chiefs’ film,
“The Land is the Culture”’

An Apology

An apology is necessary
to some people who did not
. teceive the last newsletter
land Nesika. The adresso-
graph machine has ‘come
over from the Vancouver
_ office, and the workers over
here, mainly volunteer,
have been having some
difficulty getting used to it.
Please bear with-us, we've
had some lessons since
then, Sorry, once again.







will be shown on both days. °

Other features include:
atts. and crafts, Indian

dancing, a flea market, folk «

and jazz music, Bingo,
lahal (bone) games, salmon
barbecues - , and _ food
concessions. Buffy St. Mar-
ie will be making an
appearance. .-

There will be a $2.00
charge for each booth, plus
10% of the profits of each
booth. going towards ex-
penses and
Claims Fund. The theme of
the fair is DEMONSTRA-
TION AND PARTICIPA-

_ TION. For further informa-

tion, call Randy Fred at
723-8165.

FIRST PEOPLES
UNITY GATHERING
AUGUST 1-5, 1975
COWICHAN RESERVE
VANCOUVER ISLAND

five days of camping

Indian foods

dance groups and singers
bring‘ your handicrafts

bone games

‘soccer, softball, foot races.
‘talks around the fires



the Land .

ERS

Art Helin, who not only
hauled the fish from Alber-

ni to Mount Currie, but also§)

joined Lonnie Hindle in
cooking a hundred of them,
showed his continued inter-

-est in the Indian Move-

ment.

Thanks go to: Bud and
Diana Reeaima for helping
to organize this vital part of
the event.

I would also like to
mention the William’s boys
at Mount Currie who made
their freezers available to
store the fish in.

‘

It is through the honest
efforts of people like these
that the hopes of disad-
vantaged Indians will be
realized. Distance and un-
familiarity. can be easily
overcome when common
aims. are recognized. The
Indian Movement must
come from the people, for it

is they who are to be

moved.

The Leaders must resist
the temptation to-design a
move and force people into
it. For true Leaders will
analyze the people and
mold a Movement to fit. -

Again thanks to those
who gave.

James Sterritt











fn, af, a af

ia ath sat,

EDITORIAL POLICY

We are trying to find the

path our grandfathers
walked — a path of
freedom, independence,

self-reliance and unity — a
path they walked not that
long ago. We must begin

by walking in, what are to ©

us, new directions. The
journey will be long and
many hardships and obsta-
cles must be endured and
overcome. It is our inten-
tion in this paper, to trace
the path that many native
people are taking, trying to
find the way of our grand-
‘fathers — so that our
grandchildren will walk
that path again.

NESIKA is now being
published jointly by the
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs
and the B.C. Association of
Non-Status Indians, and as
such, will contain news

_from the Bands and the
Locals and is being distrib-
uted to-all people on both
. mailing lists.

In addition to. rejecting
all government funding,

the native people of this -

province, through their
annual assemblies, have
. Stated their sole interests to
be the settlement of the
_land claims issue and the
freedom, independence,
self-reliance and unity: of
the Indian people. In
accordance with these con-

cerns, this newspaper will, |

from this time on, print
only news that directly.
relates to these issues. We
will follow the big news
stories . regarding Indian
activities from across the
province, using clippings
from local papers and

hopefully supplementing it _

with as much local native
reporting and picture-tak-
ing as possible. We also
intend on reporting the
‘little stories as well. —
stories that never make the
papers — of individuals

escaping the welfare sys-
tem to contribute to the

‘growth of the native peo-

ple’s movement.

There are a number of
things this paper has done -
in the past and will not be.
doing in the future. We will
no longer print advertising

‘from either government, or

commercial ventures. Also,
we will no longer print
news of other native organ-
izations unless they are
working for the indepen-
dence of Indian people and
the settlement of the land
claims issue.

‘We hope to: print a
centrefold in each issue to
highlight certain individ-
uals and events: in. the
native people’s movement.
It will be our policy to focus
on today’s leaders and
recognize and appreciate
these people for what
they’re doing now — not
100 years from now when
they are no longer with-us.

At present, we are still
using the name NESIKA
for our paper, but we will
be changing it in the near
future. Any suggestions
will be appreciated.

Now that we are not
receiving funds from the
Secretary of State to-pro-
duce this paper, your
contributions are essential
if we are to continue
publishing. The postage
and printing expenses a-
lone for this issue will

-amount:to more than $800.

Any contribution you are
able to make (money, news
stories, photographs, art-
work) will ensure your
continued subscription.

Readers in the Vancou-
ver and Victoria areas are
invited to. help Jean
Brown, Brian Maracle,
Chris Oliver, Gerard Peters
Darlene Shackelby and
Barbara Wyss who all

_ worked to- produce this

issue.






’ NATIVE PEOPLES LAND
CLAIMS GATHERING
AUGUST 29, 30; 31, 1975
HUDSON’S HOPE B.C.



; ) _ camp out

) speakers on Treaty #8 and
) B.C. Land Claims

for more information con-
tact:

fi

) Fred House
1045 119th Ave.

) Dawson Creek

) 782-8766



LAND CLAIMS MEETING
AUGUST 15th, 16th, 1975
telegraph creek, b.c.









As part of the communi-
cations network for the
Indian Movement, the Un-
ion’s Office in Victoria now
has a telex as well as a
‘RAVEN Radio set.

The call for the RAVEN
Radio is ‘‘Mobile 9 Victor-
ia’. As there are only
people here during the day.
‘please call them. The Tele:
no. is 044-8415.





Nesika, July, 1975 ‘3

“You backed us up as fa
we're not going to |


































The following chronology
of events has brought the'
Mt. Currie people to the
forefront of the Native
People’s Movement:

JUNE 15 Band members
refuse to accept the Federal
Fisheries Department’s
permit system and its
restrictions, and vow to
continue fishing in their
traditional manner, wher-
ever and whenever they |
wish.

JUNE 16 A force of 12,
reportedly armed, Fisher-
ies officers and a doberman
pinscher sweep into the
reserve and confiscate
three nets at the entrance
to Lillooet Lake. The nets
belong to three elderly |
ladies on the reserve, one
of them 105 years old.

JUNE 19 The band!
meets and decides to- keep
fishing in the traditional |
manner and prevent Fish- |
eries officers from returning
by setting up a roadblock
on the road leading through
the reserve and to Lillooet
Lake.

JUNE 21-25 A First
People’s Conference is held |
on a meadow on the. Mt. |
Currie reserve. Over 500]
native people gather to
camp out, and _ share
traditional Indian foods,
play bone games, and enjoy
each other’s company.

JUNE 22 A drunken
white man threatens an.
Indian woman and _ child,
with a shotgun when
unable to get through the |
roadblock. He was with a.
group of other drunken |
whites in a convoy of 4
wheel drive trucks who had |
driven up from Vancouver, |
apparently just to ake control the distribution o
trouble. The security force | Bis the ‘tags, and would not bi
disarmed him and turned | Bf a Po. BE bound by the Indian Ac
“him away.

ae dndian meaning of who is a1
JULY 8 The three elderly , ts oe ay LE 4
2?

JULY 12 A showdow
meeting of+the Band an
the Fisheries people an
the Attorney-General, an
the local R.C.M.P. Th
Fisheries want the Indian
to accept permits, and th
Indians intend to practis
their aboriginal rights an
-vant the Fisheries Depar
ment to change thei
priorities. They want to se
that Indian food fisherme
have first claim on any fist
rather than what seems t
be the case right now, wit
commercial fishermen an
sports fishermen having
higher priority than India
people fishing for thei
food. The Fisheries peopl
were trying to blame part c
the depletion of the salmo:
stocks on Indian foo
fishermen, but they wer
reminded that a total c
465,000 salmon were take:
out of Georgia Strait alone
by sport fishermen in 1974
An Indian woman. wh
takes 6 spring salmon .
year from the river surel
can’t be blamed for th
disappearance of the sal-
mon; after all, the Mt
Currie people have bee!
fishing those rivers an
lakes for the past 20,001
years, and-the salmon stil
return to. the river t
spawn.

Eventually, it was agreex
that:

1. The Fisheries Depart
ment would issue a permi
once a year in the name o
the Band.

2. The Fisheries Depart
ment would issue a numbe
of tags to the Band t
identify Indian nets.

3. The Band woul

Indian.

women who owned the! 4. The Band would notif:
confiscated fishing’ nets, the Fisheries Departmen
travel to Vancouver to meet | of the number and kinds 0
with Fisheries officials. | fish caught weekly.
Earlier, they had been 5. The Band and _ the
promised by the Fishcries Fisheries Departmen
Department, that if the: would together determine ;
‘ women came to Vancouver | yearly quota of the numbe-.
and identified themselves : of fish to be taken by the
as the owners of the nets, ° Band.

the nets would then be 6. Band members may
returned. Once confronted fish where and when the:
by the women, Fisherics .

want, but only for food.
officials refused to return ‘This agreement repre

Mt. Currie people after unsuccessful meeting in Vancouver with Fisheries Dept.

the nets unless the Band From left to right are: Lloyd Williams, Juliana Williams, Mary Williams, John sents a significant break
agreed to accept the permit Williams, Verna Stager, Adelina Williams, Maggie Saul, and Chief Allen Stager. through for Indian people
system and all its restric-

The three women in the front row own the nets which were seized. in the struggle to have thei
tions. The people would not

¢ aboriginal rights recog.
agree to this, so they left nized by the government. A
the office.

formal agreement is ex.

- , > meta

r aS we are going to go
jo back any further”

pected to be signed be-
tween the Band and the
Fisheries Department on
July 28, 1975.

David Vickers, Deputy
Attorney-General, helped
bring about the agreement,
and then asked the meeting
that since the fishing
dispute was settled, could
the blockade be taken
down. He was then told
that the conditions for the
removal of the blockade
had increased. Among the
purposes of the roadblock
were:

1. A desire to- protect
hereditary hunting and
fishing grounds from fish
and game officials.

2. Protesting the Federal
Government’s refusal to
negotiate public use of the
Band road to Lillooet Lake.

3. Prevent further timber
leases and mining permits
from being issued, within a
30 mile radius of their
traditional trapline. ~

4. Prevent further leas-
ing of Crown Land within a
30 mile radius.

5. Protest the Federal
government’s refusal to
consult or compensate re-
garding the dredging of
Lillooet Lake and resultant
erosion and damage.

6. Protest the govern-
ments” failure to recognize
the land claims issue. ,

Vickers then responded
by saying the road was the
property of the Department

of Highways, and produced -

copies of papers which
were signed by 15 Band
members in 1948 to put the
road through the reserve.

The Band then stated
their case for the ownership
of the road:

1. The Band itself never
agreed to the road — only
15 individuals.

2. The Band was never
compensated for the road,
only the individuals and
then only for moving their
fences back — at a rate of 4
cents per foot. ,

3. The 1948 agreements
were apparently only sign-
ed with x’s — typewritten
x’S,

4. The road has been
washed away in several
sections by the river and a
replacement section was
put on Indian land without
any token agreement or
compensation.

5. A new bridge replac-
ing the old bridge at the
entrance to: Lillooet Lake
was built on Indian land,

again without any token
agreement or compensa-
tion.

In an impassioned and
fiery speech, Band member

—_Joha.. Williams then told

Vickers, ‘‘You’ve backed us
up as far as we’re going to
go, we're not going to go
back any further. The
blockade is going to- stay
up. The white people that
came to this valley — we
helped them, and what did
they turn. around and do?
Kick us in the ass. The
white people are concerned
because now their busi-
nesses are failing. Well
what do you think is

happening to us? Twenty-
two people on this reserve
died last. year because of
aleohol. I don’t want my
children to go through this.
I’ve had enough. I am
ready to die.

Tell that to your govern- .

ment.”’

The meeting ended with
the Indians determined to
keep the roadblock up.

JULY 16 After conferr-
ing with Vickers, Attorney-
General Alex MacDonald
issues an ultimatum to the
Mt. Currie people, ordering
them to dismantle the
roadblock. The Band re-
fuses. ‘

JULY 17 The process is
repeated. The government
threatens. The Band meets
until 2 a.m. and refuses.
The R.C.M.P. arrive in
force.

JULY 18 Chief Superin-
tendent R.H. Simmons of
the Vancouver subdivision
of the R.C.M.P. and a force
of SO men begin to
dismantle the roadblock at
8 p.m. Over 150 Indians are
present, ready to go to jail
to protect their land. The
Indians offer no resistance,
and are carried off the road
by the R.C.M.P., singing
and drumming their way to
the paddy wagons. An hour



and a half later, 53 men are
in custody. A large number
of women and_ children
werc also arrested, but
were released soon after.
Chief Allen Stager then
asks the rest of the people
at the roadblock to get off
the road and regroup in a
nearby yard. Soon, the
RCMP are patrolling the
road and tourists are
driving by on their way ‘to
Lillooet.

AUGUST 28 The 53
men, charged with ob-
structing a public highway,
have pleaded not guilty and
have a trial set for this date.



a= T-OFF LANDS

This is the first in a series
of articles concerning the
cut-off lands dispute. This.
issue contains the agree-
ment signed by the provin-

cial government and the.

Cut-Off Lands Committee
of the Union of B.C. Indian
Chiefs, and also, the
general principles of a
settlement as adopted by
the Committee. In future
issues we will examine how
36,000 acres of Indian
reserve land were illegally

taken by the province it:

1916, and we will also
examine each reserve
which has lost land and
report on what has since
happened to that land.

A Memorandum of Un-
derstanding was signed in
Victoria on June 24th at a
meeting with representa-
tives of the provincial
government and the Cut-
Off Lands Committee.

The agreement states:

1. It is agreed that as a
symbolic gesture of good
faith, the Government of
British Columbia will re-
turn One Hundred Acres
(100 acres) of the Cut-Off
Lands that are unalienated
(vacant) Crown Lands, by
the 1st September, 1975.
The decision as to which
Bands will receive the land
will be made by the
Government of British Co-
lumbia.

2. It is agreed that a cut-off
Lands Committee will be

constituted of three people,

with one representative
selected by the Indian
People, and with both
representatives selecting
the third member. This
committee would recom-
mend to the parties to this
agreement more specific
terms of reférence for the
Cut-Off Lands Committee.

There-after the committee
will report to the govern-

ment of British Coiumbia

its recommendations on or
before the 31st December,
1976, and the government
will reach resolution of the
committee | recommenda-
tions on or before the 24th
June, 1977. In its inquiries,
the committee will receive
submissions from twenty-
three (23) individual Bands
with respect to cut-off lands
associated with each band.

3. It is agreed that in the
interim discussions will
proceed in an orderly
fashion and that the public
and the operation of gov-
ernment will not be incon-
venienced by demonstra-
tions, blockades, or any
other such actions.-

4, All negotiations on the
cut-off lands question are to
be between the Govern-
ment of British Columbia

and the Indian representa-
tives. The Federal Govern-
ment will become involved
through discussions direct-
ly with the Government of
the Province of British
Columbia.












Chief. Adam Eneas

Signing on behalf of the ---

committee were: Adam
Eneas, George Watts, Har-

ry Dickie and Joe Mathias. .
These committee mem- '

bers felt the meeting was a
success and called a meet-
ing of the Committee
together at the Squamish
Band Office on July 14th to
agree on the principles of a
settlement and choose their

representative and a third.

person. i

Seven Bands attended
the meeting: Squamish, ,
Okanagan, Penticton, :
WestBank, Chemainus, ::
Port Alberni, and West.:

Coast District.

Chief Adam Eneas was

selected as the Indians’
representative, and the 36
people in the meeting also
selected an advisory com-
mittee of Joe Mathias,
Floyd Wilson, George Har-
ris, and Phillip Joe to assist:
Adam Eneas.

A list of 10 names were
accepted as choices of a
third person on the 3-mem-
ber committee. .

*PRINCIPLES OF
SETTLEMENT

The meeting also re-af-
firmed the principles of a
cut-off lands settlement
which were originally a-
dopted by the Cut-Off
Lands Committee on March
14th, 1975. The principles
they adopted are as follows:

1.An immediate land freeze
on the cut-off lands.

2. A settlement of the
cut-off lands issue is not to
be considered a settlement,
or a partial settlement of
the general land claim in
British Columbia. Lands
that are returned through a
cut-off settlement are not to
be counted with lands that
might be set aside as part
of general settlement of the
claim for Native: Title.
These issues are separate
and the settlements should
be separate.



6 Nesika, July, 1975

3. 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
with which the Provincial
and Federal government
must deal. a Settlement of
. these other types of losses.

open.

is: Return of land or
alternate
value. Monetary or other
forms of compensation are

secondary.



5. Any monetary compen-
sation that is part of a
cut-offs settlement shall not
be considered part of
compensation for the gen-
eral land claim.

Sam Baker

cut-offs shall not be taken
out of presently funded
programs of the Depatt-
ment, either in B.C. or the
rest of Canada. Other
Indians should not have to
pay a cut-off settlement by
having their programs cut.
This responsibility lies on
the government of Canada
and the government of B.C.

6. Any Band, or Indian
organization that has spent

funds for research, legal :

services, or organizing for a

cut-off settlement, gets -

reimbursed. These repay-
ments are to-be over and
above the

compensation.

7. No Band winds up with
less land than they had
before the cut-off; additions
and new reserves made by
the McKenna-McBride
Commission to those bands
with cut-offs notwithstand-
ing. We do not speak on
behalf of Bands who got
new reserves in 1916, but
had no. cut-offs. These
new reserves and additions
were within the terms of
the McKenna-McBride
Commission, but the cut-
offs were contrary to those
- terms.

8. Cut-off lands that are
returned to be re-establish-

These issues will still be

4. Our negotiating position

land of equal ©

Monetary compensation for ~

| ‘Chief Jacob Krueger —

settlement’s »



























/

a



ed as a reserve. In these
cases there will also be
other compensation for the
following:

(a) For loss of use since
1916.

(b) For damages, or non-In-
dian use, that has rendered
the land less valuable.

(c) In cases where gravel,
lumber or other resources
have been extracted, Bands
will receive compensation
for loss of these resources.
(d) Damage compensation
for loss of lands without
consent.

9. Where government









Squamish Band Manager
S. Baker

buildings or public institu-
tions are on cut-off lands,
land reverts. to reserve
status and any improve-
ments that have been made
become assets of the Band.
Bands can then negotiate

leases for non-Indian use of.

such public buildings.

Our position toward white-
owned homes and develop-
ment already on cut-offs is
that these people too have
been cheated. by the gov-



ernments. The Provincial
government sold titles that
it did not really own. We
are not saying that these
people have to ‘move out or
leave their homes. We are
saying that they too are
victims of fraudulent gov-
ernment action and ask
them to join with us to
settle the cut-off land issue.

10. Where lands that have
been sold but can be
repurchased, funds used
to repurchase are not part
of other monetary compen-
sation that is forthcoming.

11. Each Band will partici-
pate in the negotiations of
its own individual settle-
ment and its details.

12. Land valuations and
past sale prices will be
evaluated by independent
estimators for purposes of
negotiations. Price of any
cut-off lands should be
valued on today’s land
values, because this land
would have been reserve
land today without Mc-
Kenna-McBride’s wrong
doing.













Penticton Band member

Province wide

Stuart- _
Trembleur

Three months have
passed since the Stuart-
Trembleurpeople erected a
blockade on the B.C. Rail
Line and the blockade is
still up. The blockade
originally constructed on
April 28th, can be squarely
blamed on the B.C. govern-
ment’s failure to. come to
terms with the Stuart-
Trembleur band before
constructing the 420 mile
B.C. Rail Extension.

The railway was built
through seven indian re-
serves in 1970, but a formal
agreement’ was hever
signed between the railway
and the Indians. As recent-
ly as 2 years ago, the
Stuart-Trembleur band was
ready to settle for a
three-for-one land ex-
change and cash compensa-
tion in ‘‘five figures’’.

But the government’s
foot-dragging have made
the Indians more impatient
and demanding. They are
now asking for $7 million in
addition to the land ex-
change.

Eddy John, a Band
manager and chairman of
the Lakes District Council
of Indian Chiefs has stated
the Band’s position that the
blockade_.will ._remain . in
place until a settlement is
reached. The government
has insisted on its removal
prior to negotiations.

“It has gone on for seven
years and we do not intend
to let it go on for another
seven years,’’ said Eddy
John. ‘We had no alterna-
tive but to assert our
interest in the lands
through which the railway
passes.’’

The native people there
have also demanded that
‘government officials come
to Tachie Village to negoti-
ate a settlement in front of
the people rather than a

few leaders travelling to
Victoria.

The lengthy blockade has
brought about a closure of
the Silvacan Resources
sawmill at Takla Lake, 110
miles north of Ft. St.
James. A total of 120
employees and loggers are
now out of work, with the

. company president admitt-

ing that most of the men
have already been flown
out of their homes in Ft. St.
James, Prince George, and
eastern Canada.

No trains have gone to
Silvacan since the blockade
began, and the situation is

clearly at an impasse. Even _

though the rail line is
clearly trespassing on Indi-
an Land, the recent actions
by the province against
other Indian people with
similar grievances is cause
for concern.

We’re certain the Stuart-
Trembleur people intend to
stay, and to you we send
this message: Brothers and
Sisters — be strong! Our
thoughts are with you. You
have set a courageous
example for our other
brothers and sisters to
follow. Your determination
makes us proud. You will
win!

Thanks to Prince George
Citizen and Bill Graham,
and Williams Lake Tribune.

Neskainlith

The Neskainlith Band is
still maintaining the closure
of the access road to Harper
Lake which was begun in
late May. The road was
closed to non-Indians in
order to protect the fish and
game within the traditional
territory claimed by the
band to ensure a_ food



source for the band mem- ~

bers.

The conservation of food
resources is of utmost
‘importance, since the band
is still adamant in its
rejection of all government
funding.











Alkali band

few years in achieving a
cooperative interaction
among all cultures. In any
case we are now bringing to
an end our long experience
over the past five or six
generations with one-way
cultural imposition. We are
native people and we
intend to live according to
the values and principles
which served our ancestors
so well for so long.

At a June 20th: meeting
between members of the
Cariboo Tribal Council and
provincial Resources Min-
ister Bob Williams, Chief
Ray Hance stated, ‘All that
we got from this meeting
today is little answers to
little things. The reason for
any meeting we have to-go
to is land claims. Until the
government recognizes

cont. from p. 1

land claims and aboriginal
rights, nothing is going to
be settled. The position of
my band at -this time
is...that absolutely no de-
velopment is going to take
place in our area until the
government sits down and
talks land claims. We’re
telling the government
what we are going to do. If
they want input into it, fine,
we'll sit down and talk....
make damn sure you take a
message back to the legis-
lature and tell those guys.
down there that this prob-
lem with-the Indians is not
going to be solved unless
the people in power sit
down and talk land claims
with the Indian people.”’

In reply, Bob Williams
said, ‘‘Some people will
never be satisfied.”

—thanks to Coyoti Prints



Tsyecum

The Tsyecum Indian
Band has declared the
Patricia Bay clam beds
“‘off-limits’’ to whites. The
closure, which toek place
on June 13th, is stil in
effect, and Band member
Gabriel Jack has stated that
an opening date is indefin-
ite, and they may be
permanently closed.

‘No trespassing’ signs
have been posted around
the bay, and the RCMP will
help enforce the trespass-
ing prohibition.

Gabriel Jack said - the
beds are an important
source of food for the band,

but after heavy harvesting -

by whites, there are very
few left. White people have
destroyed the bay’s oyster
beds and the band is trying
to stop that from happening
to the clams, he said.

The Tsyecum people live
on only a 71 acre reserve,
and the clam beds are badly
needed as a food source.
Band members complain
about traffic on the reserve
and trash on the beach.
They are also complained
about the white. pcoples’
habit of rolling logs on the
beach into the water. The
logs, of course, are the
Band’s source of firewood
during the winter months.

thanks to Victoria Daily
Colonist and Gabriel Jack

Nanaimo



The D.I-A. office in
Nanaimo is open again. The
occupation lasted 47 days
and involved as many as 80
Indians at one time occu-
pying the office. The
occupiers, led by Chief
Wilson Bob of Nanoose
Bay, left the office on July
13th; at the request of some
bands in the South Island
District,

Since the offices have
re-opened, a committee
was formed which met with
Larry Wight, Regional Di-
tector of D.I.A. He was
given a number of demands
which, if not met, would
result in a permanent
shutdown of the office on
August 15th.

““SHUT DOWN ALL D.LA.”’

Nimpkish

A meeting has been
scheduled for July 25th
between members of the
Nimpkish Band and David
Vickers, Deputy - Attorney-
General, to settle the
dispute over the Nimpkish
Bridge.

The Band set up a toll on
the Nimpkish Bridge at
Alert Bay to demand from
government:

1. The provincial govern-
ment negotiate with the
Nimpkish Band Council
immediately to- arrange
compensation for the 12
acres taken without the
consent of the Nimpkish
people.

2. All rights. to. the
Nimpkish River and _ its
resources be returned to
the Kwawkewlth people.

3. The provincial and
federal governments agree
to negotiate with represen-
tatives of the native people
of B.C. to scttle the cut-off
lands and the general land
claims.



The Band is longer
charging tolls on the
bridge. The bridge was

built on Indian land in 1961,
and with the government
use of scare tactics man-
aged to coerce the Band
into selling 12.3 acres of
land to-the Highway De-
partment. The Nimpkish do
not recognize the land
transfer, and are returning
the $433.20 received for the
land, to the provincial
government.
em: a

Unity at Mt. Currie: Fred House, George Watts, Bill

militancy continues

Kamloops

Pressure from
Thompson River District
Indian Council has been
successful in closing the
Kamloops office of the
Department of Indian Af-



the

- fairs. Only a few of the

original 33 employees re-
main, settlings accounts
and clearing up back work.
Some employees have been
forced to operate out of
their homes, and the D.I.A.
office has switched to using:

an unlisted telephone num-

ber as a result.

Picketing, which began
May Ist and lasted seven
weeks, and pressure from
at least 21 of the District's
25 bands, were responsible
for the closure, which is
expected to become com-
plete in August.

Ohiat

The closure of a hiking
‘trail which crosses Indian
land on its way to the Cape
Beale lighthouse is still in
effect. The closure, which
took effect on June Ist, is
on a two mile stretch of the
trail which crosses the
Ohiat Indian Reserve No. 9.

Complaints of debris and
‘the number of tourists
crossing the reserve
‘brought about the closure
-by Chief Art Peters. Al-
though there are no block-
ades, outsiders are still
prohibited from using the
trail.

The trail runs from
Bamfield, on the west coast
of Vancouver Island, to the
lighthouse, and is proposed
to be included in a section
of Pacific Rim National
Park.

Thanks to Alberni Vall-

‘ey Times and Mrs. Art

Peters.















3 3 n
es int ; :
mee § ee sae
Les? fed nee



Wilson, Phillip Paul, Adam Eneas.



Nesika, July, 1975 7



The Chiefs Council of the
UBCIC met on July 16 and
17 at Christ Church Cath-
edral in Vancouver

Those attending the
meeting were: Bill Mussell
- Fraser East, Don Moses -
Thompson-Nicola, Jacob
‘Krueger - Kootenay-Oka-
nagan, John George -
Fraser West, Tom Sampson
- South Island, Charlie
Thompson - West Coast,
Ray Hance - Cariboo,
Forrest Walkem - Thomp-
son-Nicola, and Phillip
Paul, George Watts, and
Bill Wilson of the Execu-
tive.

The meeting decided to
send the minutes of the
Chilliwack Assembly out as
soon as possible. It was also

Chiefs —
Council

Meeting

agreed that the executive
and council concentrate on
finalizing, submitting and
negotiating the fishing and
agricultural proposals
which have been submitted
to all bands but which were
not dealt with at the
Assembly. Also, work is to
be started on developing a
proposal on hunting.

A significant change was
made when a motion was
passed requiring each dis-
trict to pay for the expenses
of their representatives as
well as their telephone
expenses.

The nexi meeting of the
Chiefs Council is scheduled
for August 15 and 16 in
Prince George.

‘The BCANSI Board of
Directors met on the 12th

Vancouver Indian Center.

of non-confidence in Vice-
President Doris Ronnen-

‘George Brown. The resolu-
tion stated that the two
‘Shave not upheld the
resolutions as set out by the
7th Annual Assembly, and
have indicated no interest
in the NATIVE PEOPLE’S
MOVEMENT.”’

At a press conference 3
days later, Doris Ronnen-
berg and George Brown
resigned their positions
with the Association.

At the Board meeting, it
was also indicated that
Alfie McDames would re-
sign from the Board of
Directors. Danny Smith
related how Alfie McDames
informed him in a. tele-
phone call of his intention
to resign because he felt
that his present job and
family commitments would
not allow him to devote
enough time to the move-
ment.

If both resignations for-
mally occur, then Ist
alternate George Asp and
2nd alternate Theresa Mil-
ler will replace Brown and
McDames.

It was reported that the
BCANSI office is virtually
shut down with all the



Rock for Land Claims

The West Coast District
Council of Chicfs recently
sponsored a 24% day rock

festival for the purpose of.

raising money for the
district’s Land Claims
Fund.

It was estimated that at
its peak, over 8,000 people
were in attendance, and a
profit of over 510,000 was
realized after expenses
were tallied.

The co-ordinator of the

I enclose a donation of

Name

Please enter my subscription to NESIKA:

festival was Randy Fred of
the Tseshaht Band, who did
a good job.. All security
workers, concession work-
ers, and carpenters do-
“nated their labour for the
affair. Thank you, once
again to all that did!

Randy has a number of
suggestions for those other
groups who are thinking of
sponsoring a similar event.

thanks to Richard Watts





and 13th. of July at the:

the highlight of the meeting.
was a near-unanimous vote.

berg and Board member.

BCANSI
Board Meeting

unsold furniture and files
being sent to the former
land claims center in
Victoria. At present only
two accountants and the
B.C. Native People’s Credit
Union Manager remain at
the old BCANSI office with
the telephone changed to
732-6122.

Later in the meeting
Danny Smith was elected to
co-ordinate BCANSI activi-
ties in the Victoria office,
and is expected to- begin
work August Ist.

It was agreed that any
profits from the sale of land
in Williams Lake and
Dawson Creek, and from
the sale of assets of the
Williams Lake Sawmill
would go to the land Claims
fund.

Present at the meeting
were: Fred House, Doris
Ronnenberg, Rene Poitras
Neil Sterritt,- Bill Light-
bown, Ron George, Danny
Smith; Jim Lanigan, Ther-
esa Miller; absent were:
Jamie Sterritt, Lonnie Hin-
dle, George Brown, Alfie
McDames.

The next meeting is
scheduled for August 2nd
and 3rd at the Native
Brotherhood Office, 193
East Hastings, Vancouver.





Many thanks to- Stan,
David, Gillies, Bill and
David and the Western
Voice for their help in
producing this issue.










Address



Fa ggg IO OF GO gO IIa eg OO its Ba IE





Sec. of State
agrees

‘““BCANSI, after all, isn’t
stopping its work — it’s ina
transition phase, and the
emphasis on the communi-
ty level places the respon-
sibility for self-determina-
tion squarely in the hands
of the people themselves. I
don’t see how anyone can
view that as a negative
thing...”

Those are not the words

_of Fred House, President of

BCANSI, but those of
Secretary of State Hugh
Faulkner. Mr. Faulkner
met with Fred House and
some BCANSI board mem-
bers on July 18 and left the
meeting understanding and
in complete agreement with
BCANSI’s rejection of gov-
ernment funding. He said.
further that, ‘‘] am con-
vinced that the Association
is representing the non-sta-
tus Indians in B.C. accur-
ately with this decision. I.
think it’s a brave decision
and I have undertaken to
communicate the Associa-
tion’s reasoning to my
colleagues in Ottawa.’’



Where were you when

I think it has not been
explained too clearly by the
leadership the reason for
the rejection of DIA and
provincial monies.

It is not because the
leadership wants to see the
Indian people suffer, it is
because they want to see us
survive — not as beggars
on our own land, but as the
strong and independent we
once were. The way things
stand, if we continue
accepting DIA control, they
will literally control us out
of existence. This is be-
cause like many other
Indian people across the
country, we know there is a
master plan for taking our
lands. ...Their deadline for
this is 1980. What does this
mean? This means that our
reserves will become like
the white people’s town.
This. means that our re-
serves will be run like white
people’s towns. This means
that we will’ be taxed for our
land every year. How many
of us will be able to-pay
land taxes every year? How
many of us will lose our
land because we can’t pay
our taxes?

The 1980 land claims
settlement will be on the
government’s terms — not
ours, and they will push for
a cash settlement.
good is cash to. us when
everyone knows that we are
heading for a depression
and the money will be
worthless and there will be
no employment. The un-
employment all across the
country is getting higher.

If we allow this to happen
— five to ten years from
now, we won’t even have
our land to live on. we
won’t have our waters to

What -

fish in or our forests to hunt
in. All we'll have is worth-
less money — we can’t eat
money.

Our only hope is if we
pull together and settle
land claims on our own
terms together. This is the
only power we have. THAT
WAS WHAT THE UNION
OF B.C. INDIAN CHIEFS
MOTION WAS ALL A-
BOUT. WE MUST REJECT
ALL FUNDING FROM
THE DIA OR WE WILL BE
AIDING OUR OWN SELF-
DESTRUCTION.

Every district is aware of
the inter-tribal fighting that
goes on over a few dollars
the DIA gives us. It’s an old
tactic — when. we are not
united, we are weak. We
are getting less every year
from the DIA. Next year
there will be no housing, no
education program for our
people past the age of
sixteen. Why are we, as a
growing nation, getting
less and the DIA is getting
more every year? They are
expanding — not reducing,
at the expense of our
people. We are so busy
fighting amongst each oth-
er for scraps while the DIA
is feasting on steaks! WE
ARE SO BUSY FIGHTING
EACH OTHER THAT ONE
DAY WE WILL TURN
AROUND AND ALL OF A
SUDDEN WE WILL FIND
THAT IT IS TOO LATE.
What are you going to say
to your children and grand-
children when they ask,
“Where. were you when
they took our land?”’

-from an anonymous pam-
phlet at the Mt. Currie
blockade