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

Transcription (Hover to view)


| Published by. : ee
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs

and

B.C. Association of Non Status. Indians of
_ _ AUGUST

1975. a

of Fisheries have reached

fishing. After a series of

"8 meetings at Mount Currie -
— an agreement was arrived

at which will go into effect
on the 15th: of August,
19752

applies to the waters of the
Birkenhead River and Lil-
looet Lake. The Band will
be able to fish seven days
per week with any fishing
gear normally used, subject

| restriction set at 60 fa-
i thoms. Tags for identifica-

. ‘| tion purposes only will be
issued to. Band members

of the Band.

= Fisheries regulations ap-
BS parently require a permit
a and it was agreed that a
. token permit would be
.| issued to. Chief Allan
| Stager. A quota, negotia-
<3 ble each year, was set at
athe number of fish that the
~ Band requires for food.
, «The Band agreed to provide
h athe Fisheries Department
F-qwith statistics on ‘the
&.F. Bumber and kind of fish
bu ken each week. In order
“1 -to-.assist the Band with
this, the fisheries agreed to

~ | patrol officer. .

890-B MacKenzie Avenue, Victoria, B.C. a

If undeliverable,pledse return to. NESIKA,
V8X 3G5

decision to: place Indian





~The’ Mount Currie Indian
._Band and the Department



an agreement on. food

The food fish agreement

only to a net length —

wanting to fish by the Chief -

were stopped, 3
- only when the particular

‘hire a Band member as a

The most significant as- _
pect of the agreement was |
the Fisheries Department -

Fa

food fishing as a_ priority

practice the

erman ranked well ‘above
the Indians. The idea now

_is that the néeds of the
Indian people will be-

‘accommodated throughout
the salmon management
system.

curtailed after all other

forms of salmon taking





and then

species of salmon was
threatened with extinction.

This agreement sounds
good in theory, and it is

‘hoped to. be as good in
. practise. But, past expe-
-rience with. the. Fisheries
- Department leaves doubt in
_the mind of Indian people.
Recent events in the lower

Fraser River and attitudes
expressed by Fisheries

Department officials’in the
media give little reason for ,
optimism.

le

second only to~ conserva-
tion. This was the stated.
_ policy in the past but in.
commercial
fisherman and sports fish-.

The Indian food ~
fishing would then only be

ae Indian’ people are being
accused: by the Fisheries
Department of illegally



dealing ‘in food fish. While

‘such abuses are taking -
place, Indian people do not |
deserve a blanket condem-
nation, and the Fisheries -

Department’s ‘attitude

should come as.no surprise.
’ In 1974, sports fishermen
in the Strait of Georgia
alone, took 465,000 salmon,
yet Indian people taking

_ fish for food were blamed
_by the Fisheries Depart-.

. Currie Band
Signs agreement

ment for depleting the
salmon runs! Three women
from Mount Currie whose

_ average age was 80 years,

were deemed a threat to the

_ fish runs despite -the fact
that they take only half a
dozen fish per year.

The Fisheries Depart-

ment admits. that of the _
- approximately 3,000 Indian

people who food fish in the

. lower Fraser River, only 30

to 40 of them are responsi-
ble for poaching and
illegally selling fish. They
also admit that there are



‘about 40 white’ people

involved in the practise, .
with: all Indian people
getting blamed in the
headlines. ©
Because of what the
Fisheries Department cal-
led excessive poaching, the
international commission’
closed the Fraser ‘River to
commercial fishing for soc-
keyes: Other people see
that the blame should not -
lie as much. with the
poachers, but perhaps with
the Americans, who took

700,000 sockeye just before

the closure, while Canadian
fisherman took in very little’
because of the strike. It
goes. without saying, .of
course, that an inept and.
incompetent Fisheries De-
partment deserves its share
of the blame.

‘Much has been made of
the fact that Dick Crouter,
head of the regional branch
of the Fisheries Depart-
ment, has asked permission

to arm Fisheries Officers.
‘While Crouter cries in the

press that “‘lately my men
have been threatened with

_ lead pipes and shotguns’’,
-no incidents have occurred
in which it would have been

either necessary or advis-
able for Fisheries Officers
to be armed. In fact, the.

‘thought of armed Fisheries

Officers under Crouter’s
command is rather fright-
ening. It was he, after ail,
who fearlessly sent twelve .

continued on page 2.

a shake.

~- outright lies. .
are trying to persuade the ©

letter to. the

Help Us Tell It Like It Is

The VANCOUVER SUN
-- and the “VANCOUVER

- PROVINCE. are the two.

largest newspapers in B.
_C€., and as such, are very
influential no matter what

- the subject is that they are’

reporting. This influence is

no doubt even greater when -

they .report on Indian

activities, since the general -

- public has little understan-
ding’ or appreciation of
' Native people. Their news
articles, and particularly
their editorials, help shape
public opinion concerning

- Native people and _ their.

activities, and while their
articles range. from an
‘occasional good story to

| ' frequently bad, their edito-

_ fials very seldom, if ever,

give our people a fair
They are usually .

7 ‘full of irrelevancies, distor-
‘tions, half-truths, and a few

- public to-put pressure on
the government, on the
- police,

' conform to their ways, it is

‘important that we . fight
these issues on the editorial
pages before we are fight-

_. ing an aroused, but misin-

_ formed, citizenry on, the
_ Streets. +

A recent editorial by the
VANCOUVER PROVINCE
once again misrepresented
. the facts of the Land Claims
: issue. Walt Taylor, a’ con-
cerned non- Indian from



_ with this,
editor:-

~ “A serious factual error
in your editorial, ‘Block-
adées against peace’ (July
22), deserves attention
because it was the crucial
point on which you based
your argument that ‘In-
dians can’t hope to further
-their cause by provoking
confrontations like those on
the weekend,’ referring to
Mount Currie: and Gold
- River.

**You presented as a fact,
‘the commitment by the
Provincial Government to
negotiate these questions
(the Indian Land Claims)
with responsible Indians’.
On June 24, ...a B.C.
Cabinet Committee ...did
commit. the Provincial Go-
vernment to negotiate a

settlement -- but only on.
the specific question of the

(Cut- Off Lands}. aan

“For more than a hun-
dred. years, however, the
Native People of B.C. have

patiently and- persistently

sought recognition of their
Aboriginal Rights and ne-
gotiation of their general
land claim involving all 188
bands.”’

“‘No government of B.C.
has even yet to this day

-. made any ‘commitment to

negotiate’ the general In-
dian Land Claim.

Since they.

and on us, to.

abuse of the land ...”’

_ media.

you understand this, but
your editorial confused this

important point ...”’

‘“‘There has..-been no

. peace for Indians for the

past century. | For the

Indian people, the highway |.

blockades. are not against
peace, but
justice. Indians are now

demonstrating non-violent-

ly, acceping the risk of
non-Indian understanding,
and even going to jail in

defense of their right to.
survive in British Columbia.

as a people.’

in favor of:

‘The real ‘Blockades |

against peace’ are not

'. Indian blockades at all.
They are communication

blockades set up, uninten-
tionally perhaps, by the
governments, the: schools,
the: churches, the press,
radio and television, and

the people - all of us who
have been unable to hear

what Indians are saying, or

_ unwilling to. press our
: Haale ‘Ss government to
‘listen.’ |

“In my opinion, the

- non-violent Indian demon-
strations are~a public

service. ‘Through the
process of negotiating the
general Aboriginal Land
Claim, we and our people’s
government will have an
opportunity for a. much-ne-
eded review of our use and

‘Part of the purpose of the
NESIKA, is to give our the

-readers the information
needed to make -this fight,
and although we thank

Walt Taylor and others like
him, it is essential that
Indian people’ become in-
volved and respond to the
lies and distortions in the
Even when the
media is only giving their
opinion, we must respond --
our silence will only help
convince the undecided
public. —

There are over 30 daily
and weekly newspapers in

_ the province, and dozens-of

television and radio sta-
tions, and. our elected

leadership can not hear,

read, see or. respond to
everything.
your involvement. Help us

. tell it like it is.

at .

They need



I think |



continued from p. 1.
Fisheries Officers and a

doberman pinscher into the

Mount Currie reserve to
seize three nets belonging
to the elderly women.

Crouter’s request for

_ guns did not sit well with B.

C. Attorney-General Alex
McDonald. Instead, Mc-
Donald has worked out an

arrangement whereby R. C. |

M. P. officers will accom-
pany Fisheries Officers on
their patrols to clamp down

on poaching and the illegal |

sale of salmon.



2 NESIKA:

August 1975







“4

It doesn’t take very much imagination to think .of
possible pxplangiens for this cartoon.

Who is the skinny, bare- footed man?

Native’ people.

Who is the fat cat with the cigar?
Governments and giant corporations. «

_ What does the $1 represent?
"Core. funding, First Citizens’. BEES

development’’.

- What does the $5 represent?

“economic ©

_ OUR PRIDE. OUR CULTURE. OUR LAND.

Enou h said,







HARPER
Lake

~i

te sKAIN 13

* Posr
sorricees Hwy i7

to . *
SALMoN ARM

Directions to Neskainlith _

STUFFED
DUMMIES.

~ The Stellaquo Band of
Fraser Lake, have expres-

- sed concern about marriage

to non-Indians. The May
edition of STELLA’T’EN,

the Band newsletter, car-.
ried this message for. our

people:

“In all due respect to -

those people already mar-
ried to the white people, we
urge the rest of you to tell
your children to marry their
own kind. Our grandpar-
ents always told us that. |

Our parents told us also. .
heir main-concern for this -

was the preservation of our

people. If you do not heed

that warning, we will all
end up as stuffed dummies
in a museum 100 years
from now!”’

GET TOGETHER AT
NESKAINLITH, SEPTEM-

- BER 5, 6, 7, 8th:

Come and camp by the

_ Thompson Riy, and share

the land and water with.the
Neskainlith people. Start- -
ing on Friday, September
Sth, people will start

_ gathering on the east side

of the tiver, in the park by
the ballfield.

There are many people
around. the province who
are working together for
‘the sutvival of our people.

Our lives teach us that we

need support, strength,
.and friendship - we also
need to celebrate; be
happy, feast and share. .
But even when we are
gathered, we cannot be
content unless we get
some good hard work done,
so come, join us, and let us
plan for the winter toge-

. ‘ther.

_ We must learn to:stay in
our. own. communities, to
work, build, arid share, and
we can learn this from the
Neskainlith. people. (see
their story on pages 4 and
5) You are welcome to join
us, and share, and plan.

If you are coming and

you have an elder that
' wouldn’t be comfortable in

a tent, the people would be
happy to. make room in —
their homes.

The beginning of the
school-year is just around
the corner. What to: do
about -education - for the
shildren? “A~ major’: discus-
sion about education will
take place, and you’ will
hear the plans and goals of
various people fro around
the province. Other major
issues facing our people
will all be examined and
plans made. There will. be
no ‘‘officials’’ at this.
meeting, just Indian peo-
ple. Please bring food,
sleeping bags, tents, and
friends.

For further information,
contact Bob Manuel or Joe
Manuel at 679-3169 and
leave a message.



if we = are



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Address:







British Columbia.

: ig industry.



—UFAWU pickets block native food fishing

Indian commercial: fish-
“ermen have — traditionally
always been represented by

- the Native Brotherhood of

Brotherhood has bargained
. jointly with the United
_ Fishermen and Allied Wor-
-kers Union for years,
_ representing native fisher-
men on the ‘coast...

This past spring and
summer, however, the joint
negotiating process was
broken, and for a variety of
_ ceasons. The major cause
of the break-down was. the
UFAWU’s stated intention
to. take over the Native
Brotherhood and. become
the sole bargaining agent

for Indian fishermen. The.

_ Brotherhood naturally re-
sisted, and were quickly
supported by the Union of
B. C. Indian Chiefs, and the
B..C. Association of Non
Status Indians.

A press release from
UBCIC Executive Bill Wil-
_ son stated in part, that the
Brotherhood, ‘‘fourded.
some SQ years ago, has led
the fight of Indian people in
_ the fishing industry of

British Columbia. This
fight has been for more
than just jobs in the
a vibe. Sight



i Bidian nenple on the coast,
Licensing . schemes, elimi-

~ nation: of small ‘canneries, |

and high-handed company
_ policies have all served to
force Indians out of their
traditional vocation.’’

“The UBCIC has no
desire to enter into internal
trade union politics. But,



The -

we can-not stand by while
the very livelihood of Indian.-:

_people on the coast is

threatened.”’. m

‘‘We support the Native

Brotherhood in its attempt .

to guarantee continued
representation of Indian
people in the fishing
industry. We view the

jurisdictional dispute: bet- —

ween the Brotherhood and
the UFAWU as not in the
interests: of the Indian
people who depend on
fishing | for their. very
existence.’

_ ‘*Wewould hope thatthe ~
leadership of both: groups

can put aside their differ-

¥

, UFAWU:

- branch of the ‘Brotherhood

industry, “ however, . the —

UFAWU. Executive has _

- the arrogance — -to..declare »
- itself the ‘sole bargaining



ences in the interests: of |

their members. Joint

bargaining should resume .

immediately in order that
the ordinary fisherman can
get back to: making . a
living.”

‘Indian people;

right to-exist on their own
terms in Society. |The
struggle of the Brother-
hood, then, is the struggle |

like all
. Canadians, should have a

of all people for indepen-

dence and freedom ot .

choice.’

The BCANSI Board a
Directors — on Daan te ord,
ed a motion -wholls

BCANSI
President Fred House.
made a press statement to -
that effect the following
day.

in this : dicpuie,

Brotherhood members

and chapters were also —

strongly opposed to~ the
UFAWU take-over.

Reid and the Bella Bella

We’ re Number 1!

The RCMP. now eonsitier

native militants - to. bé ‘a
principal threat to national

stability: This statement,
as well as others, was
contained in a 21 page
RCMP briefing paper to be
presented to delegates at
-the upcoming United Na-
tions International Crime

Conference, which was to

- be held in Toronto.
_ . The report was prepared
‘to. help the government
prepare for possible terror-:
_ism and threats to: impor-
tant people such as Cabinet
_ Ministers and visiting dig-
nitaries at the conference.
The report says, “‘that
the Canadian red Power

Movement has emerged as ©

a principal threat to natio-
_nal stability’’,. although
they later admit that the.

' main aim of-these groups is

‘equitable treatment - by
society, satisfaction of Na-
- tive Land Claims and social.
and economic rights.’’

. Apparently the RCMP’s
main concern

is their .

suspicion that guns are

therised

Cecil |
. cannot accept either posi-

being transported by In- —

dians between various tro-
uble points, such as Kenora
Ontario, and Cache Creek,
B. C. They also admit that
it is legal to: carry and

transport arms in Canada, |
' and that they have no plans

to. seize _ weapons

from.
Indian groups. |

The RCMP used to

consider French Separtists
and the FLQ as the main
threat to national stability,
‘but recent actions by native
people, particularly in B. C.
have changed that ranking.
Although their report sta-
‘ted that native militants are
not out to: overthrow the
government,
‘certainly fearful of another

kidnapping similar to. the

Pierre LaPorte kidnappiing

in 1970, this time by Indian ©

militants.

The U. N. Conference
site-has been changed to
Geneva,

they were

Switzerland, but —

the change is not related to .

the RCMP report. »





agent’ for all fishermen, |
including those of us who .

are descendants of- fisher-

~ men from time immemo- -
rial.

British Columbia are insis-



_ tion,
“sent ‘this,message to the ~~
-“The Brother--

hood is not a new organiza-
tion of fishermen in the 4

son, -

“moves:

..' The UFAWU Execu- |
tive must surely be aware _
that Indian people all over ©

2
77

Another reason for the

breakdown in relations ~

between the Brotherhood
and the UFAWU, was the
establishment of native
fishing® co- operatives at
Bella Bella and Port Simp-
Cecil Reid explains
the reasoning behind these
;: ‘Directly bearing
on-the UFAWU Executive
attempts to discredit~ the
Brotherhood is the emerg-

ing movement of fishermen |

to from Co-operatives.”

“We deplore the



Skipper james Walkus, Jr. and crewman Vivian Paul
_ unload salmon for strike fund sale from the Ocean anye:

ting” now, more than ever

the right to manage their
own affairs - to self-deter-
mination.

come our ‘sole bargaining
agent’ are no different to us
‘than. having an _ Indian
Agent insist that he be

given the sole right -to’

control our lives. We

The Stuart-Trembleur
people will hold a press

conference on Friday Au- .

gust 15th to announce their

| intentions of dealing with

the government’s . ultima-
tum regarding the blockade
they have been keeping on

the B.C. Railway line since

April 28th, The govern-

ment has given the band

until. the 15th: to. accept
their offer of $50,000 and a

| three-for-one exchange of

land for lands lost when the
Railway was pushed thro-
ugh their land seven years

Stuart-

Trembleur . .

ago. The band is asking the
government for $7 million
and will accept the. three-
for-one exchange. .

~ Although their intentions -
| have not been announced;

spokesman Eddy John. has.

stated that they do not |
intend on continuing their —

negotiations through the

mee IKA will feature the
Stuart-Trembleur people
and their struggle to
achieve a fair settlement in
the next issue’s centerfold.

; that they be «given. ~

- The UFAWU ..
Executive attempts - to: be-

‘viewed as. a

bull-headedness of the Fis-

sheries: Assaciation who. in.

the past has refused to

- bargain in good faith with
the fishermen and their

organizations. . But it is
because of the continuing
tie-ups and threats. of
tie-ups that Indian fisher-
men and other groups are
Jooking to-co-operatives of

- their own to opt. out of a

strike torn industry.”’

‘Pork-Barrel’

fic

. Fisheries

- 4th: was set.

- Producer,.

-concluded,

**We therefore must
respect the decisions of the
Central Native Fishermen’s
Co-operative and the Paci-
North Coast Native
Co- -operative to- form their

' own companies.’

When the Brotherhood
and the UFAWU could not ©
come to agreement with the
Association, a .
strike deadline of August
. Both the
UFAWU and the Brother-—
hood then began fishing

_and selling to the public to

raise money for~-a_ strike

fund. Qne of the Brother-

hood boats, the Qualicum
was prevented
from loading ice on board |
by UFAWU pickets, as it -
was preparing to food fish™

for its members on Van-

couver Island. The Bro-
therhood Executive are
stating that the UFAWU is

preventing native people
from exercising one of their
-aboriginal rights, the right

to fish for food, and are
seeking intervention from —
the Federal Government to
ensure their rights.

The UBCIC press release
“At -a° time
when Indian people

throughout the province are
struggling for survival, it is
indeed sad that our fisher-

Men. are being. threatened

in a pursuit which for them

has a 20,000 year history.

“Indian people have a
traditional and historic
place in the cites
try. The. UBCIC,
co-operation with. the Nea.
tive Brotherhood, ask only
that this place continue’ to
be appreciated.

Loses Appeal

The First Citizens Fu-
nd has apparently: lost its
appeal. The fund set by the
Socreds and. maintained by
the N.D.P. has often been
criticized by Indians and
Non-Indians alike as little

_ more than a “‘pork-barrel’’ -
for the party in power.

At
best, the fund has been
*‘catch-all”’
which allows the Provincial
government to. shirk - its
responsibility for Indians as
‘provincial citizens.

ted numerous Indian gro-

ups from making applica-

tion to the fund.

. But, -since’ the UBCIC

| and BCANSI Conferences,

the applications to the fund

-have decreased rapidly. At
a meeting of the First

Citizens Fund Committee
held in April before the

Chiefs

Such —
-criticisms have not preven-

Conference,

more
than 80 applications were

teviewed. At the May
meeting less than 70
applications were
wed. Only-36 applications .
found their way to the June .
meeting. And, finally, July
and August have only
resulted in 12 applications
being made to the fund.

Thought apparently: is
even being given to delay-
ing the next meeting of the
Committee until September
because of lack of applica-
tions. And applications are
not the only things the
Fund lacks. Problems are
being encountered finding .
people willing to. sit as
members of the Commit-
tee. y

a -“‘Suppose you gave a
war, and nobody came?”’ -





NESIKA

August 1975. 3.

revie-

NESKAINLITH RESERVE

- Blockaded Harper Lakes Road. can be seen on hill in
background with Community House second from Right in foreground. Picture was:

taken from Community Garden.



BERT DENEAULT - Built
his own home without
government funds.

CHIEF JOE MANUEL:
“We will keep working,
talking, hoping, and fight-
ing until we win!”’





Freedom

The Neskainlith Indian
Band is located four miles
South of Chase on both
sides of the North Thomp-
son River. The Neskainlith
People, some three hun-
dred in number, occupy
what could be considered a
typical Reserve. A major
provincial highway cuts st-
raight through the Reserve,
along with a railroad
line.

But, while the Reserve
may be typical, the Nes-
kainlith People most cer-
tainly are not. In fact, they
stand as a lamplight exam-
ple for all Native People.
With no money or industry
they stand ready to make a
fight for their Freedom,
Independence, and Self-Re-
liance. They are willing to
fight for their survival as a
people. Chief Joe Manuel
summed up the feelings of
his people when he said,
“We will keep working,
talking, hoping, and fight-
ing until we win!”’

Since the Chiefs’ Confer-
ence in April, the Neskain-
lith People have refused all
forms of government fund-
ing and have actively
sought alternatives. This
policy has resulted in basic
change in Reserve life.
Contrary to the doom and
gloom prophets, rejection
of funding has not resulted
in starvation. According to
Sarah Deneault, just the
opposite is so.

Sarah Deneault, who
alone raised a large family
without taking welfare, said
that welfare had crippled
some of her people.
‘‘People were hungry, star-
ving, and drunk most of the
time when they were on
welfare’’, she said. Now,
she says, few people drink
to excess and everyone ts
happy and working toge-
ther.

‘‘People are starting to
think and plan together
instead of just going down
to get welfare’’, Bert
Deneault stated. Bert in
the last three months has
built a home for his family
without any help from the
Department of Indian Af-
fairs or any government





funding. He also ploughed
the ground for the Band’s
Community Garden and
with others helped to finish
the Community House.

The Community Garden
is being worked by ten
families who will take what
they require from the
harvest and put the rest
into a rootcellar for use by
the Band Members over the



“WE f
Pl

AND NOV
FOR A BET



winter.

The Community House
completed by Band Mem-
bers who worked for no
wages will be used as an
education and cultural cen-
tre. Language classes are
being held in the house now
with the elders teaching the
children the Shuswap Lan-
guage. The Neskainlith
People are not satisfied
with the ‘‘Whiteman’s”’
education system and they
are assuming more respon-



Neskainlith People «
ago.



INLITH

sibility for the education of
their children.

The children will
continue to be sent to the
public school system, as is
their right. But, the
culturally biased approach
to education will be coun-
ter-acted by the Neskainlith
People. In addition to the
language classes, the peo-
ple will hold classes in
Neskainlith history and



TIRED OF
IED AROUND

\RE WILLING TO FIGHT
2 LIFE FOR OUR PEOPLE.’

culture and such basic skills
as tanning hides, growing
vegetables, fishing, and
hunting will be taught by
people interested not in a
salary from the government
but in the future of their
children.

Since the Chilliwack de-
cision, the Neskainlith Peo-
ple have been hunting,
fishing and storing food for
the winter. Fruit and
berries are being picked
and preserved as well.





Chief Joe Manuel stated
that the Neskainlith People
accepted the decision of the
Chiefs and prepared imme-
diately to go it on their own.
Land Claims remains the
motivating issue. The
Neskainlith Peoples’ un-
derstanding of Land Claims
goes far beyond the ques-
tion of a simple real estate
grievance, however. The

fight for Land Claims is the



BEING

fight for the survival of the
Neskainlith: People and of
all Native People.

The rejection of govern-
ment funding is for the
Neskainlith People just the
first step towards their goal
of existing on their own
terms. Chief Joe Manuel
stated that his people will
maintain their stand on
funding forever because
they do not see how they
can be free while existing
on funds meant only to

unch in Park stolen from their Grandparents 70 years







control and manipulate
them. Chief Manuel
admitted that he had some
doubts at first about how
his people would survive.
These doubts vanished he

said when he saw _ the
commitment and_= enthu-
siasm of his people.

“Things have completely
changed’’, Joe said.
‘Before we couldn’t get
anyone out to meetings and
no one did anything without
being paid for it.”’ ‘‘Now
we can call a Band meeting
and have all the people
there in half an hour.”’
‘‘And when we do some-
thing, everyone pitches in
and no one expects to: get
paid.’’ ‘*‘People are shar-
ing and trading things
instead of selling to each
other.”” ‘“‘Money seems
less and less important now
that we are working toge-
ther,’’ Chief Manuel sta-
ted.

Bobby Manuel agreed
that there has been a basic
change in attitude among
the Neskainlith People. He
said, ‘‘for the first time all
people in the Band have
found something to. fight
for.”’ ‘‘They have taken
enough abuse and discri-
mination.’’ ‘‘They are tired
of being pushed around and
now are willing to fight for
a better life for our
people.’’

Despite the fact that the
Band has rejected all
government funding, peo-
ple are moving to, and not
away from, the Band.
Valerie Brant, along with
Bobby Manuel, is an
example. Valerie worked
for the National Indian
Brotherhood and the Union
of B. C. Indian Chiefs, but
sees the real need as
being at the community
level. Her comment: ‘‘I
feel fortunate in being
given the opportunity to
have worked in both the
national and provincial
levels of organization for
I've learned much in those
past 4'4 years. However,
at this time I strongly feel
that the need is at the
community level for sincere
participation in organizing
our people in developing
our lands and our tradi-
tional life styles and va-
lues.’’



Community Garden

Going Home After Long Days Work



Manuel know what land
claims means. They know
that the fight is for their
survival, and for a life with
dignity for all those who
come after them. Yes, Joan
and Jerry like all Neskain-
lith People know what our
fight is all about. They
know it will not be easy. No

Organization and mobili-
zation. Those two words
perhaps sum up the job to
be done on allReserves and
in all Indian communities.
No master plan Is required.
No great amount of money
needed. A new attitude, a
commitment, and just old-
fashioned organization is

what is required. fight for Freedom, Inde-
The Neskainlith People pendence, and Self-Reli-
have the new attitude and ance ever has been. The

spirit. That they are

Neskainlith People are st-
committed and organized is

anding tall and making the

beyond question. And, fight while so many others
perhaps what is most _ still beg for handouts. An
important, this attitude, extraordinary people on an

commitment, and organi-
zation is shared by even the
youngest

ordinary Reserve, the Nes-
kainlith People have good
reason to be proud. 7

Joan and Jerry |
Toe Be aoe eam = «





Joan & Jerry Manuel With Salmon For Survival.

2, es



Progress at joint BCANSI,

UBCIC meeting

At a joint meeting on
August 5th, the elected
leadership of the Union of
B. C. Indian Chiefs and
the B. C. Association of
Non Status Indians con-
firmed their intentions to
carry out the mandate
given them at their organi-
zation S’annual assemblies.

Meeting in Nanaimo,
BCANSI President Fred
House and UBCIC Execu-
tives George Watts and Bill
Wilson agreed to. work
together to seek native
unity, to pool their money
and share resources, and
work solely for a settlement
of the land claims issue.

BCANSI Board Members
Bill Lightbown, Ron George
Theresa Miller, and Danny
Smith as well as a number
of observers also attended.
It was only the second such.
meeting of UBCIC and
BCANSI Executives in theis
six year common histories.
It was called as a follow-up
to the first such meeting -
held in Victoria on June
6th.



UBCIC Executive
George Watts

Since the Chilliwack and
U.B.C. assemblies where
government funding was
rejected, both organiza-
tions established their own
funds to carry on the land
claims fight... At the
meeting in Nanaimo, the
Executives agreed to put all
their money into one fund,
to be used by both groups,
with the Executives from
both organizations being
the signing authorities.

It is expected that ano-
ther meeting in Prince
George on August 15th and
16th-will define the terms
under which the fund will
be used. The Chiefs
Council of the UBCIC and
the Board of Directors of
BCANSI are expected to
meet there to. discuss
organization business on
the 15th, and to hold a joint

6 NESIKA August 1975

- possible

Council-Board meeting on
the 16th. The Executives
will be asking the joint
meeting to approve three
recommendations: (1)

That the present Land
Claims: Office, shared by
both groups in Victoria, be
moved to Vancouver. (2)
That the only staff to be
hired, apart from the
executives, be one Execu-
tive Assistant, and one
secretary. (3) That both
organizations hold a joint
Assembly on October 24,
25, 26, possibly in Kam-
loops or Prince George.

The Executives could not
come to agreement on two
other issues, and these are
expected to be dealt with at
the Prince George meeting
on the 16th of August.
They will ask the joint

meeting to make decisions -

concerning: (1) Salaries
for any Executives and stait
to be hired. (2) The staff

and purpose of the NESIKA

paper.

The Executives would
like to point out that the
Board of Directors and
Chiefs Council meetings
are not closed meetings, in
fact they would like as
many
to. attend. and
express their feelings.
Meeting in front of the
people will accomplish two
things - It will give the
leadership the benefit of
hearing what the people
think about a certain issue,
and it will let the people
know what is happening, in
the Native People’s Move-
ment. If there is a meeting
in your area, make an effort
to attend - we’ll do our best

to keep you informed of the
meetings in advance.

REJECTION
POLICY |
THE SAME

Because of continued
confusion and concern a-
bout whether it is OK to
continue accepting govern-
ment funding, the Union of
B. C. Indian Chiefs has sent
out a memorandum clari-
fying this policy, hopefully
for the last time. The
Memorandum, dated Au-
gust 4th; and sent to all
bands, stated:

(A) The Executive Com-
mittee’s position has not
changed since the Union
held its. seventh annual
Chiefs Conference in Chil-
liwack, where the decision
was made to reject all forms
of government funding,
except funds and personal
benefits all Indian people
have a right to receive as
citizens of B. C. and
Canada:

Indian people as -





~ Council,

Ladyslipper Lake in Cathedral Provincial Park



What’s going to be left to

argue about?

More recent actions by
the NDP government prove
once again, that they are
more concerned about va-
cation spots for weekend
campers, than they are in
settling the Indian land
claims issue. On June
24th, the Department of
Recreation and Conserva-
tion announced it was
expanding Cathedral Pro-
vincial Park by adding
64,000 acres - 100 square
miles - of Crown land to the
present park boundaries.

We must remember here’
that Crown land is INDIAN
LAND! The government
does not have a Bill of Sale
for the province, they never

signed a treaty for it, and -

they never paid for it. -So -
Crown land, in fact, almost
all the land in B. C. is our
land, and they are going to
make a park out of it. -

Cathedral Provincial Pa-
rk is located southwest of
Keremeos, on the U.S.
border, and is described as
an area of superb alpine
lakes, meadowlands and
subalpine forest. Recre-
ation Minister Jack Radford
stated that the ‘‘decision to
expand this park was not
entered into lightly’’, and
the Department’s Envi-
ronment and Land Use
Committee was instructed
to assess the various
resource potentials and
demands. Some of these
included forestry, grazing,
hunting, and possible fu-
ture water impoundment,
but there was no conside-
ration made of the fact that
this 1s Indian land.

Cathedral Park is only
the latest in a long series of
legal sleight-of-hand moves
the governments: have

made, taking Crown land
and putting another name
on it. In the past year, 12
new provincial parks were
created totalling 3,600 ac-
res, 4 recreation areas
totalling 1,900 acres were
created, and one wilder-.
ness conservancy of 325,-
000 acres was created. This
is a total of 330,000 acres - :
515 square miles - almost
all of it being former Crown
lands. The government
could transfer 64,000 acres
of Crown land to expand
Cathedral Park, but it
couldn’t return 27,000 ac-
res of Cut-Off lands which
are now Crown lands to the
Bands involved.

What does this all mean?

It means that since the
government is busy hand-
ing out timber leases,
mining leases, grazing per-
mits, in addition to creating
parks, that by the time they
get around to discussing a
settlement, there won’t be
anything left to settle.
Approximately 90 percent
of the land in the province
is still ‘‘Crown’’ land, but
only 10 percent of it is
suitable for agriculture or
housing.

Many of the reserves
are over-crowded right
now, and the non status
people have no land base at
all. If we are to get the land
our grandchildren will need
for their children, then we
must all enter the land
claims fight now before the
rest of the province turns
into wall-to-wall campers,
drag lines, and logging
trucks.





B.C.
IS
INDIAN
LAND —

(B) The Executive Com-
mittee continues to act on
the mandate given by a
majority of chiefs that we
reject all Federal and
Provincial funds;

(C) From the start it has
always been, and continues
to be, the Executive Com-
mittee’s position that it be
up to bands and individuals
to make up their minds on
whether or not to accept
funding, and

(D) While this policy
remains the same,, the
Executive Committee will
not spend any more time
dealing with. rejection or
acceptance of funds and
from now on will concen-
trate all efforts solely on
Land Claims.

In addition, the memo-
randum, in keeping with a
resolution at the last
meeting of the Chiefs’
asked that all
bands submit Band Council
Resolutions on the matter,
and forward them to. the:
Victoria office.



BCANSI Board of Directors

Meeting

The Board of Directors of
the B. C. Association of
Non Status Indians met
August 2nd and 3rd, at the
Vancouver Indian Center.
Present at the meeting
were Executives Fred Hou-
se and Jamie Sterritt, and
Board Members Neil Ster-
ritt, Rene Poitras, Danny
Smith,Campbell McDonald
Bill Lightbown, Ron George
alternate Theresa Miller, as
well as a number of
observers.

Most of the business
discussed at the meeting
was connected to. the
shutdown of programs and
the office at BCANSI. It
was decided that the
BCANSI Disaster Fund as
well as the assets, after
obligations are met, of
BCANSI Native Housing
would be transferred to the
Land Claims Fund.

There was also discus-
sion concerning the NESI-
KA, Danny Smith’s role as
Co-ordinator, and the Stu-
art-Trembleur and B. C.
Railway dispute. It was
resolved that registered
letters be sent to George
Brown and Doris Ronnen-
berg, asking for written

letters of resignation, and if
not received within seven
days, their verbal resigna-
tions would be considered
official.

An important policy
decision was made when
the Board resolved that
fund-raising for the Native
People’s Movement would
be the responsibility of the
Locals. This would mean
that the Executive and
Board would be free to act
in their leadership roles,
rather than being tied down
to strictly fund-raising acti-
vities, and would require
the Locals to become
directly involved with the
future of the Native Peo-
ple’s Movement.

A motion in support of
the Native Brotherhood in
their fight to protect Indian
food fishing rights. from
curtailment by the UFAWU
was also passed.

It was voted to hold the
next Board meeting in
Prince George on the 15th
and 16th of August, in
conjunction with the UBC-
IC’s Chiefs’ Council meet-
ing, and suggested that the
Prince George Local be
contacted for places to stay.

BCNWS delegates Annie Kruger and Audrey Baptiste

Welfare

Degrades

‘We are not helping
our people by requesting
further welfare which has
degraded our people for so
long!’ These were the
words of Audrey Baptiste in
moving a_ resolution © of
support for rejection of
government funding at the
B.C. NATIVE WOMENS’
SOCIETY meeting in Kam-
loops last week. The
resolution, seconded by
Annie Kruger, was. ulti-
mately tabled by the
women. The meeting itself
was “‘tabled’’ until another
time because of lack of a
quorum to hold elections.

The ‘‘Status - Non-Sta-
tus’’ divide and rule tactic
raised its ugly head at the
meeting. Mrs. Hattie
Ferguson declared that
‘‘Non-Status’’ women ha-

ven't been involved in the
B.C. NATIVE WOMENS’
SOCIETY. This despite the
fact that Kitty Maracle and
Jewel Thomas, both ‘‘'non-
Status’’ according to the
Indian Act, are President
and Vice-President .

The meeting concluded
by throwing-out the Nes-
kainlith Band members
who had come to observe.
It is a sad commentary
when grass-roots Indian
people are not allowed to
attend Indian meetings.
But, it is perhaps no
surprise when one consi-
ders that while the wo-
mens’ group ate in the posh
estaurant of the Stock-
mans Hotel, the Neskain-
lith people were eating
bologna sandwiches in the
park. The sandwiches,
however, were made from
bread baked by the people
and lettuce picked from the
Neskainlith community
garden.



Haida Land Claims



Earlier this year, Godfrey
Kelly, President of the
Council of the Haida
Nation, presented a brief to
B.C. Municipal Affairs Jam
es Lorimer, stating the
Haida people’s land claims
position, and asking for a
halt to development on the
Queen Charlotte. Islands
until a settlement is rea-
ched. The following are exc
erpts from the brief:

.. ‘As Haida, we are
descendants from a never-
conquered people who held

exclusive title to the Islands .

before the advent of the
non-Indian. This title has
never been lawfully extin-
guished. We are, there-
fore, the beneficiaries of
that acknowledged princi-
ple of English Common
Law called Aboriginal Title.
‘‘Our claim is a legal
claim and not one founded
on moral principles alone.
If moral principles prevai-
led or meant anything in
Canadian society to the ex
tent that school-children
are told; the Land Claim
would have been settled
years ago.”’

‘Therefore, on the one
hand, we are subjects to the
rule of your Parliament just
as are our non-Haida
friends who have chosen to
make our Islands their
home. On the other hand,
we have this special legal
claim not enjoyed by our
non-Haida neighbors. It is
our expressed desire to use
whatever special rights we
might have not only to
compensate ourselves for
all that we have lost, and
not only to guarantee the
continued survival of our
people in a manner and
custom that is ours to
choose, but also to ensure
that future generations of
all peoples on our Islands
will be healthy and prospe-
rous ones.

‘The recent history of the
Queen Charlotte Islands is
a history of the co-ordina-
ted exploitation of our
resources and people by
government and corpora-
tions. Our fisheries are
depleted. We can’t even
get a license to catch and
sell salmon without first
having a small fortune to
buy it. Our forests are
owned by the three big
multi-national companies in
the industry. All residents
on the Islands are depen-
dent upon decisions made
in board rooms and gov-

ernment chambers hun-
dreds of miles away from
the Islands.

“Tt is our opinion, Mr.
Minister, and one that we
believe tobe shared by
many non-Haida residents
of the Islands, that none of
us on the Islands will ever
have full and equal rights
until both levels of govern-
ment first settle the Land

Claim to the satisfaction of’

the Haida.”’

“It is the position of the
Council of the Haida Nation
that the Land Claim must
be settled before your- gov

_ ernment takes any action to

redefine the status of the
Islands, and that no further
development take place on
the Islands without our
consent until after settle-
ment.”’

“The Union of B.C.
Indian Chiefs, the North-
west Development Study

Committee (mainly non-In- [777

dian) and the 1974 NDP
annual convention are all
on record as endorsing the
principle of no development
until, after settlement.

Creating municipalities

where none now exist is
development in our eyes.”’

‘‘Without prejudice to
that fundamental position,
we would like to put
forward further thoughts
on how our Islands might
be governed and financed
AFTER settlement of the
claim.”’

‘“‘One cannot second-
guess the eventual settle-
ment of the Land Claim,
but there are certain
principles that must prevail
after settlement.”’

‘*The Haida realize that
history cannot be altered,
and that our non-Haida
neighbors on our Islands
will continue to share in the
Islands’ future.’’

‘“We seek compensation
for the losses we have
suffered. We seek to have
our Aboriginal Title ack-
nowledged and instituted in
legislation. After these two
events occur, we will join in
with out Island neighbors
and tackle our mutual
future.”’

‘“After settlement, the
Queen Charlotte. Islands
will cease to be a minor part
of a mainland regional
district. Our Islands have
the wealth required to
support residential com-
munities well. The pro-

'blem, and it is a difficult

one, will be in stopping the
southern flow of all the
profits that are being
realized from our Islands
every year to fill the coffers
of the corporations and gov
ernments.”’

... ‘Only the Haida peo-
ple have roots which stretch
out to all points and inlets
on these Islands of ours.
Having been here for
thousands of years, it is not
unnatural that we should
view the Islands, their
natural assets, their pre-

stop the pipeline.



WILLING

sent problems, and_ their
future health in a broader
and more total perspective.
Ours is a concern for the
total living nature of our
Islands.”

... Putting it frankly,
Mr. Minister, until such
time as your government
sits down with the Haida
and the Federal Govern-
ment to negotiate a settle-
ment of the long overdue
Land Claim, we submit that
our Islands are not yours to
play around with any
further.’’

TO

Chief Frank P’selei told
the Mackenzi Valley Pipe-
line inquiry the Dene nation
will not allow the proposed
pipeline to be built.

In a speech to the in-
quiry, the Chief said the
Dene people are saving

‘their land for their children.

“Tt is. for this unborn
child...that my nation will
It is so
that this unborn child can

‘know the freedom of this

land that | am willing to lay

‘down my life,’’ Chief
‘P’selei said.
“‘T cannot understand

how a man can live for
wealth and power, knowing
that his ambition and greed
is destroying so much
around him,’’ the Fort
Good Hope Chief said.

‘*Somehow in your car-
peted boardrooms, in your
panelled office, you are
plotting to take away from
me the very centre of my
existence,’’ Chief P’selei
said. ‘*You are stealing my
soul,”’

The Chief accused the







DIE

pipeline company president
of being like the U.S.
military - planning the
slaughter of innocent Viet-
namese.”’

‘Don't tell me you are
not responstble,’” he said.
“You are the 20th century
General Custer; you have
come to destroy the
Dene nation,”’

The Chief told Mr. Blair
he still had a chance ‘‘to be
remembered by history as
something other than a fool
bent on destroying every-
thing he touched.”’

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:
Fred House
1045 119th Ave.
Dawson Creek
782-8766





NESIKA

August 1975 7

Reserves as originally established by Governor Douglas
in the 1860’s. His policy was te recognize Aboriginal
Rights and to make reserves as big as. the Bands oe

desired. |

The issue of reserve land

losses is different than the

aboriginal land claim. The -

aboriginal claim deals with

- Indian ownership ' to- all

~~ Jands in B.C. arid is based

igerkcss

HP s

~~ |

hie

Sia te

by government
‘and by Federal Orders-in--
- Council under the Indian

on native title prior to the -
~~ coming .of whites.
' reserve lands are those.

“lands lost after the reserv

es were established.

The problem of land

losses from reserves arose
_. soon after the first reserves
were sét lp in the t860's: - ©
- Since then,
- has been ‘taken or lost in
_ many ways. -For example,

reserve land

the sizeof reserves has

‘been whittled “down by _

encroachment by whites,
surveys,

Act, to mention a few.
UN .

The clearest example of.

land lost from reserves. is
the cut-off lands taken by
the 1916 McKenna-Mc-

Bride Commission on In--
-dian Affairs in B.C. © This © '

amounted to-over 36,000
“acres and _ included - the

abolition of entire reserves. -

The McKenna-McBride A-

greement was an attempt to
_ solve a dispute between the
_ Federal and Provincial Go-
-vernments over Indian la-

nds. Each claimed that

they ‘‘owned’’ Indian re-_

serve land, and could make
decisions over its use and
~managément. The Pro-

- yince also claimed it had

what it ealled ‘‘reversiona-
ry interest’. This meant
that if an Indian reserve

--was surrendered, it auto-
matically reverted to. the:

Province.

~The Province claimed

this ‘‘reversionary inte-
rest’’. from the Agreement —

of 1875 and 1876, which
had set up the Indian
Reserve Commission, and
eventually created a legal
and jurisdictional tangle
that restricted the Depart-
ment -of Indian Affairs

~ control over Indian lands.

Lost -

‘land.

According to DI A policy;

Indians had to- surrender
land before they coultl lease

' it. ‘But as soon as they did,
the Province claimed it and |
_alegal tangle ensued. This

created a serious roadblock

for Indian initiative in.
_ developing their-own lands.

This | situation- also limi: |
ted a policy that DIA had.

hoped to: expand in- the
years aftér 1900. This was
policy of ‘‘surrender and

sale’? -of Indian - Reserve”
This policy was

designed to reduce admini-
stration expenditures by

“using the proceeds to run
the Department. It was
also to feed the -growing

demand for B. C. lands
from railroads; mining co-
mpanies, and. white’ set-
tlers. An important reason
DIA sought an agreement

_with- the Province was to

free their hand in the
management of Indian la-
nds so that they could sell
more of it.

Another part of the
dispute between the Fede- —

ral and Provincial Govern-

ments was the problem of .

the size of Indian reserves. |
The Province had frequent-
ly objected to the allot-
ments of the Indian Re-

serve Commission, and -had

sometimes disallowed them

or had them reduced. This —
Provincial policy

carry-over from their posi-
tion in the 1870’s when the
Indian Reserve Commis-
sion had been established
and when the ‘‘Indian land
question’ was a hot issue
between the two govern-
ment. | . . :

After 1900, the province

tried to end the work of the
Commission and hoped. to

get some of the reserves
the .

reduced. In 1901,
Premier, James Dunsmuir,

requested Ottawa to cut

down Indian reserves, ‘‘si-

nce very valuable agricul- .

tural lands are being held

by a very small number of

is. a.

~

tedag

we, Trent &

le meaeete ‘
hey Sher

we Re.
Bo ay ; 4 a %
. 4 Surreng Tr ® i
c :




“







+"... story is ‘taken from THE

publication. ;

Indians.”’ The teal. situa-

tion was that some bands .
hadd developed their lands
-and were. quite successful,
-even prosperous farmers
-and ranchers, despite. the
hardship: of overcoming.
' discriminatory provincial

regulation of such things as

_ water, timber, and grazing. |

This campaign by the
Province for a review of the

reserves allotted by :the

. Commission increased after



td’ McBride’ *bectnie

* Premier in. .1903:. ~ His
Conservative government
has been described as a_
-cembination of ‘“‘grimy
machine’’, ‘‘a carnival of

graft’, and a ‘‘sky-blue

vision of a great northern
_ empire’. “New railroads
into. the —
Province, and land specu-
| The >
expanding white population .

were pushed
lation was. wild. .

increased their demand for

land, including Indian re-

serve land.

Premier McBride

connected the problem of
“‘reversionary interest’’.

_and the size of reserves‘in a |
letter. to. Robert Borden,

Prime Minister of Canada.
This letter led to -negotia-

tions. which led to- the.
-. Mci.enna-McBride Agree-

ment. ‘The Agreement said

in part: ‘‘At such places as ©

the Commissioners are
satisfied that more land is
included in any reserve as
now defined than is reas-

onably required for the use. .

of the Indians, the Reserve

- shall, with. the consent of
the Indians, be reduced to

such acreage as the Com-

missioners think ~ reason- |
ably sufficient,’’ and at any

place at which the Com-
missioners shall: determine

that an insufficient quantity. |

of land has been set aside
for the use of the Indians,

~ the Commissioners shall fix
the. quantity that ought to —
be added for the use of such
‘Indians’’. Needless to say,

none of the. bands gave
their permission to have



their lands cut-off by ‘the
-Comrfission. :

- The agreement settled
two points: of dispute |

between the federal and
provincial governments.

The province got a Royal
Commission which was.
authorized to: reduce ‘the
size of Indian reserves , and

also recieve 50% of the

proceeds of the sale of

-eut-off lands. The ‘prov- .
- ince’s reversionary interest”.
was also partially recogn-
_ ized by the-Federal govern-*

ment.:° = *.

” The federal government. |
got from the agreement the _
right to deal with, lease, or —
sell Indian lands, and to use ©

those proceeds ‘‘for the
benefit of the Indians’.

This would enable DIA to
adminster Indian lands

.- more easily and without.
reference to the province's

reversionary. interest .

These are. some of the
reasons the McKenna-Mc-
Bride Agreement was ma-

Progress

The first meeting between

the province and mémbers

of the newly-struck Cut-Off

| Lands Negotiating Commit- .
_tee took place in Victoria on

August 8th.
Chief Adam Eneas, the

representative selected by»

the UBCIC’s Cut-Off Lands

Committee, Welfare Min-

ister Norm Levi, represent-
ing the government, and a

number of members of the ©
-Cut-Offs Lands Committee ©
‘were. present at the meet-

ing. _
‘An operating budget for .

the Negotiating Committee
to carry. out its job was

discussed. Included in the

_interim -budget would be -
money for travel, meetings,
and secretarial
‘help. ms 7
- A great deal of. the

research,

discussion centered on the
100 acres of Crown land
which is to.be returned to’
the bands involved. The
major. concern was who
would have jurisdiction

-lekatla, Quatsino,

on

. Resources

Reserve lands after the Indian Reserve Commission,

the McKenna-McBride Commission, the ‘‘Railway
- Reserves’’, the Ditchburn-Clark Report, and DIA
~. incompetency reduced acreage. Much of the following
LANDS WE LOST a UBCIC

de. It was not to settle or.
'“deal-with the Indians’ claim

for Native Title. Indeed,

“the events of 1911 and 1912
- give the impression that
.the McKenna-McBride. A-

greement was made so that
the broad issue. of Aborigi-
nal Rights would not have

. tobe faced.

A total of 36,000 acres in 35

different cut-offs were

~' made from 23 bands. . The
* bands which lost Jand to the —
.cut-off Commission were:
- Alexandria, Ulkatcho, Na-
_zko,Sheshaht, Ohiaht, Se-
_ton Lake, Squamish, Kin-

colith; Port Simpson, Met- -
Nah-
witti,, Okanagan, Osoyoos,
Upper Similkameen, Pen-
ticton, Lower Kootenay,
Kitwanga, Beecher Bay,
Chemainus, Songhees, and
Clinton. — -

In future issues, we will
examine the cut-offs of.
each band, in a continuing
series. _ Ss
-Cut-offs
over the 100 acres; either
the federal government and

the Department of Indian

Affairs, and their rules and ~
regulations, or under prov- .
incial jurisdiction, or under
a corporate body establish-
ed to adminster it in a trust -
relationship for the band.

There was no discussion,
however, as to which band

_ or bands would recieve the

100 acres. 4
. Norm Levi indicated that.
he would be meeting with
Minister Bob
Williams to decide on the
government member of the
Negotiating Committee,

‘and there was a suggestion

from Levi that all three
members of the Committee
be Indian, but this was not
acted on.

_ The ‘Negotiating Com-
mittee is expected to meet
again on the 18th or 19th of

- August, at which time the

other two Committee mem-.
bers will be finalized. —