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

Transcription (Hover to view)


Published by
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs

and
B.C. Association of Non Status Indians
SEPTEMBER 1975





Bes

torla

*

890-B MacKenzie Avenue, Vic

V8X 3G5

se return to NESIKA,

If undeliverable,plea











HE

Ae

Pierre John and Ed John at Blockade”

...We first declare as
follows:
~ Firstly - We claim the
sovereign right to all the
country of our tribe - this
country of ours which we ha
ve held intact from the
encroachments of other
tribes, from time immemo-
rial, at the cost of our own
blood. We have done this

because our lives depended ~

on our country. To lose it
meant we would lose our
means of living, and
therefore our lives. We are
still, as heretofore, depen-
dent for our living on our
country, and we do not
intend to give away the title
to any part of same without
adequate compensation.
We deny the B.C. govern-
ment has any title or right
of ownership in our coun-
try. We have never treated
with them, nor given them
any such title. (We have
only very lately learned the
B.C. government makes
this claim, and that it has
for long considered as its
property all the territories
of the Indian tribes in B.C.)
Secondly - We desire that
a part of our country,
consisting of one or more
large areas (to be selected
by us), be retained by us for
our own use, said lands,
and all thereon to be
acknowledged by the go-
vernment as our absolute
property. The rest of out
tribal land we are willing to
relinquish to the B.C.

government for adequate
compensation.

Thirdly - We wish it
known that a small portion
of our lands at the mouth of
the Tahltan River, was set
apart a few years ago by
Mr. Vowell as an Indian
reservation. These few
acres are the only reserva-
tion made for our tribe. We
may state we never applied

for the reservation of this

piece of land, and we had
no knowledge why the

government set it apart for





VOICE OF |



are made with-us at a very
early date, so all friction,
and misunderstanding be-
tween us and the whites
may be avoided, for we
hear lately much talk of
white settlement in this
region, and the building of
railways, etc., in the near
future.

Signed at Telegraph Cre-
ek, B.C. this eighteenth
day of October nineteen
hundred and ten by:

NANOK Chief of the

- Tahitans



Tahitan

Land Claim

us, nor do we know exactly.

yet.
Fourthly - We desire that

all questions regarding our

lands, hunting, fishing,
etc., and every matter
concerning our welfare, be
settled by treaty between
us and the Dominion and
B.C. governments.

Fifthly - We are of the
opinion it will be better for
ourselves, also better for
the governments: and ali
concerned, if these treaties

—. Declaration

NASTULTA alias Little
Jackson

GEORGE ASSADZA

KENETL alias Big Jack-
son .
and ‘eighty other members
of the tribe.

The Tahitan people clear-
ly knew what land claims
meant when they issued
that declaration some sixty-
five years ago, and so did
the members of many other
tribes who made similar
statements concerning the-







B.C.




INDIANS



ir lands long before most of
us were born. Since then
the government’s reaction
to-our claim for a settle-
ment to the land question
has ranged from openly
hostile, to openly deceitful.

_It should be clear to-us by

now that the government is
not going to make a
settlement out of the
goodness of its heart, and
the present NDP govern-
ment is as good an example
of that as any. They were
elected on campaign pro-
mises to recognize aborigi-
nal rights and begin work-
ing on a land claims
settlement, instead, they
have refused to-do either,
treating them as a political
football to -be passed back
and forth between Victoria
and Ottawa, while continu-
ing to offer welfare-orien-
ted programs and policies.

The time has come to.
stop complaining about
government’s lack of act-
ion, for that responsibility
is now clearly ours. We
must take up and carry on
the fight of our grandpa-
rents for a just settlement
of our land claim. They
meant us to live proud and
productive lives as mem-
bers of independent Indian
nations. If we don’t want to

disgrace the memory of our

grandparents and all they
fought for, then we all must
become involved in the land
claims struggle NOW.

Letters

We thank Mr.
Williams of Kingston On-
tario for a lengthy 5 page
letter he tock the trouble to
write recently. However,
because of space limita-
tions, we have had to edit
his letter, and we offer you
these excerpts:

** ... We must not put our
names nor agree to their
White Paper.- Don’t let
your Chiefs be weak, have
him know not to put his



name down on a paper he |

don’t understand of DIA...
This time we will be ever so
sorry we took the DIA’s
ways. We shall truly have
ne more land, no wild life,
no animals, not even a fish
to eat.

** ...We now must get all
of our natives together and
fight this for what belongs
to us natives.. We'll not let
the DIA do what they want -
0 way- we don’t want our
mative land to. be turned
upside down like the white
city. We are happy the way
our lands are now, nice and
wild and green as Mother
Earth and clean like the
great blue sky and nice
clean air...

“We have to become
warriors if that’s the only
way they’ll understand, we
shall fight..It is our chiefs
who must fight and our
people to help our chiefs...

“The thing is asked,
What shall we do? Let the
DIA come in and let them

_® do what they want with our

land - or are we going to
stand up for what belongs
to us...

Ralph Wiliams
Kingston, Ontario

Gatherings

Land Claims was the
subject of two gatherings of
native people recently. The
first was a gathering in
Dawson Creek. otganized
by Fred House, in which
weather played an impor-
tant factor. Heavy rain
ruined the first two days of
the affair, but the third day
was sunny and allowed
nearly 200 people te attend
and participate in the
discussions. Many fine,
strong speakers attended
from Chetwynd, Fort St.
John, Dawson Creek and as
far away as Fort Nelson.
An un-named BCANSI
member donated almost an
entire moose to feed the
people at the affair.

The Neskainlith gather-
ing, organized by Bob
Manuel, was held the
following week, and achi-
eved much the same
results. Approximately 200
people turned out and
participated in the discus-
sions. Weather for the
event was beautiful and
allowed the Neskainlith
people to bring a bear for
the communal cooking pot
which was kept going by
themselves and the people
from the group with no
name,



Ralph














\

NN





G

UE eed
er a
ths

wd SX

SHORE HOPE THE ¥ LIFT
THAT BLOCKADE. AFORE
CALEDONIA DAYS , CAUSE
/M. A GOW ON
THROUGH /FN THEY
DON T.





Pinchi-Pete,
‘i'n be wl ati na
for You j

The Stuart-Trembleur blockade brought a quick
reaction from the Caledonia Times paper in nearby Fort
St. James. A band member replied with the cartoon on
the right 2 week later.





RCMP Using FBI Methods ?

The F8?} ignores it,

Until their own are killed.
Then suddenty and silently,
The countryside is filled
With men in khaki jackets

Carrying loaded guns

And trucks & jeeps & halftracks

& planes that carry bombs.

! guess the deaths don't matter much

unless the body's white.

Those who kill Red People

sleep peacefully tonight.

Death is never easy, seldom is it planned —

AlM does not go out & say, “Let's kill us a man,”
But. an the Pine Ridge Reservation,

Death's a way of fife,

AIM supporters die there by guns and clubs and knife

Women ia their 80s,

Children not yet ten,

die there without warning, die with awful pain.
One a week, then two a week,

The death tall grows and grows,

How many, counting hidden bodies?

No one really knows!

-Bob Bacon

The poem refers to an
incident in South Dakota
last June, when two FBI
agents and an Indian man
were killed in an exchange
of gunfire on the Pine
Ridge Reservation.

First reports were dram-
atic. ‘The agents had been
‘ambushed’ from ‘sophis-
ticated bunkers’ as they
approached a small cluster
of houses to serve ‘kidnap-
ping’ warrants. The agents
were dragged from their
cars, the U.S. said, and in
an ‘execution’ hit ‘15 to 20°
times with bullets. The
‘barricaded band of thirty
Indians escaped’ through
open fields after a ten-hour

gun battle’ and after 300 —

police reinforcements had
surrounded the site.

While that might make a
good movie plot, it turned
out to be simply untrue.
Officials have been forced
to admit there was no
‘ambush’, there were no
‘bunkers’, there were no
‘executions’, the agents
were not ‘riddled with
bullets’, the agents were
no-where near the houses
which the U.S. forces shot
at, the FBI does not know
how many people were
inside the houses or any-
thing about the escape.’ In
fact, at this time, no one
reaily knows what -did
happen, although by the



p2

September 1975

NESIKA

time the FBI admiited

these contradictions with -

their earlier version, it was
no longer front page news.

It’s understandable, that
the FBI would be upset
after losing two agents, but
the manner in which they
reacted was almost unbe-
lievable. Sent into- the
scene were:oyer 200. FBI
agents, assisted by Neb-
raska and South Dakota
State Troopers and sheriff's
deputies and a special force
of BIA police. They
conducted a ‘‘shoot-first-
and-ask-questions-later
search with helicopters,
armored personnel carr-
iers, airplanes, and auto-
matic weapons.”’

““When the assault was
over, the hundreds of
officers found only a
woman and a few children
who have endured the
ordeal, And thus came the
highly improbable tale that
sixteen men and eight
women, in broad daylight,
surrounded by 300 armed
police officers, had emer-
ged from a tiny one-room
house and escaped. Some
officials even speculated
they had been on horse-
back.” |

While we in B.C. are
fortunate that an incident of
this nature has not yet
occurred, there are indica-
tions already, and long-
held suspicions, that the
RCMP would react in the



same manner. Following a
regular Saturday night
brawl in a Ladysmith hotel
last August, an Indian shot
another .man, wounding
him and éscaping. It must

be acknowledged that this

kind of thing happens with
some regularity throughout
the province, but the
RCMP sent out 35 men, a
helicopter, and dogs to get
their man. Like the attitude
expressed in the poem,
most native people proba-

ably feel that if circum-,

stances had been reversed,
if a white man had shot an
Indian and escaped, that
the RCMP would not have
put the same effort into
trying. to find him.

Let’s hope that future
use of these FBI methods
will be unnecessary.

Thanks to AKWESASNE
NOTES







BUCHANAN
AND
BOOZE

The scene was remini-
scent of old cowboy movies
in which Indian agents
armed with wagons of
liquor would get the Ind-
ians drunk so they would
sign their lands away.
However, instead of a
Hollywood movie set, the
scene was a Kamloops
hotel, with members of the

i Kootenay-Okanagan and-

Thompson-Nicola District
Councils playing the part of
the Indians, and DIA
Minister Judd Buchanan
playing the part of the
Indian Agent.

Buchanan had called the
special meeting of the
councils for September 3rd,
on 1 day’s notice. When
the Indians arrived at the
hotel and asked which room
the meeting was in, they
were directed to a room

_which was fully set up with

a bar and three cases of
liquor and nothing else.
Back at the desk, the
Indians said, ‘‘There must:
be some mistake, we're
here for a meeting.”’ The
hotel said, ‘‘No, it’s the
right room which Mr,
Buchanan has arranged.’
Needless to say, the
Indians present were
shocked and angered at
Buchanan's arrogance.
While it is not unusual for
the government to hold
receptions and. social func-
tions in which rivers of
booze flow, to arrange the
same thing and call it a
business meeting only dis-

/plays the Ministers low

opinion of Indian people.

On learning that Buch-
anan had bought the
liquor, virtually everyone
refused to touch it.

Well, at least this meet-
ing had a happier ending
than the movies.



Don’t Applaud, Send Money

We do not rec eive
government funds to prod-
uce this paper so your
contributions are essential
if we are to continue
operating. Expenses are
now more than $1,000 per
issue, and any contribution
you are able to make
(money, news stories, pho-
tographs, artwork) will
ensure your continued sub-
scription. We print 11,000
copies now and twice as
many people will get our
message at no extra cost if
each reader would just pass
this issue on to someone
else. So please, pass it on.

A reminder--this paper is
only dedicated to the native
peopie’s struggle to be-
come free and independant
and achieve a just land
claims settlement, so we
hope these who have sent
in material that doesn’t
meet our guidelines under-
stand.

Readers if Vancouver
and Victoria areas are
invited to help Jean,
Ardyth, Brian, Chris, Shir-
ley, Bill, Jesse, Wayne,
Darlene, Ron, Sandy, Pat,
and Pam, who all worked to
produce this issue. Thanks
also to the WESTERN
VOICE.

Please enter my subscription to NESIKA:

Il enclose a donation of

Name:



Address:







Hope for Unity Fades



As reported in the last
issue of NESIKA, BCANSI
and UBCIC Executives,
meéting for only the second
time, agreed to work
together, to pool their
money and resources, and
work solely for a settlement
of the land claims issue. It
was expected that at a joint
Chiefs’ Council and Board
of Directors meeting, the
governing bodies of both
organizations would agree
to accept their recommen-
dations.

Meeting separately in
Prince George during the
morning of August 15th,
were the two groups. The
three Union Executives
were present as well as
seven Council members:
Ray Hance - Cariboo, Ron
Seymour - Lakes, Charlie
Thompson - West Coast,
Don Moses - Thompson-Ni-
cola, Wes Williams -
Lytton-Lillooet, Jacob Kru-
ger - Kootenay-Okanagan,
and Mary Lou Andrews -
Fraser East.. The major
item discussed at the
Council meeting was the
move to: pool the money,

resources and staff of both —

organizations for a settle-
ment of the land claims
issue. After it was pointed
out that both groups would
retain their own identities
and that it was not a move
to amalgamating the two
organizations, but instead
was merely one of co-opera-
tion in trying to achieve a
common goal, the idea was
accepted by a vote of 5 in
favour, 1 opposed, and 2
abstentions. It was a
landmark decision, mean-
ing there would be no
competition for the same
funds, and that both
Executives would have to
agree on the disbursements
of funds.

Meeting at the same
time, the BCANSI Board of
Directors (Fred House,
Jamie Sterritt, Bill Light-
bown, Jim Lanigan, Rene
Poitras, Theresa Miller,
Danny Smith; and Ron
George) discussed the de-
tails related to: the shut-
down of the housing pro-
jects in Williams Lake and
Dawson Creek.

Meeting together for the
first time, the Council and
the Board discussed a
number of issues. Among
them was the possibility of
a registration process being
developed to enumerate all
native people of at least “%
Indian blood.

Since both groups did not
have exact figures on their
financial position, decisions
regarding the staff, execu-
tives salaries were postpo-
ned to a future meeting.

A motion to move the
present office to Vancouver
was defeated, but agree-
ment was reached on a joint
‘UBCIC - BCANSI Assembly
to be held in Kamloops on
October 24, 25, 26, 1975.

In attendance at the
meeting were almost 60
observers, including 30
from the Neskainlith Band.

The Prince George meet-
ing seemed to be a good
start on what will be a long

road to: achieve a native
unity. Since then, how-
ever, several events occur-

red which have completely ©

halted the moves to unity,
and postponed new efforts
for months or probably
even years. Since then,

George Watts resigned ©

from the Executive, and the
West Coast District Council
disbanded as a result of the
constant bickering over the
government funding issue
within the district. -

A scheduled Chiefs’ Co-
uncil - Board of Directors
meeting failed to materia-
lize at the Neskainlith
gathering on September
6th, as the Union was
represented by only 5 of its
18 Council members, and
BCANSI by 6 out of 11.

The fragile unity began
disintegrating when the
UBCIC called a meeting of
the Chiefs’ Council for the
12th and 13th of September
in Kamloops, and BCANSI
scheduled a Board of
Directors meeting for the
13th and 14th of September
in Vancouver, in response
to the Union’s meeting.

For the fourth time since
the Chilliwack Conference,
the Chiefs’ Council was
unable to get a quorum at
its meeting in Kamloops.
Those attending were: Tom
Sampson - South. Island,
Ray Hance- Cariboo, Forest
Walkem - Thompson-Nico-
la, Ken Luggi - Lakes,
Jacob Kruger - Kootenay-
Okanagan, Charlie Thomp-
son - West Coast, Wes
Williams - Lytton-Lillooet,
Ivan Tallio - Bella Coola,
and Executives Philip Paul
and Bill Wilson.

The reason for the split
between BCANSI and the
Union soon became evident
as Executive Philip Paul
made a statement to: the
Council that he firmly
objects to the ‘‘amalgama-
tion’’ of the two organiza-
tions, and believes it is not
the issue at hand, but that
the organization must be
put back on its feet.. He
stated the ‘‘reason the
people won’t talk to: us
about land claims is be-
cause we’re identified with
the whole rejection thing.
We led them into: it, -we
have the responsibility - to
lead them out of it. In a
prepared statement, he
said the decision to reject
federal funding was ‘’pre-
mature and ill-conceived’’,
and that he would ‘’encou-
rage all bands to return to
accepting federal funds.”’
He also stated “‘the rejec-
tion of provincial funds
serves no practical pur-
pose, and in my opinion, all
bands should continue to
accept such funds.’’ He
stated the rejection issue

has no relevance and that it

is time to- move in a new
direction.

Bill Wilson, the other
Executive, announced his
intention to continue carry-
ing out the mandate of the
Chilliwack Conference, and
work towards unity, inde-
pendence, and a just land
claims settlement:

+ Although lacking a quo-

rum, the Council did vote to
hold a special general
assembly in Kamloops on
the 4th; Sth; and 6th. of
November. Although an
agenda was not finalized, it
will presumably deal with
the funding issue and new
mandate for the leadership.
Don Moses, the alternate.
representative for the Tho-
pson-Nicola District, . was
elected to replace George
Watts.as the third'Union
Executive. He said he
would accept the position
until-the Kamloops Confe-
rence, .
It was announced that
there is roughly $50,000
remaining in the UBCIC
bank account to: hold a
conference, and Philip Paul
was selected to co-ordinate
it. é
On learning the results of
the Chiefs’ Council meet-
ing, the BCANSI Board of
Directors vowed to continue
the iand claims struggle
and indicated they would
soon be opening an office in
Vancouver. A number of
issues were discussed as

possible future courses of ©

action for BCANSI to
encourage individual invol-
vement and raise funds for
the movement. Among
them were a series of
meetings to be held in
every Local to. increase
Local involvement, and a
registration process listing
all native people entitled to
participate in a land claims
settlement.

In other business,Board
member Lonnie Hindle
resigned from the Board,
and is to be replaced by
Ron Sterritt of Campbell
River. Since Fred House is
probably no longer being
paid from the UBCIC
funds, the Board voted to

begin paying him a salary.

of $1,000 a month. The
figure was suggested by
him, and contrasts with the
$500 salary for UBCIC
Executives.

Danny Smith-was selec-
ted to keep working on the
final wind-up of BCANSI
money matters, and it is
expected that after all the
bills are paid and collected,
BCANSI will have a surplus

of approximately $80,000.





EDITORIAL



For those of us who have been so closely involved in

the native peoples’ movement, who felt the rush of
excitement as the people threw off the shackles in




which the government had kept us chained, who

anxiously held our breath as the first few steps toward
unifying the native people in this province were being





taken, the events of recent weeks have been saddening

indeed.



We watched the combined assemblies representing
all the native people in this province adopt a
commitment on behalf of the people-a commitment to




_ begin striving for our own freedom, independence, and



self-reliance, and a just settlement of the land claims
issue and a recognition of our aboriginal rights.

We watched our elected leaders struggle in a totally
new situation, attempting to find solutions to problems
they had never faced before. For the first time in many
years, we were not involved in trying to run an
organization according to the white man’s rules. We

_were setting our own goals and trying to determine our

own destiny.

And we have watched some of our leaders fall by the
wayside, not equal to the task that lies ahead of us.

And we have watched some that would have us
return to the pathetic existence we have just rejected.

But, we have also seen others who are determined to
help the people reach the goals they have set for
themselves, who will meet problems head-on, and
who won’tbe sidetracked or delayed by others who do

not have these same goals.

The fact that there are people, many people, who will
not quit and are determined to win better lives for all of
us, lightens our heavy heart and gives us courage.

Let those who are seeking direction find the courage
to overcome the obstacies and face the hardships we
must endure in order to become free and independant

Indian Nations once again.

George Watts Resigns .

In a letter addressed to
the Chiefs’ Council, UBCIC
Executive Member George
Watts: resigned. The

his September 10th letter:
‘T hereby submit my
resignation from the Exe-
cutive Committee of the
Union of B. C. Indian
Chiefs. The one and only
reason I am resigning is
that my health has been
deteriorating rapidly due to
excessive travel. For those
of you who don’t know, I
suffer from sugar diabetes
which requires a strict diet
and meals at regular hours.
Although I am resigning
my position, I fully intend
to do work out of my home
that will help bring about a
resolution to the aboriginal
rights question. While on





Food [fish]for thought

It seems a shame that
after all our trouble fighting
for our right to hunt and
fish on our-own land for our
own use, that some of our
people will turn around,
abuse that right and go sell
the fish to non-Indians for a
mere pittance.

Take a look at the price of
a small slab of salmon in
the big grocery stores.

Why do people do that?
Sell the fish for what they
can get then probably go
and buy booze with what
profit they make. _

After all, we should think
of the future. What about
next winter when we’re
really in a pinch?

You know yourselves
how hard it is to go down to
the river, fish all night and

pack the salmon up. Why
should we make it easier for
some people, who stay
home, that we should go to
them and hand them the
salmon for practically no-
thing? We are supposed to
fish for our own use - not
line our wallets: and fill
somebody else’s stomach
for the winter. We will
need that salmon this
coming winter.

Do you think that the
people you sell the salmon
to would be willing to help
you out next winter when
the going gets tough? No,
they will just tell you to go
to blazes or whatever.

(Thanks to COYOTI PRI-
NTS for the reprint of their
July 16th. editorial)





























the committee 1 started a
project which was aimed at |
generating a support sys-
tem with the various church

- following are excerpts from’ prowps’’”"T would like to}

carry on with: this project
with: your permission and
also the understanding that
you would be kept fully
informed at all times...

If anyone was expecting
criticism from me, | am
afraid I will have to
disappoint them. The
organization has taken en-
ough and it is now time to
start preparing ourselves
for the true fight which is
not too far away.’’ I remain

In Brotherhood, .

George Watts .

We are saddened indeed,
that we have had to lose a
man of George’s talents
and commitment because
his efforts. on behalf. of
native people has weaken-
ed his health: However, it
is cheering to know that we
can depend on George
remaining involved in the
land claims struggle. We

sincerely hope that you are
soon back in good health
once again.



TRIAL DATES SET

A date of October 20th
has been set for the Mt.
Currie and Gold River
‘‘jailbirds’’, with the trials
to be held in Squamish and
Gold River. A total of 73
people face charges of |

obstructing a public high-

way as a result of their
determination to. protect
Indian land last July 18 and
19.



NESIKA —

September

p3









STUART-TREMBLEUR

**THAT ERA OF THIEVERY IS OVER ”’

While negotiations drag
on, the people of the
Stuart-Trembleur Band are
preparing themselves for a
final showdown with the
government over their blo-
ckade of B.C. Rail lines
crossing their reserves 40
miles north of Fort St.
James. In spite of the 4
month blockade they main-
tained on the government
railway, surprisingly little
is known about the dispute
or the people behind it.
NESIKA is featuring the
Stuart-Trembleur people in
this issue so that native
people across the province
will learn of their struggle
to obtain a just settlement
and why they deserve our
support. This, then, is
their story:

Up to the end of World
War II, the people still led
fairly independent lives,
depending on trapping for a
cash income, and hunting
and fishing for their food.
As late as 1968, before
construction of the Rail-
road, hunting, fishing, and
trapping were still widely
practised, as the fish and
game were still very abun-
dant. However, the people
were gradually changing
from a traditional life-style,
to a ‘modern’ life-style,
using wage labour and
government assistance to
support themselves. For
many people, though, trap-
ping was the only source of
earned income, and obvi-
ously, very important in the
economic life of the band.

In early 1967, the B.C.
Railway wrote DIA, asking
for a right-of-way through 7
Stuart-Trembleur Indian
reserves, which also requi-
res agreement by the Band.

In February of 1969, the
Band Council passed a
resolution allowing the
railway to survey a right-
of-way through the 7
reserves, in exchange for 3
times the acreage tc be
taken by the railway. That
must have been what the
railway was waiting for,
because they quickly sent
in construction crews to
begin work, when the Band
had still not signed any
agreement to allow the
railway to be built.
Construction quickly stop-
ped as a Band member was
charged with firing a rifle at
the construction crew, but
was later acquitted after
having spent several mon-
ths in jail.

Construction began in
earnest in the spring of
1972, and was completed a
little over a year later.
Because of widespread
pollution and environmen-
tal damage caused as a
result of construction, the
Band then decided to add a
claim for cash compensa-
tion to the land exchange
understanding.

In November of 1973, the
B.C. Railway hired a
consulting firm to study the
effects of the railroad on
the Band. The 3 month
quickie study found, not
surprisingly, that the ef-
fects weren't that bad after
all. However, the study did
prove that losses to hunt-
ing, fishing, and trapping
resources averages a total
of $50,000 a year. It also
determined that $29,000
worth of timber was lost as
a result of construction.
The most significant find-
ing was the large reduction
in the number of moose in
the area. ‘‘About 125 of
these animals are required
annually, and this number
was obtained easily before
the advent of the railroad.”’

Referring to the competi-
tion with increasing num-
bers of white hunters in the
area, the study states, ‘‘the
timing of events strongly
suggests that the railroad
effect has been the greater
of the two.”’

The study also points out
that there have been
substantial reductions in
the number of beaver,
muskrat, and mink, the
three most valuable furs in
their trapping economy.

Lately Northern Affairs
Minister Alf Nunweiler has
been implying that since
Band members collected
$30,000 in wages while
employed repairing envi-
ronmental damage caused
by the railroad, this should
be considered as partial
compensation for their mo-
netary claim. Band mem-
bers laugh at the idea, and
wonder if Nunweiler ex-
pects them to work for
nothing.

{n November of 1974, the
government was trying to
persuade the band to
accept an economic deve-
lopment package instead of
the $7 million they were
now demanding. A later
editorial in the PRINCE
GEORGE CITIZEN rightly
scolded Nunweiler for try-
ing to bribe the Stuart-
Trembleur people with
ridiculous visions of a
marina and a _ shopping
plaza.

A meeting had been
arranged on November 3rd,
1974 with Nunweiler, and
NDP MLA Doug Kelly, the
MLA for the area.
However, neither one at-
tended the meeting.
Subsequent dealings with
the government were just
as frustrating: Human Re-
sources Minister Norm Levi
refused to meet with: the
Band’s lawyer, and the
Band kept getting shuffled
from one government de-
partment to another.

When Nunweiler failed
to attend a mutually sche-
duled meeting with the
Band on April 28th, 1975,
the Band immediately mo-

ved to erect the blockade
and shut down all rail
traffic on the line leading to
Dease Lake. A week later,
Nunweiler stated the. go-
vernment will not negotiate
with the blockade still in
place. Many newspapers
during the month of June
backed the Band’s stand,
and asked the government
to begin negotiations. The
Fraser-Fort George Re-
gional District called for an
end to the blockade during
June, and asked the go-
vernment not to allow the
Band to choose its land in
the 3 for 1 land exchange
until after the Regional
District and the municipali-
ties get first choice, be-
cause the Indians would
have picked the land most
suitable for housing, indus-
trial, and recreational de-
velopment.

At a meeting of the Band
on June 29th, they offer to
lift the blockade the minute
the government sits down
to begin negotiating a
settlement. They offered
several dates on which to
hold such a meeting, but
the government refused the
offer.

At that same meeting,
the Band passes a by-law
making it an offence for
anyone to operate any
railway equipment on the
reserve, and also threaten
further action unless the
Government meets with
them.

The Railway makes their
final offer of the 3 for 1 land
exchange and $50,000 and
promise to take ‘‘other
action’’ if the offer is not
accepted in two weeks. The
people’s reaction was im-
mediate. In a letter to Band
members, Ed John, a
Councillor, stated that ‘‘the
facts remain - the govern-
ment and B.C. Rail are
trespassing on Indian land
and they must pay the price
on our terms. You can’t
just go to someone, take
away his land and say
‘here, take this or I’ll take
you to court. That’s
absurd!”’

In response to the
government’s ultimatum
and as their last public
statement on the matter,
the Band passed a resolu-
tion giving the railway
permission to use the tracks
which were constructed on
reserve lands, for two
months. In return, the
government and BC Rail
are to enter into meaningful
negotiations with the band.
They announced the re-
moval of the blockade set
for August 15, while
warning that if negotiations
are not conducted in good
faith; ‘‘permission will be
cancelled** and the block-
ade put back in place.

If serious negotia-
tions do begin, then an

extension of the deadline
will be considered. ‘‘As
much as anyone else who is
involved or affected by the
dispute, we wish to settle
it.“

The first of these
negotiating meetings was
held September 14, with
Frank Howard, Al Nunwei-
ler and Doug Kelly repre-
senting the government,
and John Alexis, Sebastien
Anatola, Harry Pierre,
Cecil Martin, and Ed John,
representing the Band. The
results of the meeting
would seem to indicate no
progress as the Band would
not make a final selection of
the 918 acres until the
government agrees with
their demand for the cash
compensation. The Band
rejected the earlier econo-
mic development project
for the Band.This concept
will be pursued in future
meetings.

This dispute means much
more to the Stuart-Tremb-
leur people than the dollars
and acreage that are
involved; and it shouldn’t
be confused with their
general land claim either.
What they are seeking
compensation for, is a way
of life. The government’s
own study admits that
when these things which
can’t be measured in terms
of money are figured into a
settlement, that the Band
‘ton the whole, has prob-
ably suffered considerable
loss.”’ .

Right now, the people
are all busily preparing for
winter; men are off in the
mountains hunting, or -
home cutting wood? the
women are smoking fish
and moosemeat, and the
children have returned to
school. But the one thought
at the back of everyone’s
mind is the blockade.
Everyone is prepared to put
it back up and face the
consequences. If arrested,
they state in cold-matter-of-
fact tones, that they will
return and tear up the
tracks with their hands.
Others threaten to burn a
nearby tar-soaked wooden
trestle as well.

The Stuart-
Trembleur people have
been involved in this
dispute for the past seven
years, and they do not
intend for it to last another
seven years, They are
determined to win, and
make this statement:

“Let us hope that they
also learn a lesson from this
-that they are not dealing
with dumb and child-like
people and also that they
will no longer steal or take
away Indian land, when-
ever they feel like it or
whenever it is convenient
for them, as they have done
in the past. That era of
thievery is over.”



STUART-TREMBLEUR

**THAT ERA OF THIEVERY IS OVER ”’

While negotiations drag
on, the people of the
Stuart-Trembleur Band are
preparing themselves for a
final showdown with the
government over their blo-
ckade of B.C. Rail lines
crossing their reserves 40
miles north of Fort St.
James. In spite of the 4
month blockade they main-
tained on the government
railway, surprisingly little
is known about the dispute
or the people behind it.
NESIKA is featuring the
Stuart-Trembleur people in
this issue so that native
people across the province
will learn of their struggle
to obtain a just settlement
and why they deserve our
support. This, then, is
their story:

Up to the end of World
War Il, the people still led
fairly independent lives,
depending on trapping for a
cash income, and hunting
and fishing for their food.
As late as 1968, before
construction of the Rail-
road, hunting, fishing, and
trapping were stil] widely
practised, as the fish and
game were still very abun-
dant. However, the people
were gradually changing
from a traditional life-style,
to a ‘modern’ life-style,
using wage labour and
government assistance to
support themselves. For
many people, though, trap-
ping was the only source of
earned income, and obvi-
ously, very important in the
economic life of the band.

In early 1967, the B.C.
Railway wrote DIA, asking
for a right-of-way through 7
Stuart-Trembleur Indian
reserves, which also requi-
res agreement by the Band.

In February of 1969, the
Band Council passed a
resolution allowing the
railway to survey a right-
of-way through the 7
reserves, in exchange for 3
times the acreage tc be
taken by the railway. That
must have been what the
railway was waiting for,
because they quickly sent
in construction crews to
begin work, when the Band
had still not signed any
agreement to allow the
railway to be built.
Construction quickly stop-
ped as a Band member was
charged with firing a rifle at
the construction crew, but
was later acquitted after
having spent several mon-
ths in jail.

Construction began in
earnest in the spring of
1972, and was completed a
little over a year later.
Because of widespread
pollution and environmen-
tal damage caused as a
result of construction, the
Band then decided to add a
claim for cash compensa-
tion to the land exchange
understanding.

In November of 1973, the
B.C. Railway hired a
consulting firm to study the
effects of the railroad on
the Band. The 3 month
quickie study found, not
surprisingly, that the ef-
fects weren't that bad after
all. However, the study did
prove that losses to hunt-
ing, fishing, and trapping
resources averages a total
of $50,000 a year. It also
determined that $29,000
worth of timber was lost as
a result of construction.
The most significant find-
ing was the large reduction
in the number of moose in
the area. ‘‘About 125 of
these animals are required
annually, and this number
was obtained easily before
the advent of the railroad.”’

Referring to the competi-
tion with increasing num-
bers of white hunters in the
area, the study states, “‘the
timing of events strongly
suggests that the railroad
effect has been the greater
of the two.”’

The study also points out
that there have been
substantial reductions in
the number of beaver,
muskrat, and mink, the
three most valuable furs in
their trapping economy.

Lately Northern Affairs
Minister Alf Nunweiler has
been implying that since
Band members collected
$30,000 in wages while
employed repairing envi-
ronmental damage caused
by the railroad, this should
be considered as partial
compensation for their mo-
netary claim. Band mem-
bers laugh at the idea, and
wonder if Nunweiler ex-
pects them to work for
nothing.

In November of 1974, the
government was trying to
persuade the band to
accept an economic deve-
lopment package instead of
the $7 million they were
now demanding. A later
editorial in the PRINCE
GEORGE CITIZEN rightly
scolded Nunweiler for try-
ing to bribe the Stuart-
Trembleur people with
ridiculous visions of a
marina and a_ shopping
plaza.

A meeting had been
arranged on November 3rd,
1974 with Nunweiler, and
NDP MLA Doug Kelly, the
MLA for the area.
However, neither one at-
tended the meeting.
Subsequent dealings with
the government were just
as frustrating: Human Re-
sources Minister Norm Levi
refused to meet with the
Band’s lawyer, and the
Band kept getting shuffled
from one government de-
partment to another.

When Nunweiler failed
to attend a mutually sche-
duled meeting with the
Band on April 28th, 1975,
the Band immediately mo-

ved to erect the blockade
and shut down all rail
traffic on the line leading to
Dease Lake. A week later,
Nunweiler stated the go-
vernment will not negotiate
with the blockade still in
place. Many newspapers
during the month of June
backed the Band’s stand,
and asked the government
to begin negotiations. The
Fraser-Fort George Re-
gional District called for an
end to the blockade during
June, and asked the go-
vernment not to allow the
Band to choose its land in
the 3 for 1 land exchange

. until after the Regional

District and the municipali-
ties get first choice, be-
cause the Indians would
have picked the land most
suitable for housing, indus-
trial, and recreational de-
velopment.

At a meeting of the Band
on June 29th, they offer to
lift the blockade the minute
the government sits down
to begin negotiating a
settlement. They offered
several dates on which to
hold such a meeting, but
the government refused the
offer.

At that same meeting,
the Band passes a by-law
making it an offence for
anyone to operate any
railway equipment on the
reserve, and also threaten
further action unless the
Government meets. with
them.

The Railway makes their
final offer of the 3 for 1 land
exchange and $50,000 and
promise to take ‘‘other
action’’ if the offer is not
accepted in two weeks. The
people’s reaction was im-
mediate. In a letter to Band
members, Ed John, a
Councillor, stated that ‘‘the
facts remain - the govern-
ment and B.C. Rail are
trespassing on Indian land
and they must pay the price
on our terms. You can’t
just go to someone, take
away his land and say
‘here, take this or I’ll take
you to court. That’s
absurd!’’

In response to the
government’s ultimatum
and as their last public
statement on the matter,
the Band passed a resolu-
tion giving the railway
permission to use the tracks
which were constructed on
reserve lands, for two
months. In return, the
government and BC Rail
are to enter into meaningful
negotiations with the band.
They announced the re-
moval of the blockade set
for August 15, while
warning that if negotiations
are not conducted in good
faith, ‘‘permission will be
cancelled** and the block-
ade put back in place.

If serious negotia-
tions do begin, then an

extension of the deadline
will be considered. ‘‘As
much as anyone else who is
involved or affected by the
dispute, we wish to settle
a.

The first of these
negotiating meetings was
held September 14, with
Frank Howard, Al Nunwei-
ler and Doug Kelly repre-
senting the government,
and John Alexis, Sebastien
Anatola, Harry Pierre,
Cecil Martin, and Ed John,
representing the Band. The ©
results of the meeting
would seem to indicate no
progress as the Band would
not make a final selection of
the 918 acres until the
government agrees with
their demand for the cash
compensation. The Band
rejected the earlier econo-
mic development project
for the Band.This concept
will be pursued in future
meetings.

This dispute means much
more to the Stuart-Tremb-
leur people than the dollars
and acreage that are
involved; and it shouldn’t
be confused with their
general land claim either.
What they are seeking
compensation for, is a way
of life. The government’s
own study admits that
when these things which
can’t be measured in terms
of money are figured into a
settlement, that the Band
‘‘on the whole, has prob-
ably suffered considerable
loss.”’ ‘

Right now, the people
are all busily preparing for
winter; men are off in the
mountains hunting, or -
home cutting woods the
women are smoking fish
and moosemeat, and the
children have returned to
school. But the one thought
at the back of everyone’s
mind is the blockade.
Everyone is prepared to put
it back up and face the
consequences. If arrested,
they state in cold-matter-of-
fact tones, that they will
return and tear up the
tracks with their hands.
Others threaten to burn a
nearby tar-soaked wooden
trestle as well.

The Stuart-
Trembleur people have
been involved in this
dispute for the past seven
years, and they do not
intend for it to last another
seven years, They are
determined to win, and
make this statement:

‘“‘Let us hope that they
also learn a lesson from this
-that they are not dealing
with dumb and child-like
people and also that they
will no longer steal or take
away Indian land, when-
ever they feel like it or
whenever it is convenient
for them, as they have done
in the past. That era of
thievery is over.’”’



STUART-TREMBLEUR

**THAT ERA OF THIEVERY IS OVER ”’

While negotiations drag
on, the people of the
Stuart-Trembleur Band are
preparing themselves for a
final showdown with the
government over their blo-
ckade of B.C. Rail lines
crossing their reserves 40
miles north of Fort St.
James. In spite of the 4
month blockade they main-
tained on the government
railway, surprisingly little
is known about the dispute
or the people behind it.
NESIKA is featuring the
Stuart-Trembleur people in
this issue so that native
people across the province
will learn of their struggle
to obtain a just settlement
and why they deserve our
support. This, then, is
their story:

Up to the end of World
War Il, the people still led
fairly independent lives,
depending on trapping for a
cash income, and hunting
and fishing for their food.
As late as 1968, before
construction of the Rail-
road, hunting, fishing, and
trapping were stil] widely
practised, as the fish and
game were still very abun-
dant. However, the people
were gradually changing
from a traditional life-style,
to a ‘modern’ life-style,
using wage labour and
government assistance to
support themselves. For
many people, though, trap-
ping was the only source of
earned income, and obvi-
ously, very important in the
economic life of the band.

In early 1967, the B.C.
Railway wrote DIA, asking
for a right-of-way through 7
Stuart-Trembleur Indian
reserves, which also requi-
res agreement by the Band.

In February of 1969, the
Band Council passed a
resolution allowing the
railway to survey a right-
of-way through the 7
reserves, in exchange for 3
times the acreage tc be
taken by the railway. That
must have been what the
railway was waiting for,
because they quickly sent
in construction crews to
begin work, when the Band
had still not signed any
agreement to allow the
railway to be built.
Construction quickly stop-
ped as a Band member was
charged with firing a rifle at
the construction crew, but
was later acquitted after
having spent several mon-
ths in jail.

Construction began in
earnest in the spring of
1972, and was completed a
little over a year later.
Because of widespread
pollution and environmen-
tal damage caused as a
result of construction, the
Band then decided to add a
claim for cash compensa-
tion to the land exchange
understanding.

In November of 1973, the
B.C. Railway hired a
consulting firm to study the
effects of the railroad on
the Band. The 3 month
quickie study found, not
surprisingly, that the ef-
fects weren't that bad after
all. However, the study did
prove that losses to hunt-
ing, fishing, and trapping
resources averages a total
of $50,000 a year. It also
determined that $29,000
worth of timber was lost as
a result of construction.
The most significant find-
ing was the large reduction
in the number of moose in
the area. ‘‘About 125 of
these animals are required
annually, and this number
was obtained easily before
the advent of the railroad.”’

Referring to the competi-
tion with increasing num-
bers of white hunters in the
area, the study states, “‘the
timing of events strongly
suggests that the railroad
effect has been the greater
of the two.”’

The study also points out
that there have been
substantial reductions in
the number of beaver,
muskrat, and mink, the
three most valuable furs in
their trapping economy.

Lately Northern Affairs
Minister Alf Nunweiler has
been implying that since
Band members collected
$30,000 in wages while
employed repairing envi-
ronmental damage caused
by the railroad, this should
be considered as partial
compensation for their mo-
netary claim. Band mem-
bers laugh at the idea, and
wonder if Nunweiler ex-
pects them to work for
nothing.

In November of 1974, the
government was trying to
persuade the band to
accept an economic deve-
lopment package instead of
the $7 million they were
now demanding. A later
editorial in the PRINCE
GEORGE CITIZEN rightly
scolded Nunweiler for try-
ing to bribe the Stuart-
Trembleur people with
ridiculous visions of a
marina and a_ shopping
plaza.

A meeting had been
arranged on November 3rd,
1974 with Nunweiler, and
NDP MLA Doug Kelly, the
MLA for the area.
However, neither one at-
tended the meeting.
Subsequent dealings with
the government were just
as frustrating: Human Re-
sources Minister Norm Levi
refused to meet with the
Band’s lawyer, and the
Band kept getting shuffled
from one government de-
partment to another.

When Nunweiler failed
to attend a mutually sche-
duled meeting with the
Band on April 28th, 1975,
the Band immediately mo-

ved to erect the blockade
and shut down all rail
traffic on the line leading to
Dease Lake. A week later,
Nunweiler stated the go-
vernment will not negotiate
with the blockade still in
place. Many newspapers
during the month of June
backed the Band’s stand,
and asked the government
to begin negotiations. The
Fraser-Fort George Re-
gional District called for an
end to the blockade during
June, and asked the go-
vernment not to allow the
Band to choose its land in
the 3 for 1 land exchange

. until after the Regional

District and the municipali-
ties get first choice, be-
cause the Indians would
have picked the land most
suitable for housing, indus-
trial, and recreational de-
velopment.

At a meeting of the Band
on June 29th, they offer to
lift the blockade the minute
the government sits down
to begin negotiating a
settlement. They offered
several dates on which to
hold such a meeting, but
the government refused the
offer.

At that same meeting,
the Band passes a by-law
making it an offence for
anyone to operate any
railway equipment on the
reserve, and also threaten
further action unless the
Government meets. with
them.

The Railway makes their
final offer of the 3 for 1 land
exchange and $50,000 and
promise to take ‘‘other
action’’ if the offer is not
accepted in two weeks. The
people’s reaction was im-
mediate. In a letter to Band
members, Ed John, a
Councillor, stated that ‘‘the
facts remain - the govern-
ment and B.C. Rail are
trespassing on Indian land
and they must pay the price
on our terms. You can’t
just go to someone, take
away his land and say
‘here, take this or I’ll take
you to court. That’s
absurd!’’

In response to the
government’s ultimatum
and as their last public
statement on the matter,
the Band passed a resolu-
tion giving the railway
permission to use the tracks
which were constructed on
reserve lands, for two
months. In return, the
government and BC Rail
are to enter into meaningful
negotiations with the band.
They announced the re-
moval of the blockade set
for August 15, while
warning that if negotiations
are not conducted in good
faith, ‘‘permission will be
cancelled** and the block-
ade put back in place.

If serious negotia-
tions do begin, then an

extension of the deadline
will be considered. ‘‘As
much as anyone else who is
involved or affected by the
dispute, we wish to settle
a.

The first of these
negotiating meetings was
held September 14, with
Frank Howard, Al Nunwei-
ler and Doug Kelly repre-
senting the government,
and John Alexis, Sebastien
Anatola, Harry Pierre,
Cecil Martin, and Ed John,
representing the Band. The ©
results of the meeting
would seem to indicate no
progress as the Band would
not make a final selection of
the 918 acres until the
government agrees with
their demand for the cash
compensation. The Band
rejected the earlier econo-
mic development project
for the Band.This concept
will be pursued in future
meetings.

This dispute means much
more to the Stuart-Tremb-
leur people than the dollars
and acreage that are
involved; and it shouldn’t
be confused with their
general land claim either.
What they are seeking
compensation for, is a way
of life. The government’s
own study admits that
when these things which
can’t be measured in terms
of money are figured into a
settlement, that the Band
‘‘on the whole, has prob-
ably suffered considerable
loss.”’ ‘

Right now, the people
are all busily preparing for
winter; men are off in the
mountains hunting, or -
home cutting woods the
women are smoking fish
and moosemeat, and the
children have returned to
school. But the one thought
at the back of everyone’s
mind is the blockade.
Everyone is prepared to put
it back up and face the
consequences. If arrested,
they state in cold-matter-of-
fact tones, that they will
return and tear up the
tracks with their hands.
Others threaten to burn a
nearby tar-soaked wooden
trestle as well.

The Stuart-
Trembleur people have
been involved in this
dispute for the past seven
years, and they do not
intend for it to last another
seven years, They are
determined to win, and
make this statement:

‘“‘Let us hope that they
also learn a lesson from this
-that they are not dealing
with dumb and child-like
people and also that they
will no longer steal or take
away Indian land, when-
ever they feel like it or
whenever it is convenient
for them, as they have done
in the past. That era of
thievery is over.’”’



Sitting in a cafe near
Long Beach on Vancouver
Island earlier this summer,
a dozen native young
people sat talking about the
recent developments at the
Chilliwack Conference and
the BCANSI Assembly, and
of thier own particular
place in the beginning of
the native peuple’s move-
ment. The group had
already attended the Mt.
Currie - celebration, and
had visited reserves at Port
Alberni and Long Beach,
and the realization that
their was group was made
up of members from at
least eight different Indian
Nations sparked the idea
that they should not only
increase the number of
different Indian Nations’
represented within _ their
group, but also to-expand
their travels as well. And
so was born the group with
no name.

Since that time, the
group has grown to almost
100 people, young and old,
and from almost every
Indian Nation within B. C.
They have visited over 20
different reserves and co-
vered several thousand
miles since late June,

Many of the Mt. Currie
and Gold River ‘‘jailbirds’’
helped to first organize the
group. In fact, their
experience with the bloc-
kades was the greatest
unifying factor behind the
group. After their arrests,
they saw a need to.
share with others the
message they had come to.
learn. The message they
want to share with others as
they visit native communi-
ties is the importance of



Some Members

seeking unity, as they have
amongst their own group.

They also clearly. want to:
share the joy they are
experiencing as they travel
and live together. The
songs, dances, and cere-

monies of different Indian
Nations are performed eve-
ry day as they seek a
general cultural rebirth of
native people. |

They are eager to learn
the songs, dances, tradi-
tions, and wisdom of others
as they visit them in thier
own communities, and in
the process help to streng-
then all Indian Nations.
Group membets are very

happy with: the response

they have received as they
visited different reserves.

of the group pictured at Neskainlith Gathering

Apparently some people
were suspicious when first
meeting them, thinking
them to be drunks, drug
addicts, troublemakers or
whatever. However, wat-
ching 100 people living

together, sharing their few
possessions, their food, and
their responsibilities, sing-
ing, and dancing, has made

believers out of them. They .

have returned to. some
reserves two and three
times, because of the way
local people received them
so well. ‘

The use of alcohol and
drugs, while not forbidden,
is frowned upon,and most
of the members have

What’s going to be left to
argue about ? [Part 2]

In this space in the last
issue, we got after Recrea-
tion Minister Radford for
the manner in which the
N.D.P. GOVERNMENT
WAS TURNING HUGE
PARCELS OF Crown (In-
dian) land, into. provincial
parks and recreation areas.
Well, this time it’s Mines
Minister Leo Nimsick’s
turn. In a recent -press
release, Nimsick proudly
announces that the value of
mineral production reached
record levels in 1974, with

_an 8.7% increase over the
previous year. The value of
1974’s mineral production
was $1,197,438,526. That’s
over ONE BILLION ONE
HUNDRED. AND NINETY-
SEVEN MILLION DOL.
LARS!

Copper production
proved to be the most



September 1975

valuable, followed by coal,
crude oil, natural gas,
molybdenum, zinc, and a
dozen other metals, min-
erals, and structural mat-
erlals.

We must remember here
that these minerals are
OUR minerals, they belong
to us, the native people.
We have never surrendered
the land, nor any of its
resources, and we have
gotten nothing in return for
their exploitation. Mean-
while, the government
charges a 5% sales tax on
all goods manufactured
from our own minerals, and
a 31 cent tax on every
gallon of gas sold in this
province.

lf Native people were to
receive 5% of the value of

our own minerals, it would

mean more than $59 million
in royalties, and that’s just

“NESIKA

sate recereenee Sie icine

completely given them up,
hoping to: show by their
example that others can do
it as well.

The group travels in six
or seven vans and a few
cars and station wagons.
Theirs a precarious exis-
tence, as they hold raffles,
use members’ U.I.C. che-
ques, and a few donations
to keep meeting their gas
and food bills.

“the group with no name”

While the group is
largely composed of young
people from 15 to 30 years
old, it also includes many
children, a 7 month old
baby, and a 70 year old
grandmother.

NESIKA has called them
the group with no name,
since they themselves are
very serious about not
wanting a name applied to:
them. If they had a name
they feel newspapers and
others would try to catego-

rize them and put a label on
them - radicals, or commu-

nists, or cultural revivalists
or something. As it is,
people have to. talk and
listen to-them to: find out
who they are and what their *
message is, and that’s the
way they like it.

~ They have already trave-
led from Nuchatlitze to
Lillooet, from Mission to
-Stuart-Trembleur, and can_
be expected to continue
their travels into the fall,
but hesitates to predict
where they will be at any
one time, since many of
their trips are made at the
spur of the moment.

The group with no name
certainly lives up to one of
the lines in one of their
songs - “‘D.LA. - I’m not
your Indian anymore.’’

Custer had it coming

With this issue, we begin

@ a new feature, the Custer

Had It ‘Coming Award,
which will be presented
monthly to the individual
making the most ridiculous
statement concerning na-
tive people. We feel that
people who are brave
enough to publicly display

‘| their stupidity or ignorance

e

for 1974, not to: mention

years past, nor the minerals

to be mined in the future.
Many non-Indian people

are currently protesting the.

slowdown and closing of
numerous mining opera-

tions throughout the prov- |

ince, but for native people,
it is a blessing in disguise,
since we get no royalties
and very few native people
collect wages from working
in these operations. If this
slowdown could be made
permanent, at least there
would be some minerals
left in the ground to argue
about when the govern-
ment finally gets around to

negotiating a land claims:
settlement. So think about

it the next time you see a
coal train bound for the
U.S. or Japan, or the next
time you buy a gallon of

gas.

regarding native people
should be recognized by
receiving this award.

The award this month is

| being shared by three B.C.

Members of Parliament
who have demanded that
the closure of the D.IA.
offices in Kamloops and
Vernon be delayed so that
45 bureaucrats. can find
other work. M.P.’s Stuart
Leggatt (NDP New West-
minster), John Reynolds
(PC Burnaby-Richmond-
Delta) and Benno Friesen
(PC Surrey-White: Rock)
have asked Indian Affairs
Minister Judd Buchanan
for a 90 day delay.

‘The future of a number
of PSAC (Public Service
Alliance of Canada) emplo-
yees is still in jeopardy as a
result of the precipitous
closing of two Interior
offices of Indian and
Northern Affairs’’, they
stated.

We keep hearing how
dedicated, over-worked and
concerned the D.I.A. emp-
loyees are. Well, this
incredible event should
prove that the only thing
they are concerned about is
their cushy jobs and fat
salaries, and not our
well-being, which is what
Indian people have been
saying for years. .

Two other public serva-
nts deserve at least an
Honorable Mention for the
award. One should obvi-
ously go to Defense Minis-
ter James Richardson for
this quote: ‘“‘What - did
Indians ever do for Cana-
da? They never discovered
gas. They never discovered
oil, They didn’t even
invent the wheel. Why,
when we came here they
were still dragging things
around on two. sticks!’

The other Honorable
Mention should go _ to
Regional Director of D.LA.,
Larry Wight, for asking
police to arrest the AIM
protestors sitting-in in his
offices because he was
afraid they would rape his

white secretaries!

Readet’s suggestions for
next month’s award are
invited.

Gloria Burgess







No more school for
Burgess Kids

The new school year
has started but Carol, Patti,
and Ricky Burgess will not
be going. They are the
children of Howard and
Gloria Burgess, members
of the BCANSI Surrey Local
103, who are refusing to
send their children back to
school.

Gloria first took the kids
out of school at the time of
the BCANSI Conference in
June, when she saw that
there were so many other
people at the Conference
who were just as concerned
with the future of their
children and what the
school system was doing to
them.

Her concerns about the
present school system run

that‘‘Schools

deep, as her parents
attended a mission school
on the reserve, but because
of the cruel treatment they
recieved from the priests
and nuns, moved to the city
and placed her in an
all-white school, hoping she
would recieve better treat-
ment than they did.

However, she soon learned

_the new school was just as

bad, if not worse. She feels
don’t offer
any happiness for kids, and
do nothing but hurt them.
They only come out con-
fused and don’t learn the
real values of life.’’

When asked if an altern-
ate or free school wouldn’t
be better, she replied, ‘‘No.

They are the same thing,.

they only have a gentler
way of teaching the kids to
compete against each other

Our children are
entrusted to us by God,
they were given to us to
raise and teach, not the sc
hool board. They weren’t
given to us to be put out the
door at 8 A.M. and put into
bed when they return.’’

Gloria doesn’t think that
the Indian-run schools wo-
uld be much better,’’be-
cause they must meet
government standards and
teach what the government
wants. It’s just Indians
doing the same thing to our
kids as the white people. ’”’

The school’s reaction
last June was a flurry of
phone calls, trying to learn
what was happening, with
the teachers passing the
Burgess children, all good
students, “‘on condition’’.
School authorities did not
harass her at first, but
Gloria admits that once
they realize she intends to
keep them out of school
permanently, they will pro-
bably bring charges and
possibly have her arrested,

which she is prepared to:

accept.

Except for not being abie
to socialize with friends at
school, the kids themselves
don’t mind staying out of
school, and the younger
girls prefer not having to
listen to. their teacher’s
fairy tales about Indians.
Ricky, 16, is probably the
happiest, since he was just

going though the motions
of attending school to keep
his parents happy.
Realizing that the res-
ponsibility for educating
children is being given
more and more. to specialists
and less and less to the
parents, Gloria hoped to
find answers to her dilem-
ma by visiting various
reserves in B. C. and
Saskatchewan. She admits
she didn’t find any, and will
probably begin to rely more
heavily on family members
to help Patti and Carol.
There should be no shor-
tage of teachers, as Gloria’s
mother, uncle, brother and
his family all live with her.
She hopes the girls will
benefit from the warm and
caring family atmosphere,
because ‘‘we’ve forgotten
how it is to live with people

and share - it’s so different
now than when I was
little’.

She blames inability. of
Indian leaders to achieve
unity on the school system.
‘From the first day of
school, the schools are
teaching kids to compete
against each other, and
they don’t teach them to
work together and co-op-
erate.’’

Gloria realizes that the
answer doesn’t lie in
sending her kids to school,
‘just as she realizes that
keeping them out isn’t the
answer either.

She will need wisdam
and strength to help make a
better life for her children.
We salute the brave stand
she is taking and hope she
finds it.







Patti Burgess





Throughout the 1960’s
and into the 70’s, western
Washington Indians held
fish-ins and defied State
fishing regulations in an
effort to protect their treaty
fishing rights in the waters
of Puget Sound. Asa result
of the Boldt decision, it is
now the non-Indian fisher-
men who are _ holding
fish-ins and demonstra-
tions; declaring their right
to fish in defiance of fishing
regulations which no longer
serve to protect their
interests. A demonstration
at the Federai Court House
stated that the Boldt
decision, which splits the
harvestable fish on a 50/50
basis between Indian and
non-Indian fishermen, was
rascist. The non-Indian
fishermen now feel that
they are being treated as
second-class citizens. So-
unds familiar, doesn’t it?

The historic court case over
the question of whether the
State Fisheries Department
had the authority to regu-
late and restrict the off-
reservation federal tre aty
rights of |§ Washington
‘Indians.

The Indian people based
their case on treaties made
with their tribes during the
1850’s, which guaranteed
them the right to fish ‘‘at
all usual and accustomed
grounds and stations, is
further secured to said
Indians in common with all
citizens of the Territory...’’
Judge Boldt acknowledged
the phrase ‘“‘in common
with” to mean equal
sharing between Indian and
non-Indian people. This
90/50 split of the harves-
table fish does not include
‘on-reserve fishing, nor
does it include fish caught
off-reserve for food or
ceremonial purposes, whi-
ch are recognized as Indian
fishing richts. over and
above the Boldt decision.
It must be stressed that this
decision gave nothing to
the Indians that they did
not already have. Judge
Boldt was simply enforcing
the treaties made during
the 1850’s - which were not
a grant of rights to the
Indian people, but in
reality, a grant of rights
from them, which permit-

ted non-Indian people the

privilege of fishing also. In
the U.S., treaties are
considered supreme law, or
the law of the land,. much
the same as treaties signed
with foreign countries. The
treaty was a _ contract
between the U.S. Govern-
ment and the Indian people
which can not be broken
simply because one side no
longer wants to meet its
obligations.

Indian fishermen were,
needless to say, overjoyed
at the decision, which was
upheld by the State Court
of Appeals in June of this
year. The non-Indian
fishermen’s reaction was,
predictably, the opposite.
They claim the Indians have
been granted special ri-
ghts, and that these rights
are in fact, a gift. They
claim the Indians got a
“‘good deal’’ from the court
which supposedly has a
history of being extremely
liberal in dealing with
Indian cases. Since the
decision was upheld by the
State Court of Appeals,
non-Indian fishermen are
hoping it will be reversed in
the U.S. Supreme Court.

What is sad: is the
non-Indian people’s total
lack of understanding about
the nature of Indian fishng
fishing rights. Judge Boldt
was only enforcing rights
which have been in effect
all along. The only deal the
Indians got was a fair deal
... a just recognition of their
aboriginal rights. "

The decision also deter-
mined that Indian rights
are superior; that Indians
have a right to fish while
non-Indians have only the
privilege of fishing subject
to state regulation.

Non-Indian fishermen
and the State Fisheries

Department must now a-
bide by the court’s deci-
sion, which stated that the
Fisheries Department was
violating the federal treaty,
and gave the Indians
nothing but freedom from
unlawful harassment by the
Department. They now
have only the authority to
regulate Indian fishing for
the preservation of the fish
stocks, and which must be
done in manner which will

cause the least inconve-—

nience to Indian fishermen.

FISHING RIGHTS VICTORY
IN WASHINGTON

_ The situation here, is not

the same, we have no
treaties guaranteeing these
rights, no courts to enforce
them. And while the
number of ‘Indians invol-
ved in the commercial
fishing industry has been
steadily declining over the
past 20 years, the harass-
ment of Indian people
engaged in fishing for their
own survival. has been
constantly increasing. Our
brothers in the State of
Washington appear to have
won their 20 year battle to
have their rights upheld. It
was a battle that saw
hundreds of Indians being
arrested and. jailed; thou-
sands and thousands of
dollars of equipment seized
and confiscated; it was a
battle that saw bloodshed
and Indian people die to
secure these rights. —

Their fight is over,and
ours is just beginning. If we
in B.C. are to ever have our
aborginal fishing rights
recognized, it seems obvi-
ous we must be prepared to
do the same.



NESIKA

September 1975 ,

p7



In 1912 an Agreement
was
Federal and Provincial go-
vernments whereby the
McKenna-McBride Com-
mission on Indian Affairs
was formed. The purpose
of the Commission was
to deal with the size of
Indian Reserves in B.C. to
settle once and for all the
dispute between the two
governments as to who had
control over Indian Reser-
ves.

The Royal Commission,
besides having authority to
enlarge existing reserves
also claimed the right to
reduce them. The terms ot
the agreement stated that
no reserves could be

reduced, that is, no lands
‘‘cut-off’’, without the con-
sent of the Band concerned.



The outcome of this joint

commission was that 23
Bands lost land totalling
some 36,000 acres.

One of the biggeSt losers
as a result of the cut-off was
the Squamish Band. One
hundred and thirty (130)
acres were cut-off from
their Capilano No. 5 Res-
erve, situated on the north
shore of Burrard Inlet in
Vancouver Harbour. This
reduced the size of the
Reserve to- approximately
290 acres. |

When the Royal Commis-




'



made between the

Portion of the Squamish Cut-Off Lands

Z

sion met with the Squamish
Band in June 1913, it was
clearly stated that no land
would be taken without the
consent of the Indians.

Just as clearly, the Band
opposed any reductions of

their lands, gave no con-
sent for cut-offs, and in fact
were not asked for consent.
The discussion between the
Squamish and members of
the Commission is recorded
in the “‘Evidence’”’ of the
Royal Commission which
incidentally was also meet-
ing with the Vancouver
Board of Trade which was
interested in acquiring land
in North. Vancouver for
harbour developments.
Because of its location,
the real estate value of the
property is valuable -- it is
probably the most valuable

piece of undeveloped urban.
property in Canada. The

land which lies beneath the
north. foot of the Lion’s
Gate Bridge was valued at
the time by the Royal
Commission at $359,000,
versus today’s market va-
lue of an estimated $30
million. Even at that time,
some people thought that
the property: was worth
closer to-one million dol-
lars. It should be under-
stood that this is what the

land was valued at -- no
money was ever paid as.

compensation to any of the.

O



7 ACRES
= RETURNED



bands for the initial cutting
off of lands. The Provincial
government has recently:
returned 115 acres of
cut-off lands to some of the
bands concerned. It is
estimated that the 7 acres
the Squamish Band recei-
ved is worth $3 million
today.

At present, the amount
of unalienated land that
could be returned to the
Band is roughly _ thirty
acres. This comprises the
wooded and bushy areas
immediately below the Bri-
dge. The remainder has

‘been sold or leased by the

Province. The McKenna-
McBride stated that one-
half of any revenues gene-

rated from disposal of |

cut-off lands would have to
go to the Federal Govern-

' ment (Department of In-

dian Affairs) to provide
services to Indian People.

Records show no land
transactions of Squamish

lands with private indivi- |

duals for home dwellings.
However, land deals were
made with both private and
public companies.
examples are:
9'4 acres at the foot of the
Lion’s Gate Bridge, which
incidentally sold for $1.00;
the Greater Vancouver Se-
werage Co. has a treatment
plant on the cut-off lands;
and the District of West
Vancouver gained a lease
on 26 acres of the land for
their Pitch and Put Golf
Course. There were in all,
nineteen land transactions.

The search into the
Squamish cut-off lands had
been going on independ-
ently for several years by
band members determined
to get back what is
rightfully theirs. In 1972
they presented a brief to
both the Federal

Provincial Governments, a
brief they began preparing
in 1967.




Capilano Reserve Showing the 7 Returned Acres

| Progress

Some |
the sale of |

and |

There is little |

question that this Band has

_ spearheaded the cut-off

lands issue, bringing it to
public attention by staging
demonstrations such as
information pickets on the
Lion’s Gate Bridge during
Vancouver rush hour traf-
fic. The return of the 7
acres is only the beginning
of a settlement for a sixty
year old grievance, a
grievance shared with twe-
nty-two other Bands in B.C.

Squamish attitudes to

eventual settlement -pro-
bably reflect the attitude of
other bands. They would
like to-receive equal amo-
unts of land to that taken
,away in the same general
vicinity, in this case, North
Vancouver. If this is- not
possible they would want to
receive equal amounis in
other areas but they have
the foresight to realize that
they may have to negotiate
with the Committee for an
equitable compromise.



Committee Member Adam Eneas

on

Cut-offs



On September 3rd,
UBCIC representative,

Chief Adam Eneas met

with Welfare Minister,
Norman Levi in Victoria.
Details were presented

there outlining the return of |

115 acres of cut-off land as
a symbolic gesture of the
government’s good faith.

In a letter to the 23 bands
affected, Levi states ‘‘Pre-
vious governments had sold
some of these Cut-Off
Lands and regretfully there
is no vacant Crown Land
available from the Cut Offs
of four bands. Eighteen
bands will have cut off
lands returned to. them,’’
Return of this token acre-
age affects only bands that
have unalienated Crown
land,
Provincial government has
free title. In most cases,
Bands received 7 acres.

The eighteen bands may
choose the legal jurisdiction

_ of the land. That is, some

bands may not wish to have
the land become an Indian
reserve, since it - would
come under the control of
the Federal Government
and the DIA. Legal surveys
of the land have yet to be
carried out.

Chief Adam Eneas later
met on September 10 with
John Squire who was
earlier selected to be the
government representa
tive. Mr. Squire’s appoint-
ment to the committee was
announced in Victoria on
September 3rd. He is a
former NDP MLA and
presently a government
employee.

A week later, the Indian
Advisory Board on Cut Off
Lands (consisting of Phillip

land to. which the.

Joe, Joe Mathias, Lloyd
Wilson, and George Harris)
met with Adam _ Eneas
during the morning at the
Squamish Band Office in
North Vancouver and later
in the day met with John
Squire at the Vancouver
Indian Centre.

Chief Eneas suggested
several names for the third
person on the committee,
but Mr. Squire was not
prepared to put forth any
names at that time. It was
agreed that the committee
must have adequate : staff
and funds in order to carry
out effective negotiations.

Chief Eneas and the Advi-

sory Board presented a
draft of probably budget ©
requirements, but they
won’t be fully discussed
until. the third person is
named to the committee.
An office will be esta-
blished, the location is as
yet undecided.

The advisory board
emphasized the need to get
moving immediately, since
nothing has happened since
the Memorandum of Under
standing was signed on
June 24th. The chairman of
the committee has not yet
been appointed and no
operating funds have been
provided, and the twenty-
three bands affected have
less than sixteen months to
prepare a position paper
and to negotiate an agree-
able settlement with. the
government. -

The draft of the proposed
terms of reference for the
three person Committee
was discussed by the
Advisory Board with: Chief
Adam Eneas and has ben
mailed to-all twenty-three
bands for their comment.