Periodical
Nesika: The Voice of B.C. Indians -- January/February 1977
- Title
- Nesika: The Voice of B.C. Indians -- January/February 1977
- Is Part Of
- 1.06-01.02 Nesika: The Voice of BC Indians
- 1.06.-01 Newsletters and bulletins sub-series
- Date
- January 1976
- Language
- english
- Identifier
- 1.06-01.02-07.01
- pages
- 20
- Table Of Contents
-
INSET]West Coast
Votes to Prepare
Land Claims
Position
page 9
[INSET] "Constitution" for
Haida Nation Stirs
Angry Response
page 17
[INSET] Hat Creek Project
Threatens Indians
and Environment
pages 6,7,8
Bad News in
Good Hope Lake
pages,11,12,13 - Contributor
- Robert Skelly
- Archie Charles
- Ralph Hamilton
- Bill Webber
- Type
- periodical
- Transcription (Hover to view)
-
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Title (Dublin Core)
Nesika: The Voice of B.C. Indians -- January/February 1977
Is Part Of (Dublin Core)
1.06-01.02 Nesika: The Voice of BC Indians
1.06.-01 Newsletters and bulletins sub-series
Date (Dublin Core)
January 1976
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UBCIC Communications Department
Language (Dublin Core)
english
Identifier (Dublin Core)
1.06-01.02-07.01
pages (Bibliographic Ontology)
20
Table Of Contents (Dublin Core)
INSET]West Coast
Votes to Prepare
Land Claims
Position
page 9
[INSET] "Constitution" for
Haida Nation Stirs
Angry Response
page 17
[INSET] Hat Creek Project
Threatens Indians
and Environment
pages 6,7,8
Bad News in
Good Hope Lake
pages,11,12,13
Contributor (Dublin Core)
Robert Skelly
Archie Charles
Ralph Hamilton
Bill Webber
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periodical
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UNITED NATIVE NATIONS
January/February 1977
West Coast
Votes to Prepare
Land Claims
Position
page 9
‘*Constitution’’ for!
Haida Nation Stirs
Angry Response
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Bad News in
Good Hope Lake
pages
11,12,13
abrador Indians, Inuit
Two native Organizations, represen:
ting the Indian and Inuit people of
Labrador, Newfoundland, are now
fighting to have Parliament amend Bill
L-9, to protect their rights from being
extinguished as a result of the legali-
zation of the James Bay Final Agree-
ment.
Bill C-9 has been introduced for
second reading (approval-in-principle)
and is now being studied by the
Standing Committee on Indian Affairs
in the House of Commons for possible
amendments. Judging by the treal-
ment of some native groups appearing
before the Committee, however, and
judging by the attitude and majority of
the Liberals on the Committee and in
Parliament, it appears doubtful that
any amendments will be allowed.
Representatives of the Naskapi Mo-
ntagnais Innu Association of Labrador
(NMIAL), and the Labrador Inuit
Association (LIA) appeared before the
Standing Committee on Feb. 10th, to
argue their case for having an amend-
ment made on Bill C-9 that would
protect them from having their rights
extinguished to lands in the province
of Quebec thal are covered by the
James Bay Final Agreement.
The NMIAL is made up of 250
Naskapi Indians based at Davis Inlet
on the northern coast of Labrador, and
O00 Naskapi and Montagnais Indians
based at Northwest River, Labrador.
The LIA represents the Inuit villages
of Nain, Hopedale, Postville, Makko-
vik, and Rigolet on the coast of
Labrador.
The 800 Indian and 2,000 Inuit
people, represented by the NMIAL
and the LEA, still live very much as
their ancestors did, with their lives
centering around the annual caribou
hunts and the work on the traplines
which extend far into Quebec, (About
“T guess that the
only thing that was{
Yleft out of the bill §
hwas perhapsthe 4
i extinguishment of §
;the migration of
sthe caribou. ”’
- Dr. Holmes, M.P., Conservative 4
=
critic on Indian Affairs
400 of th
tion of 2,000 are male hunters.)
The entire Quebec-Labrador penin-
sula isa very flat land with many lakes
and slow-moving rivers, making travel
by canoe in the summer and by
snowshoe in the winler, very easy over
long distances in any direction,
A brief presented to the Standing
e total Labrador Inuit popula-
Fight James Bay Deal
Committee by the NMIAL states that
“the Indians of Labrador have tradi-
tionally hunted over and occupied
most of the Quebec-Labrador peninsu-
la.” The Naskapi people from Labra-
dor are closely related to the Naskapis
al Schefferville, Quebec, and the two
groups share the caribou and fish of
the middle and upper George River
area in Quebec. The brief notes that
the Naskapi continue to hunt in
northern Quebec and “in fact, a
westward movement of the caribou
has occurred this winter, and at this
very moment, Davis Inlet Naskapi
Indians are hunting caribou in their
traditional lands in the upper George
River drainage area.”
The LIA notes that the Inuit of
Labrador are also closely related to the
Inuit of northern Quebec, and that
“they just happen to be divided by a
political boundary which does not have
any relationship to the movement of
the caribou.”
The Indians and Inuit of Labrador
“do not live on reserves, have never
signed any treaties, nor have they
ceded any lands to any government,
agences or individuals,”*
Despite the foregoing, lawyer Doug
Sanders, who is acting for the Naska-
pis, states that “the territorial rights
inf Quebec of thé Naskapi Indians of
Davis Inlet are to be expropriated by
Bill C-9 without consent, without
continued on page 14
LAND CLAIMS BOOKS FOR SALE - SUPPORT THE NESIKA
oe
THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES
(Land Claims Information Booklet)
Prepared by the Church Support
Group and the Unien of B.C, Indian
Chie ts.
120) pape paperback, $2.00
same of the mimeographed pages are
a little faint, but the eyestrain is well
worth the effort.
Joseph Trutch and the Indian Lanel
Policy
fhe Nashgea Petition of ht
Gur Homes Are Bleeding excerpts
from this book on the cut-off lands.
fhe White and Bob Case -
The Supreme Court decision
NIB. Statement on Aboriginal Title
The Supreme Court Nishga Decision
by Doug Saunders
Federal Policy Statement on Aborigi-
nal Claims, 1973
WHO OWNS CANADA?
ABORIGINAL TITLE AND
CANADIAN COURTS
by William Badcock, published by the
CASNP
SH page paperback, $1.50
He begins with Columbus, and
continues with the different eoncep ts
of land ownership and the doctrine of
discwery, and moves through the
Proclamation of 1763, and some deci-
sions by the U.S. Supreme Court, The
major part of his work is the section
dealing with Canadian court decisions,
beginning with the St. Catherine’s
Milling Case in 1887, and concluding
with the decision in the Nishga Case
ea
THE MACKENZIE VALLEY:
NATIVE LAND CLAIMS AND
CORPORATE GROWTH
by Roger Rolfe of Oxfam Canada
6 pages, panerback pamphlet, 50 cents
reprinted by the Development Eduea-
tion Centre
In relating what happened to the
native people of southern Canada
since the arrival of the first Europeans,
the pamphlet says that “the similarity
between the situation of northern
native peoples and the situation of
native people in the south is all to
obvious, What is frightening is that
their fate may also be the same.””
Headings in the pamphlet: 1) Vic-
tims of Growth 3) The Dene of the
Mackenzie Valley 3) Northwest Terri-
tories’: The Conquest of the Last
Frontier 4) Land and Self-Determina-
tion: The Dene's Struggle for Survival.
Also included is a list of resources for
“further reading on the north.”
SAAC OE
THE HISTORY WE LIVE WITH
by Doug Sanders and the Victoria
Indian Cultural Centre
24 page paperback, $1.00
The text is based on a talk given by
Doug Saunders, a lawyer who has
worked on land claims for B.C, Indians
for a number of years. The booklet was
put together and printed by the
Victoria Indian Cultural Centre,
The booklet includes several general
aféas of discussion: the first treaties,
how British Columbia and the federal
government handled the problem, the
“cut-off lands issue, inter-tribal
organization, the Nishga claim, and
the breaking of promises.
3 PMP VUE POET BeROUEP UTP eeweePEPeN ae essesEeEPee
BEYOND CHARITY:
TOWARDS DIGNITY
Prepared by Mike Lewis and the
United Church Support Group reprin-
ted by NESIKA..
a small pamphlet, 50 cents. .
The pamphlet is meant to be a study
guide for understanding the land
claims issue, concentrating on |) the
historical perspective of the Jand
claims 2) some facts of Indian life in
Canada 3) the philosophical foundation
for the future ~ land, identity, and
survival,
Rach of the sections makes a
statement about the subject. It conta-
ins references to written resources,
tapes and films for further information
on cack section and where they can be
obtained, and also asks several ques-
tions for discussion, further study and
evalualion, .
“The land claims issue is both an
invilation and a challenge” says the
author and he hopes “the study and
resource guide will stimulate your
acceptance of the invitation and kindle
your cunosity to begin meeting the
challenge of understanding.
ALLIED TRIBES
CONFERENCE MINUTES
reprinted by VESIKA
143 page paperback, $3.00
NESIKA has reprinted a carbon
copy of the verbatim minutes of a
meeting held in 1993 between the
Executive of the Allied Tribes of B.C,
amd the head of the Indian Affairs
Department at that time, Dr, Duncan
Scott. '
The Allied Tribes, first of all, sought
to persuade the federal government's
representatives mot to accept the
recommendations of the McKenna-
McBride Report, and asked instead
that their claim based on Native Title
be heard, Included in the record is a 20
point statement of “the necessary
conditions of equitable setthement’’,
Most of the 20 points dealt with
hunting, trapping, fishing, and fore-
shore rights that the Allied Tribes
were asking to be recognized,
aa
NATIVE RIGHTS IN CANADA
Edited by Peter Cummings and Neil
Mickenberg .
330 page paperback, $8.95.
This book is considered by many to be
the authority on the subject of legal
rights of the native people in Canada
and was prepared mostly by lawyers
and legal professors, .
Included are sections on:
Aboriginal Rights - the origins, theory,
legal content of a claim, extinguish-
Ment, COM Pen sal teen. .
Treaties - their legal nature, interpre-
tation. .
History of native dealings in - Atlantic
provinces, Ontario, Northwest Terri-
tories, British Columbia, Yukon and
the Prairies.
Current Issues - hunting and fishing
rights, mineral rights, federal control,
U.S. Indian Claims Commission, Alas-
ka Settlement.
There are also 80 pages of documents,
reports, and references. .
2 January/February 1977
NESIKA
NATIVE LAND CLAIMS IN
BRITISH COLUMBIA:
AN INTRODUCTION
A teacher's manual prepared by
Target Canada, a research and prejee-
tion group. IIA pages, paperback,
$5.0).
The manual was prepared as
part of a slide-tape presentation to
give high school students a general
introduction to the subject of B.C. land
claims.. The filmstrip, cassette, and
a Videotape of the slide-tape show are
also available through NESIKA,
Chapter headings include:
Definitions, Attitudes, Aboriginal
Tithe, Colonial Period in B.C. from
1656-1871, B.C. in Confederation.187|
1913, Cut-Off Lands - the McKenna
MeBride Commission 1913-1916, Tre-
aly #8, Nisha Land Claims, Organized
Tribal Activities, Road Blocks and
accupations, Land Claims and the
Church, Recent history of federal and
provincial government positions, .
THE DENE
Prepared by Hugh and Karme!
McCullum and Project North, publi-
shed by the Indian Brotherhood of the
NWT,
16 page paperback, $1.00
This illustrated booklet was pre-
pared to promote the presentation of
the Dene claim made to the Federal
Government in October 1976, but also
provides people from the South with
a good general background of the
Dene people in the NWT, the history
of the Dene to come together into a
united Nation; and a section dealing
with their hopes to get a caveat filed on
their lands in the Mackenzie Valley.
NATIVE PEOPLE IN AREAS OF
INTERNAL NATIONAL
EXPANSION
by Doug Sanders
3] pages, pamphlet, 75 cents
reprinted from the Saskatchewan Law
Review by the Development Education
Centre
“The purpose of this paper is to
attempt a general analysis within
which these geographically separated
events (the Bennett Dam, the Bighorn
Dam, the James Bay project, the
Nooding of Southern Indian Lake, the
exploration and resource development
in the Arctic, and the Mackenzie
Valley pipeline) can be understood.
The focus is mot on energy needs,
economic nationaliam, or the protec:
tion of the environment; issues which
clearly are raised by some of the
projects. The concern of this paper is
with the legal issues raised by the
presence of native people in the areas
where the projects will be undertak-
en,
AAA aa
THIS LAND IS NOT FOR SALE
by Hugh and Karmel McCallum 210
page paperback, $3.95
Four contemporary land claims are
discussed in detail - the Yukon,
Northern Manitoba, Northwest B.C.,
and the Northwest Territories,
an entire chapter is devoted to an
examination of two recent land settle-
ments - Alaska and James Bay - and an
explanation of why native groups
across Canada insist that the earlier
agreements not be used as proedents
for further settlements.
After all the oil company
Promotional material, the book is a
needed change.
AS LONG AS THIS LAND SHALL
LAST
by Hen Funoleau, OM]
415 page paperback, $5.95
An Oblate missionary has produced
one of the moat Santalls documented
stories of the life of the Indian People
of the Mackenzie Valley in the
Northwest Territories, Fr, Rene Fumo-
leau started out to prepare a “modes!
paper"’ on the significance of two
Indian treaties signed in LBOO and
1920),
Furioleau spent many hours inter-
viewing old people who remembered
the early treaty parties, and became
the star witness before Mr. Justice
William Morrow in a caveat action
asking the courts to designate the
450,000 square miles as having "prior
interest” for the natives. Morrow
ruled they did, and it was the evidence
of Rene Fumoleau which helped
convince the Judge that the natives of
the NWT had aboriginal rights predat-
ing the spurious treaties,
It became the basis for a precedent
“sc ting court decision and provides a
chilling lesson in the chicanery and
insensitivity of the white government
of that day which employed any
methed to obtain signatures on a
document which no native - and few
whites - could comprehend.
But this is no dry legal treatise. It
rads more like a tale of a forgotten
people and land who have suddenly
become headline news.
Thoughtful, unbiased, clear, it is a
major work for thase who would care to
understand the just aspirations of the
natives of northern Canada,
‘from a Toreate Star review
DO IT NOW!
4201-1451 West Broadway
Vancouver, B.C.
V6H 1H6
Please enter my subscription to NESIKA
Return to; NESIKA
It’s Not OK
NESIKA:
In a recent VWES/IKA article on the
proposed Kitimat-Edmonton oil pipe-
line you stated that “the pipeline
scheme seems to be OK with NDP
Leader Dave Barrett,”
This presumption was apparently
based on Mr, Barrett's statement that
the NDP, if government, would insist
on 15% of the pipeline oil as a tax in
hind, and would also give communities
along the route the right to tax the
pipeline for local revenue.
1 would like to point out that al no
ume has Mr. Barrett ever said the
pipeline was ““OK" with him. In fact,
he has publicly criticized the proposal.
Speaking in Cranbrook October 26,
1976, he said that B.C. would be
getting the shortend of the stick if the
pipeline went through and listed a
number of reasons for this - risk of
major oil disaster on our coastline, no
permanent jobs from the pipeline,
prices driven up in the north, ete,
The Financial Post (October
30,1976) comparing Mr, Barrett's
altiiude to Premier Bennett's on the
pipeline proposal has this to say?
“Rarrett, however, opposes the pipe-
‘line, believing that the boom-hust
impact of construction would Aave
adverse social impact on the commu-
nies along the route. In any other
province the Leader of the Opposition
would be able to do little more than
ermicize the proposal, But Barrett hes
an additional weapon in his arsenal:
the fear among business circles that
Barrett could be Premier again one
day." (referring to the 15% tax
proposal).
As environment critic for the NDP, |
have called upon the government to
take an unequivocal stand in opposi-
tion to the supertanker route, as the
Kitimat pipeline preposal threatens
the environment of the whole northern
and central coast of the province and of
Vancouver Island, (see Hansard Janu-
ary 18, 1977).
Robert E. Skelly
M.L.A., Alberni
Victoria
Funding Delayed
NESIKA:
Enclosed is an “Open Letter to the
Minister of Indian Affairs’’ that we
would ask you to print in VESIKA,
As you may know, Coqualeetza is a
Cultural Centre that depends on
federal cultural dollars allocated by
Treasury Board, through the Depart-
ment of Indian Affairs, to provide
cultural and training services to Indian
members in B.C,
According to the Treasury Board
guidelines, upon meeting certain cri-
teria these dollars are to be released
routinely, on a quarterly basis, to
Cultural Centres by the Department of
Indian Affairs. We have met the
criteria, but have been faced with
constant cutbacks and delays in reeeiv-
ing our cultural funds. We have
written numerous letters, but other
than the standard (reply) from his
special assistant, and absolutely noth-
ing from the civil servants of DIA,
nothing has happened.
The Department of Indian Affairs is
a huge machine that has become
ineffective because of its bureaucracy.
It spends vast sums of money on public
relations to tell the general public of all
it is doing for the Indian people, but
only those of us on the receiving end of
some of these services know how hard
it is to extract sufficient money (money
that has already been allocated by
Treasury Board) to carry out some of
the programs that are glorified thro-
ugh government public relations.
Many of your readers are no doubt
familiar with this type of runaround,
and this will let them know they are
not alone in their struggle.
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE MINIS-
TER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS:
Since December 17, 1976 we have
wrillen Lo you seven limes regarding
matters of the utmost importance to
the survival and functions of the
Coqualeetza Education Training Cen-
Ire.
Because of the subject matter of
these letters, we are shocked at the
performance of vour staff who are
withholding the pertinent information
from you.
lt is our hope that you will read this
open letter, and request) from your
Special Assistant that our correspon-
dence be brought to your attention
immediately, and that action be taken.
We have received one letter dated
February 10, 1977 stating "at the
earliest opportunity, your correspon-
dence will be brought to the Minister's
altention™”, signed by your Special
Assistant,
“Earliest opportunity’ is a luxury
called time. Based on our past
experience with your Department,
time is a luxury neither of us can
afford. And we no longer accept it as
an Excuse,
Chief Archie Charles
Chairman,
Coqualeetza Board of Directors
Sardis
No Yukon ARDA
gg a gay
NESIKA:
For the past five years, the Yukon
Association of Non Status Indians has
been trying to get the Department of
Indian Affairs and Northern Develop-
ment and the Government of the
Yukon Territory to recognize the
requirement and establish programs to
meet special needs of native people.
We have not had much success.
Indeed, the Federal Government and
the Territorial Government have ste-
adfastly refused to allow programs
such as the Special A.R.D.A. program
to operate in the Yukon Territory, This
has been the situation even though
that program has operated in the
provinces for the past five years and
provides opportunity so native people
can undertake self-help projects. Ma-
ny provinces also have their own
special funding programs to assist
Metis and Non Status Indians, but
such programs are rejected by the
Yukon Territorial Government.
We believe that native people in the
south should know that this iniquitous
situation exists in Canada.
We enclose also our most recent
letter to Warren Allmand.
That letter reads in part: that if is
not unreasonable for us to press for
federal programs in the Yukon that are
al least equal to those available to
native people in the provinces. Now
that you are the Minister responsible
for northern development, would you
please ask your officials or cabinet
colleagues the question: “why does it
take so long to get positive action on
this reasonable request?'’ Fe would
appreciate knowing the answer.
Bill Webber
President, ¥.A.N.5.1.
Whitehorse
"Black — Ane
We are angry and disgusted, is
putting it mildly, in our feelings on the
deportation of Brother Leonard - from
the subtle, cunning, conniving with
the FBI and USA authorities, the
gutless, vicious role of puppets. And
how some of these creatures will get
up and bellow out “Oh Canada”, and
they would have us believe their
noise-making, Christian, democratic,
freedom-loving, ete, ete.
Oh hell, | am absolutely disgusted -
til the next round, What is happening
to Brother Frank Black Horse?
lt is important we know as soon and
as much about what is happening to _
our oppressed Brothers and Sisters as
possible,
Solidarity in 1977
Ralph Hamilton
Vancouver
Editor's Note:
Frank Black Horse was arrested
aong with Leonard Peltier on Feb. 6,
1976 and has been held in isolation at
the Fort Saskatchewan Penitentiary
ever since. He was an active AIM
member and is wanted by the Ameri-
can authorities for several charges -
attempted murder, assault, conspira-
ey. Al the time of his arrest, he was
charged with possession of marijuana
- and was convicted of the charge last
year. He has appealed the conviction
and the appeal will be heard from Feb.
28 to March 4 in Edmonton, If the
conviction is upkeld, he will be
deported to the U.S, as an undesirable
alien. If Black Horse wins the appeal,
he faces a charge in Alberta of
escaping lawful custedy and possible
deportation, Ifhe is found not guilty of
all charges in Canada, then the
American authorities may begin ext-
radition proceedings against him simt-
lar to those carried out against
Leonard Peltier.
**Justice’’ Stinks
AN OPEN LETTER TO OAKALLA
PRISON AUTHORITIES: |
The apparent ease with which
prisoners in your charge have recently
been escaping from your institution
underlines and makes a further joke of
the lies which you released to the news
media after Leonard Peltier was
extradited to the U.S.
Neither Leonard nor his Defence
Committee ever planned any of the
bizarre so-called “escape plans”. As I
told you, Mr. Bjarnson, in our tele-
phone conversation on December
22nd, all those “escape plota’’ were
fasioned in your sick litthe minds, and
you did it under orders from your
bosses, the American FBI You were
asked to tell these lies and you
complied in an altempt to prevent a
fair hearing into the question of bail
for my brother Leonard, a man who
has never been convicted of any crime,
but has spent almost one solid year in
solitary confinement prison cells.
Leonard only learned of your outra-
geous lies about him two weeks ago.
He asks as well he should, "Why
wasn't | charged, before one of
Qakalla's kangaroo courts, while | was
there if these things were happen-
ing?’ Even Leonard's lawyers were
unaware of your plot to discredit him, |
have sent them copies of all the
hysterical media coverage which |
hope they will use to show the truth
about Leonard's Canadian jailers, the
bias of the Canadian. news media
against Leonard and the general
stench of Canadian “‘justice’’.
Each new escape causes us to laugh
at the thought of your embarrassed
liars’ faces. If Leonard had ever really
wanted to escape, who could have
stopped him? Obviously, not you,
Oakalla.
Donna Tyndall
Courtenay
Tahltan Agrees
NESIRA:
[am a Tahltan Indian from Telegr-
aph Creek and | definitely agree with
the “B.C. Is Indian Land” philosophy.
Keep up the struggle!
Vera Asp
Whitehorse
T-SHIRTS HAVE ARRIVED!
T-shirts in the above design are now available at the NESIKA office.
They come in red, yellow, light blue and black [white lettering) in
small, medium, large, and extra large adult sizes; and in small,
medium, and large children’s sizes. The cost is $5 each. Please state
a second choice of colour in case your first choice Is no longer In
stock.
NESIKA
January/February 1977 3
UBCIC Sets Commission Plan
Apparently, the Union of B.C,
Indian Chiefs has approved the sug-
gested purposes, organization, and
budget for an Aboriginal Rights Com-
mission, as proposed by George
Manuel.
lt is understood that the proposal
was adopted by the UBCIC in Janu-
ary, and that it likely has already been
submitted for funding, although this
hasn't been confirmed by the UBCIC
Spokesman, in spite of repeated
efforts.
The draft proposal states that the
major purpose of the Commission
would be to create an “interaction”
between Indian and non-Indian inter-
ests. It would also perform a research
function and develop a “range of
policy and program choices"’ for
governments and Indian groups.
Specifically, the Commission would:
1. “Conduct hearings, listen to
representatives and receive briefs on
tribal land claims and on other issues
concerning native people which are of
major interest to Indian and non-
Indian communities;
3. “Undertake and co-ordinate re-
search, assemble relevant data, inclu-
ding completed research, and do
analyses which can serve as a basis
for future policy planning and pro-
gram development by native organiza-
N
A letter from United Native Nations
(UNN) President Bill Wilson was sent
ta all Indian Bands, districts, friend-
ship centres, and newspapers in B.C,
outlining the problems the UNN has
had in establishing a relationship with
the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. The
March 3rd letter read in part:
“It is our policy that we should
co-operate with provincial Indian or-
ganizations presently in existence.
We have a very good working rela-
tionship with the Native Brotherhood
and we support the initiatives that the
Brotherhood has taken in regard to
the aboriginal rights and land claims
of Indian people on the coast. We
have made various and several at-
tempts to co-operate with the Union of
B.C. Indian Chiefs without success.
“Immediately after the formation of
the UNN, we sent a letter to the
UBCIC assuring them that we did not
see ourselves as being in competition
for membership or jurisdiction among
the Indian peoples of this province.
“It has been our desire from the
start to co-operate with the Union and
other Indian organizations so that
tions and various levels of govern-
rent;
4. "Make available to Indian bands
and other groups, in print and thro-
ugh various media, lucid expositions
and interpretations of issues and
alternative courses of action, to facili-
tate understanding and concensus;
®. "Through exposure and cons-
tructive interaction, foster imp: ved
relationships between Indian and non-
Indian communities;
6. “Identify the major priorities
affecting Indian people together with
the ways and means in which outstan-
ding grievances can be resolved and
the current sources of tension allevi-
ated.”
The proposal suggested “consultation
to be followed by negotiation may be
the preferred route because it offers
an opportunity to air long-standing
problems affecting Indians while rec-
cognizing the views and interests of
B.C. at large.”
Regarding the special problems of
(‘status’) Indian people, the propo-
sal noted that the possibility of Indian
people having access to provincial
programs may have to be considered
and said “those who propose to
rationalize an extension of provincial
programs to Indians maintain that this
is one of the keys to dealing effective-
we may all get on with the Aboriginal
Rights question and stop fighting
internally while the government goes
about its business of imposing a
settlement upon us. Unfortunately,
we have received no reaponse to the
first letter and various other letters
that we have sent to the UBCIC.
“The UBCIC, in fact, has seen fit
not to return telephone calls that we
have made to them. On two occasions
we have attempted to bring all of the
existing Indian organizations in the
province together for a meeting to
discuss our mutual concerns. We have
received replies from the Brotherhood
and other Indian organizations, but
have received no response whatso-
ever, or even acknowledgement of our
letters, from the UBCIC.
“It is not our desire to interfere
with. the internal workings of the
UBCIC. However, we are concerned
with what appears to be a policy of
“lt is our policy that the things
done in the name of the people at the
community level must be done in the
apen. The United Native Nations
ly with Indian economic and social
needs. Many Indian groups, however,
are concerned that provincial services
' would prejudice their special status
and the constitutional and historical
basis for federal responsibility."
As for “non status" Indians, the
proposal stated that their needs and
concerns have to be identified since a
“significant number of non status
Indians believe that in addition to
their relationship to the Province, the
Federal Government also has a res-
ponsibility for their well-being.” It
added that “although many of their
problems may require separate atten-
tion, it is possible that their issues can
be managed effectively and economic-
ally in the context of approaches
developed for Indian people.”
Over a two year period, the Com-
mission would hold approximately 144
formal hearings on the average of six
per month.
The proposal also calls for six field-
workers to be hired that would be
“loaned’’ to other Indian organiza-
tions to help various groups and
communities prepare for the hearings.
Included in the 19 person Commis-
sion staff would be the Commissioner,
an Executive Officer, a Research Co-
ordinator, a Claims Research Officer, *
and a four-person OOMMUNIcations
sends all infonmation about Aboriginal
Rights and Land Claims to alf Indian
people in the province. We do this not
because we want to solicit your
support, but because we believe that
the issues we are discussing are of
interest to all people at the communi-
ty level.
“We believe that if people can get
together and share information, then
the things that separate us will
become minor in comparison to the
larger fight we all have to make to
guarantee a better place for our
children in British Columbia society."
FIELDWORKERS
While the UNN had planned to
have fieldworkers hired in all ten
regions in the province by this time,
problems with Secretary of State
funding has resulted in only seven
fieldworkers being hired to date. They
can be contacted at:
Peace River: Kathy Cardinal, Box
923, Chetwynd, phone TH8-9288.
Kamloops: Judy Joe, Box 1, Lower
Nicola, phone 378-5603.
staff, The Commissioner would be
paid $27,000 per year, and the
average salary and benefits for all
staff, including clerks and typists,
would be $19,500.
The total budget for the Commis-
sion’s work over the two year period
would be $1.4 million.
The proposal notes that the UBCIC
has received $830,000 in funding
since 1970-71 for Indian rights re-
search, but also suggests that the $1.4
million budget is in line with other
similarly federally-funded projects. It
notes that the [nuit people received
$140,000 in research funding over two
years, and that the Berger Inquiry
cost the federal government about $2
million and covers a smaller native
population in the N.W.T.
The proposal suggests that the
budget would be a worthwhile invest-
ment because in “setting the stage
for a negotiated resolution of outstan-
ding Indian claims and grievances,
the Commission would be incurring
significant savings in future court
costs, There are many historical
examples, moreover, which suggest
that an adversary approach to the
solution of problems is, in the longer
run, an alternative which extracts
heavy costs in money, relationships
and goodwill.”
with UBCIC
Kootenay-Okanagan: Charles Chap-
man, Box 561, Oliver, phone message
at 493-0048.
Far North: Louie Quock, Box 100,
Good Hope Lake, phone message at
Ti8-T411.
North Coast: Danny Matthews, Ge-
neral Delivery, Prince Rupert, no
phone yet.
Vanderhoof-Falemont: George Hol-
em, 2245 Regent Crescent, Prince
George, phone 564-4205.
Fort St. James-Hazelton: Lawrence
Tom, Box 448, Granisle, no phone
yet.
: Messages for those fieldworkers
who are travelling through their
regions, or for those who do not yet
have a phone, can be left at the UNN
head office: 732-3726,
The fieldworkers are to travel ex-
tensively throughout their region to.
meet with native groups interested in
the land claims issue; to organize land
claims meetings; to distribute land
claims information; and to work for
the establishment of Tribal organiza-
tions.
Brotherhood Makes Progress
Since the November convention of
the Native Broterhood, the Executive
Board seems to be making slow, but
steady progress as they seek to
crordinate and organize the coastal
Indian people around the land claims
issue,
As of late February, a total of ten
bands along the coast had forwarded
Band Council Resolutions to the
Brotherhood's Vancouver office sup-
porting the stand taken at the conven-
tion in taking over the coastal land
claims from the Union of B.C. Indian
Chiefs.
The resolutions were similarly wor-
ded to the effect that: “whereas the
UBCIC has dealt with land claims
since 1969 with little or no visible
results on the coast; and whereas the
Native Brotherhood has historic roots
in coastal communities; therefore be it
resolved by the —————— Band
Council that the Native Brotherhoo
be recognized as the co-ordinating
body for our land claims development
and that the per capita share of
core-funding for our band go to the
Native Brotherhood."
_. The bands that sent in such resolu-
tions were for the most part, the larger
bands - Nimpkish, Bella Bella, Cape
4 January/February 1977
~ NESIKA
Mudge, Campbell River.
2nd Vice-President Gilbert Cook,
and the person heading up the Native
Brotherhood’s land claims efforts,
states that they have commitments
from a number of other bands that
similar resolutions will be passed, and
he expects to have about 30 such
B.C.R."s by the end of April.
Based on the strength of the
resolution,, the Brotherhood Executive
voted at its Feb. lath meeting to
submit a funding proposal to the
Secretary of State Department. The
budget was submitted that same week
and is primarily meant to provide
funds for organizational meetings to
be held along the coast.
The Executive has tentatively set
April 22nd as the date for the first such
meeting, to be held in Vancouver, with
representatives of each of the coastal
communities. The purpose of the
meeting will be to determine the
funding, organizational, and structural
concerns and priorities of the land
claims efforts of the Brotherhood.
Gilbert Cook notes that interest is
high and “that something is getting
accomplished’’. He stresses the fact
that the Brotherhood will only be
acting as the co-ordinating body to get
the community representatives to the
meeting and get them talking. It will
be up to them to then determine their
policies and priorities, he said.
Carrier History
The following article is excerpted
from an interview with University of
Alberta anthropologist Doug Hudson
that appeared in the January 27th
issue of the Northern Times. Hudson
has done extensive research for the
Carrier people around Stuart Lake on
the effect of businesses and trading
companies that entered the lands of
the Carrier people in the 19th and
early 20th centuries,
Doug Hudson (DH) was interviewed
by Jeff Marvin of Northwest Commu-
nity College for the Nerthern Times.
(NT).
NT: At what point did the Hudson's
Bay Co, turn from a borderline
operation in the north to a profitable
operation?
DH: This shift came around the middle
of the last century when the supply
routes changed. In 182] when the
Hudson's Bay took over the Northwest
Co.'s operations, they changed the
supply route, and there was a tremen-
dous search to find a route from the
coast. For some time goods were
brought up the Columbia River sys-
tem, up the Qkanagan, overland from
the Kamloops area, and up to this
region, which was cheaper than bring-
ing goods from eastern Canada. Then,
during the transfer of Oregon to the
United States in the 1840's , they had
to explore up the Fraser River system
to find an overland route. But there
was a beginning of profitability then.
New Caledonia, as this district was
called, was always seen as a profitable
area because of its tremendous fur
resource,
The problem was to get goods in
cheaply and buy furs cheaply. The
most well-integrated transportation
network of “‘goods in and pelts out"
was the use of steamboats up the
Fraser River - and up the Skeena River
towards the end of the 1600's.
NT: Fou mentioned in your lecture
that this hed an adverse effect on the
Indian labour force.
DH: It seems to me that many of the
operations in the interior were run by
Indians. There was a scow operating
on Tako Lake in the late 1800's, and
there were Indian canoemen who used
to freight goods up the Skeena. This
whole business enterprise of the
Skeena was eliminated by the intro-
duction of steamboats. There was a
market, though, for Indian labour
packing supplies, because the supply
route came through Hazelton overland
to Babine, and the Indian people sold
their labour as packers. There was
expansion of the market during the
Cariboo Gold Rush of the 1650's and
60's, but especially up here in the
Omineca Gold Rush of the 1870's, and
the people filling the demand for
labour were Indian people.
We often think of trading relation-
ships as involving cash ... | don’t think
cash really entered the economy of this
area until about 1860. That was the
result of the miners from the Cariboo
Gold Rush, and trappers and freetra-
ders, coming into the area and
demanding services and goods in cash
- 30 that we're no longer dealing with a
straight barter system.
NT: Uf the people were used to the
social contact of trading, cash was an
immediate form of exchange and must
have had some effect on their relation-
ship with other people,
DH: It’s very difficult to read into the
literature just what the impact was.
a
Daniel Ska-Will [Big Wings] - a hunter from the Hazelton area, demonstrates how
Reviewed
Indian people came to use their skills to supply the Hudson's Bay Company. = gc. Provincial Museum photo
One very obvious effect was that it
gave people several options where to
buy: they could obtain money for furs
now instead of goods in kind, and
could go either to the post at Fort St,
James or down to Quesnel.
NT: You mentioned that it took about
100 years for the Hudson's Bay to
convert the Indian economic system to
its own ends whereby the Indian would
be a trapper primarily serving the
Hudson's Bay. What was the end of
that process? The I00 years would
have taken them to somewhere about
the 1920's - at that point what was left
of the original patierns of Indian
irading? = *
DH: During the early 1900's, there
was tremendous expansion of the
canning industry on the coast, and a
lot of Indian people used to work in the
canneries, 90 the interaction between
coastal and Indian people probably
was on the increase - but due more to
canneries than the elaboration of old
trade networks, so it was a totally
different economic phenomenon.
NT: Last night in your lecture you
mentioned that the RCMP were active
in this pertod....
DH; The history of that relationship
goes back to the late 1800's when the
federal and provincial governments
were beginning to expand their juris-
diction into the northern interior, and
set up reserves for Indian people.
Many of the Indian people, expecially
on the Nass and Skeena Rivers,
refused to have anything to do with the
surveyors who came to lay out the
reserves. This situation went well into
the 1920's. li’s my understanding that
the RCMP as the national police force
had its jurisdiction extended to cover
British Columbia around 1920. From
reading the reports that have been
published, it seems that the posts were
set up in areas of high Indian
concentration in the interior, and that
some of their main duties seem to have
been protecting the surveyors who
were laying oul some of these unwan-
ted reserves.
They were also enforcing provisions
under the Indian Act: the most
obnoxious of which was the law which
banned potlatches and other ceremo-
nial activities from 1884 until the
revision of the Indian Act in 1951. It
was during the 1920's and 30's that the
people were arrested for potlatching,
for practicing witchcraft, There was an
example about 1930 of a fellow around
Moricetown arrested for practicing
witchcraft. Actually it was a curing
ceremony that involved chants and
beads and ceremonial paraphenalia. |
think the person got well, but that's
besides the point!
An RCMP officer working in the
interior in the 1920's and 30's would
be primarily concerned with enforcing
provisions under the Indian Act. If you
take the total case load of the RCMP,
and the total of that case load involving
the Indian Act, it seems that for a few
years the main load - about 60% in
some years, and 40% in others - was
providing services under the Act.
NT: [f one wanted to draw a political
lesson from that, one could say that
the RCMP was acting almost as a
colonial force?
DH: Right. As an extension of govern-
ment policy of the Indian Affairs
Department. Possible we could mea-
sure the present hostility to the RCMP
as having its roots in this relationship
of the 20's and 30's when they were
actively interfering in Indian culture.
NT: The picture then, is different from
that which your average grade 7 or 8
student would get from a textbook: it's
a picture of European business enter-
ing the area, disrupting Indian trading
and social patierns, actively using the
police force to enforce provisions of the
Indian Act that would result im the
decline of Indian culture.
Obviously Indian people can not go
back to a hunting and trapping
existence. Does industry offer any
alternatives?
DH: I would say, yes, industry does
offer alternatives, but these are labour
alternatives, to work at whatever job
one chooses.
But my feeling is that the land issue
is the crucial one. The labour one - jobs
and so forth « is secondary to the main
issue. Land is always being used as
a means of producing wealth: 100
years ago, pelts and fish and game.
It’s Indian land - and today the land
the Indian people claim is being used
to produce wealth through mineral and
forest activities, but the Indian people
themselves have not been able to
derive benefit from that.
NT: Fer af one time the Indian people
could derive maximum benefit from
the land. Obviously the resource base
has been changed, and so has Indian
fife.
DH: Yes, there were a couple of events
that occurred around the turn of the
century that transformed the resource
base of the central interior. In the late
1800's and early 1900's there was a
concentrated effort by cannery opera-
tors to persuade the federal and
provincial governments to ban the use
of weirs by Indians in upriver streams
where there were salmon spawning
areas. Now, for thousands of years,
Indian people have been using weirs,
which are fence-like arrangements
across salmon streams to capture
salmon. But around the turn of the
century, with the proliferation of
canneries on the coast, there was a
crisis point reached in the number of
salmon that were actually getting up lo
the spawning grounds, and the canne-
ry operators blamed the decline on use
of weirs. So there was an effort by the
various levels of government to elimi-
nate weirs on the upper Skeena and
upper Fraser drainage systems. In
1904, for example, there was an edict
that the weirs could no longer be used
in the Skeena system. In 1905, a
fisheries officer made a tour through
the Babine Lake area and destroyed 6
continued on next page
NESIKA
January; February 1977 5
Go-Ahead Nears 1 fo or Giant
A cloud is slowly setting over the
residents of the Hat Creek Valley as
the plans for a giant coal-burning
hydro scheme slowly take shape and
inch closer to reality. That cloud exists
right now in the minds of the people
living in the south central interior '
valley; a cloud sown with fear, doubt,
suspicion, and cold anger.
The clouds that will begin appearing
over the valley when the enormous
project that B.C. Hydro is “studying”
actually begins operations in 1983 will
be made up of more than just doubt
and suspicion, and they will give
plenty of reason to be fearful and
angry. Those clouds will be full of coal
dust from the open pil mining opera-
tions that will leave a permanent scar
covering four square miles and cutting
one-quarter mile deep in the earth's
surface. Those clouds will be full of
road dust from the constant traffic into
and out of the project site. Those
clouds will be full of noise from the
heavy trucks and earth-moving equip-
ment operating al the site and moving
into and out of the valley, And once the
generating plant begins burning 40,-
OO}“f tons of coal per day, those clouds
will be full of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen
dioxide, and millions of bits of floating
ash.
The quiet, peaceful, and unpolluted
nature of the valley will be forever
changed: the land searred from the
mining operations, the plant and
animal life stunted or removed. But
the 2,000 megawatt (Mw) plant that
Hydro is studying is just the foot in the
door as far as the changes and
development that will take place in the
homelands of the Lillooet-Thompson
people, Although Hydro is making
plans for a 2,000 Mw plant, they are
also considering the possibility of more
than doubling the output of the plant
to 3,000 Mw “with a proportional
increase in the amount of coal mined.”
Since there is enough coal to power a
5,000 Mw plant, Hydro is thinking of
expanding the plant to that size by
1988.
Studies are now underway to evalu-
ate “all possible commercial uses of
Hat Creek coal and to vindicate the
potential for the development of
enon
1 *
hy % \. f
ee ae : ;
wit
i
by ae
‘a ™ r thao k . a i
a i ant = ~alt =
Ej 1. “iad
secondary industry in the province
based on this resource.” One such
secondary industry is the establish-
ment of an aluminum smelter and
rolling mill using the 11,000 tons of
ash that will be produced from the
plant each day. A process is being
developed that will turn the ash into .
alumina, @ major ingredient in the
manufacture of aluminum.
As B.C. Hydro gets inches closer
and closer to the point of publicly
announcing their intention to go ahead
with the project, they are sending their
own clouds over the area and the’
residents. These clouds, unlike the
actual clouds that the project will
produce, are full of sugar-coated
words, mild phrases, and promises of
the blessings that the project will
bring.
An inch-thick proliant wendy of
ase tn ~ i
ee,
=a a
ject, that Hydro is planning to have in
full operation by the mid-1980's,
The government has been aware of
the rich coal deposits lying just under
the surface of the Hat Creek Valley for
100 years. B.C. Hydro is now planning
to mine the coal and burn it in a
process that will produce huge amou-
nts of electricity, and a great deal of
amoke, ash, and heat, in a 2,000 Mw
thermal generating plant.
Hydro already holds coal licenses to
31 square miles of land in the Hat
Creek Valley, and in August, 1974, it
commissioned a research firm to
investigate the “combined environ-
mental, social, and economic effects of
the construction and operation of a
2,000 Mw conventional thermal gene-
rating plant and its associated coal
mining operations located at or in the
vicinity of B.C. Hydro's Hat Creek coal
‘ ‘If the people i in Vancouver want
hydro so bad, let them truck the coal
down to Vancouver and burn it there
and let them choke on it.
the environmental impact of the Hat
Creek project was completed in Au-
gust 1975 and outlines the major plans
for the development.
AYDRO'S PRELIMINARY STUDY
REPORT
B.C. Hydro states that electrical
energy use over the 20 year period
from 1953 to 1973 increased al an
average annual rate of 11%, and is
predicting that although the average
annual increase will drop to about
6.6%, by the year 1900, the need for
electrical energy will be four times as
great as it is now. Based on those
figures, then, B.C. Hydro is planning
to meet the “anticipated demand” by
building several new major generating
Slatrons.
The Hat Creek project is just one of
a number of power projects, including
the MacGregor River Diversion pro-
6 January/February 1977
NESIKA
- Bob Fancn; Oregon Jack Band Chief
deposit. The earliest in-service for a
plant at this site would be early in
POR,"
Finished a year later, the study
draws several conclusions that encou-
rage the building of the project and
also points out several areas requiring
further study. However, the study also
raises many as-yet unanswered ques-
tions on what B.C. Hydro and the
government intend to do regarding
some of the special problems and
irreversible changes that will occur if
the project goes ahead as planned.
Project Deseription:
The heart of the project lies buried
in the enormous coal deposits mid-way
between Ashcroft and Lillooet in the
upper Hat Creek Valley. Hydro figures
show that there are two giant deposits
in the valley, although the study report
only dealt with the #1 deposit at the
north end of the valley. That deposit is
estimated to hold about 480 million
tons of coal which Hydro says is
lg,
PMs i ee
will B.C. Hydro's dream of a monster coal- bacihig hydro plant become the lndlen people's nightmare?
enough to fuel a 2,000 Mw plant for at
least 35 years.
Further up the valley, however, is
another coal deposit which Hydro
estimates is three times the size of the
#1 deposit, making the estimated total
of the deposits to be 2 billion tons.
Estimating from the size of these
deposits, B.C, Hydro Chairman Robert
Bonner is reported to have said that
there is an inferred reserve of 15
billion tons of coal at Hat Creek,
making it possibly the “largest coal
deposit of its kind in the world".
Mining the rich coal seams (one of
them 1,600 feet thick) would be done
by the open pil method with the use of
heavy machinery. That method would
require the removal of 323 million tons
of sand, gravel, and topsail (called the
overburden) from just the #1 deposit.
It would also result in the removal of
782 million tons of waste rock. Since all
the mining work would involve using
heavy machinery, only about 20 of the
projected 290 jobs in the mining
operations would be for unskilled
labourers.
After 35 years of mining, there
would be a permanent open pil
covering up to 4 square miles running
one-quarter mile deep on the site of
the #1 deposit. The small mountains of
waste rock, overburden, ash, and a
buffer zone for the open pit would
cover about 7 square miles.
The generating station would also
require about 65 acres of land,
wherever the plant site was located.
The research firm studied 11 different
sites for the generating plant: 3 that
were at the mine mouth; 2 at nearby
high altitudes to disperse the smoke,
ash, and odors; 5 that were next to
needed water supplies; and one loca-
tion that was only defined as “the
lower mainland” that would be near
the source of the power needs.
A site for the plant has not been
officially determined, but the evidence
seems to be stacked in favour of site #1
which would border directly on the
Bonaparte Reserve #1, and be only |
mile from the Pavilion Reserves.
The total land requirements for the
project would be a minimum of 5,400
acres if site #1 is selected next to the
mine, and up to a maximum of 7,700
acres for a site on the Fraser River and
Hat Creek Hydro Project
6,000 acres for a site on the lower
mainland. If the plant is built outside
the Hat Creek Valley, the study points
out that from 87 to 160 acres of Indian
reserve land would be needed to build
a railway to transport the coal.
A 2,000 Mw generating plant would
burn 40,000 tons of coal each day - an
amount that would fill a train of open
coal hoppers 400 cars long, or that
would cover a Canadian football field
to a height of 25 feet!
The study noted that provision
would have to be made to transport
25,000 gallons of water per minute to
the generating plant. “Several hund-
red” new housing units would also be
needed to house the added population
within commuting distance of the
plant.
Environmental [mpact:
The study noted that “‘six ranchers
would suffer significant loss of land"
under the project, and that catile
operations in the area would be
“adversely affected".
It also warned that “dust problems
would be expected to be considerable"
making “dust control a major probl-
em'’. [t also predicts that "the
one for soil erosion would also be
I 2
Of more importance, though, is the
potential danger in the trace elements
that are contained in some of the
samples of Hat Creek coal that Hydro
has tested. The study warns that
“environmental hazards could possi-
bly arise from the seemingly high
concentration of arsenic, boron, and
cadmium." It also notes that problems
could arise from the higher than
normal concentrations of lithium and
fluorine. The study suggests that more
research must be done on the amount
of beryllium, selenium, and mercury
because of their poisonous nature.
Figures in the preliminary study
show that some samples of coal had
concentrations of arsenic, beryllium,
fluorine, lithium, and mercury that
ranged from 4 to 25 times the world
average, and that “lithium, mercury,
and strontium can be harmful to
human life and occur in higher than
normal, or at least questionable,
amounts."
Based on figures of the amount of
arsenic contained in the Hat Creek
coal, and on Hydro’s estimated rate of
emission after burning, calculations
then show that from 4 to 7 tons of
arsenic would be released from the
plant every year to settle on the plant,
animal, and human life downwind
from the plant site.
Hydro states, however, that such
calculations are based on the amount
of arsenic contained in just a few
samples of the coal and not in the
actual ash itself. A spokesman says
that resulting figures are “mislead:
ing” and “hypothetical” and that
there “isn't enough information to
lead to that conclusion’’.
Part of the problem lies in the
figures of the amounts of the trace
elements in the Hat Creek coal since
the two sets of tests by two different
laboratories differed "‘significantly’’.
The results from the first set of tests,
done in 1974, showed that there were
an average of 8.2 parts of arsenic per
million parts of coal (and 20 parts in
one sample). However, the tests done
in 1975 failed to detect any arsenic in
the coal at all. Hydro does emphasize
that the test results were only prelimi-
nary and that further study is being
done.
An equal concern should be the
huge amounts of sulphur dioxide that
will be pumped into the atmosphere at
the rate of almost 400 tons a day and
144,000 tons a year. A table in the
report shows that this will be more
than 7 times the amount of sulphur
dioxide that will be emitted by all
sources on the lower mainland in 1979,
The study notes contain the statement
that: “as a pollutant, this gas can be
transported hundreds of miles before
it is deposited in the form af an acidic
rain or snow’ and that “serious fish
mortality has been attributed directly
to this increased acidity’’ in, for
example, the lakes west of the
Sudbury smelters. The study warned
that “for very large sulphur dioxide
emissions in regions where the envi-
ronment can not assimilate the resul-
tant sulphates, serious impacts could
result.""
The major victim of the sulphur
dioxide pollution will be the plant life
in the area, the study predicts, since
“plants are more susceptible to injury
arising from high concentrations of
the collection, storage, and eventual
disposal of these wastes,
The study states that the rainbow
trout population (up to 14 inches long)
would be affected by the diversion of
Hat Creek and by the run-off of
harmful substances into the creek from
the plant and mine site. Since the
Canada Fisheries Act prohibits the
discharge of any harmful substance
into waters inhabited by fish, meas-
ures to prevent such run-off would be
required.
Hat Creek valley supports a small
population of deer, moose, and water-
fowl. These populations would be
affected in a number of ways - by the
removal of food and living places, by
the pollution, and by the increased
road traffic. The greatest danger
probably lies in the greatly-increased
number of workers and tourists in the
area that will produce a heavier
hunting pressure on the game popula-
tion.
The study suggests the “likelihood”
that shooting will be prohibited within
ase *, PAVILION
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this gas than are humans.'’ Buckwhe-
at, barley, clover, aspen, birch, and
pine were listed as being the plants
most-casily damaged by the gas.
Hat Creek itself lows over the coal
deposit and would have to be diverted
around the open pil, requiring the use
of culverts, drainage ditches, chan-
nels, and stocking the creek to ensure
fish survival.
The generating plant will require
large amounts of fresh water and
water from the Thompson River would
be preferred because it is cleaner and
would cause fewer disposal problems.
If site #1 were selected for the
generating plant, the run-off water
would flow to the Thompson River
system. The study then warns that
water from the Fraser River system
should not be used to cool the plant
because “it is environmentally unso-
und to mix water from separate river
systems.""
The water quality in Hat Creek could
only remain unimpaired, the study
nites, if the waste liquids and drain-
age from the plant and mine site is
prevented from entering Hat Creek.
Provision would have to be.made for
three miles of the mine and plant for
safety reasons. How that will affect the
nearby reserves of the Pavilion and
Bonaparte Bands is not stated.
In an understated way, the study
states thal the potential for sites
related to ancient Indian history exists
in the valley and that “‘virtually every
activity associated with disturbance of
surface materials has the potential for
damage or destruction of unidentified
archaelogical value."’ In other words,
the project could destroy burial gro-
unds and sacred places of the local
Indian people.
Social and Environmental Impact:
Figures produced by the study show
that there are about 9% employable
males in the population of about 360
Indians living on reserves in the
immediate area, The total band mem-
bership of the four bands - Bonaparte,
Pavilion, Oregon Jack, and Ashcroft -
is about 630.
With the probable exception of the
local native people, the study states
that the area has low unemployment
‘and “seems unlikely to be able to
supply a very significant percentage of
the manpower requirements” for the
project. It later notes that "'the
Vancouver area will be the source of
most of the construction crews", and
also that "some of the workers would
have to be attracted from considerable
distances beyond B.C."
The project will create 40 perma-
nent jobs, but because of the specia-
lized nature of most of the work, the
native people will probably have to
compete for the 37 unskilled labourer
jobs. The study hopefully suggests,
though, that the project will create
jobs “in its kitchen and other opera-
tions.”
Many of the concerns that the
ranchers in the area have are the same
as the native people's : the quiet rural
character of the area will be perma-
nently changed by many new stran-
gers, noise, dust, traffic, odors, and
changes in the weather and scenery.
They want to know what will happen to
Hat Creek and the groundwater in the
valley, and what areas will be closed to
grazing, and naturally, they are wor-
ried about compensation.
The study also listed some of the
concerns of the Indian people that
some reserves are downstream and
downwind from the project and don’t
want to see damage to the air, fish,
game, and water supply. They are also
worried about extra hunting pressures
on limited game populations and
whether reserve land will be needed
for roads, pipelines, transmission li-
nes, or railway tracks. The people are
also skeptical about their benefitting
from the jobs that will be created from
the use of the resources of their
homelands.
Hydro is already aware that “road
noise from highway vehicles, particu-
larly trucks, might have irritating
effects on the residents of the Indian
reserves.”
Conclusions:
The study concludes that the gene-
raling plant should be built at one of
the five sites in the Hat Creek valley
area. Site #1 (next to the open pit) is
given the highest priority in terms of
the least amount of land (including
reserve lands) that will be required for
the project. As for air pollution, sites
#4 and £5 (about 4 miles east of the
open pit in the Trachyte Hills) are
considered as causing the least amo-
unt.
Among the factors that Hydro will
consider in choosing the eventual site
of the plant are the impact and cost of
transporting: coal from the mine to the
plant, water from an acceptable SOUTDE
to the plant, and electricity from the
plant to the lower mainland. The final
decision will represent the “‘most
salislactory compromise between en-
vironmental, economic, and engineer-
ing factors."
Recommendations:
The study recommends that further
study be made of a wide range of
concerns, including trace elements
and pollution, air quality and pollu-
tion, the use of ash for an aluminum
production plant, the diversion of Hat
Creek, environmental studies on ve-
getation and wildlife, manpower train-
ing, secondary industry, housing, and
the Indian people's relation to the
project.
continued on next page
NESIKA
January/February 1977 7
HAT CREEK PROJECT - continued
DOUBLE THE SIZE
DOUBLE THE RISKS
What has to be remembered is that
Hydro is considering the possibility of
expanding the 2,000 Mw plant to 5,000
Mw, by 1988, with a "proportional
increase”’ in the amount of coal to be
mined, Since it is only now studying a
2,000 Mw plant, Hydro says it is
unable to say whether there will be 244
times as much sulphur dioxide, arse-
nic, and other harmful trace elements
emitted from such a plant. The amount
of water, the size of the open pit, and
the land requirements are also unkn-
own and would require further studies.
By way of comparison, a 5,000 Mw
plant for 1988 would produce as much
hydro-electric power as the total
produced by all the B.C, Hydro
generating stations as of 1974,
WHERE HYDROJS AT
Hydro Chairman Bonner has stated
that $10 million in studies on the Hat
Creek project have already been
completed and that another $20 million
worth of studies have to be completed
before the final decision is made.
Studies on the engineering factors,
social, land, air, and water quality
impact were begun in 1976 by nine
different consulting firms and are
expected to be finished by about
September of this year. Hydro also
began another study in July of last
year to determine all the other possible
commercial uses for Hat Creek coal.
Environment Canada called the 1975
preliminary impact report “deficient
and “disappointing”, and the current
studies are meant to be much more
detailed. For example, large test
samples of the coal are being burned
to learn exactly how much heat, ash,
and trace elements will be produced by
a plant. Also, airplanes and helicop-
ters have been used to chart the wind
patterns for several of the proposed
sites in both summer and winter to
learn exactly where the gases and ash
from the plant smokestacks will land.
In November 1976, Hydro establi-
shed a separate division within B.C.
Hydro that would be responsible for
coal-burning plants, even though Hy-
dro has no such plants in operation,
and even though a final decision on
building the Hat Creek project has not
been made. In January of this year,
Hydro then advertised for four top-le-
vel engineers experienced in the
design and operation of open pil
mining and coal-burning generating
stations. Hydro says it needs the
specialists to complete the detailed
studies, but admits the ads specified
the positions were permanent.
A total of ten licenses and permi'«
will be required to build the project
and Hydro has not applied for any of
them and formal applitation will not be
made until after a final decision on the
project is reached, which is not
expected until late 1977.
a a ag
time?”
WHERE THE INDIANS.ARE AT
Eight bands from the area (Pavilion,
Bonaparte, Oregon Jack, Ashcroft,
Lytton, Lillooet, Deadman'’s Creek,
and Cook's Ferry) have formed a
committee to fight the project, with
Ashcroft band councillor Leslie Ed-
monds as its chairman. The commit-
tee's goal is to stop the project, if
possible, and if not, to make sure that
any harmful environmental effects are
kept to the bare minimum, Committee
Chairman Edmonds states that they
will also try to ensure that proper
compensation will be paid for any
losses or damages caused as a result of
the project. He states that they will not
be negotiating with Hydro over the
possible job benefits since the preser-
vation of the environment is their
major concern.
Edmonds also noted that the com-
mittee will be negotiating with Hydro
and the governments on the basis of
the aboriginal land rights they possess
for their ancestral lands.
Se
“In our relations with the white
man it has always been the same
story. When they want to do
something they send some nice men to
explain how it won't bother us very
much, how there will be some
advantages in it for us, and how we
will be fairly paid. Then when it comes
time to do it, we meet anew group of
men who do not seem to know or care
what the other men said. and who do
what they want to get their job done.
Why will it be any different this
The preliminary study report had
recommended that a special social
impact study be made of the Indian
population, but the committee rejected
ee idea because Hydro insisted on
ntrolling who was hired and what
was to be studied. In November, the
committee presented Indian Affairs
Minister Warren Allmand with a
funding proposal for the committee to
make their own study free from Hydro
influence and interference.
Originally, Hydro had budgeted
$50,000 for the seh im pact study but
- Sarah Kirkpatrick, Ashcroft Band
the committee's paca to DIA is for
$36,000 and is meant to include their
own social and environmental impact
conclusions. Under the proposal, the
committee will hire the consulting firm
of its choice and also employ up to four ~
local native people to work on the
study.
In their proposal, the committee
drew attention to the fact that about
6,000 native people living on the
reserves of about 20 bands would be
subject in some degree to the effects of
the projects.
At press time, the proposal was still
being considered by the Ottawa DIA
office.
If the proposal is accepted, Ed-
monds says that part of the commit-
tee's plans will include public sessions
to inform and educate people about the
project. He also issued a warning to
native people outside the immediate
area when he said that: “Indian people
and fishermen from down on the coast
should be concerned about this too,
because if they (B.C, Hydro) bugger
up the rivers, then there goes the fish
and the source of their income,”"
Edmonds said that the bands will be
expecting a great deal more co-opera-
tion from the federal and provincial
governments in ensuring that their
land rights are recognized. If that
co-operation is not forthcoming, he
hinted, action may then have to be
taken on another level,
CONCLUSION
The #1 reason for building the Hat
Creek project is the “‘anticipated
power demand" of so many years in
the future, But, measured against the
“growth’® and “progress’’ ethics of
this society, and measured against the
huge hydro bureaucracies and power
projects (like the one at James Bay),
concepts such as the "‘anticipated
demand” become self-fulfilling proph-
ecies. The huge projects are not built
to meet the real power needs, but the
anticipated demand, which could be
met in less destructive ways and which
might be motivated, not so much by
the need for electrical energy, as for
financial profit and political gain.
The miracle of electricity carries a
high price tag, but while Canadian
society enjoys the benefits of electrical
power at very low prices, the native
people pay a much higher price in
terms of the environmental, social,
economic and cultural upheavals that
accompany such hydro developments.
In short, while cities are ablaze with
the glow of neon lights, the lamp of life
in a distant Indian community is slowly
being extinguished.
But the $30 million worth of hydro
studies ignores the most important
question about the project, namely:
“When will North America, including
Canada, realize that if cannot go on
forever burning up and throwing away
the limited resources on this earth?"
For that matter, when will the power of
the winds, the tides, and the sun be
harnessed and controlled by man? The
natural gas shortages and the Arab oil
embargo should have been a lesson,
but when will North Americans actual-
ly begin to practice conservation of
energy and resources instead of just
talking about it?
One day, this society will have to
wake up to the reality that its artificial
lifestyle, which is so dependent on oil
and electricity, will have to be drastic-
ally changed because the earth's
resources and man’s technology can-
not sustain them forever at an ever-
expanding rate.
People will have to begin living a
lifestyle that is more in line with what
the Creator and nature intended; and
the sooner the better.
For all of us.
Gitksan -Carrier Council to Present Map
The Gitksan people have invited the
federal Minister of Indian Affairs,
Warren Allmand, and his provincial
counter-part, Allan Williams, to a
meeting in Kispiox where they will
present the map and description of the
Gitksan tribal territories in a formal
ion ceremony.
Skeens M.P. Iona Campagnola was
asked in a letter written January 3rd,
to co-ordinate the meeting. Ms. Cam-
pagnola, the Member of Parliament
for the Gitksan territory, has agreed to
do so, but the Chairman of the Gitksan
Land Claims Committee, Neil Sterritt,
says that the’ meeting may not be
arranged until sometime in the sum-
mer.
The January letter, which was
written by Lonnie Hindle on behalf of
the Gitksan people, states that the
Citksan are “now ready to file the
description of their territorial claim
with the federal and provincial gov-
ernments to ensure that their interests
are protected” regarding the provi-
nce's “unwillingness to enter into
negotiations with any other group until
the Nishga claim has been settled.”
The claim is being put forth by the
six Gitksan bands on the upper Skeena
River: Kispiox, Hazelton, Kitwancool,
Kitsequecla, Kitwanga, and Glen Vo-
well and the 2 Carrier bands at
Hagwilget and Moricetown.
A Committee of two people from
each village began work on drawing up
the map of the Gitksan territory a year
ago. Committee work and meetings
continued through the fall until the
8 . January/February 1977
map of the outer boundaries of the
Gitkan territory was completed and
accepted by the Gitksan chiefs in
December of 1976.
A report in The Interior News states
that a rough description of the
boundaries involves “the headwaters
of the Nass and Skeena Rivers to the
north, near Bear Lake to the east,
Kitsalas Canyon to the south, and to a
boundary line on a height of land just
west of Bowser and Meziadin Lakes."
Land Claims Committee Chairman
Neil Sterritt states that the Gitksan
map, when compared to the general
outline of the territory claimed by the
Nishgas to the northwest, shows
“there is very little over-lap."'
The issue of the over-lap was
mentioned in the letter to Iona
Campagnola since “over the years
there have been disputes over the
ma
exact location of the boundary" which
“have never been thoroughly aired,
and have not been resolved."’
The letter continued that “‘we are
aware that the Nishga people have
now revised the map oti their territorial
boundaries and are prepared to offi-
cially table the exact description of
their claim. We do not wish to delay or
disrupt the Nishga negotiations but we
feel that the boundary (between the
Nishgas and the Gitksans) should be
delineated before the Nishga claim is
settled."
Neil Sterritt is asking Carrier Indian
people with information on the location
of the eastern boundaries of the
Carrier people at Hagwilget and
Moricetown to contact him to confirm
details on the Gitksan-Carrier tribal
boundary, which is approximately 14
miles east of Hazelton.
West Coast Votes
One of the strongest districts within
the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs has
decided to concentrate its energies on
preparing its own land claims position,
rather than co-operate with the UBCIC
and the Land Claims Commission
currently being organized.
The West Coast District Council, at
its meeting in Port Alberni on January
Sth, voted to go it alone in the land
claims field because of the dissatisfac-
lion with the UBCIC's proposed com-
MLSS 10%.
The resolution that was passed at
that meeting read:
“Whereas the West Coast District is
discontent with the direction that the
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs is going;
specifically, the Land Claims Commis:
sion,
“And whereas we are concerned
about a settlement being imposed
upon us,
"Be it resolved that the West Coast
District inform the Chiefs’ Council
meeting of January 6th and 7th that
this district is going to apply for our
own funding to develop our land
claims position,”’
The resolution was presented the
following day to the Chiefs’ Council
meeting by District Co-Chairman Bert
Mack. As it was explained in the
February 4th issue of the H4-SHILTH-
SA, the UBCIC feh that the West
Coast was breaking away, but as Bert
Mack is reported to have said, "We
weren't. After | explained our intent,
they realized we weren't trying to
break away. They realized that now
George Manuel has more time to
spend with other districts,”
The reasons for the decision to go it
alone, as expressed at the January
meeting of the district, was that the
UBCIC had done little for the people
on the west coast and that it would be
better if the district worked on its own
behalf.
Francis Charlie, one of the Nootka
elders, expressed it by saying ‘‘no-
body has to think for us. Take over
whatever funding will come out of
Ottawa and let us do the thinking
ourselyes.”’
The district also decided in January
to have Nitinaht Chief Charlie Thomp-
son and She-Shaht Band Manager
George Watts prepare a funding
proposal, budget, and plan for the land
claims work, to be presented at the
February District Council meeting.
The proposal was presented to the
meeting on February 25th, on the
Qhiaht Band reserve at Pachena Bay,
with eight bands represented and a
crowd of about 30 observers.
The proposals explained that “we
have to start developing a position
before the government develops one
for us. We must become action-orient-
ed. The research needed to support
=
Bill Happynook makes an emot
our claims will become obvious once
the bands indicate their positions,
What we need is technical advice in‘
putting together our proposal. These
people will make information available
to us 80° that we can make sound
decisions,”"
As District Chairman Simon Lucas
explained, “‘we have talked with the
government about land claims before,
but they only understand dollars and
cents."” He added that ‘‘as far as the
government is concerned, they think
this is their land. We can say this is our
land all we want, but it won't do any
good. We have to exchange figures
with them and talk with them on their
level,”’
The aim of the proposal, as Lucas
explained, would be to determine the
exact values of the services provided to
Indians, the amount of taxation, tree
farm licenses, ete. so the figures could
be used in future negotiations.
The proposal called for a director to
be hired, a legislative and archival
researcher, a forestry researcher and a
marine resources researcher.
The budget for the work called for
$10,000 in band funds (the B.C.
Special), $20,000 in loans from the DIA
(to be repaid on future settlement),
and a grant from DLA of $96,000, for a
total budget of $126,000 per year.
[It is expected that the work of
preparing a position will take from two
to three years to complete before the
District and the bands are ready to
begin negotiations with government.
The proposal was accepted by the
meeting with only one abstension. An
amendment was approved that called
for the proposal to be presentd to DIA
officials in March, after it has been
approved by all the bands.
Since there would have to be
intensive consultations between the
bands and within each band over the
2-3 years it will take to develop a
position, a suggestion by District
— ii
ional plea to the meeting.
Ohiaht Chief Art Peters
Chairman Simon Lucas that the up-
coming election for his position be
made into a three year term, or until
the position is completed, was accept-
ed by the meeting.
Lucas explained the strong feelings
he had about the 3 year term by saying
that “‘it’s too important. We can’t
expect to keep changing our leaders
and expect something to be done."” He
said that a Chairman elected for a 3
year term would be able to show
strength to the government, and a
reference was made to the fact that the
Nishgas have decided not to change
their leaders while they are in negotia-
tions.
The elections for the positions of
district chairman and co-chairman will
be held during the entire month of
May, with all of the band members on
the west coast entitled to vote.
Nominations for the two positions will
be open the entire month of April.
The relationship between the West
Coast and the UBCIC and the Native
Brotherhood was not clarified at the
meeting, but a spokesman later said
that the District would be going after
their share of the UBCIC's core
funding and would only be dealing
with the Union when it came to
province-wide concerns of the District.
The efforts by the Native Brotherhood
to organize the coastal people were
given moral support by the District
meeing, but as Simon Lucas explain-
ed, “we can't really support anyone
until we have a solid understanding of
ourselves.”’
The meeting also showed a great
deal of concern over Order-In-Council
1036 and the fight against it led by the
Lower Nicola Band. Simon Lucas
coast 50 years from now, and it showed
roads all along the coast that would
run through almost every reserve. He
then warned the people that Order
1036 would be used to get the reserve
lands for the roads.
An emotional interruption at the end
of the meeting held a message for
many in the hall. Bill Happynook, an
elder from the Ohiaht Band, had
enfranchised himself in the 1950's,
and he made an appeal to the meeting
to be allowed to return to the band
and the reserve. Living now in nearby
Bamfield, Happynook explained that
he felt good about what the West
Coast people were doing in recent years
and wanted to become “officially"’ one
of them again.
The chief of his band, Art Peters,
told the meeting that he was frustrated
by DIA regulations to bring him back
to the band, because he didn’t know
how to go about it. “He is now
classified as non status, but he is one
of us", Chief Peters stated.
Simon Lucas was glad the subject
had come up because it showed that
people on the band council really don’t
have any power, but that “we don't
have to accept being a rubber-stamp
for the Indian Act...We think too much
about the laws out there, we should
think of the laws here and what we can
do about them,"
The almost unanimous feeling in the
meeting was that the Ohiaht Band
should take Bill Happynook and his
family back on the reserve and ignore
the regulations.
George Watts and Ahousaht Chief
Archie Frank presented a brief to the
NDP provincial caucus on behalf of the
District. The January 22nd brief
contained a number of suggestions
and complaints regarding the land
claims issue:
“The Provincial Government should
be questioned on its position of
negotiating with the Nishga people
only. Do they plan on using the Nishga
settlement as a model settlement? Will
there be legislative changes as part of
the settlement that will affect all
Indians in B.C.? If yes, then should not
all native people of B.C. be involved in
negotiations?
“If the resources are continually
being allocated to companies, is it
possible to reach a just settlement of
our grievances?
“There should be no more long term
contracts made on timber resources
until Indian people have had the
opportunity to claim back some terri-
explained that he had seen the tory.
regional district's plans for the west
NESIKA January/February 1977 ie
Numerous faults and “‘irregqulari-
ties"” by police and court officials at a
trial in Cassiar in which an elderly
native man was savagely beaten by a
white neighbour in nearby Good Hope
Lake, has led to a full-scale investiga-
tion by the United Native Nations
Executive and Board of Directors.
That investigation has mushroomed
into others by other agencies - the
Native Courtworker’s Association, the
B.C. Police Commission, and the
Attomey-General’s Department.
The beating of Newton Carlick and
the trial of Arnold Campbell (found
quiliy of assault causing bodily harm,
and given one year's probation and a
conditional discharge) are being in-
vesligated by the province after com-
plaints from the United Native Nat-
ions (UNN) raised questions in the
Legislature, pressing Altorney-Gene-
ral Garde Gardom into calling the
iInvestigalion,
Evidence which the Crown prosecu-
tor refused to submit at the trial of
Arnold Campbell, supports the native
people's view that Campbell should
have been charged with attempted
murder,
A trip to northern B.C. by the
entire Board of Directors of the UNN
combined a regular Board meeting
with: an investigation of the Carlick
case; slone-age living conditions; ra-
cial tensions; a povernment- backed
community resources society that pad-
locks and refuses the UNN Local to
Sah? Zainannameeeee
use their own meeting hall; and the
general state of affairs involving the
callous and indifferent neglect on the
part.of government departments and
agencies, the outright hostility and
violence on the part of individuals like
Arnold Campbell, and also, the cou-
rage and determination on the part of
some of the native community to
change the situation.
Travelling with the UNN Board to
Good Hope Lake was the President of
the Native Courtworker’s Association,
George Watts, courtworker Bill Ha-
milton, and Robert Skelly, the NDP
MLA. from the Alberni riding who
attended at the request of UNN Board
member Hugh Braker. The UNN
Board of Director's meeting was held
in Lower Post on February 26th, and
the group travelled to Good Hope
Lake on the 27th.
THE COMMUNITY
Good Hope Lake is a small commu-
nity of about 130 people - so small in
fact, that it doesn’t even rate a dot on
the road maps. Located about 25
miles north of Cassiar and 50 miles
south of the Yukon border, the
commmunity, except for the Indians
living there, is just a Department of
Highways camp and maintenance
centre,
About 80-85 of the area's popula-
tion (75%) is Indian - a few Kaska
Indians, but most of them are Tahl-
tans from the reserve near Telegraph
Creek. Long before the Highways
Department set up the camp 20 years
ago, and even before Indians were
“discovered” by Europeans, the Tah-
ltan people had been living at Good
Hope Lake. Despite this history, and
despite the fact that all the Indians
are “'status’’ Indians (not counting
the Rattrays), there is no reserve at
Good Hope Lake and Indians are
considered as ““squatters’’,
Exoept for three working for the
Highways Department, all of the
Indians are on welfare; a few have
traplines.
A group of native people organized
a Local chapter of the BCANSI
organization several years ago to
improve living conditions in the area.
Complaints by the Good Hope Lake
Local to BCANSI head office brought
President Fred House and a television
camera crew to Good Hope Lake in
October of 1973. The publicity, which
centred on a number of large families
living year-round in tents brought
immediate resulis from Norm Levi,
then-Minister of Human Resources. A
number of trailers were quickly brow-
ght in as temporary housing, and
funding was found to hire “human
resource workers’ to take care of the
social and health needs of the native
community. The workers were given a
government van for the transportation
needs of the local people, and were
responsible to both the native people
and the Human Resources Depart-
ment.
However, a dispute started entirely
by the Human Resources Supervisor
has cul off the funding for the
workers, for the van, and for the
hall's operating expenses for the past
six months.
Now, 342 years after the trailers
were placed in the area as a “six
month” temporary measure until pro-
per housing was built, they are: still
there, and are little better than the
tents they were meant to replace.
The “‘trailers’’ were not new, but
_- government ne
-racist beati
” stone-ag
were used and worn-out forestry
bunkhouse trailers - lithe tin boxes
with no water, plumbing, electricity,
little insulation, if any, and usually, a
wood-burning stove made from an oil
barrel for cooking and heating.
During the UNN visit to the -com-
munity, one woman with five children
was found living in one of the trailers
which didn’t have a door (a blanket
was in its place), and had openings
thal once were windows, The woman
had returned to her trailer several
days before the UNN visit to find the
door ripped off the trailer. The
damage was done by two local men
for no apparent reason, At the time,
the woman was sick with what
resembled pneumonia, Unable to bre-
athe or move comfortably, she laid in
bed under one of the openings with
one small child in bed for warmth for
several days until the UNWN visit which«
found the trailer had no firewood, no
tools or materials to fix the damage,
and the woman unable to do either.
(Arrangements were immediately ma-
de to have the woman transported to
hospital, and the damage to the trailer
repaired.)
The BCANSI Native Housing orga-
nization did manage to build two
comfortable and adequate log houses
in Good Hope Lake for some of the
Indian families about two years ago.
THE PEOPLE
7
A central figure in the Good Hope
Lake situation is Arnold Campbell, a
non-Indian Department of Highways
employee who moved into the area
about five years ago, In addition to
almost killing Newton Carlick, Camp-
bell has generated a number of other
complaints from the local native
people. Charlie Chief, an elderly
Tahltan who lives 30 miles from Good
Hope Lake, accuses Campbell of
swindling him out of his trapline by
using the traditional method - getting
Charlie Chief drunk and getting him
to sign the papers.
ce 1977
lect ae Sei
g unpunished
» living conditions
The key element that has held the
native community together for the
past troublesome year has been the
Rattray. family.
Evelyn Rattray has worked -as the
cook for the Highways camp for the
past 21 years, and has been the UNN
Board of Director for the region for
the past several months. She herself
is a Tahltan and believes firmly in
helping organize the native people to
help themselves, “it's about time we
started doing for ourselves’ is the
wav she puts it,
Her husband Jock Rattray was the
foreman of the camp until a year ago,
and although he is non-Indian, he has
given generously of himself to aid and
support the Indians in the community.
He has spent hours repairing and
remodelling the UNN hall and has
spent $150 for fuel oil to keep the
hall open.
David Rattray is their son and when
Human Resources stopped the fund-
ing for the van, he became involved
because “something had to be done".
He put 6,000 miles on his car, taking
people to hospital, shopping, and
other errands, until he got “‘a little
broke” and went to work in the
Cassiar mines. David is a trained
geologist and took a year's building
course 30 he could better help the
other Indians build their own homes.
That plan has been held up because
they have been unable to get any land
for housing.
The Rattrays have other strong
allies in the camp and surrounding
area. Louie Quock lives in Good Hope
Lake and was active in repairing the
hall last year; is active in the A.A.
program; and has been hired as the
UNN fieldworker for the region. Bill
Hamilton replaces Sally Johnson as
the native courtworker for the area.
Sally will remain as the Outreach
worker from Watson Lake and Bill
Hamilton will take ower the courtwor-
ker job, leaving a job at the Cassiar
mines.
THE BUILDING & THE VAN
The Good Hope Lake BCANSI Local
purchased a small but comfortable log
house for use as a meeting hall with a
$2,000 grant from the Human Resour-
ces Department (DHR). The DHE
during 1976 paid for the fuel oil and
operating expenses of the UNN hall,
as well as the salary of the human
resources worker and the van used by
the worker.
The original worker was a nalive
couple that decided to move on to
other work. They were replaced hy
Mrs. Arnold Campbell in the summer
of 1976,
During her 2 month period of
employment, Mrs. Campbell is repor-
ted to have used the van to haul liquor
to the men in the camp, and reported-
ly charged the Indians $30 for the trip
to Cassiar - while the van's expenses
were being paid by the DHR!
Because BCANSI changed its name
to the United Native Nations in 1976,
many people thought that the organi-
zation had gone out of existence. One
of them was the area supervisor for
the DHR, Ted Philips. Philips said
that BCANSI wasn’t a “registered
society’, and therefore, the UNWN
Local in Good Hope Lake shouldn't be
controlling the van, worker, and hall.
He used a weak excuse about mis-sp-
ent funds as a reason to freeze the
UNN's bank-account on September
30,1976,
The funding freeze resulted in the
loss of Mrs. Campbell's job, in the
van being impounded, and the UNN
hall being locked up for lack of
operating expenses.
At about the same time, Philips was
instrumental in getting the white
community in Good Hope Lake to
form the Good Hope Lake Community
Resources Society (GHLCRS), so that
the funds could be eventually chan-
nelled through the white group.
A power struggle for the use of the
hall broke owt and with government
backing and the help of the RCMP,
the GHLCRS took control of the hall
and changed the locks.
The GHLCRS then began refusing
to allow the native people to use the
hall without their permission. Altho-
ugh they now allow the native A.A.
program to continue, they have refu-
sed to allow the UNN Local to hold
health and hygiene classes with a
registered nurse, arts and crafts
classes, and Tahltan language clas-
os.
Since there are no places for the
Indian people to wash their clothes or
bathe in their trailers, the UNN Local
remodelled the hall last year to
include a washing machine and a
bathtub. The whites complain that the
hall will only be used as a bathhouse
or laundromat, while the Indians say
that the whites only want the hall to
use as a dance hall.
The building has remained closed
for the past six months until the UNN
visit. A key was found and the
building was ‘occupied’ -by the UNN
Board, the Native Courtworker repre-
sentatives, MLA Robert Skelly, and
the local native people, A meeting
was held that detailed all the pro-
blems connected. with the hall, van,
funding, and the Newton Carlick case.
CARLICK’S BEATING
&
CAMPBELLS TRIAL
A letter by UNN Vice-president Ron
George to Attorney-General Garde
Gardom states the reasons for an
official investigation into the case:
Newton Carlick, a 51 year-old Tahl-
tan, was savagely beaten and almost
drowned by Arnold Campbell on
October 10th, 1976, about | a.m.
The beating apparently stemmed
from a power struggle between area
whites and natives over the control of
funding and programs of the commu-
nity hall in Good Hope Lake, which is
owned by the UNN Local. Campbell
reportedly wanted to become the
President of the Local at about the
same time as his wife lost her job
working for the nalive community a5 8
result of the bank account being
frozen in the fall of 1976,
Carlick was not a Campbell suppor-
ter, and a chance meeting of the two
the night of October 10th, when both
men apparently had been drinking,
led te Campbell attacking Carlick for
no immediate reason, Carlick was
knocked to the ground and charges
that Campbell continued to kick him
all over his bedy for “about an hour’’.
Campbell was then said to have
ripped all of Carlick’s clothes off as he
dragged him by one arm for a
distance of about 1,400 feet to the
shores of Good Hope Lake, and then
tried for some time to drown him.
Carlick’s brother John, heard the
splashing and Campbell stopped, say-
ing that he and Newton Carlick had
had an argument and he was only
“cooling him off",
Carlick dragged himself, naked, to
the Rattray home and was taken to
the hospital in Cassiar where he was
treated for five days.
Sally Johnson, the native courtwor-
ker at the time for the area, then tried
to get the RCMP officers stationed at
Cassiar to go the hospital and take a
statement from Carlick, but during
Carlick’s five day stay, the police
were reportedly “too busy”. The
detachment at Lower Post also refu-
sed to take a statement, but Sally
Johnson was successful in getting the
detachment in Watson Lake, Yukon
Territory, io take a statement.
David Rattray took 25 colour photos
of Carlick’s injuries 3 days alter the
beating, while he was still in hospital,
Only when the Crown Prosecutor saw
the pictures were charges laid against
Campbell - and then Ron George
continued on next page
rs
| |
ows
‘. : ess a 1
aaa
—.
Ps : 5 i
i
KY
7
GOOD HOPE LAKE continued
ese SF ) | i
from left - Sunni Plump, MLA Robert Skelly, Madge Carlick, Newton
Carlick, and UNN Board of Director Hugh Braker
complains the charge was not attemp-
ted murder, but assault causing bodi-
ly harm.
Complaints from the local people
brought Ron George and UNN Presi-
dent Bill Wilson to Good Hope Lake in
mid-November and brought George to
the Campbell trial on January 19th.
Campbell was found guilty, and given
a year’s probation and a conditional
discharge after having admitted to
hitting Carlick twice in the face,
Other than trying to damage ‘Car-
lick's character, Campbell's defense
was that he had been threatened with
an axe by Carlick, The axe that
Campbell was supposedly threatened
with was supposed to be Carlick's ,
but the axe entered at the trial had
the orange markings of the Highways
Department.
George's letter to Gardom conti-
nued and pointed up several irregula-
rities that call for investigation, amo-
ng them the facts that:
1) no doctor's report and only |
picture (showing only facial damage)
of the 25 taken was submitted by the
Prosecutor to the Judge.
2) two different RCMP detachments
would not take a statement from
Newton Carlick or Sally Johnson.
3) the Prosecutor had to be persua-
ded to call an important witness and
didn’t ask relevant questions.
4) Doug Carlick, a half-brother and
a damaging witness to Newton Car-
lick, was "clearly intoxicated while on
the stand”; that Arnold Campbell
supplied him with liquor before the
trial and gave him a gallon of wine
after Doug Carlick left the courtroom;
9) the trial was conducted entirely
in English, while Newton Carlick
speaks Tahltan and does not under-
stand courtroom English;
6) The RCMP officers ‘‘clasped
hands as though they were celebrat-
ing a victory” after Campbell received
the conditional discharge, and Mrs.
Campbell invited one of the officers
home to dinner after being compli-
mented that her husband “is a pood
man’”.
After the trial, Judge David Levis
was shown the other 24 pictures of
Carlick’s injuries, appeared surprised,
and agreed that they should have
been introduced.
George's letter to Gardom was
followed up by another written on
behalf of the Native Courtworker’s
Association by its Executive Director,
Len Maracle. In that letter, Marache
wrote that: “the native community
feels that the Judge did not appreci-
12 January/February 1977
ate the severity or failed to consider
the ... requirement that a discharge
must be in the best interest of the
accused, and not contrary to. the
public interest, and that the Judge
failed to consider the principles of
deterrants,”"
The letter ended with the request
that “the case be examined with aj
view to an appeal of sentence by the
: a C7 7
Charlie Chief tells MLA Skelly
Fe, — ae
ara ee
how Arnold Campbell swindled him
many agencies done to improve life
for the Tahltan and Kaska people of
Good Hope Lake?
The kindest answer that can be
given is that they are being kept alive
with the welfare scraps from one
department, and that the others are
ignoring them.
If viewed at its worst, the branches
of the governement are involved in an
effort to steal the land and resources
from the Indian people; to keep the
Indian people totally dependent on
welfare and alcohol; and to crush the
efforts of the native community to
change the situation.
Look at the record and judge for
yourself:
1) The Department of Indian Affairs
has never set aside land in the area as
a reserve, despite the historical occu-
pation of the site, Since the Indians
are not living on the reserve, then,
they are not eligible for the federal
services of the DIA. The Indians in
that community are placed in the
jurisdiction of the Yukon branch of
DIA.
2) The Department of Human Re,
sources has stoppped funding the
community workers, the van, and the
hall expenses - leaving the Indians
with no transportation to the nearest
source of groceries and medical ser-
vices 25 miles away. With the hall
closed, the Indians are prevented
from meeting the most basic health
and sanitation needs - a clean body and
clean clothes. The closure also pre-
into signing over his trapline by getting him drunk.
Crown."
The issue was later raised by MLA
Robert Skelly in the Legislature and
A-G Gardom promised an investiga-
lion. (The B.C. Police Commission
has already been into the area for
their own investigation.)
In an interview with Skelly in late
February, Newton Carlick demonstra-
ted how he has lost most of the use of
his right arm. He told Skelly that
Campbell has since made threats to
his relatives.
CONCLUSION
The gross inequalities of life in
Good Hope Lake are plain for all to
sec. 100% of the white population
works for the Highways Department,
and almost 100% of the Indians are
on welfare. The whites live in comfor-
table surroundings and the Indians
live in conditions that should shame
one of the richest countries in the
world, :
So what has the government and its
NESIKA
‘ie = “a:
a
, se hi ; os
vents large meelings to be held for
the health and cultural needs of the
people, The DHR has also encouraged
and assisted a white-run aociety to be
established, designed to take over the
control of social services rather than
allow the Indian people to administer
it themselves,
3) The RCMP in two detachments
did not take a statement from Newton
Carlick after his beating. They also
seem to ignore the bootlegging taking
place in the community and have
reportedly refused to* respond to
complaints about open drinking by
young children,
4) The Department of Highways
employs about 40 whites while the
Indians in Good Hope Lake remain
unemployed. A judge sentenced a
native youth to serve a number of
days working for the Highways De-
partment to compensate for damage
he did to D of H equipment, but the
present camp foreman refused to let
the youth work out his sentence.
5) The fish and game wardens are
still arresting Indian people for pract-
ising their aboriginal rights to hunt
and fish for their survival.
6) Although the Central Mortgage
and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has
a special native housing section, there
have been no houses built in Good
Hope Lake under this program.
7) The provincial court system
apparently allows drunken witnesses
to testify, allows vital evidence to be
withheld by the prosecutor, allows the
trial to take place in English when the
complainant doesn’t understand Eng-
lish very well, and it allows a person
to be freed on a charge that could
have resulted in a five year prison
term.
Time is running out for the Tahltan
and Kaska people since they feel they
will have no place to go when the
Rattray family moves to Cassiar in the
coming year. If the goverment won't
look after the many needs of the
Indian people in the community, then
who will after the Rattrays are gone?
There have been some hopeful
signs, though. Since the troubles
began last fall, two families have quit
drinking and are joining the efforts of
others to improve conditions.
The attention that has fallen on the
community will no doubt increase the
tensions between whites and Indians,
at least for the time being. But, the
publicity should also bring about
government action on the complaints.
We'll wait and see.
aT 4 r
Public Supports Land Claims
“T want to know
when you will quit
begging and stand
on your own two
feet. Work fora
Living. This is the
| best way to be
appreciated - just
quit taking our
money. You lost
the war along,
long time ago.’
Which of the above best describes
the feelings of the Canadian public
regarding Indians and the land claims
issue? The answer, judging by the
results of two nation-wide surveys, is
that a majority of Canadians are
supportive of Indian efforts in the land
claims area.
Two unrelated surveys taken by
University of Calgary Professors Gib-
bins and Ponting and by the Native
Council of Canada provide valuable
and similar clues to the general
public's feelings towards Indians and
the efforts by Indians, to better their
lives.
CIBBINS AND PONTING
A nation-wide survey involving
1,832 people from St. John's to
Victoria was conducted in January and
February, 1976, and was based on
interviews of about 45 minutes with
each respondent. The survey was
drawn up, results compiled and con-
clusions drawn by University of Cal-
gary Professors Dr. Roger Gibbins
(Political Science) and Dr. Rick Pont-
ing (Sociology). The work was funded
by the University of Calgary and the
Donner Foundation.
Professors Gibbins and Ponting
began their reports by noting that
while the situation and living condi-
tions of native people have barely
changed in absolute or relative terms
in the last 100 years, what has changed
is the political response by Indians to
these conditions. Whereas Indians had
been politically inactive and passive
towards their fate for much of the last
century, the last 10 years has seen a
dramatic change occur as Indians have
become much more political and even
“radicalized”. Indians, Indian issues
and demands have moved from the
fringes of Canadian politics to centre-
stage in recent years, Gibbins and
Ponting suggest.
They add that the weight of the
majority weighs heavily against minor-
ity concerns and “can be crushing
when a minority, such as the native
Indians of Canada, lack not only
numbers, but also economic resources,
social prestige, and geographical con-
centration’’, and that “the element of
public opinion may be critical to its
welfare.”
_ A concern noted by Gibbins and
Ponting is that “the pace of social
change which non-Indians would like
to see in bettering the living conditions
of Indians may be too frustratingly
slow for Indians themselves."" That
led them to conduct the survey to
“T’m not very
knowledgable
about aboriginal
rights, but feel that
the government is
not fair to Indians.
They give with one
hand and take back
with the other to
flood the land for a
dam that we could
very well manage
without.
answer the question: ‘‘If Indian lead-
ers and organizations pursue their
goals with greater militancy, will they
‘create public conditions that will make
reaching their goals easier, or will
success become even harder to
achieve?"
B.C. IS #3
The survey asked the respondents a
series of ten questions to determine
whether Canadians were generally
supportive, or bigoted, to Indian
people. They were asked whether they
atrongly agreed, agreed, were uncer-
. tain, disagreed, or strongly
disagreed
with statements like: |) Indian people
themselves, not the provincial govern-
ment, should decide what Indian
children are taught in school, and 2)
where Indian principles of land owner-
ship conflict with the white man's law,
Indian principles should be given
priority.
The survey results of the “sympathy
index” showed that “the great bulk"
of Canadians are in the undecided
range and that there is not a large
cluster of people grouped at either the
su ive or bigoted end of the scale.
tests did show some regional
differences thought. Quebec proved to
be the most sympathetic towards
native people by a wide margin,
followed by P.E.I., B.C., Newfound-
land and Ontario. Those provinces
rated higher than the national aver-
age, while the provinces that rated
lower than the national average were:
Manitoba (6th), Nowa Scotia, New
Brunswick, Alberta, and Saskatche-
wan was rated the least sympathetic.
On the subject of land claims, the
respondents were asked whether they
thought that all, many, few, or none of
Indian land claims were valid or
justified, and 60% of the national
sample said that all or many of Indian
land claims were valid, although 67%
had no idea how much land was
involved in Indian land claims. In
B.C., 55% thought that all or many
Indian land claims were valid; 8%
thought all were valid, and 6%
thought none were valid. Only 38% of
Saskatchewan residents thought that
all or many Indian land claims were
valid.
The survey also tested the respon-
dents’ knowledge of Indian issues and
produced some strange results. The
people were asked if they were
familiar with a number of i
involving Indians - the mercury
poisoning situation near reserves in
Quebec and Ontario; the James Bay
settIment with the Cree and Inuit
people; the Native People’s Caravan to
Ottawa and the demonstration on
Parliament Hill; the occupation near
Kenora in 1974; the occupation of
Wounded Knee, South Dakota; the
Supreme Court decision in the Lavalle
ease.
The results showed that more
people were aware of the Wounded
Knee occupation than any other inci-
dent on the list. After Wounded Knee,
people from this province were more
familiar with the mercury poisoning
situation, and then the Native People's
* Caravan. The item on the list that B.C.
residents were least familiar with was
the Supreme Court decision involving
Jeanette Lavalle. When all the provin-
ces were compared, B.C. waa second,
behind Manitoba for being familiar
with Indian issues, with Quebec being
the least familiar.
The survey also tested whether
people remembered Indians using any
of a number of methods of dealing with
certain problems, among them -
roadblocks, protest marches, occupa-
tions, picketing, boycotts, rioting. The
survey was taken six months after the
1975 “summer of protest’’ in B.C.,
and not surprisingly, 84% of the public
remembered Indians blocking road or
rail traffic, compared to only 24% in
Quebec. The publicity attached to
protest marches may have had an
effect since Gibbins and Ponting note
note that “‘the relatively large per-
centage of respondents recalling the
use of protest marches seems unduly
high given the minimal use of this
tactic by Indians.”
People were also tested as to
whether they recognized any of a list of
18 names of people involved in Indian
issues. Indian Affairs Ministers Jean
Chretien (#1) and Judd Buchanan ~
ranked high on the list, with other
non-Indians being less well-known -
Tom Berger and Lloyd Barber.
The Indian who is most well-known
in Canada, among whites, is Chief Dan
George, as he was known by 57% of
the sample (91% in B.C.). Following
him is Kahn-Tineta Horn, a very vocal
activist with controversial views, who
was known by 23% of the public. After
that Harold Cardinal 18%, Louis
Cameron, Dennis Banks, Jeanette
Lavalle, William Wuttunee, James
Wah-Shee (7%), Wally Firth, and
Gloria George followed. Two phony
names were put in the list which were
“known” by 4% of the public, and the
list ended with George Manuel and Ed
Burnstick with 3.8%.
The results showed that Indian
political leaders socred less than 20%,
and that the two presidents of the
national native organizations - George
Manual of the NIE and Gloria George
of the NCC, scored less than 6% each.
The B.C. figures produced interest-
ing results: Dan George was by far the
best well-known figure, and more,
people knew Justice Tom Berger in
B.C. (38%) than any other province in
Canada. Dennis Banks was more
well-known than Harold Cardinal, and
in B.C., George Manuel was better
known than Gloria George, a reversal
Ale hae h Quebecers ed to be
thoug to
the most sympathetic tae they
had the poorest knowledge of Indian
issues, while the prairie provinces
showed a farily high level of aware-
ness, but a low level of sympathy. This
led the two professors to conclude
that “to be well-informed is not neces-
sarily to be sympathetic or support-
ive.”
The respondents were asked their
political party affiliation and the
results showed that the ‘Liberals
tended to fare poorly in comparison
with other parties", while the NDP
and Conservatives showed little differ-
ence. The reason for this, was that the
strength of the Liberal party lies in
Quebec with a low level of awareness.
There was no chart done to relate
political parties with the “Indian
sympathy index’. They were also
tested for their specific knowledge of
Indian matters, and the results showed
a great deal of ignorance. 70% of the
peaple didn’t know the difference, or
weren't familiar with the terms “‘sta-
tus” and “Non status"’ Indians. When
asked the meaning of the term
“aboriginal rights’’ only 22% said
they were land rights, birth rights, or
treaty rights. 73% said it referred to
Indians being the firat people in
Canada with no mention of rights, or
that they weren't familiar with the
term, or didn’t know,
While 50% of the sample knew the
meaning of the term © Metis"’, only
13% knew the meaning of the term
“Tnuit’’ - the name the “Eskimo”
peoplé call themselves.
Gibbins and Ponting also asked the
respondents to state whether they
approved anumber of tactics used by
Indians to improve their conditions,
and whether they were effective. The
tacticts listed included requesting a
Royal Commission, launching law-
gulls, protest marches, occupying
government offices, blockading roads
or railways, boycotting private busi-
nesses, and threatening violence.
The results showed that a majority
of Canadians approved of protest
marches and thought they were effect-
ive. About 40% thought occupying
government offices was effective and
approved, which was twice the number
of people who approved of business
boycotts. While only 1% approved of
threatening violence as a tactic, 9%
thought it was effective. There was
pe difference in these figures for
B.C.
In a series of questions about the
proposed Mackenzie Valley Pipeline,
the #1 concern was the protection of
the environment. More people thought
‘that protecting the way of life of the
native people in the Mackenzie Valley
was more important (#3) than getting
energy as cheaply as possible (#5). It
added that southern Canadians would
“strongly support the imposition and
enforcement of strict environmental
safeguards, if the pipeline is to be built
at all."
The conclusion of the Gibbins and
Ponting study states that the climate of
public opinion “is receptive to Indians
working out a new role for themselves
in Canadian society"’, and that without
a national political crisis, “the climate
of opinion might well be even more
conducive to Indian desires in another
15 years.""
THE NCC STUDY
The NCC study was intended ‘“‘to
determine how successfully the object-
ives of the Native Council of Canada
are being communicated to non-Native
Canadians” since the NCC is political-
ly involved in the resolution of the
continued on page 15
NESIKA
January/February 1977 13
compensation, and without consulta-
tion - without even acknowledgement
that these people exist.” Sanders
added that “there is, of course, no
logic to suggesting that because a
person builds a home in one place that
he or she automatically forfeits owner-
ship of land at other locations,” He
also mentioned that the Sami people
(Lapplanders) of northern Europe,
have had their rights to freely cross
international borders recognized by
the governments involved so that they
may pursue the reindeer.
The NMLAL brief adds that Bill C-9
“threatens not only legal rights, but
the way of life and the future of the
Labrador Naskapi in a real and
significant way. At stake is more than
the abrogation of general and abstract
rights in northern The welfare
and well-being of the Labrador Naska-
pi has been and will continue to be in
the forseeable future, centred on the
northern caribou herd. Whatever affe-
cts that herd - affects their lives.""...
“The James Bay Agreement empo-
WETS @ ing committee on
hunting, trapping, and fishing ...
including the setting of quotas for the
allowable kill of the northern caribou
herd. Already non-native sports hun-
ters are allowed to kill nearly 2,000
caribou in northern iy
The brief also warned that “Quebec
has also announced plans for hydro
development on ‘the George River.
Both the flooding of caribou calving
grounds and migration routes, along
with the human activity on the land
associated with such a project will
seriously deplete the caribou herd.
The passage of Bill C-9 in its present
form can effectively prevent the Lab-
rador Indians from taking legal action
where such damages will affect their
interests and their lives.””
The brief also traces the unbelieva-
ble history of the Naskapi's involve-
ment in the James Bay Agreement and
Bill C-9, in that the Naskapi “did not
know first-hand of the James Bay
negotiations; did not know of enabling
legislation that would abrogate their
rights in Quebec: did not know that
such legislation had received first or
second reading. They learned of
these matters by way of their friends
and relatives, the Naskapis at Schef-
ferville, Quebec. Not once had they
heard directly from the Government of
Quebec nor the Government of Canada
that negotiations and legislation were
leading to agreements and laws that
would affect and threaten their way of
life and aboriginal rights in Quebec.”
Once the Naskapi realized their
situation, the NMLAL was formed and
correspondence was exchanged durin
the first half of 1976 with the different
governments, in an effort to begin
immediate negotiations. The various
governments passed the buck back
and forth, with both Indian Affairs
Ministers Buchanan and Allmand
“Back in Northwest River and Davis
Inlet we have welfare and we are
ashamed of welfare. We do not like
welfare. We do not want to be
supported by welfare. We want to be
able to support ourselves. We want to
hunt. We want our own free life. ”’
stating that the Labrador natives’
rights were protected by Section 2.14
of the James Bay Final Agreement.
Section 2.14 states that the Govern-
ment of Quebec promises to negotiate
with any other native groups with
claims in the James Bay settlement
area. However, immediately after this
promise is the notice that section 2.14
ends with the notice “this paragraph
shall not be enacted into law."" Section
2.14 is about the only section in the
entire agreement that will not be made
law, and as one of the Naskapis asked
the Standing Committee: “why, if we
are asked to trust that (the Quebec
promise to negotiate), has that one
clause been exempted from law?”
Doug Sanders says that section 2.14
“is of lithe comfort for two reasons. In
the agreement it is stated that this
section will not be enacted into law.
Secondly, we know that Quebec igno-
red its legal and constitutional com-
mitments under the Quebec Bounda-
ries Extension Act of 1912 for over 60
years - commitments to settle the land
claims of the Indians and Inuit of
James Bay."
Billy Diamond, the Grand Chief of
the Grand Council of the Crees, says
that section 2.14 “was put in at the
insistence again of the Crees. First of
all, we feel that only the Crees have
rights in that territory, and if the other
groups have. any claims at all, the
rights that they may have are very
marginal’’, referring to the Algonquin,
Montagnais, and "non-status’ Indi-
ans. As for the Naskapi and Inuit in
Labrador, he said “I know that they
will argue, and they will say that have
traditional occupancy and use of the
land. Saying it is one thing, proving it
in law is another.”
The National Indian Erotherhood
has appeared before the Standing
Committee and asked that an amend-
ment be made to the Bill that would
make the bill apply only to those native
groups (the Crees and Inuit in north-
ern Quebec) that signed the James
Bay Final Agreement, and would not
apply to the Naskapi or Inuit people of
Labrador, among others.
The efforts of the native groups
opposed to the passage of Bill C-9, as
it now reads, have been aided by a few
M.P."s on the Committee, but it looks
like there won't be any amendments
made, Wally Firth, the Metis M.P.
from the N.W.T., has voiced concern
over the affects of the bill on the rights
of the Metis and non-status Indians in
the area, although he wasn't present
for the Committee meeting the day the
Labrador representatives appeared.
Dr. Holmes, the Conservative Party
critic on Indian Affairs, has repeatedly
supported calls by native groups for
amendments to the bill.
One reason given for refusing to
make amendments in the bill has been
the fear that the entire bill could “go
down the drain” if any amendments
14 January/February 1977
NESIKA
are allowed. Liberal members on the
Standing Committee have taken notice
of evidence presented to them to that
effect,
- The Naskapi people at Schefferville,
Quebec will have their rights extingui-
shed as a result of Bill C-9, and they
have been negotiating with the Gov-
ernment of Quebec for the past year in
an effort to win an agreement before
Bill C-9 becomes law. They are
reported to be near reaching an
agreement with the province, and have
asked to appear before the Standing
Committee last, in case they have not
reached an agreement by that time.
The hearings of the Standing Com-
mittee are expected to finish about the
middle of March, and Indian Affairs
Minister Allmand has promised the
Naskapi and Inuit in Labrador that he
would give them 30 days notice before
submitting Bill C-9 to the House of
Commons for third and final reading.
Despite the efforts to begin negotia-
tions with the two governments that
date back to February of 1976, the
Naskapi and the Inuit have been
unable to bring them to the negotiat-
ing table to reach a settlement as both
Quebec and Canada seem to be
stalling on the issue of negotiations for
these people.
The three Inuit villages of northern
Quebec that are opposed to the Final
Agreement and Bill C-9, are still
fighting against the Bill. The three,
Ivujivik, Sugluk, and Povungnituk (the
largest of the 14 Inuit villages in
northern Quebec), have united to form
the Inuit Tungavingat Nunanini (ITN),
to prevent their aboriginal rights from
being extinguished as a result of the
James Bay ment
A total of 313 Inuit, the majority of
the people in the three villages, and
22% of the total Inuit population,
removed the rs of attorney from
the Northern Griohe: Inuit Association
before the NQIA signed the Final
Agreement. The people then formed
the ITN and boycotted the ratification
vote that was held after the Final
Agreement was signed so that «
26% of the people in Ivujivik voted,
20% of the people in Sugluk voted,
and only 3% of the people in
Povungnituk voted whether or not to
accept the agreement. A great majori-
“May I suggest to you kindly, and in
the most considerate way possible,
that instead of coming before this |
Committee and talking about injustice, |
maybe it would bea goodideaifyou }
came and recognized gratitude for
what the Cree and the northern
Quebec Inuit have done as pioneers.’
Keith Penner, M.P., Secretary to the Minister of Indian
U.B.C.I.C. to Hold April Assembly
ty of people in the other 1] villages did
vote, however, and did approve of the
agreement.
Despite the fact that the NQIA
signed the Final Agreement on behalf
of the three villages without their
consent, and despite the fact that a
majority of people in those villages
refused to vote on the agreement, the
passage of Bill C-9 will apply to them
and will extinguish their rights.
In speaking of the agreement, the
people of Povungnituk state that:
“compared to the earlier Indian trea-
ties in Canada, the agreement seems
fairly generous; we realize, however,
that it is basically an application to us
Inuit of the way in which the Indians
have been dealt with in the past.
Unlike the Indians, we definitely do
not want to give up our rights to our
lands,"’
All signs point to the fact that Bill
C-9 will be approved without amend-
ments, and will extinguish forever, the
rights of the Naskapi people in
Labrador, the Inuit in Labrador,
without consultation, without consent,
and without compensation. The Inuit
people of the ITN will have the
agreement imposed on them without
their consent.
Lawyer Doug Sanders summed it up
in his brief to the Standing Committee:
“I do not understand how the Depart-
ment of Indian Affairs, in the five
years that the James Bay claims have
been a major issue, has failed to
(determine) the various tribal rights in
the area to be covered in the settle-
ment. Surely the least we ask of a
major government department is that
it be well informed on matters within
its jurisdiction. Mr. Allmand, follow-
ing a line developed by his immediate
ws, has stated that the
Federal Government was not paterna-
listic - it allowed the Indians to carry
the ball on the James Bay case and the
negotiations. But the Minister, the
trustee, forgot about the Naskapi of
Schefferville and Davis Inlet. | don't
blame the Crees or the Inuit or even
the Quebec Government. The federal
Department of Indian Affairs was the
proper body to ensure that the
interests of other native groups were
recognized and protected.
The department failed miserably."
5
Affairs f
|The 9th Annual General Assembly
of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs
will be held on April 26th; 27th,
and 28th, in Prince George.
§ Further details to be announced.
History of J
1912: Passage of the Quebec Bounda-
ries Extension Act, in which the
boundary of Quebec was extended
northward from the St, Lawrence River
watershed to the Arctic Ocean, in
exchange for a promise that the
province would negotiate with the
native groups in those territories and
settle the matter of Aboriginal Title to
the area. The promise took 60 years to
be honoured.
1970: Rumours of development of the
rivers flowing into James and Hud-
son's Bay and the presence of many
surveyors and engineers, frightens the
Cree people in the village of Nemis-
cau, and the village site is abandoned.
April 30, 1971: Quebec Premier Bou-
rassa announces the James Bay Hy-
-dro-Electric Project as the “project of
the century’ and promises 100,00)
jobs for Quebecers, with no prior
notice or consultation with the Cree or
Inuit people.
June 1971: The Crees meet at Mistas-
sini and request DLA Minister Chre-
tien to intervene on their behalf.
January 1972: The Indians of Quebec
Association (IQA) receives $26,000
funding to study and research the
James Bay project.
February - March 1972: The bands
discuss the research reports.
April 18, 1972: The Crees meet with
the IQA and opposition to the James
Bay project is announced on legal and
environmental grounds.
April 1972: The Inuit of northern
Quebec volunteer to oppose the project
in addition to the Crees.
May 1972: The Crees begin action in
Quebec Superior Court for a perma-
nent injunction against the James Bay
project. Before that, each -village is
visited and powers of attorney are
received from the band members to go
to court. The hearing lasts for 7] days
and produces 10,000 pages of testimo-
ny.
June - July 1972: Negotiations bet-
ween the Crees and Inuit and the
province of Quebec fail to get off the
ground as the natives charge “‘bad
faith’’ on the part of government.
June 1973: Justice Malouf takes the
injunction case under advisement.
August & 1973: As a result of the
Supreme Court decision in the Nishga
case, DIA Minister Chretien announ-
ces that the Federal Government is
prepared to negotiate claims in north-
ern Quebec, the Northwest Territories,
the Yukon, and British Columbia.
September 1973: The Government of
Quebec asks the native groups if they
want to negotiate. The answer is
fr ?
no .
November 15, 1973: The James Bay
project is halted as Justice Malouf
grants the injunction. |
November 22, 1973: The injunction is
lifted by a higher court on the grounds
of inconvenience. The IQA receives a
settlement offer from the Province of
Quebec.
December 10, 1973: The Crees''meet
with the IQA and learn'the details of
the province's 11 point offer, with
immediate objections by the Crees.
December 1973 - January 1974: Hear-
ings in the native communities are
held on the 11 point offer.
Jonuary 1974; The Crees give the IQA
a mandate to negotiate with the
Province.
April 1974: At a meeting to discuss a
progress report on the negotiations,
the Crees learn that a “global settle-
ment’ for all the province is being
worked out, and the Crees remove the
negotiating authority from the IQA,
Summer 1974: Community meetings
on the negotiations are held in all the
Cree villages at an average of 6-7 band
meetings per month,
August 1974; The Grand Council of the
Crees is formed representing 6,560
LAND CLAIMS SURVEY continued
aboriginal title and land claims issue.
he survey was conducted in the
summer months of 1976.
The survey results were based on
745 questionnaires that were returned
from 5,000 that were mailed to points
across Canada. Personal interviews
with about 150 people nation-wide
were also conducted, The interview
teams included at least one native.
The reports also showed that “very
few had any idea what aboriginal
rights entailed" but that “the majority
of the respondents supported Native
land claims while emphasizing that
they should be kept within reasonable
limits.”"*
The report also stated that most
people felt that “the media’s coverage
of Native affairs was inaccurage,
biased, and sensationalized.””
60% of the national sample agreed
with the statement that: “the issue of
aboriginal rights is very important to
me."’ The figure for the B.C. respond-
ents was slightly less - 55%. About
15% of the national and B.C. samples
disagreed with that statement.
When asked whether they were in
favor of a settlement of aboriginal
rights, including land claims, 60%
(61%) in B.C.) said they were. 20%
(18% in B.C.) were against such a
settlement.
When the respondents were asked
whether Indians should resort to
violence if land claim negotiations fail,
4% said yes and 87% said no(9%)% in
B.C.) . If negotiations fail, 41% (only
29% in B.C.) thought that native
people should seek "‘international
assistance."”.
i.
setilement
CREE
— settlement
a 125 Milles
Crees: A deadline is set by the Crees
for an“agreement-in-principle to be |
reached beforé the Crees return to the
! traplines and woods for the winter.
October 17, 1974: A draft agreement-
in-principle is approved by the Grand
~ Council of Cree Chiefs.
October 17 - Nowember 9, “1974:
Community meetings with up to 800
people in attendance ratify the agree-
* ment-in-principle.
November 15, 1974: The agreement-in
* «principle is signed by all parties.
November 16, 1974 - November 10,
1975: Community meetings, research,
court cages and negotiations continue.
The Inuit villages of Ivujivik, Sugluk,
and Povungnituk, remove the power of
attorney from the Northern Quebec
Inuit Association.
November I], 1975: The James Bay
Final Agreement is signed by the
Federal and Provincial governments,
by the Grand Council of the Crees, by
the Northern Quebec Inuit Associa-
tion, and by a number of Quebec
Crown corporations.
November 16, 1975: The three north-
ern Inuit villages form the Inuit
Tungavingat Nunani (ITN), to fight the
The NCC study also asked whether
Metis and “non-status’’ Indians are
entitled to land grants with full rights
of ownership and control, The results
showed that 49% were in favor and
22% (33% in B.C.) were not.
Many of the respondents chose to
use the space provided for their own
comments, and the two quotes at the
beginning of this article are an
example. Some were clearly support-
ive as in: ""l feel that unless Indian
people get ownership of their land,
their culture will be completely lost.
Most non-Indians do not understand
the Indian's concept of land. To me, it
is an essential part of their culture.
Without it, they cannot continue.”
Others were hostile as in : “The
natives have tremendous gall to ask
the people of Canada to lay out a large
percentage of their tax money to
agreement from being imposed on
them against their wishes.
December 1 - 22, 1975: The Cree
communities ratify the Final Agree-
ment by a total vote of 922-1. The three
villages of the ITN begin a campaign to
convince other Inuit villages to boycott
the ratification vote. Only 3% of the
people in the largest village vote
(Powungnituk) and the other two have
less than a 25% turn-out, The other 11
villages in the NQIA vote 95% in
favour of the Final Agreement.
December 1975: The Naskapis of Davis
Inlet, Newfoundland, learn of the
James Bay hydro project and the Final
Agreement that will extinguish their
rights in the James Bay territory, from
a traditional reunion with other Nas-
kapi people in Quebec.
February 1976; The Naskapi Montag-
nais Innu Association of Labrador is
formed (NMIAL).
February 14, 1976: The Naskapi write
Premier Bourassa for immediate nego-
listions.
April 21, 1976: Bourassa agrees to
negotiations if Newfoundland and
Canada agree to negotiate also.
May 25, 1976: Newfoundland agrees to
népoliations.
June 28, 1976: Buchanan tells the
natives to document claims they
“pretend to have in Quebec"’, present
a comprehensive claim, and tells them
not to worry - section 2.14 protects
their interests.
June 30, 1976: The Province of Quebec
passes the provincial law regarding
their énd of the James Bay Final
Agreement.
“! Oetober 27, 1976: The NMIAL writes
Allmand expressing their concerns
over the passage of Bill C-9 before
negotiations with the Naskapi begin.
December 7, 1976: Allmand moves
second reading of Bill C-9 in the House
of Commons.
January 7, 1977: Allmand writes to
NMIAL and tells them section 2,14 will
protect their interests.
February 10, 1977: The Inuit and
Indian representatives of the NMILAL
and the LIA appear before the Stand-
ing Committee on Indian Affairs to
argue for an amendment to Bill C-9,
mid-March 1977: Hearings of the
Standing Committee expected to be
completed for Bill C-9, and passage of
second reading expected.
mid-April 1977: Allmand, having pro-
mised 30 days notice of third reading
to the Labrador natives, expected to
move third reading and final passage
of Bill C-9 in the House of Commons.
support loaded questionnaires su
this, plus the welfare payments,
housing, booze, and interference in
our lives - with our money! Straighten
out assholes!!!We even pay for the
stamps and paper on this garbage so I
hope to hell someone reads this."
A COMPARISON
The two surveys questioned about
2,500 people from sea-to-sea and there
were almost identical results, even
though different methods were used,
when similar questions were being
asked. About 60% of the people in
both surveys, in both B.C. and
Canada, approved of a settlement of
aboriginal rights and land claims
and/or thought that most land claims
were valid. Less than 5% of the people
in both surveys would approve the use
of violence if land claim negotiations
fail to reach agreements.
NESIKA |
January/February 1977 15
Province Sued on Sales Tax
The legality of the Provincial Gover-
nment’s right to collect sales tax on the
electricity supplied to “‘status"” Indi-
ans in their homes on reserves is being
challenged, for the first time, in a B.C,
court, Although it is generally assum-
ed that sales tax can't be applied to
Indians on reserves, because of Sec-
tion 87 of the Indian Act, that has not
been the case in B.C.
One legal observer has noted that
“what is a novel situation in B.C.
(fighting the sales tax) is non-contro-
versial in Ontario, Quebec, The Mari-
times, and Saskatchewan.” He added
that B.C."s taxation of "status" Indi-
ans is more resinictlive than almost all
the other provinces in Canada.
Working on that problem for some
time has been Skidegate lawyer Carey
Linde and David Mossop of the
Vancouver Community Legal Assis-
tance Society. Finally, Lillian Brown, a
Haida widow and pensioner living on
the Skidegate reserve, volunteered to
have the class-action lawsuit fought in
her name. Mrs. Brown is a mother,
grandmother, and great-grandmother
of the Haida Nation many times over
and is currently in hospital.
Mrs. Brown is suing the Province of
B.C., the Attorney-General of B.C.,
and B.C. Hydro on behalf of herself
and all other "'status’’ Indians on B,C.
Indian reserves who purchase gas
and/or hydro from B.C. Hydro and
CARRIER
continued
or 7 of these weirs and some of the fish
baskets. In return for this, the people
were to be provided with nets, but the
nets were rotten and were basically not
an adequate substitute for the techno-
logy the Indian people had been forced
to destroy. By destroy, | mean just
that, because the weirs were burned,
knocked down ifthey were put up, and
the people arrested and threatened
with imprisonment if they put them up
again. A few years later, in 1911, the
same force was applied to people
living in the Stuart and Fraser Lake
area: they were forced to give up the
use of their weirs.
What the cannery operators and the
pfovernment failed to realize was that
placer mining operations in the Ques-
nel area around 1903 effectively dest-
royed the Quesnel run, which was one
of the largest salmon runs in the whole
Fraser system. But there was too much
demand on salmon to accommodate
the canneries, the coastal fisheries,
and the easiest solution politically was
to eliminate the weirs. In 1913, a
rockslide occurred in the Hell's Cate
section of the Fraser Canyon due to
railway construction, which decimated
the 1913 salmon run which was one of
the peak years.
We have a situation around 1914,
then, when the best technology of the
people of the Stuart and Fraser Lake
areas - the weirs - had been taken from
them, and the salmon supply had been
so severely reduced that there was
starvation and there were, for the first
time, relief payments in the Stuart
Lake area. | recall one report from a
fisheries officer: for 30 families at
Muart Lake there was a grand total of
200 salmon. In previous years the
Hudson's Bay Co. was buying tens of
thousands of salmon from these very
who pay the 7% provincial sales tax.
Her staternent of claim is based on
the $4.38 sales tax she paid on her
bi-monthly bill last December, which
B.C. Hydro is required to charge alll
customers according to provincial law.
Since B.C. Hydro has a monopoly
and cuts off electricity and gas for
non-payment of bills, including the
non-payment of taxes, Mra. Brown is
asking the B.C. Supreme Court to
declare that there is no authority to
collect sales tax from Mrs. Brown and
others like her for the hydro supplied
to them on reserves,
The lawsuit also asks the court to
issue an injunction stopping the fur-
ther collection of such taxes, and also
asks that all such taxes, plus interest,
collected by the Province in the past,
be returned,
The legal papers were filed by David
Mossop on January 27th. He said in an
interview that it could be months
before a trial date is set, and with
probable appeals by either side, a final
decision may take years. In the
meantime, though, he alvises other
“status” Indians in Mrs, Brown's
situation to “save your Hydro bills and
receipts."
The entire case is based on Section
87 of the Indian Act, which reads: “the
following property is exempt from
taxation, namely: a] the interest of an
Indian or a band in reserve or
HISTORY
same people - in 1914 we have 500
salmon to feed 30 families. That's not
enough to get by the fall, let alone the
winter,
But there was another factor: fur
prices were beginning to climb, and
about 1923-24 they were extremely
good. Some of the bad effects of the
loss of salmon could be off-set by high
fur prices, but this was only a
short-term solution because prices
fluctuated. People in the interior and
the Stuart and Fraser Lake area had no
economic option but to become trap-
pers in a very big way.
NT: And when trapping declined their
only option was relief, or welfare.
DH: That's right. The fur prices peak
in the early 1920's and again in the
early 1940's. Until the fish ladders
were built in Hell's Gate in 1945 there
was not much of a salmon supply.
There was some, but nothing approa-
ching the pre-1913 years.
One result of that loss of salmon -
because people had to obtain food
regardless of fur prices - was the shift
by the Stuart Lake people over to
Babine Lake, because the Babine run
had not been altered by any slides on
the Skeena River. Again, the fisheries
officers tried to force the people off
Babine Lake because they saw that as
a pressure on the available salmon
resources there too.
NT: The ironic thing ts that the
stereotype of Indian people as being
welfare-dependent is true only insofar
as they were forced onto welfare
dependency by the fact that their own
survival culture was destroyed and
disrupted by the demands of business
- this time the fishing business on the
16 January/February 1977
NESIK.A
surrendered (ands; and 6] the personal
property of an Indian or band situated
en a reserve; and no Indian or band is
subject to taxation in respect of the
awnership, occupation, possession or
use of any property mentioned in
paragraph [a] ar (6) ...""
The total amount of tax involved is
likely a substantial amount. Based on
DIA estimates on
houses on Indian reserves in B.C.
(6,000), and the percentage that have
electricity (86%), and, in the case of
Mrs, Brown, the average yearly hydro
bill (3400), the total amount collected
from the 7% provincial sales tax from
“status’' Indians in the last year was
about $159,000, That figure is based
on 1976 Hydro rates and does not take
into account the rate increases that
Hydro is requesting for 1977. (A
petition is apparently circulating in the
interior of the province from some
Indian groups that are opposed to the
rale increase, partially based on
Section &7 of the Indian Act),
Lawyer Mossop stated that he had
net contacted the Federal Justice
Department or the Department of
Indian Affairs about their possible
roles in the case.
In addition to the sales tax collected
on hydro bills, the province also
collects the 7% on gs supplied to
Indians from other than B.C. Hydro
and from the payments due to B.C,
2 Ae Ties 4p Petrie fue,
Fr, ipa
Paes — Pee
osak in Aner!
We are grateful to the Northern
Times for permission to reprint this
valuable interview.
We would also like to offer our
belated congratulations to the erth-
ern Times on the November publica-
tion of their Sth issue. Concentrating
on labour, environmental, native, and
“development” issues, the Northern
Times provides much-needed cover-
age of these concerns. Worthwhile
reading for those living and interested
in northwestern B.C. The address is:
S210A Kalum St., Terrace, B.C.
the number of
*
Correction
In the last issue of the NESIKA we
reported that Godfrey Kelly, the
past-President of the Council of the
Haida Nation, was given a warm and
emotional standing ovation at the
jannual meeting of the CHN, “as he
slepped into retirement’.
We have since been informed that
fir. Kelly did not, in fact, “‘retire’’,
but that he has only “taken a year off"
from active participation in CHN
Haida Nation.
activities, and that he intends to
remain involved in the affaires of the
Telephone Co, As for the tax on phone
bills, Mossop said that a similar
lawsuit would not be as straightfor-
ward as there would be some additio-
nal problems involved,
Mossop added that the legality of
the provinee’s 17 cents a gallon sales
tax on gasoline could also be challen-
ged, leading to the establishment of
gas stations on reserves as a form of
economic development,
Considering the uproar that has
been caused by the sale of tax-free
cigareties on Washington State Indian
reserves, one legal observer wondered
why the sales tax issue hadn't been
raised some time before. Another
observer is confident that the tax issue
will be won, but doubts that any of the
tax money that was collected in the
past will be returned to Indian B.C.
Hydro customers.
Mossop warns people not to expect a
decision in a few months and is not
expecting any injunction to be filed for
some time either. He also advises
against withholding the sales tax from
hydro payments as a form of protest
because Hydro can then shut the
power off. He hopes that trial date can
be set within a few months and the
trial completed before the end of the
year, with the final decision resting on
the appeal process.
March Date
Set for
Cut-Off Talks
Representatives of the federal and
provincial governments have finally
agreed to a date to meet with the
Cut-Off Lands Committee to begin
settling the dispute over the wrongful
taking of 36,000 acres of Indian
reserve lands more than 60 years ago.
The meeting between the three
parties involved is tentatively set for
March 18th in Victoria.
The Cut-Off Lands Committee is
composed of the 22 bands that had
lands taken from them without their
consent as a result of, and against the
terms of, the McKenna-McBride Co-
mmission of 1913-1916. Representing
the Committee at the March meeting
will be its Chairman, Squamish Chief
Phillip Joe, and members Joe Mathias
(Squamish), George Harris (Chemai-
nus), Lloyd Wilson (Vernon), Art
Peters (Ohial), and a representative of
the Penticton Band.
li was agreed by the representatives
of 6 of the 22 bands at a meeting on
January 20th, that the present leaders
would represent and negotiate on
behalf of the 22 bands. The other
bands are expected to file written
statements to that effect as well.
Labour Minister Allan Williams
stated in April of 1976 that the
province was in agreement with the
Committee's #1 condition for a settle-
ment of the dispute - the return of all
unencumbered cut-off lands. The len-
gthy delay in holding a meeting of the
three parties involved has been due to
the federal and provincial govern-
ment's failure to agree on a cost-shar-
ing formula to settle the dispute,
Committee Chairman Philip Joe
“hopefully, the two governments have
reached an agreement’’, and that the
Committee representatives would be
attending the March meeting only to
learn the governments’ views and not
to make a presentation.
“Constitution” Splits Haidas
Efforts to unify the approximately
5,000 people of Haida descent into the
Council of the Haida Nation suffered a
serious setback in late January as a
constitution which gives only token
involvement to “non-status’’ Indians
and “‘off-island’ Haidas was adopted
at a hotly-contested meeting in Skide-
gate.
Led by Skidegate Chief Philip
Gladstone and Masset Chief Reynold
Russ, a meeting called by the Skide-
gate Band Council adopted a constitu-
tion whose immediate effect would be
to remove Lavina Lightbown as Presi-
dent of the Council, Ms. Lightbown
called the adoption of the constitution
“illegal”.
The Council of the Haida Nation
(CHIN) has never had a constitution,
but has adopted a number of policy
matters related to membership, vot-
ing, etc. The new constitution, as
structured by Chiefs Russ and Glad-
atone, is designed to overthrow the
election results of the annual meeting
of the CHN last December; return
control of the CHN to the elected band
councils; reduce the influence ol
“non-status” Haidas; and all but
eliminate the influence of “‘off-island"
Haidas.
According to the constitution, the
Council of the Haida Nation would:
1) Have a Board of Directors of 16
people - 8 members appointed by the
Masset Band Council and 8 by the
Skidegate Band Council. In each case,
at least 5 of the 8 appointees from each
band council would have to be “‘stat-
us"” Indians.
2) Have 3 Officers appointed from
the Board of Directors - a chairperson,
a co-chairperson, and a secretary-trea-
aurer. All of these Officers would have
to be “‘status’” Indians.
3) Allow ‘‘status”’ Indians (including
people of non-native ancestry) to
become full members of the council
automatically.
4) Allow people of Haida descent
(including the “‘non-status” Indian
people) to become full members of the
Council. In this case, their member-
ship would have to be approved by the
Council's Board of Directors before
becoming valid.
5) Make 16 the minimum age for full
membership.
6) Allow a member to withdraw
his/her membership from the Council.
7) Allow for a member to be expelled
from membership by a 44 majority
vote of the Council.
In a motion that was presented by
Chiefs Russ and Gladstone, the con-
stitution was adopted, according to
local media reports, by a vote of 81-50.
Another motion was then presented by
the two chiefs and passed that placed
the control of the CHN immediately
into the hands of the two band councils
until the appointments to the Board of
Directors are made.
Much of the current controversy
stems from a demonstration last May
2th in Masset that was organized by
Lavina Lightbown. About 100 Haida
demonstrators were protesting the
leasing of Crown land on the Queen
Charlotte Islands. The Graham Island
Planning Committee sided with the
protestors and voted, at the time, to
stop further land leases pending the
settlement of the Haida land claims.
The Skidegate Band Council was
angered by the demonstration, partly
because it was not authorized by the
CHN, and threatened then-President
Godfrey Kelly that it would pull out of
the CHN unless her membership on
the Council was suspended. Neither
event happened, but the December
elections to the CHN, which saw Ms.
Lightbown elected President by ac-
clamation after 5 other nominees
declined to run, brought bitter feelings
to the surface once again.
Of the 4 people elected to the
Executive at December's annual meet-
ing, 4 were “off-island’’ Haidas, and
the | islander elected, as it turned out,
didn't live in either Masset or Skide-
gate. (President Lavina Lightbown,
who has travelled extensively on the
Islands since the election, will be
returning to live in Masset at the end
of February.)
the 22nd of January, The flyers that
were distributed announced that it
would be “a very important land-
claims meeting”, and contained no
mention of a constitution to be
presented or considered.
Many people, including some band
councillors, were surprised when the
constitution was presented at the
meeting. Under the rules laid down by
the Skidegate Band for the meeting
was one that read: “the Chairman
will not accept amendments to the
motion (the constitution) as it has been
decided by the two chief councillors
that the issue is either the complete
bh
Since only one of the four was a
‘satus’ Indian, Skidegate Chief Phi-
lip Gladstone said that the “‘status”’
on the Islands “felt as if they
almost had no say” in what the
Council was doing. He said that the
efforts by the band councils to get a
constitution adopted were brought up
at the general meeting in December
but kept "getting slapped down’”. He
aaid that the whole idea of the
constitution as it differs from past
policy, is to get it controlled by the
Roard of Directors and not in the
control of just one person.
Ms. Lightbown and the other CHN
Executives have been trying to get
their informal Board set-up accepted
by the various bodies to be represen-
ted. Based on both tradition and the
past policies of the CHN, there would
be 10 members on that Board: 2 each
from the Masset and Skidegate Bands,
1 each from the Vancouver and Prince
Rupert branches, the elected chief
from both Skidegate and Masset, and
the hereditary chief of both villages as
well. As of the end of 1976 there were
9 7 times as many Indians living at
Masset (1,096) than there were at
Skidegate (413). In addition, DLA
figures showed that another 521
“status” Indians lived off-reserve, or
about 35% of the total “status” Indian
population.
An ‘early victim of the tensions
following the December elections was
Phil Watson, the 2nd Vice-President,
who resigned his position.
A meeting was held in Skidegate in
early January which resulted in a vote
being taken that called for new
elections to be held for the CHN, but
the “non-status" people present were
not allowed to vote.
A meeting a week later in Masset
resulted in a survey being taken of the
households in the village. The survey
results showed a majority of people in
favour of holding a new election, but
Ms. Lightbown’s supporters charge
that many households were not visited
in the village, and that few, if any, of
her relatives were polled on the
matter. i
The Skidegate Band then announced
a meeting to be held in Skidegate on
acceptance of the constitution or its
rejection.” It also said that the
constitution could be amended later by
the membership once it was accepted.
The debate over the constitution was
short, angry, and confused. The
meeting was asked to accept the entire
constitution in one vote and the motion
to adopt it was accepted by the 81-50
ywoue,
The only other motion made at the
meeting was another one presented by
Chiefs Gladstone and Russ calling for
the control of the CHN to be placed
immediately into the hands of the two
band councils until appointments to
the Board of Directors are made. That
motion was also approved by the
meeting. ,
The Prince Rupert branch of the
Haida Nation met to discuss the
constitution two days later. The Presi-
dent of the branch, Oliver Adams, said
the meeting “‘did not approve” of the
constitution for two reasons; the first
being that there had not been proper
notice given of the meeting, and the
second that the people in the Rupert
branch were “being excluded from
active participation’ because of the
band council appointments.
A source that was present at the
Rupert branch meeting said that all 58
people there voted to completely reject
the constitution.
The constitution was also, apparent-
ly rejected “‘in principle’’ by a small
meeting of the Vancouver branch of
the Council, and a larger meeting is
being scheduled to discuss it.
When he was later asked about the
complaints from the "non-status’”
people that they would no longer be
able to be an Executive of the CHN
and complaints from ‘‘off-island”™
Haidas that their branches would no
longer be represented on the Council,
Chief Gladstone said that the whole
issue would be up to the Board of
Directors, and that it “may be just for
this one year". He added that ‘‘non-
status people keep complaining that
they're not represented, but they
are.”” As for equal representation of
the two groups, he said that “you
know what happens if there is equal
representation - you get nothing but
squabbles.”
Until the two band councils are able
to meet on the matter, he added there
would be no “official” comment. He
expects that such a meeting would be
held in the near future.
Chief Reynold Russ stated that
when the two councils do meet as the
interim Board, he is going to suggest
that 1) Council meetings be held in
Prince Rupert and Vancouver as soon
as possible, and 2) the constitution be
amended so that the appointments of 8
directors from each band will not be
made by the band council, but by an
election involving all band members.
He also stated that the constitution
will not be registered with the Socie-
ties Act in Victoria until there has been
more people input.
Other than her comment at the
January 22nd meeting that the adop-
tion of the constitution was “‘illegal’’,
Lavina Lightbown refuses to have
anything more to say about it. She said
that she and the other CHN Executives
(Ted Bellis and Barbara Wilson)
agreed that they would “just take
steps to do positive things’ about the
land claims, and that they “would not
get involved in any more negative
actions’ concerning the issue of the
constitution. She noted that meetings
are being held to develop a strategy
concerning the Crown land/housing
issue on the Islands, and added that
work is continuing on developing an
organizational structure for the CHN
that would be acceptable for all Haida
Many of Ms. Lightbown's suppor-
ters argue that she was fairly elected
at the general meeting in December
and that her opponents, many of whom
did not attend the annual meeting, are
now trying to remove her as President
by other methods.
Where things stand now is anybo-
dy’s guess. In the month following the
meeting at which the constitution was
adopted, the two band councilé were
unable to hold a joint meeting. As of
press time, a jocnt meeting has not
been scheduled.
Lavina Lighthown is still holding
meetings on the Islands to discuss and
begin work on the land claims issue,
and still has a very large following who
still recognize her as the President of
the CHN.
While the Skidegate Band Council is
apparently entirely in agreement with
the constitution, some of the Masset
Band Councillors are not. Two of them
walked out of the meeting after its
adoption and are now circulating
petitions rejecting the constitution and
confirming the December election
results.
The situation seems to have both
dangers and benefits. The possible
danger lies in having most of the
Haida people “turned-off" by the
constant in-fighting and politicking,
and refusing to become involved,
If there is a possible benefit in the
whole situation, it lies in the extra
efforts that are being made to reach
out to people who have never been
involved in any way in the efforts of
the Haida people to better their lives.
Perhaps this great “‘silent majority”
will become involved in the settlement
of this relatively minor dispute, and
more importantly, will stay on for the
larger battles ahead.
NESIRA
January/February 1977 17
Bill Wilson
A meeting scheduled for March 6th
in Dawson Creek will likely determine
whether a new organization represent-
ing only the Metis and "non status’
people of the province will be formed.
The meeting is being planned by
Fred House, the past-President of the
B.C. Association of Non Status Indians
(BCANSI) for five years until he
resigned in November, 1975, to run in
the provincial election,
Controversy surrounds the planned
meeting since Fred House has had his
salary and expenses paid for by the
Native Council of Canada (NCC) since
about the Ist of February. For most of
the past year, House has been working
for the Metis colony in Paddle Prairie,
Alberta, The House family orginally
comes from the area and he was born
in Alberta,
NCC President Harry Daniels insists
that House was hired only to perform a
“fact-finding study’ of the B.C.
region. Daniels stated that he had
received numerous complaints from
“non status” Indians and Metis in
B.C. that they hadn't been getting any
information from the B.C, organiza-
tion.
In the annual assembly that followed
House's resignation, the BCANSI
organization changed its name to the
United Native Nations (UNN) and
voted to accept “status'’ Indians as
full members as the sole mandate of
the UNN was the aboriginal rights and
land claims issue. UNN President Bil]
Wilson, himself a “status** Indian,
then led a walk-out of the UNN
delegation at the NCC’s annual assem.
bly last July. That assembly saw
resolutions passed that prohibit
“status” Indians from any involve.
ment with the NCC, and as a result,
the UNN officially withdrew its mem-
bership.
A reason for the "fact-finding
mission"’, Daniels stated, was that
many out-of-province people - mostly
Cree - were concerned about their
place in the B.C. land claims issue and
whether they were represented in the
new UNN. He said he had only heard
in “general terms"’ of how they were
represented in the UNN. Daniels
stated that ‘'l have a national mandate
to see if people are adequately
represented, and if they are - fine, If
not, then ["ll take measures to correct
it.””
Although Daniels insists that House
was hired only to determine whether
the Metis and “non status"* Indians
were properly represented in the
UNN, all reports indicate that Fred
House, in fact, is trying to organize a
new Metis orgnization in the province.
Several people who have spoken with
House in the last month report that he
has told them: 1) he is organizing a
new Metis organization, 2) that fund-
ing for the organization would not be a
problem, and 3) after the organization
is Off the ground and funded, he will
return to Alberta,
When asked about the reports,
Daniels said he “couldn't Operate on
hearsay"’, but thought that the idea of
anew Metis organization was "a great
idea - if you're a Metis,”
Mr. House could not be reached for
comment by press time.
The UNN Executive and Board had
not been informed or contacted about
the “fact-finding mission’’, but Dan-
iels noted that they were invited to the
Dawson Creek meeting.
A meeting of about 25-30 people was
held in Invermere, B.C. in the Koot-
enays regarding this same subject, on
February 12th. The meeting had been
arranged by several people who were
unhappy with the new UNN constitu-
tion that prevents non-Indian people
from full membership in the organiza-
tion, among them: Mr. and Mrs. Joe
Howse and Annette Hambler, who had
walked out of the UNN meeting in
protest last June when the member-
ship rules were changed. (Mrs. Howse
and Hambler are non-Indians, and
Mrs. Hambler is a former Board of
Director for ECANSI.)
Invited to speak to the Invermere
meeting were NCC President Harry
Daniels and Alberta Metis President
stan Daniels. UNN Executives Bill
Wilson and Ron George also attended,
although they had not been invited,
Annette Hambler is reported to have
said that the membership issue
brought about the meeting. While
there was a confrontation between the
two factions, there was no clear result,
other than that the issue would be
taken back to the Locals,
A background paper was prepared
by the UNN for distribution at the
Invermere meeting that read in part:
“that there has been some discussion
about whether the people in this area
should be affiliated with the UNN,
with the old BCANSI, or should form a
new Metis and Non Status group.
"Some of the issues involved in-
elude participation by non-Indian
spouses, aboriginal rights and land
claims, programs, status and non
Status, out-of-province Indians, and
the type of organizational structure
desired.
“During the rejection of funds
period, many things happened which
we should all learn from. For one
thing, many of the people who had
been formerly involved with BCANSI
saw fit to quit the Association once the
government funding came to an end.
The BCANSI Executive - Fred House,
Jamie Sterritt, and Doris Ronnenburg,
along with one-third of the elected
18 January/February 1977
Native Perspective photo
Harry Daniels
Board members, resigned before the
end of 1975. In fact, were it not for the
commitment and unselfish work on the
part of people like Bill Lightbown, Jim
Lanigan, Terry Miller and others, who
stayed on without honorariums and big
salaries, BCANS! would have dis-
appeared completely.
“Despite the‘ fact that the huge
BCANSI bureaucracy was dismantled,
little or no visible change took place at
the community level. It appeared that
the only people affected by the
rejection of funds were the people who
lost their jobs in the bureaucracy and
the Board members who wouldn't stay
involved without honorariums, The
funds had obviously not been used for
the benefit of the grass-roots people,
“Perhaps the most disappointing
thing that happened during the rejec-
tion period was the failure of all Indian
groups in B.C. to work together. The
members of the Union of B.C. Indian
Chiefs in particular turned their hacks
on their non status, Metis, and
out-of-province brothers and sisters.
“The June 1976 BCANSI assembly
saw the lessons learned during the
rejection period become part of a new
policy and approach to organization,
By a large majority, the assembly
voted to: 1) open the membership to ail
native Indians regardless of status or
place of origin who are permanently
resident in B.C. 2) change the name to
the United Native Nations 3) pursue
Aboriginal Rights and Land Claims for
the benefit of all native Indian people
in B.C.
“True the UNN full membership is
restricted to native Indian people. But,
the UNN is a native Indian organiza-
tion and as such, should be run by
native Indian people. Non-Indian
spouses should not feel excluded by
the new membership definition. If a
non-Indian does not feel included with
the Indian wife or husband, it is
perhaps the nature of the marriage
and net the structure of the UNN that
is at fault.
“Aboriginal Rights and Land Claims
was adopted as the mandate of the
UNN and this has led to much
confusion, Some people assume that
this mandate excludes out-of-province
Indians and somehow does not involve
programs, This is not true. The UNN
definition of Aboriginal Rights and
Land Claims simply reduces to the
building of a better place in B.C.
society for aff native Indian people
regardless of place of origin. This
better place in society obviously must
involve. all aspects of the society, We
must, then, be involved in programs
that will change the present conditions
of native Indian people in society, The
UNN actively encourages the develop-
ment of programs at the regional and
local level. No huge bureaucracy at
head office is required.
“Unlike the old BCANSI, it is UNN
policy that only one member from any
family may be on staff, Executive, or
Board. In other words, no member of
the President's family may be an
Executive member, a Board member
NCC Sponsors Meddling
‘or a member of the staff.
“To us it makes no sense that
people at the local level should have
their decisions made at the national
level or by people from other provin-
ces. As people who have chosen B.C.
45 Our permanent home, only we have
the right to make decisions affecting
B.C. Carpetbaggers who do not live in
the province and bureaucrats from
Ottawa have no place in our organiza-
Lion,
“The idea of a new Metis and Non
Status group has little to say for itself,
If one was formed it would be very
small as ulmost every native Indian in
B.C. has already aligned himself or
herself with one of the existing
organizations. A new group could not
look forward to any government money
because it could not prove that it
represented a sufficient number of
people. A new group would likely find
itself alone, And any politician trying
to build a place for himself or herself in
B.C. by forming a new group would
have to make promises about things he
could never deliver."
Protesting against the NCC-spon-
sored ‘meddling’ in B.C. native
politics, Wilson fired off telegram to
the Minister of the Secretary of State,
John Roberts, on March 3rd, The
telegram read:
“Funds provided by your Depart-
ment are being used by the Native
Council of Canada in an attempt to
undermine an existing Indian organi-
zation in B.C. Harry Daniels, NCC
President, is paying the salary and
travel expenses of Fred House who is
trying to form a "new" Metis and non
status group in opposition to the
United Native Nations.
“Such action is clearly outside the
constitution and by-laws of the NCC,
and we would hope, also outside the
policy of your Department.
“The UNN as a representative body
for non status, Metis, and out-of-
province Indians in B.C., democratic:
ally decided to cut-off relations with
the NCC. Now we see an attempt to
undermine this legitimate democratic
process.
“We would like to know if your
Department condones such activity,
Are the funds you provide to NCC to
be used to create possible internal
conflict among provincial and territor-
ial native Indian groups? Is this all
part of a divide-and-conquer tactic?
"We hope not.””
As of press time, no answer from
the Secretary of State Department had
been received,
A last-minute report from the meet-
ing held in Dawson Creek on March
6th shows that the purpose of Fred
House's travels in B.C. are to organ-
ize a Metis association, and so far,
that he hasn't gained much support.
Speaking to the meeting, House
made it clear that he was in the
province to organize a new Metis
association.
After travelling through the Peace
River region for the past month, Fred
House was able to attract only 18
people to the March 6th meeting.
Most of those that did attend were
either related to him, or were associ-
ated with the UNN. House announced
that he would continue and that he is
planning a similar meeting in Fort
St. John in a few weeks time.
Order 1036 Decision Awaited
A decision by Justice Andrews of
the B.C, Supreme Court is not
expected until possibly April in the
Lower Nicola Band's lawsuit against
the Provincial Government. The first-
ever action of a band suing the
province for trespass was heard during
4 four day trial the week of November
8th.
A court decision on the rights and
powers of the province in relation to
Indian bands and reseve lands will
obviously have an impact that will
extend far beyond the boundaries of
the Lower Nicola reserves to every
other reserve in the province.
BACKGROUND
The band’s lawsuit has part of its
beginnings in the passage of an
Order-In-Council passed by the Cabin-
et of Premier Patullo in 1938, sup-
posedly giving the province the right
to take up to 1/20th of any Indian
reserve for “‘roads, canals, towing
paths, or other works of public utility
or convenience’.
The road from Merritt to Savona
runs through two of the Lower Nicola
Band's reserves, and the dispute
began in the 196)"s when the provin-
cial Highways Department announc 4
it wanted to widen and upgrade the
road, meaning that the band would
lose valuable acreage to the project.
For ten years the dispute dragged
on as the band and the highways
department argued about the com-
pensation that should be paid, The
province had never changed their
basic position of offering a settlement
based on “X"’ amount of dollars per
acre. The band did not want compen-
sulion in those terms, and instead,
wanted some type of economic deve-
lopment for the reserve, as well as a
certain amount of acreage to be set
aside for the band to replace lands
lost to the project that would be used
for berry-picking, grazing, and ranch-
ing.
The Highways Department in early
1975 said they would not be making
the road into a major highway project
as planned but would only upgrade
the road within its existing right-of-
way. When they attempted to move
heavy equipment onto the reserves
late in the year, they were stopped by
a fore: of band members led by Chief
Don Moses.
personally served then-Attorney-Gen-
eral Alex MacDonald with a subpeona,
hauling the province into court, and
beginning the court action that was
eventually concluded with the four day
trial ending November 12, 1976.
When the Social Credit Government
came to power in late 1975, they
indicated that they had no desire to
fight the band in the courts over the
issue and sought instead, an out-of-
court settlement. Since the province
had taken much the same route as
previous governments, no agreement
could be reached.
Shortly before the case was set to go
to court in mid-May, the Social Credit
Cabinet passed Orders-In-Council
1487 and 1488, “resuming”’ portions
of the two reserves. The passage of the
Orders brought another adjournment
to the trial.
In a conversation shortly before the
trial began, band lawyer Bill Worrall
explained that the province had never
before actually expropriated reserve
land for a highways project, but
instead, had gotten a land surrender
and paid compensation. He noted that
this time was different, since in the
past, the province had only used the
threat of Order 1036, This time,
though, it was actually being used and
apparently no compensation would be
paid in what could be termed a “power
play’’ to finally resolve the issue.
Worrall stated, though, that if the
band was successful in fighting its
case, It would have no effect on other
bands who had already lost lands to
the province since they had all
invelved land surrenders and not
expropriation,
He also noted that the band was
secking clarification. of the terms of
Order 1036 since several sections are
“undefined’’. One of those is the
provision for*up to 1/20th of the
reserve to be taken, and Worrall
wanted to know if this referred to
1/20th of the total acreage of the
reserve, or whether it referred to the
province being able to take 1/20th of
the reserve every time it wanted land
on the reserve.
What began, originally, as an effort
to win better compensation has widen-
ed to challenge, for the first time, the
legality of a 39 year-old government
order.
THE TRIAL
Lawrence Page, one of the band's
lawyers, declared that the B.C. Su-
preme Court's decision in the case
would affect “every Indian and every
Indian band in the province’.
Page began the trial with the facts
that the people of the Lower Nicola
Band have occupied the Nicola Valley
since time immemorial. Beginning in
1868, he noted, they were placed on
918 acres of the Mamett Reserve, and
T other reserves for the use of the now
400 plus band members. He stated
that the reserves were established
under the sole control of the Federal
Government and the Indian Act, firat
passed in 1874, and said that the case
would be a question “of legislative
competence, not ownership’.
In the 19th century, and under the
terms of the Indian Reserve Commis-
aion, the provincial cabinet agreed to
accept the reserves as then laid out by
Commissioner Gilbert Sproat unless it
otherwise objected. It didn't, as Page
pointed out.
In tracing the history of the reserves
inthe Nicola Valley, the band's lawyer
stated that the size and location of the
Lower Nicola’s reserves were finalized
by the McKenna-McBride Commis-
sion, once it was agreed to by both
levels of government. (McKenna was a
commissioner appointed by the federal
government, and Richard McBride
was the Premier of the Province of
B.C.).
Page said the action by the province
in 1976 to “resume"’ portions of the
two reserves for the road widening was
beyond the powers [ultra vires] of the
provincial government. He said the
provincial Highways Act is also [ultra
vires] to the province because in both
cases the federal government has the
sole authority to deal with Indian
reserves and land surrenders.
With reference to the B.C. High-
ways Act, Page declared that the
provincial position was that the spend-
ing of public tax money on a road
meant it was a public highway and can
be widened to a 66 feet right-of-way.
He said, however, that the Highway
Act only applies, in this case, to speed
limits and the like, and not the
jurisdiction or control of the road.
Page's law partner, Bill Worrall,
then stated the band's position regard-
ing the two orders that were passed in
1976 (L487 & 1488), which supposedly
gives the province the right lo take “at
least 50 feet™ on either side of the
middle of the road for the widening
project. Orders 1487 & 1488 were
passed by Highways Minister Alex
Fraser and the Social Credit Cabinet
and were based on Order-In-Countil
1036 and P.C. 208, both passed in the
1930's,
Worrall began by noting that no
federal Jaw was ever passed which
approved Order 1036, giving the
province the right to take up to 1/20th
(5%) of any reserve lands under
federal control for public works,
He again stated that federal and
provincial laws had been passed which
approved the McKenna-McBride
Agreement, which gives the authority
for Indian reserve surrenders solely to
the federal government and the band
council,
As for P.C, 208, he stated that the
only power it has is as a law
specifically approving the McKenna-
McBride Agreement. He said that
P.C, 208 “would be of no force and
effect because it purports to give the
province the right to take reserve land
without consultation or approval.
If Orders 1487 and 1488 were valid,
then Worrall said they would not take
effect until the band surrendered the
lands in question because a surrender
is required belore passage of such an
order-in-council .
Naturally, he continued, the band
does not intend to surrender the lands,
and won't allow the province to enter
the reserve to survey the route to state
exactly which lands are being request-
ed to be surrendered,
Order-In-Council 1086 states that
land cannot be taken if it has homes,
buildings or improvements, and evi-
dence had been introduced showing
that there were several homes, gar-
dens, and root cellars on the land next
to the roadway.
Worrall stated that the provincial
cabinet did not know which lands or
building would be effected by the
passage of the orders in council, and
since they were acting in the absence
of complete information, their action
was ultra wires (beyond their power)
and that the orders were not reason-
able legislation.
Worrall also stated that Orders 1487
and 1488 were uncertain since they
said that aright of way of “at least 30
feet’ was needed. Order 1036, (the
authority for 1487 and 1488) states that
the maximum right of way is 66 feet,
and Worrall said this could mean the
government could ask for “200 feet"
on each side of the road. He said the
“Indians have the right to know
exactly how much land is wanted"’ and
called the two orders therefore,
oid",
Order 1036 states that road plans
must be submitted before the passage
of any orders-in-council taking reseve
land, and since plans for the Merritt-
Savana road widening had not been
submitted, Worrall said the two orders
are a “nullity” and not in accordance
with Order 1036.
He then questioned the basis of
Order 1036 since it contains no
provision for the resolving of any
differences between the band, the
Department of Indian Affairs, or the
provincial government.
There was also uncertainty in the
date the orders were to take effect,
Worrall stated since there was no date
stated in the wording of either 1487
and 1488, meaning the effective date
could mean immediately or when the
land is surrendered and returned to
the control of the province.
Concluding the band’s case, Worrall
said the federal government never
approved of Order 1036 and the taking
of Indian reserve land by the province,
and therefore, Order 1036 is "void"
If the court finds that Order 1036 is
valid, though, Worrall stated that 1487
and 1488 are not valid because they
lack the consent of the band in the
form of a land surrender. He continued
and said that “1487 and 1-488 are so
ambiguous they are incapable of
reasonable interpretalion’’ and are
“uncertain, unreasonable, and void".
And if the court decides the two
orders are valid, then Worrall argued
they would not take effect until the
exact lands are identified and they do
not give the province the right to
trespass on the lands until there is an
agreement by all three parties.
Using the services of the law firm of
Ladner Downes to defend themselves
against the court action, the province
argued that beginning with the
McKenna-McBride Commission, both
levels of government had agreed to the
work in an effort to “‘setile all
differences’ concerning the Indian
land question.
The province argued that the Crown
actually holds title to all the land in the
province, and by the passage of orders
L487 and 1488, were only “regaining
Dominion” or “reassuming™’ control
of the land in question.
Continuing, the province argued
that when lands in B.C. were first
granted to whites by pre-emption, they
were granted under the condition that
1/20th of anyone's land could be taken .
without consullation or compensation
and used for public works. (In general
practise, though, the province usually
uses the authority of the Highway Act
and negotiates the issue of compensa-
tion with the land owners.)
As to whether the orders passed by
the provincial cabinet could over-rule
federal law, the lawyer for the prov-
ince said that they were not subord-
inate pieces of legislation, and said the
cabinet action was legal, although he
admitted that it may not have been
“polite” in terms of consultation.
The lawyer also stated that the 50
feet of right- ol-way referred to in the
orders “might infringe on some gar-
dens” and might be “inconveniently
close to some buildings’’. As a
suggestion, the province then argued
that the road could either be curved
around the buildings, or the houses
could be moved.
Concluding, the province asked the
court to declare that the government
did have the right to pass the orders in
countil and suggested that the parties
involved later negotiate the details of
road construction and compensation.
The Federal Government's role in
the case proved to be unusual. When
the band originally sued the province,
the Federal Government was asked to
be a partner to the band in suing the
province over the rights it claimed to
take federal reserve land without the
approval of the federal government.
During the year that it took the case to
come to trial, a great deal of confusion
between the Department of Indian
Affairs and the Federal Justice De-
partment finally resulted in the band
dropping the Federal Government as a
partner in the suit and ending up with
the Federal Government as a co-de-
fendant in the case.
- NESIKA |
January /Febraary 1977 19
Yukon Talks Start A
Negotiations between the Council
for Yukon Indians and the Federal and
Territorial Governments have begun
again, but on a much different basis,
The Twelve Communities
called a “planning process"’.
In the past, the three parties set
[ot caow | wrirmrorst |! camcross [— moss riven Hpawson L LARD |
down their basic negotiating positions
and tried to reach an agreement from
the three sets of positions, The
planning process was proposed by the
Government and accepted "on a trial
basis’’ by the Council for Yukon
Indians (CYI), The new planning
process involved the CY setting forth
| Tesune | xLUAne -fotanrncret PHLLY |] mavo |_[cammacs. |
The General Assembly
SIXTY ELECTED DELEGATES AND TWO APPOINTENS (YW, YANSI) |
|
The Board of Directors
the goals and objectives of the Yukon
Indian people and having a co-opera-
V2 ELECTOR DIRECTORS
TWO APPOINTEES: YUKON MATIVE BROTHERHOOD,
YUKON ASSOCIATION OF HOM-STATUS INDIANS.
tive attempt by all three parties to
reach a satisfactory settlement of the
halive people's goals.
Heading up the negotiations will be
|
The staff and Negotiators
a three-person Planning Council - CYI
Chairman Daniel Johnson, Dr. John
EXECUTIVE
CHIEF MIGOTIATOR
LEGAL
CONSULTANT
Naysmith representing the Federal
Orfice
MANAGER [J
ENROLMENT
OFFICER
Government, and Commissioner Art
Pearson represen ng the Yukon Terri-
RESERACER
THO eo
NEGOTIATORS. AMAA A THs
torial Government. The members of
the Planning Council will be responsi-
ble to their respective Executives and
will have a number of working groups
that will research and report to the
Planning Council on specific subjects.
Nepotiations inthe Yukon had been
suspended since last summer when
the CYL went through a re-organiza-
tion. Community leaders in the Yukon
wanted more people involvement and
responsibility in the negotiations, and
the talks were suspended while a
number of constitutional changes were
made in the CY] to that effect.
The CYI is currently carrying out a
community education and information
program in the Yukon native commun-
ities, The communications effort of the
CY! involves six people producing
written and audio-visual material to be
used in a series of intensive workshops
to be held in all native communities in
the territory. In addition to distribut-
ing information about all aspects of
development and the land claims issue
lo the native people, the communica-
tions program of the CYI is also to
4 Notice of U NN Annual Assembly. |
iat Ti TPT eat feet Soe Me Poe Pe Ae na ry ee
mual Assembly.
‘| This is to inform you that the dates of the Annual Assembly have been
=) changed. The Board of Directors had previously decided to hold the Assembly
ey in Vancouver from June 10-13, 1977. At the most recent Board of Directors’ |
|E] meeting it was decided to poll the membership of the UNN as to their |
preference from among three other dates. The other proposed dates are:
(ei beer ite
fel vate |
| conTact PERSONS IN EACH COMMUNITY |
1
COUNCIL FOR YUKON INDIANS
1) June 24-27, 1977
2) July 1-4, 1977 \
3)July 8-11, 1977
=} _ You are asked to indicate your preference from among the three dates by
4 filling in the enclosed card-and returning it to us as s00n as possible. 3
=] 06 The Board of Directors also felt that a location other than Vancouver might &
i be preferable. Places like Prince George, Williams Lake, Kamloops, &
“) Penticton, Kelowna and others were mentioned as possibilities. A space has
. location. :
&j The Board of Directors further decided that the Annual Assembly should be fa
=) more than just a ‘political’ meeting. It waa the feeling of the Board that we fg
Bj all should attempt to make the Assembly a gathering where Indian peoples [e
Ej can get together and share their separate cultures; including languages,
q dances, songs, foods and philosophies. It is hoped that the gathering will E
_ ide a forum in which Indian peoples can exchange ideas about Aboriginal &
aj] Rights and Land Claims in all its aspects. Tribal or Regional presentations
fy and displays along with films, video-tapes, works and speakers in ©
<1 addition to the “political” business will hopefully make the Assembly —
qj] an event where Indian peoples can come to appreciate each others’ F
4 differences while helping each other to work towards solutions to common &
=| The Board and UNN head office will require a great deal of assistance from
“y everyone in preparing for the Assembly. We are. asking you now to start
=j thinking about how you can help make the Assembly successful. E
=| Weare presently considering how we may best use what money we have §
=j available to ensure that as many Indian people as possible can get to the &
4) Assembly. We are trying to encourage people to bring their children and all &
a1 other members of their family as well. -
3 We are exploring the idea of renting buses to bring people from all parts of
B) the province. We intend to provide camp grounds for those who do not want E
3] to, or cannot afford to, stay in hotels.
# As mentioned earlier, we look to all of you for help. You may begin such 4
j assistance by filling out the card and mailing it back to us. All it requires is a F
4] minute of your time and a lQcent postage stamp. a
4 Thanking you in advance, | remain,
Yours truly, :
Bill Wilson, 4
President
UNITED NATIVE NATIONS &
| been provided on the card for you to indicate your preference for the 4
gather the reactions and feelings of the
native people about these issues and
report them to the CYI. The first such
community workshop was held in
Watson Lake in early February.
While the land claims negotiations
are to be dealt with in the planning
process, the Planning Council has
been empowered to deal with side
issues such as education, health, social
RETVICES, GLC.
The Yukon land claim negotiations
stem from the 1972 presentation of
their basic position to the Federal
Government called "Together Today
For Our Children Tomorrow", and CY
Executive Director Paul Birckel states
that their basic position - the goals that
the governments are now trying to
®
achieve in the planning process -
hasn't changed very much.
The February issue of the Stale
Nation News summarized some of the
CYI's proposal to the government:
1)The basis of eligibility to partict-
pate in the settlement is '4 Indian
blood, with ancestry in the Yukon back
to 1941,
2) A Yukon General Native Council
will be established to control the
monies received from settlement, and
the responsibility and control of the
assets and cash will be gradually
turned over to the local native com-
munities,
3) A Central Indian Fund will be
established, with 15% of all taxes and
revenues collected by the government
from fishing, logging, and industry, to
be paid into the fund. It is also
proposed that 3% or 5% of the fetal
vaiue of all oil, natural gas, and
mineral production be paid into the
fund.
4)Lands selected by each village will
include the surface and sub-surface
rights and cannot be sold by the village
councils,
That same report stated that “after
10 years, all DIA programs are to be
turned over to the Yukon General
Native Council, with no guarantees of
continued Federal funding.”
Also included as part of the Indians’
proposal was the statement that:
“alter 25 years, Indian lands are taxed
and Indians must pay income taxes
and all other local taxes."*
CYI Executive Director Birckel
alates that the last two stalements are
not true and that they may have been
confused with what the Yukon Terri-
torial Government was suggesting as a
model for settlement. Under the new
planning process, the Territorial pro-
posal and the Federal proposal (similar
to the James Bay agreement) are no
longer being discussed.
NESIKA
Is your address label red-cireled?
If so, then this will be the last issue
you receive until we hear from you.
While we would appreciate a dona-
tion, this is net a demand for money,
but a demand for greater involvement
from our readers, If you want to
continue receiving the paper, then we
are asking for some involvement on
your part by contributing something
to the production of the next issue.
Almost anything will do - articles,
letters to the editor, photos (pictures
from magazines and newspapers will
do), press clippings (name and date of
paper included), artwork, mailing
lists (postal codes too), change of
address, minutes of meetings - even
money will do.
Thanks to the generosity of many
who cared to send along a donation
recently, we were able to meet this
issue's type-seting, printing, and pos-
tage bills - about $950 this time. Since
these expenses are not government-
funded, we must rely on our readers
for support to continue publishing,
The next issue won't be type-set or
printed until enough money in dona- §
tions is received. Likewise, the paper
won't be mailed out until the dona-
tions cover the postage bill,
The aim of this paper is to be an
independent journal devoted to the
land claims movement, and more
importantly, to the survival of Indian
peoples, Indian cultures, and Indian
Nations. It is meant to be an open
forum for anyone to discuss any
bookkeeping, teller, and typing duties
for the B.C. Native People’s Credit
Union, Previous banking or credit
union experience an asset. Resumes |
must be submitted to the President, J
B.C. Native People’s Credit Union,
#415 - 193 East Hastings S1, Vancou- |
ver, B.C., by April 1, 1977.
CORNER
matter related to the land claims
theme, and everyone is invited to take
part.
One problem we experienced this
issue was our inability to cover a
number of recent developments in the
land claims field - the negotiations
with the Stuart-Trembelur people, the
Musqueam Endowment Lands Claim,
not to mention, the several new
developments with the Inuit, Metis
and Dene people in the N.W.T. Our
efforts to cover land claims develop-
ments in distant places are hindered
by the thousands of miles that
separates us from the tar north
and east. Readers in those areas can
help us report news from your area by
sending us the information we would
not ordinarily see here in Vancouver.
This issue was produced with vol-
unteer labour by native people who
are concerned and involved in the
land claims movement and you are
invited to help them: Fern, Shirley,
Pauline, Brian, and Jean.
Help Wanted
Mature person wanted to handle
Part of Nesika: The Voice of B.C. Indians -- January/February 1977