Periodical
Indian World - volume 3, number 5 (August, 1980)
- Title
- Indian World - volume 3, number 5 (August, 1980)
- Is Part Of
- 1.06-01.04 Indian World
- 1.06.-01 Newsletters and bulletins sub-series
- Date
- August 1980
- volume
- 3
- issue
- 5
- Language
- english
- Identifier
- 1.06-01.04-02.08
- pages
- 44
- Table Of Contents
-
Editorial......................................2
Sekani Days................................6
President's Message............................7
Nishgas fight to protect Fishing Grounds......8
Munro's Flying Visit to Interior Bands...........10
"Change Socio-Economic Thinking"
Demands at NIB Assembly...................11
NIB Elections...........................11
Our World...................................12
Band Resources don't have to Conflict:
Canim Lake Trappers Study..................14
Bridge River Fish-in...........................16
Fish Management:
Washington/B.C. Share Information..........16
Jay Treaty...................................17
Fisheries Mix Up Priorities.................18
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT................19-26
Aboriginal Rights Position...................20
Indian Government Manifesto...............24
Atlin Band...................................27
The Way—Sharing............................28
Taking Justice into our Own Hands..............30
Indian Health: Beating the Odds.................33
New Family and Child Service Act...............33
Up-Dates ... .................................35
Rodeo!......................................36
Resource Centre..............................38
Teaching Our Teachers........................39
Youth Gathering at Owl Rock................... 40
Help Wanted.................................41
The Heart of our Culture is our Language ........42
12th Annual General Assembly..................43 - Contributor
- s Faye Edgar
- Darrell Ned
- Pauline Douglas
- Canim Lake Trappers
- Ts'zil Board
- Philip Paul
- Archie Pootlass
- Bill Mussel
- Francis Johnson
- Joanne Dixon
- Jerry Patrick
- K'san Dancers
- Bobby Manuel
- Herman Thomas
- Faye Blaney
- Ron Dan
- Bess Brown
- Millie Poplar
- Debbie Joe
- Jeff Smith
- Glen Williams
- Sylvia Woods
- Willard Martin
- Sadie Wornstaff
- Buddy Napoleon
- Pee Wee Gottfriedson
- Gail Stump
- Val Dudoward
- Mary Schendlinger
- Angeline Eagle
- Type
- periodical
- Transcription (Hover to view)
-
INDIAN WORLD
"THE CHOICE IS OURS"
UBCIC N E W S
$1.00
AUGUST,
1980
EDITORIAL
So often, at political meetings and during political
discussions, I have heard our people say over and
over again that our society has always been a matriarchal society, a society in which the bloodline is determined by the woman; a society in which women have
always had influence in terms of political decisionmaking. And yet, at these meetings and during these
discussions, women are present to make coffee,
arrange lunches, register delegates and handle travel
arrangements. Are we not talking in one language
and acting in another?
Our political leaders are usually men; women play
the "support roles." The laws of this country remain
unequal in terms of Indian women being "punished"
for marrying outside of our race, while Indian men
"pass on" their bloodline to the white women they
marry and the children they have. All this is in direct
opposition to most of the matriarchal tribal traditions of this country.
The defense of non-action taken by political leaders, phrases like "we can't separate our struggle by
recognizing only the struggles of women" or "we
have to stick together" or "we have to make sure of
what we're doing before we change the Indian Act"
have become the jaded code-words of procrastination.
The truth is, until Indian women are treated as
human beings, both in Indian and non-Indian, or
federal-provincial government law, there is really no
Indian movement. A movement is a movement of the
people. "The people" includes the more than 50%
female Indian population among our nations.
Looking at the non-Indian society, the problems
there tend to be magnified within the Indian community, and among minority populations within any
majority society. So problems like unemployment,
alcoholism, family problems, are intensified in our
community. And the problems that women in main-
stream society face are hundreds of times more
stressful among Indian women: poverty, abuse by
men, family breakdowns, employment problems—
Indian women are being crushed by these things. We
need the support of the entire Indian community.
If we're really talking about a movement of the
people, of all our people who want to be involved,
then let's be realistic about the situation as it now
stands. Surely we don't want to lose more women to
the mainstream society; this has been happening because many of our women don't feel they have the
recognition, or employment or political opportunities, within our own organizations.
It's past time for our leaders and the people to
seriously meet this challenge, to begin meeting the
reality of today's Indian women, and not yesterday's
illusion. We're still waiting, a little less patiently, but
just as anxiously, for that true moment of political
unity.
We must take the responsibility to tell our leaders
at the community and provincial levels to begin
working for what we want; we have to give them
direction. And they must be responsive to our needs,
because without us, their goals would be hollow and
false. Indian Government means responsibility, and
a part of meeting that responsibility means ensuring
that women have the roles we want and deserve in
our people's political work. Both women and men
still must tackle the responsibility of redefining our
political and personal relationships to each other.
Without good seed and good earth, the tall tree won't
grow.
by Val Dudoward
(Communications
Co-ordinator)
O U R C O V E R : The Indian Government flag was raised at the Bridge River Fish In to give strength and hope in
our fight to save our fishing for our children. (See page 16 for story).
Do you have a picture for the cover of our "Indian World"? See inside for competition details.
INDIAN
WORLD
I N D I A N W O R L D is the official voice of the Union
of British Columbia Indian Chiefs.
It is dedicated to building a strong foundation for
Indian Government by providing an awareness of the
political and social issues affecting the Indians of
British Columbia.
Signed articles and opinions are the views of the
individuals concerned and not necessarily those of the
UBCIC.
V O L U M E 3 NUMBER 5
Table of Contents
Photo: D. Hoggan
Chief Sam Baptiste of Osoyoos and Xavier Eugene
of Windemere take a break from the NIB Assembly
last month to enjoy the Prairie space (see page 11).
Contributors
Editors: Faye Edgar and Darrell Ned
Assistant Editor: Pauline Douglas
Written contributions: Canim Lake Trappers, Ts'zil
Board, Philip Paul, Archie Pootlass, Bill Mussel,
Francis Johnson, Joanne Dixon and Jerry Patrick,
K'san Dancers, Bobby Manuel, Herman Thomas,
Faye Blaney, R o n D a n , Bess Brown, Millie Poplar,
Debbie Joe, Jeff Smith, Glen Williams, Sylvia Woods,
Willard Martin, Sadie Wornstaff, Buddy Napoleon,
Pee Wee Gottfriedson, Gail Stump, and V a l Dudoward
Photographs: U B C I C staff unless credited
Typesetting: M a r y Schendlinger
Editorial.
2
Sekani Days
6
President's Message
7
Nishgas fight to protect Fishing Grounds
8
Munro's Flying Visit to Interior Bands
10
"Change Socio-Economic T h i n k i n g "
Demands at N I B Assembly
11
N I B Elections
. . . . . . 1 1
Our W o r l d
12
Band Resources don't have to Conflict:
Canim Lake Trappers Study
14
Bridge River Fish-in
16
Fish Management:
Washington/B.C. Share Information
16
Jay Treaty
17
Fisheries M i x U p Priorities
18
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
Aboriginal Rights Position
Indian Government Manifesto
19-26
20
24
A t l i n Band
The Way—Sharing
Taking Justice into our O w n Hands
Indian Health: Beating the Odds
New Family and Child Service A c t
Up-Dates . . . .
Rodeo!...
Resource Centre
Teaching Our Teachers
Youth Gathering at O w l Rock
Help Wanted
The Heart of our Culture is our Language
12th A n n u a l General Assembly
27
28
.30
33
33
35
.36
38
39
40
.41
42
43
Supplement Illustrations by Angeline Eagle
INDIAN W O R L D 3
Child
Apprehensions
JUDGE
SENDS
CHILDREN
BACK
HOME
Nearly every Indian community is
having to work out its own way of
coping with non-Indian welfare
workers who have fixed ideas of how
children should be raised and by
whom.
Where they don't see their
own values in place, they feel most
strongly that our children would be
better off in white foster homes.
The misunderstandings and fears
between Indian families and often
well-intentioned
welfare
workers
were much in evidence in the Fort
Ware area in early August. A member
of the UBCIC legal task force, and
her one year old son, were up there
for a Treaty 8 workshop. She was
asked to visit Mrs. Lillian Masselto to
discuss the problems of child apprehension and on her way over to the
house her son began to cry. While she
was trying to make him feel better, 9
year old Ida Masselto came up to
him, "Don't cry baby, welfare will
get you." Families are walking
around with a lot of fear.
INDIAN W O R L D 4
Parents and Grandparents Win
Custody of Children at least
Until Trial Date
The next day eight cases of child
apprehension were due to be heard at
court in McKenzie. This was the first
day of the proceedings, where the
apprehended children and their
parents have to be at court to fix a
date for trial or to decide if the parents want the children to be temporarily or permanently placed in the
care of the welfare, without having a
hearing. All the parents and grandparents were in McKenzie to seriously
fight all the cases.
The first case involved a woman
who had said that she would give up
her child for adoption, but as soon as
the baby was born, she had changed
her mind. Welfare apprehended the
baby saying the mother didn't have
the skills to be a mother. UBCIC
lawyer argued that there are people in
the mother's own community to teach
her those skills. It was a really fierce
battle.
The social worker would not,
for a long time, admit that there was
anybody in the community who could
help out! Finally it was agreed that
mother and baby should return home
and there would be a review in two
weeks to see that the baby was all
right.
Isn't Dried Moose Meat Good
Food?
The second case involved four
children who had been apprehended
from the grandparents' house. The
social worker said that she had found
them 'dirty and hungry." The lawyer
had visited the grandparents' house—
and there was a lot of dried meat
hanging from the rafters which the
social worker had not considered.
There was a lot of food. No one in the
community has running water and the
notion of "clean" was just a question
of values. The social worker again
strongly opposed it. The people felt
that, if there was a problem, then it
was one that could be handled by the
community.
The judge agreed and
ordered the children to return home
until the final trial date. He asked,
however,
that
the
community,
through the Chief and Council, send
down weekly reports on the children
in the meantime.
Grandparents' Rights
The last case was also won. This
also involved a grandmother whose
three children had been taken away.
Non-Indian courts don't recognize
authority and rights of grandparents
for their grandchildren. So although
the two elder children were returned
the case was put over till September
till the mother could appear for the
case of the baby.
Differing Notions of Jurisdiction
and Values
The whole situation of differing
social values and differing ideas
about responsibilities and authority
was there. In each case, however, the
judge decided not so much on
question of jurisdiction but on the
question of the best interests of the
children. A s a result of these arguments the social Worker did approach
the Band to see i f they could improve
their working relationship.
Community Responsibility
One of the major points of the day
was that the judge confirmed that the
community should take the responsibility for the welfare of their children.
" W e thought we should be more involved with i t , " commented Chief
Harry Chingee, "It's only since last
winter that our public is noticing it
and remarking that the chief and
council should look into the matter.
So the chiefs in our area are going to
get together and see what we can
come up with. We do have some cases
that are bad, but most are not. Y o u
know it's often a case of civil servants
looking out more for their own jobs \
than for the welfare of our children.
They haven't talked to us. We would
like to see the Chief and Council involved more: we don't want to be left
out of the decision-making.
A n d we would like to see the U B C I C
involved politically to support us."
The Chiefs and Council will be
meeting through "Sekani D a y s " to
look at other Band laws on child protection and to draw up a statement of
their position.
INDIAN JUSTICE
SYSTEM
On July 20, 1980, the regulations regarding the Spallumcheen children
became their Band's law. The
document is written in both English
and Shuswap. It spells out very
clearly the community's authority
and responsibility to make sure their
children are taken care of within
their own community. The Spallumcheen Band will have exclusive jurisdiction over any child custody proceeding involving any child who is a
member of the Band, no matter
where the child is or has been living.
INDIAN W O R L D 5
SEKANI DAYS
O n August 21st and 22nd the Seka¬
ni Nation had a gathering on M c L e o d
Lake Reserve. People travelled a lot
of miles to get to M c L e o d Lake from
Fort Ware to Ingenika to Finlay
Forks by boat then by car.
O n the first day the Chiefs and
Band members had a meeting. A s
Harry Chingee said, "The gathering
here is to educate my people on our
rights for Land C l a i m s . " This was
the second gathering in the last 3
years. It's only the beginning and
they plan to have many more, to get
stronger as a Nation. Nick Prince
said, "Gatherings like this happen
only because of you people, get together, talk and get ideas then bring it
home and tell your Chief. A Chief
cannot do it alone. We have to work
together to survive and keep our culture alive."
It was such a beautiful sunny day,
on the first day of the gathering. A s
the meeting got started, " S e k a n i "
(their Eagle) flies over. A s Pearly
Tylee says, " O h that's Sekani. He
always comes and checks up on us."
The ladies were busily preparing the
meals, bannock, deer meat, fish,
beaver meat, moose meat, bear
meat, potatoes, salads, vegetables,
home made bread, cinnamon buns,
baked cakes, huckleberry pie and
much more which were so tasty and
filling. They were thanked heartily by
INDIAN W O R L D 6
all the people there for all the work
they did to feed us all.
The D o h D a Dee C l a Friendship
Centre from Prince George added
good spirit with their dancers which
some of the Band members have
joined. Then later in the evening
people played the L a ' H a l game and
turned in for the night i n their tents.
This year because of developers
going through Sekani land, overlog¬
ging the land they are feeling very
threatened as they rely so much on
the land and wildlife (a good example
is a Prince George Company getting
charged $450,000 for overlogging the
area in 1979). This year the people are
finding it very hard to hunt moose,
and are relying on last year's stock
for meat. They are worried it will be a
rough winter.
The government and developers have
never asked Sekani Indians to go
through their land or to log over
someone's
trapline. The Sekani
Nation has never given up their light
to the land, they still own the land.
The trapping and fur-trading the
Sekani people did in 1824, the same
amount is still done today. This
proves how much the Sekani people
live off the land for their livelihood.
A s A n d y Solonas Senior said it is
for our children and grandchildren
that we must exercise our right to the
land and protect it.
PRESIDENT'S
MESSAGE
Why has the Union o f B . C . Indian Chiefs lasted this
long despite all the different attacks it has had from
various quarters? Simply because the majority of Bands
have been successful in coming together and bringing
about effective change i n policy areas. W i t h the collective
strength of other Bands under the U n i o n o f B . C . Indian
Chiefs, many communities have stopped the negative
efforts of big governments i n areas o f policy or
detrimental government projects.
The Union o f B . C . Indian Chiefs has done this without
raising loud banners o f self praise but i n many instances
has proceeded very quietly, providing the necessary
technical assistance and helping a community on to victory with a particular struggle.
This approach has been so effective that the word in
Ottawa among high ranking ministers o f the Federal
government is that the U n i o n o f B . C . Indian Chiefs has
to be destroyed at all costs. The Regional Director of
Indian Affairs, M r . Fred Walchli has been using Indian
Affairs money and programs to counter any approaches
put forward by the member Bands of the U n i o n . The
Regional Director has successfully organized all the
opposers to the Union into a Regional Forum to strengthen the opposition to the U n i o n .
The Federal Fisheries under the directorship o f Wally
Johnson has denied the U n i o n any research funding for
Indian fishing despite the many charges and apparent
problems in the Indian fishing throughout the Province.
Philip Paul, Portfolio Head for Education, presents
Larry Pierre with a blanket at the Special Assembly on
Education at Penticton between June 16-21, 1980.
with the collective strength that has brought us through in
the past. The strength of our ancestors will be passed to
the next generation.
Yours in Brotherhood,
Vice President for South-Western Region
This is just a few examples of how the government is
curtailing the effectiveness of the U n i o n . The Federal
government is cowardly using our own people against us
but I have full confidence that the majority will see
through the Federal government strategy and respond
Philip Paul
INDIAN W O R L D 7
" W e can say right now the A m a x
mining company has offered us a
share in their mine and our share is
going to be death. It's going to
mean death to our people because
our food chain will have been contaminated. We even say now that
our entire fishery, the commercial
fishery, of this whole northwest is
being threatened." (James Gosnell,
President, Nishga Tribal Council)
NISHGAS FIGHT TO
PROTECT FISHING
GROUNDS
Company Plans on Unsurrendered Land
spending money on tailing ponds for
the waste. By next summer, A m a x
plans to have 450 employees there.
Construction work has already begun
and already a $40,000 satellite receiving station has been installed for all
movie T . V . channels from San Francisco. According to a Financial Post
article on A m a x , sports hunters at the
construction site " w h o have just enjoyed a heavy run of spring salmon,
can hardly wait for the new road to
open up what promises to be
exceptional moose hunting."
The Nishga Tribal Council has
spent July and August visiting other
Indian organizations, environmental
groups and talking to the media,
organizing support for their fight
against
the
reopening
of
the
molybdenum mine in Alice A r m . The
area that would be affected is part of
the Nishga land claim. The Kitsault
mine and townsite is an area where
some Nishga Chiefs have traditionally had hunting and fishing camps.
The access road, running 22 miles
from the Stewart-Terrace highway,
runs right through the unsurrendered
land. Yet not once have the Nishga
people been consulted, let alone
offered participation in the A m a x
Company's plans. When they did
mention that this land is unsurrendered Indian land, the company cried
unfair, and accused the Tribal Council of using the mining plans as
leverage in their land claims negotiations. The company claims this is a
Federal/Provincial problem and does
not see their plans for the mine as
having any relevance to the situation.
Amax Acts as if the Nishga
Didn't Exist
The mine operated between 1968
and 1972. Since it was discovered that
molybdenum is useful i n strengthening steel, the price has gone up to
$10.00 a pound. A m a x of Canada
L t d . bought the mine and plans to put
it back into operation in 1981/82.
The Kitsault mine is on Alice A r m ,
about 130 miles north of Prince R u pert. The company plans to spend
millions on developing the town and
building the road; but it won't be
INDIAN WORLD 8
License to pollute based on
wrong information
especially against those of the Federal
Fisheries A c t , the Metal Mining L i quid Effluent regulations. Yet, Amax
has received an exemption by an
Order-in-Council from the former
Liberal government.
Under the
Federal Fisheries regulations 25 parts
per million of suspended matter in the
water
is
the
maximum. The
exemption puts no maximum, though
provincial regulations do put on a
400,000 parts per million restriction!
The Order-in-Council permits discharge of a hundred million tons of
mill process effluent into Alice A r m
where, according to the study prepared for the Company, it would
settle on the bottom of the inlet and
in time be covered up by river silting.
According to the same study, the
waste products (containing arsenic,
lead, mercury, cadmium and radium
226) are not detrimental to marine
life. A n d according to this study,
there is no native food fishery at Alice
Arm.
N o independent study was asked
for, nor further information required
from Federal Fisheries. N o socioeconomic or environmental impact
study was required. The Nishga people were not asked to give their evidence.
The company has never considered
training or employing Nishga people:
it has never considered any possible
benefits to them, or profit sharing
with them. A m a x has acted all along
as i f the Nishga people were not there
at all.
Once they found out about it, only
4-5 months ago, Nishga Tribal Council was able to document inaccuracies
and inadequacies in this study that
show it to be worthless as evidence on
which to base a pollution exemption.
Special Exemption to Pollute
Currents Will Spread Tailings
What is most alarming, however, is
the company's plan to dump mine
tailings right into the inlet. This is
against all pollution regulations and
A U B C oceanographer pointed out
evidence of heavier, saltier water
flowing into the inlet mixing up the
water and sediments. The Utah Mines
•
L t d . had made a claim that their tailings would also settle permanently
into one basin: they've been proved
wrong.
Mine Wastes Have Wiped Out
Marine Life in Quatsino Sound
The Indian people of Quatsino
Sound and Hallbourg Inlet and all the
areas affected by Utah mines waste
say their marine resources have been
virtually wiped out by the tailings.
The study for testing how poisonous
is the discharge into Alice A r m is
deficient, claims the Tribal Council:
trout are kept in the effluent for 96
hours and if not more than50%of the
fish die, the effluent passes the lethality (fatality) test. However, there has
been no study of long term effects,
and scientists say that the poison can
stay in an organism for a couple of
years and accumulate up to lethal
levels. The effect of accumulation of
toxic substances over a period of 50100 years is just not known.
Track Record of Pollution
Amax's track record in pollution
fines and in not obeying pollution
regulations gives the Tribal Council
further cause for alarm. They documented a record of nine instances
where the company was fined heavily
or taken to court for contamination
of water resources, damage to the
land and/or polluting the air.
Finally, the Nishgas are challenging
the study's statement that local Indians do not fish in the area. H a d
anyone asked the Nishga fisheries
department of even Federal Fisheries
they would have found that 2,000
Nishga get a portion of their diet
from Alice A r m and that for at least
212 Kincolith people, it is a very
significant portion. There is no mention of the clams or cockles fishery:
yet in one month last summer, over
three tons of cockles and three tons of
clams were taken by Kincolith people
from Alice A r m . The study talks of
five Dungeness crabs being taken in
40 days of fishing: yet five Kincolith
boats took 92 Dungeness crabs within
a week, with one or two pots each,
while digging for clams.
Demand for Immediate
Moratorium
The Nishga Tribal Council is calling for an immediate moratorium on
Amax's proposed marine disposal
system. If tailing ponds are unsafe in
the rainy and unstable mountains,
they say then another way must be
PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST
THEME: INDIAN GOVERNMENT
1st Prize—35 m m camera
2nd Prize—Cassette tape recorder
3rd P r i z e — A M / F M R a d i o
5 Honourable Mentions—$20.00 each
RULES:
1. The contest is open to all B.C. Indians,
2. The minimum size o f photograph submitted should
measure 8 x 10.
3. A l l photographs submitted to the contest must be
taken by the person entering the contest.
4. Photographs submitted to the contest shall not be
mounted.
5. The contest is closed to a l l U B C I C staff plus photo¬
graphers o f magazines and newspapers whether they
are employees or freelancing,
6. The deadline for entries into the photography cont¬
test is October 1st, 1980.
For more information please contact Reg Percival
UNION OF BRITISH C O L U M B I A INDIAN CHIEFS
found.
" W e are astonished," stated the
Tribal Council in a telex to Fisheries
Minister Romeo LeBlanc, "that your
government could subject our people
to such risk, without the slightest consultation with us. It has become evident that the information upon which
you and your Cabinet based your decision
was
incomplete
and
misleading... We will not sit back
and watch while we are made into
guinea pigs in an environmental
experiment undertaken with such
reckless disregard for our health and
our way of l i f e . "
This has become more than an Indian issue, says the Tribal Council.
This multi-national company is about
to completely smother and contaminate the sea life of one of B . C . ' s most
beautiful
fjords.
Many
environmental groups have come out
in support of the Nishgas' struggle.
They are demanding that the Federal
Government immediately revoke the
Alice A r m Order-in-Council and
demanding a full and public inquiry
into the impact of the Amax proposal.
The Nishga Tribal Council is asking
for support in the form of written
letters to the Minister of Fisheries to
back their demands.
I.C.G.
An Indianowned general
development
consulting
group
(Indian Consulting Group) Ltd.
•
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Economic feasibility studies
Preparation of funding proposals
Project planning/implementation
Socio-economic impact analysis
Negotiations with government/industry
Band organization and training
225-744 West Hastings Street
Vancouver
V 6 C 1A5
(604) 682-7615
INDIAN W O R L D 9
MUNRO'S
FLYING VISIT
WITH INTERIOR
BANDS
Report from Lynn Jorgensson,
Nicola Indian
Leaders of the Central Interior
Tribal Council were supposed to meet
in Kamloops with John M u n r o , M i n i ster of Indian Affairs on the evening
of July 31st. That meeting was cancelled but a few well-placed phone
calls revealed that most of the top
level Regional office staff also happened to be in Kamloops that evening. They had not been invited
However, the tightly scheduled
next day went well and Interior leaders felt that a good deal was accomplished. Because the people had felt
their requirements would be understood better i f the Minister was actually at their Bands to see conditions
for himself, the tour was made by
helicopter.
Erosion at North Thompson
The first stop was to inspect river
bank erosion at the North Thompson
reserve. 100 acres have been eroded
since 1878. The Province refuses to
help since this is on Indian land.
Special A r d a is doing a feasibility
study
but federal funding would
be required.
The next stop was Lillooet. (p.17)
Lytton School
When the Minister met with Chief
Nathan Spinks of Lytton, it was to
discuss the leasing of former Indian
residential school, St. Georges, to a
non-Indian. The people feel the
lease was badly handled by the D I A
and that the lessee is abusing his privileges. John Munro promised to help
terminate the lease and turn the
school land to reserve lands. Sharon
Spinks spoke o f the problems their
children are experiencing in the Provincial school system: the Band wants
their M T A dollars returned to the Indians. " W e contribute money to the
school via the M T A , we should be
able to do something," responded the
Minister.
INDIAN W O R L D 10
Upper Nicola Concerns on Constitutional Representation
A t the Shulus kindergarten, Chief
George Saddleman of the Upper
Nicola Band and chairman of the
local Area Council,
spoke of
his concern that the Minister alone
would not be able to adequately represent Indian people at constitutional
talks. It was certain that the B . C .
government would not even try. He
called for Indian
representation
there. Finally a pair of beautiful
buckskin gloves made by Shulee
Kilroy was presented to the Minister.
NVIA: Trial Operation Outside DIA
A t the Nicola Valley Indian administration, Chief Gordon Antoine of
the Coldwater Band spoke for an
agreement for long-term Indian
government that would lessen a lot of
red tape. He suggested a trial budget
for local Bands there to operate outside of the department. The minister
gave his support for the idea.
The Significance of Spotted
Lake
A t this stage, Chief Wayne Christian accompanied the Minister on an
unscheduled ride over Spotted Lake.
Minister was trying to understand the
spiritual value of the lake and it
strengthened his interest in buying
back the lake as a "commonage
reserve."
Back in Kamloops, D o n Moses presented the C I T C " R e d B o o k " for
Band Delivery of Services; and Gerald Etienne of the South Central Area
Council presented the Hat Creek
Statement of Risk. John Munroe
guaranteed support.
Core Funding
Herman Phillips of Boston Bar
called for an annual increase of 10%
core funding to keep up with inflation. A s well, when it comes to
per capita funding, B . C . and Ontario
are definitely down at the bottom.
While John Munro pledged to put
things up to a more equal footing, he
warned that it would take 3 or 4
years.
Return of Cut Off Lands Agreed
To But Not Forthcoming
Chief Morris Kruger of Penticton
Band brought up the question of cutoff lands. For his Band this involved
11,000 acres. The Band had accepted
the provincial government's offer of
last year but it seems that each government was waiting for the other to
act and nothing was happening.
Similkameen Erosion
Chiefs Barnie Allison of Lower
Similkameen and Slim Allison of
Upper Similkameen spoke of their
river erosion problem. Special A r d a
had already contributed 75% of the
necessary funding to resolve the
problem and needs a federal contribution of 25%. This was guaranteed.
Alaska Highway Pipeline
It was the problems connected to
the Alaska Highway Pipeline that
concerned Chief Sophie Pierre, chairperson of the Kootenay Indian Area
Council. They had presented two
submissions to Ottawa and had heard
nothing. The Kootenay people felt
that they are going to feel the brunt
of the construction problems and
they at least want
meaningful
employment on the project. The
Minister promised to follow up
Membership: A Band Decision
Under section 4 of the Indian
Act, the Chief can call a moratorium
on section 12 by a simple B C R , which
then leaves the decision in Band
hands.
Housing Funds a Priority
Housing had been his priority since
his
appointment,
claimed
the
Minister. He is kind of proud that he
had been the only minister to get any
extra funds out of Treasury Board:
there is now 94 million dollars available for housing. That was an extra
20 million for housing plus 8.1
million dollars that were included at
the last minute for labour costs. 4,046
million extra dollars were allotted to
B . C . Because the money had been
gotten on an emergency basis, it was
immediately available and should be
used by October-November.
That evening leaders expressed
satisfaction with the visit and at the
preparation that had gone into it.
NIB ELECTIONS
NIB DEMANDS
CHANGES IN SOCIOECONOMIC
THINKING
Much of the discussion at the N . I . B . Assembly centred
on socio-economic development. Leaders from across
Canada found the Department of Indian Affairs more of
a liability and obstruction rather than any help in this
field.
Certainly in B . C . there is no evidence that economic
development activities with Indian Bands is on the
increase. A s a matter of fact, there is reason to believe
that such activity is on a serious decline nationally.
The lack of development provincially is, perhaps,
partly due to the fact that a great many Indian Bands are
not strategically located. For instance, an aspiring Band
with strong agriculture skills cannot initiate related
projects because their land is on a rock pile or swamp.
DIA Has No Clear Philosophy on Indian Economic
Development
The more serious obstacle to Indian economic development is the Department of Indian Affairs' attitude
towards the matter. It must be obvious to the Canadian
people in general, that the Department has chosen to
adopt a very unrealistic approach to the whole process.
Funds Swallowed Up By DIA Bureaucracy
Time and time again, the Department has insistently
stated that there are just no funds available for this
purpose. Yet, simple research has shown that there are
adequate funds made available which could realize some
very profitable projects i f done in earnest and systematically. Instead, the greater part of such funds have been
absorbed by the Department's bureaucratic jungle.
Trying to Change DIA Thinking
The Union, under its mandate, has sought to force the
Department to change its thinking in the matter, and
bring about the much needed improvements, and will
continue to do so. There is ongoing development of
workable strategies which might enhance activities in the
area of economic development.
NIB Calls for Indian Planning and Implementation
It is encouraging to see that the National Indian Brotherhood has taken the initiative to approach the
department in Ottawa and demand that there is an
immediate change in the situation, a change that is largely
originated, developed and implemented by the Indian
people of Canada. It is only in this way that our interests
can best be serviced.
by Sylvia Woods
M y first trip to an N . I . B . General Assembly in Calgary
was quite an experience, both exciting and frustrating.
Every morning they had Sunrise Ceremonies by the
Elders.
The Conference opened with the signing in of the
Chiefs which was very interesting and made me feel good.
They entered with the Drummer at the head of the line,
then the Elders and then a Chief from each Organization
across Canada. They walked to the middle of the room,
finished their singing and then an Elder opened the
meeting with a prayer.
Eugene Steinhauer, new President of the Indian Association of Alberta, welcomed everyone to the Twelfth
Annual General Assembly of the National Indian Brotherhood.
Chairman Bill Shead called
for nominations for the new
President of the N I B and an
Election Committee was
selected. Bobby Manuel
accepted nomination in a
speech on our Aboriginal
Rights position and Treaty
Rights. Del Riley accepted
his nomination and talked
about the issues that we are
New NIB President Del Riley
facing now.
worked for the Union of Ontario
Indians for ten years.
Clive Linklater announced he was withdrawing his candidacy for N . I . B . President
On Tuesday evening they had an outdoor barbecue at
Sarcee Reserve, which is a very beautiful place
surrounded by rolling hills. The Chief gave a short talk
before everyone left the Reserve and told them that they
are welcome back whether at meetings in Alberta or just
passing through.
The elections took place next day. Bobby Manuel lost
by two frustrating votes. Someone from the N . I . B .
Office had told the Y u k o n Delegation that they did not
have voting capacity and that they only had observer
status so they left. There was supposed to be a re-election
because of this but the few delegates that were there
voted to leave it as it was.
Del Riley is the new President of National Indian Brotherhood. His Vice-President is Sykes Powderface of
Alberta, who has served Indian people in community
development since 1961.
Wednesday evening there was an outdoor barbecue
and pow-wow at Morley Reserve. There were speeches
given by the newly-elected President and Vice-President.
There was some discussion on the Constitution and Del
Riley made a statement that N . I . B . would set up an office
in London, England to keep ongoing talks with the
British Parliament.
INDIAN W O R L D 11
OUR WORLD
STONEY C R E E K ELDERS
SOCIETY PRESENTS
2nd A N N U A L
INTERTRIBAL INDIAN DAYS
The Stoney Creek
held its 3rd annual
Vanderhoof August
attended by about
day.
Elders gathering
meeting outside
15-16-17. It was
500 people per
Traditional structures were in place
and i n use—including skin stretchers,
fishwracks, teepees and bark baskets.
P O L E RAISING
Reference to the Elders was shown
in cultural displays, native dancers
and speeches.
A L a ' H a l tournament was played
throughout
the meeting. Prince
George and Stoney Creek dancers i n
full native dress took part i n Grand
Entry, as well as dancers from Skidegate, Queen Charlotte
Islands.
Twenty-three o f the Haida Dancers
under the instruction of Mabel
Wilson and Verna Gladstone, highlighted the festival with their dances.
The group has been together for 2
years and has full support of its Band
through community effort. The people of Skidegate paid for all their
dancers and company to participate
at Stoney Creek.
The Elders Festival was honoured
to have Chief Dan George attend. H e
gave splendid advice, as well as a
prayer for the safekeeping of our
Elders and for the future o f our
children.
The Elders are hoping to have more
traditional dress and participation
from our children next year, to
nurture
and
strengthen
our
traditional life style.
INDIAN W O R L D 12
The wolf stands among his other
animal friends in their village by the
sea.
Walter Harris carved the newest
pole. With the people of 'Ksan he
dedicated the pole to inspire future
generations and show respect to the
grandfathers who shared their knowledge and recorded history through
legends and carving totem poles.
by Joanne Dickson and Jerry Patrick
NITEP G R A D U A T E
by Francis Johnson
K'SAN DANCERS
In Edmonton, when they perform their celebration,
"The Breath of Our Grandfathers," the 'Ksan Dancers
of Hazelton, B . C . will be guests of the Alberta Diamond
Jubilee Committee. They perform for five nights
beginning Monday, August 18,1980.
The 'Ksan group has been the guests of U N E S C O on
several occasions and performed to standing ovations
during the Cultural Olympics in Montreal in 1976.
'Ksan uses a condensed version of an 1880 " P o t l a t c h "
as a window through which the audience may glimpse the
stature of the culture their ancestors enjoyed. In the
photos you see the bear Nax Nok, the Beaver and the
Bear Warrior.
I was among the 3000 grads
who graduated this year
from U . B . C . Nine of us
graduated from the Nitep
program. The families,
relatives, and friends o f the
grads gathered and socialized till the ceremony
began. M y family friends,
and relatives also celebrated my happiness with
me. Attending the Nitep
gathering were Nitep board members, members o f the
Nitep staff, members from the faculty of U . B . C , and
others. Thelma Cook and Lonnie Hindle gave a speech to
begin the ceremony. Robert Sterling then presented each
of the grads with a gold pin as well as congratulating
them. After that there was more well wishing, more talking and more picture taking. After there was more picture
taking when we donned our gowns. From there we went
to the Student U n i o n Building to get our degree before
we went into the War Memorial G y m . Despite the
amount o f students milling around I finally found my
place. We then marched to the gym and were seated. It
was an honour to be able to walk up i n line, have my
name called out by the Dean and kneel in front o f the
large audience before the Chancellor to be tapped on the
head with his cap. When I stood I felt like shouting to the
Native people, " I did it, so can y o u ! "
SETON M A R A T H O N
On an August Sunday morning the
runners sat around a fire for the
sharing of a peace pipe and blessing.
Each runner was given a piece of
burnt wood (ash) from the Great
Spirit.
The run was 21 miles, which took
three hours along a rugged and fierce
road. The ladies started at Roaring
Creek which is about halfway
through to Seton Portage.
The winner was Hack Terry from
Seton Portage. Second was Jimmy
Peters from D ' A r c y .
" W o n n i e " came first among the five
ladies that ran.
After breakfast, more people arrived
Teepees were erected and the sound
of drums and singing could be heard
from far-off.
INDIAN W O R L D 13
Canim Lake
Trappers
study
Johnny Stump, aged 86, skinning
and stretching beaver at Alexis Lake
in the Chilcotin, Central Interior.
Trapping has been a way of life to
Johnny, a Chilcotin Indian Elder,
and he has very strong ties to the
land.
Story prepared by a few Trappers of
the Canim Lake Band and the Band
Manager.
The Canim Lake Village Reserve is
located about 30 km north east of 100
Mile House, in the southern Cariboo
Trapping was carried out by many
of the Band members years ago but
the amount of trapping by Band
members has gone down a lot in
recent years. Interest is reviving now
and some people have shown a desire
to return to trapping, while others
who are younger want to learn more
about this traditional practice. There
are at least 20 men on the Reserve
who want to trap every year. About
12 of them took a course on trapping
last winter and were awarded certificates recognizing their knowledge.
Photos: Courtesy Stanley Stump
The Band trappers have decided to
hold at least one meeting a month to
work on problems and goals. Meetings were held on the Reserve on June
24, July 29 and August 14. Representatives of Band trappers attended the
Trappers
Forum sponsored
by
U B C I C and held at Williams Lake
June 25 and 26.
BAND RESOURCES DON'T
HAVE TO CONFLICT
Recently the Band got copies of
maps from the Fish and Wildlife
Branch which show the locations of
local
Indian
traplines.
These
locations are being checked for accuracy by the Band trappers and are
being marked on another more detailed integrated resources map which
INDIAN W O R L D 14
was prepared by a group of Band
members during a 2-week wildlife
research field trip in July.
ment Program. Some of the activities
carried out by the Band members in
company with a wildlife specialist on
Integrated Resource
Management Program
the field study included;
• the procedures to evaluate wildlife
resources and habitat
• evaluation of important habitat
areas of moose, mule deer; how
This research, which has really just
begun, is part of the Band's longterm Integrated Resource Manage-
much they were using shrubs, etc.
• looked at why certain ranges were
favored more than others
• how to use Brunton compass, read
maps and aerial photos
• looked at possible fish spawning
areas, probable fish supply in certain lakes, and how this relates to
potential tourist market
• discussed the use of one resource
with another, e.g. type and location
of logging and how it might affect
lakes, streams, etc.
Some of the Problems that the
Band trappers noted at recent
meetings included:
• logging too close to lakes and
creeks, affecting spawning beds
• trappers take backseat to new houses and private developments starting in the bush. Trappers have to go
Carrying on a tradition and a life they wouldn't trade for anything are the sons
around new development sites.
of Johnny Stump. On the left is the elder son Lawrence, holding antlers he
• Conflict of private property ownfound for the picture and his wife Katie enjoying fresh perked coffee. On the
ers and trappers, e.g. where creek
right Johnny's second eldest son enjoys the antics of his older brother with
goes through both areas; threats
Judy.
Photos: Courtesy Stanley Stump
made on notes or i n person to trappers; traps taken away by private
property owners.
• Middlemen selling furs. We should
return to system of trapping quantity you have tag for. N o poaching
to be tolerated.
• People leaving carcass to waste—
shooting animals for pleasure.
• Insufficient funds available to assist
trappers
The Band trappers plan to look
Beaver stretched and drying near
into these and other issues during the
Line cabin at A lexis Lake.
coming year. Some activities planned
so far are:
• sharing information and knowledge
about trapping with each other
• make decisions on ways to solve
present problems, aprticularly careless logging practices
• build cabins at certain trapline
locations
• hold a Trappers Workshop in September with neighboring Bands
• keep informed about the progress
of the development of a B . C . Indian Trappers Association as decided at the Trappers Forum in
Mark Boyce and Jim Frank of Canim Lake at the Trappers' Forum.
Williams Lake.
INDIAN W O R L D 15
"SAVING WHAT WE'RE
FIGHTING FOR"
Fish Management
B.C./Washington
Indians Sharing
Information
On July 30 the fishing portfolio
and Indian delegates from the
Northwest met in Donar Ellawa Port
Angeles, Washington.
In attendance were food fishing
delegates from each district in B . C .
that could attend. Indians do not
recognize the C a n a d a / U . S . border
because when it was first set up it divided nations, tribes and even families
of Indian people across Canada and
the United States.
That is just a very small sample o f a
problem that Indians must cope with
for the moment.
It is the goal of U B C I C and tribes
of the Northwest to resolve problems
like this one. This is not the first
meeting but in fact is a continuation
of a March 7th, 1980 meeting at the
U B C I C boardroom.
Our most gracious host Jerry
Charles chaired the meeting and also
made sure Indians were met at the
airport and ferry docks. In this meeting the delegates expressed their views
on various subjects and possible
solutions: supertankers, pollution of
our rivers and how to manage and
conserve the fishery resource. Discussion
included how
to
resolve
problems of developing a hatchery
both economically and physically.
Jerry Charles gave a tour of their
very
successful
hatchery
and
explained its potential. The next
meeting was scheduled to be in Vancouver in October, 1980.
The people of the Sklallum Band
barbecued a delicious salmon dinner,
working hours before the meeting
began.
I N D I A N W O R L D 16
THE BRIDGE RIVER
FISH IN
For three days in August the people
of Bridge River invited Indian people
to share in celebrating an important
anniversary for them. It was two
years ago that the courts confirmed
what Indians know: our exclusive
right to fish. Bradley Bob was there:
his was the test case to prove that
right. So too were many of the other
fishermen who had fished that day in
1978 in their strong belief in that
right. Federal fisheries had cut down
on Indian fishing to two days a week
and the people were demonstrating
that they had no right to do that.
They felt Fisheries was regulating Indians rather than conserving salmon.
The Celebrations Have a
Serious Air
For the most part, however, the
gathering was quiet, as people dropped in for a meal of fresh deer meat
and barbequed salmon and went right
back to their fishing stations. O n
Saturday and Sunday afternoons, the
Lillooet area chiefs and representatives from neighbouring areas met
under a large tent to discuss the main
topic in everyone's mind and the reason also why the celebration had a
serious air. This year the salmon
stocks are lower than ever, and in the
interests of conservation people have
had to cut down on their food
fishing.
No Victory if no Salmon Left
A s Chief Saul Terry explained to
the large crowd who came on
Saturday night, " N o w we have to
make sure we have something to fight
for. We have won the right to fish,
but if there are no salmon left to fish
for, it is not much of a victory." The
people had been very worried over the
lower stocks going up the Fraser in
July, and hardly anyone had been
fishing at all during that month.
Chief Nathan Spinks of Lytton had
just returned from a visit to the StuartTrembleur Band with a disturbing
report that only seven thousand
salmon had reached the spawning
grounds there. A n d he also brought
back news that touched directly on
the reason for the salmon depletion:
the people of Stuart-Trembleur were
worried over logging company plans
to put truck crossings across five of
the main spawning channels. The
areas around the lakes where the
salmon go to spawn is also very good
for logging: and there is the conflict.
Five pulp mills empty pollutants just
into the Thompson, which flows into
the Fraser. The other major reason
for salmon depletion, of course, is the
pollution and poisonous wastes that
are emptied into the Fraser.
Respected Elder and salmon expert
E d Thevarge of D ' A r c y was also
camping down by Bridge river and he
too talked to and encouraged the people who have come to listen to and
dance with the Lillooet singers and
drummers. After that there was an
honour song dedicated to the salmon.
The Indian government flag was
raised on Sunday, visible from most
of the fishing stations and giving the
people strength and hope for what is
going to be a long battle.
Jay Treaty
Indian Provincial Conservation
Management Commission
Being Formed
Chief Saul Terry reported to the
people how local chiefs had met with
the D I A Minister very briefly to
express these concerns and he had
been promised a return visit. Federal
Fisheries have not been able to protect the salmon from industry. The
International Pacific Salmon C o m mission is more of a political organization to regulate conservation but
has also failed so far to exert the
necessary pressures to pull industries
into line. Most o f their efforts have
been on deciding on equal Canadian/
U . S . A . catch limitations. Attempts to
have direct Indian representation on
this commission have failed so far. In
fact, since the Indian people of
Washington state and B . C . have been
meeting about fish management.
People have felt that the commission
has tried to turn us against each
other. Like the Bradley Bob decision
for the Lillooet people, the Boldt
decision has only been a partial
victory for the Indian people of
Washington state. The pressure is on
again now and things are going to get
worse, warned Saul Terry. In spite of
court victories that forced fish and
wildlife officers to stop arresting
Indian people on fishing and hunting
charges, news has just been received
of three Lytton people arrested for
hunting on reserve lands.
Kincolith fishermen angered at charge of "alien" in
Alaska waters
The border that separates Canada
from the United States has created
many problems for Indian people.
Tribes have been divided between
the two countries, our former easy
movement and trade has become
inhibited by formal border crossings. A treaty signed between the
Canadian and United States governments almost 200 years ago, called
the Jay Treaty, in theory guarantees
Indian people "the right to freely
cross the border and to work i n the
United States without regard to i m migration laws." This treaty has become a legal joke, because neither
the United States nor the Canadian
government truly recognizes it. Yet
the ink has dried in the law-books,
and the words of the Treaty remain,
like so many others, an ignored reality.
A new development concerning
the Jay Treaty has recently occurred
—the three members, o f the House
of Mountain Band o f the Nishga
tribe hope to use the treaty to clear
themselves of charges of illegally
fishing in U . S . waters i n Alaska,
The three men are Fred Lincoln,
William Lincoln and George Nelson, o f Kincolith. I n addition to
claiming the Jay Treaty as a
defense, the men are using an 1888
agreement signed by Chief Alfred
Mountain and Charles Thomas, the
captain of a steamer doing work for
the government of the United States.
The agreement says that after Chief
Mountain moved his Band to the
American side of Portland Canal,
the chief "will not be disturbed in
his position by any United States
authorities." Fred Lincoln, one of
the three fishermen arrested in July,
is the great-great-grandson of Chief
Mountain.
As proof of their claim of dual, or
double, citizenship, two of the three
men are receiving compensation
through the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act; all three hold social
security cards for the United States.
Tommy Dennis is a spokesman
for the House of Mountain Band
and the Nishga Tribe. He says the
fishermen believe the United States
waters belonged to them in the
beginning. (Mr.) Dennis says the
men were charged as "aliens" illegally fishing in American waters,
and that his people find this term
demeaning.
The three men say they drifted
into United States waters in rough
weather while they were sleeping.
They have pleaded not guilty to
the charges.
INDIAN WORLD 17
FEDERAL
FISHERIES
MIX UP
PRIORITIES
Harassment instead
of Conservation
On August 13, 1980 one of our
Elders, Willie Hans, crossed to the
north side of the Bella Coola River to
tend his fruit and vegetable garden.
U p o n his return he was approached
and questioned by a young, rather
abrasive federal fisheries officer regarding his use of a power boat to
cross the river. Willie explained
quickly how the old foot bridge was
washed out by a flood and that the
power boat was the safest means o f
crossing the river, especially with
women and children. Not expecting
any reply, the officer handed Willie a
summons to appear before court on
October 1, 1980. The following day
Willie, still infuriated by the previous
day's events, requested assistance
from the Band office.
Charged Under a Law that
Doesn't Exist Yet
Upon investigation by the Chief we
discovered some very interesting
things. It turns out the regulation he
was charged with, wasn't even proclaimed law yet. It is only a proposed
regulation, which may be proclaimed
law under the Canada Shipping A c t
by Ottawa in another three or four
months. When this was brought to
the attention of the fisheries officer,
the charge was quickly dropped.
We could see Willie's thoughts. D o
they really think that I am responsible
for the destruction of the salmon resource? Doesn't the fisheries departINDIAN W O R L D 18
ment o f the federal government have
more important things to do than to
harass me? Maybe I should tell them
a few things that we told MacKenzie
about the salmon resource when he
first came to Bella C o o l a . "
fish around rivers and the mouths of
very sensitive inlets.
Multi-national companies are using
ruthless harvesting practices.
Facing the Real Culprits
During the past month we have
seen the federal and provincial governments dispute over who has jurisdiction over the amount of water that
A l c a n should be allowing to flow into
the Nechako river system. It is unlikely that anything will get done at
least for this year. This multi-national
company has the power to tie up
those orders from government for
years i n the courts, at the expense of
the salmon.
They should know salmon are sensitive, like us, to pollution from mills
and industrial sewers. Mining effluents being dumped into rivers and
streams choke them, and lessen the
chance of the spawn to survive.
Logging industry has contributed
to the depletion o f our salmon stocks.
Logging too close to the streams
causes siltation, affects the oxygen in
the water, and disrupts the spawning
beds. Dragging logs right through the
rivers must be obviously harmful to
our salmon.
$
Too Many Bosts
Commercial fishing should be controlled better. There are far too many
boats. W h y should teachers, lawyers,
doctors, businessmen be allowed to
fish commercially? I heard that
trollers are disregarding the small fish
that they claim are unsuitable for the
market. What chance do they have to
survive after having a hook put into
their mouth?
Highly electronic technology has
made it difficult for salmon and
herring to camouflage themselves
from the fishing fleet. The seiners
have better gear and are allowed to
Salmon Suffer While Governments Fight Over Jurisdiction
Willie Hans will continue to cross
the Bella Coola River to tend his
garden. Indian people will continue
to fish on the river. They only wish
that the government and the public
would do something about the real
culprits in the management of the
fishing resource.
It's A Question of Good
Management
Willie Hans is not responsible for
the depletion o f the salmon stocks.
The federal and provincial governments must address the problem at its
source. They must stop using Indians
as scapegoats for their own mismanagement. The government must tighten up and review their own management policies.
The Union of British Columbia Indian
Chiefs entered its Eleventh Annual
Assembly on October 15,1979, in the
spirit of optimism and energy. This
marked the year the collective Spirit of
the Indian people of British Columbia
was revived and strengthened.
Aboriginal Rights Position
WHEREAS the Union of British
Columbia Indian Chiefs was established
to oppose the White Paper Termination
Policy, and;
WHEREAS this opposition was to be in
the form of the development of an Aboriginal Rights Position and Land
Claims Position for the Indian Governments of British Columbia, and;
WHEREAS an Aboriginal Rights Position Paper has been developed and endorsed in principle in two (2) previous
Annual Assemblies, and;
WHEREAS it has been introduced at
this 11th Annual Assembly of Chiefs for
third and final endorsement;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that
the Aboriginal Rights Position Paper as
presented by the Union of British
Columbia Indian Chiefs' Indian Government Portfolio be given final
endorsement by this Assembly of
Chiefs, and;
SPECIAL
SUPPLEMENT
ABORIGINAL RIGHTS
POSITION
AND
INDIAN GOVERNMENT
MANIFESTO
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it
form the basis for our position in all
discussions relating to Land Claims,
Aboriginal Rights, the British North
America Act and the Indian Act, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Indian Governments continue the process of implementing the Five (5) Articles and the
Twenty-Four (24) Jurisdictional Areas,
and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the
Union of British Columbia Indian
Chiefs' Indian Government Portfolio
explore and define specific areas which
can be implemented through our Indian
Governments and that the Portfolio
continue toward strengthening our
Indian Governments throughout the
province.
INDIAN W O R L D 19
Traditionally, as abori g i n a l people, we had supreme and absolute power over our territories, our resources and our lives. We had the right to govern, to make
laws and enforce laws, to decide citizenship, to wage war,
to make peace and to manage our lands, resources and istitutions. We had our own political, legal, social and economic systems.
The power to govern rests with the people and, like our aboriginal
rights, it comes from within the people and cannot be taken away.
Our Aboriginal Rights Position Paper represents the foundation upon
which we, the Indian people o f British Columbia, will negotiate a better
relationship within Canada.
Since 1969, the U n i o n o f British Columbia Indian Chiefs has been involved in extensive research and consultation with Indian people throughout the province in relation to the totality of Aboriginal Rights. We have
found through this work that our people have no desire, under any
circumstances, to see our Aboriginal Rights extinguished. Our
people have always said that our Aboriginal Rights cannot be
bought, sold, traded or extinguished by any government.
Our responsibilities and our right to be who we are
can never be relinquished. The Indian Chiefs of British Columbia in legislative assembly, do hereby proclaim as our Aboriginal Rights
Position that:
1. We are the original people
of this land and have the
absolute right to self-determination through our own
unique form of Indian Governments (Band Councils).
2. Our Aboriginal Rights to self-determination, through
our own unique forms of Indian Governments are to be
[confirmed, strengthened and expanded, through the
British North America Act.
INDIAN W O R L D 20
3. Our Indian Reserve Lands are to be expanded to a size
that is large enough to provide for the essential needs of
all our people.
4. Enough lands, waters, forestry, minerals, oils, gas,
wildlife, fish and financial resources are to be made available to our Indian Governments on a continuing basis
and in sufficient quantities to ensure socio-economic
self-determination for the peace, order and just
government of Indian people.
5. Our Indian Governments or Legislatures are to have
exclusive jurisdiction to make laws in relation to the following matters (without limiting the scope of the possible
subjects to be under the jurisdiction and authority of our
Indian Governments);
INDIAN WORLD 21
Section 1: Constitutions
The development of a constitution and the
amendment, from time to time, of the constitutions of our Indian Governments.
Section 2: Citizenship
Regulations as to who shall be a citizen or a
member of our Bands.
Section 3: Land Management
The management of all Indian reserve
lands, including all other lands or resource
areas under Indian Government jurisdiction.
Section 4: Water Management
A l l waterways and bodies o f water associated with our reserve lands, including any
form of water rights and foreshore rights
under Indian Government jurisdiction.
The Mowachaht people held Band Hearings on a Band law to regulate
pollution over their lands. A pulp mill leasing land from the Band has
been forced to follow Band pollution controls.
Section 5: Air
A l l air space above all our reserve lands,
waters and resource areas.
Section 6: Forests
A l l our forests on reserve lands, including
all other Indian forest resource reserves.
Section 7: Mineral Resources
A l l mineral resources under and within
boundaries of all those lands, waters and
resource areas established under Indian
Government jurisdiction.
Alkali Band hunters confirmed their rights to hunt in a court victory
in March, 1980. This was followed by a full Band meeting to discuss
Band laws to ensure their hunting rights in traditional lands.
Section 8: Oil and Gas
A l l oil and gas resources within the boundaries of our reserve lands and within any
additional lands or waters that, from time
to time, may be negotiated and agreed to
by the federal, provincial and Indian Governments as being under the jurisdiction of
Indian Governments.
Section 9: Migratory Birds
The conservation management of all
migratory birds that pass through our
lands, including migratory bird sanctuary
reserves that will be established under the
jurisdiction of Indian Government.
INDIAN W O R L D 22
During the Alaska Highway Pipeline hearings, the people of the
northeast made it clear that their oil and mineral rights have never
been surrendered with their knowledge or consent.
Section 10: Wildlife
A l l our wildlife resources in reserve lands
and all other wildlife resource areas under
the jurisdiction of Indian Governments.
Section 11: Fish
A l l our fish resources i n the waters defined
as Indian Fisheries.
Section 12: Conservation
The conservation o f all our lands, waters
and resources.
Section 13: Environment
Bands all over B. C. are making Band laws on the proper management
and conservation of our fishing resources.
The productive management of our
environment.
Section 14: Economy
The establishment and management of the
economy through the development, implementation and enforcement of regulations,
on such matters as trade, commerce, and
the formation of companies within the
framework o f Indian Government
objectives.
Section 15: Education
A l l areas o f Indian education as defined by
the authority and jurisdiction of Indian
Governments.
Section 16: Social Order
The maintenance o f social order.
The Kwakiutl people of Cape Mudge have regained sacred potlatch
artifacts that were confiscated earlier this century when pot latches
were outlawed.
Section 17: Health
The proper health, welfare and care of our
people.
Section 18: Marriage
The solemnization and dissolution of
marriage within the institutions of traditional Indian religions.
Section 19: Culture and Religion
The safeguarding of all Indian sacred
places. The protection of our right to
practice our religions, cultures and
languages.
Section 20: Communications
Communications Our Way: Bands, Tribal Councils and Indian provincial organizations have our own news and information system.
The development of communication
systems.
INDIAN W O R L D 23
Section 21: Taxation
All revenues coming in within the jurisdiction of Indian Governments.
Section 22: Justice
Justice, including the constitution, maintenance and organization of Indian
Government courts.
Section 23: Penal System
The imposition of penalties for breaking
any laws of the Indian Governments.
Section 24: Local and Private Matters
All matters of local or private nature on
our lands, including other lands, waters
and resource areas that will, from time to
time, be established within Indian Government jurisdictional boundaries.
The people of Spallumcheen have made a Band law that gives them
full responsibility for the welfare, protection and custody of the
children in their Band.
In declaring our Aboriginal Rights Position, we are reaffirming our right to be here and, are re-affirming the
responsibilities given to all nations of Indians on this
continent. These rights and responsibilities held us
together as nations of people for thousands of years and
we celebrate our survival and the beauty of our land.
The relationship which exists between Indian nations
and the Governments of Canada has never been clearly
understood. We have always taken for granted that
Indian institutions and European institutions would coexist in Canada. Many of the European colonial leaders
INDIAN
WORLD
24
held a similar conviction. They asked our leaders to make
alliances and agreements. They did not question the
authority of our leaders to speak on behalf of our people,
just as our leaders did not question the authority of the
colonial leaders.
But other colonial figures refused to recognize Indian
governments. They called for the destruction not only of
Indian governments and Indian cultures, but of Indian
people themselves.
These two opposite views have continued to co-exist in
Canada and in British Columbia.
The Basic Principles
1. The Constitutional Structure
Two principles are basic to the position of the Indian
people of British Columbia. The first is the principle of
self-determination of peoples. This is a principle of
International Law:
Section 91(24) of the British North America A c t of
1867 gave the Parliament of Canada legislative
jurisdiction over "Indians and Lands reserved for the
Indians." The Indian Act, which was passed under the
authority of Section 91(24), is treated by Canadian law as
the source o f authority for Indian Band councils. Indian
governments existed for thousands of years before Europeans came to Canada. We can never accept the notion
that the authority of our governments is a grant from
those who came from elsewhere. The proper way to
establish Indian relations to the rest of Canada is not by
the Indian A c t but by a basic political agreement, or
contract. The agreement will be recognized as part of the
constitution of Canada. A s an agreement it cannot be
changed without the consent of both sides. A s part of the
Constitution both sides will be compelled, by law, to
respect its terms.
"All peoples have the right of self-determination. By
virtue of that right they freely determine their political
status and freely pursue their economic, social and
cultural development."
Canada has signed its support of this principle.
To work, it must exist with a second principle: the
equality of peoples. For self-determination to have
meaning, there must be a basic respect between political
communities.
The British North America A c t of 1867 sets Indian
nations apart, recognizing their uniqueness within
Canada. Canadian governments have undercut that fact
by deliberately making these constitutional guarantees as
weak as possible. Indian governments are treated as
municipal governments. Our communities are unique
because they come under federal jurisdiction, yet they
have not been given full recognition as a distinct order of
government within Canada. This can change. Canada
can fulfill the promise of the British North America A c t
and take a leading role internationally in applying the
principles of self-determination and equality of
indigenous people.
The agreement will describe the place of Indian
governments within Canadian federalism. It will define
Indian rights to renewable resources—rights to hunt,
fish, trap and gather—on lands outside the limits of
Indian governments. It will also deal with the Jay Treaty
Rights, resource sharing, taxation, the superiority of
Indian Government laws over provincial legislation and
Indian representation in the institutions o f the central
government.
Our right of self-determination is a right which
we have not surrendered and will not surrender.
The Canadian government will have to accept
that Indian people are a people who will not disappear.
2. The Powers of Indian Governments
The Position of the Indians of British Columbia
To the Indian people of British Columbia, the
questions of the constitution, the Indian A c t and Land
Claims are simply different parts of Aboriginal Rights;
They can be resolved by full recognition of Indian Government. That recognition requires changes to the way
things are now.
Band Governments will be strengthened and will be the
basic units of Indian Government. Indian people will
directly elect our representatives to the new governmental
body.
The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs has
defined the powers it feels are appropriate for Indian
governments.
These are set out in twenty-four points. The powers of
Indian governments will basically be similar to those of
INDIAN W O R L D 25
the provinces. In addition certain powers that are
presently federal, such as powers in relation to fisheries,
marriage and divorce, must be restored to Indian governstatementonAboriginal
Title
in 1973.
ments for
theClaims
areas under
the jurisdiction of those
governments.
Indian governments will have the authority to draft
Bills of Rightswhichwill apply within their jurisdiction
in the same waythatcertain provinces have their own Bill
Rights.
3. Representation to the Institutions of the
Central Government
The agreement will define the structure and the powers
of Indian government and its relationship to other
governments in Canada.
Indian government will be parallel to a provincial
government. The federal government will have
jurisdiction over matters outside the jurisdiction of
Indian governments (and outside the jurisdiction of
provincial governments). Relations between Indian
governments and provincial governments will be handled
by mutual agreement (as relations between provinces are
now handled). Citizens within the jurisdiction of either
an Indian government or a provincial government will
elect members to the federal parliament and be represented in other institutions of the central government
which have a regional structure.
base for Indian communities. Land and resource issues
have never been resolved in British Columbia, a fact
acknowledged by the federal government in their
b. Equalization Payments
Secondly, Indian governments, like provincial governments, must qualify for equalization payments. We agree
that there should be equal standards of public services in
all parts of the country. The payments are unconditional.
The provinces are free to choose their own priorities. This
is the kind of block, predictable funding that Band
governments have sought for their people. It is funding
based on need, not short-term politics. For example, i n
the fiscal year 1979-80, Prince Edward Island received
approximately seventy-six million dollars in equalization
payments. It has a population of just over one hundred
thousand people. For the Atlantic provinces,
equalization payments have represented about 25% of
their governmental revenues.
c. Delivery of Services
Thirdly, Indian governments must be responsible for
the delivery of programs and services to Indian people
funded by the federal government. There is now a large,
costly, inefficient bureaucracy to deliver services and
channel monies for Indian people. The Indian Affairs
bureaucracy competes with Indian governments for
authority and, inevitably, maintains the colonial
federal constituencies which group together Indian
government areas in various regions o f Canada. There
willbe
"Indianseats" but in exactly the same way that
d. Direct Transfer
Payments
there are "British Columbia seats" in Parliament. This
Fourthly, Indian Governments must receive transfer
willnotbea system o f special representation. It will be
payments directly whether they are equalization, revenue
the direct result of the
recognition of Indian governmentsmonies.
sharing
program
These payments w i l | be
regular items i n the budget of the federal government and
will be paid directly to Indian governments. They will be
handled in the same manner as transfers to provincial and
territorial governments. The reporting and accounting
will
be
defined
by
agreements
to
be
negotiated
between
Financial Arrangements
Indian
governments
and
the
federal
government,
and
not
Stable and workable financial arrangements are of
by
the
Department
o
f
Indian
Affairs
or
any
other
fundamental importance. Historically, Europeans have
confiscated Indian resources with little or no
compen- government department. This will establish maximum
flexibility and will dramatically reduce the administrative
sation, leaving aninadequatelandandresourcebase for
costs involved. the Indiancommunities.Thefederalgovernmentuses
funding as a way to control Indian communities. This
locks Indian communities into a permanent welfare
system which does not lead to any positive solutions. The
controversy
over the Local
Government Guidelines of
Recognition of
Indian Governments
within
1975 happened again in 1980 with the Local Services
Constitution
and willRights
continue unless basic changes are
We do not want aAgreements
settlement of Aboriginal
made in the financial arrangements which affect our which in any way reflect a policy of termination or a final
communities. It is only when the structures of dependence
cash settlement such as in the James Bay and Alaska type
and welfare are removed that equality and self-determinof agreements. We want the recognition of Indian
ation can be achieved.
Governments on a continuing basis within Canadian
a. Land base
Firstly,theremust beanincreasedland and resource
INDIAN WORLD26
federalism. Indian self-determination will free both
Indian people and non-Indian people from structures of
colonialism and dependence.
ATLIN BAND WANTS IN
TO B.C.
The Indian people of Northern B. C. are administered partly by B. C. and partly by the Yukon. Much of the mismanagement and misinformation that this has caused has gone unchecked in the past. Now, however, the Atlin Band is going
through their affairs and straightening out the confusion, point by point. Andy Williams, Band Manager, talked to us
about Atlin.
The name A t l i n comes from the
Tlinget word meaning a big body o f
water. M y people, the Tlingets, are originally from the Taku River around
the Juneau area. Throughout the year
my ancestors used to migrate from the
coast all the way up here and some
even further to Teslin and to Whitehorse to trade. They had a trail they
followed each year through the
Taku river valley.
M y people are known as the Taku
river Tlingets: traditionally and still
today, the Taku river is hunted and
fished by my people.
A Living From Commercial
River Fishing
We fish the river commercially for
salmon. There are non-Indian fishermen there too but hopefully we'll see
more and more o f my people down
there. A t the moment we have six
permits, 2 fishermen to a permit. Just
last week we cleared the final one. I
can't use my permit this year because
o f Band business. The Vancouver
office, with U B C I C Fishing Portfolio
intervention, agreed my license could
be transferred a few months ago but
the local official didn't know anything about it. Finally, last week, the
okay came down the line for my commercial license to be transferred over
to Henry Taku Jacks Jr. So this was
clarified and it is to the Band's satisfaction that we announce this now.
Food Fishing Rights Confirmed
-But Not on Paper
Our Band members have found it
very difficult to get food fish permits
in the past. Even though this was also
Chief Sylvester Jack coming into Atlin from his fishing grounds. Band
business has concentrated on getting the matters of hunting and fishing sorted
out to Band members' satisfaction.
sorted out in Vancouver a few
months ago, the attitude of the local
conservation officer was not cooperative. A t a meeting last week, to
which he was invited, together with a
number o f U B C I C staff, this matter
was finally cleared up. It is our understanding now that food fishing permits will be given to any Band
member. There would be no more
static, he promised, and it would be
for 7 days a week in A t l i n Lake. We
also food fish along the Taku river
for five days when there is no
commercial selling to the
fish
packers. We want a formal agreement
now, something written on paper, i n
case they come back and say—no,
you can't do that after all.
Prejudice Confronted
A t the same meeting, we cleared up
the matter of hunting permits. The
Band
members
felt
the
local
conservation
officer
had
been
prejudiced when it came to handing
out permits. He was more free with
hunting permits to people on welfare
in town than to people on-reserve on
U I C , which is less. When one o f the
boys would go down for a permit,
they'd damn near have to get on their
knees to get it. We are almost totally
dependent on game during the slow
winter months. H i s boss was there at
the meeting and now we have an
agreement that any Band member
who wishes to kill a moose in winter
will have to come before the Band
council. The council will look into his
case and i f he needs one they will give
a letter recommending that the conservation officer grant the Band
member a license. We're satisfied
with this, up to a point. W e ' l l just
have to see how it works and i f it
doesn't, we'll have to pursue it from a
different angle.
(continued on page 32)
INDIAN W O R L D 27
We talk about our people
More as problems
Than as resources.
Why?
Do we do better
When we speak of our land?
Good acreage
Many of us have,
How do our members benefit?
In our Aboriginal Rights Position Paper
We read about the need
To meet essential needs
Of our people.
We also read that
We have
Every reason
And right
To Bear our responsibilities
In this land.
It is the land
That binds us
As a people.
It can be said
To give us
An identity.
From the outside,
This appears to be so.
Tis different
From the inside
Is it not?
The world
Of a newborn child
Is the world created
By his family.
That which happens
And does not happen
Within the four walls
Of the home
Can strongly influence
The way
This new Tribal member
Will grow
Physically,
Emotionally
And Mentally.
INDIAN WORLD 28
With nourishing food,
Warm and clean shelter,
Parental love and attention,
Mental stimulation
From the singing, the talking
And many things the eye
Can see
The hand can touch
The nose can smell
The ear can hear
The child will grow.
His needs are well met.
His potential is being developed.
He knows
He is a valued resource.
THE WAY—
The infant's need
For physical, emotional
A n d mental nourishment
Is really no different
From the basic human needs
O f his sister, his brother,
His aunt, his uncle,
His M o m or his D a d
or Grandma or Grandpa for that matter.
Each person wants recognition
T o feel important,
Wanted.
Each person needs to know
H e is a valued resource.
Is it not the person
Who has the feeling
He is needed
W h o tries to help
Himself and others?
Is it not this person
Who continues to try
T o get ahead,
To work the land,
When he or she knows
Someone
Genuinely cares
A n d is counting on him to provide?
This is the person
W h o has the capability
To help others grow,
T o provide
Leadership
By showing others
H o w to be independent and resourceful.
He can best help us
Be a self-determining people.
He is a good example
O f a responsible Tribal Member.
SHARING
Let's do our best
To count our strengths,
Recognize and develop them,
for our future
Can best be built
By pooling our strengths
To ensure that
We each
W i l l have the right to choose
A n d to determine our future.
by Bill Mussell
Skwah Band
His family helped him
T o develop a strong identity.
Confidence, desire, ability to work hard
A n d to take responsibilities
For himself, his family and his community
A r e Rooted to his earliest relationships.
He knows he is a valued resource,
Can treat others
So that they too know
They are important.
He knows how to give
A n d to take.
Sharing is his way.
INDIAN W O R L D 29
TAKING JUSTICE INTO OUR
OWN HANDS
by Chief Robert Manuel
The power that we've possessed internally through
our Elders, our leaders, and our councils has been
gradually eroded. The powers now rest in many
different hands and external institutions: much of our
political power has been assumed by the federal and
provincial governments. Many of our people believe
that these governments have that political power, and
function according to that belief. A n d because they
have the money, those institutions re-inforce that belief.
There are so many doctors, nurses, hospitals and
scientific studies, that responsibility for our health lies
outside our community. Education is the same way:
with all their teachers and universities and colleges,
that's been taken away from the people. Our own
people even look towards
those things as an answer in
those areas. Then we look at
justice: the judges,
the
courts, the police are in
control o f law enforcement.
The parliament is in control
of the law-making forces.
Our Personal
Constitutions
Internally, everyone has a
constitution, they have their
own laws to operate by. But
our personal constitutions, at
the moment, are obviously
not good constitutions. They
are not effective in terms of
improving our lives now. U n doubtedly there are individuals who have strong and
solid constitutions that they
function by, but by and large, most have allowed
external controls to influence our own personal laws
and principles.
A lot of people realize that with their heads, but they
haven't disciplined themselves enough that they're
going to abide by that constitution they make for themselves. There are certain things that external forces can
INDIAN W O R L D 30
do, like a community as a whole can apply certain kinds
of pressure. Like in our community, we will not hire
anyone who is not using the job to build a strong foundation for their family, we choose people that care for
their family, act responsibly to their children.
Sometimes creating employment allows parents to have
babysitters and go out partying, that's a negative effect
and we limit that ability. W e put a lot of social pressure
on people.
Freeing Ourselves of External Forces
It takes a lot of discipline to go through the process of
acting out the changes we want. The crunch came for us
last summer,
when one of
our own community members
was wronged by the police.
Our young men didn't have
the power to stand up to
what was right, because they
were in control of the local
police. If they didn't rock the
boat, they could be assured
o f being dealt with less
harshly: a kind of " Y o u
scratch my back and I ' l l
scratch yours" attitude. We
have to get out of that kind
of control, so that we can
challenge
wrong
doing,
otherwise we'll always be
under them, and they are always going to control us
mentally, and physically. So
we don't go and drive when
we're drunk, don't go and
fight foolishly and so on.
Now we have pretty well
eliminated people from going
to court, and the local police
don't have that kind of
power over us any more
beyond what is their job.
In our community, what we had to do was eliminate
all external institutions, put them outside. We created a
vacuum in our community so that people didn't have
anyone to run to for solutions. Some people tried
running to the Union or running to the department of
Indian Affairs or other places to try and re-attach
themselves to some dependency, but there was a
political might to turn these things around so that
everybody consulted with the Chief and Council. A n d
our concerns began to be dealt with internally. It was a
long process. It began with the rejection of funds in
1975. A l l we did was carry through the fact, just keeping
the external forces out.
Every Community Has Its Laws
There are laws in every community but on Indian reserves, by and large the laws
haven't been fitting. One
of the laws was that it was
all right to leave my
children and wife at home
and go to the bar and make
excuses why I should be
there. There was a law that
it was all right to drink on
the job, smoke dope on the
job. Now in my community
we're saying that those laws
are no longer any good and
we're changing the laws.
We want a comfortable life,
food and shelter. We're
going to change some of the
laws because the laws we
have are negative ones,
they're not leading us to
that.
Like in our Band we
have just made a law in
terms of our equipment.
Where a person abuses
equipment that is owned by
the Band, that person is given 30 hours community
work. That means volunteer work, no pay. The
second time we get 60 hours
and the third, 90 hours.
Now, that's a law made by
our people. The law before was that it
was all right to cheat on the machines and the equipment. So we made a better law. If we're going to have
progress we've got to have good laws.
Making Our Laws Better
O f course there are problems. We've been pushed
very hard and a lot of families have learned to protect
each other, making excuses for each other for acting
irresponsibly. However, i f Indian Government is to
come into being, then a community law has to be above
the individual. There has to be relegation of authority to
the community and everybody has to apply themselves
according to the laws established by the community. We
have to rely on our own people, we have to have faith in
ourselves; we have to have faith in ourselves as individuals, have faith too i n other people in the community
that can help us. We've got to have faith so strong that
they are going to stand it.
It's hard to get people
to believe that they can do
something.
Y o u always
have forces in the community that see the advantages
in having external forces in
control of our lives and that
advantage is that you don't
have to act responsibly. I
think the problem in most
of our communities is that
the external laws are not
made by us, so they are not
understood very precisely
and there is no commitment
to them. But when the Band
makes the law and enforces
that law, it becomes a personal responsibility. Like
when we started talking
about
problems
with
machines and equipment in
our Band, we talked about
penalties
of 30
hours
community work and more.
This got adopted. Throughout
the
discussions
developing in that policy,
one guy sat there, he said he
had nothing to say. Finally
when it came to the vote he
yelled,
"Holy
smokes,
you don't know what
you're doing to yourselves." Because what the people
were doing was taking a responsibility. They were
deciding not to allow damages to certain kinds of equipment that we have and i f there are damages, then these
are the penalties that are going to be laid out. When we
talk about Indian Government and Aboriginal Rights,
it's talking about internalizing that responsibility and
acting accordingly.
INDIAN W O R L D 31
(from page 27)
Trap Lines Violated
Band members are getting worried
about the number o f private buyers
taking up land where there are existing Indian traplines. Here too we
have a beef with the local conservation officer, Brian Petra. I lodged a
complaint about trespass on a
trapline but it wasn't acted on for at
least a month. B y that time o f course
the snow had melted, all the trails
were destroyed, and the person who
was trespassing had pulled his traps,
sold his furs and left town.
What amazes me is that we are told
that this is a democratic government:
by, for, and with the people. A s soon
as us Indians want to do something,
hunt or fish or whatever, there is an
official reading out o f a book,
"that's against the l a w . " A s far as
the law pertaining to natives are concerned, we feel we should have
greater participation i n making those
regulations in our area. W e have been
pretty well asleep for a few years and
we're just at the stage of getting back
on our feet. But that's the direction
we'd like to go i n .
writes prescriptions which are filled in
a pharmacy in Whitehorse, 100 miles
away. We have to pay half the prescriptions. This also applies to
glasses. We have an ambulance service that's run on a voluntary basis.
The other day a friend of mine was in
a car accident and we had to wait one
and a half hours before the ambulance came to take him to Whitehorse, another 2 hours drive.
People are not happy with the
dentist that serves us and we are also
expected to pay half the cost o f the
dental bills. D I A restricts us to this
one dentist unless we are prepared to
pay the full cost to see another one.
Switching ADministration to
B.C.
Priority is Improving Health
Services
A t the moment, we're coping with
day-to-day affairs. For example, our
health services are very poor. We
Andy collects water samples
The sewer system drains right into
the slough which is situated alongside
the land set aside for Indians. A s the
lake waters rise and fall so this drains
into the lake and this is where the
town gets their drinking water. It's
hard to believe! We complained
about it and now the U B C I C Health
Portfolio is going to get water samples analyzed. But we do know no
more wildlife exists in the slew now as
it used to i n the past.
have an elderly registered nurse. She
cannot handle the load o f about 500
people in the summer and 350 people
in the winter. There is no resident
doctor i n the town. A visiting doctor
comes in once every 6 weeks and he
INDIAN W O R L D 32
facts in the Juneau museum. Some
have since disappeared from there,
maybe to Seattle. These things disappeared from our " o l d village," like
25 or so muzzle-loader rifles, button
blankets, bear traps and wooden,
trunks. Anything like that belongs to
the clan. N o one can sell it without
getting permission from the whole
clan. The Band feels very strongly
that we should get our artifacts back.
They belong to our people and we
want them.
Evelyn Jack and Susan Carlick, are
the cultural education teachers here.
Their funds should be paid directly to
the Band. But instead they are administered and controlled by the school.
Besides we are not getting enough
money to administer our cultural education. It comes through the Council
of Y u k o n Indians. They divide it up
amongst their 19 Bands and the
Northern B . C . Bands of A t l i n and
Lower Post. Our funds are then sent
through the Fort St. John school district. We get a very small share and
we feel ripped off.
Diversions of Cultural Education
Funds Leave Very Little for Band
Our culture means a great deal to
our people. Jack Williams has reported seeing a number of our arti-
Right now we're in the midst of
trying to switch our administration
from the Y u k o n to B . C . We want to
be administered out o f Terrace. C o m pared to Bands in southern B . C . , we
feel about 75 years behind the time in
terms of the service they receive. The
way it goes now, C Y I are going for
complete control of all monies issued
to the Y u k o n Territories for the Indians. We feel that A t l i n , being in
B . C . , will be left holding the bottom
end of the stick. We feel we are in a
limbo up here.
Our people are wanting to go ahead
now. In the future, the A t l i n Indian
Band will be initiating land claims
and as a part of our land claims we
will be pressing for more participation i n government rulings. We are
going to stress management o f
wildlife in the environment. That is
our way of life and we're not going to
be giving it
up.
The major setback that Indian
people are confronted with is the fact
that the government is preoccupied
with whining about what isn't their
responsibility, rather than dealing
with issues that require attention.
Health services for Indian people has
suffered this fate. The federal government's policy of dividing its responsibility for Indian people among different ministries and levels of government has been the primary problem.
Indian Control
of
Indian Health
BEATING
For example, the desperate housing
conditions on reserves, which directly
affect the health o f Indians, must be
addressed
through
different
ministries. The fact that spiritual,
emotional, and mental health are
overlooked also contributes to the
steady decline i n the status of Indian
THE
ODDS
THE NEW FAMILY AND CHILD
SERVICE ACT BILL 45
A New Family and Child Service
Act was introduced into the Legislature on August 1, 1980. The new
Act will not be law, however, until it
is first debated i n the Legislature
and then given a final reading. If
and when the A c t becomes law,
what will the main effects be on
Indian people and our children?
Chiefs of Bands to be Given
Notice of Hearings
The only specific mention o f
Indian people is a provision which
requires that notice o f hearings must
be given to the Chief of the Indian
Band in which the apprehended
child is registered, that is, i f the Superintendent knows the child is
registered with a Band. So i f a
hearing is held to determine whether
a child will be taken away or returned to his parents (is " i n need of
protection"), the Chief will be notified. There are two problems with
this provision. First, notice to the
Chief only has to be given " i f the
Superintendent knows the child to
be registered as an Indian under the
Indian A c t . " So i f there is nothing
in the file about a child being registered with a Band, the Chief o f the
Band probably would not be notified. Secondly, it is possible that arrangements can be made without
holding a hearing, i n which case too
the Chief does not have to be notified. If parents consent to giving up
custody o f their children before a
hearing, no hearing will be held.
A l s o , the new A c t seems to encourage arrangements
being made
between the Superintendent and the
parents, without the necessity o f
holding a hearing. Therefore, i n
practice, notice will only be given to
Bands where parents object to the
apprehension of their children, and
where the Superintendent knows
that a child is registered with a
Band.
Other Major Changes Which
Will Affect Indian People
There are new sections in the A c t
which give the Ministry of H u m a n
Resources employees a lot more
power to decide when a child should
be taken away and to make it easier
for them to enter homes. The result
of these new sections is that apprehension o f our children will be
easier.
First, i f the social worker is
refused entry by the parents, he or
she can now phone the judge for a
warrant to get entry to the home.
Under the old A c t , warrants had to
be secured in Court. Secondly, the
new definition of the conditions
under which children can be taken is
worded i n a very general way; for
example "abused or neglected so
that well-being is endangered" or
"deprived o f necessary care through
absence or disability o f his parent."
By using such general words, the
social worker will be given more
discretion to decide what he or she
thinks is a situation which requires
apprehension. In the old legislation
there were 19 descriptions of
situations when a child could be
apprehended; i n the new legislation
there are only 5.
If the new A c t becomes law, it is
extremely likely that more Indian
children will be apprehended.
INDIAN W O R L D 33
health. The only possible means of
reviving Indian health is through Indian control. This means raising the
position of health on the priority list
of Band councils.
Indian Health a National
Priority
In October 1977, the National Indian Brotherhood passed a resolution
to form a technical subcommittee on
Indian health. Accordingly, the N a tional Commission Inquiry (NCI),
consisting of representatives from the
Provincial and Territorial Organizations, was formed to investigate and
report on the historical, social, and
political factors involved in the
continuing decline in Indian health.
One of the steps the N C I took was to
develop "A Resource Paper for the
Development of an Indian Health
Council."
Band decides upon. The possible
roles could be to act as an agent for
Medical Services Branch, a technical
resource for the Band Council, a liaison between Band Council and M e d i cal Services, or an independent structure, parallelling the Indian political
structure and act as a mediator
between Medical Services and Band
council and its representative organizations. The success of the health
councils would hinge upon the condition that it originate at the Band level,
then proceed at their own pace. The
notion of a regional or national
health council could come at a later
point when Bands are prepared for it.
Starting With Short Term Plans
When a health council is getting
started, its most likely function would
cipating in negotiations with Medical
Services. Involvement in the policy
development process would assist
health councils i n being able to identify the most effective programs for
their community. Their experience
would put them in a position to strive
to influence the allocation of resources by participating in budgetary negotiations.
Final Control of Band Health
Matters
A t this point, the health council
would be nearing its goal of implementing Indian Government. They
would be capable of planning detailed
health services and other long-term
goals. They would have the competence to implement their plans.
Reforming "Symptom-Treating
Approach"
The purpose of the N C I Resource
Papers is to present Indian people
with an alternative, forcing our attention on our ever-declining health conditions by means, of forming a health
council. A resolution was passed at
the Twelfth Annual General Assembly of the National Indian Brotherhood accepting N C I Resource Papers
as the national Indian health policy;
but this does not mean that we are
restricted to implementing this. We
can use it for information purposes
and use what suits our needs. A
council of this kind would give us a
meaningful input i n the direction of
our health status. This would involve
reforming the government's "symptom-treating''
approach,
and
redefining health as it applies to Indian people.
Basically the N C I
Resource Paper presents Indians with
the means of implementing Indian
Government in another crucial aspect
of our lives.
What a Health Council Could Do
The possible functions o f a health
council vary according to the structure, the role it plays, and the degree
of advancement. Its structure would
be determined by the role that the
INDIAN W O R L D 34
be to deal with short-term plans or
merely reacting to existing problems.
With time and experience it would
begin advising Band Councils on
community concerns and health
problems. When the council feels that
Band members are ready it can introduce them to health matters by means
of educational programs, meetings,
and workshops. A t this stage the
health council would then be in a position to assess community health
needs and priorities.
Long Term Policies to Fit Each
Band
This skill and background would
allow health councils to begin developing policies and attempting to
influence the health policies by parti-
Ultimately the Band would have total
administrative, management and control of Indian health.
Surviving the Odds
The improvement of the health
status of Indian people is crucial to
our survival. Lack of action could
mean the increase of infant mortality
rates, greater losses of young lives
through alcohol and drug abuse, and
higher rates of mortality from accidents, poisoning, violence, and
infectious diseases.
N o society,
including the Indian race, could
survive these odds. If the future
scenario is to include the Indian race,
now is the time to combat the health
problem which is crippling the very
existence o f Indian people.
UP-DATE
ADDITIONAL HOUSING
CAPITAL DOLLARS FOR
BANDS IN B.C.
Total Housing funding for B . C . has now been raised to
$9,933,000 for this year.
The capital subsidy o f $12,000.00 will increase up to a
maximum of $22,125.00 but it depends whether the
reserve is in urban, rural or remote areas.
Bands who have already received the $12,000.00
capital subsidy per unit for 1980/81 will receive
additional capital subsidy for those units.
Bands i n urban areas could receive an additional
$6,000.00 capital per unit.
Bands in rural areas could receive ah additional
$8,750.00 capital per unit.
Bands in remote areas could receive an additional
$10,125.00 capital per unit.
D I A has worked out the cost differences per region as
per their construction manual issued in A p r i l , 1980. This
manual determines the cost of construction, cost of
building supplies, etc.
If the Bands' new houses are already adequately
financed the additional funds may be allocated to major
repairs, additional new units or prepurchase of materials
for new construction in 1981/82.
The number o f planned houses for 1980/81 is 490 i n
B.C.
There will be no transportation subsidy for 1980/81.
Bands in urban areas will be allocated an additional
$900,000.00. Bands in rural areas will be allocated an
additional $1,750,000.00. Bands in remote areas will be
allocated an additional $1,427,625.00.
Bands in B . C . will receive an additional $4,046,000.00.
For further information, contact Housing Portfolio,
UBCIC.
SPOTTED L A K E
Because of delays in negotiations over the re-purchase
of Spotted Lake by the Department of Indian Affairs, the
Minister o f Municipal Affairs warned the Okanagan
Tribal Council that he could no longer delay the Osoyoos
bylaw that would rezone the lake area for commercial
purposes.
However, the death of owner Ernie Smith on August
16th, 1980, has brought the matter to a stop for the
moment. The Okanagan Tribal Council feel that events
should wait on the wishes of M r . Smith's family, and that
negotiations for the purchase of the lake will continue
once the family is able to do so.
M O U N T CURRIE A P P E A L S PESTICIDE
SPRAYING
OF SURROUNDS
On July 23rd, the Chairman o f the Pesticides Appeal
Board handed down his decision that while B . C . Hydro
could not spray Tordon K on reserve lands without Band
permission, it could spray on surrounding lands. Chief
A l l a n Stager has asked the U B C I C Legal Task Force to
appeal this decision because it did not take notice of the
Band pollution law that prohibits spraying on Band land.
Tordon K spraying affects surrounding lands for a good
distance and the Band would indeed be affected by the
Board's decision. The appeal was lodged on August 20th,
1980.
B . C . H Y D R O IMPOSES NEW " L E V I E S "
The Tsartlip Band has brought additions to their
Hydro bills to the attention of the U B C I C Legal Task
Force. They have asked the task force to check whether
the new municipal transit levy is in fact a form o f taxation. If so, it would not be applicable to Indian Bands
under the Indian A c t .
BLUEBERRY B A N D R E L O C A T I O N
The Blueberry Band members are each certain that
they will move out of their valley the day Kildonan reopens its wells, whether they have homes to go to or not.
Their permanent relocation funding is delayed: there is
no way all members can be relocated permanently before
the proposed October opening. The company is impatient. It is now withdrawing its offer to contribute funds
to relocation of the Band and will go ahead with putting
those dollars into relocating the battery site. It seems the
proposed new battery site is only half the distance recommended for safety by the Department of Energy, Mines
and Resources and it is this Department that has the
power to impose conditions upon the wells' re-opening.
The Band has as well asked the Department to provide 24
hr. monitoring of hydrogen sulphide on the new site, but
the Department does not consider this its responsibility.
The Band has alternatively asked the Department to
cause the wells to remain shut down until all members
have been relocated in order to avoid a potentially
calamitous situation. N D P caucuses are raising the issue
in the Legislative Assembly and the House o f Commons
on August 20th, 1980.
INDIAN W O R L D 35
RODEO!
Late Flash: Would you believe that the author of this
story got laid up in the hospital after an exciting rodeo this
weekend!
by Buddy Napoleon
O f the sports there are in the world, rodeo is the only
sport that actually grew out of a work system. Rodeo
started out as a betting game between cowboys from
different ranches against other cowboys. A lot of ranches
boasted that they had a cowboy who couldn't be thrown
or a hoss who couldn't be rode. The stakes were often
high because some cowboys would bet an entire month's
wages that they could outride or outrope other cowboys
from other areas.
A s the sport started taking roots, there were rodeo
associations that were formed and these associations,
whether they are pro or amateur, had their own rules and
regulations. A n d as time
went on these rules and regulations were modified to
favour the animal rather
than the cowboy.
Rodeo
can
only
be
compared with golf, because
both o f these sports are independent. The rodeo cowboy
does not earn a guaranteed
salary and does not draw an
expense allowance. Not only
does he not receive any salary
but he also has no pension
plan, no coach, no trainer,
and he usually has to pay for
his own doctor bills. His only
income is what he can win by
competing against other cowboys, but first he must be
able to qualify on the stock
that he draws and a lot of
times it is not that easy.
Before a cowboy can
compete he must buy a membership card from a rodeo association. Then i f he is in
good standing with the association he has to pay for his
enterfee which probably will
range from $20 to $100 an event.
There are seven major events in a rodeo: saddle bronc
riding, bare back riding, bull riding, steer wrestling, calf
roping, and team roping. There are also ladies events
such as goat tying, barrel racing, and undecorating. O f
course there are novelty events that are not considered
major but still are crowd thrillers, like boys' steer riding.
INDIAN W O R L D 36
A cowboy's equipment may range from around $500
anywhere to $25,000, plus it depends on what events he
may compete i n . I guess when it all comes down to one
basic point, rodeo is expensive for the amount of money
that is involved with the sport.
A rodeo cowboy is the last of the independent breed
and is his own man. Usually half of his winnings are
spent on travel expenses, telephone bills, greasy burgers,
and enterfees. But keep in mind a good cowboy can win
in eight seconds when it takes another person to make the
same amount in a month. A n d on the other hand he can
be bucked off, or he can be crippled for life by a freak
accident in the arena. But i f you even ask a cowboy why
he rodeos, a lot of cowboys would probably say friends,
money, travel, challenge, excitement—the way of life. In
general most cowboys will have other answers and to me
rodeo is self-explanatory and " I love i t . "
B.C.I.R.A. STANDINGS
AS OF AUGUST 11,1980
Saddle Bronc Riding:
1. Lawrence Elkins
2. Guy Gottfriedson
3. Oliver Louis
$1638.98
$1211.01
$897.99
Bare Back Riding:
1. Dennis Sampson
2. Clint Morin
3. Richard Louis
$1548.02
$1403.63
$1263 50
Bull Riding:
1. Burt Williams
2. Alexis Harry
3. Ernie Thomas
$1904.65
$1252.80
$992.47
:
Boy's Steer Riding:
1. Troy Dan
2. Shane Johnston
3. Faron Tonasket
$318.73
$299.75
$246.02
Steer Wrestling:
1. Clarence Hunt
2. Chester Elkins
3. Chester Labelle
$911.53
$887.30
$691.12
Calf Roping:
1. Chester Labelle
2. Terry Rider
3. Eugene Creighton
$1317.66
$1279.65
$699.20
Team Roping:
1. Oliver Louis
2. Blane Louis
3. Mike Benjamin
$1589.52
$1388.64
$1312.94
Ladies Barrel Racing:
1. Fay Nelson
2. Joan Perry
3. Sandy Pasco
$1465.11
$1158.52
$1135.90
All Around:
1. Lawrence Elkins
2. Oliver Louis
3. Dennis Sampson
$2832.65
$2487.57
$2169.13
Rookie of the Year:
1. Darryl Eustache
2. Willy Johnson
3. Glen Gottfriedson
$754.27
$380.00
$105.20
The next results done after sugar cane rodeo! Good luck to the
cowboys
in
the
remainder
rodeos!
FALL FAIR
October 10 & 11,1980
Sponsored by the
W E S T E R N INDIAN
A G R I C U L T U R A L CORPORATION
440 W. Hastings
Vancouver, B.C.
Tel. 684-0231
INDIAN W O R L D 37
DIA Records from 1872 to 1950
One o f the major acquisitions o f the Resource Centre
was the purchasing o f the Record Group 10 series on
microfilm. This series is an extremely large one; only the
parts dealing with British Columbia were acquired. The
R G 10 series is comprised o f letters, memorandums, etc.
from the Department of Indian Affairs files. These
Over the last decade Indian leaders throughrecords are very important to research on land claims and
out Canada have recognized the great need for
aboriginal rights. They can also be used when researching
skilled and informed workers. If the Indian
Band or tribal histories.
Resource Centre
people of British Columbia and Canada hope to
The R G 10 series is made up o f the school files, Deputy
achieve self-determination (Indian GovernSuperintendent Letterbooks, Headquarters Letterbooks,
ment) in the near future it is imperative that Headquarters
we
Files and the Black Series Headquarter
begin to make use of the materials and resourFiles. The Black Series is the most frequently used of R G
ces that are available to us. We can no longer 10, it contains information concerning the general admincondone or accept alibis such as "I did notistration of the Department of Indian Affairs from 1872
know where to look for such information ortoI 1950.
didn't know such resources existed and were
The Resource Centre has purchased microfilm on the
Indian Reserve Commission, Royal Commission on
available to me."
Indian Affairs i n B . C . , School Branch Letterbooks, B . C .
The days of obtaining a large percentage of
Superintendency Inspector of Indian Agencies Letterour information from governmental sources are
books, Kamloops Agency and the Cowichan Agency.
also gone. It is a known fact that the informaThese also belong to the Record Group 10 series.
tion provided by the government is neither
objective nor complete.
The Resource Centre o f the Union of B . C . Indian
Chiefs has been in existence since December of 1977. It
was established by the Union to serve the information
needs of the Indian People i n British Columbia. We have
described our major holdings in back issues of the
U B C I C News/Indian World (see especially October
1978, November 1978 and September 1979). However,
for new researchers or new readers we thought a recap of
what we have here might be valuable. Our holdings
consist of materials from the Land Claims Centre in Victoria and materials acquired during the last two years.
The collection consists of published and unpublished
books, photographs, periodicals, news-clippings, microfilm, film, reports and maps. The subjects covered by
these materials include fishing, land claims, education,
economic development, Indian Government plus many
other issues o f interest to the Indian people of British
Columbia.
District Research Files
Another important source of information available at
the Resource Centre are the District Research Files. They
were compiled at the Land Claims Centre in Victoria to
assist the Bands in research projects. The information
contained in the files include papers and reports published by the B . C . Government, schedule of reserves,
short list of books on Bands and tribes of each district
plus much more information. The district files would be
an excellent starting point for Band researchers, whether
they they are working on land claims or the history of the
Band.
INDIAN W O R L D 38
B . C . Indian Bands, Indian people and researchers are
encouraged to make use o f this very important source o f
information. It is possible to photocopy all documents
necessary on the reader-printer. The Resource Centre
staff cannot, however, photocopy all R G 10 material on a
specific Band or tribe as the microfilms have not been
completely catalogued. The Resource Centre will be purchasing more R G 10 material as they become available.
McKenna-McBride Commission Reports
Also available at the Resource Centre is the Report on
the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for the
Province o f British Columbia (McKenna-McBride
Commission) and the transcripts o f these hearings (The
Peoples' Evidence). The McKenna-McBride Commission
was responsible for the taking away of land from existing
reserves, i n spite o f the fact that the Indian people maintained that they needed more land, not less. The transcripts of these hearings contain evidence given by the
Chiefs of the Bands.
The Resource Centre also has material on B . C . Indian
history, Canadian history, housing, the Indian A c t and
other topics of interest to B . C . Indians. The materials
contained in the Resource Centre could prove to be
invaluable to Bands in areas such as land claims.
A s the Resource Centre was established to serve the
information needs of the Indian People i n British Columbia, we would be happy to help you make maximum use
of it. The staff of the Resource Centre will do their
utmost to provide information requested.
TEACHING OUR TEACHERS
Student Teachers Chosen from
Band School Staff
Student teachers were basically
chosen from teacher-aides and paraprofessionals already working in
the Mount Currie School. To be admitted to the program, they had to
have had six months of documented,
successful teacher-aide experience, as
well as letters of recommendation
from teachers for whom they had
worked. Several of these candidates
also had a year or two of higher education in various regional colleges,
and some were admitted to S F U as
mature students. N o one who showed
exceptional promise was turned
away. The decisions about who
would become student teachers and
who would not were made jointly by
the Ts'zil Board and SFU—as have
all decisions about course work.
continued to provide courses, and all
of the original group of student
teachers
eventually
obtained
Standard Certificates.
All Seventeen Graduates
Working in Mt. Currie School
Two separate groups of Mount
Currie people, totalling 17 persons,
completed this basic training by 1977,
and all o f them found work in the
Mount Currie Community School.
hard and hope to receive their teaching licenses by this fall.
Because the Ts'zil Board of Education wanted to give priority to the
local Indian language and culture in
our school curriculum, we felt that we
had to have teachers from Mount
Currie reserve. A t first, a number of
available, reasonably-educated Indians were offered employment within the school as teacher-aides; but the
Teaching Training is Based in
Classrooms
Student teachers learned how to
teach by being in the classrooms with
master teachers. Later, they would
take courses which would show them
the theories that went with the
approaches they had watched and
learned. English courses were essential early courses in their programs as
were Educational Methods and
Foundation courses. Some of these
were provided
by the
on-site
supervisor and some from staff
brought in from the university.
Throughout the period of their inclassroom training, student teachers
spent two days per week in workshops given by S F U professors. A t
the end of 11/2to 2 years of practicum
and course work in Mount Currie, the
student teachers qualified for British
Columbia Teaching Licenses which
would allow them to teach in provincial schools up to 48 months. By the
end of 48 months, their professional
qualifications had to be updated to
the Standard Certificate level. S F U
Mary Susan James teaching the kids the basics of basket weaving in the Mount
Currie School. Training our own teachers is our way of making sure that our
cultural education remains a priority in our own schools.
We could do this because outside teachers were not rehired once native
teachers became available. Other
persons from the community who
took these courses have found positions in curriculum and administration. In the past year, an additional 8
student-teachers have been studying
Board realized that this was a stopgap measure at best. Outside teachers
still had classroom control and could
limit cultural activities. Also, many
aides tended to accept the standard
programs outlined by the master teachers, rather than insisting on a
widely-ranging cultural program.
INDIAN W O R L D 39
Finding a School Interested in
Meeting our Requirements
So in 1973, Board members made
the rounds of several university
Faculties of Education to try to
persuade one of them to take on the
training of Indian student teachers
from Mount Currie. Two of the
major ones demanded a four year
training program
and
practiceteaching in the overly-efficient classrooms of the public school system. A s
our aim was to have teachers trained
to meet the special needs of Mount
Currie, these programs were too
standard and inflexible to be considered. We also wanted a program
which would put qualified teachers in
the classroom in a short period of
time, and as well would allow for the
practice-teaching in classrooms in
Mount Currie. Only i n this way
would the Board have any say in the
kind of teachers developed for its
school. Simon Fraser University decided to meet those needs.
YOUTH GATHERING
AT OWL ROCK
It was morning. The smell of pine
and campfire was in the air as the sun
struggled to filter its rays through the
teepee. It would be another beautiful
day full of laughter, good food and
educational experiences for young
and old alike. It would be much more
for the two hundred and fifty odd
people gathered at O w l Rock Camp
for the next six days. The Okanagan
territory was up to its old tricks and
only offered the sun to us in momentary glimpses this first day. The rains
fell a short while on the hills overlooking the camp. We did need water
and the workers who had worked so
hard the previous weeks i n preparation welcomed the rains.
Of Course There Were Some
Problems
This program did not occur
without problems. A major one was
the inadequate educational backgrounds of some of the student teachers. Courses had to be planned to fill
in some of this background—a situation which would not have been the
case with other student teachers. The
main problem in keeping the studentteachers in the program turned out to
be financial. D I A finally agreed to
pay tuition costs and the Ts'zil Board
squeezed our limited budget to find
money for maintenance of the
student teachers while they studied.
Eventually, D I A agreed to pay living
costs for these student teachers.
Mostly it was Hard Work
Much of the progress may seem to
have occurred because o f luck, but
hard work by everyone involved
made the program a success. A t least
one other group, Enderby, has a
student teacher training program for
natives set up in conjunction with
SFU.
INDIAN WORLD 40
A youngboyanxiouslyasked,
" W h a t we gonna do today?" The
answer had to be, " W e l l , what would
you like to d o ? " The boy thought of
the possibilities. Maybe he would go
swimming after the morning pipe
ceremony, or go hunting with the
older
people.
He thought
of
canoeing, fishing, climbing the obstacle course, hiking, o r . . . . He decided
to chop wood instead and think about
it some more.
Some
went
to
sweat
very
early
in
the morning; others were cooking
breakfast. "This isn't an interior teepee," Mario said as he reached for
the cold water that would wake him
from a deep sleep. He had been on
"guard duty" all night, ensuring that
there were no problems " f r o m the
outside" and kept the fire people
company as his trail passed them.
" B u t , it doesn't matter," he told us.
Later he would explain that it was its
practicality that was important and it
was true, the fire inside was warm in
that cool mountain air.
The Elders were always served first
and breakfast was a hit, as were all
the meals. We had mush, eggs,
pancakes, stew, frybread, vegetables,
salmon (Indian caviar!) from all over
and there was always coffee.
We were offered the pipe to
celebrate the new day. It was the
beauty of the ceremony and the truth
of the prayers that gave it its
integrity. The day was well on its way
to becoming another one of joy and
discovery. People were fixing their
drums, learning how to build a leanto, washing dishes, repairing axes;
some went down to a ranch haying,
others were learning to canoe and
watching how to make paddles. The
young boy had decided on fishing and
already was celebrating two catches
of trout.
Later in the day there would be
archery, 22 range-shooting, hiking,
lean-to building and more. For now,
we settled on getting a couple more
canoes for the races. We went into a
totally different reality called " t o w n "
but escaped and got back to camp
before the talks around the fire. If
you wanted to talk politics, tell jokes,
stories or history, and share in the
wisdom of the Elders, you could.
Everyone participated.
After learning to play stick-game,
and listening to the drumming, the
little boy went to sleep and began
dreaming of Our Indian W o r l d . . .
the teachings of the Elders were being
celebrated in his sleep.
Thanks for support and help at native
youth gathering
A special note of thanks to Chief MorrisKruger and his Council members of
the Penticton Indian Band for giving the permission for the Union of B . C .
Indian Chiefs and the O w l Rock Camp staff to host this annual Native Youth
Conference.
A n d a very warm thank you to all those volunteers who put so much work into
the camp's chores and cooking help and those who came from far and near to
help with their good spirit.
In order to keep up the sprits of the people we had two fine cooks who did a
lot of work with traditional Indian foods and passed on the spirits to the young.
people of what, it really means to share in survival.
We have many young people who share in the sacred ways and who through
their presence always contribute a helping spirit to all of the people in any
gathering. They shared many sacred songs to the creator to give thanks for this
good experience.
There is a balance i n everything and we really found this to be true from our
spiritual leaders who did everything from talking around the sacred fires and
doing ceremonies to helping to make the youth gathering the successful experience that it was for each and every one who went through this beautiful
experience.
A special thanks to old man Charlie for being the keeper of this lake for so
long and who made everyone feel welcome to O w l Rock Camp. The same
appreciation for the revered dedication of Mario and Jeanette Bonneau, and
Mario George for building and maintaining the camp purely on a volunteer
basis. The Elders that were present at the conference helped us in many ways
by their presence, by sharing their wisdom and knowledge with the young
people around the sacred fire and in sharing a listening ear to the children of
today.
HELP WANTED
R E F E R R A L WORKER: L I L L O O E T FRIENDSHIP
CENTRE
Duties: To monitor all requests coming into the Friendship Centre by phone or in person. T o provide people
with information about housing, employment, education, legal and financial matters and personal problems,
and to refer them to those in the community or district
who can deal with these matters in more depth if
necessary. To supervise those using the Centre from 9-5
p.m. and keep statistics of these for funding purposes. To
share the typing duties with the Bookkeeper.
Full-time, permanent position to commence Monday,
August 18, or A . S . A . P . Salary negotiable.
P R O G R A M DIRECTOR: L I L L O O E T FRIENDSHIP
CENTRE
Responsible for development, initiation, implementation, leadership and reporting on Programs operated by
the Friendship Centre.
This is a full-time, permanent position with regular
hours. Applicant must be responsible, reliable, willing to
work with other staff, F . C . Board of Directors, community agencies (Native and non-Native), and members of
the public of all ages.
Job to commence A . S . A . P . $10,000 per year.
Written resume and application to Gordie Peters, Box
465, Lillooet, B . C . V 0 K 1V0. Phone: 256-7616.
INDIAN WORLD 41
Our Elders have stated as an unchanging principle in our policies on Indian Education, that w
teachings of our Ancestors there will be no language, traditions and customs to pass on to ou
We have heard it told time and time again that the language is the heart of our culture. Wit
are ineffective to teach our children the truth of the teachings of our old ones. We ne
effectiveness to better understand the true meaning of Indian Education which can be the tru
to Indian Government.
THE HEART OF OUR CULTURE
IS OUR LANGUAGE
BY Glen Williams
Time is of the essence in coming to deal with our
mother tongue. Society's ways are exploitation, making
money or gaining prestige. T o try and help our people to
regain what we have lost i n the past century through this
approach doesn't work. Our children wait for us to take
over our destinies, to go on teaching the ways of our
people. We can no longer accept the feeble kind of help
that ministries and universities try to do for the Indian
people.
Indian Language Program Not Set Up By Indian
People
Now the ministries are once again trying to do the same
thing and the pattern is to pass a private b i l l — A N A C T
TO ESTABLISH A N INSTITUTE OF N A T I V E INDIAN L A N G U A G E S FOR B . C . They have not sought
of exploitation has been the publication of Indian language stories and legends by linguists who claimed good
fortune from our people and exploited the precious
energies of our Elders for few pennies.
Making Our Own Laws About Our Languages
We have Indian Governments and Organizations that
will help the people to get what we want for the recognition and respect of our Indian languages i n schools and i n
society today. We must make a collective appeal to our
Band governments to try and do something about this
kind of exploitation and make our own laws concerning
our own tribal languages. Band governments must work
with tribal governments and with power from the four
directions we will get what we want for ourselves.
"Our children wait for us to take over our destinies. "From left, Rose Point, Violet Charlie, Nora George,
Albert Phillips and Emilia Douglas at Musqueam Band.
any kind of legal documentation by the Indian people of
B . C . For many years they have been feebly trying to seek
certification for our trusted Elders and Language teachers to be recognized by the Ministry o f Education. Setting
up societies and forming elite groups will not gain the
power and teach our children our precious languages.
Exploitation by Universities
For the past ten years these people and professional
linguists that have been working on Indian language programs have tried to set up an elite sort of way to
introduce it to the university way of life. Another avenue
INDIAN W O R L D 42
There is a tentative conference date set for September
26-27, 1980 by an Indian language instructors' committee to try and deal with the language development issue.
For certain there is a General Assembly October 14-17,
1980 and perhaps this would be time to deal with these
kinds of issues.
To build another Institute for Indian people is to waste
money. We have land and facilities like St. Mary's
Student Residence in Mission, B . C . , headed for closure
by D I A policy. These are some things to think about in
the development of Indian Government through our
Bands and tribal Councils and the survival of our Indian
languages.
THE UNION OF B.C. CHIEFS
TWELFTH
ANNUAL GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OCTOBER 14-17
During the Annual General Assembly, there
will be a photography display. Many Indian
people are capturing the Indian culture
through photography. It is an art.
As we are rediscovering our past, so too must
the Indian culture of today be documented—to
recordforever the faces of our Elders, the
laughter of our children and the daily life of our
people.
In photography, we get images. Sometimes
these images are captured by the photographer
who sees the spirit of the people or the person in
one single moment. That becomes our image
and it is recorded forever.
At the Annual Assembly, the photography
display will be another unique way of expressing our Indianness and especially at this point in
time when we are implementing Indian
government—a great tribute to the Indian
culture which will never die.
CONFERENCE DETAILS:
PLACE
and
TIME
October 14—Workshops at Robson Square
Media Center: 800 Robson Street
October 15 -17—Assembly Italian Cultural
Center, 3075 Slocan Street, Vancouver, B . C .
(phone: 430-3337)
THEME: IMPLEMENTING INDIAN GOVERNMENT
F R O M : UNION OF B . C . INDIAN CHIEFS
440 WEST HASTINGS ST.
V A N C O U V E R , B . C . V6B 1L1
SECOND CLASS M A I L
REGISTRATION NUMBER 4983
VANCOUVER, B.C.
The
theme of
this year's General Assembly is Implementation of Indian
Government. The basis for
our discussions will be the A b o r i ginal Rights Position which has been
adopted
by the Indian people of B . C . This
position and the Indian Government Manifesto declared at the First Nations Conference in Ottawa are
presented as a Special Supplement to the Indian W o r l d in
preparation for the discussions.
Our Children are Our Survival and we are responsible
for bringing them up to be strong and confident, to desire
and take control o f their lives: this is the message from
Chief B i l l Mussell of the Skwaw Band (page 28). Chief
Manuel of Neskainlith talks of taking community
justice into our own hands on page 30, while the control
of community education through control of teacher
training is described by the Ts'zil Board on page 39. More
Indian teachers graduated from N I T E P this year: thanks
to Frances Johnson of A l k a l i Lake Band for his report to
"Our World."
The Canim Lake trappers discuss the steps they are
taking to ensure a part i n their community's integrated
resource management plans (page 14) while an event in
Bella Coola prompted an article on the proper management of fishing resources (page 18).
We haven't left out the festivals and joyful occasions in
Our W o r l d . Thanks to Joanne Dixon and Jerry Patrick
of Nazko Band for their story on the Stoney Creek Indian
Days and the K'san Dancers for their pictures and story
of their trip to Edmonton (page 12). We also covered the
Sekani Days, the Bridge River Fish In, the Anaham
Rodeo and the Seton Marathon. Thanks to everyone
involved for the hospitality we enjoyed with you.
SPECIAL
SUPPLEMENT
ian Chiefs
. Ind
C
ion of B.
Aboriginal Rights Pos
Un
ition
EDITORIAL
So often, at political meetings and during political
discussions, I have heard our people say over and
over again that our society has always been a matriar-
chal society, a society in which the bloodline is deter-
mined by the woman; a society in which women have
always had influence in terms of political decision-
making. And yet, at these meetings and during these
discussions, women are present to make: coffee,
arrange lunches, register delegates and handle travel
arrangements. Are we not talking in one language
and acting in another?
Our political leaders are usually men; women play
the ‘‘support roles.’’ The laws of this country remain
unequal in terms of Indian women being ‘‘punished’’
for marrying outside of our race, while Indian men
“‘pass On’’ their bloodline to the white women they
marry and the children they have. All this is in direct
opposition to most of the matriarchal tribal tradi-
tions of this country.
The defense of non-action taken by political lea-
ders, phrases like ‘‘we can’t separate our struggle by
recognizing only the struggles of women’’ or ‘‘we
have to stick together”’ or ‘‘we have to make sure of
what we’re doing before we change the Indian Act’’
have become the jaded code-words of procrastina-
tion.
The truth is, until Indian women are treated as
human beings, both in Indian and non-Indian, or
federal-provincial government law, there is really no
Indian movement. A movement is a movement of the
people. ‘‘The people’’ includes the more than 50%
female Indian population among our nations.
Looking at the non-Indian society, the problems
there tend to be magnified within the Indian commu-
nity, and among minority populations within any
majority society. So problems like unemployment,
alcoholism, family problems, are intensified in our
community. And the problems that women in main-
stream society face are hundreds of times more
stressful among Indian women: poverty, abuse by
men, family breakdowns, employment problems—
Indian women are being crushed by these things. We
need the support of the entire Indian community.
If we’re really talking about a movement of the
people, of all our people who want to be involved,
then let’s be realistic about the situation as it now
stands. Surely we don’t want to lose more women to
the mainstream society; this has been happening be-
cause many of our women don’t feel they have the
recognition, or employment or political opportuni-
ties, within our own organizations.
It’s past time for our leaders and the people to
seriously meet this challenge, to begin meeting the
reality of today’s Indian women, and not yesterday’s
illusion. We’re still waiting, a little less patiently, but
just as anxiously, for that true moment of political
unity.
We must take the responsibility to tell our leaders
at the community and provincial levels to begin
working for what we want; we have to give them
direction. And they must be responsive to our needs,
because without us, their goals would be hollow and
false. Indian Government means responsibility, and
a part of meeting that responsibility means ensuring
that women have the roles we want and deserve in
our people’s political work. Both women and men
still must tackle the responsibility of redefining our
political and personal relationships to each other.
Without good seed and good earth, the tall tree won’t
grow.
by Val Dudoward
(Communications Co-ordinator)
OUR COVER: The Indian Government flag was raised at the Bridge River Fish In to give strength and hope in
our fight to save our fishing for our children. (See page 16 for story).
Do you have a picture for the cover of our ‘‘Indian World’’? See inside for competition details.
WORLD Indian Government by providing an awareness of the
Signed articles and opinions are the views of the
political and social issues affecting the Indians of
VOLUME 3 NUMBER 5 individuals concerned and not necessarily those of the
7 < INDIAN WORLD is the official voice of the Union
: of British Columbia Indian Chiefs.
It is dedicated to building a strong foundation for
British Columbia. ©
UBCIC.,
Table of Contents
BIO al ecg sae OTs oe eres as ea a ee Z
BEK@MLAVS! dey.” votes ewok Sk "ah Wie Sete 6
President’s Message... .. 2... 0i..cb ees > a ee 7
Nishgas fight to protect Fishing Grounds ..........8
Munro’s Flying Visit to Interior Bands ...........10
**Change Socio-Economic Thinking”’
“9 Demands at NIB Assembly .........450-e cee. i]
g NIB Elections ey Wy real ee 2 aes > tlseae Oh ee
9 POurwerdsj::.....F.e meee m4 Sei 12
7 Band Resources don’t have to Conflict:
e Canim-Lake Trappers Study .............0000. 14
® Bridge River Fish-in......... te oe & og pe 16
es . Fish Management: "
Chief Sam Baptiste of Osoyoos and Xavier Eugene Washington/B.C., Share Information .......... 16
of Windemere take a break from the NIB Assembly PAVRUINCAGV TAG. Se. Sabet ors ah: «gl an ecieey os « enna 17
last month to enjoy the Prairie space (see page 11). Fisheries Mix Up Priorities ...0......01...0. 30508 18
= : ie ae SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT ...........--.6. 19-26
Co IN t i I b U to r S Aboriginal Rights Position ..... Denia eas) See 20
: ' Indian Government Manifesto ..............4. 24
Editors: Faye Edgar and Darrell Ned ,
; ats : AP MaMMoe sh ae any Senet oles rT a £4
ene ca eotiel aulne Dougtas PW Way Oharing <i 00. J. 5) tues a cwaeaetadd 28
Written contributions: Canim Lake Trappers, Ts’zil Taking Justice into our Owit-Hands.....'0..as 3... 30
Board, Philip Paul, Archie Pootlass, Bill Mussel, Indian Health: Beating the Odds DA edis eats «A Sc 33
Francis Johnson, Joanne Dixon and Jerry Patrick, New Family and Child Service Act............... 33
K’san Dancers, Bobby Manuel, Herman Thomas, Up-Dates eal deel nateel cece uel a:-aibaest clit ot tins of Cite ots oo eee ee 35
Faye Blaney, Ron Dan, Bess Brown, Millie Poplar, Reese Sean 2. 7S, ey cee a a 36.
- Debbie Joe, Jeff Smith, Glen Williams, Sylvia Woods, Resource RSET ne 8 oa Ne eee ee aly «(a els ae 38
Willard Martin, Sadie Wornstaff, Buddy Napoleon, Teaching Our Teachers » ottans foag (le pee ee 39
PeeWee Gottfriedson, Gail Stump, and Val Dudoward Youth Gathering at Owl Rock...... inst GHEE, biomes a 40
PPIs CO pe gcc bse oka) hele > ed Beas 41
Photographs: UBCIC staff unless credited The Heart of our Culture is our Language ........ 42
Typesetting: Mary Schendlinger i | 12th Annual General Assembly................. .43
Supplement Illustrations by Angeline Eagle . ey
INDIAN WORLD 3
Nearly every Indian community is
having to work out its own way of-
coping with non-Indian welfare
workers who have fixed ideas of how
children should be raised and by
whom.
Where they don’t see their
own values in place, they feel most
strongly that our children would be
better off in white foster homes.
The misunderstandings and fears
between Indian families and often
well-intentioned welfare workers
were much in evidence in the Fort
Ware area in early August. A member
of the UBCIC legal task force, and
her one year old son, were up there
for a Treaty 8 workshop. She was
asked to visit Mrs. Lillian Masselto to
discuss the problems of child appre-
hension and on her way over to the
house her son began to cry. While she
was trying to make him feel better, 9
year old Ida Masselto came up to
him, ‘‘Don’t cry baby, welfare will
get you.’’ Families are walking
around with a lot of fear.
INDIAN WORED 4
7 a
fi
4 .
nd
ts \
oe
, , s el ~~
Fy a. i“ Fo
L
\
Ca
Parénts and Grandparents Win
Custody of Children at least
Until Trial Date
The next day eight cases of child
apprehension were due to be heard at
court in McKenzie. This was the first
day of the proceedings, where the
apprehended children ,and their
parents have to be at court to fix a
date for trial or to decide if the par-
ents want the children to be tempor-
arily or permanently placed in the
care of the welfare, without having a
hearing. All the parents and grand-
parents were in McKenzie to seriously
fight all the cases.
The first case involved a woman
who had said that she would give up
her child for adoption, but as soonas
the baby was born, she had changed
her mind. Welfare apprehended the
baby saying the mother didn’t have
the skills to be a mother. UBCIC.
lawyer argued that there are people in’
the mother’s own community to teach
her those skills. It was a really fierce
battle.
Child
-Apprehensions
JUDGE
SENDS
“@, CHILDREN
The social worker would not,
for a long time, admit that there was
anybody in the community who could
help out! Finally it was agreed that
mother and baby should return home
and there would be a review in two
weeks to see that the baby was all
Tight.
isn’t Dried Moose Meat Good
Food? :
The second case involved four
children who had been apprehended
from the grandparents’ house. The
social worker said that she had found
them ‘dirty and hungry.’”’ The lawyer
had visited the grandparents’ house—
and there was a lot of dried meat
hanging from the rafters which the
social worker had not considered.
There was a lot of food. No one in the
community has running water and the
notion of ‘‘clean’’ was just a question
of values. The social worker again
strongly opposed it. The people felt
that, if there was a problem, then it
was one that could be handled by the
community.
ae
“
f ai
P J
R o;
ee i
- 4
i a
The judge agreed and .
ordered the children to return home
until the final trial date. He asked,
however, that the community,
through the Chief and Council, send
down weekly reports on the children
in the meantime.
Grandparents’ Rights
The last case was also won. This
also involved a grandmother whose
three children had been taken away.
Non-Indian courts don’t recognize
authority and rights of grandparents
for their grandchildren. So although
the two elder children were returned
the case was put over till September. -
till the mother could appear for the
case of the baby.
Differing Notions of Jurisdiction
and Values
The whole situation of differing
social values and differing ideas
about responsibilities and authority
was there. In each case, however, the
judge decided not so much on
question of jurisdiction but on the
=
en «
ae
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fbee Sie
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question of the best interests of the
children. As a result of these argu-
ments the social worker did approach
- the Band to see if they could improve
their working relationship.
Community Responsibility
One of the major points of the day
was that the judge confirmed that the
community should take the responsi- |
bility for the welfare of their children.
“‘We thought we should be more in-
volved with it,’? commented Chief
Harry Chingee, ‘‘It’s only since last
winter that our public is noticing it
and remarking that the chief and
council should look into the matter.
So the chiefs in our area are going to
get together and see what we can
come up with. We do have some cases
that are bad, but most are not. You
know it’s often a case of civil servants
looking out more for their own jobs *
than for the welfare of our children.
They haven’t talked to us. We would
like to see the Chief and Council in-
volved more: we don’t want to be left
out of the decision-making.
And we would like to see the UBCIC
involved politically to support us.”’
The Chiefs and Council will be
meeting through ‘‘Sekani Days’’ to
look at other Band laws on child pro-
tection and to draw up a statement of
their position. e
INDIAN JUSTICE
SYSTEM
On July 20, 1980, the regulations re-
garding the Spallumcheen children
became their Band’s law. The
document is written in both English
and Shuswap. I[t spells out very
clearly the community’s authority
and responsibility to make sure their
children are taken care of within
their own community. The Spallum-
cheen Band will have exclusive juris-
diction over any child custody pro-
ceeding involving any child who is a
member of the Band, no matter
where the child is or has been living.
INDIAN WORLD 5
On August 21st and 22nd the Seka-
_ ni Nation had a gathering on McLeod
Lake Reserve. People travelled a lot
of miles to get to McLeod Lake from
Fort Ware to Ingenika to Finlay
Forks by boat then by car.
On the first day the Chiefs and
Band members had a meeting. As
Harry Chingee said, ‘‘The gathering
here is to educate my people on our
rights for Land Claims.’’ This ‘was
the second gathering in the last 3
years. It’s only the beginning and
they plan to have many more, to get
stronger as a Nation. Nick Prince
said, ‘Gatherings like this happen
only because of you people, get toge-
ther, talk and get ideas then bring «it
home and tell your Chief. A Chief
cannot do it alone. We have to work
together to survive and keep our cul-
ture alive.”’
It was such a beautiful sunny day,
on thefirst day of the gathering. As
the meeting got started, “‘Sekani’’
(their Eagle) flies over. As Pearly
Tylee says, ‘‘Oh that’s Sekani. He
always comes and checks up on us.’’
The ladies were busily preparing the
meals, bannock, deer meat, fish,
beaver meat, moose meat, bear
meat, potatoes, salads, vegetables,
home made bread, cinnamon buns,
baked cakes, huckleberry pie and
much amore which were so tasty and
filling. They were thanked heartily by :
INDIAN WORLD 6
all the people there for all the work
they did to feed us all.
The Doh Da Dee Cla Friendship
‘ Centre from Prince George added
good spirit with their dancers which
some of the Band members have
joined. Then later in the evening
people played the La’Hal game and
turned in for the night in their tents.
This -year because of developers
going through Sekani land, overlog-
ging the land they are feeling very
threatened as they rely so much on
the land and wildlife (a good example
is a Prince George Company getting
charged $450,000 for overlogging the
area in 1979). This year the people are
finding it very hard to hunt moose,
and are relying on last year’s stock
for meat. They are worried it will bea
rough winter.
The government and developers have
never asked Sekani Indians to go
through their land or to log over
someone’s . trapline. The Sekani
Nation has never given up their right
to the land, they still own the land.
The trapping and fur-trading the
Sekani people did in 1824, the same
amount is. still done today. This
proves how much the Sekani people
live off the land for their livelihood.
As Andy Solonas Senior said it is
‘for our children and grandchildren
that we must exercise our right to the.
land and protect it. — Se
eit |
| PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE
Why has the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs lasted this.
long despite all the different attacks it has had from
various quarters? Simply because the majority of Bands
have been successful in coming together and bringing
about effective change in policy areas. With the collective
strength of other Bands under the Union of B.C. Indian
Chiefs, many communities have stopped the negative
efforts of big governments in areas of policy or
detrimental government projects.
The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs has done this without
raising loud banners of self praise but in many instances
has proceeded very quietly, providing the necessary
technical assistance and helping a community on to vic-
tory with a particular struggle.
This approach has been so effective that the word in
Ottawa among high ranking ministers of the Federal
government is that the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs has
to be destroyed at all costs. The Regional Director of
Indian Affairs, Mr. Fred Walchli has been using Indian
Affairs money and programs to counter any approaches
put forward by the member Bands of the Union. The
Regional Director has successfully organized all the
opposers to the Union into a Regional Forum to strength-
en the opposition to the Union.
The Federal Fisheries under the directorship of Wally
Johnson has denied the Union any research funding for
Indian fishing despite the many charges and apparent
problems in the Indian fishing throughout the Province.
This is just a few examples of how the government is
curtailing the effectiveness of the Union. The Federal
government is cowardly using our own people against us
but I have full confidence that the majority will see
through the Federal government strategy and respond
Philip Paul, Portfolio Head for Education, presents
Larry Pierre with a blanket at the Special Assembly on
Education at Penticton between June 16-21, 1980.
with the collective strength that has brought us through in
the past. The strength of our ancestors will be passed to
the next generation.
Yours in Brotherhood,
Vice President for South-Western Region
(EC Faulk
Philip Paul
INDIAN WORLD 7
=e
Set = ee
.
*
'
i
.
“We can say right now the Amax
mining company has offered us 2
share in their mine and our share is
going to be death. It’s going to
mean death to our people because
our food chain will have been con-
taminated. We even say now that
our entire fishery, the commercial
fishery, of this whole northwest is
being threatened.’’ (James Gosnell, .
President, Nishga Tribal Council)
Company Plans on Unsurren-
dered Land
The Nishga Tribal Council has
spent July and August visiting other
Indian organizations, environmental
groups and talking to the media,
organizing support for their fight
against the reopening of the
molybdenum mine in Alice Arm. The
area that would be affected is part of
the Nishga land claim. The Kitsault
mine and townsite is an area where
some Nishga Chiefs have tradition-
ally had hunting and fishing camps.
The access road, running 22 miles
from the Stewart-Terrace highway,
runs right through the unsurrendered
land. Yet not once have the Nishga
people been consulted, let alone
offered participation in the Amax
Company’s plans. When they did
mention that this land is unsurren-
dered Indian land, the company cried
unfair, and accused the Tribal Coun-
cil of using the mining plans as
leverage in their land claims negotia-
tions. The company claims this is a
Federal/Provincial problem and does
not see their plans for the mine as
having any relevance to the situation.
Amax Acts as if the Nishga
Didn’t Exist
The mine operated between 1968
and 1972. Since it was discovered that
molybdenum is useful in strengthen-
ing steel, the price has gone up to
$10.00 a pound. Amax of Canada
Ltd. bought the mine and plans to put
it back into operation in 1981/82.
The Kitsault mine is on Alice Arm,
about 130 miles north of Prince Ru-
pert. The company plans to spend
millions on developing the town and
building the road; but it won’t be
INDIAN WORLD 8
NISHGAS FIGHT TO
PROTECT FISHING
GROUNDS
License to pollute based on
wrong information
spending money on tailing ponds for
the waste. By next summer, Amax
plans to have 450 employees there.
Construction work has already begun
and already a $40,000 satellite recei-
ving station has been installed for all
movie T.V. channels from San Fran-
cisco. According to a Financial Post
article on Amax, sports hunters at the
construction site ‘‘who have just en-
joyed a heavy run of spring salmon,
can hardly wait for the new road to
open up what promises to be
exceptional moose hunting.”’
ALASKA
b° Stewart
BRITISH
Kincolith j
COLUMBIA
Terrance »
The company has never considered
training or employing Nishga people:
it has never considered any possible
benefits to them, or profit sharing
with them. Amax has acted all along
as if the Nishga people were not there
at all.
Special Exemption to Pollute
What is most alarming, however, is
the company’s plan to dump mine
tailings right into the inlet. This is
against all pollution regulations and
especially against those of the Federal
Fisheries Act, the Metal Mining Li-
quid Effluent regulations. Yet, Amax
has received an exemption by an
Order-in-Council from the former
Liberal government. Under the
Federal Fisheries regulations 25 parts
per million of suspended matter in the
water is the maximum. The
exemption puts no maximum, -though
provincial regulations do put on a
400,000 parts per million restriction!
The Order-in-Council permits dis-
charge of a hundred million tons of
mill process effluent into Alice Arm
where, according to the study pre-
pared for the Company, it would
settle on the bottom of the inlet and
| in time be covered up by river silting.
According to the same study, the
waste products (containing arsenic,
lead, mercury, cadmium and radium
226) are not detrimental to marine
‘life. And according to this study,
there is no native food fishery at Alice
Arm.
No independent study was asked
for, nor further information required
from Federal Fisheries. No socio-
economic or environmental impact
study was required. The Nishga peo-
ple were not asked to give their evi-
‘dence.
Once they found out about it, only
4-5 months ago, Nishga Tribal Coun-
cil was able to document inaccuracies
and inadequacies in this study that
show it to be-worthless as evidence on
which to base a pollution exemption.
Currents Will Spread Tailings _
A UBC oceanographer pointed out
evidence of heavier, saltier water
flowing into the inlet mixing up the
water and sediments. The Utah Mines
Ltd. had made a claim that their tail-
ings would also settle permanently
into one basin: they’ve been proved
wrong -
Mine Wastes Have Wiped Out
Marine Life in Quatsino Sound
The Indian people of Quatsino
Sound and Hallbourg Inlet and all the
areas affected by Utah mines waste
say their marine resources have been
virtually wiped out by the tailings.
The study for testing how’ poisonous
is the discharge into Alice Arm is
deficient, claims the Tribal Council:
trout are kept in the effluent for 96
hours and if not more than SO’of the
fish die, the effluent passes the lethal-
ity (fatality) test. However, there has
been no study of long term effects,
and scientists say that the poison can
stay in an organism for a couple of
years and accumulate up to. lethal
levels. The effect of accumulation of
toxic substances over a period of 50-
100 years is just not known.
Track Record of Pollution
Amax’s track record in pollution
fines and in not obeying pollution
‘regulations gives the Tribal Council
further cause for alarm. They docu-
mented a record of nine instances
where the company was fined heavily
or taken to court for contamination
of water resources, damage to the
land and/or polluting the air.
Finally, the Nishgas are challenging
the study’s statement that local In-
dians do not fish in the area. Had
anyone asked the Nishga fisheries
department of even Federal Fisheries
they would have found that 2,000
Nishga get a portion of their diet
from Alice Arm and that for at least
212 Kincolith people, it is a very
significant portion. There is no men-
tion of the clams or cockles fishery:
yet in one month last summer, over
three tons of cockles and three tons of
clams were taken by-Kincolith people
from Alice Arm. The study talks of
five Dungeness crabs being taken in
40 days of fishing: yet five Kincolith
boats took 92 Dungeness crabs within
a week, with one or two pots each,
while digging for clams.
Demand for Immediate
Moratorium
The Nishga Tribal Council is cal-
ling for an immediate moratorium on
Amax’s proposed marine disposal
system. If tailing ponds are unsafe in
the rainy and unstable mountains,
they say then another way must be
EME: INDIAN G
ist Prize-—35. mim camera |
2nd Prize-—--Cassette tape recorder
ard ee eS Bacio
RULES:
measure $ x FO.
mounted.
areemployers-or freelancing. -
test is October ist, E986.
OL The contest is-open to ail B.C. Indians.
ag: The niinimwm size of photograph submitted should
a ail photographs submitted to the contest rast be
taken by the person entering the contest,
4, Photographs submitted to the contest shail not be
5. The contest is closed to all UBCIC staff plus phato-
graphers of magazines and newspapers whether they
6, The deadline for entries into the phate
For ge eeoraaton be contact oe coe
qa!
found.
“‘We are astonished,’’ stated the
Tribal-Council in a telex to Fisheries
Minister Romeo LeBlanc, ‘‘that your
government could subject our people
to such risk, without the slightest con-
sultation with us. It has become evi-
dent that the information upon which
you and your Cabinet based your de-
cision was incomplete and
misleading...We will not sit back
and watch while we are made into
guinea pigs in an_ environmental
experiment undertaken with such
reckless disregard for our health and
our way of life.”’
This has become more-than an In-
dian issue, says the Tribal Council.
This multi-national company is about
to completely smother and contamin-
ate the sea life of one of B.C.’s most
beautiful fjords. Many
environmental groups have come out
in support of the Nishgas’ struggle.
They are demanding that the Federal
Government immediately revoke the
Alice Arm = Order-in-Council and
demanding a full and public inquiry
into the impact of the Amax proposal.
The Nishga Tribal Council is asking
for support in the form of written
letters to the Minister of Fisheries to
back their demands. @
AnIndian-
owned general
development i
| Z | consulting
group oe
- (indian Consulting Group) Ltd.
Economic feasibility studies
Preparation of funding proposals
Project planning/implementation
Socio-economic impact analysis
Negotiations with government/industry |
Band organization and training
graphy con |
225-744 West Hastings Street
Vancouver
(604) 682-7615
V6C 1A5
INDIAN WORLD 9
MUNRO’S
FLYING VISIT
WITH INTERIOR
BANDS
Report from Lynn Jorgensson,
Nicola Indian
Leaders of the Central Interior
Tribal Council were supposed to meet
in Kamloops with John Munro, Mini-
ster of Indian Affairs on the evening
of July 31st. That meeting was can-
celled but a few well-placed phone
calls revealed that most of the top
level Regional office staff also hap-
pened to be in Kamloops that eve-
ning. They had not been invited -
However, the tightly scheduled
next day went well and Interior lea-
ders felt that a good deal was accom-
plished. Because the people had felt
their requirements would be under-
stood better if the Minister was actu-
ally at their Bands to see conditions
for himself, the tour was made by
helicopter.
Erosion at North Thompson
The first stop was to inspect river
bank erosion at the North Thompson
reserve. 100 acres have been eroded
since 1878. The Province refuses to
help since this is on Indian land.
Special Arda is doing a feasibility
study but federal funding would
be required. te
The next stop was Lillooet.(p.17)
Lytton School
When the Minister met with Chief
Nathan Spinks of Lytton, it was to
discuss the leasing of former Indian
residential school, St. Georges, to a
non-Indian. The people feel the
lease was badly handled by the DIA —
and that the lessee is abusing his privi-
leges. John Munro promised to help
terminate the lease and turn the
school land to reserve lands. Sharori
Spinks spoke of the problems their
childrem are experiencing in the Pro-
vincial school system: the Band wants
their MTA dollars returned to the In-
dians. ‘‘We contribute money to the
school via the MTA, we should be
able to do ’something,’’ responded the.
Minister.
INDIAN WORLD [0
Upper Nicola Concerns on Con-
stitutional Representation
At the Shulus kindergarten, Chief
George Saddleman of the Upper
Nicola. Band and chairman of the
local Area Council, spoke of
his concern that the Minister alone
would not be able to adequately rep-
resent Indian people at constitutional
talks. It was certain that the B.C.
government would not even try. He
called for Indian representation
there. Finally a pair of: beautiful
buckskin gloves made by Shulee
Kilroy was presented to the Minister.
NVIA: Trial Operation Outside DIA
At the Nicola Valley Indian admin-
istration, Chief Gordon Antoine of
the Coldwater Band spoke for an
agreement for long-term Indian
government that would lessen a lot of
red tape. He suggested a trial budget .
for local Bands there to operate out-
side of the department. The minister
gave his support for the idea.
The ' Significance of Spotted
Lake ;
At this stage, Chief Wayne Chris-
tian accompanied the Minister on an
unscheduled ride over Spotted Lake.
Minister was trying to understand the
spiritual value of the lake and it
strengthened his interest in buying
back the lake as a ‘‘commonage
reserve,’’ .
Back in Kamloops, Don Moses pre-
sented the CITC ‘‘Red Book’’ for.
Band Delivery of Services; and Ger-
ald Etienne of the South Central Area
Council presented the Hat Creek
Statement of Risk. John Munroe
guaranteed support. |
Core Funding
Herman Phillips of Boston Bar
called for an annual increase of 10%
core funding to keep up with infla-
tion. As well, when it comes to
per capita funding, B.C. and Ontario
are definitely down at the bottom.
While John Munro pledged to put
things up to a more equal footing, he
warned that it would take 3 or 4
years.
Return of Cut Off Lands Agreed
employment. on the project.
To But Not Forthcoming
Chief Morris Kruger of Penticton
Band brought up the question of cut-
off lands. For his Band this involved
11,000 acres. The Band had accepted
the provincial government’s offer of
last year but it seems that each gov-
ernment was waiting for the other to
act and nothing was happening.
Similkameen Erosion
Chiefs Barnie Allison .of Lower
Similkameen and Slim Allison of
Upper Similkameen spoke of their
river erosion problem. Special Arda
had already contributed 75% of the
necessary funding to resolve the
problem and needs a federal contri-
bution of 25%. This was guaranteed.
Alaska Highway Pipeline
It was the problems connected to
the Alaska Highway Pipeline that
concerned Chief Sophie Pierre, chair-
person of the Kootenay Indian Area
Council. Chey had presented two
submissions to Ottawa and had heard
nothing. The Kootenay people felt
that they are going to feel the brunt
of the construction problems and
they at least. want meaningful
The
Minister promised to follow up
Membership: A Band Decision
Under section 4 of the Indian
Act, the Chief can call a moratorium
on section 12 by a simple BCR, which
then leaves the decision in Band -
hands.
Housing Funds a Priority
Housing had been his priority since
his appointment, claimed the
Minister. He is kind of proud that he
had been the only minister to get any
.extra funds out of Treasury Board:
there is now 94 million dollars avail-
able for housing. That was an extra
20 million for housing plus 8.1
million dollars that were included at
the last minute for labour costs. 4,046
million extra dollars were allotted to
_ B.C. Because the money had been
gotten on an emergency basis, it was
immediately available and should be
used by October-November.
That evening leaders expressed
satisfaction with the visit-and at the
preparation that had goneintoit. @
NIB DEMANDS
CHANGES IN SOCIO-|
ECONOMIC
THINKING
Much of the discussion at the N.I.B. Assembly centred
on socio-economic development. Leaders from across
Canada found the Department of Indian Affairs more of
a liability and obstruction rather than any help in this
field.
Certainly in B.C. there is no evidence that economic
development activities with Indian Bands is on the
increase. As a matter of fact, there is reason to believe
that such activity is on a serious decline nationally.
The lack of development provincially is, - perhaps,
partly due to the fact that a great many Indian Bands are
not strategically located. For instance, an aspiring Band
with strong agriculture skills cannot initiate related
projects because their land is on a rock pile or swamp.
DIA Has No Clear Philosophy on Indian Economic
Development
The more serious obstacle to Indian economic devel- |
opment is the Department of Indian Affairs’ attitude
towards the matter. It must be obvious to the Canadian
people in general, that the Department has chosen to
adopt a very unrealistic approach to the whole process.
Funds Swallowed Up By DIA Bureaucracy
Time and time again, the Department has insistently
‘stated that there are just no funds available for this |
purpose. Yet, simple research has shown that there are |
adequate funds made available which could realize some
very profitable projects if done in earnest and systemati-
cally. Instead, the greater part of such funds have been
absorbed by the Department’s bureaucratic jungle.
Trying to Change DIA Thinking
The Union, under its mandate, has sought to force the
Department to change its thinking in the matter, and
bring about the much needed improvements, and will
continue to do so. There is ongoing development of
workable strategies which might enhance activities in the
area of economic development.
NIB Calls for Indian Planning and iivntentehtation
It is encouraging to see that the National Indian Bro- |
therhood has taken the initiative to approach the
department in Ottawa and demand that there is an
immediate change in the situation, a change that is largely
originated, developed and implemented by the Indian.
people of Canada. It is only in this way that our interests
can best be serviced.
NIB ELECTIONS by Sylvia Woods
My first trip to an N.I.B. General Assembly in Calgary
was quite an experience, both exciting and frustrating.
Every morning they had Sunrise Ceremonies by the
Elders. J
The Conference opened with the signing in of the
Chiefs which was very interesting and made me feel good.
They entered with the Drummer at the head of the line,
then the Elders and then a Chief from each Organization
across Canada. They walked to the middle of the room,
finished their singing and then an Elder opened the
meeting with a prayer.
Eugene Steinhauer, new President of the Indian Asso-
ciation of Alberta, welcomed everyone to the Twelfth
Annual General Assembly of the National Indian Bro-
therhood.
Chairman Bill Shead called
for nominations for the new
President of the NIB and an
Election Committee was
selected. Bobby Manuel
accepted nomination in a
speech on our Aboriginal
Rights position and Treaty
Rights. Del Riley accepted
his nomination and talked
about the issues that we are
facing now.
=
New NIB President Del Riley
worked for the Union of Ontario
Indians for ten years.
Clive Linklater announced he was Sita eauine his can-
didacy for N.1:B. President
“On Tuesday evening they had an outdoor barbecue at
Sarcee Reserve, which is a very beautiful place
surrounded by rolling hills. The Chief gave a short talk
before everyone left the Reserve and told them that they
are welcome back whether at meetings in Alberta or just
passing through.
The elections took place next day. Bobby Manuel lost
by two frustrating votes. Someone from the N.I.B.
Office had told the Yukon Delegation that they did not
have voting capacity and that they only had observer
‘status so they left. There was supposed to be a re-election
because of this but the few delegates that were there
voted to leave it as it was.
Del Riley is the new President of National Indian Bro-
therhood. His Vice-President is Sykes Powderface of
Alberta, who has served Indian people in community
development since 1961.
Wednesday. evening there was an outdoor barbecue
and pow-wow at Morley Reserve. There were speeches
given by the newly-elected President and Vice-President.
There was some discussion on the Constitution and Del
Riley made a statement that N.I.B. would set up an office
in London, England to keep ongoing talks with the
British Parliament. @
INDIAN WORLD 11
SS
STONEY CREEK ELDERS
SOCIETY PRESENTS
2nd ANNUAL
INTERTRIBAL INDIAN DAYS
The Stoney Creek Elders gathering
held its 3rd annual meeting outside
Vanderhoof August 15-16-17. It was
attended by, about 500 people per
day.
Traditional structures were in place-
and in use—including skin stretchers,
fishwracks, teepees and bark baskets. ©
Reference to the Elders was shown
in cultural displays, native dancers
and speeches.
A La’Hal tournament was played
throughout the meeting. Prince
George and Stoney Creek dancers in |
full native dress took part in Grand
Entry, as well as dancers from Skide-
gate, Queen Charlotte Islands.
Twenty-three of the Haida Dancers
under the instruction of Mabel
Wilson and Verna Gladstone, high-
lighted the festival with their dances.
The group has been ‘together for 2
years and has full support.of its Band
through community effort. The peo-
ple of Skidegate paid for all their
dancers and company to participate
at Stoney Creek.
The Elders Festival was honoured
to have Chief Dan George attend. He
gave splendid advice, as well as a
prayer for the safekeeping of our
Elders and for the future of our
children. ;
The Elders are hoping to have more
traditional dress and participation
from our children next year, to
nurture and strengthen our
traditional life style.
INDIAN WORLD 12
OUR WORLD
er
POLE RAISING
The wolf stands among his other |
animal friends in their village by the
sea.
Walter Harris carved the newest
- pole. With the people of ’Ksan he
dedicated the pole to inspire future
generations and show respect to the
grandfathers who shared their know-
ledge and recorded history through
legends and carving totem poles,
by Joanne Dickson and Jerry Patrick
ae
eae,
K’SAN DANCERS
i ? a ba 3
In Edmonton, when they perform their celebration,
‘The Breath of Our Grandfathers,’’ the ’Ksan Dancers
of Hazelton, B.C. will be guests of the Alberta Diamond
Jubilee Committee. They perform for five nights
beginning Monday, August 18, 1980. r
The ’Ksan group has been the guests of UNESCO on
several occasions and performed to standing ovations
during the Cultural Olympics in Montreal in 1976,
*Ksan uses a condensed version of an 1880 ‘‘Potlatch’’
as a window through which the audience may glimpse the
stature of the culture their ancestors enjoyed. In the
photos you see the bear Nax Nok, the Beaver and the
Bear Warrior.
NITEP GRADUATE
by Francis Johnson
I was among the 3000 grads
who graduated this year
from U.B.C. Nine of us
graduated from the Nitep
program. The families, =
relatives, and friends of the
ized till the ceremony
began. My family friends, =
and relatives also cele-
brated my happiness with
me, Attending the Nitep :
gathering were Nitep board members, members of the
Nitep staff, members from the faculty of U.B.C., and
others. Thelma Cook and Lonnie Hindle gave a speech to
begin the ceremony. Robert Sterling then presented each
of the grads with a gold pin as well as congratulating
them. After that there was more well wishing, more talk-
ing and more picture taking. After there was more picture
taking when we donned our gowns. From there we went
to the Student Union Building to get our degree before
we went into the War Memorial Gym. Despite the
amount of students milling around I finally found my
place. We then marched to the gym and were seated. It
was an honour to be able to walk up in line, have my
name called out by the Dean and kneel in front of the
large audience before the Chancellor to be tapped on the
head with his cap. When I stood I felt like shouting to the
Native people, ‘‘I did it, so can you!”’
ey
{iia
SETON MARATHON
On an August Sunday morning the
runners sat around a fire for the
sharing of a peace pipe and blessing.
Each runner was given a piece of
burnt wood (ash) from the Great
Spirit.
- The run was 21 miles, which took
three hours along a rugged and fierce
road. The ladies started at Roaring
Creek which is about halfway
through to Seton Portage.
The winner was Hack Terry from
Seton Portage. Second was Jimmy
Peters from D’Arcy.
‘““Wonnie’’ came first among the five
After breakfast, more people arrived
Teepees were erected and the sound
of drums and singing could be heard
ladies that ran.
from far-off.
INDIAN WORLD 13
Canim Lake
Trappers
study
Story prepared by a few Trappers of
| the Canim Lake Band and the Band
Manager.
The Canim Lake Village Reserve is
located about 30 km north east of 100
‘Mile House, in the southern Cariboo.
Trapping was carried out by many
of the Band members years ago but
the amount of trapping by Band
members has gone down a lot in
recent years. Interest is reviving now
and some people have shown a desire
to return to trapping, while others
who are younger want to learn more
about this traditional practice. There
are at least 20 men on the Reserve
who want to‘trap every year. About
12 of them took a course on trapping
last winter and were awarded certifi-
cates recognizing their knowledge.
The Band trappers have decided to
‘hold at least one meeting a month to
work on problems and goals. Meet-
ings were held on the Reserve on June
24, July 29 and August 14, Represen-
tatives of Band trappers attended the
Trappers Forum sponsored by
UBCIC and held at Williams Lake
June 25 and 26.
4 4
and stretching beaver at Alexis Lake
Johnny Stump, aged 86, skinning
in the Chilcotin, .Central Interior.
Trapping has been a way of life io |
Johnny, a Chilcotin Indian Elder,
and he has very strong ties to the
land.
Be
*y
|
oir
>
rn
7
|
| BAN D RESOURCES DON 'T
HAVE TO CONFLICT
Recently the Band got copies of ©
maps from the Fish and Wildlife
Branch which show the locations of
local Indian traplines. These
locations are being checked for accu-
racy by the Band trappers and are
being marked on another more de-
tailed integrated resources map which
INDIAN WORLD 14
was prepared by a group of Band
members during a 2-week wildlife
research field trip in July.
Integrated Resource
Management Program
This research, which has really just
begun, is part of the Band’s long-
term Integrated Resource Manage-
ment Program. Some of the activities
carried out by the Band members in
company with a wildlife specialist on
the field study included:
¢ the procedures to evaluate wildlife
resources and habitat
e evaluation: of important habitat
areas of moose, mule deer; how
Carrying on a tradition and a life they wouldn’t trade for anything are the sons
of Johnny Stump. On the left is the elder son Lawrence, holding antlers he
found for the picture and his wife Katie enjoying fresh perked coffee. On the
right Johnny’s second eldest son enjoys the antics of his older brother with
Judy. _ Photos: Courtesy Stanley Stump
Pe |
Beaver stretched and drying near
Line cabin at Alexis Lake.
Mark Boyce and Jim Frank of Canim Lake at the Trappers’ Forum.
much they were using shrubs, etc.
e looked at why certain ranges were
favored more than others
* how to use Brunton compass, read
maps and aerial photos
e looked at possible fish spawning
areas, probable fish supply in cer-
tain lakes, and how this relates to
potential tourist market
® discussed the use of one resource
with another, e.g. type and location
of logging and how it might affect
lakes, streams, etc.
Some of the Problems that the
Band trappers noted at recent
meetings included:
® logging too close to lakes and
creeks, affecting spawning beds
* trappers take backseat to new hou-
ses and private developments start-
ing in the bush. Trappers have to go ©
around new development sites.
¢ Conflict of private property own-
ers and trappers, e.g. where creek
goes through both areas; threats
made on notes or in person to trap-
-pers; traps taken away by private
property owners.
e Middlemen selling furs. We should
return to system of trapping quan-
tity you have tag for. No poaching
' to be tolerated.
* People leaving carcass to waste—
shooting animals for pleasure.
¢ Insufficient funds available to assist
trappers
The Band trappers plan to look
into these and other issues during the
coming year. Some activities planned
so far are:
e sharing information and knowledge
about trapping with each other .
e make decisions on ways to solve
present problems, aprticularly care-
less logging practices
© build cabins at certain trapline
locations
¢ hold a Trappers Workshop in Sep-
tember with neighboring Bands
¢ keep informed about the progress
of the development of a B.C. In-
dian Trappers Association as de-
cided at the Trappers Forum in
Williams Lake.
INDIAN WORLD i
“SAVING WHAT WE’RE
~ FIGHTING FOR”?
Fish Management
B.C./Washington
Indians Sharing
Information
On July 30 the fishing portfolio
and Indian delegates from _ the
| Northwest met in I onar Ellawa Port
Angeles, Washington.
In attendance were food fishing
delegates from each district in B.C.
that could attend. Indians do not
recognize the Canada/U.S. border
because when it was first set up it div-
| ided nations, tribes and even families
_of Indian people across Canada and
the United States.
That is just a very small sample of a
| problem that Indians must cope with
| for the moment.
It is the goal of UBCIC and tribes
of the Northwest to resolve problems
| like this one. This is not the first
meeting but in fact is a continuation
of a March 7th, 1980 meeting at the
UBCIC boardroom.
Our most ‘gracious host Jerry
Charles chaired the meeting and also
made sure Indians were met at the
airport and ferry docks. In this meet-
ing the delegates expressed their views
on various subjects and possible
solutions: supertankers, pollution of
our rivers and how to manage and
conserve the fishery resource. Discus-
sion included how to_ resolve
| problems of developing a hatchery
both economically and physically.
Jerry Charles gave a tour of their
very successful hatchery and
explained its potential. The next
meeting was scheduled to be in Van-
couver in October, 1980.
The people of the Sklallum Band
| barbecued a delicious salmon dinner,
| working hours before the meeting
began.
INDIAN WORLID 16
THE BRIDGE RIVER
For three days in August the people
of Bridge River invited Indian people
to share in celebrating an important
anniversary for them, It was two
years ago that the courts confirmed ~
what Indians know: our . exclusive
right to fish. Bradley Bob was there:
his: was the test case to prove that
right. So too were many of the other
fishermen who had fished that day in
- 1978 in their strong belief in that
right. Federal fisheries had cut down
on Indian fishing to two days a week
and the people were demonstrating
that they: had no right to do that.
They felt Fisheries was regulating In-
dians rather than conserving salmon.
The Celebrations Have a
Serious Air —
For the most part, however, the
gathering was quiet, as people drop-
ped.in for a meal of fresh deer meat
‘and barbequed salmon and went right
back to their fishing stations. On
Saturday and Sunday afternoons, the
Lillooet area chiefs and representa-
tives from neighbouring areas met
under a large tent to discuss the main
topic in everyone’s mind and the rea-
son also why the celebration had a
serious air. This year the salmon
stocks are lower than ever, and in the
interests of conservation people have
had to cut down on their food
fishing. .
No Victory if no Salmon Left
As Chief Saul Terry explained to
the large crowd who came on
Saturday night, ‘“Now we have to
make sure we have something to fight
for. We have won the right to fish,
but if there are no salmon left to fish
for, it is not much of a victory.’’ The
people had been very worried over the
lower stocks going up the Fraser in
July, and hardly anyone had been
fishing at all during that month.
FISH IN
eR : , pp ;
e
*
Chief Nathan Spinks of Lytton had
just returned from a visit to the Stuart-
Trembleur Band with a disturbing
report that only seven thousand
salmon had reached the spawning
grounds there.’ And he also brought
back news that touched directly on
the reason for the salmon depletion:
dl
the people of Stuart-Trembleur were
worried over logging company plans
to put truck crossings across five of
the main spawning channels. The
areas around the lakes where the
salmon go to spawn is also very good
for logging: and there is the conflict.
Five pulp mills empty pollutants just
into the Thompson, which flows into
the Fraser. The other major reason
for salmon depletion, of course, is the
pollution and poisonous wastes that
are emptied into the Fraser.
Indian Provincial Conservation
Management Commission
Being Formed
Chief Saul Terry reported to the
people how local chiefs had met with
the DIA Minister very briefly to
express these concerns and he had
been promised a return visit. Federal
Fisheries have not been able to pro-
tect the salmon from industry. The
International Pacific Salmon Com-
mission is more of a political organi-
zation to regulate conservation but
has also failed so far to exert the
necessary pressures to pull industries
into line. Most of their efforts have
been on deciding on equal Canadian/
U.S.A. catch limitations. Attempts to
have direct Indian representation on
this commission have failed so far. In
fact, since the Indian people of
Washington state and B.C. have been
meeting about fish management.
People have felt that the commission
has tried to turn us against each
other. Like the Bradley Bob decision
for the Lillooet people, the Boldt
decision has only been a partial
victory for the Indian people of
Washington state. The pressure is on
again now and things are going to get
worse, warned Saul Terry. In spite of
court victories that forced fish and
wildlife officers to stop arresting
Indian people on fishing and hunting
charges, news has just been received
of three Lytton people arrested for
hunting on reserve lands.
Respected Elder and salmon expert
Ed Thevarge of D’Arcy was also
camping down by Bridge river and he
too talked to and encouraged the peo-
ple who have come to listen to and
dance with the Lillooet singers and
drummers. After that there was an
honour song dedicated to the salmon.
The Indian government flag was
raised on Sunday, visible from most
of the fishing stations and giving the ©
people strength and hope for what is
going to be a long battle.
Jay Treaty
Kincolith fishermen angered at charge of ‘‘alien’’ in
Alaska waters
The border that separates Canada
from the United States has created
many problems for Indian people.
Tribes have been divided between
the two countries, our former easy
movement and trade has become
inhibited by formal border cross-
ings. A treaty signed between the
Canadian and United States govern-
ments almost 200 years ago, called
the Jay Treaty, in theory guarantees
Indian people ‘‘the right to freely
cross the border and to work in the
United States without regard to im-
migration laws.’’ This treaty has be-
come a legal joke, because neither
the United States nor the Canadian
government truly recognizes it. Yet:
the ink has dried in the law-books,
and the words of the Treaty reriain,
like so many others, an ignored real-
‘ity,
A new development concerning
the Jay Treaty has recently ogeurred
—the three members: ot the House
: Nishga
tribe hope to use. fhe reaty to clear
themselves af che es os Sie
William, Lin 1c’ in and ( Gec 190 Nel.
son, of Kincolith, In addition to
claiming — the Jay Treaty as a
defense, the men. are. ne an 1888.
agreement signed by Chief Alfred
Mountain and Charles Thomas, the
captain of a steamer doing work fer —
the government of the United States. |
The agreement says that after Chief
Mountain moved kis Band to the
American side of Portland Canal,
the chief ‘‘wil] not be disturbed in
his position by any United States
authorities.” Fred Lineoln, one of
the three fishermen arrested in July,
is the great-great-grandson of Chief
Mountain.
ss eee of their claim of ual, or
men are " peeeiving: compensation
through the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act; all three hold social
se “urity cards for the United States.
Tommy Dennis is a spokesman
for the House of Mountain Band |
and the Nishga Tribe. He says the
fishermen believe the United States
waters belonged to them in the
beginning. (Mr.} Dennis says the
meh were charged as ‘‘aliens’’ ille-
gally fishing in American waters,
and that his people find this term
demeaning.
The three men say they drifted
into United States waters in rough
weather while they wéere-sleeping.
They have pleaded not guilty to
the charges.
INDIAN WORLD 17
Harassment instead
of Conservation
On August 13, 1980 one of our
Elders, Willie Hans, crossed to the
north side of the Bella Coola River to
tend his fruit and vegetable garden.
Upon his return he was approached
and questioned by a young, rather
abrasive federal fisheries officer re-
garding his use of a power boat to
cross the river. Willie explained
quickly how the old foot bridge was
washed out by a flood and that the
power boat was the safest means of
crossing the river, especially with
women and children. Not expecting
any reply, the officer handed Willie a
summons to appear before court on
October 1, 1980. The following day
Willie, still infuriated by the previous
day’s events, requested assistance
from the Band office.
Charged Under a Law that
Doesn’t Exist Yet
Upon investigation by the Chief we
discovered “some very interesting
things. It turns out the regulation he
was charged with, wasn’t even pro-
claimed law yet. It is only a proposed
- regulation, which may be proclaimed
law under the Canada Shipping Act
by Ottawa in another three or four
months. When this was brought to
the attention of the fisheries officer,
the charge was quickly dropped.
We could see Willie’s thoughts. Do
they really think that I am responsible
for the destruction of the salmon re-
source? Doesn’t the fisheries depart-
INDIAN WORLD 18
ment of the federal government have
more important things to do than to
harass me? Maybe I should tell them
a few things that we told MacKenzie
about the salmon resource when he
first came to Bella Coola.” —
Facing the Real Culprits
They should know salmon are sen-
sitive, like us, to pollution from mills
and industrial sewers. Mining efflu-
ents being dumped into rivers and
streams choke them and lessen the
chance of the spawn to survive.
Logging industry has contributed
to the depletion of our salmon stocks.
Logging too close to the streams
causes siltation, affects the oxygen in
the water, and disrupts the spawning
beds. Dragging logs right through the
rivers must be obviously harmful to
our salmon.
Too Many Bosts
Commercial fishing should be con-
trolled better. There are far too many
boats. Why should teachers, lawyers,.
doctors, businessmen be allowed to
fish commercially? I heard that
trollers are disregarding the small fish
that they claim are unsuitable for the
market. What chance do they have to
survive after having a hook put into
their mouth?
Highly electronic technology has
made it difficult for salmon and
herring to camouflage themselves
from the fishing fleet. The seiners
have better gear and are allowed to
FEDERAL.
FISHERIES
MIX UP
PRIORI-
| TIES
fish around rivers and the mouths of
very sensitive inlets.
Multi-national companies are using
_ ruthless harvesting practices.
Salmon Suffer While Govern-
ments Fight Over Jurisdiction
During the past month we have
seen the federal and provincial gov-
ernments dispute over who has juris-
diction over the amount of water that
Alcan should be allowing to flow into
the Nechako river system. It is un-
likely that anything will get done at
least for this year. This multi-national
company has the power to tie up
those orders from government for
years in the courts, at the expense of
the salmon.
Willie Hans will continue to cross
the Bella Coola River to tend his
garden. Indian people will continue
to fish on the river. They only wish
that the government and the public
would do something about the real
culprits in the management of the
fishing resource.
It’s A Question of Good
Management
Willie Hans is not responsible far
the depletion of the salmon stocks.
The federal and provincial govern-
ments must address the problem at its
source. They must stop using Indians
_as‘scapegoats for their own misman-
agement. The government must tight-
en up and review their own manage-
ment policies. @
Traditionally, as abor-
iginal people, we had supreme and ab-
solute power over our territories, Our resour-
ces and our lives. We had theright to govern, to make
laws and enforce laws, to decide citizenship, to wage war,
to make peace and to manage our lands, resources and istitu-
tions. We had our own political, legal, social and economic sys-
tems. .
The power to govern rests with the people and, like our aboriginal
rights, it comes from within the people and cannot be taken away.
Our Aboriginal Rights Position Paper represents the foundation upon
which we, the Indian people of British Columbia, will negotiate a better
relationship within Canada.
Since 1969, the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs has been in-
volved in extensive research and consultation with Indian people through-
out the province in relation to the totality of Aboriginal Rights. Wehave
found through this work that our people have no desire, under any
circumstances, to see our Aboriginal Rights extinguished. Our
people have always said that our Aboriginal Rights cannot be
bought, sold, traded or extinguished by any government.
Our responsibilities and our right to be who we are
can never be relinquished. The Indian Chiefs of Bri-
tish Columbia in legislative assembly, do here-
_by proclaim as our Aboriginal Rights
Position that:
1. We are the original people
ee ; of this land and have the
7 absolute right to self-deter-
mination through our own
unique form of Indian Gov-
ernments (Band Councils).
2. Our Aboriginal Rights to self-determination, through
our own unique forms of Indian Governments are to be
confirmed, strengthened and expanded, through the
British North America Act.
INDIAN WORLD 20
whey
“Ss A
Ts
3. Our Indian Reserve Lands are to be expanded to a size}
that is large enough to provide for the essential needs of
4. Enough lands, waters, forestry,.minerals, oils, gas,
wildlife, fish and financial resources are to be made avail-
able to our Indian Governments on a continuing basis
and in sufficient quantities to ensure socio-economic
self-determination for the peace, order and just
“gov ernment of Indian people.
4
a
Lt
x.
Zs
iy (qu
5. Our Indian Governments or Legislatures are to have
exclusive jurisdiction to make laws in relation to the fol-
lowing matters (without limiting the scope of the possible
subjects to be under the jurisdiction and authority of our
indian Governments);
INDIAN WORLD 21
( Section 1: Constitutions
The development of a constitution and the
amendment, from time to time, of the con-
stitutions of our Indian Governments.
Section 2: Citizenship c
Regulations as to who shall be a citizenora *
member of our Bands.
| Section 3: Land Management cre “Gece, ee ae . | q
The management of all Indian reserve = — wl
lands, including all other lands or resource -_. ; 3 el | ~ a / a qe
areas under Indian Government jurisdic- a 7 — bh i
tion. s Niet i Ae BN sees =
! The Mowachaht people held Band Hearthes ona a Band law to regulate
pollution over their lands. A pulp mill leasing land from the Band has
| Section 4: Water Management been forced to follow Band pollution controls.
All waterways and bodies of water asso- tr
ciated with our reserve lands, including any
form of water rights and foreshore rights
under Indian Government jurisdiction.
| Section 5: Air
All air space above all our reserve lands;
waters and resource areas. .
Section 6: Forests
All our forests on reserve lands, including
all other Indian forest resource reserves.
Section 7: Mineral Resources
All mineral resources under and within
boundaries of all those lands, waters and ;
resource areas established under Indian Alkali Band hunters ConTined their rights to hunt in a court victory
Government jurisdiction. in March, 1980. This was followed by a full Band meeting to discuss
See laws to ensure their hunting rights in traditional lands.
Section 8: Oil and Gas
All oil and gas resources within the boun-
daries of our reserve lands and within any
additional lands or waters that, from time
to time, may be negotiated and agreed to
by the federal, provincial and Indian Gov-
ernments as being under the jurisdiction of
Indian Governments.
Section 9: Migratory Birds
The conservation management of all
migratory birds that pass through our
lands, including migratory bird sanctuary © : During the Alaska Highway Pipeline hearings, the people of the
reserves that will be established under the. northeast made it clear that their oil and mineral rights have never
wee isdiction of Indian Government, | been surrendered with their knowledge or consent.
INDIAN WORLD 22
RISHINS
Bands all over B.C. are making Band laws on the proper management
and conservation of our fishing resources.
The K wakiutl people of Gene Mudge have Padiled Sacred potlatch
artifacts that were confiscated earlier this perutUry when PORMinnes
were ou tla wed.
SAE
O4% PARIS
oat Ww INK
eee
Zs,
aay
Pa
ce
» tb
Communications Our Way: Bands, Tribal Councils and Indian pro-
vincial organizations have our own news and information system.
_ Section 11: Fish
‘on such matters as trade, commerce, and
: Section 15: Education
—_— , : =
Section 10: Wildlife
All our wildlife resources in reserve lands
and all other wildlife resource areas under
the jurisdiction of Indian Governments.
All our fish resources in the waters defined
as Indian Fisheries.
Section 12: Conservation
The conservation of all our lands, waters
and resources.
Section 13: Environment
The productive management of our
environment.
Section 14: Economy
The establishment and management of the
economy through the development, imple-
mentation and enforcement of regulations, |
the formation of companies within the
framework of Indian Government
objectives.
All areas of Indian education as defined by
the authority and jurisdiction of Indian
Governments.
Section 16: Social Order
The maintenance of social order.
Section 17: Health
The proper health, welfare and care of our
people.
Section 18: Marriage
The solemnization and dissolution of
marriage within the institutions of tradi-
tional Indian religions.
Section 19: Culture and Religion
The safeguarding of all Indian sacred
places. The protection of our right to
practice our religions, cultures and
languages.
Section 20: Communications
The development of communication
systems.
INDIAN WORLD 23
Section 21: Taxation
All revenues coming in within the jurisdic- - semper
tion of Indian Governments. eT!
Section 22: Justice
Justice, including the constitution, main-
tenance and organization of Indian
Government courts.
Section 23: Penal System
The imposition of penalties for breaking 4 .
any laws of the Indian Governments, a
Section 24: Local and Private Matters
All matters of local or private nature on
our lands, including other lands, waters
and resource areas that will, from time to
time, be established within Indian Govern-
_ ment jurisdictional boundaries.
“The DeEBTe oF Spallumcheen have made a Band law TOE gives en
full responsibility for the welfare, protection and custody of the
children in their Band.
In declaring our Aboriginal Rights Position, we are re-
affirming our right to be here and, are re-affirming the
responsibilities given to all nations of Indians on this
continent. These rights and responsibilities held us
together as nations of people for thousands of years and
we celebrate our survival and the beauty of our land.
The relationship which exists between Indian nations
and the Governments of Canada has never been clearly
understood. We have always taken for granted that
Indian institutions.and European institutions would co-
exist in Canada. Many of the European colonial leaders
INDIAN WORLD 24
held a similar conviction. They asked our leaders to make
alliances and agreements. They did not question the
authority of our leaders to speak on behalf of our people,
just as out leaders did not question the A ULHOUILY. of the
colonial leaders.
But other colonial figures refused to recognize Indian
governments. They called for the destruction not only of
Indian governments and Indian cultures, but of Indian
people themselves,
These two opposite views have continued to co-exist in
Canada and in British Columbia.
The Basic Principles
Two principles are basic to the position of the Indian
people of British Columbia. The first is the principle of
' self-determination of peoples. This is a principle of
International Law:
‘All peoples have the right of self-determination. By
virtue of that right they freely determine their political
Status and freely pursue their economic, social and
cultural development.”’
Canada has signed its support of this principle.
To work, it must exist with a second principle: the
equality of peoples. For self-determinationtohave _
meaning, there must be a basic respect between political
communities. :
The British North America Act of 1867 sets Indian
nations apart, recognizing their uniqueness within
Canada. Canadian governments have undercut that fact
by deliberately making these constitutional guarantees as
weak as possible. Indian governments are treated as
municipal governments. Our communities are unique
because they come under federal jurisdiction, yet they
have not been given full recognition as a distinct order of
government within Canada. This can change. Canada
can fulfill the promise of the British North America Act
and take a leading role internationally in applying the
principles of self-determinatidn and equality of
indigenous people.
1. The Constitutional Structure
Section 91(24) of the British North America Act of
1867 gave the Parliament of Canada legislative
jurisdiction over ‘‘Indians and Lands reserved for the
Indians.’’ The Indian Act, which was passed under the
authority of Section 91(24), is treated by Canadian law as
the source of authority for Indian Band councils. Indian
governments existed for thousands of years before Euro-
peans came to Canada. We can never accept the notion
that the authority of our governments is a grant from
those who came from elsewhere. The proper way to
establish Indian relations to the rest of Canada is not by
the Indian Act but by a basic political agreement, or
~ contract. The agreement will be recognized as part of the
constitution of Canada. As an agreement it cannot be
changed without the consent of both sides. As part of the
Constitution both sides will be compelled, by law, to
respect its terms.
The agreement will describe the place of Indian
governments within Canadian federalism. It will define
Indian rights‘to renewable resources—rights to hunt,
‘fish, trap and gather—on lands outside the limits of
Indian governments. It will also deal with the Jay Treaty
Rights, resource sharing, taxation, the superiority of
_Indian Government laws over provincial legislation and ‘
Indian representation in the institutions of the central
government.
Our right of self-determination is a right which
we have not surrendered and will not surrender.
The Canadian government will have to accept
that Indian people are a people who will not dis-
appear.
The Position of the Indians of British Columbia
To the Indian people of British Columbia, the
questions of the constitution, the Indian Act and Land
Claims are simply different parts-of Aboriginal Rights.
They can be resolved by full recognition of Indian Gov-
things are now.
ernment. That recognition requires changes to the way
2. The Powers of Indian Governments |
Band Governments will be strengthened and will be the
basic units of Indian Government. Indian people will
directly elect our representatives to the new governmental
body.
The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs-has
defined the powers it feels are appropriate for Indian
governments. ;
These are set out in twenty-four points. The powers of
- Indian governments will basically be-similar to those of
INDIAN WORLD 25
base for Indian communities. Land and resource issues
have never been resolved in British Columbia, a fact
a on by the federal government in their
e me on Aboriginal Title Claims in 1973.
the provinces. In addition certain powers that are
presently federal, such as powers in relation to fisheries,
marriage and divorce, must'be restored to Indian govern- ck
ments for the areas under the jurisdiction of those Nw
governments.
Indian govern Vitkhave the authority to draft == ne. Equatization Payments
Bills of Rights which will apply within their jurisdiction Seco Indian governmients, like overn-
in the same way that certain provinees have their own Bill ~ e eee qualify f¢ izati agree
of Rights. : ‘there should b i
am mens all parts of the country. The mayitarss are ueouatGnal
3ser on to.the Institutions of the The provinces are free to choose their own priorities. This
al nmefit is the kind of block, predictable funding that Band
i defirfethe structure and the powers governments have sought for their people. It is funding
and its relationship to other based on need, not short-term_politics. For example, in
SS a | he fiscal year 1999-80, Prip ard Island received
be parall aT a bx <i
avernment willy a =payrientss It has Sl ge
ove ers ile the jurisdictions hremsenrdpe ‘ople.-Fo
ermments (and outside Mesuagiction of eqializatien paymentghave rep sc eiwem alae ae OF
nments); Relations between Indian their governm — —. —
provinclaligovernments will be handled ———=——
t (as relatiofis.between provinces are c. Delivery of Services
ens within the juri ion of either Thirdly, Indian governments must be responsible for
Or a provincial government will the delivery of programs and services to Indian people
eral parliament and be repre- funded by the federal government. There is now a large,
= central government costly, inefficient bureaucracy to deliver services and
Ba ghannel nionies for Indian people. The Indian Affairs
dian gc ase distinct _,bureat¢eracy competes with Indian governments for
rp Oana cay ~— ye, Y afitipinevitably,maintains the colonial
neBOK
of nada THe = =
of Inidian*Za er t relations in Canada.
nl so a oa
/ Direct Tre rang te ‘Pay eigats =)
t pvernm nett nf | oCBiNe, aris.
pa ther they.a jalizalion, reverm :
onies, The en be ~,
n thet dget-o} eral Bo ent and
aie pat Birectly o India ve mem will be _—
~ handled in the same mare prov neial a and
territorial governments. THe eportin ge act ting
— willbed defined by agreements to benegotiated between
“Indian governments and the-federal government, _and not
byt he Department of Indian Affairs or any other _
government department. This will establish maximum
es ADIHG Gare will dramatically.reduce the adininistrative
vECl,
aN SS mente ients dire
: of Ir pe ee
nent in |
dia
in LW
JF ;
F
es
. ik!
a
See
Cl *
pLAr tz si ame ale a
— arrangell int }
Historically, Eure
es with little or no
ities intoa eee
not lead to any d any positive solutions. Phe
ie Local Government Guidelines at
1975-happe ed’ again in 19802with the Local ! Services. == — ~~~ Constitutio n—
= oo
continue unless basic changes are 2 We don ot wa boriginal Rights ©
nancia ] arrangements whictraffeet’ our = _whieh in dnl reflect ay eNermination ora final
eer 5, It is © y when structures of dependence ~ cash se en oe 7 s Ba 2 d Alaska t type
anc welfare are rem. mee nee equality and self-determin- _ of agreements en h ecagnitiomo dian =
See Pee r demain acontinuing b is withi A afiadian,
. ang? “federalism. Indian self-determination will ee both ~~
+ Land ase > ene 4 Indian people and non-Indian peopléfrom man :
here must be an increased land [and resource — - colonialism and-dependence. ~ = SS
INDIAN WORLD 26
ATLIN BAND WANTS IN
TO B.C.
The Indian people of Northern B.C. are administered partly by B. C. and partly by the Yukon. Much of the mismanage-
ment and misinformation that this has caused has gone unchecked in the past. Now, however, the Atlin Band is going
through their affairs and straightening out the confusion, p
about Atlin.
The name Atlin comes from the
Tlinget word meaning a big body of
water. My people, the Tlingets, are ori-.
ginally from the Taku River around
- the Juneau area. Throughout the year
my ancestors used to migrate from the
coast all the way up here and some
even further to Teslin and to White--
horse to trade. They had a trail they
followed each year through — the
Taku river valley.
My people are known as the Taku
river Tlingets: traditionally and still
today, the Taku river is hunted and
fished by my people.
A Living From Commercial
River Fishing
We fish the river commercially for
salmon. There are non-Indian fisher-
men there too but hopefully we’ll see
more and more of my people down
there. At the moment we have six
permits, 2 fishermen to a permit. Just
last week we cleared the final one. I
- can’t use my permit this year because
of Band business. The Vancouver
office, with UBCIC Fishing Portfolio
intervention, agreed my license could
be transferred a few months ago but
the local official didn’t know any-
thing about it. Finally, last week, the
okay came down the line for my com-
mercial license to be transferred over
to Henry Taku Jacks Jr. So this was
clarified and it is to the Band’s satis-
faction that we announce this now,
Food Fishing Rights Confirmed
-But Not on Paper
Our Band members have found it
very difficult to get food fish permits
in the past. Even though this was also
4 ee
oint by point. Andy Williams, Band Manager, talked to us
ra,
‘Chief Sylvester Jack coming into ‘Atlin from his fishing grounds. Band
business has concentrated on getting the matters of hunting and fishing sorted
out to Band members’ satisfaction.
f
sorted out in Vancouver a few
months ago, the attitude of the local
conservation officer was not co-
operative. At a meeting last week, to
which he was invited, together with a
number of UBCIC staff; this matter
was finally cleared up. It is our under-
standing now that food fishing per-
mits will be given to any Band
member. There would be no more
static, he promised, and it would be
for 7 days a week in Atlin Lake. We
also food fish along the Taku river
for five days when there is no
commercial selling to the fish
packers. We want a formal agreement
now, something written on paper, in
case they come back and say—no,
you can’t do that after all.
Prejudice Confronted
At the same meeting, we cleared up
the matter of hunting permits. The
‘Band members felt the local
conservation officer had been
prejudiced when it came to handing
out permits. He was more free with
hunting permits to people on welfare
in town than to people on-reserve on
UIC, which is less. When one of the
boys would go down for a permit,
they’d damn near have to get on their
knees to get it. We are almost totally
dependent on game during the slow
winter months. His boss was there at
the meeting and now we have an
agreement that any Band member
who wishes to kill a moose in winter
will have to come before the Band
council. The council will look into his
case and if he needs one they will give
a letter recommending that the con-
servation officer grant the Band
member a license. We’re satisfied
with this, up to a point. We’ll just
have to see how it works and if it
doesn’t, we’ll have to pursue it from a
different angle.
(continued on page 32)
ENDIAN WORLD 27
We talk about our people
More as problems
Than as resources.
Why?
| Do we do better
When we speak of our land?
Good acreage
Many of us have,
How do our members benefit?
In our Aboriginal Rights Position Paper
We read about the need
To meet essential needs _
Of our people.
We also read that
We have |
Every reason
And right
To Bear our responsibilities
In this land.
It is the land
That binds us
As a people.
It can be said ©
To give us
An identity.
From the outside,
This appears to be so.
Tis different
From the inside
Is it not?
The world
Of a newborn child
Is the world created
By his family.
That which happens
And does not happen
Within the four walls
Of the home
Can strongly influence
The way
This new Tribal member
Will grow
Physically,
Emotionally
| And Mentally.
INIXHAN WORLD 28
With nourishing food,
Warm and clean shelter,
Parental love and attention,
Mental stimulation
From the singing, the talking
And many things the eye -
Can see
The hand can touch
The nose can smell
The ear can hear
The child will grow.
His needs are well met.
His potential is being developed.
He knows
He is a valued resource.
THE WAY—
or Grandma or Grandpa for that matter.
‘Who continues to try
SHARING
Let’s do our best
To count our strengths,
Recognize and develop them,
for our future ;
Can best be built
By pooling our strengths
To ensure that
We each
. Will have the right to choose
And to determine our future.
by Bil! Mussell
Skwah Band
’ So that they too know
The infant’s need
For physical, emotional
And mental nourishment
Is really no different
From thé basic human needs
Of his sister, his brother, 4
His aunt, his uncle,
His. Mom or his Dad
Each person wants recognition
To feel important,
Wanted.
Each person needs to know
He is a valued resource.
Is it not the person
Who has the feeling
He is needed
Who tries to help
Himself and others?
Is it not this person
To get ahead,
To work the land,
When he or she knows |
Someone
Genuinely cares
And is counting on him to provide?
This is the person
Who has the capability ~
To help others grow,
To provide
Leadership
By showing others ;
How to be independent and resourceful.
He can best help us
Be a self-determining people.
He is a good example
Of a responsible Tribal Member.
His family helped him
To develop a strong identity.
Confidence, desire, ability to work hard
And to take responsibilities
For himself, his family and his community f .
Are Rooted to his earliest relationships.
He knows he is a valued resource,
Can treat others
They are important.
He knows how to give
And to take.
Sharing is his way.
INDIAN WORLD 29
TAKING JUSTICE INTO OUR
OWN HANDS
The power that we’ve possessed internally through
our Elders, our leaders, and our councils has been
gradually eroded. The powers now rest in many
different hands and external institutions: much of our
political power has been assumed by the federal and
provincial governments. Many of our people believe
that these governments have that political power, and
function according to that belief. And because they
have the money, those institutions re-inforce that belief.
There are so many doctors, nurses, hospitals and
scientific studies, that responsibility for our health lies
outside our community. Education is the same way:
with all their teachers and universities and colleges,
that’s been taken away from the people. Our own
people even look towards
those things as an answer in
those areas. Then we look at
justice: the judges, the NS) AS
courts, the police are in iy
control of law enforcement. WO
The parliament is in control WZ
of the law-making forces.
rept
Our Personal
Constitutions
Internally, everyone has a
constitution, they have their
own laws to operate by. But
our personal constitutions, at
the moment, are obviously
not good constitutions. They
are not effective in terms of
improving our lives now. Un-
doubtedly there are indivi-
duals who have strong and
solid constitutions: that they
function by, but by and large, most have allowed
external controls to influence our own personal laws
and principles.
A lot of people realize that with their heads,. but they
haven’t disciplined themselves enough that they’re
going to abide by that constitution they make for them-
selves, There are certain things that external forces can
INDIAN WORLD 30
as Mey CGincerand
Wee OX
by Chief Robert Manuel
do, like a community as a whole can apply certain kinds
of pressure. Like in our community, we will not hire
anyone who is not using the job to build a strong found-
ation for their family, we choose people that care for
their family, act responsibly to their children.
Sometimes creating employment allows parents to have
babysitters and go out partying, that’s a negative effect
_ and we limit that ability. We put a lot of social pressure
on people.
Freeing Ourselves of External Forces
It takes a lot of discipline to go through the process of
acting out the changes we want. The crunch came for us
lastsummer, when one of
our own community members
was wronged by the police.
Our young men didn’t have
the power to stand up to
what was right, because they
were in control of the local —
police. If they didn’t rock the
boat, they could be assured
of being dealt with less
harshly: a kind of ‘‘You
‘scratch my back and I'll
scratch yours’’ attitude. We
have to get out of that kind
of control, so that we can
challenge wrong doing,
otherwise we'll always be
under them, and they are al-
galt; i,
Ses
SG ca
y ways going to control us
| mentally, and physically. So
we don’t go and drive when
AW we're drunk, don’t go and
I~ fight foolishly and so on.
Now we have pretty well
et eliminated people from going
to court, and the local police
don’t have that kind of
power over us any more
beyond what is their job.
In our community, what we had to do was eliminate
all external institutions, put them outside. We created a
vacuum in our community so that people didn’t have
anyone to run to for solutions. Some people tried
running to the Union or running to the department of
_ Indian Affairs or other places to try and re-attach
themselves to some dependency, but there was a
political might to turn these things around so that
everybody consulted with the Chief and Council. And
our concerns began’to be dealt with internally. It was a
long process. It began with the rejection of funds in
1975. All we did was carry through the fact, just keeping
the external forces out.
Every Community Has Its Laws
There are laws in every community but on Indian re-
serves, by and large the laws
haven’t been fitting. One
of the laws was that it was
all right to leave my
children and wife at home
and go to the bar and make
excuses why I should be
there. There was a law that
it was all right to drink on
the job, smoke dope on the
job. Now in my community
we’re saying that those laws
are no longer any good and
we’re changing the laws.
We want a comfortable life,
food and shelter. We’re
going to change some of the
laws because the laws we
have are negative ones,
they’re not leading us to
that.
Like in our Band we
have just made a law in
terms of our equipment.
Where a person abuses
equipment that is owned by
the Band, that person is giv-
en 30 hours community
work. That means volun-
teer work, no pay. The
second time we get 60 hours
and the third, 90 hours.
Now, that’s a law made by
our people. The law before was that it
was all right to cheat on the machines and the equip-
ment. So we made a better law. If we’re going to have
progress we’ve got to have good laws.
Making Our Laws Better
Of course there are problems, We’ve been pushed
very hard and a lot of families have learned to protect
each other, making excuses for each other for acting
irresponsibly. However, if Indian Government is to
come into being, then a community law has to be above
the individual. There has to be relegation of authority to
the community and everybody has to apply themselves
according to the laws established by the community. We
have to rely on our own people, we have to have faith in
ourselves; we have to have faith in ourselves as indivi-
duals, have faith too in other people in the community
that can help us. We’ve got to have faith so strong that -
they are going to stand it.
It’s hard to. get people
to believe that they can do
something. You always
have forces in the commu-
nity that see the advantages
in having external forces in
control of our lives and that
advantage is that you don’t
have to act responsibly. I
think the problem in most
of our communities is that
the external laws are not
made by us, so they are not
understood very precisely
and there is no commitment
to them. But when the Band
_ makes the law and enforces
that law, it becomes a per-
sonal responsibility. Like
when we started talking
about problems with
machines and equipment in
our Band, we talked about
penalties of -30 hours
community work and more.
This got adopted. Through-
out the discussions
developing in that policy,
one guy sat there, he said he
had nothing to say. Finally
when it came to the vote he
yelled, ‘‘Holy smokes,
you don’t know what
you’re doing to yourselves.’? Because what the people
were doing was taking a responsibility. They were
deciding not to allow damages to certain kinds of equip-
ment that we have and if there are damages, then these
are the penalties that are going to be laid out. When we
talk about Indian Government and Aboriginal Rights,
it’s talking about internalizing that responsibility and
acting accordingly. @
INDIAN WORLD 31
(from page 27)
Trap Lines Violated
Band members are getting worried
- about the number of private buyers
taking up land where there are exist-
ing Indian traplines. Hefe too we
have a beef with the local conserva-
tion officer, Brian Petra. I lodged a
complaint about trespass on a
trapline but it wasn’t acted on for at
least a month. By that time of course
the snow had melted, all the trails
were destroyed, and the person who
was trespassing had pulled his traps,
sold his furs and left town. .
What amazes me is that we are told
that this is a democratic government:
by, for, and with the people. As soon
as us Indians want to do something, ©
hunt or fish or whatever, there is an
official reading out of a _ book,
“that’s against the law.’’ As far as
the law pertaining to natives are con-
cerned, we feel we should have
greater participation in making those
regulations in our area. We have been
pretty well asleep for a few years and
we’re just at the stage of getting back
on our feet. But that’s the direction
we'd like to go in.
Priority Is Improving Health
Services
At the moment, we’re coping with
day-to-day affairs. For example, our
health services are very poor. We
have an elderly registered nurse. She
cannot handle the load of about 500
people in the summer and 350 people
in the winter. There is no resident
doctor in the town. A visiting doctor
comes in once every 6 weeks and he
INDIAN WORLD 32
writes prescriptions which are filled in .
a pharmacy in Whitehorse, 100 miles
away. We have to pay half the pre-
scriptions. This also applies ‘to
glasses. We have an ambulance ser-
vice that’s run on a voluntary basis.
The other day a friend of mine was in
a car accident and we had to wait one
anda half hours before the ambu- .
lance came to take him to White-
horse, another 2 hours drive.
People are not happy with the
dentist that serves us and we are also
expected to pay half the cost of the
dental bills. DIA restricts us to this
one dentist unless we are prepared to
pay the full cost to see another one.
‘
Andy collects water samples
The sewer system drains right into
the slough which is situated alongside
the land set aside for Indians. As the
lake waters rise and fall so this drains
into the lake and this is where the
town gets their drinking water. It’s
hard to believe! We complained
about it and now the UBCIC Health
Portfolio is going to get water sam-
ples analyzed. But we do know no
more wildlife exists in the slew now as
it used to in the past.
Diversions of Cultural Education
Funds Leave Very Littie for Band
Our culture means a great deal to
our people. Jack Williams: has re-
ported seeing a number of our arti-
facts in the Juneau museum. Some
have since disappeared from there,
maybe to Seattle. These things disap-
peared from our “‘old village,’’ like
25 or so muzzle-loader rifles, button
blankets, bear traps and wooden,
trunks. Anything like that belongs to
the clan. No one can sell it without
getting permission from the whole
clan. The Band feels very strongly
that we should get our artifacts back.
They belong to our people and we
want them.
Evelyn Jack and Susan Carlick, are
the cultural education teachers here.
Their funds should be paid directly to
the Band. But instead they are admin-
. istered and controlled by the school.
Besides we are not getting enough
money to administer our cultural edu-
cation. It comes through the Council
of Yukon Indians. They divide it up
amongst their 19 Bands and the
Northern B.C. Bands of Atlin and
Lower Post. Our funds are then sent
through the Fort St. John school dis-
trict.-We get a very small share and
we feel ripped off.
Switching ADministration to
B.C.
Right now we’re in the midst of
trying to switch our administration
from the Yukon to’B.C. We want to
be administered out of Terrace. Com-
pared to Bands in southern B.C., we
feel about 75 years behind the time in
terms of the service they receive. The
way it goes now, CYI are going for
complete control of all monies issued
to the Yukon Territories for the In-
dians. We feel that Atlin, being in
B.C., will be left holding the bottom
end of the stick. We feel we are in a
limbo up here.
Our peopleare wanting to go ahead
now. In the future, the Atlin Indian
Band will be initiating land claims
and as a part of our land claims we
will be pressing for more participa-
tion in government rulings. We are
going to stress management of
wildlife in the environment. That is
our way of life and we’re not going to —
be giving it up. e@
Indian Control
of
. Indian Health
BEATING
THE
ODDS
ministries.
- The major setback that Indian
1 people are confronted with is the fact
| that the government is preoccupied
with whining about what isn’t their
responsibility, rather than dealing
with issues that require attention.
Health services for Indian people has
suffered this fate. The federal govern-
ment’s policy of dividing its responsi-
bility for Indian people among differ-
id ent ministries and levels of govern-
ment has been the primary problem.
For example, the desperate housing
conditions on reserves, which directly
» affect tHe health of Indians, must be
through different
The fact that spiritual,
emotional, and mental health are
overlooked also contributes to the
addressed
Siecle decline i in the status of Indian
THE NEW F AMILY AN D CHILD
SERVICE
‘Indian Act.” So if there is nothing
A New Family and Child Service
Act was introduced into the Legis-
lature.on August 1, 1980. The new
Act will not be law, however, until it.
is first debated in the Legislature
and then given a final reading. If
| and when the Act becomes law,
| what will the main effects be on
Indian people and our children?
Chiefs of Bands to be Given
Notice of Hearings
The only specific mention of
Indian people is a provision which
requires that notice of hearings must
be given to the Chief of the Indian
Band in which the apprehended
| child is registered, that is, if the Su-
perintendent knows the child is
registered with a Band. So if a
hearing is held to determine whether
a child will be taken away or re-
turned to his parents (is “‘in need of
protection’’), the Chief will be noti-
fied. There are two problems with
this provision. First, notice to the
_Chief only has to be given ‘if the
Superintendent knows the child to -
be registered as an Indian under the
in the file about a child being regis-
tered with a Band, the Chief of the
Band probably would not be noti-
fied. Secondly, it is possible that ar-
rangements can be made without
holding a hearing, ‘in which case too
the Chief does. not have to be noti-
fied. If parents consent to giving up
custody of their children before a
hearing, no hearing will be held.
Also, the new Act seems to encour-
age atrangements being made
between the Superintendent and the
parents, without the necessity of
holding a hearing. Therefore, in
practice, notice will only be given to
Bands where parents object to the
apprehension of their children. and
where the Superintendent knows
that a child is registered with a
Band.
Other Major Changes Which
Wiil Affect indian People
There are new sections in the Act
which give the Ministry of Human
Resources employees a lot more
power to decide when a child should
be taken away and to make it easier
ACT BILL 45
for them to enter homes. The result
of these new sections is that appre-
hension of our children will be
easier. |
First, if the social worker is
refused entry by the parents, he or
she can now phone the judge for a
warrant to get entry to the home.
Under the old Act, warrants had to
be secured in Court. Secondly, the
new definition of the conditions
under which children can be taken is
worded in a very general way; for
example ‘‘abused or neglected so
that well-being is endangered”’ or
‘*deprived of necessary care through
absence or disability of his parent.’’
By using such general words, the
social worker will be given more
discretion to decide what he or she
thinks. is:a situation which requires
apprehension. In the ald legislation
there were 19 descriptions of |
situations when a child could be
apprehended; in the new legislation
there are only 5. 4
If the new Act becomes law, it is
extremely likely that more Indian
children will be apprehended. |
INDIAN WORLD 33
health. The only possible means of
reviving Indian health is through In-
dian control. This means raising the
position of health on the priority list
of Band councils.
Indian Health a National
Priority
In October 1977, the National In-
dian Brotherhood passed a resolution
to form a technical subcommittee on
Indian health. Accordingly, the Na-
tional Commission ._Inquiry (NCI),
consisting of representatives from the
Provincial and Territorial Organiza-
tions, was formed to investigate and
report on.the historical, social, and |
political factors involved in the
continuing decline in Indian health.
One of the steps the NCI took was to
develop ‘‘A Resource Paper for the
Development of an Indian Health
Council. ”’
Reforming ‘‘Symptom-Treating
Approach’’
The purpose of the NCI Resource
Papers is to present Indian people
with an alternative, forcing our atten-
tion on our ever-declining health con-
ditions by means.of forming a health
council. A resolution was passed at
the Twelfth Annual General Assem-
bly of the National Indian Brother-
hood accepting NCI Resource Papers
as the national Indian health policy;
but this does not mean that we are
restricted to implementing this. We
can use it for information purposes
and use what suits our needs. A
council of this kind would give us a
meaningful input in the direction of
our health status. This would involve
reforming the government’s
tom-treating”’
redefining health as it applies to Indi-
an people. Basically the NCI
Resource Paper presents Indians with
the means of implementing Indian
Government in ang enek crucial aspect
of our lives.
What a Heaith Council Could Do
The possible functions of a health
council vary according to the struc- —
ture, the role it plays, and the degree
of advancement. Its structure would
be determined by the role that the
INDIAN WORLD 34
‘‘symp- |
approach, and:
Band decides upon. The possible
roles could be to act as an agent for
Medical Services Branch, a technical
resource for the Band Council, a liai-
son between Band Council and Medi-
cal Services, or an independent struc-
ture, parallelling the Indian political
Structure and act as a mediator
between Medical Services and Band
‘council and its representative organi-
zations. The success of the health
councils would hinge upon the condi-
tion that it originate at the Band level,
then proceed at their own pace. The
notion of a regional or national
health council could come at a later
point when Bands are prepared for it.
. Starting With Short Term Plans
When a health council is getting
started, its most likely function would
e “
Cd
r. a2 a | r “* ;
* i? iy = 4 *¥ -
on A ee ed . oe
jee Cae
sg ne ae
we © fe
o " ta ; i 4 :
Kaas ng
be to deal with short-term plans or
merely reacting to existing problems.
With time and experience it would
begin advising Band Councils on
community concerns. and health
problems. When the council feels that
Band members are ready it can intro-
duce them to health matters by means:
of educational programs, meetings,
and workshops. At this stage the
health council would then be in a po- ©
sition to assess community health
needs and priorities. 3
Long Term Policies to Fit Each
Band
This skill and bareseuia would
allow health councils to begin devel-
oping policies and attempting to
influence the health policies by parti-
cipating in negotiations with Medical
Services. Involvement in the policy
development process would assist
health councils in being able to iden-
tify the most effective programs for
their community. Their experience
would put them in a position to strive
to influence the allocation of resour-
ces by participating in budgetary ne-
gotiations.
Final Control of Band Health
Matters
‘At this point, the health council
would be nearing its goal of imple-
menting Indian Government. They
would be capable of planning detailed
health services and other long-term
goals; They would have the compe-
implement
tence to- their plans.
Ultimately the Band would have total
administrative, management and con-
trol of Indian health.
Surviving the Odds _ _— -
The improvement of the health
status of Indian people is crucial to
our survival. Lack of action could
mean the increase of infant mortality
rates, greater losses of young lives
through alcohol and drug abuse, and
higher rates of mortality from acci-
dents, poisoning, violence, and
infectious diseases. No society,
including. the Indian race, could
survive these odds. If the future .
scenario is to include the Indian race,
now is the time to combat the health
problem which is crippling the very
existence of Indian people. @
UP-DATE
ADDITIONAL HOUSING
CAPITAL DOLLARS FOR
BANDS IN B.C.
Total Housing funding for B.C. has now been raised to
$9,933,000 for this year.
The capital subsidy of $12,000.00 will increase up to a
maximum of $22,125.00 but it depends whether the
reserve is in urban, rural or remote areas.
Bands who. have already received the $12,000.00
capital subsidy per unit for 1980/81 will receive
additional capital subsidy for those units. _
Bands in urban areas could receive an additional
$6,000.00 capital per unit.
Bands in rural areas could receive an additional
$8,750.00 capital per unit. .
Bands in remote areas could receive an additional
$10,125.00 capital per unit.
DIA has worked out the cost differences per region as
per their construction manual issued in April, 1980. This
manual determines the cost of construction, cost of
building supplies, etc.
If the Bands’ new houses are already adequately
financed the additional funds may be allocated to major
repairs, additional new units or prepurchase of materials
for new construction in 1981/82.
The number of planned houses for 1980/81 is 490 in
B.C.
There will be no transportation subsidy for 1980/81.
.Bands in urban areas will be allocated an additional
$900,000.00. Bands in rural areas will be allocated an
additional $1,750,000.00. Bands in remote areas will be
allocated an additional $1 ,427,625.00.
Bands in B.C. will receive an additional $4,046,000.00.
For further information, contact Housing Portfolio,
UBCIC.
MOUNT CURRIE APPEALS PESTICIDE
SPRAYING OF SURROUNDS
On July 23rd, the Chairman of the Pesticides Appeal —
Board handed down his decision that while B.C. Hydro
could not spray Tordon K on reserve lands without Band
permission, it could spray on surrounding lands. Chief
Allan Stager has asked the UBCIC Legal Task Force to
appeal this decision because it did not take notice of the
~ Band pollution law that prohibits spraying on Band land.
Tordon K spraying affects surrounding lands for a good
distance and the Band would indeed be affected by the
Board’s decision. The appeal was lodged on August 20th,
1980.
B.C. HYDRO IMPOSES NEW “LEVIES“
The Tsartlip Band has brought additions to their
Hydro bills to the attention of the UBCIC Legal Task
Force. They have asked the task force to check whether
the new municipal transit levy is in fact a form of taxa-
tion. If so, it would not be applicable to Indian Bands
under the Indian Act.
SPOTTED LAKE
Because of delays in negotiations over the re-purchase
of Spotted Lake by the Department of Indian Affairs, the
Minister of Municipal Affairs warned the Okanagan
Tribal Council that he could no longer delay the Osoyoos
bylaw that would rezone the lake area for commercial
purposes.
However, the death of owner Ernie Smith on August
16th, 1980, has brought the matter to a stop for the
moment. The Okanagan Tribal Council feel that events
should wait on the wishes of Mr. Smith’s family, and that
negotiations for the purchase of the lake will continue
once the family is able to do so.
BLUEBERRY BAND RELOCATION
The Blueberry Band members are each certain that
they will move out of their valley the day Kildonan re-
opens its wells, whether they have homes to go to or not.
Their permanent relocation funding is delayed: there is
no way all members can be relocated permanently before
the proposed October opening. The company is impa-
tient. It is now withdrawing its offer to contribute funds
to relocation of the Band and will go ahead with putting
those dollars into relocating the battery site. It seems the
proposed new battery site is only half the distance recom-
mended for safety by the Department of Energy, Mines
and Resources and it is this Department that has the
power to impose conditions upon the wells’ re-opening.
The Band has as well asked the Department to provide 24
hr. monitoring of hydrogen sulphide on the new site, but
the Department does not consider this its responsibility.
The Band has alternatively asked the Department to
cause the wells to remain shut down until all members
have been relocated in order to avoid a potentially
calamitous situation. NDP caucuses are .aising the issue
in the Legislative Assembly and the House of Commons
on August 20th, 1980.
INDIAN WORLD 35
RODEO!
Of the sports there are in the world, rodeo is the only
sport that actually grew out of a work system. Rodeo
started out as a betting game between cowboys from
different ranches against other cowboys. A lot of ranches
boasted that they had a cowboy who couldn’t be thrown
or a hoss who couldn’t be rode. The stakes were often
high because some cowboys would bet an entire month’s
wages that they could outride or outrope other cowboys
from other areas.
As the sport started taking roots, there were rodeo
associations that were formed and these associations,
whether they are pro or amateur, had their own rules and
regulations. And as time
went on these rules and regu- ~
lations were modified to
favour the animal rather
than the cowboy.
Rodeo can. only '_ be
compared with golf, because
both of these sports are inde-_
_ pendent. The rodeo cowboy
does not earn a guaranteed
salary and does not draw an
expense allowance. Not only
does he not receive any salary
but he also has no pension
plan, no coach, no trainer,
and he usually has to pay for
his own doctor bills. His only
income is what he can win by
competing against other cow- .
boys, but first he must be
able to qualify on the stock
that he draws and a lot of
times it is not that easy.
Before a cowboy can
compete he must buy a mem-
bership card from a rodeo as-
sociation. Then if he is in
good standing with the asso-
ciation he has to pay for his
enterfee which probably will
range from $20 to $100 an event. -_,
There are seven major events in a rodeo: saddle bronc
riding, bare back riding, bull riding, steer wrestling, calf.
roping, and team roping. There are also ladies events
such as goat tying, barrel racing, and undecorating. Of
course there are novelty events that are not considered
major but still are crowd thrillers, like boys’ steer riding.
INDIAN WORLD 36
Late Flash: Would you believe that the author of this
story got laid up in the hospital after an exciting rodeo this
weekend!
A cowboy’s equipment may range from around $500
anywhere to $25,000, plus it depends on what events he
may compete in. I guess when it all comes down to one
basic point, rodeo is expensive for the amount of money
that is involved with the sport.
A rodeo cowboy is the last of the independent breed
and is his own man. Usually half of his winnings are
spent on travel expenses, telephone bills, greasy burgers,
and enterfees. But keep in mind a good cowboy can win
in eight.seconds when it takes another person to make the
same amount in a month. And on the other hand he can
rou
AW
@
be bucked off, or he can be crippled for life by a freak
accident in the arena. But if you even ask a cowboy why
he rodeos, a lot of cowboys would probably say friends,
money, travel, challenge, excitement—the way of life. In
general most cowboys will have other answers and to me
rodeo is self-explanatory and ‘‘I love it.’’ ©
=
*
iW
¢
Hi
———
= =
_ SS
B.C.1.R.A. STANDINGS
AS OF AUGUST 11, 1980
Saddle Bronc Riding: |
1. Lawrence Elkins $1638.98
2. Guy Gottfriedson $121 1.01
3. Oliver Louis : 3 $897.99
Bare Back Riding: ;
1. Dennis Sampson ! : $1548.02
2. Clint Morin $1403.63
3. Richard Louis $1263.50
Bull Riding: -
1. Burt Williams a $1904.65
2. Alexis Harry $1252.80
3. Ernie Thomas ; $992:47
Boy’s Steer Riding:
1. Troy Dan . $318.73
2. Shane Johnston $299.75
3. Faron Tonasket ; $246.02
Steer Wrestling:
1. Clarence Hunt $911.53
2. Chester Elkins $887.30
3. Chester Labelle $691.12
Calf Roping: ‘ ’
1. Chester Labelle $1317.66
2. Terry Rider $1279.65
3. Eugene Creighton $699.20
Team Roping:
|. Oliver Louis $1589.52
2. Blane Louis ] $1388.64
3. Mike Benjamin $1312.94
Ladies Barrel Racing:
|. Fay Nelson . $1465.11
2. Joan Perry $1158.52
3. Sandy Pasco $1135.90
All Around:
]. Lawrence Elkins : $2832.65
2. Oliver Louis. $2487.57
3. Dennis Sampson $2169.13
Rookie of the Year:
1. Darryl Eustache $754.27
2. Willy Johnson $380.00
3, Glen Gottfriedson $105.20
The next results done after sugar cane rodeo! Good luck to the ~
cowboys in the | remainder rodeos!
i;
C res
FALL FAIR
October 10 & 11, 1980 .
Sponsored by the
WESTERN INDIAN |
AGRICULTURAL CORPORATION
440 W.Hastings Vancouver, B.C.
Tel. 684-0231
a
INDIAN WORLD 37
Resource Centre
Over the last decade Indian leaders through-
out Canada have recognized the great need for
skilled and informed workers. If the Indian
people of British Columbia and Canada hope to
achieve self-determination (Indian Govern-
ment) in the near future it is imperative that we
begin to make use of the materials and resour-
ces that are available to us. We can no longer
condone or accept alibis such as “I did not
know where to look for such information or I
didn’t know such resources existed and were
available to me.’’
The days of obtaining a large percentage of
our.information from governmental sources are
also gone. It is a known fact that the informa-
tion provided by the government is neither
objective nor complete.
The Resource Centre of the Union of B.C. Indian
Chiefs has been in existence since December of 1977. It
was established by the Union to serve the information
needs of the Indian People in British Columbia. We have -
described our major holdings in back issues of the
UBCIC News/Indian World (see especially October
1978, November 1978 and September 1979). However,
for new researchers or new readers we thought a recap of
what we have here might be valuable. Our holdings
consist of materials from the Land Claims Centre in Vic-
toria and materials acquired during the last two years.
The collection consists of published and unpublished
books, photographs, periodicals, news-clippings, micro-
film, film, reports and maps. The subjects covered by
these materials include fishing, land claims, education,
economic development, Indian Government plus many
other issues of interest to the Indian people of British
Columbia.
District Research Files
Another important source of information available at
the Resource Centre are the District Research Files. They
were compiled at the Land Claims Centre in Victoria to
assist the Bands in research projects. The information
contained in the files include papers and reports pub-
lished by the B.C. Government, schedule of reserves,
short list of books on Bands and tribes of each district
plus much more information. The district files would be
an excellent starting point for Band researchers, whether
they they are working on land claims or the history of the
Band.
INDIAN WORLD 38
DIA Records from 1872 to 1950
One of the major acquisitions of the Resource Centre
was the purchasing of the Record Group 10 series on
microfilm. This series is an extremely large one; only the
parts dealing with British Columbia were acquired. The
RG 10 series is comprised of letters, memorandums, etc.
from the Department of Indian Affairs files. These
records are very important to research on land claims and
aboriginal rights. They can also be used when researching
Band or tribal histories.
_ The RG 10 series is made up of the school files, Deputy
Superintendent Letterbooks, Headquarters Letterbooks,
Headquarters Files and the Black Series Headquarter
Files. The Black Series is the most frequently used of RG
10, it contains information concerning the general admin-
istration of the Department of Indian Affairs from 1872
to 1950.
The Resource Centre has purchased microfilm on the
Indian Reserve Commission, Royal Commission on
Indian Affairs in B.C., School Branch Letterbooks, B.C.
Superintendency Inspector of Indian Agencies Letter- —
books, Kamloops Agency and the Cowichan Agency.
These also belong to the Record Group 10 series.
B.C. Indian Bands, Indian people and researchers are
encouraged to make use of this very important source of
information. It is possible to photocopy all documents
necessary on the reader-printer. The Resource Centre
staff cannot, however, photocopy all RG 10 material ona
specific Band or tribe as the microfilms have not been
completely catalogued. The Resource Centre will be pur-
chasing more RG 10 material as they become available.
McKenna-McBride Commission Reports
Also available at the Resource Centre is the Report on
the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for the
Province of British Columbia (McKenna-McBride
Commission) and the transcripts of these hearings (The
Peoples’ Evidence). The McKenna-McBride Commission
was responsible for the taking away of land from existing
reserves, in spite of the fact that the Indian people main-
tained that they needed more land, not less. The tran-
scripts of these hearings contain evidence given by the
Chiefs of the Bands.
The Resource Centre also has material on B.C. Indian
history, Canadian history, housing, the Indian Act and
other topics of interest to B.C. Indians. The materials
contained in the Resource Centre could prove to be
invaluable to Bands in areas such as land claims.
As the Resource Centre was established to serve the
information needs of the Indian People in British Colum-
bia, we would be happy to help you make maximum use
of it. The staff of the Resource Centre will do their
utmost to provide information requested. @
TEACHING OUR TEACHERS
Student Teachers Chosen from
Band School Staff
Student teachers were basically
chosen from teacher-aides and para-
professionals already working in
the Mount Currie School. To be ad-
mitted to the program, they had to
have had six months of documented,
successful teacher-aide experience, as
well as letters of recommendation
from teachers for whom they had
worked. Several of these candidates
also had a year or two of higher edu-
cation in various regional colleges,
and some were admitted to SFU as
mature students. No one who showed
exceptional promise was _ turned
away. The decisions about who
would become student teachers and
who would not were made jointly by
the Ts’zil Board and. SFU—as have
all decisions about course work.
Teaching Training is Based in
Ciassrooms
Student teachers learned how to
teach by being in the classrooms with
master teachers. Later, they would
take courses which would show them
the theories that went with the
approaches they had watched and
learned. English courses were essen-
tial early courses in their programs as
were. Educational Methods and
Foundation courses. Some of these
were provided by the _ on-site
supervisor and some from. staff
brought in from the university.
Throughout the period of their in-
classroom training, student teachers
spent two days per week in work-
shops given by SFU professors. At
the end of 1% to 2 years of practicum
and course work in Mount Currie, the
student teachers qualified for British
Columbia Teaching Licenses which
would allow them to teach in provin-
cial schools up to 48 months. By the
end of 48 months, their professional
qualifications had to be updated to
the Standard Certificate level. SFU
continued to provide courses, and all
of the original group of student
teachers eventually obtained
Standard Certificates. |
All Seventeen Graduates
Working in Mt. Currie School
Two separate groups of Mount
Currie people, totalling 17 persons,
completed this basic training by 1977,
and all of them found work in the
Mount Currie Community School.
hard and hope to receive their teach-
ing licenses by this fall.
Because the Ts’zil Board of Educa-
tion wanted to give priority to the
local Indian language and culture in
our school curriculum, we felt that we
had to have teachers from Mount
Currie reserve. At first, a number of
available, reasonably-educated In-
dians were offered employment with-
in the school as teacher-aides; but the
Mary Susan James teaching the kids the basics of basket weaving in the Mount}
Currie School. Training our own teachers is our way of making sure that our
cultural education remains a priority in our own schools.
We could do this because outside tea-
chers were not rehired once native .
teachers became available. Other
persons from the community who
took these courses have found posi-
tions in curriculum and administra-
tion. In the past year, an additional 8
student-teachers have been studying
Board realized that this was a stop-
gap measure at best. Outside teachers
still had classroom control and could
limit cultural activities. Also, many
aides tended to accept the standard
programs outlined by the master tea-
chers, rather than insisting on a
widely-ranging cultural program.
INDIAN WORLD 39
Finding a School Interested in
Meeting our Requirements
So in 1973, Board members made |
the rounds of several university
‘Faculties of Education to try to
persuade one of them to take on the
training of Indian student teachers
from Mount Currie. Two of the
major ones demanded a four year
training program and __practice-
teaching in the overly-efficient class-
rooms of the public school system. As
our aim was to-have teachers trained
to meet the special needs of Mount
Currie, these programs were too
standard and inflexible to be consi-
dered. We also wanted a program
which would put qualified teachers in
the classroom in a short period of
time, and as well would allow for the
practice-teaching in classrooms in
Mount Currie. Only in this way
would the Board have any say in the
kind of. teachers developed for its
school. Simon Fraser University deci-
ded to meet those needs.
Of Course There Were Some
Problems
This program did not occur
without problems. A major one was
the inadequate educational back-
grounds of some of the student teach-
ers. Courses had to be planned to fill
in some of this background—a situa-
tion which would not have been the
case with other student teachers. The
main problem in keeping the student-
teachers in the program turned out to
be financial. DIA finally agreed to
pay tuition costs and the Ts’zil Board
squeezed our limited budget to find
money for maintenance of the
student teachers while they studied.
Eventually, DIA agreed to pay living
costs for these student teachers.
Mostly it was Hard Work
Much of the progress may seem to
* have occurred because of luck, but
hard work by everyone involved
made the program a success. At least
one Other group, Enderby, has a
student teacher training program for
natives set up in conjunction with
SFU. @
INDIAN WORLD 40
YOUTH GATHERING
AT OWL ROCK —
It was morning. The smell of pine
and campfire was in the air.as the sun
struggled to filter its rays through the
teepee. It would be another beautiful
day full of laughter, good food and
educational experiences for young
and old alike. ft would be much more
for the two hundred and fifty odd
people gathered at Owl Rock Camp
for the next six days. The Okanagan
territory was up to its old tricks and
only offered the sun to us in momen-
tary glimpses this first day. The rains
fell a short while on the hills over-
looking the camp. We did need water
and the workers. who had worked so
hard the previous weeks in prepara-
tion welcomed the rains.
A YOUNZ ULUy alALUUsIY a@SKeU,
“What we gonna do today?’’ The
answer had to be, ‘‘Well, what would
you like to do?’’ The boy thought of
the possibilities. Maybe he would go
swimming after the morning pipe
ceremony, or go hunting with the
older people. He thought of
canoeing, fishing, climbing the obsta-
cle course, hiking, or.... He decided
to chop wood instead and think about
it some more.
QUIS Well LU SWCAL VELY Cally LI
the morning; others were cooking
breakfast. ‘‘This isn’t an interior tee-
pee,’’ Mario said as he reached for
the cold water that would wake him
from a deep sleep. He had been on
“‘suard duty”? all night, ensuring that
there were no problems ‘‘from the
outside’’ and kept the fire people
company as his trail passed them.
“But, it doesn’t matter,’’ he told us.
Later he would explain that it was its
practicality that was important and it
was true, the fire inside was warm in
that cool mountain air.
_ The Elders were always served first
and breakfast was a hit, as were all
the meals. We -had mush, eggs,
pancakes, stew, frybread, vegetables,
salmon (Indian caviar!) from all over
and there was always coffee.
We were offered the pipe to
celebrate the new day. It was the
beauty of the ceremony and the truth
of the prayers that gave it its
‘integrity. The day was well on its way
to becoming another one of joy and
discovery. People were fixing their
drums, learning how to build a lean-
to, washing dishes, repairing axes;
some went down to a ranch haying, |
others were learning to canoe and
watching how to make paddles. The
young boy had decided on fishing and
already was celebrating two catches
of trout.
Later in the day fae would be
archery, 22 range-shooting, hiking,
lean-to building and more. For now,
we settled on getting a couple more
canoes for the races. We went into a
totally different reality called ‘‘town’’
but escaped and got back to camp
before the talks around the fire. If
you wanted to talk politics, tell jokes,
stories or history, and share in the
wisdom of the Elders, you could.
Everyone participated.
| tong and who
Thanks for support and help at native
youth gathering : :
A special note of thanks to Chief MorrisKruger and his Council members of
the Penticton Indian Band for giving the permission for the Union of B.C. |
Indian Chiefs and the Owl Rock Camp staff to host this annual Native Youth |
‘Conference.
And a very warm thank you to all those volunteers who put so much work jie
the camp’s chores and cooking help and those who came from far and near to 4
help with their good spirit. a
In order to keep up the spirits of the people we had two fine cooks who did a
lot of work with traditional Indian foods and passed on the rs to the YOUNG 5) |
; people of ghee it roays means to share in survival. ai
a
We have many young people who share in the arcu ways and who through |
their presence always contribute a helping spirit to all of the people in any,
gathering. They shared many sacred songs to the creator to give thanks for thi
good experience. J
There is a balance in everything and we really found this to be true from our
spiritual leaders who did everything from talking around the sacred fires and
doing ceremonies to helping to. make the youth gathering the successful exper-
ience that it was. for gash and FEY one who went through this bea iful
‘experience. erm
A special thanks 10 old man Chase fob
appreciation for the revered dedicasion. of | Marlo and ! Jeanette Bonneau, aa
Mario George for building and maintaining the c: o ere:
basis, The Elders that were present at the conference helped us in many ways |
by their presence, by sharing their wisdom and knowledge with the young |
people around the sacred fire and in sharing a listening ear to the children of
After learning to play stick- -game,
and listening to the drumming, the
little boy went to sleep and began
dreaming of Our Indian World...
the teachings of the Elders were being
celebrated in his sleep.
today.
=
REFERRAL WORKER: LILLOOET FRIENDSHIP
CENTRE
Duties: To monitor all requests coming into the Friend-
ship Centre‘by phone or in person, To provide people
with information about housing, employment, educa-
tion, legal and financial matters and personal problems,
and to refer them to those in the community or district
who can deal with these matters in more depth if
necessary. To supervise those using the Centre from 9-5
p.m. and keep statistics of these for funding purposes. To
share the typing duties with the Bookkeeper.
Full-time, permanent position to commence Monday,
August 18, or A.S.A.P. Salary negotiable.
HELP WANTED
=
"
PROGRAM DIRECTOR: LILLOOET FRIENDSHIP
CENTRE
Responsible for development, initiation, implementa-
tion, leadership and reporting on BI Ggraris operated by
the Friendship Centre.
This is a full-time, permanent position with regular
hours. Applicant must be responsible, reliable, willing to
work with other staff, F.C. Board of Directors, commu-
nity agencies (Native and non-Native), and members of
the public of all ages.
Job to commence A.S.A.P. $10,000 per year.
Written resume and application to Gordie Peters, Box
465, Lillooet, B.C. VOK 1V0. Phone: 256-7616.
INDIAN WORLD 41
Our Elders have stated as an unchanging principle in our policies on Indian Education, that without the
teachings of our Ancestors there will be no language, traditions and customs to pass on to our children.
We have heard it told time and time again that the language is the heart of our culture. Without it we
are ineffective to teach our children the truth of the teachings of our old ones. We need this
effectiveness to better understand the true meaning of Indian Education which can be the true doorway
to Indian Government. — .
THE HEART OF OUR CULTURE
~ IS OUR LANGUAGE
Time is of the essence in coming to deal with our
mother tongue. Society’s ways are exploitation, making
money or gaining prestige. To try and help our people to
regain what we have lost in the past century through this
approach doesn’t work. Our children wait for us to take
over our destinies, to go on teaching the ways of our
people. We can no longer accept the feeble kind of help
that ministries and universities try to do for the Indian
people. :
Indian Language Program Not Set Up By Indian
People — |
Now the ministries are once again trying to do the same
thing and the pattern is to pass a private bill—AN ACT
TO ESTABLISH AN INSTITUTE OF NATIVE IN-
DIAN LANGUAGES FOR B.C. They have not sought
_ BY Glen Williams
of exploitation has been the publication of Indian lan-
guage stories and legends by linguists who claimed good
fortune from our people and exploited the precious
energies of our Elders for few pennies.
Making Our Own Laws About Our Languages
We have Indian Governments and Organizations that
will help.the people to get what we want for the recogni-
tion and respect of our Indian languages in schools and in
society today. We must make a collective appeal to our
Band governments to try and do something about this
kind of exploitation and make our own laws concerning
our own tribal languages. Band governments must work
with tribal governments and with power from the four
directions we will get what we want for ourselves.
\ ‘Albert Phillips and Emilia Douglas at Musqueam Band.
any kind of legal documentation by the Indian people of
B.C. For many years they have been feebly trying to seek
certification for our trusted Elders and Language teach-
ers to be recognized by the Ministry. of Education. Setting
up societies and forming elite groups will not gain the
power and-teach our children our precious languages. __
Exploitation by Universities
For the past ten years these people and professional
linguists that have been working on Indian language pro-
grams have tried to set up an elite sort of way to
introduce it to the university way of life. Another avenue
INDIAN WORLD 42
“Our children wait for us to take over our destinies.’ From left, Rose Point, Violet Charlie, Nora George,
a -
eA 5
There is a tentative conference date set for September
26-27, 1980 by an Indian language instructors’ commit-
tee to try and deal with the language development issue.
For certain there is a General Assembly October 14-17,
1980 and perhaps- this would be time to deal with these
kinds of issues. .
To build another Institute for Indian people is to waste
money. We have land and facilities like St. Mary’s
‘Student Residence in Mission, B.C., headed for closure
by DIA policy. These are some things to think about in
the development of Indian Government through our
Bands and tribal Councils and the survival of our Indian
languages. e@
| THE UNION OF B.C. CHIEFS
TWELFTH
ANNUAL GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OCTOBER 14-17
| During the Annual General Assembly, there
will be a photography display. Many Indian
_ people are capturing the Indian culture
through photography. It is an art.
As we are rediscovering our past, so too must
the Indian culture of today be documented—to
~~» record forever the faces of our Elders, the |
_ laughter of our children and the daily life of our
people.
__»._ In photography, we get images. Sometimes
these images are captured by the photographer
who sees the spirit of the people or the person in
one single moment. That becomes our image
and it is recorded forever.
At the Annual Assembly, the photography
display will be another unique way of express-
ing our Indianness and especially at this point in
time when we are implementing Indian
government—a great tribute to the Indian
culture which will never die.
a and Media Center: 800 Robson Street
— TIME’ October 15-17—Assembly Italian Cultural }§
Center, 3075 Slocan Street, Vancouver, B.C.
(phone: 430-3337)
THEME: IMPLEMENTING INDIAN GOVERNMENT |
FROM: UNION OF B.C, INDIAN CHIEFS
440 WEST HASTINGS ST.
VANCOUVER, B.C. V6B IL1
The
theme of
this year’s Gen-
eral Assembly is Im-
plementation of Indian
Government. The basis for
our discussions will be the Abori-
ginal Rights Position which has been
adopted by the Indian people of B.C. This
position and the Indian Government Manifesto de-
clared at the First Nations Conference in Ottawa are
presented as a Special Supplement to the Indian World in
preparation for the discussions.
Our Children are Our Survival and we are responsible
for bringing them up to be strong and confident, to desire
and take control of their lives: this is the message from
Chief Bill Mussell of the Skwaw Band (page 28). Chief
SECOND CLASS MAIL
REGISTRATION NUMBER 4983
VANCOUVER, B.C.
Manuel of Neskainlith talks of taking community
justice into our own hands on page 30, while the control
of community education through control of teacher
training is described by the Ts’zil Board on page 39. More
Indian teachers graduated from NITEP this year: thanks
to Frances Johnson of Alkali Lake Band for his report to
Our World.’’
The Canim Lake trappers discuss the steps they are
taking to ensure a part in their community’s integrated
resource management plans (page 14) while an event in
Bella Coola prompted an article on the proper manage-
ment of fishing resources (page 18).
We haven’t left out the festivals and joyful occasions in
Our World. Thanks to Joanne Dixon and Jerry Patrick
of Nazko Band for their story on the Stoney Creek Indian
Days and the K’san Dancers for their pictures and story
of their trip to Edmonton (page 12). We also covered the
Sekani Days, the Bridge River Fish In, the Anaham
Rodeo and the Seton Marathon. Thanks to everyone
involved for the hospitality we enjoyed with you.
Part of Indian World - volume 3, number 5 (August, 1980)