Periodical

Indian World - volume 3, number 10 (February 1981)

Title: Indian World - volume 3, number 10 (February 1981)
Is Part Of: 1.06-01.04 Indian World; 1.06.-01 Newsletters and bulletins sub-series
Date: February 1981
volume: 3
issue: 10
Language: english
Identifier: 1.06-01.04-03.02
pages: 36
Table Of Contents: 1912 Constitution Express......................2

Shuswap Law in Court......................... 4

Sewage Kills Fish: UBCIC take Iona to Court.....5

B.C. Hydro Trespass: "Enough," says

Mowachaht Band...........................6

President's Message...........................7

Dilemma at N.I.B.............................8

Amending Formula...........................8

Aboriginal Rights—Legacy of

Our Forefathers............................9

Our World..................................10

News, News, News...........................12

Indian Teacher Trainees Meet..................13

Teaching Indian Languages...................14

Voice of the Land............................15

"Joy" and "Leave Me":

Poems by Jackie Thomas...................16

Special Supplement: The Power of our Land ... 17

Coal....................................18

Hydro.................................19

Oil and Gas..........................20

Thompson Nation Chiefs Meet.................21

Another Termination Attack:

Indian Government Bill.....................22

Updates....................................23

Applying for Farm Funds..................... 24

22nd All Native Tournament:

Beaver and Metlakatla Come Out Winners!----25

Helping Each Other Along:

Pauquachin Youth Group...................26

Tawka—The Eagle...........................27

Dear Mr. Wonderful!........................27

Help Wanted................................28

Windwalker—A Review......................29

Spirituality in Indian Art......................30

I Think.....................................32

Indian Law.................................33

Editorial...................................34

In Memory of Mrs. Josephine Lowrie...........35
Contributor: Darrell Ned; Pauline Douglas

Contributions Mrs. Lillian Sam; Kenny Sam; Pauquachin Youth Group; Jackie Thomas; Chief
Mike Leach; Terry Aleck; Charles Brown; Ethel
Gardner; Jennifer Grant; George Manuel; Archie
Pootlass; Glen Williams; Frank Rivers; Lorna Bob; Faye Wilson; Violet Birdstone; Brenda Leon; Lillian
Basil; Sharon Venne; Auggie Piedrahita; Leslie
Pinder; Derek Wilson; Steve Basil; Bess Brown; Rosalee Tizya; Buddy Napolean; Carmen
Maracle; Carmen Maracle; Angie Eagle; Mary Schendlinger
Type: periodical

Transcription (Hover to view): INDIAN WORLD
"THE CHOICE IS OURS"

FEBRUARY 1981
ONE DOLLAR
INSIDE: Constitutional Battlelines Drawn:
Aboriginal Rights According to Who?
Our
in Stone:
VoiceStories
of the Land

One of the early crossCanada train rides by the
Indian people of B.C. to talk
about our rights.

us, and deny us justice. We have asked
government is the central and supreme
government of Canada, and that it is the
them to come with us, and settle our
desire of your government that justice be
differences in Court, Not in any court of
meted out to all your subjects irrespective
ours, but in their own, the white man's
of
race, creed, etc. This is one reason we
court at Ottawa and England, but they
appeal
to you. We want the injustice done
will not consent to this. We understand
Prime Minister of the Dominion
us
righted.
We want to stand on our feet.
that this is the only fair method of
Dear Sir and Chief:—
We
were
never
made for slaves. We
settlement. Why is the British Columbia
We, the undersigned chiefs of Indian
cannot
lie
down
and be ridden over. We
Government afraid? If they have done no
tribes in the Interior of British Columbia, wrong, and we have no rights, and no case demand our rights, and we expect your
assembled at Kamloops, B.C., this 15th
help not only because you are men and
as they say, then why need they be averse
day of March, 1912, desire to speak
chiefs, but also because we are called
to going to court. Now, we have already
your wards and children. If you deem it
petitioned England to have this question
You know of this question of Indian
unnecessary that we receive our right, that
settled, and have been told your
Rights here in British Columbia. You
it
is not necessary that the laws of your
government at Ottawa would talk with the
know the position we take, and the
kings
should be maintained, and that it is
British Columbia Government, and try to
position the British Columbia
well
the
white man's word to us should be
effect a settlement with them on our
Government takes regarding the same.
broken, then tell us.
behalf.
We
have
waited
a
long
time,
but
You know the Dominion Government
there appears to have been little done
We believe ex-Premier Sir Wilfrid
acknowledged our rights, and that King
towards this end yet. We sent chiefs to
Laurier was prepared to do something for
George III guaranteed us our rights in
Ottawa last winter so they should petition us had he remained in power. He told us
our lands, our game, and fish, etc. To
you in person, and place our statements
he would help us. Have you not as great a
some of our chiefs George III medals
regarding our claims in your own hands,
heart as he. If you have neither power,
were given a century ago as tokens of
nor inclination to help us in the obtaining
good faith and surety that we were under so you might read them, and understand
the protection of British sovereignty and our position thoroughly. You promised us of our rights, then please recommend to
an answer through our counsel as to what England that they settle the case for us.
British laws. You know how the Indians
you were prepared to do in the matter, but We never will be satisfied until the
in other Provinces of Canada have been
question is settled. If you have not yet had
given their rights, and treaties made with we have heard nothing yet. In all respect
we press for a speedy answer. We think
time to go thoroughly into this matter,
them. We ask you why should our tribes
which we have placed before you, be good
here in British Columbia be ignored and we have a right to know whether you are
moving in this matter, and whether you
enough to tell us when you may, as our
the same rights denied to us? We have
intend to do anything regarding it or not.
people are becoming restive and anxious.
tried to obtain justice and settlement of
If you have no power, nor influence with
We do not desire to blame you
our claims from the British Columbia
the British Columbia Government to
unreasonably, but we are in great earnest,
Government, but without results. Why
accomplish
a
settlement,
we
want
to
and this is why we press the position on
should the government here in British
you so strongly.
Columbia be allowed to oppress us, crush know. We have been told your
Indian

Rights

ASSOCIATION

Nanok, Head Chief Tahltan Tribe, for the Tahltans, Cascar, Liards, and other Nahani.
John Chelahitsa, Chief Douglas Lake Band, Okanagan Tribe.
Alexander Chelahitsa, Her. Hd. Chief, Okanagan Tribe.
Babtiste Chainut, Chief Nkamip Band, Okanagan Tribe.
John Ngamchin, Chief Chopaca Band, Okanagan Tribe.
Charles Allison, Chief Hedley Band, Okanagan Tribe.
John Leokomaghen, Chief Ashnola Band, Okanagan Tribem per Alexis Skius.
Francois Pakelpitsa, Rep. Penticton Band, Okanagan Tribe.
Babtitste Logan, Chief Vernon Band, Okanagan Tribe.
John Tedtenitsa, Chief Pekaist Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe; for self, Chief
Wm. Nakeltse, Chief Thompson Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
Paul Hehena, Chief Spuzzum Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
William Luklukpaghen, Chief Petit Creek Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
Michel Shakoa, Chief Quilchena Creek Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe, per
Stephen Matthew Michel.
Charles Kowetellst, Chief Kanaka Bar Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
Benedict Sipelest, Chief Keefers Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
George Sandy, Rep. Coldwater Band; Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
Shooter Sutpaghen, Chief Nicola Lake Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
John Whistamnitsa, Chief Spences Bridge Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe,
per William Yelamugh.
Simon Waskie, Chief Ashcroft Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
Jonah Kolaghamt, rep. Coutlee Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
Joseph Stsukwakst, Chief High Bar Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Andre, Chief North Thompson Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Thomas Petlamitsa, Chief Deadman's Creek Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Major Cheschetsellst, Chief Leon's Creek Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Adam Tagholest, Chief Chase Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Basil David, Chief Bonaparte Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Babtiste, William, Chief Williams Lake Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Samson Soghomigh, Chief Alkali Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Francois Selpaghen, Chief Tappen Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Gabriel Ahabulagh, Rep. Spallumcheen Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Maximin, Chief Halowt Band, Shuswap Tribe.
James Cable or Capel, Chief Clinton Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Loghsom, Chief Soda Creek Band, Shuswap Tribe, per Charles Chawania.

of

British

Columbia

Camille, Chief Canot Creek Band, Shuswap Tribe, for self and Chief Tseopiken,
Dog Creek Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Samuel, Chief Canim Lake Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Pierre Kenpesket, Chief of Kinbaskets, Shuswap Tribe, per Chief Francois and
William Pierrish.
Louis Ghleghleghken, Chief Kamloops Band, Shuswap Tribe.
John Nelson, Chief Quesnel Band, Carrier Tribe.
James Stager or Statzie, Chief Pemberton Band, Lillooet Tribe, for self and Chiefs
William Hakon, James Smith, Harry Nkasusa, Paul Koitelamugh, August
Akstonkail and Charles Nekaula, of same tribe.
David Skwinstwaugh, Chief Bridge River Band, Lillooet Tribe.
Thomas Bull, Chief Slahoos or Slatin Lake Band, Lillooet Tribe.
James Nraitasket, Chief Lillooet Band, Lillooet Tribe, for self and Chiefs
Thomas Jack, David Eksicpalus, Peter Chalal and John Koiustghen, of same tribe
Jean Babtiste, Chief Cayuse Creek Band, Lillooet Tribe.
Thomas Adolph, Chief La Fountain Band, Lillooet Tribe.
Robert Kustaselkwa, Chief Pavilion Band, Lillooet Tribe.
Francois Xavier, Her. Head Chief (St. Mary's Band), Rep. Kootenay Tribe.
Abel t. Pierre, Church Chief Creston Band, Kootenay Tribe.
Alexander, Gov. Chief Creston Band, Kootenay Tribe.
Pierre Thunder-robe, Her. Chief Port Steele Band, Kootenay Tribe.
Abel Not-Bear, Chief Windermere Band, Kootenay Tribe, per Ignatius Eaglehead
MatthiasYelloweagle,Second Chief, Windermere Band, Kootenay Tribe.
Paul David, Chief Tobacco Plains Band, Kootenay Tribe.
Francis Plaswa, Second Chief Tobacco Plains Band, Kootenay Tribe.
Dominick Salish, Sub-Chief Creston Band, Kootenay Tribe.
Louis Jacob, Alexander Maiyook, John S. Starr, Ignatius Jack and Joseph David,
Reps. Kootenay Tribe.
Babtiste Skalorn, Chief Arrow Lake Band, Lake or Senijextee Tribe.
Pierre Ayessik, Chief Hope Band, Stalo Tribe.
Louis Sardis, Chief Chilliwack Band, Stalo Tribe.
Harry Stewart, Chief Chilliwack Band, Stalo Tribe.
Joe Quoquapel, Chief Chilliwack Band, Stalo Tribe.
Charley Jacob, Chief Matsqui Band, Stalo Tribe.
James Kwimtghel, Chief Yale Band, Stalo Tribe.
Michel, Chief Maria Island, Stalo Tribe.
Harry Yetemitsa, Chief Agassiz Band, Stalo Tribe.

INDIAN
WORLD
VOLUME 3 NUMBER 10

Archie Pootlass, vice-president in charge of the communications portfolio, paying up his Indian World
subscription! Thanks to subscribers who paid last
month, helping us come closer to self-sufficiency.

Contributors
Editor: Darrell Ned
Assistant Editor: Pauline Douglas
Contributions: Mrs. Lillian Sam, Kenny Sam,
Pauquachin Youth Group, Jackie Thomas, Chief
Mike Leach, Terry Aleck, Charles Brown, Ethel
Gardner, Jennifer Grant, George Manuel, Archie
Pootlass, Glen Williams, Frank Rivers, Lorna Bob,
Faye Wilson, Violet Birdstone, Brenda Leon, Lillian
Basil, Sharon Venne, Auggie Piedrahita, Leslie
Pinder, Derek Wilson, Steve Basil, Bess Brown,
Rosalee Tizya, Buddy Napolean, and Carmen
Maracle.
Illustrations: Carmen Maracle, Angie Eagle.
Photographs: UBCIC staff unless credited.
Typesetting: Mary Schendlinger at Pulp Press.

INDIAN 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.

Table of Contents
1912 Constitution Express
2
Shuswap Law in Court
4
Sewage Kills Fish: UBCIC take Iona to Court
5
B.C. Hydro Trespass: "Enough," says
Mowachaht Band
6
President's Message
7
Dilemma at N.I.B
8
Amending Formula
8
Aboriginal Rights—Legacy of
Our Forefathers
9
Our World
10
News, News, News
12
Indian Teacher Trainees Meet
13
Teaching Indian Languages
14
Voice of the Land
15
"Joy" and "Leave M e " :
Poems by Jackie Thomas
16
Special Supplement: The Power of our Land . . . 17
Coal
18
Hydro
19
Oil and Gas
20
Thompson Nation Chiefs Meet
21
Another Termination Attack:
Indian Government Bill
22
Updates
23
Applying for Farm Funds
24
22nd A l l Native Tournament:
Beaver and Metlakatla Come Out Winners!
25
Helping Each Other Along:
Pauquachin Youth Group
26
Tawka—The Eagle
27
Dear Mr. Wonderful!
27
Help Wanted
28
Windwalker—A Review
29
Spirituality in Indian Art
30
I Think
32
Indian Law
33
Editorial
34
In Memory of Mrs. Josephine Lowrie
35

OUR COVER: Lai Stills: Kitlope (sun sets in the west) by Haisla artist Barry Wilson. Detail of the January print in
1981 B . C . Indian Calendar, available from Indian Government Portfolio, UBCIC, at $10.00 each. Size
approximately 20" x 11".
INDIAN W O R L D 3

SHUSWAPLAWINCOURT

Chief Andy Chelsea, far left, with, from left, Augustine Tenale, Arthur
Diek, John Johnson, Ricky Dick, and Pat Johnson.
son (Dog) Creek, not far from 100
Mile House. The men were fishing for
trout for themselves and their families when a conservation officer and
three R C M P officers came on the
scene. The officers proceeded to
search and confiscate everything—
more than 100 rainbow trout, four
dip nets, a rifle and some deer meat.
They then arrested the men for fishing in a closed stream and for hunting
deer out of season.

Shuswap hunting and fishing
laws vs. Wildlife Act!
As is happening all over B.C., Indian people in the Cariboo are asserting their traditional hunting and fishing rights. Over a year ago, it was the
Alkali Five who went to court to
protect their hunting rights. Now,
another five Indians from the same
area are fighting a similar case.
During a four-day session in the
100 Mile House Provincial Court,
Jan. 26 to 29, 1981, Arthur Dick
Ricky Dick, and Johnny Johnston of
the Alkali Lake Band and Augustine
Tenale and Pat Johnson of the Canoe
Creek Band, tried to prove their case
to the Judge.
The whole story began back in
May, 1980 when the five men were
fishing for rainbow trout at GustafINDIAN W O R L D 4

The entire incident is another case
of provincial government regulations
in direct conflict with Indian traditions, values and laws. Throughout
the court session, the leaders, Elders
and Band members of the Alkali
Lake and Canoe Creek Bands explained that the Shuswap people
already have traditions and laws
which govern their fishing and hunting practices.
The lawyer argued that because
Indian people come under the jurisdiction of the federal government,
provincial regulations cannot apply
to them when it comes to fishing and
hunting. Therefore the men would be
considered innocent in the non-Indian
system.
The testimony of the Indian people
greatly expanded the legal argument.

They attempted to educate the court
into understanding that more than
fishing and hunting was in dispute.
The way of life of an entire nation
was in question.
Pat Johnson, one of the accused,
explained the relationship Indian
people have with the land as his E l ders have taught him:
"The Elders said we are the original
people of this land and that we
don't own it, we live with it. We
belong to it. We live in harmony
with it and it provides us with our
food. They also said our ancestors
don't have written laws about
hunting and fishing. The whiteman has written laws for them to
live by, not us. They are not our
laws."
By the end of the days in court,
many of the traditions of the Shuswap people were discussed before the
court. The general feeling of the
Shuswap people seemed to be best
summed up by the words of the
Alkali Lake Band's Chief, Andy
Chelsea.
"Right now the whiteman is dragging our culture through his court,
a culture that took us thousands of
years to develop. I can't see us
obeying those laws that we weren't
even involved in drawing up."
The case is to continue in March.

Sewage Kills Fish

UBCIC TAKES CITY
TO COURT
When the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs laid charges against
the already known but the
cality was
G V R D and GVSDD were abusing
Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) and the Greater
court1980,
rules to stall for time.
Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District (GVSDD) in July
it was the first time that Indian people had ever taken legal action
tocase was returned to the
When the
protect fishing resources.
Provincial Court to set a trial date,
Allan Emmott and Frank Bunnell
The case involves charges under the Fisheries Act for depositing
failed to on
appear. Their lack of cosewage into the Fraser River which resulted in the death offish
operation was another means of atJuly 8th and 9th of last year.
tempting to delay the case. The case
The government has always made it appear as though thewill
Indians
now be heard April 29 and 30th
were the villains by charging us with such offenses as illegal
andfishing
May 7th, 1981.
but now the roles are reversed. Now that the moccasin is on the
In the meantime five million dolother foot may the Indians wear it well.
The government is very skilled at
playing with their own game rules
and using them to try and make it
too difficult for Indian people to
succeed at any action, even if it is
obvious that the Indians' stand is
the one most beneficial to the rest of
society as well.
The G V R D and GVSDD played
with these rules very well when they
delayed action on the basis of a
technicality. Their position was that
since the next court appearance
would be more than eight days from
the last one, their consent should
have been sought. According to
procedure, the case is supposed to
be brought back to court every eight
days and if the time span is more,
the judge must seek the consent of
both parties. The provincial court
judge overlooked this so the G V R D
and GVSDD lawyers seized the opportunity to claim that this court
had lost jurisdiction over the case.
This action was taken to the supreme
Court of British Columbia to determine whether jurisdiction had been
lost or not.
At their second appearance in the
Supreme Court, lawyers for Allan
Emmott (Chairman for the GVRD)

and Frank Bunnell (Ex-Commissioner for the GVSDD) stood up to
say that they were abandoning their
case because they had no valid legal
argument. The fact that the Provincial Court could not lose jurisdiction on the basis of a minor techni-

lars was given by the Government to
make some improvements in the
Iona Plant. The problem is that the
changes are only superficial and will
not cure the problem of the sewage
being hazardous to fish and having
destructive impact on our salmon
resources.

GOOD NEWS EMMOTT! WE MAY HAVE
THEM ON A TECHNICALITY.
INDIAN W O R L D 5

B.C. HYDRO
TRESPASS:
"Enough"
says
Mowachaht
Mowachaht Band members were at
court to support their Chief: Elder
Abel John, Morris McLean, Ray Williams, Terry Williams, Arnold James,
Jack Johnson, Mary Johnson, Michael
Maquinna, Molly Dick, Judy Dick,
Peter Williams and Marlene Williams.

For those Band people who frown
at the very mention of B . C . Hydro,
the events at the B . C . Supreme
Courts last week would have beer
most satisfying. And for the Mowachaht Band members who sat at the
back of the courtroom for the full
five days of the trial, it was especially
satisfying. The B . C . Hydro transmission line running right through the
middle of their Sucowa Reserve #6,
was a constant irritation to the eyes, a
constant reminder of a trespass by an
arrogant company taking advantage
of its position of strength, sure thai
the Band would eventually come
round to B.C. Hydro's way of thinking.

B.C. Hydro builds on reserve
without Band permission
During the last ten years, the
Mowachaht Band has also been fighting the Tahsis Pulp Mill for polluting
the air, the sea and land around them.
A transmission line was not much in
comparison but it was a wrong: B.C.
Hydro had never obtained the Band's
permission to put in this line in 1972.
About seven acres of Band land was
damaged; fishing, hunting and berry
picking were interfered with. The
Band has received no compensation,
no benefits, no power, and until now,
no answer to their charges of trespass
by B.C. Hydro.
"We had talked about the pros and
cons about any other kind of action
before we actually asked for legal
advice," said Chief councillor Mary
INDIAN W O R L D 6

Johnson in an interview during the
trial, "but our main concern was the
other people, mainly the people of
Tahsis. They aren't the people we're
fighting. It was B.C. Hydro we were
fighting."

Using the courts to fight back
"It wasn't until 1979, after all
those years of wondering what we
could do about it that we found out
for the first time what legal rights we
had to take some kind of action
against B.C. Hydro. From that time
back in 1979 we had advice from the
lawyers at the UBCIC at the time,
and a lot of the research was done
through Union staff. I think if we
hadn't known the kinds of things that
the UBCIC can give service to the
Bands, we wouldn't have gone this
far. We're claiming punitive damages, claiming for trespass from the
time they put the transmission lines in
up til now. We're talking of free
hydro for the past nine years of trespass and a distribution line put in on
our Tahsis Reserve #11. This has always been our presentation to B . C .
Hydro. It has always been the same
apart from the punitive damages."
The first time the case came up at
the court, a B.C. Hydro witness said
he took it on his own judgment to
cross the reserve without permission.
Mary Johnson reported, "He said,
because we didn't respond, he assumed we were in agreement. Yet in
the very beginning we had submitted
to them what we want as a condition

for the easement to go through: free
power and that distribution line.
They ignored it entirely."
Traditional Chief and Chief Councillor in 1971, Jerry Jack, gave evidence that no agreement was ever
made with the Band, no alternatives
were ever discussed and nothing was
ever done about supplying power and
a distribution line.
This was a decision that the Band
people would have had to make, he
said, and no Band Council Resolution was ever signed giving B . C .
Hydro the go-ahead. Yet at the trial,
the B.C. Hydro lawyer suggested to
the judge that because the Band
hadn't actually gone and chopped
down the transmission line, the company considered that the Band was
beginning to consent to its presence.
Even the judge found that thinking
alarming.
After four full days of hearing, the
case was clear and all the Band supporters were happy to think that the
judge would hand down his decision
in their favour that afternoon. B . C .
Hydro wasn't denying trespass
charges, but all that afternoon its
lawyer talked and talked and talked
about how he didn't think the giant
corporation owed the Band anything
for putting a line right through their
land in order to make a nice profit
from supplying the power to the
Tahsis pulp mill.
The law is a slow process. "Come
back Wednesday," said the judge.
Wednesday. Late Flash: "Come
back in March," said the judge.

PRESIDENT'S
MESSAGE

When the negotiations over Aboriginal Rights and the
proposed new Constitution were taking place in Ottawa,
urgent telexes and telephone calls flew from B.C. against
Entrenchment.
"Do not sign. Our forefathers have fought the same
battle for over a hundred years and never compromised," we said. "They were thinking of the unborn
children, and that was us. Because of their wisdom and
vision, we still have Aboriginal Rights today."
But when many Indians first heard that our Aboriginal
Rights were to be entrenched firmly into the new
Constitution, there were tears of joy. At last, over so
many years, our Treaty and Aboriginal Rights are to be
recognized, they thought. And here is just the crunch.
That media event of 30th January 1980 was a giant trick
played on our people.
There is no Recognition of Treaty or Aboriginal Rights
as we know them.
What will be entrenched in the new constitution will be
up to the Government and the Courts to decide: not us.
From earliest times, the Government of Canada has
considered the solution to the "Indian problem" as our
assimilation into the "Cultural Mosaic" of Canada:,
termination of our status as the aboriginal people of this
land. The history of the Courts in interpreting Aboriginal
Rights has not been much more encouraging.

In 1914, the Privy Council told the delegates from the
Nishga, Chilcotin, Sto:lo, Carrier, Thompson, Shuswap,
Cowichan, and Okanagan Nations that it would only
recognize Aboriginal Title when we surrendered it. Its
position has not changed at all.
Our forefathers found that totally unacceptable. Our
position has not changed at all. And that is why we do
not accept the terms of the Entrenchment of Treaty or
Aboriginal Rights in to the proposed new Constitution.
When the Government talks of treaty rights, it means a
small portion of land, a little wooden school house, a
medicine box, a cow, a harrow, a hoe, a medal and suit of
clothes for the Chief. When our people of the Treaty 8 area
in northern B.C., and in other treaty areas, talk of Treaty
Rights, they mean rights to self-determination on their
land, rights to education, from kindergarten to grade
school to college and university; rights to Medical Care
from doctors, hospitals, dentists and psychologists; those
agricultural tools were for Economic Development.
But it will be the Government who decides what Treaty
Rights means in the proposed Constitution.
What do we mean by Aboriginal Rights? We mean that
we are the founding nations of this country, that we have
a right to our own unique forms of government, that we
have a right to an expanded land base and resource base
to give us economic self-sufficiency, that we have a right
to make our own decisions and retain control over: land
management, environment, justice, religion, citizenship,
communications, fishing, hunting, trapping, economic
development, health, birds, marriage, air space, taxes,
education, conservation, forests, minerals, oil and gas,
and wildlife, and that list is not limited.
When the Government talks about Aboriginal Rights,
it means no more than our cultural rights to perform
Indian dances and songs, and to make bannock.
Aboriginal Title is only something that can be recognized
as Bands give it up to become a Provincial municipality,
elect a mayor, and pay taxes to build a hospital, school
and roads.
Yet it will be the Government who decides what
Aboriginal Rights mean in the new constitution.

We are fighting for RECOGNITION OF
TREATY AND ABORIGINAL RIGHTS AS
WE KNOW THEM.
The Government is looking for
ENTRENCHMENT OF ABORIGINAL AND
TREATY RIGHTS AS IT WOULD LIKE
THEM.
As long as I am the leader of the Union of B.C. Indian
Chiefs, our position is not going to change from that of
our forefathers. I do not want to be responsible for
selling the rights of our children yet unborn.
Yours in struggle,

INDIAN W O R L D 7

Dilemma
at
N.I.B.
By Archie Pootlass
Vice President
North Coast Region
Recently you may have heard
through the Canadian News Media
that Justice Minister Jean Chretien
had reached an agreement "recognizing and affirming native aboriginal and treaty rights with the
National Indian Brotherhood, the
Inuit Taparisat of Canada and the
Native Council of Canada. On the
same subject, there was also a considerable outburst of disenchantment from several Indian provincial
organizations. The Four Nations
Confederacy and Indian Association
of Alberta even went so far as to call
for the NIB president's resignation.
At a recent meeting of the NIB
executive, the topic was brought
forward and debated at some
length. There was heated discussion
around whether we, the NIB, were
party to the agreement, and on
whether we could add further
amendments to the package deal
that was supposedly reached by the
three national Indian organizations.
The president denied any involvement in the agreement and refused
to resign.
You must remember that there
are two basic and opposing positions and strategies that are being
pursued regarding patriation of the
constitution.
• The position of supporting entrenchment of aboriginal and
treaty rights
• The hard-line, no-compromise
position of total opposition to
patriation on Federal Government items. This position is
supporting a goal of sovereignty as Nations.
INDIAN W O R L D 8

The UBCIC position on the Constitution was stated by the Elders on
the Constitution Express: we are not
part of Canada, we are Indian Nations. The only Agreements we have
made are with Great Britain, if
Great Britain wants to change them,
and have us deal instead with the
Federal Canadian Government,
then all three Governments must
meet to negotiate a new Agreement.
AT PRESS TIME, UBCIC represenThe debates on strategy went on.
Our position was very clear to the
NIB: No Compromise. Those who
support entrenchment had serious
debate on what was actually achieved
by the amending package.
Sure, Chretien led us to believe
that we had actually made some
gains in that aboriginal and treaty
rights had been recognized and affirmed, but who will define "aboriginal and treaty rights" with the
we have learned from the past that
the federal and provincial governments held narrow views on the
definition of aboriginal and treaty
rights. A progressive conservative
critic warned and cautioned Indian
people that what was agreed to is
less than what little rights we
enjoy today.
Therefore, I hope you could see
my dilemma. How is it possible that
the NIB executive could discuss strategy to lobby for further amendments when, in actual fact, the federal/provincial governments would
terminate our Indian rights in the
amending formula and eventually
assimilate us through the "Indian
Government B i l l " which is being
discussed right now (see page 22).

Where is the strong leadership
of 1969?
AMENDING F O R M U L A :
One of the clauses in any proposed
new Constitution that has given the
most trouble has been the Amending
Formula, this is the cuase that decides
how more changes can be made to any
new Constitution. Up to now this
clause has ended any discussion on
patriating the Constitution because no-

tatives were in Ottawa for the NIB
Council meeting, to introduce a long
resolution calling for the NIB to retract its approval of the proposed
Constitutional Charter, and to
inform the federal government that
all basic needs of the aboriginal peoples (outlined in the UBCIC's Aboriginal Rights Position Paper) must be
included in the Charter. Until then,
the NIB must not discuss with the
federal government inclusion of our
people in the Constitution.
Whatever happened to those
strong Indian leaders who just a
short 12 years ago rose all across the
country to oppose the "White Paper
Policy" of 1969? When today a
strong position of rejection of patriation without negotiations between
Indian Nations, Britain and Canada
is required, our national leadership
is not making a strong stand.
Have many Indian
leaders
allowed government to use the leverage of programs and money to
weaken and persuade our Indian
leaders to support entrenchment of
aboriginal rights? We must look at
our past. Study the position of our
forefathers: no compromise. Our
ties with Great Britain as sovereign
nations must remain intact. Also,
look at the record of the federal
government in their treatment of the
Aboriginal people over the past 300400 years. Look at your own
community, the drop-out rate in
schools, the high suicide rates, the
high levels of imprisonment of our
native people, poor housing, etc.
As once strong nations of people
we must, as our forefathers have
done, look at our past, our present,
with a vision to protect our rights
for those yet unborn.

body could agree on it. Ideally, Canadians have said, this should be done by
the consent of the Federal Government
and all the Provincial Governments.
For over fifty years, however, it has
been impossible to get any total agreement on any issue. Except one. The
one issue which unites the Federal and
Provincial Governments is their wish
to wipe the Indian people off their

Aboriginal Rights
Legacy of
Our Forefathers
Since 1880, Indian Nations from B.C. have been petitioning to settle our land claims. For thirty years, every
Petition, Declaration or Memorial proclaimed that
Aboriginal Title, and Rights had never been surrendered.
More and more non-Indians were pouring into the
province and our forefathers wanted to settle land claims.
The Privy Council responded to all these statements in
1914 with an Order-in-Council that advised the matter to
be settled in court on the following conditions:
" 1 . The Indians of British Columbia... agree, if the
Court or, on appeal, the Privy Council, decides that
they have a title to lands of the Province, to surrender such title, receiving from the Dominion benefits
to be granted for extinguishment of title in accordance with the past usage of the Crown in satisfying
the Indian claim to unsurrendered territories...

Allied tribes stood up for recognition of
aboriginal rights
Our forefathers rejected this position outright. They
formed the Allied Indian Tribes of B.C. and from 1915 to
1926 the Allied Tribes fought for just settlement. They
petitioned the Federal Government to take the case to the
British Privy Council. The Government refused on the
same conditions unless that matter first go through the
Canadian Courts. The Allied Tribes refused. After fifty
years of trying to get hearings, a Petition was presented
to Parliament, which immediately broke up. The whole
mater was referred to a Special Joint Committee in 1926.
Allied Tribes Secretary, Andrew Paull, Chief Chillihitza
of Nicola Indian Tribes and Chief David Basil of the
Bonaparte Indian Tribe presented evidence that Aboriginal Rights had never been surrendered, and any settlement would have to recognise them. In answer to questions as to how the Allied Indian Tribes of B.C. would
like to settle their land claims, Chairman Peter Kelly
quoted the resolution passed by the Interior Tribes in
maps, to terminate our Aboriginal
status and assimilate us
When national Indian leaders were
negotiating with the Federal Constitution representatives, one of their key
conditions was Indian involvement in
the Amending Formula. Without a say
in possible changes to a new Constitution, any Rights recognized today
could be wiped out tomorrow.

1917:
"We do not want anything extravagant, and we do not
want anything hurtful to the real interests of the white
people. We want that our actual rights be determined
and recognized; we want a settlement based on justice.
We want a full opportunity of making a future for
ourselves."
The Joint Committee referred back to the 1914 Orderin-Council and judged that anyway, they could not see
any basis for claim. They also threw in a clause recommending that the Allied Tribes could not fund-raise in
support of their Aboriginal Rights. This was made a law
and not repealed until 1949.

That stand has not changed
The organization of the Allied Tribes did not survive,
but their leaders fought on. Eventually they formed the
North American Indian Brotherhood, training new
leaders to continue the struggle for Aboriginal Rights.
In 1947, the Liberal Government reviewed a "solution"
to its continued "Indian Problem". It was assimilation.
The Nishga Tribal Council renewed the work of the
1910 Nishga Land Committee and in 1969 decided to take
their claim to court. Two months later the Liberal Government issued its White Paper, a statement of the Government's refusal to recognize Aboriginal Rights, and
announcement of the policy of Termination of Indian
Rights through Assimilation.
The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs was formed to fight
the White Paper with every bit of strength we have. Ten
years later, our full assembly of delegates adopted the
Aboriginal Rights position which stands for full recognition of Aboriginal Rights and a full opportunity to
make a future for ourselves as Indian people.
In 1927, the Federal Government fought a similar
stand by B . C . Nations by starving the provincial political
organization and sending out the annual $100,000 Special
Vote money for education, economic development,
health and housing programs. The D I A has been able to
divide and rule ever since through the juggling of
program funds.
Does this sound familiar?
It is 1981 and we have just had an instant replay. But
that 1927 game play did not manage to wipe out our
Aboriginal Rights. Our leaders refused to compromise
then, they just kept on fighting. Our leaders refuse to
compromise today.

On January 30th, 1981, the Federal
Government gave Indian leaders to
understand that they would have a say
in the Amending Formula as it applied
to our people. On February 2nd,
having secured the kind of agreement it
wanted from the Indian people, it took
away that say.
That is how the Liberal Government
is acting now, and getting away with it.

This was why Indian Nations refused
to trust Trudeau's promise of fair negotiation A F T E R patriation, after all
legal and political Agreements made
with Great Britain had been wiped out.
This kind of behaviour just strengthens
our position that Great Britain, Canada, and Indian Nations must renegotiate our relationship BEFORE any
patriation takes place.
INDIAN W O R L D 9

OUR WORLD
We humble ourselves for such a strong grandmother, for
sharing herself with us and we recognize ourselves
through all the Elders throughout this land we call home.

HAPPY
100th BIRTHDAY
LIZZIE ANDREWS
Lizzy Andrews, widow of the late George Andrews,
celebrated her said to be 100th birthday on February 7th
this year. She received greetings from Queen Elizabeth,
the Prime Minister and many others.
I went to visit her and she talked of her traditions when
she was young. Each morning when she woke up, her
grandparents made her bathe. Then, before they ate their
meals, thy prayed for food every day and gave their
thanks to all the animals that sacrificed themselves to let
them live each new day that rose out of the east.
When she mentioned food, she said with a little laugh
that the hospital food isn't appealing to her. On some
occasions somebody from outside hospital cooks for her,
and she really enjoys this. But mainly she misses her own
cooking and her favourite was blue grouse and deer. Also
she used to combine dried fish and Saskatoon berries.
She said this was real tasty back in the days when she was
younger.
As we continued our talk, she mentioned great chiefs
from way back and her main one she talked about was
Paul McCarty. She spoke about him with great pride. She
said he was a great chief for Lytton and she respected him
for being a good chief and friend to all people in the surrounding area of Thompson. She said he used to see
people every Sunday, sometimes it would be for three
days. He did this until he died.
"Now when you get older, you'll remember your
grandmother and give thanks to her for teaching you
some things about the past, wherever you are. Make sure
you bathe every morning and talk to the water, so you
won't grow old so fast." She also mentioned going into
sweat houses every day. "By doing this the path you walk
on will forever be straight and this will lead you to a
better life and understanding of yourself." Just before
we finished this interview she told me to pray every day
and to believe in my praying, you do this and you will live
longer. She wants me to go back to her, and gather more
information. She was saying she has more stories to tell
and she wants to share them.
By Terry Aleck
INDIAN W O R L D 10

CONSTITUTION EXPRESS POTLACH
Kamloops Indian Residence
315 Yellowhead Hwy.
Kamloops, B.C.
for more info. contact
Wayne Christian 838-6469
Spallumcheen
Derek Wilson 684-0231
Van
March 27, 28, 29
feast, pow-wow & talent show
everyone welcome
Accomodations provided at Residence
SPECIAL EDITION: CONSTITUTION EXPRESS
The Constitution Express was a very important event in
the lives of most of those who rode it. We have had suggestions that we put out a Special Edition on The Constitution Express, written by the people who were there.
Many people took good pictures of special moments
and special people. These can say more than a thousand
words. Do you have ideas, interviews with people,
stories, analysis, a poem that you would like to include?
Send them to Communications Portfolio, UBCIC, 440
W. Hastings, Vancouver, B . C . Pictures will be copied
and returned to you — please put your name and address
on the back!
Deadline for all stories and pictures is March 31st 1981.

INDIAN WRITERS'
WORKSHOP April 1st, 2nd and 3rd,

1981
We have to do our own writing, tell our own history and
our own stories in our own way. We have special responsibilities and we need to support each other.
There is a campsite close to the arbour where the work-

photo:

Nicola Indian

Steve Collins has done it again! He is a 16-year-old Ojibway
youth from a Band near Thunder Bay, Ontario, who has jumped to
the foreground in world class ski jumping. On February 21, 1981,
he captured a third position in a 70-meter world class ski jumping
competition at Thunder Bay.
Steve placed ninth in ski jumping at the last Winter Olympics and
has won other world cup events. He is considered one of the top ten
in the world in this event.

The Cache Creek Truckers: Winners of the 12th Annual Moccasin
Hockey Tournament.
THE ISLAND
By Lorna Bob
My grandfather paddled ashore on his dug out canoe
which was made out of cedar that was probably hundreds
of years old. This was his only means of transportation
because his village was way out in the middle of the icean
on one of the Gulf Islands. He knew the water just like
some people know roads and trails on the land. He
always used the flooding tide and the ebbing tide to his
advantage.
In the years past many people used to live on the island
but now it was only him and his two nephews left. They
always had to paddle out across the pass to get supplies,
but most of their food came from the ocean in their front
yard or the forest in the back yard. Anyone who went out
to visit grandpa knew that they would always have a meal
of fresh fish, deer, oysters, clams or other food from the
ocean.
He would always be busy doing day to day chores.
Whenever we went out there to visit him he would either
be packing water or firewood or getting his gas and oil
lamps ready for the evening. If he wasn't busy doing the
chores he would be carving fishing lures for the local
fishermen. The local fishermen really liked his lures; they
said that the lures were killers and catch a lot of fish for
them.
Out on the island there was no electricity, no phones,
no running water, and no transportation to and from the
island. There were always tourists stopping by and he
would always send them to the other end of the island to
look for arrowheads. The tourists were always taken in
by this suggestions, grandpa knew how to keep them out
of his hair. One time a tourist came by on his fancy

sailboat and asked if he could use the telephone. Grandpa
said, 'Sure, just follow that trail.' Little did the tourist
know that grandpa was sending him out to the outhouse.
He had quite a sly and mischievous look on his face at the
time. When we saw the white man coming from the trail
he just walked right by us with a disgusted look on his
face. We all had a good laugh that night as we were
sitting around the old fire stove drinking our nightly tea.
INDIAN W O R L D 11

NEWS NEWS NEWS
A TRUE STORY...
ONE MEMORABLE F E B . 2 0 t h IN
PARLIAMENT..."THE RIGHTS OF
NATIVE PEOPLE WILL N E V E R
AGAIN B E A B U S E D ... ONCE
THEY ARE ENTRENCHED .. THEY

WILL B E

PROTECTED
FOREVER ...

BLAH

BLAH
BLAH...

MEANWHILE AT A N E A R B Y
P R E S S C O N F E R E N C E SET
UP TO ANNOUNCE THIS
HISTORIC EVENT..."NATIVE RIGHTS
WILL NEVER AGAIN B E ABUSED
BECAUSE IF
IT'S
LEFT TO
THE
GOVERNMENT
TO DEFINE
THEM
THEN
THEY
WILL
NO
LONGER
EXIST!"

L A T E R , AT THAT SAME
PRESS CONFERENCE . . . GEORGE
WHERE H A V E Y O U BEEN?
WHERE'S THE PRESS? WHAT
DO YOU MEAN Y O U GOT
CAUGHT UP I N SOMETHING ?
GEORGE D O Y O U REALIZE ...
B L A H , BLAH B L A H . . . "

TO BE CONTINUED...
ACID RAIN PRESENTATION
The UBCIC and SCTC presented a joint brief to the
sub-committee on acid rain of the Standing Committee
on Fisheries and Forestry on February 16, 1981 in Calgary, Alberta. We felt that our presentation made a strong
impact on the committee.
BAND ELECTIONS
There have been a whole lot of Band Elections during
the last month. We present some of the Chiefs and Councillors who will be our leaders in the years ahead.
Kootenay District
Chief: ST. MARY'S BAND
Sophie Pierre
Chief: COLUMBIA LAKE
Council:
Randy McNab
Peter Birdstone
Councillors:
Florence Alex
Lola Nicholas
Terry
White
Wilfred Tenesse
Chief: LR KOOTENAY
Chris Luke
Council:
Wilfred Jacobs
Mary Basil
Chief: SHUSWAP BAND
Paul Sam
Council:
Rosalee Tapso
Chief: TOBACCO PLAINS
T. Gravelle
Councillor:
John Gravelle
INDIAN W O R L D 12

Chief: BELLA COOLA
Councillors:
Edward Moody

CHILD WELFARE WORKSHOP PLANNED
BY CANADIAN INDIAN LAWYERS ASSOCIATION
The C I L A is holding a three day National Workshop
on Indian Child Welfare Rights in Regina, Saskatchewan
from March 18 to 20,1981 at the Sheraton Centre Hotel.
Chief: N THOMPSON
Edna Louis
Councillors:
Fred Eustache
Mona Jules
Ronald Lamteru
Chief: BONAPARTE
Larry Antoine
Councillors:
Richard Billy
Bill Xaboteo
Tom Basil

Chief: KAMLOOPS BAND
Mary Leonard
Ivan Tallio
Councillors:
Bill Tallio
Clarence Jules
Charlie Moody
Jesse Seymour
Simon Schooner
Russell Camiere
Frank Webber
Fredrick Camille
Joe Mack
Lillooet District Elections
George Anderson
Chief: ANDERSON LAKE
South Central Tribal Council
Thelma Thevarge
Chief DEADMANS CREEK
Councillors:
Tom Peters
Jimmy Thevarge
C. Johnny Jules
Martin Thevarge
Harold Calhune

Chief: LYTTON BAND
Nathan Spinks
Council:
Floyd Adams
Reynold Blanchford
Mandy Brown
Edwin Charlie
Frederick Henry
Mamie Henry
Raymond James
Tex James
Edward Sam
Wesley Williams
Chief MOUNT CURRIE
Leonard Andrew
For Councillor
Fraser Andrew
Richard Andrews
Joe Joseph
Michael Joseph
James Louie
Albert Nelson
Loretta Pascal
Benedict Sam
Lloyd Williams
Mary L . Williams

A DREAM FOR THE CLASSROOM
INDIAN TEACHER TRAINEES MEET
The biggest success of the CITEP
conference this year was that it was
an Indian conference for Indian
teacher trainees rather than a university-oriented conference with white
academics mouthing off paternalistic
rhetoric about "what's good for Indians." Almost all the workshop
leaders were Indian people. A l l were
dynamic leaders with rich and useful
information to share with the conference participants. Of the participants
were over 200 student teachers from
the many teacher education programs
(TEPS) established in every province
and territory in Canada. The many
observers included chiefs, potential
student teachers, and Indian education workers. In all, there were about
500 people registered.
The keynote speakers—Robert Sterling, Joe Hundley, Verna Kirkness
(all Indian)—delivered eloquently
their thoughts on the Conference
theme, The Future of Native Children
in the Classroom. Robert says,
"We're here to create for ourselves
a dream for Indian people... to
utilize the most powerful environment in Canada—the classroom,
and its influence in preparing Canadian youth for modern society, by
examining together the means by
which our Indian people contribute to it and be effected by i t . "
He quoted an old Chief of the Nicola
Valley who said, "we must learn to
understand their [white people's]
ways so that we can deal with them
eye to eye. We older ones are now set
in our ways and won't change, but
our young ones are ready for new
things."

The old chief was right. We are
ready. The confidence and enthusiasm the students displayed in their
involvement
and
participation

By Ethel Gardner
throughout the conference is sure
proof that we're ready and able to use
any of the tools and skills the white
man uses and more. I say "more" because we, as Indians, have to live in
two cultures, and we have to be
strong in both. As Indians entering
the teaching profession we have to
listen to white people acusing our
programs of being "watered-down,"
because they can't imagine Indians
being able to succeed. We still have to
listen to our own Indian people calling us "red apples" because we are
learning skills from white people.
We know why we want to be teachers. We do, because we care about the
future of Indian children who will be
living in a world that is changing at a
rapid pace—technologically, socially
and politically. A t the same time we
care about maintaining our Indian
cultural heritage and our Indian identity.
I think it was Sitting Bull who said,
"take from the white man what is
good, and throw away what is bad."
In this light I say to the courageous
Indians who dare to be teachers,
"Walk proud, our ancestors are
watching us."

General Assembly
World Council of
Indigenous Peoples
Canberra, Australia
26 April to 2 May, 1981
The deadline for reservations to attend
the Assembly is March 12.
If you have not yet received travel
(604)682-7615
An Indianowned general
development
225-744 W. Hastings St. consulting group
Vancouver, B.C. V6C 1A5
or write

I.C.G.
(Indian Consulting Group) Ltd.

INDIAN W O R L D 13

TEACHING INDIAN
LANGUAGES
There are over thirty distinct Indian languages in B.C. and right now
we know that 16 of those languages
are in some kind of development.
Some are being taught in schools,
public or band-controlled, with a few
in community-oriented programs in
halls, camps, etc.
Indian language instructor training
is something that is not new to our
people in a spiritual sense. Our sacred
languages were passed on from our
Elders in the old traditional ways,
namely in our ceremonies, prayers,
Indian talks, legends and stories as
well as everyday talk.
The indigenous languages now face
the challenge of being learned in an
academic way through schools. This
whole concept has been, and still is,
in the developmental stage for most
of the tribal tongues in B.C. This is
where the whole issue of certification
came into the limelight. In order to be
able to teach a subject in school it
should be accepted and respected as
any other language would. But this is
not the case. That is what we have to
work on to insure the preservation of
our languages in B.C.
We have been working on languages now for almost 10 months and
have held two workshops for the
planning of a major language conference at the St. Mary's Student Residence in Mission, April 13-16, 1981.
Our first workshop was November
27-28, 1980 in Cache Creek with
about 13 tribal languages represented. The traditions of our people
were a strong influence on the minds
and the hearts of the people to work
together. The Indian language instructors, curriculum developers, and
other workers shared a powerful
session on voicing the needs of Indian
language development in B.C.
There have been several meetings to
discuss the language conference. Two
INDIAN W O R L D 14

more of these planning meetings will
be held at the St. Mary's student residence, March 6-7 and April 3-4.
DAVID ELLIOTT, Tsartlip Rand
Right now I am working in providing training for my own people.
We have a school that goes up to
Grade seven and we are starting to
teach Grade eight and we will also
teach the secondary students when
they are ready. I cannot stress
enough that we do not have any
time to lose.
Oral teaching is probably the best
way to teach our children our languages like our forefathers did to us
in past generations. But now we can
learn to write our languages to help
us to remember and even to help us
to teach. This is good and it will
help our languages to grow and be
recognized as they should.
We must teach our language
which is the heart of our culture and
way of life to our people and right
away to get them ready for the hard
times that we are going to be facing.
We must learn to accept the
things we cannot change and that's
the fact that the White man came
and that he is all around us and is
here to stay. And so to rebuild our
Nations we must start from kindergarten and go right through to the
adults, start to teach our languages
to preserve it and to use it as a tool
to build pride and strength in ourselves.
The values of our languages must
be enforced by the teachings of our
ancestors in our own beliefs and
value system which was and is totally different from the White man's.
The Indian names of all the traditional places within our own Tribal
areas must be put on the maps so
that in that way we can pay respect
to our Languages.

Voice of
the Land
By Frank Rivers
In the early 1970's a group of young
people from the Squamish Nation
realized that much of our history was
being lost through the death of our
Elders. We knew that we were at a
crucial time in our history, the knowledge the Elders were holding had to
somehow be recorded right then or be
lost. Something lost is either easily
found, hard to be found or never to
be found again. We didn't want to
lose it so we went about recording it.
We went about recording the different aspects of our culture and I took
specific interest in our legends. I
would like to share with you a little of
what I experienced and discovered
while I was conducting this research.
We managed to get translated from
Squamish to English eight legends,
had them written and then typed. The
Elder, Louis Miranda, that shared
these legends with us had a harder
time to get around than us so we
thought some photographs of some
of the places in the legends would
make a good gift for him. The photographs would also be another way of
recording and sharing our history.
We chose the legend called "Creator and Siwash Rock," because the
places talked about in it were easy to
get to.
The legend says that a very long
time ago there were three brothers
camped at what is mostly now called
Point Grey, Vancouver. The youngest brother challenged the oldest
brother to a match at hitting a target.
The youngest brother said, "See that
mountain in the distance," referring
to what is mostly now called Mount
Baker, got his sling out and knocked
the peak off it. He then pointed at
another mountain which now mostly
is called Mt. Garibaldi, forty miles
distant in the other direction and he
told the oldest brother, "Let's see
you match me and knock that peak
off."

The older brother was just about to
get his rock flying at Mt. Garibaldi
when the younger brother nudged
him, the rock instead landed across
the harbour near Horseshoe Bay in
West Vancouver. The rock landed in
a crevice and remains there today.

Ulsh taken of him from behind.
Percy all of a sudden got a recollection from looking at the photo of
something that happened to him
when he was a teenager. He had forgotten this experience for thirty years
and only through looking at this

Siwash Rock.

Round rock wedged in crevice.
The three brothers then got into a
canoe and paddled toward what is
mostly now called Stanley Park, Vancouver. There on the shores stood a
Squamish man named "Sle Ki Ulsh,"
purifying himself. The three brothers
talked to him briefly and then transformed him into stone.
By looking at the photograph we
can clearly see a man looking out
towards the water. If you look at the
top of the rock you can see the shape
of a head with a profile of his face.
Sle K i Ulsh has a blanket wrapped
around himself from the shoulders
down. The tree is his staff he was
holding at the time he was transformed. What is significant about
this is that I only took the photograph
and got it developed and no way at
the time I visited the rock did I see a
man standing and facing the water. It
was pointed out to me later by William Nahanee
There was also some more interesting discoveries made through these
photographs. Percy Paull, my uncle,
was looking at the photo of Sle K i

photos—Percy Paull
photo did he remember this event.
Percy remembered my grandfather
and his father Andy Paull coming
home late one summer afternoon,
excited about something he had seen
earlier that afternoon.
Andy had been instructed the week
before by his grandmother to go to
Sle Ki Ulsh (Siwash Rock). Andy was
specifically instructed by her to be
The turtle.

there at a certain day and at a certain
time. She told Andy she would see
rocks that looked like animals, immediately behind Sle K i Ulsh (Siwash
Rock).
Andy told Percy upon his return
they had seen rocks that looked like a
dog, a seal and a canoe.
Ken Peters and I got determined to
find these animals but we were wondering why Andy was instructed by
my great great grandmother to be
there at a certain day and time of day.
Ken linked it up with the tides and
sure enough this was the key. We
went to the tide books and found that
the lowest tides of that year would be
May 15th, June 21st and July 23rd at
about 12:00 noon on those days. This
fit in exactly with what Percy remembered.
Ken and I went on June 21st and
sure enough found the turtle, the seal,
canoe and also a rock that made a
natural platform which when stood
on, one can see all the animals clearly.
These animals still remain there today
at zero tide level only to be viewed at
the lowest tides of the year.
INDIAN W O R L D 15

Joy
Summer
A time of freedom
To again feel the breezes
on my face.
To hear the forest talk
Out in the open wilderness,
Learning from traditional ways.
Attending pow-wows.
Feeling the blood
pump.
Proud of my ancestry.
Away from the encaging ways.

Leave Me
Leave me
To think things out.
To think of life,
And of death.
Of the happy times,
And of sad.
Let me walk
Past the creeks, trees
And flowers
Decide my decision
In my own way.

By Jackie Thomas
INDIAN W O R L D 16

WHERE IS OUR ENERGY GOING?
The proposed patriation package of the Canadian
Constitution is a direct threat of extermination for any
future negotiations that we are pursuing to become third
party to decision and policy making on energy and
resource matters, where it relates to the interest of the
Indian people in British Columbia. The new Constitution
would give control of energy and resources to the
We as Indian people in B.C. know only too well that
the Provincial Government does not recognize aboriginal
rights; in fact to become subject to the Province would
mean sure exterminationofallourrights and lands.

Indian lands and title in the way of energy
exploitation
We only have to look at the consequences of the James

By Lilian Basil, Energy and Resources Portfolio
THE
POWER
LANDS
Bay Settlement. This settlement
was
based IN
onOUR
Quebec
Power and Hydro Authority and the Quebec Province's
need for energy. The Indian people were not given a
chance to negotiate a decent settlement; during negotiations, the ploughs and other heavy machinery were
already digging, flooding, and scarring up the lands. And
as a result of the high-handed pressure from the
Company and governments the James Bay Indians ended
up with a very bad land claims settlement that extinguished

It certainly is in the interest of both the Federal and
Provincial governments to patriate the constitution
without guaranteed protection of Aboriginal Rights, and
to ensure that there is no mechanism to recognize Indian
rights, Indian lands and Indian Governments in their
Our people were the very
first
to live upon this land
We lived as one
with our four-legged
brothers
the mountains, air and
sand
The sun
our grandfather
The moon
our grandmother
and the Sacred mother
earth
Would teach their children
many things
are now for the white
to search
They smother her with
concrete
they drain her lakes to
mud
They drill from her
and always will
til she dies
for lack of blood.
Kat Norris

INDIAN W O R L D 17

governing process. Particularly in B.C. Indian people are
viewed as a threat to the Provincial and National interest
in energy and resource developments because of the
Aboriginal Rights question.

We have never surrendered rights to resources
For the past four years the various Indian Nations
throughout the province have directed its Union of B.C.
Indian Chiefs to oppose current exploitation of our
resources, to pressure governments and corporations to
ensure that Indian rights and concerns are acknowledged;
and also to assist in developing feasible alternatives in the
case that large scale development occurs. Based on these
mandates the Union has actively opposed large scale
energy and resources developments such as: proposed oil
ports on the Pacific Coast, the Alaska Highway Gas
Pipeline Project, the Proposed Hat Creek Coal Project,
the North East Coal proposals, and the proposed Hydroelectric projects such as the damming of the Peace, Liard
and Stikine Rivers.

COAL:
For a number of years the interest of the Provincial
Government to develop the coal reserves in the Northern
part of B.C. has been tremendous. There is approximately 7.7 billion tons of coal with these reserves and the
expectancy of mining operations is to be 25-50 years.
These coal reserves are situated at Carbon Creek, Cinnibar Creek, Sukunka, Bullnoose, Wolverine, Babcock,
Mclntyre, Belcarnt, and the Saxon areas. A l l of these
coal reserves are within "Treaty no. 8*' area and 2 of the
coal companies will be running 2 Registered Indian traplines.
There are 6 mining companies that have licenses for
future mining operations, so far Teck Corporation and
Denison Mines have agreed to sell coal to the Japanese.
Teck Corporation is to sell 1.7 million tons of metallurgical coal annually over a 15-year period. Denison mines
are to sell 5 million tons of metallurgical coal plus an
additional 1 million tons of thermal coal annually in a 15
year period. Both of these coal companies are expected to
start exporting coal to Japan by 1983.
The coal reserves lie close by the Moberley Lake reserves. No government or corporation has approached
the Bands about damage to lands and traplines. After one
look at some of the studies, however, the people asked
the DIA to get a lawyer to protect their interests.
Regional and District office refused. Local DIA staff also
say they can't go through all the material on the coal
project. Work has already started on the road to the
proposed new townsite. People are pouring into Chet¬
wynd, there's nothing but new people and new license
plates there. It's boom time for transient workers. For
those who live there, the idea of their traditional lands,
rich and beautiful, being strip-mined and ruined for life
spells more hard times.
By Buddy Napoleon
INDIAN W O R L D 18

In opposing these large developments, the position that
has been taken is that we as Indian people are owners of
this land and have jurisdiction over all land and marine
resources.
Indian Nations all over the province have provided
evidence to various enquiries and hearings that we have
never given up our rights to our lands, waters and
resources. We have shown that we have maintained
traditional land and marine uses to a very large extent, in
spite of industrial development and energy projects
depleting the abundance of game and the fishery
resources. Communities repeated time and again that we
have to protect our land, our waters, our resources and
our environment in order to carry on Our traditional
economies of hunting, trapping, fishing and food
gathering. Indian people have also stated time and again
that our lands are much too precious to lose and that
our way of life in relation to hunting, fishing and
trapping can never be fully compensated for if it is totally
destroyed.

Statement from the Lillooet Tribal Council on Hat Creek.
We the people of the Lillooet Tribal Council comprising of the Pavilion, Fountain, Bridge River, Cayoose,
Lillooet Seton, Mount Currie, Skookumchuck, Samahquam, Douglas and Anderson Lake Indian Governments, totally oppose the building of the Hat Creek plant
as we feel that this development is aimed at the very heart
of our culture. We gathered food, gathered medicinal
vegetation, fished, hunted, ranched and farmed these
lands for years, even before the rattle of the first nonIndian. We have fought long and hard for the survival of
the salmon and it is through the various strengths we have
gained from these battles that we will fight the development of Hat Creek.
We cannot pack up our people and move to another
land because of acid rain destruction, we can only remain
here, work together and use every means available to
defeat all political officials in favour of Hat Creek in our
immediate area.
We therefore are uniting as a Nation of people to fight
for survival and direct our anger at the B.C. Government
and their big corporation, B.C Hydro. We must also
remember, B.C. Hydro needs our people to survive. We
therefore will remind Hydro of that fact and of the fact
that our ancestors have stated, "We claim we are Use
rightful owners of our tribal territory and every pertaining thereto." (Lillooet Tribal Declaration.)
In this frame of mind, we are now organizing and will
give Hydro the hardest opposition felt by the B.C. Government in a long time, and we will be inviting all other
tribes to wake up to the destructive force of Hat Creek
and to join us in our fight for survival.

It is not enough just to oppose the major projects that
pass through our lives and lands. It is very important for
Indian Nations to get all the support we can in our
struggle with huge corporations. Support has to be
co-ordinated to be effective. Opposition has to be
documented before it becomes effective. We have to
lobby for suppport from environmental groups whose
concerns are similar to our own.
A well-researched statement on the effects is an
excellent way to organize. It takes time. It took the
Union, in conjunction with the Hat Creek Committee,
careful planning and research to prepare the Hat Creek
Statement of Environmental Risk and the research on
Acid Rain, to make the editorial pages of most major
newspapers. Thorough research and good
communications to inform the people who will be
affected are necessary in order to organize resistance. It
was this kind of work that is the basis of the strong
resistance to the Hat Creek coal proposal.
In cases where development is halted for the time

HYDRO:
The Stikine

The Tahltan people are fighting the damming of the
Stikine, a fast moving river that would be slowed down
and cause flooding over a large hunting territory. The
Tahltans depend heavily on hunting, trapping and
guiding. Construction of access roads and transmission
lines would cause migration patterns to change, and an
influx of tourists and sports hunters. B.C. Hydro does
not plan in-depth social and environmental impact
studies.

Kemano II
"We, the native people in the central areas of B.C.,
particularly in the Nechako watershed, must protest the
proposed project called Kemano II" (Necloslie Band
Declaration). "To supplement the meagre income of the
people, we have to rely on food fishing and wild game
through the year. To go ahead with the proposed project,
would not only endanger the salmon, spawning grounds
for sockeye and spring and other fish such as sturgeon
and trout, it would endanger the habitat of moose, deer,
caribou, bear and most fur-bearing animals. We do not
believe any company should have the right to ruin our
way of life by changing the environment for profit... If
this project goes ahead, Alcan would be in the wrong, in
that there has never been an extinguishment of land title
of this land that has been traditionally Indian land since
time immemorial."
Alcan delayed its environmental studies and tried to
force its plans because of its Water License. The effects
of low water on the spawning salmon put Alcan into
court. However, the Court restrictions placed on Alcan
will expire in June, 1981. Public Hearings are called for
and local people are trying to form a Water Management

being, we cannot relax. It is often only a matter of
months before it is back in somebody's plan. The
Uranium Moratorium has been side-stepped and
companies continue to pressure the governments to lift
the seven-year ban. The Hat Creek project was put on the
back burner for a while. The Kootenay people have been
haunted by the prospect of the Kootenay River
Diversion: is it real? How can you fight it?

Are public hearings worthwhile?
A call for a Public Hearing is not enough by itself. To
make any impact we had to carry out extensive research.
The evidence that our people in the Northeast presented
at the hearings into the Alaska Highway Gas Pipeline
could have been overlooked but for thoroughly
researched Land Use and Occupancy Study that backed
up their statements. At the Uranium Inquiry the UBCIC
worked with the people in the Okanagan and had a
lawyer at the Hearings for every day of the lengthy
inquiry, making sure that our concerns were stated and

Committee to regulate the water in the Nechako. They
say there is no room to negotiate any change to the
Nanika River.

The Liard

The people of Lower Post up by the Yukon border
haven't heard from B.C. Hydro about its plans to dam
the Liard river around them. " I believe it's still on the
books, though," reports George Miller, Band Manager.
"It'll always be in their books. Two reserves would just
be wiped out. We had a community meeting in Lower
Post and it was a community decision not to talk to
B.C. Hydro. The dam would have a disastrous effect on
the wildlife as well as the community. Hunting grounds
and traplines would be wiped out. For the Native people
here, trapping is our life."

Site C
B.C. Hydro has started work on the Site C Dam.
Completion date is 1986: by 1985 2,040 people, mostly
migrant labour, will be working there. Government
agents are everywhere recruiting Indian labour for short
training programs. B.C. Hydro is sending out P.R. crews
to explain the benefits. No other information forum is
available in spite of the promised Public Hearings. The
most affected would be the hunters and trappers of the
Halfway and Moberley Reserves. "Site C would flood
our burial grounds," District rep Stan Napoleon told a
Parliamentary Committee on Site C. "They are sacred
and should be respected. They are more sacred than electricity. In terms of trapping and the living it brings, no
electricity can match it. Fish and wildlife has always been
our primary source of food and much of this traditional
land would be under water. We just don't need this dam.
The majority would benefit but at our expense. The
native people would surely suffer in every way.
INDIAN W O R L D 19

backed up with hard evidence.
But do Hearings accomplish anything really? They do
serve to inform the public of our issues. But the giant
corporations and the Provincial Government seem not to
take notice. In spite of the recommendation of the West
Coast Oil Ports Enquiry, Provincial agents are reopening the question of an L N G port at Kitimat. In spite
of our evidence to the pipeline hearings, the pipeline is
going through.

Easing the impact
However, the impact of their submissions has given the
people a say in negotiations to ease or cushion the
negative impacts of enormous construction. They do
have a say in the route of the pipeline now. They are in a
position to ensure that the government assists the Indian
people by establishing parallel development. For
example, in order for government and companies to carry
out their economic ventures and not take part in the
genocide of a people, they have to make provisions for

OIL AND G A S :
The oil and gas boom in northeastern B.C. began in
1950. Pipelines were laid all across the land, hooking up
wells with markets in the south. Trappers would come
back to their lines and find a drilling rig there or a road
punched through their lines.
In 1977 the major Alaska Highway Gas Pipeline was
announced. By this time the people knew what kind of
impact to expect and were ready to organize against it. In
spite of their evidence, the project is going ahead between
1983 and 1985. "They claim there isn't going to be any
interference but that's not true. When you've made all
those access roads to the construction sites, you can't
close them. Then you can't stop the hunters pouring in
and scaring the wildlife," reports Amy Gautier of the
Saulteaux Band. "The traditioal economy of trapping
and hunting is very important here and people fear for
their future. The other main concern of the people is the
lack of employment. You gotta be in a Union and even i f
you're in the Union, outside contractors bring in their
own workers."
The impact of the people's presentation to the Pipeline
Hearings in November 1979 didn't stop the pipeline but
did make sure that our concerns were taken seriously.
Amy Gautier and George Miller sit on the N . E . Advisory
Committee, appointed by the Government and made up
of local people. They have no real power but it is a good
lobbying force, reports Amy, for further exploring issues
like setting aside an area for exclusive hunting and trapping for an Indian economy, protection of fur-bearing,
animals from pipeline workers and changing the route to
protect valuable resources. "We need to act now if your
land is not going to be destroyed."
In 1978, the Federal Government's West Coast Oil
Ports Enquiry came out very strongly against supertankINDIAN W O R L D 20

making it possible for Indian people to develop an
Indian-designed Indian economy, based on our
traditional life-style. This also means ensuring that there
is guaranteed hunting, trapping and fishing areas to
maintaining an Indian traditional economy for future
generations.
Is this all we can do? What is our role in providing our
own fuel and energy requirements?

Do we need energy if the cost is so great?

It is not that we oppose every energy megaproject just
for the sake of opposing it. If we are sincere in that case,
we would have to stop using the energy these sources
provide. What we do oppose is the uncaring rape of our
land, the riding over our people and lands as if we didn't
have life. We oppose the greed that says energy first at
any cost; safety, people and nature last. And do we really
need these energy projects? Is it for the people of B.C. or
is it for the industrial development for the U.S. and its
corporations? What will such projects leave for our
children? That is our starting point.
ers entering ports on the west coast. North Coast fishermen testified that the weather and a tricky channel for
navigation made Kitimat one of the worst possible sites.
Now Dome Petroleum, Carter and West Coast Transmission have approached the Kitimat Band to put in a
liquified natural gas refinery there for gas piped from the
N . E . , to go out in supertankers from there.
The Pauquachin and Cowichan Bands demonstrated
on January 30,1981, against the Chevron plans to build a
refinery at the mouth of the two rivers that are the
mainstay of their Bands, particularly rich in marine resources. That decision is now with Minister Vander
Zalm.
Chief Tom Sampson of Tsartlip testified to the
WCOPI on the navigational hazards of the west coast
increasing the likelihood of oil spills which would seriously jeopardize the marine resources that are so critical
for his people. The people of Lillooet and Mount Currie
gave strong evidence that oil spills at the mouth of the
Fraser would wipe out the salmon. With the approval of
the Northern Tier pipeline in Washington State, however,
there will be increased and larger supertanker traffic in
Puget Sound. Jewel James of the Lummi Indian Fishery
reports: "Numerous scientific studies have pointed to the
disastrous and long-term effects an oil spill would have
on Puget Sound. The Fishery resources are of great
cultural and economic importance to the tribal communities. The Northern Tier pipeline went to court and won
almost all their points except for the question as to whether or not they have to protect the environment in the
courts regarding Phase 11 of U.S. vs. Washington. This
decision prohibits damaging tribal fisheries and their
habitats by this kind of activity. So Northern Pier is
trying to talk our tribes out of our opposition. Yet supertanker traffic will affect the fisheries: by oil spills occurring, during the careless transferring of cargo, the pumping of bilges or actual collision with other traffic or
hazards to navigation.

Nl'ekpms Nation Meeting
photos: Lytton Band

The Nl'ekpms Bands met in Lytton
to discuss the amalgamation of the
Thompson Bands to form the
Nl'ekpms Nation on February 20th.
The people wanted to go back to the
old traditions of having one leader
for the Nl'ekpms people. The com-

veloping sound
administrative
structures.
• Determine our position and the
framework of the South Central
Tribal Council and Central Interior
Tribal Council.
This Committee will be having a

few meetings to plan and discuss the
meeting of the Nl'ekpms Nation,
which will be held some time in May
or June. These months were suggested
because that is when the fish start to
come up river; the berries, roots and
other edible foods are ready.
The first meeting place was suggested to be Botahnie Valley at the
race tracks, where the people of the
Nl'ekpms Bands used to meet long
ago. The first meeting of the committee will be held on Thursday,
February 26,1981, in Kamloops. x

mittee was set up and given the following objectives to work by:
• The settlement of land claims to the
Nl'ekpms tribal members' satisfaction.
• The recovery practice and enhancement of activities that are culturally
inherent to the Nl'ekpms peoples.
• Prepare to assist one another in deINDIAN W O R L D 21

ANOTHER TERMINATION ATTACK

INDIAN GOVERNMENT BILL
There is nothing new about the "bill" except the name. It used to be known as the white paper
policy, the termination policy and many other names.
But what is this 'new' Indian Government Bill? A
number of years ago, Indian people started using the
term Indian government to describe what they wanted for
their own government. The Federal Government, which
has not had a new thought about Indians in one hundred
years, adopted the phrase and changed it to Indian selfgovernment. The Federal Government's definition is very
narrow while the Indians' definition encompasses our
universe.
Last summer, the Department started the campaign to
get non-Indians and Indians interested in changes to the
Indian Act. They leaked the Indian Conditions report to
the press to have the non-Indian cry in horror about the
Indians. This would give the Federal Government an
excuse to once again interfere with our lives. This tactic
by the Federal Government did not work.
The Federal Government did not stop. It continued to
plan the legislation to be introduced this spring. Legislation was drafted without Indian input or consent. It is the
Federal Government trying to tell us what is good for us.

Indians reject Indian Act
revisions

The First Nations meeting
in April 1980, the General
Assembly of the National Indian Brotherhood in August
1980, the Union of British
Columbia Indian Chiefs'
meeting in October 1980 and
the First Nations Meeting in
December 1980 all passed
resolutions rejecting any concept of amendments to the
Indian Act by the Department of Indian Affairs
without Indian consent.
One can clearly see that
the Federal Government and
the Department of Indian
Affairs hold such decisions by our elected leaders in high
regard. They are introducing legislation this spring which
reflects the Department's goals and attitudes, NOT our
goals.

Attempts to assimilate Indians fail!

Indian Government defined by the Federal government
can never be Indian Government. The Federal Government wants to turn the reserves into municipalities by
the end of the 1980's. The Federal Government would,
then, turn over control to the provinces.
In 1886, the Federal Government said Indians would
be assimilated by 1921.
INDIAN W O R L D 22

In 1949, the Federal Government said Indians would
be assimilated by 1974.
In 1969, the Federal Government said Indians would
be assimilated by 1974.
In 1981, the Federal Government said Indians would
be assimilated by 1987.
The Federal Government wants to introduce the Indian
Government bill at this time to move Indian people away
from the main issue of the Constitution.
It is a bush fire while they burn down the home we live
in.
The present Indian Act, which was first introduced in
1867, remains virtually unchanged. The wording of the
Act is similar. The government over the years has
changed and removed sections. But the basic act remains
to do one job, Assimilate The Indian.
Under the Indian Act, the Indians do not get any increased political and economic power. Some Bands are
allowed to get more administrative tasks if they follow
the guidelines of the Department. This is not Indian
Government.

Bands should decide
what Indian Government
is
Indian government is the
rights of the people at the
Band level to decide their
own policies, their own regulations, their own laws, their
own politics and their own
economic future. IT IS NOT
the decision of the Union of
British Columbia Indian
Chiefs or the Department of
Indian Affairs to come into
the Band office and tell the
Chief and council what to
do.
Within the aboriginal rights position paper, there were
twenty-four areas outlined in which Bands can take
control of their lives again.
The purpose of the Indian government portfolio of the
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs is to assist the Bands in
realizing their goal for control in their chosen areas.
The power to govern ourselves was given to us and
cannot be taken away by a non-Indian government who
wishes us to be just like them.
We are strong. We are proud. We are living the legacy
of our forefathers for our great-grandchildren.

UP-DATE
PROTECTION FOR TRAPPERS
Trappers across B.C., and especially in the north, have
been having a difficult time trying to continue their traditional trapping practices and their traditional way of life
in general in the bush. Various economic developments
are destroying traplines and the habitat of the fur-bearing
animals.
Because of all the problems our people are experiencing, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs has been working
with the trappers and their communities to come up with
a good compensation plan for the trappers so that they
can carry on their way of life. We have studied various
compensation models across Canada which are working
well in those communities. The programs are designed so
that trappers and their families can keep trapping as their
way of life.

Only trappers can plan this kind of program
The programs we've been looking at are designed by
the people so that they could include solid communications, transportation and education systems in their communities. They also included a system to assist and
encourage trappers to use their traplines for a set amount
of time per year. This way they could add a section
guaranteeing a certain income each year, so that if there
was a poor year for trapping, trappers would be compensated for whatever they were lower than the set income.
A co-op system was included in the trappers support
program to ensure the trappers get the best value for their
furs. At a co-op store the trappers could get all their
supplies, from food to traps and everything for the bush,
at a lesser price. Another area built into the trappers'
programs is a fur grading section. This would help
trappers get better furs, by using modern trapping and
cleaning methods, if they so wish.
The reason why trappers' programs are working in
other areas of the country is because the people, the trappers and their families, are working all together on them.
This is how we're trying to make up a B.C. plan. The first
draft will have to go back to the people and they might
need more input. The consultations will become a lot
wider as the program is being developed.
THE PEARSE COMMISSION
The Pearse Commission was appointed by Romeo
LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, to investigate the current
circumstances of the fisheries on the Pacific Coast.
So far Peter Pearse, head of the Commission, has held
preliminary hearings to outline the terms of reference, as
well as information on procedures and plans of the com-

mission. Public inquiries for all concerned groups are
scheduled to begin in April right through until June.
Therefore we are in the process of gathering information on Indian food fishing for the purposes of putting
our report together to present to the Commission and we
would certainly appreciate some input from the Bands
who are concerned about the issue.
OOLICHAN LICENSES NOW?
We also received news from one of the Bands that
Oolichan fishermen must be licensed this year "for
Conservation reasons." The information we have now is
very sketchy, but hopefully we will have more in the next
issue while we investigate the matter.

NISHGAS BOYCOTT FEDERAL REVIEW PANEL
The Nishga Tribal Council say they will have nothing
to do with the Review Panel that has been set up by Minister Romeo Leblanc to examine mine tailings into Alice
Arm by Amax of Canada, Ltd. The panel consists of
three government-appointed scientists. They will have no
power to call witnesses who don't want to testify under
oath. They have no obligations to make testimony or
findings public. "It's a snow job," claims James Gosnell,
President.
" W e have not abandoned our position
because after all if this whole Alice Arm gets out of hand,
will Amax clean it up? Will the Federal and Provincial
Governments clean it up?"
The Nishgas have informed the Minister of their position about a full and public inquiry. Amax claims it will
start up their mine and mill on schedule, on April 1, 1981.
MOSES CASE
On November 18, 1980, the Supreme Court of Canada
heard the Application to appeal the decision of the B.C.
Court of Appeal on the Moses Case. The B.C. Court of
Appeal decided that Order-in-Council 1036 and 208,
giving the Province the right to expropriate up to l/20th
of Reserve land for road purposes, was valid legislation.
The Supreme Court of Canada was then asked to allow
the Band to appeal the case at the highest court of the
land.
Three Judges of the Court heard the application and
reserved their decision until mid-January. At that time,
the Supreme Court decided that to refuse the application
for the Appeal, meaning that they felt the B.C. Court of
Appeal's decision was correct, and should not be overturned.
The UBCIC
Legal team will be continuing to fight this issue.
INDIAN W O R L D 23

APPLYING FOR FARM FUNDS
By Auggie Piedrahita
Agricultural development has become very expensive.
However, there are ways in which financial assistance can
be obtained to develop new agricultural programs.
Special A R D A (Special Rural Development Agreement) is one of the sources most successfully being used
by many individuals and Bands. In WIAC, we are
involved in assisting in the development of proposals and
applications for financial assistance. As it usually takes
time to develop the applications and for them to be
approved, it may be late spring before final approval is
made. It is therefore advisable to start planning now for
next year's programs.

It needn't be that hard

WIAC WORKSHOPS
March 2-4
March 4

Williams
Lake
Burns Lake

Calving

Follow-up, Management Training, Land
Clearing, 4H
March 10° Kamloops
Field Crops
Mar. 10
Lillooet
Home Gardens
Mar. 11
Chase
Field Crops
Mar. 11
Seton Lake Home Gardens
Mar. 12
Creston
Small Fruit Products,
Tree Fruit Products
Mar. 16-20 Mt. Currie, Farm Financial ManageDarcy
ment Short Course
Mar. 17
Merritt
Field Crops
Mar. 18
Lytton
Field crops
Mar. 19
Farm Building
Shuswap
Construction
Mar. 25
Stoney
Follow-up, Financial
Creek
Management, Hay
Ranching, 4H Club
Mar. 26
Stoney
Follow-up, Financial
Creek
Management, 4H Club
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.

1
7
7
8

Ft. Nelson
Ft. Nelson
Stone
Ft. Nelson

Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
Apr.

8
8
9
9
9-10
10

Kamloops
Anaham
Ft. St. John
Chase
Anaham
Ft. St. John

Apr. 14
Apr.

Tobacco
Plains
15-16 StuartTrembleur

INDIAN W O R L D 24

Home Gardening
Gardening
Irrigation
Small Poultry
Operations
Bull Evaluation
Irrigation
Gardening
Bull Evaluation
Machinery Maintenance
Small Poultry
Operations
Vegetable Crops
Follow-up, Financial
Management, Hay
Ranching & 4H Club

Clarence Walkem
Jimmy Quaw

George Saddleman
Mike Joseph
George Saddleman
Mike Joseph
Dan Gravelle
Mike Joseph
George Saddleman
George Saddleman
Dan Gravelle
Jimmy Quaw

Jimmy Quaw

Angus Dickie
Angus Dickie
Clarence Walkem
Angus Dickie
George Saddleman
Clarence Walkem
Angus Dickie
George Saddleman
Clarence Walkem
Angus Dickie
Dan Gravelle
Jimmy Quaw

For example, if you want to get some production
during the 1981 summer, it may now be too late.
However, you are in plenty of time to start planning for
1982 development. This is not to say that it would be
impossible to get anything done for this season, if you
start today.
Putting an application for Special A R D A together is
not that difficult. The key is knowing what you want and
how you want it done. There are two parts to every
application. Part 1 is relatively easy to answer once you
knew what you want. That is why it is best to know
exactly what you want when you call on one of the WIAC
fieldworkers to assist with the preparation of applications.
Part 2 is a longer process, but can be simpler if you
have planned your operation in advance. With the
assistance of your W I A C fieldworkers it should not take
very long to prepare an application.
Each application is looked at on its own merits.
However, well prepared ones usually have a better chance
at being approved. So plan ahead, try to find out what
you want and if everything goes the way it should, you
may be able to get your program going before long. We
can't guarantee that your application will be accepted,
but we will make sure that you get a fair opportunity by
providing you with assistance in preparing your
applications.
NOTE; Special A R D A is now covering cattle purchases.
Cattle are being considered as capital investments. Therefore, Special A R D A may cover up to 50% of the costs of
purchases.

THE 22ND
ALL NATIVE
TOURNAMENT

BEAVERS
AND
METLAKATLA
COME
OUT
WINNERS

Awards:
Intermediate Division
Most Valuable Player—Marshal Vick¬
ers of the Kitkatla Jr. Warriors.
Top Scorer—Roland Barton, Sons of
Kincolith. He netted 126 pts. A game
average of 29.
Most Sportsmanlike Team—New
Aiyansh.
Most Promising Player—Richard
Morvin of the Beavers.
Most Inspirational Player—Terry
Shannon of the Skidegate Saints.
Best Defensive Player—Bruce InnisKitkatla Jr. Warriors.
1st A l l Star Team—Roland Barton—

photo: Richard Todd, Prince Rupert Daily News

The Intermediate division also has
a new champion today as the N B A
Beavers of Prince Rupert defeated the
Kitkatla Jr. Warriors 82 to 81 in their
action-packed final game. The Beavers opened scoring in the game and
jumped out in front of the Warriors,
quickly taking a nine point lead. By
the end of the first half the Warriors
had closed the gap to four points to
43 to 39. In the second half it was the
Warriors who came out strong, tying
the score minutes into the game and
taking a quick but short lead. However, it went back and forth several
times before the game ended, with the
Beavers coming out victorious. The
senior division final had Metlakatla
running themselves into the Championship. A key factor in the game
was Gerry Scudero, who with five
minutes left, netted a tying basket
and then the goal ahead. Metlakatla
never looked back, as they went on to
prove themselves Champions.

photo: Richard 'Todd, Prince Rupert Daily News

The cries of " G o Saints G o ! ! "
were not enough to spur the Skidegate Saints on, as they lost the Senior
Championship game 100 to 78 to the
new all-native champions: Metakatla,
Alaska.

Top Scorer—Melvin Barton of Kincolith netted 179—game average 29 1/2.
Most Sportsmanlike Team—Alaska.
Mr. Hustle Award—Marty Martinez.
Most Inspirational Player—Dale
Johnson of Makha Nations, Wash.
Best Defensive Player—Gerald Amos
—Kitimat.
First A l l Star—Melvin Barton^-Kincolith. Dale Johnson—Makha Nations, Morris Amos—Kitimat, Aaron
Cook—Metlakatla, Marvin Collinson
—Skidegate Saints.
Final Standings in the Senior
Division:
First Place—Alaska
2nd Place—Skidegate Saints
3rd Place—Sons of Kincolith
4th Place—Kitkatla Warriors.

Most valuable intermediate player
Marshal Vickers checks the court for
an open teammate.
Kincolith, Terry Shannon—Skidegate, Wayne White—Beavers, Bruce
Innis—Kitkatla and Marvin Morvin
—Beavers.
Final Standings Intermediate
Division:
First Place—Beavers
2nd Place—Kitkatla
3rd Place—Sorts of Kincolith
4th Place—Skidegate Saints
Senior Division
Most
Valuable
Player—Gerry
Scudero of Metakatla

Gerry Scudero, no. 42, most valuable
senior player, moves in for a lay-up
INDIAN W O R L D 25

Helping each
other along

Pauquachin
Youth Group
Our group consists of about forty-two kids and we
meet at the Paquachin Band Office. What we are really
interested in now is other Indian peoples' cultures. We
also want to travel all around British Columbia.
We raise money by Fifty Fifty draws at the longhouse
and by raffling off things. We also had a pot luck last
November and raised a lot of money.

This is mainly to prepare ourselves for the future
because we're all going to be parents too, someday. We
are the generation coming up, so our problems will
probably be just as tough, maybe tougher. We want to
solve them now before they start.
I think this group is very important because a lot of the
kids need a place to go.

Getting along with our parents and Elders

It's not cool to drink

The parents and Elders around here are really helping
us a lot because our goal is to grow better with our
Elders. Our main problem nowadays is parents not being
able to talk to their teenagers. From this end it's
communication that's the biggest problem. We are
helping out in the home with counselling too. Our point
of view is on family life, and Sammy Sam is working on
getting a workshop going for the adults. So he is going to
be working with the adults and our Youth Club will be
working here too.

To a lot of the kids here, drinking is just out of it. It's
not even cool as far as we are concerned. There are quite
a few students here who want something to do. We want
to travel. Our next trip we are raising money for is going
to be in May and we are going to go to Cultus Lake in
Chilliwack. We are going to be there for about five days.
Our group went on a trip to Chehalis in November and
we had a real good time. We were there for quite some
time. The kids really want to have another Youth
Gathering.
Unity is what we really need right now. When we feel
alone, loneliness is terrible; we get all depressed. We
could drink or do a lot of things, but we don't want to.
We really want to just be with other kids to help one
another. We are here to listen to what they want to say,
counsel them, give them opportunities.
Education too, is one thing everyone in our group,
even the ones who have quit school, have started up
again. We really want to get through education, none of
this Welfare bit. We have got so many goals that we want
to reach and this Youth Group is helping us along.

It has to deal with a lot of the Cultural Tradition things
that are being lost. Those are the main objectives for
them. To learn traditional values and the cultural
disciplinary ways of our people. And one goal also is to
learn the Indian language.
The other is through the process of learning. When we
look back at the strength of our people we will be able to
avoid some of the very frustrating things that are
happening to our people.
(Sammy Sam)
INDIAN W O R L D 26

By Brenda Leon
While reading the January issue of
the Sto:lo Nation News, I came
across a short article about an Eagle
being rescued. It brought back to me
a wonderful memory I now wish to
share.
One day my dad was out hunting, it
was late in the winter. Down in
Grampa's slough he found a young

Editor's Note:
Brenda came to the communications portfolio last spring as a radio
trainee. Since then she's worked herself into training with the Indian
World magazine and has done well.
Brenda was recently invited home to
work for her people at the Chehalis
Band.
Keith Pootlass worked as a
darkroom technician trainee for four
months. Shortly after completing his
training he was asked to return home
to Bella Coola Band to organize and
work in a darkroom there.
Angie Eagle has added beauty to
the Indian World for a number of
months with her art work. She also
donated her time many times learning
and helping us with the layout of the
magazine. While on the Constitution
Express, she visited Akwasasne Band
in New York and was offered a job
doing the same work for the Akwe¬
sasne Notes.
Terry Aleck and Charles Brown
from Lytton Band, who wrote the
story on page 21, will be taking four
months of training in the communications portfolio.

bald eagle, who somehow, probably
because of weather conditions, broke
his wing and was unable to fly.
I guess you might say dad rescued
him. He tied the Eagle's beak and feet
and in the process the eagle, being
scared, clawed dad's palm. It looked
just awful but he said there was no
need to go and get stitches.
Dad built a cage out of chicken
'wire and fish net. Every day he threw
a fish into the cage. He even placed a
log inside for him to perch on.
My brother and sisters and I decided to name him Tawka because it
seemed to be the only eagle name we
knew.
Every day there were other kids
from the reserve that stood for hours
staring in amazement because didn't
people usually keep budgies and
canaries!
Tawka and Dad became good
friends. Dad talked to Tawka and he
would squawk back.

Time passed fast and in a few
months the bandages came off the
wing. Tawka was getting stronger.
Then one day a man from The
Wildlife Department came to our
front door. He told dad it was against
regulations to keep an eagle for a pet.
He gave all sorts of dumb reasons.
The day came when we all stood
around watching in silence as dad
opened the cage and told Tawka to
go. He did not budge. Dad then got a
long pole and began to poke at him
until he hopped out of the cage. He
didn't fly, he just waddled down the
road. He stopped for a brief moment
and turned to get a last look at us.
Dad shouted and Tawka continued to
walk down the road. He told us the
bird was meant to be free so we felt
better but still lonely inside.
Now whenever I see an eagle in the
sky, it often makes me wonder if
Tawka remembers my Dad, his
friend.

Dear Mr. Wonderful,
A few days after Friday the 13th, my truck went up in
smoke. I had to run almost four miles to get help. When I
got there I didn't know what kind of help I needed.
Could you please tell me what kind of help I need.
BURNT OUT.
It's not under Education, it's not under Indian Government, it's not under Energy and Resources, but you
might find some help in the Health and Social Development Portfolio. Ask for the psycho ward.
Dear Mr. Wonderful,
The whole world seems set against my freedom. I've
lived and loved throughout all the lands but everyone
keeps bringing up matrimony. At one point a friend of
mine hit my girlfriend's dad because in the culture the
young man has to fight the father for the daughter. I
wanted to get away but my friend wanted me to sacrifice
myself. I did survive.
Now the other day, another friend offered me a gold
ring and he says we're going to have a double wedding
when he finishes the other one. How do I fly free forever?
GETTING T A N G L E D U P .
Dear Mr. Wonderful Dear Tangles,
Traditionally you had to earn the right to more than
Is there something
one wife. You also had to give something to the daughbothering you?
ter's parents. If you stay stupid you won't be able to earn
Looking for an
the right to have a wife; and you 're so poor you won't be
answer? Write to
Mr. W. at the
able to pay. Stay stupid and poor, is what I say.
Indian World!
INDIAN W O R L D 27

HELP WANTED
ADMINISTRATOR, N E S K A I N L I T H INDIAN B A N D
Competition for this position will be closed March 27,
1981 at 4:30 p.m. Applicants must submit a complete
Resume with their apllication.
Qualifications:
Extensive experience in working with Indian organizations.
Personnel and Office Management skills.
Working knowledge of provincial and federal government departments and programs.
Working knowledge of financial management and accounting procedures.
Working knowledge of provincial, national and tribal
Indian organizations.
Proven ability in the area of policy analysis and development.
A minimum of two years post secondary education in the
field of Administration.
Applicants with work experience will also be considered
for the position.
Duties:
The Administrator will be responsible for the day-to-day
operation of Administration and Office Control.
Financial Analysis and Management.
Preparation of fiscal year projects, budgets, providing
support, and services in the development of various
projects in the area of Education, Social Development,
Economic Development, Communications, Cultural
Development and Community Affairs.
Maintaining Administrative Policies and Office Procedures in conjunction with Program Directors.
Maintaining a working relationship with Indian organizations.
Salary: Negotiable.
Applications to be forwarded to:
Neskainlith Indian Band,
Box 608, Chase, B.C. V0E 1M0
(604) 679-3295 or 679-3296
JOB OPENINGS: TWO FARM WORK HELPERS
Duties: To assist the Farm Manager from April 1, 1981
to October 15, 1981.
Salary: Negotaible, according to experience. ($800.00
per month).
Other Information:
1) Closing date for applications: March 1,198.
2) Interviews: March 18,1981.
3) Applications must be sent to:
Kootenay Indian Area Council
Site 15, Mission Rd. S.S.I
Cranbrook, B.C. V1C4H4
INDIAN W O R L D 28

INDIAN WORLD ADVERTISING RATES
AND DATA
Black and White:
Full outside back cover
$400.00
Full inside covers
350.00
Full page
300.00
2/3 page
260.00
1/2 page
200.00
1/3 page
160.00
1/4 page
115.00
1/8 page
75.00
Black plus colour: $75 for each additional colour.
Camera-ready copy preferred—25% surcharge for artwork and typesetting.
Four colour process extra—colour separations must be
supplied: $475.00.
Payment to be made within 30 days of billing.
Deadline: A l l advertising material must be submitted by
the 15th of each month for insertion in the following
issue.
FARM MANAGER/FARM MANAGER TRAINEE
Farm Manager will be employed on the basis of six
months from April 1 to October 15,1981.
Salary: $1,500.00 per month.
Farm Manager Trainee will be employed from April 1 to
October 15,1981.
Salary: $1,200.00 per month.
Experience:
Have farming experience, e.g.
• Haying
• Seeding (Irrigating)
• Moving the irrigation equipment
• Drive a tractor, maintain equipment, mechanics of
equipment.
• Land clearing
• Fencing
Qualifications:
• Must have a good working relationship with Indian
people.
• Work under limited direction.
• Be able to establish hay market and prices per ton
(Selling price per ton for good quality hay)
• Must have knowledge of Agriculture-related programs.
1) Closing date for applications: March 1,1981.
2) Interviews: March 18,1981.
3) Applications:
Kootenay Indian Area Council
Site 15, Mission Rd. S.S. 1
Cranbrook, B.C. V I C 4H4

Review by Bess Brown
Produced by Pacific International Enterprises
Ltd.
Directed by Keith Merrill
Starring—Trevor Howard, Nick Ramus, James
Remar and Serene Hedin

The movie industry has at last taken the first
steps toward correcting the negative stereotypes
of Indian people on the screen. Windwalker,
based on the novel by Blaine Yorgason, is an
excellent example of how the movie industry can
project positive images of Indian people.
Windwalker takes place two hundred years
ago. It centres around a Cheyenne family and
their struggle to
survive not only a harsh environment but also their enemies, the Crows. The movie begins with Windwalker
telling his grandchildren stories of his youth. Through
flashbacks we are able to share with him some of the
highlights of his life. He tells his grandchildren that he
thinks it is a good day to die. His son, Smiling Wolf, then
wraps Windwalker in his buffalo robe and places him on
a scaffold to die. After leaving the old warrior, Smiling
Wolf and his family are unaware that they are being followed by the Crows. Though the family escapes, Smiling
Wolf is seriously injured. Meanwhile Windwalker
awakens thinking that he is in the Spirit World. He is
quickly brought down to earth as he finds himself face to
face with a pack of wolves, a bear and the ever-present
band of Crows.
After Windwalker rather unexpectedly returns to his
son's home, he guides them through a final battle with
the Crows. In order to survive not only the physical
element but also to escape death at the hands of their
enemies, the entire family must work together. It is
Windwalker's wisdom and past experience as a warrior
that help his family overcome many obstacles that they
are faced with.
Windwalker will undoubtedly evoke many reactions
within the Indian community. There will be those who
feel that the Indian has been "used" again by the money
hungry and exploitive white man, while others will feel
that the film is a step in the right direction, in terms of a
sensitive and accurate portrayal of Indian people. I
personally feel that the positive aspects of the film far
outweigh the negative ones.
One of the major complaints about the film was the
selection of a white British actor to portray Windwalker.
At this point in time I believe it would have been disas-

trous to attempt to sell a movie which contained an allIndian cast, without having at least one actor who could
potentially draw a large audience. It is unrealistic at this
stage of the game to expect the general public to spent x
amount of dollars to watch unknown actors, particularly
in a movie whose subject matter is so sensitive. The
producers of Windwalker should be commended for their
courage to use such a large Indian cast because this type
of film leaves itself wide open to criticism from the
Indian population.
Another area of concern was the portrayal of the
Crows. I don't feel that their portrayal was unfair or
biased; after all, they were the traditional rivals of the
Cheyenne. Rivalries among Indian tribes were certainly
not uncommon in the past. We don't have to look far to
see evidence of that. At one time or another many of the
tribes of B.C. were at war with each other.
Previously the major complaint about any movie concerning Indians was that we were portrayed as savages
who for reasons unknown terrorized the poor innocent
white man. Now it appears that the complaint will be that
one of the Indian tribes is being portrayed as "bad." It
would appear that the only way to keep everyone happy is
to portray all Indian people as "good." How many
successful movies have you seen recently where all the
characters are "good"? It would seem essential to have
both good and evil forces in a movie for it to achieve any
amount of success.
Windwalker may not be without faults, but it's certainly worth seeing. Should you decide to see the movie, I
wouldn't spend a lot of time looking for inaccuracies in
the film. Just sit back and enjoy this excellent actionoriented movie, which also portrays the Indian culture in
a positive and dignified manner.
INDIAN W O R L D 29

Spirituality
in
Indian Art

Totem pole at Alert Bay
In the day-to-day lives of those who came before us,
there existed a deep abiding respect for that which was
provided by the Creator.
This respect was celebrated and shown in many ways:
in ceremony and song, legend and prayer and through the
gifted hands of the craftsman and painter.
To our forefathers, there was no concept of art as we
know it today. What was created by the artisans of that
time was a living testament to a heritage and spirituality
that made them one with the land, sea and sky.
From the practical to the ceremonial, a man's
possessions spoke of his wealth, lineage and spirituality.
A man's ability to carve and paint was believed to
come from a special vision given to him by his spirits and
brought him a prominent place in society.
Whether it be a product of the sensitivity and skill of
the master Haida carver or from the hands of the many
Indian artists of the other Nations throughout B . C . ,
spirituality and man's relationship to all things around
him were a constant theme.
We were a people whose social, religious, economic
and art impulses were inseparable. The spirits, man and
animal, the natural and the supernatural were all part of
the same circle of life. If one part of this circle should be
broken, then the other would cease to exist.
In the days of our forefathers, there existed a definite
social system and religious beliefs, and they were provided with an abundance of raw materials from the sea
and land. The materials were turned into beautiful works
which met the needs of the community, and the community in turn fulfilled the needs for artistic expression.
INDIAN W O R L D 30

Portrait Mask Tsimshian, late 15th century. Representing a
person honoured in a memorial service.

Portrait Masks, Haida Queen Charlotte Islands, late 19th
century. These masks were thought to be carved for the
tourist trade.

Stunned by commerce and the church
With the coming of the Europeans came metal tools
and the introduction of commercial paints.
Aside from providing faster and better carving tools
for the craftsman, another new aspect was the production
of art for strictly commercial use.
Captain and crews of visiting ships, and later missionaries and anthropologists, were anxious to collect
artifacts and souvenirs from the new land. When the
traditional supply of trade items dwindled, the Indians
devised new ones. Included in these were argillite carvings
of platters, pipes, bowls and miniature totem poles.
These were produced by the craftsmen as purely saleable
commodities.
After a while, changing values and the overwhelming
negative influence of a foreign church and government
stunned the creativity of culture and craftsmen.
As the old craftsmen died and the apprentice system
was forgotten, the principles of the old art went into
hibernation.

Art and spirituality renewed

Family Crest Mask, Kwakiutl, early 20th century. Representing the wild woman of the forests.

In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the
cultures of the Northwest Coast. The art of our ancestors
has re-emerged in all its forms through the skilled hands
of artists such as Bill Ried and Bob Davidson, Haida Ron
Hamilton, Nootka Tony Hunt, Kwakiutl Walter Harris,
and Earl Muldon, Tsimshian; Bob Sebastean, GitskanCarrier and many others.
As the powerful traditions of the Northcoast Indians
are rediscovered and re-interpreted by new artists, one of
this continent's oldest and most sophisticated art forms is
being reborn.
The reproduction of traditional designs on paper by
the silkscreen process continues a custom of twodimensional art in a contemporary medium.
The first artist to capture a traditional motif by
In 1948, she reproduced a variety of crests and designs on
notepaper and silk ties.

Raven with Broken Beak: Robert Davidson, 1974.

Today, Northwest Coast prints are a recognized art
form that is world renowned and has become a distinct
part of our heritage.
The banning of the potlatch was an attempt by the
authorities of the day to prevent the creation and use of
masks and poles in the traditional way.
When the Indian Act was revised in 1951, and the
sections prohibiting potlatch and ceremonial dancing
removed, the traditions of the arts which secretly
maintained began to resurface.
Today these masks, poles and ceremonial objects not
only stand as works of art but also serve as a moving
force in the rebirth of our customs.
The spirituality that was ever-present in the lives of our
forefathers was due in part to the work of the artisan.
Today the art form that exists serves not only as a
reminder of the spirituality and power that was but is also
a message from a spirituality that will be.
INDIAN W O R L D 31

silk-scree

I THINK...
By Rosalee Tizya
If we were to look at the history of the UBCIC
since its formation, we would see a history as rocky as
the mountains separating B.C. from Alberta. However,
the dividends are evident in the political growth and
development of our people. The people who have been
involved in our survival and growth cannot take full
responsibility for all the wrongs of the past or credit for
all the accomplishments. The wrongs against us began
long before the Union was formed and will take a long
time to correct. We can only do what our will and ability
will allow.
Indian organizations have been severely limited in
being able to meet the aspirations of our people. It
seems that if we are to continue to survive, grow and
fulfill our dreams, we need as many organizations as
possible to meet the workload. In practical terms, this
would be unworkable and undesirable. Yet, there is a
need for our interests to be protected. The contributions
we have to make are worth preserving. Our people
deserve the opportunity to make their contribution.
The values of sharing and learning and working
together become more difficult when splits occur. As
leaders and people entrusted to protect the interests and
rights of our people, we have to ask ourselves whose
interest we are protecting. Can we see where we are
heading far enough in the future to know that we must
work collectively or will we see that perhaps this will
never work? There is one fact that is sure, the government cannot make that decision.
Yet there is another fact we hesitate to admit. The
government is upon us every day to make these decisions simply because their money only allows us to move
by small steps. How will we resolve this dilemma? We
take from the government on one hand and curse them
for having to on the other. How did we ever come to
this! Does nothing bind us but poverty and embarrassment? Our living like this must end. It has to stop with
us. We are responsible, regardless of who pays. We've
become good at taking our strength and counteracting
one another. Granted, it does develop some good
things. Through differing views come different solutions and alternatives. Yet, confusion arises from the
different schools of thought.
B.C. has developed strong leadership time and again,
who have stood up to any threat of our survival. It is
when we fight among ourselves that we destroy the

INDIAN W O R L D 32

things we stood for. If the trend in B.C. is for control to
be vested in the tribal groups and Bands, then we owe it
to our people to allow this to happen constructively.
Each group should know the consequences and opportunities in doing so.
The system of provincial bodies representing the
majority has created a climate of political dissension. Is
this reason enough to threaten their existence or is it
political growth that we must still experience? The
political forces we are up against every day now requires
all our strength, talent and power to maintain what we
have. Who is prepared to take on that struggle? Only
Indian people are left to fight. We have no choice and
are forced to reckon with our limitations. When only a
few disagree with the way the political movement is
developing, is this any reason for a major change or do
we take the concerns and allow for gradual change?
The UBCIC cannot and will not claim to represent all
the views of the total Indian population of B.C. No
group or organization anywhere can do so. Why should
we be any different? A l l we can do is find the avenues
and open them for the people desiring to present their
political views and concerns. If we cannot do that then
we are useless as a political organization and don't
deserve to exist. When an issue arises which threatens
the constructive plans at the community level, how will
the collective strength of the people come together?
Will each tribal group with its limited resources be able
to protect the interests of its members? If the present
core dollars were divided among the tribal groups for
operations, how would $17,000 help in a struggle so
huge? However, the collective strength of the Indian
people of B.C. would be unstoppable. We don't agree
on everything, but we can support one another on
certain issues. We need not threaten one another politically or otherwise. With the rejection by governments of
the Indian peoples' claim to B.C., it would be their
interest to have us separated. That is how battles are
won and lost.
Our objective should be to win for all of us against
whatever the opposition, not to outdo or harm one
another. If there is no way for this to happen now, then
we shouldn't change until we can find a way. In the
meantime, the future of many young people, Elders,
parents, children and grandparents will lie with the
quality of our work and our conduct as leaders.

INDIAN LAW
By Derek Wilson
Indian law will give strength to the idea of Nationhood. One of the only ways in my eyes to bring back the
idea of Nationhood to our people, is if we start taking
back the responsibility of every fraction of our everyday
life in the communities.
One area of our lives that needs to be revived is our
laws, including the sacred laws that we passed down on
conservation. The whiteman's conservation laws are not
working. They are only working to better the people who
have more money than the Indian people and who want
more money. We have to start passing around the idea of
setting up our own conservation officers especially for
fishing, hunting and logging.

Community had law enforcers
We did have one person enforcing laws to protect the
salmon and many other things like that. One person
protected the salmon and everybody had to listen to that
person. He had to tell you when you could catch a salmon
and how much salmon you could catch. It was also that
person who sang the welcoming song and did the welcoming dance for the salmon because the salmon is so sacred
to us and it provided us with a staple diet through the
winter. There was somebody looking after the medicine
we picked and the oolicans we caught every year.
The same was with our everyday laws, like the law of
stealing and the law of marriage, the law that has been
passed on from generation to generation on the sacredness of marriage. There were people who looked after all
these laws. They were the law enforcers of the community
and we had to listen to them because they were working
for the Chief.

Whole community lived our laws
The whole community used to go and get all the food,
get all the salmon, all the oolicans, all the berries, all the
seaweed and everything that we needed through the
winter. It was all picked, preserved and prepared for the
Chief and his wife and his family. But it was a duty of
that Chief and family to share that food with everybody
else. It was divided up equally amongst the community.
That way everybody had the same amount and nobody
went hungry. That is how we looked after each other. If
there was a potlatch the community would get together
and help this one family and everybody would benefit
from what they had done. In that way it brought back
that community feeling because it was law.
It was law that made us dance to give thanks for the
many things that have been given to us and to give thanks
for the life that has been given to us. It has been given to
us and we dance to thank the Great One.
It is up to the community to start researching deeper

into the laws we had. Because it is with these laws that we
will have a Nation. Once we start enforcing our own laws
that have been ours since the Creation of time, then we
will become a Nation.

Youth need Indian laws
One thing we have to do right now is to start teaching
our young people about our Indian laws, because it is
they who are going to enforce them. We should make
them strong now believing in our Own laws and tell them
it is the only law. The only way we can teach the young
people about our laws is if we sacrifice ourselves into
learning and practising the laws that have been given to
us. Only then can we gain Nationhood. Only then will
our people be strong again.
INDIAN W O R L D 33

EDITORIAL
Reality can sometimes be the hardest part of life to
accept. Sometimes when we're living with a dream as
being our goal, it becomes our reality and we forget
that it's a dream.
While working for an organization such as the
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, Indian Government becomes more than an everyday working term. It takes
over the mind and heart. It becomes a central part of
life. It takes over to a point where you speak, think
and dream Indian Government. Everything concerning Indian people becomes instinctively compared with
Indian Government .When you hear any Indian news,
your mind immediately, but not necessarily purposely,
thinks about whether that action is or isn't based on
Indian Government. Because of the way the whole
concept of Indian Government takes over your thinking, reality can take a back seat to the dream. Each
month this magazine receives articles, photographs
and information concerning Bands or individuals
implementing Indian Government in one way or
another. This flood of Indian Government thinking
and action can push the reality of the world to the back
of the mind. However, occasionally something
happens which forces you to look at the world in a
more realistic sense.
Recently, I travelled to a Band to work with its
newsletter for a week. The Band has a reputation as a
strong Indian Government base. However, before the
week was over, it became obvious that before Indian
Government is to be fully achieved, the Band has an
enormous amount of work to do. At the same time as
this truth was being realized, I was also realizing that
what I had expected of the Band was unrealistic. The
Band was just at the beginning of a long, slow drive
towards the day when Indian Government will again
be their way of life. At this point, it is yet a vision. The
Band and its people face the same problems as any
other—inadequate housing, high unemployment, an
uncaring DIA bureaucracy to deal with, a small land
base, poverty, alcoholism, and all the rest..

On the way to the community I was quite excited
with the expectation of the Indian Government paradise I believed I would see. I was wrong. Thinking in
retrospect, I now know that my expectations of the
community were both unrealistic and unfair. I guess
what the trip to this community forced me to see and
accept is that we, as Indian people striving for Indian
Government, have a long way to go. We're all at
different stages in our thinking on Indian Government, but they are all early stages. Some of our communities are now prepared to act. Some are still struggling with the thinking process. Some have begun to
implement. However, are there any of us actually
living Indian Government? Possibly the only ones
amongst us even coming close to living it would be
some of our Elders.

There are many Bands and individuals out there
who are implementing Indian Government in the areas
of education, health, religion, language, law, fishing,
hunting, citizenship, economics and others. But who
really knows how far down the road it is before we will
be fishing according to Indian laws, or testing our laws
in an Indian legal system, or when our people will use
English only as a second language, or when we will be
using our own methods of curing our illnesses. Most of
us are still learning what Indian Government is and
how it should be implemented and will be learning all
of our lives.

The reality that I found myself having to accept is
that I will probably never see total Indian Government
a reality. However, we know that it can and will be
real. During my life it will remain a dream to work at,
as it will be to many Indian people. It will be a dream
that will be the reality of future generations. Now that
I understand this I will listen more closely to my Elders
when they tell me to be patient. However painful, I
will be patient.
Darrell Ned, Editor.

INDIAN W O R L D 34

IN MEMORY
OF
JOSEPHINE
LOEWIE
By Lillian Sam
Josephine was born July 9, 1903, at Nation River about
63 miles away from Fort St. James. Parents were Sekani
and Louie Sam. She was married to Isadore Loewie on
January 20, 1920. Though not having any children of her
own she raised four of her grandchildren. She was not
afraid of hard work and was very much respected for her
honesty.
She was also a midwife when there was no hospital. She
was president of a Homemakers club since 1950, helped
raise money for Lady of the Snow Church in 1952, and
was treasurer for Community Hall.
She was noted for Indian handicraft and was also hired to
make a pair of slippers for Prince Charles. She was an
outspoken lady, but gentle. She was very active up to
four months before her death. I went to visit her after she
moved into her new home: she was building herself
shelves and said they should hire her as a carpenter.
I got to know her very well during her illness, I learned of
the strength and love she had for her grandchildren.

My Grandmother's
Ways Meant Home To
Me
By Kenny Sam
I was raised by my grandparents since I was a year old.
There was no big happenings back then and people really
relied on her because she was always there at home.
That's why I feel so lucky to have been raised like that. I
could always depend on her being home, not out drinking.
The biggest thing I guess she always told me was not to

look down on people. She told me that a few times. At
the time I did not know what she meant. It finally hit me
when I was twenty or so.
She did a lot of hide work, making mocassins, jackets
right up until the time she died. She was very strong, she
was a big woman. Men were afraid of her. She also
prayed every night and went to church every Sunday, ever
since I was just a kiddie. She never complained about
little things, no matter how sick or tough things got.
She always thought of other people before herself.
Long before TV and all that stuff came about, people
used to come from Tache. They would visit her and talk
about the old times.
She lived a full Indian life, enjoying what life had to
offer her.

F R O M : UNION O F B.C. Indian Chiefs
440 West Hastings St.,
Vancouver, B.C. V 6 B 1L1

SECOND CLASS M A I L
REGISTRATION N U M B E R 4983
V A N C O U V E R , B.C.

Norris of the Nanoose Band brought in a poem that
THIS MONTH: seems to sum up what many of our people feel about all
this.
Remember
This issue is brightened up with a lot of contributions
a few months
by young people with energy and hope. The Pauquachin
theago,
timewhen
just
words like Constitution, En
Band's Youth Group write about learning to grow better
trenchment and Patriation meant
with their Elders and families and travel to other Indian
a hasty search for a dictionary for
Nations (page 26). Thanks to Jackie Thomas of Stoney
most of us? Now those words can make
Creek for her poems "Leave M e " and "Joy" published
blood run cold, our emotions run high.
on page 16.
The battlelines are drawn indeed: Entrenchment of
Prince Rupert was the scene of the great northern
Undefined rights in the new constitution, dependent on
Native Basketball Championships (page 25). A shy specthe continuing goodwill of the Federal Government
tator sent in a snappy report of this exciting event. Thank
versus the stand for our Aboriginal Rights as the indigenyou! and also to the staff of the Nicola Indian, who sent
ous and sovereign Nations of this country. Our leaders
us the photos of the champions from the Merritt Invitahave been very occupied with this issue (pages 7-9).
tional hockey tournament last month (page 11).
A meeting of Indian teachers from across the country
How can we talk of Nationhood when our unsurrenbrought renewed strength to NITEP student Ethel
dered lands are plundered before our eyes for energy
Gardner. She writes of the pulls and challenges she sees
resources. This is the subject of our Special Supplement
for an Indian teacher on page 13. Two members of the
this month (pages 17-20). A n enormous pressure to
Lytton Band hope to begin training here on Indian World
terminate our rights comes from the energy-greedy giant
and in our darkroom next month. Their enthusiasm led
corporations who want everything we have. There are so
to some early stories: thanks to Terry Alec and Charles
many energy-related projects affecting so many of our
Brown for their report on the meeting of the Chiefs of the
people, we thought it was time to review them, and
Thompson Nation (page 21). They also share their visit to
measure the pressures against us. Chief Michael Leech of
Elder Liz Andrews who recently celebrated her 100th
Lillooet and the Napoleons of Moberley Lake talk about
birthday (page 10).
the cost to people of coal and hydro power. Jewel James
of the Northwest Indian Fishery describes how the
Our back page is in memory of Mrs. Josephine Lowrie,
approval of the Northern Tier pipeline will affect our
an Elder of the Necoslie Band. Her daughter, Mrs.
shared salmon resources. The Necoslie Band declaration
Lillian Sam and grandson Kenny Sam share the respect
opposes what Kemano II could do to our salmon. Kathy
and courage they learned from her (page 35).

BUN ALA a

““*THE CHOICE IS OURS”

FEBRUARY 1981
ONE DOLLAR

| were given acentury ago as tokens of

One of the early cross-
Canadatrainrides bythe —
‘Indian people of B.C. to talk |
about our rights.

Prime Minister of the Dominion

_ Dear Sir and Chief:—

us, and deny us justice. We have SRE
them to come with us, and settle our ove .
differences in Court. Not in any court of _ desire of your government that justice be
ours, but in their own, the white man "6 cai meted out to all your subjects irrespective
court at Ottawa and England, but they _ Of race, creed, etc. This is one reason we
will not consent to this. We understand appeal to you. We want the injustice done
that this is the only fair method of
settlement. Why is the British Columbia We were never made for slaves. We

_ government is the central and supreme
errant of Canada, and that it is the

us righted. We want to stand on our feet.

_ We, the undersigned chiefs of Indian —_ Government afraid? If they havedone no cannot lie down and be ridden over. We
tribes in the Interior of British Columbia, wrong, and we have no rights, and no case. demand our rights, and we expect your
assembled at Kamloops, B., this 15th as they say, then why need they be averse help not only because you are men and

_ day of March, 1912, desire to speak

_ You know of this question of Indian

: Rights here in British Columbia. You

__ know the position we take, and the

position the British Columbia
Government takes regarding the same.

You know the Dominion Government

: acknowledged our rights, and that King there appears to have been little done
towards this end yet. We sent chiefs to

Ottawa last winter so they should petition us had he remained in power. He told us
you in person, and place our statements he would help us. Have you not as great a
regarding our claims in yourownhands, _heart as he. If you have neither power,

George Ill guaranteed us our rights in
our lands, our game, and fish, etc. To
some of our chiefs George III medals

to going to court. Now, we have already chiefs, but also because we are called

petitioned England to have this question | your wards and children. If you deem it
settled, and have been told your
government at Ottawa would talk with the it is not necessary that the laws of your

British Columbia Government, andtryto kings should be maintained, and that it is
effect a settlement with them on our
behalf. We have waited alongtime, but |‘ broken, then tell us.

unnecessary that we receive our right, that

well the white man’s word to us should be

We believe ex-Premier Sir Wilfrid |
Laurier was prepared to do something for

_ good faith and surety that we were under SOyOumightread them, andunderstand _ nor inclination to help us in the obtaining

ee the protection of British sovereignty and

our position thoroughly. You promised us of our rights, then please recommend to

British laws. You know how the Indians 4 answer through our counsel astowhat England that they settle the case for us.
jn other Provinces of Ganadahave been = YOU were prepared to doin the matter, but We never will be satisfied until the

_ given their rights, and treaties made with

we have heard nothing yet. Inallrespect question is settled. If you have not yet had

es ‘ them. We ask you why should our tribes = W® Press for aspeedy answer, We think time to go thoroughly into this matter,
~ herein British Columbia be ignoredand Wehavearighttoknow whether youare —_ which we have placed before you, be good

the: same rights denied to us? We have moving in this matter, and whether you enough to tell us when you may, as our
Pie tried to obtain justice and settlement of intend todo anything regarding itornet. people are becoming restive and anxious.
our claims from the British Columbia If you have no power, nor influence with = We do not desire to blame you

2 Government, but without results. Why the British Columbia Government to
should the government here in British accomplish a settlement, we want to
. “Columbia be allowed to oppress us, crush know. We have been told your

unreasonably, but we are in great earnest,
and this is why we press the poston: on
you so strongly.

Indian Rights Association of British Columbia

Nanok, Head Chief Tahltan Tribe, for the Tahltans, Cascas, Liards, and other Nahani.

_ Joho Chelahitsa, Chief Douglas Lake Band, Okanagan Tribe.
_ Alexander Chelahitsa, Her. Hd. Chief, Okanagan Tribe,
Babtiste Chainut, Chief Nkamip Band, Okanagan Tribe.
John Ngamchin, Chief Chopaca Band, Okanagan Tribe.
‘Charles Allison, Chief Hedley Band, Okanagan Tribe.
John Leokomaghen, Chief Ashnola Band, Okanagan Tribem per Alexis Skius.
Francois Pakelpitsa, Rep, Penticton Band, Okanagan Tribe.
Babtiste Logan, Chief Vernon Band, Okanagan Tribe,

John Tedlenitsa, Chief Pekaist Band, Conteau or Thompson Tribe; for self, Chief
Wm, Nakeltse, Chief Thompson Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
Paul Hehena, Chief Spuzzum Band, Couteay or Thanipson Tribe.
William Luklukpaghen, Chief Petit Creek Band, Coutean or Thompson Tribe.
Michel Shakoa, Chief Quilchena Creek Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe, per
Stephen Matthew Michel.
Charles Kowetellst, Chief Kanaka Bar Ba nd, Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
Benedict Sipelest, Chief Kecfers Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
George Sandy, Rep, Coldwater Band; Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
Shooter Sutpaghen, Chief Nicola Lake Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
John Whistamnitsa, Chief Spences Bridge Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe,
per William Yelamugh.
Simon Waskie, Chief Ashcroft Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
Jonah Kolaghamt, rep. Coutlee Band, Couteau or Thompson Tribe.
Joseph Stsukwakst, Chief High Bar Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Andre, Chief North Thompson Band, Shuswap Tribe,
Thomas Petlamitsa, Chief Deadman’s Creek Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Major Cheschetsellst, Chief Leon's Creek Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Adam Tagholest, Chief Chase Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Basil David, Chief Bonaparte Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Babtiste, William, Chief Williams Lake Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Samson Soghomigh, Chief Alkali Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Francols Selpaghen, Chief Tappen Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Gabriel Ahabulagh, Rep. Spallumcheen Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Maximin, Chief Halowt Band, Shuswap Tribe.
James Cable or Capel, Chief Clinton Band, Shuswap Tribe.
Loghsom, Chief Soda Creek Band, Shuswap Tribe, per Charles Chawania.

Camille, Chief Canot Creek Band, Shuswap Tribe, for self and iiset vases
Dog Creek Band, Shuswap Tribe. :

Samuel, Chief Canim Lake Band, Shuswap Tribe.

Pierre Kenpesket, Chief of Kinbaskets, Shuswap Tribe, per Chief Francois and
William Pierrish.

Louis Ghieghleghken, Chief Kamloops Band, Shuswap Tribe.

John Nelson, Chief Quesnel Band, Carrier Tribe.

James Stager or Statzie, Chief Pemberion Band, Lillooet Tribe, for self and Chiefs
William Hakon, James Smith, Harry Nkasusa, Paul Koitelamugh, August
Akstonkail and Charles Nekaula, of same tribe.

David Skwinstwaugh, Chief Bridge River Band, Lillooet Tribe,

Thomas Bull, Chief Slahoos or Slatin Lake Band, Lillooet Tribe.

James Nraitasket, Chief Lillooet Band, Lillooet Tribe, for self and Chiefs
Thomas Jack, David Eksicpalus, Peter Chalal and John Koiustghen, of same tribe.

Jean Babtiste, Chief Cayuse Creek Band, Lillooet Tribe.

Thomas Adolph, Chief La Fountain Band, Lillooet Tribe.

‘Robert Kustaselkwa, Chief Pavilion Band, Lillooet Tribe.

Francois Xavier, Her. Head Chief (St. Mary’s Band), Rep. Kootenay Tribe.

Abel t. Pierre, Church Chief Creston Band, Kootenay Tribe,

Alexander, Gov. Chief Creston Band, Kootenay Tribe.

Pierre Thunder-robe, Her. Chief Fort Steele Band, Kootenay Tribe.

Abel Not-Bear, Chief Windermere Band, Kootenay Tribe, per Ignatius Eaglehead.

Matthias Yelloweagle, Second Chief, Windermere Band, Kootenay Tribe.

Pau! David, Chief Tobacco Plains Band, Kootenay Tribe.

Francis Plaswa, Second Chief Tobacco Plains Band, Kootenay Tribe.

Dominick Salish, Sub-Chief Creston Band, Kootenay Tribe.

Louis Jacob, Alexander Maiyook, John S. Starr, Ignatius Jack and Joseph David,
Reps. Kootenay Tribe.

Babtisfe Skalom, Chief Arrow Lake Band, Lake or Senijextee Tribe.

Pierre Ayessik, Chief Hope Band, Stalo Tribe.

Louis Sardis, Chief Chilliwack Band, Stalo Tribe.

Harry Stewart, Chief Chilliwack Band, Stalo Tribe.

Joe Quoquapel, Chief Chilliwack Band, Stalo Tribe.

Charley Jacob, Chief Matsqui Band, Stalo Tribe.

James Kwimighe!l, Chief Yale Band, Stalo Tribe.

Michel, Chief Maria Island, Stalo Tribe.

Harry Yelemitsa, Chief Agassiz Band, Stalo Tribe.

SE ———

INDIAN WORLD 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

| VOLUME 3 NUMBER 10 UBCIC.
+1912 Constitution Express... .6s0c0ee ec nenaes 2
Shuswap Law in: Courts « vesiesiec eas ce seen cer 4
Sewage Kills Fish: UBCIC take Iona to Court ..... 5
— x k- B.C. Hydro Trespass: ‘“‘Enough,’’ says
ss ie Mowachalt Band yes cca sieve veo ues s@eee apa 6
1 Ln bee Meazrne b Bas President’s Message..........eeceeeeeceeeeeees 7
cu BG Dilemmiaat NULB........0<s00c00cesassenanmeneae 8
y Ainending Formula .05ccccsuessesccecesecmesens 8
. Aboriginal Rights—Legacy of
Out Forefathers : oiiceicscccccce vtcted sien. asweseaee a
Ont World: .cc.iceskae eeekkarhei ss seen ene 10
News, News, N@WS:. cccnisesseccetascce sia neue 12
Indian Teacher Trainees Meet............000005 13
Teaching Indian Languages .............ee000 14
Archie Pootlass, vice-president in charge of the com- Voice Of the: Landa eleice 0 asieceee mnie Rie 15
munications portfolio, paying up his Indian World “‘Joy’”’ and ‘‘Leave Me’’:
subscription! Thanks to subscribers who paid last Poems by Jackie Thomas ..........+ee0eeee: 16
month, helping us come closer to self-sufficiency. Special Supplement: The Power of our Land ... 17
COD ss cb visivn bet Ves yews wiaeveseee eee 18
AylO ask Siena hee eee ese Cas eevee e eae 19

: Bast Of and Gasiss oss bce ccesncicesssorenes
| Contri b uto rs dicgnekee ation Chiefs Meet. isis isaceoaes 21

Another Termination Attack:

Editor: Darrell Ned # Indian Government Bill..............0020005 22
Assistant Editor: Pauline Douglas UIAEGS 2 issvetsie ae vials eee a cw ete arene. esse lees aims 23
nas saat Applying for Farm Funds ............0eeeeee0s 24
Contributions: Mrs, Lillian Sam, Kenny Sam, *°nd All Native Tournament:
Be peuachin Youth Group, Jackie Thomas, Chief Beaver and Metlakatla Come Out Winners! ....25
Mike Leach, Terry Aleck, Charles Brown, Ethel Helping Each Other Along:
eet, Aeanlet Graal; SIcOree Man, Archie Pauquachin Youth Group..........sssseesve 26
Pootlass, Glen Williams, Frank Rivers, Lorna Bob ' Tawka—The Bagle, 5.s.20003 ,000rceeeees me Nee 27
Faye Wilson, Violet Birdstone, Brenda Leon, Lillian Fysae ME AW OREEPUL) ence couwnanvocnlenceeeeit 27
Basil, gunron Venne, Auggle Piedrahita, Leslie Help WANE icc cc ccc ae nwaeawew ae eae eee 28
Pinder, Derek Wilson, Steve Basil, Bess Brown, WU ARAN EE2 A REE <eckuraccedereseneie 29
peace 1 zya, Buddy Napolean, and Carmen Spirituality in Indian Art........0sscsseeeeeees 30
ee akarie. PTs cata seo eaccaasuss ee 32
Illustrations: Carmen Maracle, Angie Eagle. Triad GSW. neve oot dand oexe eae p Teste Riewen 33
; : . EBGttOriel J inceseseee:e'ss:eeineccweee eaeeed 06a aE 34
eer ce oe, Un ose chee ten. In Memory of Mrs. Josephine Lowrie........... 35

Typesetting: Mary Schendlinger at Pulp Press.

OUR COVER: Lai Stills: Kitlope (sun sets in the west) by Haisla artist Barry Wilson. Detail of the January print in
1981 B.C. Indian Calendar, available from’ Indian Government Portfolio, UBCIC, at $10.00 each. Size

\ approximately 20° xe 11". Dy,

INDIAN WORLD 3

a

dian people in the Cariboo are assert-
ing their traditional hunting and fish-
ing rights. Over a year ago, it was the
Alkali Five who went to court to
protect their hunting rights. Now,
another five Indians from the same
area are fighting a similar case.

During a four-day session in the
100 Mile House Provincial Court,
Jan. 26 to 29, 1981, Arthur Dick
Ricky Dick, and Johnny Johnston of
thé Alkali Lake Band and Augustine
Tenale and Pat Johnson of the Canoe
Creek Band, tried to prove their case
to the Judge.

The whole story began back in
May, 1980 when the five men were
fishing for rainbow trout at Gustaf-

INDIAN WORLD 4

mf Andy ) far § wie
wks John a Rick gk, am

son (Dog) Creek, not far from 100
Mile House. The men were fishing for
trout for themselves and their famil-
ies when a conservation officer and
three RCMP officers came on the
scene. The officers proceeded to
search and confiscate everything—
more than 100 rainbow trout, four
dip nets, a rifle and some deer meat.
They then arrested the men for fish-
ing in a closed stream and for hunting
deer out of season.

Shuswap hunting and fishing
laws vs. Wildlife Act!

The entire incident is another case
of provincial government regulations
in direct conflict with Indian tradi-
tions, values and laws. Throughout
the court session, the leaders, Elders
and Band members of the Alkali
Lake and Canoe Creek Bands ex-
plained that the Shuswap people
already have traditions and laws
which govern their fishing and hunt-
ing practices. '

The lawyer argued that because
Indian people come under the juris-
diction of the federal government,
provincial regulations cannot apply
to them when it comes to fishing and
hunting. Therefore the men would be
considered innocent in the non-Indian
system.

The testimony of the Indian people
greatly expanded the legal argument.

Pat Johnson

" ; = fod Mv r,
They attempted to educate the court
into understanding that more than

fishing and hunting was in dispute.

The way of life of an entire nation |

was in question,

Pat Johnson, one of the accused,
explained the relationship Indian
people have with the land as his El-
ders have taught him:

“The Elders said we are the original
people of this land and that we

don’t own it, we live with it. We.

belong to it. We live in harmony
with it and it provides us with our
food. They also said our ancestors
don’t have written laws about
hunting and fishing. The white-
man has written laws for them to
live by, not us. They are not our
laws.”’

By the end of the days in court,
many of the traditions of the Shus-
wap people were discussed before the
court. The general feeling of the
Shuswap people seemed to be best
summed up by the words of the
Alkali Lake Band’s Chief, Andy
Chelsea. ,

“‘Right now the whiteman is drag-
ging our culture through his court,
a culture that took us thousands of
years to develop. I can’t see us
obeying those laws that we weren’t
even involved in drawing up.”’

The case is to continue in March. -@-

ee ee

Sewage Kills Fish
UBCIC TAKES CITY
TO COURT

. When the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs laid charges against the cality was already known but the
| Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) and the Greater GVRD and GVSDD were abusing
Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District (GVSDD) in July 1980, ©°rt rules to stall for time.
it was the first time that Indian people had ever taken legal action to When the case was returned to the
protect fishing resources. Provincial Court to set a trial date,
The case involves charges under the Fisheries Act for depositing Allan Emmott and Frank Bunnell
| sewage into the Fraser River which resulted in the death of fish on ‘iled to appear. Their lack of co-
| July 8th and 9th of last year. : operation was another means of at-

: ; tempting to delay the case. The case
The government has always made it appear as though the Indians win now be heard April 29 and 30th

were the villains by charging us with such offenses as illegal fishing and May 7th, 1981.
but now the roles are reversed. Now that the moccasin is. on the

other foot may the Indians wear it well. In the meantime five million dol-

lars was given by the Government to

: Z
The government is very skilled at and Frank Bunnell (Ex-Commis- make some improvements in the

playing with their own game rules
and using them to try and make it
too difficult for Indian people to
succeed at any action, even if it is
obvious that the Indians’ stand is
the one most beneficial to the rest of
society as well.

The GVRD and GVSDD played
with these rules very well when they
delayed action on the basis of a
technicality. Their position was that
since the next court appearance
would be more than eight days from
the last one, their consent should
have been sought. According to
procedure, the case is supposed to
be brought back to court every eight
days and if the time span is more,
the judge must seek the consent of
both parties. The provincial court
judge overlooked this so the GVRD
and GVSDD lawyers seized the op-
portunity to claim that this court
had lost jurisdiction over the case.
This action was taken to the supreme
Court of British Columbia to deter-
mine whether jurisdiction had been
lost or not.

At their second appearance in the
Supreme Court, lawyers for Allan
Emmott (Chairman for the GVRD)

sioner for the GVSDD) stood up to
say that they were abandoning their
case because they had no valid legal
argument. The fact that the Provin-
cial Court could not lose jurisdic-
tion on the basis of a minor techni-

5G

at i mene “aa

fs eee re

Jona Plant. The problem is that the
changes are only superficial and will
not cure the problem of the sewage
being hazardous to fish and having

destructive impact on our salmon [

resources.

GOOD NEWS EMMOTT! WE MAY RAVE
THEM ON A TECHNICALITY.

INDIAN WORLD 5

hei Peeet

For those Band people who frown
at the very mention of B.C. Hydro,
the events at the B.C. Supreme
Courts last week would have been
most satisfying. And for the Mowa-
chaht Band members who sat at the
back of the courtroom for the full
five days of the trial, it was especially
satisfying. The B.C. Hydro trans-
mission line running right through the

_middle of their Sucowa Reserve #6,
was a constant irritation to the eyes, a
constant reminder of a trespass by an
arrogant company taking advantage
of its position of strength, sure that
the Band would eventually come
round to B.C. Hydro’s way of think-

ing.

B.C. Hydro builds on reserve
without Band permission

During the last ten years, the
Mowachaht Band has also been fight-
ing the Tahsis Pulp Mill for polluting
the air, the sea and land around them.
A transmission line was not much in
comparison but it was a wrong: B.C.
Hydro had never obtained the Band’s
permission to put in this line in 1972.
About seven acres of Band land was
damaged; fishing, hunting and berry
picking were interfered with. The
Band has received no compensation,
no benefits, no power, and until now,
no answer to their charges of trespass
by B.C. Hydro.

**We had talked about the pros and
cons about any other kind of action
before we actually asked for legal
advice,’’ said Chief councillor Mary

INDIAN WORLD 6

a I ATL
"Ur ad oe Nee
oe

Johnson in an interview during the
trial, ‘‘but our main concern was the
other people, mainly the people of
Tahsis. They aren’t the people we’re
fighting. It was B.C. Hydro we were
fighting.’’

Using the courts to fight back

“Tt wasn’t until 1979, after all
those years of wondering what we
could do about it that we. found out
for the first time what legal rights we
had to take some kind of action
against B.C. Hydro. From that time
back in 1979 we had advice from the
lawyers at the UBCIC at the time,
and a lot of the research was done
through Union staff. I think if we
hadn’t known the kinds of things that
the UBCIC can give service to the
Bands, we wouldn’t have gone this
far. We’re claiming punitive dam-
ages, claiming for trespass from the
time they put the transmission lines in
up til now. We’re talking of free
hydro for the past nine years of tres-
pass and a distribution line put in on
our Tahsis Reserve #11. This has al-
ways been our presentation to B.C.
Hydro. It has always been the same
apart from the punitive damages.”’

The first time the case came up at
the court, a B.C. Hydro witness said
he took it on his own judgment to
cross the reserve without permission.
Mary Johnson reported, ‘‘He said,
because we didn’t respond, he as-
sumed we were in agreement. Yet in
the very beginning we had submitted
to them what we want as a condition

‘.

= TRESPASS:
Pe «<rnough”
gays

B.C. HYDRO

Mowachaht

Mowachaht Band members were al '
court to support their Chief: Elder
Abel John, Morris McLean, Ray Wil--
liams, Terry Williams, Arnold James,
Jack Johnson, Mary Johnson, Michael
Maquinna, Molly Dick, Judy Dick,
y. Peter Williams and Marlene Williams.

for the easement to go through: free
power and that distribution line.
They ignored it entirely.”’

Traditional Chief and Chief Coun-
cillor in 1971, Jerry Jack, gave evi-
dence that no agreement was ever
made with the Band, no alternatives
were ever discussed and nothing was
ever done about supplying power and
a distribution line.

‘This was a decision that the Band
people would have had to make, he
said, and no Band Council Resolu-
tion was ever signed giving B.C.
Hydro the go-ahead. Yet at the trial,
the B.C. Hydro lawyer suggested to
the judge that because the Band
hadn’t actually gone and chopped
down the transmission line, the com-
pany considered that the Band was
beginning to consent to its presence.
Even the judge found that thinking
alarming.

After four full days of hearing, the
case was clear and all the Band sup-
porters were happy to think that the
judge would hand down his decision
in their favour that afternoon. B.C.
Hydro wasn’t denying trespass
charges, but all that afternoon its
lawyer talked and talked and talked
about how he didn’t think the giant
‘corporation owed the Band anything
for putting a line right through their
land in order to make a nice profit
from supplying the power to the
Tahsis pulp mill.

The law is a slow process. ‘“Come
back Wednesday,”’ said the judge. -@-
Wednesday. Late Flash: ‘‘Come
back in March,’’ said the judge.

( , ay

PRESIDENTS |
MESSAGE

‘When the negotiations over Aboriginal Rights and the
proposed new Constitution were taking place in Ottawa,
urgent telexes and telephone calls flew from B.C. against
Entrenchment.

“Do not sign. Our forefathers have fought the same

battle for over a hundred years and never compro-

mised,’’ we said. ‘‘They were thinking of the unborn

children, and that was us. Because of their wisdom and

vision, we still have Aboriginal Rights today.’’
But when many Indians first heard that our Aboriginal
Rights were to be entrenched firmly into the new
Constitution, there were tears of joy. At last, over so
many years, our Treaty and Aboriginal Rights are to be
recognized, they thought. And here is just the crunch.
That media event of 30th January 1980 was a giant trick
played on our people.

There is no Recognition of Treaty or Aboriginal Rights
as we know them.

What will be entrenched in the new constitution will be
up to the Government and the Courts to decide: not us.
From earliest times, the Government of Canada has
considered the solution to the ‘‘Indian problem”’ as our
assimilation into the ‘‘Cultural Mosaic’’ of Canada:.
termination of our status as the aboriginal people of this
land. The history of the Courts in interpreting Aboriginal
Rights has not been much more encouraging.

In 1914, the Privy Council told the delegates from the
Nishga, Chilcotin, Sto:lo, Carrier, Thompson, Shuswap,
Cowichan, and Okanagan Nations that it would only
recognize Aboriginal Title when we surrendered it. Its
position has not changed at all.

Our forefathers found that totally unacceptable. Our
position has not changed at all. And that is why we do
not accept the terms of the Entrenchment of Treaty or
Aboriginal Rights in to the proposed new Constitution.

When the Government talks of treaty rights, it means a
small portion of land, a little wooden school house, a
medicine box, a cow, a harrow, a hoe, a medal and suit of
clothes for the Chief. When our people of the Treaty 8 area
in northern B.C., and in other treaty areas, talk of Treaty
Rights, they mean rights to self-determination on their
land, rights to education, from kindergarten to grade
school to college and university; rights to Medical Care
from doctors, hospitals, dentists and psychologists; those
agricultural tools were for Economic Development.

But it will be the Government who decides what Treaty
Rights means in the proposed Constitution.

What do we mean by Aboriginal Rights? We mean that
we are the founding nations of this country, that we have
a right to our own unique forms of government, that we
have a right to an expanded land base and resource base
to give us economic self-sufficiency, that we have a right
to make our own decisions and retain control over: land
management, environment, justice, religion, citizenship,
communications, fishing, hunting, trapping, economic
development, health, birds, marriage, air space, taxes,
education, conservation, forests, minerals, oil and gas,
and wildlife, and that list is not limited.

When the Government talks about Aboriginal Rights,
it means no more than our cultural rights to perform’
Indian dances and songs, and to make bannock.
Aboriginal Title is only something that can be recognized

AS Bands give it up to become a Provincial municipality,
elect a mayor, and pay taxes to build a hospital, school
and roads. ,

Yet it will be the Government who decides what
Aboriginal Rights mean in the new constitution.

We are fighting for RECOGNITION OF
TREATY AND ABORIGINAL RIGHTS AS
WE KNOW THEM.

The Government is looking for
ENTRENCHMENT OF ABORIGINAL AND
TREATY RIGHTS AS IT WOULD LIKE

THEM.

As long as I am the leader of the Union of B.C. Indian
Chiefs, our position is not going to change from that of
our forefathers. I do not want to be responsible for
selling the rights of our children yet unborn.

Yours in struggle,

veg Wonntl

INDIAN WORLD 7

Dilemma
at
N.1.B.

By Archie Pootlass
_ _Vice President
North Coast Region

Recently you may have heard
through the Canadian News Media
that Justice Minister Jean Chretien
had reached an agreement ‘“‘recog-
nizing and affirming native abori-
ginal and treaty rights with the
National Indian Brotherhood, the
Inuit Taparisat of Canada and the
Native Council of Canada. On the
same subject, there was also a con-
siderable outburst of disenchant-
ment from several Indian provincial
organizations. The Four Nations
Confederacy and Indian Association
of Alberta even went so far as to call
for the NIB president’s resignation.

At a recent meeting of the NIB
executive, the topic was brought
forward and debated at some
length. There was heated discussion
around whether we, the NIB, were
party to the agreement, and on
whether we could add further
amendments to the package deal
that was supposedly reached by the
three national Indian organizations.
The president denied any involve-
ment in the agreement and refused
to resign.

You must remember that there
are two basic and opposing posi-
tions and strategies that are being
pursued regarding patriation of the
ccnstitution.

® The position of supporting en-

trenchment of aboriginal and
treaty rights

© The hard-line, no-compromise

position of total opposition to
patriation on Federal Govern-
ment items. This position is
supporting a goal of sovereign-
ty as Nations.

INDIAN WORLD 8

The UBCIC position on the Con- tatives were in Ottawa for the NIB
stitution was stated bye the Ease on Council meeting, to introduce a long
the Constitutiondxpress: weeremotereso! ution calling: for the NIB to re-
part of Canada ve ere Indian Na- tract its approval of the proposed
tions. The only Agreement® Je he 1e Constitutional Charter, and to
made are ra Britain, ifpinformetherfederalegovernment that

Great Britaifi want O ¢hange them, vall basic needs of the aboriginal peo-
and have us dedlinstead: with the pled (outlined ‘in the‘UBCIC’s Abori-
Federal Canadian Government, ginal. Rights Position Paper) must be
then all three Governments must included in the Charter. Until then,
meet to negotiate a new Agreement. the NIB must not discuss with the
AT PRESS TIME, UBCIC represen- federal government inclusion of our

The debates on strategy went on.
Our position was very clear to the
NIB: No Compromise. Those who
support entrenchment had serious
debate on what was actually achieved
by the amending package.

Sure, Chretien led us to believe
that we had actually made some
gains in that aboriginal and treaty
rights had been recognized and af-
firmed, but who will define ‘‘abori-
ginal and treaty rights’’ with the
we have learned from the past that
the federal and provincial govern-
ments held narrow views on the
definition of aboriginal and treaty
rights. A progressive conservative
critic warned and cautioned Indian
people that what was agreed to is
less than what little rights we
enjoy today.

Therefore, I hope you could see
my dilemma. How is it possible that
the NIB executive could discuss stra-
tegy to lobby for further amend-
ments when, in actual fact, the fed-
eral/provincial governments would
terminate our Indian rights in the
amending formula and eventually
assimilate us through the ‘‘Indian
Government Bill’? which is being
discussed right now (see page 22).

Where is the strong leadership
of 1969?

People in the Constitution.

Whatever happened to those
strong Indian leaders who just a
short 12 years ago rose all across the
country to oppose the ‘‘White Paper
Policy’’ of 19697? When today a
strong position of rejection of patri-
ation without negotiations between
Indian Nations, Britain and Canada
is required, our national leadership
is not making a strong stand.

Have many Indian leaders
allowed government to use the ley-
erage of programs and money to
weaken and persuade our Indian
leaders to support entrenchment of
aboriginal rights? We must look at
our past. Study the position of our
forefathers: no compromise. Our
ties with Great Britain as sovereign
nations must remain intact. Also,
look at the record of the federal
government in their treatment of the
Aboriginal people over the past 300-
400 years. Look at your own
community, the drop-out rate in
schools, the high suicide rates, the
high levels of imprisonment of our
native people, poor housing, etc.

As once strong nations of people
we must, as our forefathers have
done, look at our past, our present,
with a vision to protect our rights
forthose yetunborn. Pes

AMENDIN G FORMULA:

One of the clauses in any proposed
new Constitution that has given the
most trouble has been the Amending
Formula. this is the cuase that decides
how more changes can be made to any
new Constitution. Up to now this
clause has ended any discussion on

patriating the Constitution because no-

body could agree on it. Ideally, Cana-
dians have said, this should be done by
the consent of the Federal Government
and all the Provincial Governments.
For over fifty years, however, it has
been impossible to get any total agree-
ment on any issue. Except one. The
one issue which unites the Federal and
Provincial Governments is their wish
to wipe the Indian people off their

Aboriginal Rights

Legacy of
Our Forefathers

Since 1880, Indian Nations from B.C. have been peti-
tioning to settle our land claims. For thirty years, every
Petition, Declaration or Memorial proclaimed that
Aboriginal Title and Rights had never been surrendered.
More and more non-Indians were pouring into the
province and our forefathers wanted to settle land claims.
The Privy Council responded to all these statements in
1914 with an Order-in-Council that advised the matter to
be settled in court on the following conditions:

‘1. The Indians of British Columbia... agree, if the
Court or, on appeal, the Privy Council, decides that
they have a title to lands of the Province, to surren-
der such title, receiving from the Dominion benefits
to be granted for extinguishment of title in accord-
ance with the past usage of the Crown in satisfying
the Indian claim to unsurrendered territories. ..’’.

Allied tribes stood up for recognition of
aboriginal rights

Our forefathers rejected this position outright. They
formed the Allied Indian Tribes of B.C. and from 1915 to
1926 the Allied Tribes fought for just settlement. They
petitioned the Federal Government to take the case to the
British Privy Council. The Government refused on the
same conditions unless that matter first go through the
Canadian Courts. The Allied Tribes refused. After fifty
years of trying to get hearings, a Petition was presented
to Parliament, which immediately broke up. The whole
mater was referred to a Special Joint Committee in 1926.
Allied Tribes Secretary, Andrew Paull, Chief Chillihitza
of Nicola Indian Tribes and Chief David Basil of the
Bonaparte Indian Tribe presented evidence that Abori-
ginal Rights had never been surrendered, and any settle-
ment would have to recognise them. In answer to ques-
tions as to how the Allied Indian Tribes of B.C. would
like to settle their land claims, Chairman Peter Kelly

1917:
‘‘We do not want anything extravagant, and we do not
want anything hurtful to the real interests of the white
people. We want that our actual rights be determined
and recognized; we want a settlement based on justice.
We want a full opportunity of making a future for
ourselves.”’ 7
The Joint Committee referred back to the 1914 Order-
in-Council and judged that anyway, they could not see
any basis for claim. They also threw in a clause recom-
mending that the Allied Tribes could not fund-raise in
support of their Aboriginal Rights. This was made a law
and not repealed until 1949.

That stand has not changed

The organization of the Allied Tribes did not survive,
but their leaders fought on. Eventually they formed the
North American Indian Brotherhood, training new
leaders to continue the struggle for Aboriginal Rights.

In 1947, the Liberal Government reviewed a ‘‘solution’’
to its continued ‘‘Indian Problem’’. It was assimilation.

The Nishga Tribal Council renewed the work of the
1910 Nishga Land Committee and in 1969 decided to take
their claim to court. Two months later the Liberal Gov-
ernment issued its White Paper, a statement of the Gov-
ernment’s refusal to recognize Aboriginal Rights, and
announcement of the policy of Termination of Indian
Rights through Assimilation.

The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs was formed to fight
the White Paper with every bit of strength we have. Ten
years later, our full assembly of delegates adopted the
Aboriginal Rights position which stands for full recog-
nition of Aboriginal Rights and a full opportunity to
make a future for ourselves as Indian people.

In 1927, the Federal Government fought a similar
stand by B.C. Nations by starving the provincial political
organization and sending out the annual $100,000 Special
¥ote money for education, economic development,

health and housing programs, The DIA has been ableto
divide and rule ever since through the juggling of
program funds.

Does this sound familiar?

It is 1981 and we have just had an instant replay. But
that 1927 game play did not manage to wipe out our
Aboriginal Rights. Our leaders refused to compromise
then, they just kept on fighting. Our leaders refuse to

quoted the resolution passed by the Interior Tribes in

maps, to terminate our Aboriginal
status and assimilate us .

When national Indian leaders were
negotiating with the Federal Constitu-
tion representatives, one of their key
conditions was Indian involvement in
the Amending Formula. Without a say
in possible changes to a new Constitu-
tion, any Rights recognized today
could be wiped out tomorrow.

On January 30th, 1981, the Federal

Government gave Indian leaders to
understand that they would have a say
in the Amending Formula as it applied
to our people. On February 2nd,
having secured the kind of agreement it
wanted from the Indian people, it took
away that say.

That is how the Liberal Government
is acting now, and getting away with it.

compromise today.

+

This was why Indian Nations refused
to trust Trudeau’s promise of fair»ne-
gotiation AFTER patriation, after all
legal and political Agreements made |
with Great Britain had been wiped out.
This kind of behaviour just strengthens
our position that Great Britain, Can-
ada, and Indian Nations must renego-
tiate our relationship BEFORE any
patriation takes place.

INDIAN WORLD 9

We humble ourselves for such a strong grandmother, for
Sharing herself with us and we recognize ourselves
through all the Elders throughout this land we call home.

- _ HAPPY
100th BIRTHDAY
LIZZIE ANDREWS

Lizzy Andrews, widow of the late George Andrews,
celebrated her said to be 100th birthday on February 7th
this year. She received greetings from Queen Elizabeth,
the Prime Minister and many others.

I went to visit her and she talked of her traditions when
she was young. Each morning when she woke up, her
grandparents made her bathe. Then, before they ate their
meals, thy prayed for food every day and gave their
thanks to all the animals that sacrificed themselves to let
them live each new day that rose out of the east.

When she mentioned food, she said with a little laugh
that the hospital food isn’t appealing to her. On some
occasions somebody from outside hospital cooks for her,
and she really enjoys this. But mainly she misses her own
cooking and her favourite was blue grouse and deer. Also
she used to combine dried fish and Saskatoon berries.
She said this was real tasty back in the days when she was
younger.

As we continued our talk, she mentioned great chiefs
from way back and her main one she talked about was
Paul McCarty. She spoke about him with great pride. She
said he was a great chief for Lytton and she respected him
for being a good chief and friend to all people in the sur-
rounding area of Thompson. She said he used to see
people every Sunday, sometimes it would be for three
days. He did this until he died.

“‘Now when you get older, you’ll remember your
grandmother and give thanks to her for teaching you
some things about the past, wherever you are. Make sure
you bathe every morning and talk to the water, so you
won’t grow old so fast.’’ She also mentioned going into
sweat houses every day. ‘‘By doing this the path you walk
on will forever be straight and this will lead you to a
better life and understanding of yourself.’’ Just before
we finished this interview she told me to pray every day
and to believe in my praying, you do this and you will live
longer. She wants me to go back to her, and gather more
information. She was saying she has more stories to tell
and she wants to share them. By Terry Aleck

INDIAN WORLD 10

head Huy.
Kamloo PS 4 B.C.

for more infos contact

. . Wayne Christian \8 38-6496
pe "
Derek Wilso a oe

Kare 2 ne
ta » poulmoul § ‘Blen SHC
f everyone wieten Ne

Accommodations provided at Kesidencz

SPECIAL EDITION: CONSTITUTION EXPRESS

The Constitution Express was a very important event in
the lives of most of those who rode it. We have had sug-
gestions that we put out a Special Edition on The Con-
stitution Express, written by the people who were there.

Many people took good pictures of special moments
and special people. These can say more than a thousand
words. Do you have ideas, interviews with péople,
stories, analysis, a poem that you would like to include?
Send them to Communications Portfolio, UBCIC, 440
W. Hastings, Vancouver, B.C. Pictures will be copied
and returned to you— ‘please put your name and address

on the back!
Deadline for all stories and pictures is March 31st 1981.

INDIAN WRITERS’
WORKSHOP. April ist, 2nd and 3rd, 1981

We have to do our own writing, tell our own history and
our own stories in our own way. We have special respon-

sibilities and we need to support each other.
There is a campsite close to the arbour where the work-
shop will be held. Billetting is possible if you prefer or
you can make reservations at a hotel in Chase.
Maria Campbell will be coming to B.C. to give the
workshop.
For further information, call Diane Anthony of
Neskainlith Band or Communications Portfolio, UBCIC.

ae

————

=

‘ g _ Steve Collins has done it again! He is a 16-year-old Ojibway

on bx, youth from a Band near Thunder Bay, Ontario, who has jumped to

the foreground in world class ski jumping. On February 21, 1981,

_ he captured a third position in a 70-meter world class ski jumping
#4 competition at Thunder Bay.

Steve placed ninth in ski jumping at the last Winter Olympics and

has won other world cup events. He is considered one of the top ten

The Cache Creek Truckers: Win-/
ners of the 12th Annual Moccasin ©
Hockey Tournament. ‘ie

THE ISLAND
By Lorna Bob

My grandfather paddled ashore on his dug out canoe
which was made out of cedar that was probably hundreds
of years old. This was his only means of transportation
because his village was way out in the middle of the icean
on one of the Gulf Islands. He knew the water just like
some people know roads and trails on the land. He
always used the flooding tide and the ebbing tide to his
advantage,

In the years past many people used to live on the island
but now it was only him and his two nephews left. They
always had to paddle out across the pass to get supplies.
but most of their food came from the ocean in their front
yard or the forest in the back yard. Anyone who went out
to visit grandpa knew that they would always have a meal
of fresh fish, deer, oysters, clams or other food from the
ocean.

He would always be busy doing day to day chores.
Whenever we went out there to visit him he would either
be packing water or firewood or getting his gas and oil
lamps ready for the evening. If he wasn’t busy doing the
chores he would be carving fishing lures for the local
fishermen. The local fishermen really liked his lures; they
said that the lures were killers and catch a lot of fish for

. them.

~ Out on the island there was no electricity, no phones,
no running water, and no transportation to and from the
island. There were always tourists stopping by and he
would always send them to the other end of the island to
look for arrowheads. The tourists were always taken in
by this suggestions, grandpa knew how to keep them out
of his hair. One time a tourist came by on his fancy

in the world in this event.

sailboat and asked if he could use the telephone. Grandpa
said, ‘Sure, just follow that trail.’ Little did the tourist
know that grandpa was sending him out to the outhouse.
He had quite a sly and mischievous look on his face at the
time. When we saw the white man coming from the trail
he just walked right by us with a disgusted look on his
face. We all had a good laugh that night as we were
sitting around the old fire stove drinking our nightly tea.

INDIAN WORLD 11

NEWS NEWS NEWS

ATRUE STORY...

ONE MEMORABLE FEB.20th IN
PARLIAMENT... “THE RIGHTS OF
NATIVE PEOPLE WILL NEVER
AGAIN BE ABUSED... ONCE
THEY ARE ENTRENCHED..THEY
~ PROTECTED

EECRISE IF

MEANWHILE AT A NEARBY
PRESS CONFERENCE SET
UP TO ANNOUNCE THIS
HISTORIC EVENT.
WILL NEVER AGAIN BE ABUSED

.. NATIVE RIGHTS

\TS LEFT TO

LATER , AT THAT SAME

PRESS CONFERENCE ... GEORGE
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN 7
WHERE'S THE PRESS? WHAT
DO YOU MEAN YOU GOT
CRUGHT UP. IN ay SERIE
GEORGE DO YOU REALIZE ee

TO BE E_CONTINUED...

ACID RAIN PRESENTATION
The UBCIC and SCTC presented a joint brief to the
sub-committee on acid rain of the Standing Committee
on Fisheries and Forestry on February 16, 1981 in Cal-
gary, Alberta We felt that our presentation made a strong

impact on the committee.

BAND ELECTIONS

There have been a whole lot of Band Elections during
the last month. We present some of the Chiefs and Coun-
cillors who will be our leaders in the years ahead.

Kootenay District

Chief: COLUMBIA LAKE
Randy McNab
Councillors:
Lola Nicholas
Wilfred Tenesse

Chief: LR KOOTENAY
Chris Luke

Council:
Wilfred Jacobs
Mary Basil

Chief: SHUSWAP BAND
Paul Sam

Council:
Rosalee Tapso

Chief: TOBACCO PLAINS
T. Gravelle

Councillor:
John Gravelle

INDIAN WORLD 12

Chief: ST. MARY’S BAND
Sophie Pierre

Council:
Peter Birdstone
Florence Alex
Terry White

Chief: BELLA COOLA

Councillors:
Edward Moody

Ivan Tallio

Bill Tallio
Charlie Moody
Simon Schooner
Frank Webber
Joe Mack
George Anderson

South Central Tribal Council
Chief DEADMANS CREEK

Tom Peters
C. Johnny Jules

Harold Calhune

CHILD WELFARE WORKSHOP PLANNED
BY CANADIAN INDIAN LAWYERS ASSOCIATION

The CILA is holding a three day National Workshop
on Indian Child Welfare Rights in Regina, Saskatchewan
from March 18 to 20, 1981 at the Sheraton Centre Hotel.

Chief: N THOMPSON

Edna Louis
Councillors:

Fred Eustache

Mona Jules

Ronald Lamteru

Chief: BONAPARTE
Larry Antoine
Councillors:
Richard Billy
Bill Xaboteo
Tom Basil
Chief: KAMLOOPS BAND
Mary Leonard
Councillors:
Clarence Jules
Jesse Seymour
Russell Camiere
Fredrick Camille

Lillooet District Elections

Chief: ANDERSON LAKE
Thelma Thevarge
Councillors:
Jimmy Thevarge
Martin Thevarge

Chief: LYTTON BAND
Nathan Spinks

Council:
Floyd Adams
Reynold Blanchford
Mandy Brown
Edwin Charlie
Frederick Henry
Mamie Henry
Raymond James
Tex James
Edward Sam
Wesley Williams

Chief MOUNT CURRIE
Leonard Andrew

For Councillor
Fraser Andrew
Richard Andrews
Joe Joseph
Michael Joseph
James Louie
Albert Nelson
Loretta Pascal
Benedict Sam
Lloyd Williams
Mary L. Williams

=

A DREAM FOR THE CLASSROOM

INDIAN TEACHER TRAINEES MEET

The biggest success of the CITEP
conference this year was that it was
an Indian conference for Indian
teacher trainees rather than a univer-
sity-oriented conference with white
academics mouthing off paternalistic
rhetoric about “‘what’s good for In-
dians.”’ Almost all the’ workshop
leaders were Indian people. All were
dynamic leaders with rich and useful

information to share with the confer-

ence participants. Of the participants
were over 200 student teachers from
the many teacher education programs
(TEPS) established in every province
and territory in Canada. The many
observers included chiefs, potential
student teachers, and Indian educa-
tion workers. In all, there were about
500 people registered.

The keynote speakers—Robert Ster-
ling, Joe Hundley, Verna Kirkness
(all Indian)—delivered eloquently
their thoughts on the Conference
theme, The Future of Native Children
in the Classroom. Robert says,

“*We’re here to create for ourselves
a dream for Indian people... to
utilize the most powerful environ-
ment in Canada—the classroom,
and its influence in preparing Can-
adian youth for modern society, by
examining together the means by
which our Indian people contri-
bute to it and be effected by it.’’

He quoted an old Chief of the Nicola
Valley who said, ‘‘we must learn to
understand their [white people’s]
ways so that we can deal with them
eye to eye. We older ones are now set
in Our ways and won’t change, but
our young ones are ready for new
things.’’

The old chief was right. We are
ready. The confidence and enthusi-

asm the students displayed in their

involvement and participation

See

a

195

By Ethel Gardner

throughout the conference is sure
proof that we’re ready and able to use
any of the tools and skills the white
man uses and more. I say ‘‘more’’ be-
cause we, as Indians, have to live in
two cultures, and we have to be
strong in both. As Indians entering
the teaching profession we have to
listen to white people acusing our
programs of being ‘‘watered-down,’’
because they can’t imagine Indians
being able to succeed. We still have to
listen to our own Indian people call-
ing us ‘‘red apples’’ because we are
learning skills from white people.

We know why we want to be teach-

ers. We do, because we care about the
future of Indian children who will be
living in a world that is changing at a
rapid pace—technologically, socially
and politically. At the same time we
care about maintaining our Indian
cultural heritage and our Indian iden-
tity.

I think it was Sitting Bull who said,

‘take from the white man what is
good, and throw away what is bad.”’
In this light I say to the courageous
Indians who dare to be teachers,
“Walk proud, our ancestors are
watching us.”’ “>

( General Assembly |

The deadli ns to attend
the A SEF

If you hav pomyet'Te eived travel
details and

(604) 682-7615

or write

20 bode
ed ee
eaetepee

a ag,
ahoea

(Iran Consulting Group) Lid

225-744 W. Hastings St.

x FANcOUNer, B.C. V6C 1A5

INDIAN WORLD 13

TEACHING INDIAN
LANGUAGES

There are over thirty distinct In-
dian languages in B.C. and right now
we know that 16 of those languages
are in some kind of development.
Some are being taught in schools,
public or band-controlled, with a few
in community-oriented programs in
halls, camps, etc.

Indian language instructor training |

is something that is not new to our
people in a spiritual sense. Our sacred
languages were passed on from our
Elders in the old traditional ways,
namely in our ceremonies, prayers,
Indian talks, legends and stories as
well as everyday talk.

The indigenous languages now face
the challenge of being learned in an
academic way through schools. This
whole concept has been, and still is,
in the developmental stage for most
of the tribal tongues in B.C. This is
where the whole issue of certification
came into the limelight. In order to be
able to teach a subject in school it
should be accepted and respected as
any other language would. But this is
not the case. That is what we have to
work on to insure the preservation of
our languages in B.C.

We have been working on langu-
ages now for almost 10 months and
have held two workshops for the
planning of a major language confer-
ence at the St. Mary’s Student Resi-
dence in Mission, April 13-16, 1981.
Our first workshop was November
27-28, 1980 in Cache Creek with
about 13 tribal languages repre-
sented. The traditions of our people
were a strong influence on the minds

and the hearts of the people to work |

together. The Indian language in-
structors, curriculum developers, and
other workers shared a powerful
session on voicing the needs of Indian
language development in B.C.

There have been several meetings to
discuss the language conference. Two

INDIAN WORLD 14

“a

more of these planning meetings will
be held at the St. Mary’s student resi-
dence, March 6-7 and April 3-4. -O-

( Dav ELLIOTT, Tsartlip Band }

Right now I am working in pro-
viding training for my own people.
We have a school that goes up to
Grade seven and we are starting to
teach Grade eight and we will also
teach the secondary students when
they are ready. I cannot stress
enough that we do not have any
timetolose.

Oral teaching is probably the best
way to teach our children our lan-
guages like our forefathers did to us
in past generations. But now we can
learn to write our languages to help
us to remember and even to help us
to teach. This is good and it will
help our languages to grow and be
recognized as they should.

We must teach our language
which is the heart of our culture and
way of life to our people and right
away to get them ready for the hard
times that we are going to be facing.

We must learn to accept the
things we cannot change and that’s
the fact that the White man came
and that he is all around us and is
here to stay. And so to rebuild our
Nations we must start from kinder-
garten and go right through to the
adults, start to teach our languages
to preserve it and to use it as a tool
to build pride and strength in our-
selves.

The values of our languages must
be enforced by the teachings of our
ancestors in our own beliefs and
value system which was and is to-
tally different from the White man’s.
The Indian names of all the tradi-
tional places within our own Tribal
areas must be put on the maps so
that in that way we can pay respect
to our Languages. oy

Voice of
the Land

By Frank Rivers

In the early 1970’s a group of young
people from the Squamish Nation -
realized that much of our history was
being lost through the death of our
Elders. We knew that we were at a
crucial time in our history, the know-
ledge the Elders were holding had to
somehow be recorded right then or be
lost. Something lost is either easily
found, hard to be found or never to
be found again. We didn’t want to
lose it so we went about recording it.
We went about recording the differ-
ent aspects of our culture and I took
specific interest in our legends. I
would like to share with you a little of
what I experienced and discovered
while I was conducting this research.

We managed to get translated from
Squamish to English eight legends,
had them written and then typed. The
Elder, Louis Miranda, that shared
these legends with us had a harder
time to get around than us so we
thought some photographs of some
of the places in the legends would
make a good gift for him. The photo-
graphs would also be another way of
recording and sharing our history.

We chose the legend called ‘‘Crea-
tor and Siwash Rock,’’ because the
places talked about in it were easy to
get to.

The legend says that a very long
time ago there were three brothers
camped at what is mostly now called
Point Grey, Vancouver. The young-
est brother challenged the oldest
brother to a match at hitting a target.
The youngest brother said, ‘‘See that
mountain in the distance,’’ referring
to what is mostly now called Mount
Baker, got his sling out and knocked
the peak off it. He then pointed at
another mountain which now mostly
is called Mt. Garibaldi, forty miles
distant in the other direction and he
told the oldest brother, ‘‘Let’s see
you match me and knock that peak
off.”’

The older brother was just about to
get his rock flying at Mt. Garibaldi
when the younger brother nudged
him, the rock instead landed across
the harbour near Horseshoe Bay in
West Vancouver. The rock landed in
a crevice and remains there today.

Round rock wedged in crevice.

Ulsh taken of him from behind.
Percy all of a sudden got a recollec-
tion from looking at the photo of
something that happened to him
when he was a teenager. He had for-
gotten this experience for thirty years
and only through looking at this

photos—Percy Paull

The three brothers then got into a
canoe and paddled toward what is
mostly now called Stanley Park, Van-
couver. There on the shores stood a
Squamish man named ‘‘Sle Ki Ulsh,’’
purifying himself. The three brothers
talked to him briefly and then trans-
formed him into stone.

By looking at the photograph we
can clearly see a man looking out
towards the water. If you look at the
top of the rock you can see the shape
of a head with a profile of his face.
Sle Ki Ulsh has a blanket wrapped
around himself from the shoulders
down. The tree is his staff he was
holding at the time he was trans-
formed. What is significant about
this is that I only took the photograph
and got it developed and no way at
the time I visited the rock did I see a
man standing and facing the water. It
was pointed out to me later by Wil-
liam Nahanee

There was also some more interest-
ing discoveries made through these
photographs. Percy Paull, my uncle,
was looking at the photo of Sle Ki

photo did he remember this event.

Percy remembered my grandfather
and his father Andy Paull coming
home late one summer afternoon,
excited about something he had seen
earlierthat afternoon.

Andy had been instructed the week
before by his grandmpther to go to
Sle Ki Ulsh (Siwash Rock). Andy was
specifically instructed by her to be

The turtle.

Siwash Rock.

there at a certain day and at a certain
time. She told Andy she would see
rocks that looked like animals, imme-
diately behind Sle Ki Ulsh (Siwash
Rock).

Andy told Percy upon his return
they had seen rocks that looked like a
dog, a seal and a canoe.

Ken Peters and I got determined to
find these animals but we were won-
dering why Andy was instructed by
my great great grandmother to be
there at a certain day and time of day.
Ken linked it up with the tides and
sure enough this was the key. We
went to the tide books and found that
the lowest tides of that year would be
May 15th, June 21st and July 23rd at
about 12:00 noon on those days. This
fit in exactly with what Percy remem-
bered.

Ken and I went on June 21st and
sure enough found the turtle, the seal,
canoe and also a rock that made a
natural platform which when stood
on, one can see all the animals clearly.
These animals still remain there today
at zero tide level only to be viewed at
the lowest tides of the year. -O-

INDIAN WORLD 15

Summer. ~. === =
=. Atimeof freedom —="—%
== ~To again feel the breezes ~ =
— on my face. —™
To hear the forest talk -J
_ Qutin the open wilderness, &
h- Learning from traditional ways. #3
= Attending pow-wows. .- ..-?#

—_—

—
ae

nd

en

And of death.
Of the happy times, :

And of sad. as Zah,
Let me walk ji Aaa |
Past the creeks, trees :

And flowers
Decide my decision,

:
i

— |, a *,

eH =f

TL

FAN

ie he
|

®
fi

‘0 g) fara se oy)

Ge

Si as
F By Jackie Thomas <

INDIAN WORLD 16

Cc

The proposed patriation package of the Canadian

WHERE IS OUR ENERGY GOING?

By Lilian Basil , Energy and Resources Portfolio
Bay Settlement. This settlement was based on Quebec

e new Constitution

Indian people i in British Columbia.

would give control of energy and resources to the

“=

Indian lands and title in the way of energy

‘exploitation
\ We ‘only haxe to | look at the consequences of the James

ay -_* ==
sia

\
)
ne

‘iE

Skeena

Prince Rupert \ \

_— ‘
Kitimat
t Hs
ms Kemano

a

of

dam
refinery

pipeline ichank

porf

coal mine

= J

r weort Nelson @
*

@ Vancouver
|
2 as

ing, and scarring up the lands. And

ady digging, flo
as aresult of the Hien “hanced pressure from the

Provincial governments to patriate the constitution
without guaranteed protection of Aboriginal Rights, and
to ensure that there is no mechanism to recognize Indian
rights, Indian lands and Indian Governments in their

Our people were the very
first
to live upon this land
We lived as one
with our four-legged
brothers
the mountains, air and
sand
The sun
our grandfather
The moon
our grandmother
and the Sacred mother
earth
Would teach their children
many things
are now for the white
to search
They smother her with
concrete
they drain her lakes to
mud
They drill from her
and always will
til she dies
for lack of blood.

.
a a oe a a ee

ort St, John

ere oe

Be
“Dee 3
pe i

ce George

.
+

‘sy
:

ow
wy
| a
$,
4,
2 Re ,

& Kat Norris
|
‘.

.
Ol.
= oh
e ,
a ’

g.

O c

th t
we.
S

a ee as a es a. a os os

. Victoria

INDIAN WORLD 17

governing process. Particularly in B.C. Indian people are In opposing these large developments, the position that
viewed as a threat to the Provincial and National interest has been taken is that we as Indian people are owners of
in energy and resource developments because of the this land and have jurisdiction over all land and marine
Aboriginal Rights question. resources,
Indian Nations all over the province have provided
‘We have never surrendered rights to resources evidence to various enquiries and hearings that we have
For the past four years the various Indian Nations never given up our rights to our lands, waters and
throughout the province have directed its Union of B.C. resources. We have shown that we have maintained
Indian Chiefs to oppose current exploitation of our traditional land and marine uses to a very large extent, in
resources, to pressure governments and corporations to spite of industrial development and energy projects
ensure that Indian rights and concerns are acknowledged; depleting the abundance of game and the fishery
and also to assist in developing feasible alternatives in the resources. Communities repeated time and again that we
case that large scale development occurs. Based on these have to protect our land, our waters, our resources and
mandates the Union has actively opposed large scale our environment in order to carry on our traditional
energy and resources developments such as: proposed oil economies of hunting, trapping, fishing and food .
ports on the Pacific Coast, the Alaska Highway Gas gathering. Indian people have also stated time and again
Pipeline Project, the Proposed Hat Creek Coal Project, that our lands are much too precious to lose and that
the North East Coal proposals, and the proposed Hydro- our way of life in relation to hunting, fishing and
electric projects such as the damming of the Peace, Liard trapping can never be fully compensated for if it is totally
and Stikine Rivers. destroyed.

ie

een enna :

tons of coal with

2 be 25-30 years»
we 3 Creek, Cinni-

Sboal reserves are within ‘Treaty no. 8”’ area an
coal companies will be. ne 2 Registered In
-lines.
There are 6 mining companies that have licen
_ future mining operations, so far Teck Corporati
- Denison Mines have agreed to sell coal to the J
Teck Corporation is to sell 1.7 million tons of
gical coal annually over a 15-year period. Denison’
aréto sell 5 million tons of metallurgical coal ph
add tional 1 million tons of thermal coal annually in a SONA
year period. Both of these coal companies areexpectedto. =—SC«SK vork | Ner and use every ‘ means)
tart exporting coal to Japan by 1983. © ‘Officials in favour of Hat
_ The coal reserves lie close by the Moberley Lake Tee : Baek.
erves. No government or corporation Has” roached
ie Bands about damage to lands and traplinés, After one.
look at some of the studies

‘the B.C. Gov-.
inviting all other”

INDIAN WORLD 18

\

It is not enough just to oppose the major projects that
pass through our lives and lands. It is very important for
Indian Nations to get all the support we can in our
struggle with huge corporations. Support has to be
co-ordinated to be effective. Opposition has to be
documented before it becomes effective. We have to
lobby for suppport from environmental groups whose
concerns are similar to our own.

A well-researched statement on the effects is an

excellent way to organize. It takes time: It took the:

Union, in conjunction with the Hat Creek Committee,
careful planning and research to prepare the Hat Creek
Statement of Environmental Risk and the research on

_ Acid Rain, to make the editorial pages of most major

newspapers. Thorough research and good
communications to inform the people who will be
affected are necessary in order to organize resistance. It
was this kind of work that is the basis of the strong

resistance to the Hat Creek coal proposal.

In cases where development is halted for the time

being, we cannot relax. It is often only a matter of
months before it is back in somebody’s plan. The
Uranium Moratorium has been side-stepped and
companies continue to pressure the governments to lift
the seven-year ban. The Hat Creek project was put on the
back burner for a while. The Kootenay people have been
haunted by the prospect of the Kootenay River
Diversion: is it real? How can you fight it?

Are public hearings worthwhile?

A call for a Public Hearing is not enough by itself. To
make any impact we had to carry out extensive research.
The evidence that our people in the Northeast presented
at the hearings into the Alaska Highway Gas Pipeline
could have been overlooked but for thoroughly
researched Land Use and Occupancy Study that backed
up their statements. At the Uranium Inquiry the UBCIC
worked with the people in the Okanagan and hada
lawyer at the Hearings foreveryday ofthelengthy _
inquiry, making sure that our concerns were stated and

: Nanika River.
The Liard
The people of Lower Post up by the Yukon border
haven’t heard from B.C. Hydro about its plans to dam
the Liard river around them. ‘‘I believe it’s still on the
- books, though,’’ reports George Miller, Band Manager.
», “It’ll always be in their books. Two reserves would just
be wiped out. We had a community meeting in Lower
Post and it was a community decision not to talk. to
; Ci: Hydro, The dam would have a disastrous effect on
re wildlife as well as the community. Hunting grounds
traplines would be wiped out. For the Native people
here, trapping is our life.”

eae “To, supplement the meagre income of ee es

ypie, we have to rely on food fishing and wild game

thre rect year. To go ahead with the proposed project,
would not only endanger the salmon, ees |

B.C. yan has started work on the Site C Dam.
Sompletion date is 1986: by 1985 2,040 people, mostly
‘migrant labour, will be working there. Government
agents are everywhere recruiting Indian labour for short
training programs. B.C. Hydro is sending out P.R. crews

to explain. the benefits. No other information forum is

available in spite of the promised Public Hearings. The

most affected would be the hunters and trappers of the
Halfway and Moberley Reserves, “Site C would flood
our burial grounds,’’ District rep Stan Napoleon told a
Parliamentary Committee on Site C. ‘‘They are sacred
and should be respected. They are more sacred than elec-
tricity. In terms of trapping and the living it brings, no
electricity can match it. Fish and wildlife has always been
our primary source of food and much of this traditional
land would be under water. We just don’t need this dam.
The majority would benefit but at our expense. The
native people would surely suffer in every way.

heval “any. company should have the Right | to ruin our
of life by amet the environment for BEA se ft

are called for
V ‘ater Management

will expire in June, 1981. Pu

/ oe people are trying to

INDIAN WORLD 19

backed up with hard evidence.

But do Hearings accomplish anything really? They do
serve to inform the public of our issues. But the giant
corporations and the Provincial Government seem not to
take notice. In spite of the recommendation of the West
Coast Oil Ports Enquiry, Provincial agents are re-
opening the question of an LNG port at Kitimat. In spite
of our evidence to the pipeline hearings, the pipeline is
going through.

Easing the impact

However, the impact of their submissions has given the
people a say in negotiations to ease or cushion the
negative impacts of enormous construction. They do
have a say in the route of the pipeline now. They are ina
position to ensure that the government assists the Indian
people by establishing parallel development. For
example, in order for government and companies to carry
out their economic ventures and not take part in the
genocide of a people, they have to make provisions for

impact to expect and were ready to or; x if
__ spite of their evidence, the project is going
oe and 1985. ‘‘They claim there isi

“The i impact of the coe pr Bora

did make” sure that our concerns were t

"INDIAN WORLD 20

am Hearings i in November1979- didn’t.stc op D'the Pipeline bu

cultural and econ

making it possible for Indian people to develop an
Indian-designed Indian economy, based on our
traditional life-style. This also means ensuring that there
is guaranteed hunting, trapping and fishing areas to
maintaining an Indian traditional economy for future
generations.

Is this all we can do? What is our role in providing our
own fuel and energy requirements?

Do we need energy if the cost is so great?

It is not that we oppose every energy megaproject just
for the sake of opposing it. If we are sincere in that case,
we would have to stop using the energy these sources
provide. What we do oppose is the uncaring rape of our
land, the riding over our people and lands as if we didn’t
have life. We oppose the greed that says energy first at
any cost; safety, people and nature last. And do we really
need these energy projects? Is it for the people of B.C. or
is it for the industrial development for the U.S. and its
corporations? What will such projects leave for our
children? That is our starting point.

uct ‘testified to . 2

| tedden) Wvards of the west. coast ee
spills which would seri-

F would wipe out
se D orthern Tier pipeline i

Mand Jong-term.ef
Sound. “The-F !

The NI’ekpms Bands met in Lytton
to discuss the amalgamation of the
Thompson Bands to form the
Nl’ekpms Nation on February 20th.
The people wanted to go back to the
old traditions of having one leader
for the NI’ekpms people. The com-

mittee was set up and given the fol-

lowing objectives to work by:

© The settlement of land claims to the
NI’ekpms tribal members’ satisfac-
tion.

© The recovery practice and enhance-
ment of activities that are culturally
inherent to the NI’ekpms peoples.

© Prepare to assist one another in de-

veloping sound administrative
structures.

© Determine our position and the
framework of the South Central
Tribal Council and Central Interior
Tribal Council.

This Committee will be having a

photos: Lytton Band
few meetings to plan and discuss the
meeting of the NI’ekpms Nation,
which will be held some time in May
or June. These months were suggested
because that is when the fish start to
come up river; the berries, roots and
other edible foods are ready.

The first meeting place was sug-
gested to be Botahnie Valley at the
race tracks, where the people of the
Nl’ekpms Bands used to meet long
ago. The first meeting of the com-
mittee will be held on Thursday,
February 26, 1981, in Kamloops. rs

INDIAN WORLD 21

ANOTHER TERMINATION ATTACK
INDIAN GOVERNMENT BILL

There is nothing new about the ‘‘bill’’ except the name. It used to be known as the white paper

policy, the termination policy and many other names.

But what is this ‘new’ Indian Government Bill? A
number of years ago, Indian people started using the
term Indian government to describe what they wanted for
their own government. The Federal Government, which
has not had a new thought about Indians in one hundred
years, adopted the phrase and changed it to Indian self-
government. The Federal Government’s definition is very
narrow while the Indians’ definition encompasses our
universe.

Last summer, the Department started the campaign to
get non-Indians and Indians interested in changes to the
Indian Act. They leaked the Indian Conditions report to
the press to have the non-Indian cry in horror about the
Indians. This would give the Federal Government an
excuse to once again interfere with our lives. This tactic
by the Federal Government did not work.

The Federal Government did not stop. It continued to
plan the legislation to be introduced this spring. Legisla-
tion was drafted without Indian input or consent. It is the
Federal Government trying to tell us what is good for us.
indians reject Indian Act =

In 1949, the Federal Government said Indians would

be assimilated by 1974.
In 1969, the Federal Government said Indians would

be assimilated by 1974. @
In 1981, the Federal Government said Indians would
be assimilated by 1987. @

The Federal Government wants to vinieataee the Indian
Government bill at this time to move Indian people away
from the main issue of the Constitution.

It is a bush fire while they burn down the home we live
in.

The present Indian Act, which was first introduced in
1867, remains virtually unchanged. The wording of the
Act is similar. The government over the years has
changed and removed sections. But the basic act remains
to do one job, Assimilate The Indian.

Under the Indian Act, the Indians do not get any in-
creased political and economic power. Some Bands are
allowed to get more administrative tasks if they follow
the guidelines of the Department. This is mot Indian
; Government.

revisions

The First Nations meeting
in April 1980, the General
Assembly of the National In-
dian Brotherhood in August
1980, the Union of British
Columbia Indian Chiefs’
meeting in October 1980 and
the First Nations Meeting in
December 1980 all passed
resolutions rejecting any con-
cept of amendments to the
Indian Act by the Depart-
ment of Indian Affairs

without Indian consent.
Une can clearly see that

the Federal Government and

Bands should decide
what Indian Government
is

Indian government is the
rights of the people at the
Band level to decide their
own policies, their own regu-
lations, their own laws, their
own politics and their own
economic future. IT IS NOT
the decision of the Union of
British Columbia Indian
Chiefs or the Department of
Indian Affairs to come into
the Band office and tell the
Chief and council what to

the Department of Indian
Affairs hold such decisions by our elected leaders in high
regard. They are introducing legislation this spring which
reflects the Department’s goals and attitudes, NOT our
goals.

Attempts to assimilate Indians fail!

Indian Government defined by the Federal government
can never be Indian Government. The Federal Gov-
ernment wants to turn the reserves into municipalities by
the end of the 1980’s. The Federal Government would,
then, turn over control to the provinces.

In 1886, the Federal Government said Indians would
be assimilated by 1921. Oo

INDIAN WORLD 22

= do.

Within the aboriginal rights position paper, there were
twenty-four areas outlined in which Bands can take
control of their lives again.

The purpose of the Indian government portfolio of the
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs is to assist the Bands in
realizing their goal for control in their chosen areas.

The power to govern ourselves was given to us and
cannot be taken away by a non-Indian government who
wishes us to be just like them.

We are strong. We are proud. We are living the legacy
of our forefathers for our great-grandchildren. <>

{_______ UP-DATE -

PROTECTION FOR TRAPPERS

Trappers across B.C., and especially in the north, have
been having a difficult time trying to continue their tradi-
tional trapping practices and their traditional way of life
in general in the bush. Various economic developments
are destroying traplines and the habitat of the fur-bearing
animals.

Because of all the problems our people are experienc-
ing, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs has been working
with the trappers and their communities to come up with
a good compensation plan for the trappers so that they
can carry on their way of life. We have studied various
compensation models across Canada which are working
well in those communities. The programs are designed so
that trappers and their families can keep trapping as their
way of life.

Only trappers can plan this kind of program

The programs we’ve been looking at are designed by
the people so that they could include solid communica-
tions, transportation and education systems in their com-
munities. They also included a system to assist and
encourage trappers to use their traplines for a set amount
of time per year. This way they could add a section
guaranteeing a certain income each year, so that if there
was a poor year for trapping, trappers would be compen-
sated for whatever they were lower than the set income.

A co-op system was included in the trappers support
program to ensure the trappers get the best value for their
furs. At a co-op store the trappers could get all their
supplies, from food to traps and everything for the bush,
at a lesser price. Another area built into the trappers’
programs is a fur grading section. This would help
trappers get better furs, by using modern trapping and
cleaning methods, if they so wish.

The reason why trappers’ programs are working in
other areas of the country is because the people, the trap-
pers and their families, are working all together on them.
This is how we’re trying to make up a B.C. plan. The first
draft will have to go back to the people and they might
need more input. The consultations will become a lot
wider as the program is being developed.

mission. Public inquiries for all concerned groups are
scheduled to begin in April right through until June.

Therefore we are in the process of gathering informa-
tion on Indian food fishing for the purposes of putting
our report together to present to the Commission and we
would certainly appreciate some input from the Bands
who are concerned about the issue.

OOLICHAN LICENSES NOW?

We also received news from one of the Bands that
Oolichan fishermen must be licensed this year ‘‘for
Conservation reasons.’’ The information we have now is
very sketchy, but hopefully we will have more in the next
issue while we investigate the matter.

NISHGAS BOYCOTT FEDERAL REVIEW PANEL

The Nishga Tribal Council say they will. have nothing
to do with the Review Panel that has been set up by Min-
ister Romeo Leblanc to examine mine tailings into Alice
Arm by Amax of Canada, Ltd. The panel consists of
three government-appointed scientists. They will have no
power to call witnesses who don’t want to testify under
oath. They have no obligations to make testimony or
findings public. ‘‘It’s a snow job,”’ claims James Gosnell,
President. ‘“We have not abandoned our position
because after all if this whole Alice Arm gets out of hand,
will Amax clean it up? Will the Federal and Provincial
Governments clean it up?”’

The Nishgas have informed the Minister of their posi-
tron about a full and public inquiry. Amax claims it will
start up their mine and mill on schedule, on April 1, 1981.

THE PEARSE COMMISSION

The Pearse Commission was appointed by Romeo
LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, to investigate the current
circumstances of the fisheries on the Pacific Coast.

So far Peter Pearse, head of the Commission, has held
preliminary hearings to outline the terms of reference, as
well as information on procedures and plans of the com-

MOSES CASE

On November 18, 1980, the Supreme Court of Canada
heard the Application to appeal the decision of the B.C.
Court of Appeal on the Moses Case. The B.C. Court of

Appeal decided that Order-in-Council 1036 and 208,

giving the Province the right to expropriate up to 1/20th
of Reserve land for road purposes, was valid legislation.
The Supreme Court of Canada was then asked to allow
the Band to appeal the case at the highest court of the
land.

Three Judges of the Court heard the application and
reserved their decision until mid-January. At that time,
the Supreme Court decided that to refuse the application
for the Appeal, meaning that they felt the B.C. Court of
Appeal’s decision was correct, and should not be over-
turned. The UBCIC
Legal team will be continuing to fight this issue.

INDIAN WORLD 23

APPLYING FOR FARM FUNDS

By Auggie Piedrahita

Agricultural development has become very expensive.
However, there are ways in which financial assistance can
be obtained to develop new agricultural programs.

Special ARDA (Special Rural Development Agree-
ment) is one of the sources most successfully being used
by many individuals and Bands. In WIAC, we are
involved in assisting in the development of proposals and
applications for financial assistance. As it usually takes
time to develop the applications and for them to be
approved, it may be late spring before final approval is
made. It is therefore advisable to start planning now for
next year’s programs.

WIAC WORKSHOPS

March 2-4 Williams
Lake

Calving Clarence Walkem

Tree Fruit Products
Mar. 16-20 Mt, Currie, Farm Financial Manage- Mike Joseph

March4 BurnsLake Follow-up, Manage- Jimmy Quaw

ment Training, Land

Clearing, 4H
March 10° Kamloops Field Crops George Saddleman
Mar.10 _Lillooet Home Gardens Mike Joseph
Mar. 11 Chase Field Crops George Saddleman
Mar. 11 Seton Lake Home Gardens Mike Joseph
Mar.12 Creston Small Fruit Products, Dan Gravelle

Apr. 9 Chase
Apr.9-10 Anaham

Apr. 15-16 Stuart-

Trembleur

Bull Evaluation

Machinery Maintenance

‘Follow-up, Financial

Management, Hay
Ranching & 4H Club

Darcy ment Short Course
Mar. 17 Merritt Field Crops George Saddleman
Mar. 18 Lytton Field crops George Saddleman
Mar.19 Shuswap Farm Building Dan Gravelle
Construction
Mar.25 Stoney Follow-up, Financial Jimmy Quaw
Creek Management, Hay
Ranching, 4H Club
Mar. 26 Stoney Follow-up, Financial Jimmy Quaw
Creek Management, 4H Club
Apr. 1 Ft. Nelson Home Gardening Angus Dickie
Apr. 7 Ft. Nelson Gardening Angus Dickie
Apr. 7 Stone | Irrigation Clarence Walkem
Apr. 8 Ft. Nelson Small Poultry Angus Dickie
Operations
Apr. 8 Kamloops __ Bull Evaluation George Saddleman
Apr. 8 Anaham Irrigation Clarence Walkem
Apr. 9 Ft. St. John Gardening Angus Dickie

George Saddleman
Clarence Walkem

Apr. 10 Ft. St. John Small Poultry Angus Dickie
Operations
Apr. 14 Tobacco Vegetable Crops Dan Gravelle
Plains

Jimmy Quaw

INDIAN WORLD 24

It needn’t be that hard

For example, if you want to get some production
during the 1981 summer, it may now be too late.
However, you are in plenty of time to start planning for
1982 development. This is not to say that it would be
impossible to get anything done for this season, if you
start today. .

Putting an application for Special ARDA together is
not that difficult. The key is knowing what you want and
how you want it done. There are two parts to every
application. Part 1 is relatively easy to answer once you
knew what you want. That is why it is best to know
exactly what you want when you call on one of the WIAC
fieldworkers to assist with the preparation of applica-
tions.

Part 2 is a longer process, but can be simpler if you
have planned your operation in advance. With the
assistance of your WIAC fieldworkers it should not take
very long to prepare an application.

Each application is looked at on its own merits.
However, well prepared ones usually have a better chance
at being approved. So plan ahead, try to find out what
you want and if everything goes the way it should, you
may be able to get your program going before long. We
can’t guarantee that your application will be accepted,
but we will make sure that you get a fair opportunity by
providing you with assistance in preparing your
applications.

NOTE: Special ARDA is now covering cattle purchases.
Cattle are being considered as capital investments. There-
fore, Special ARDA may cover up to 50% of the costs of
purchases. O-

THE 22ND >
ALL NATIVE
TOURNAMENT

BEAVERS

AND

METLAK-

ATLA
COME
OUT

WINNERS Ff,

The cries of ‘‘Go Saints Go!!”’
were not enough to spur the Skide-
gate Saints on, as they lost the Senior
Championship game 100 to 78 to the
new all-native champions: Metakatla,
Alaska.

The Intermediate division also has
a new champion today as the NBA
Beavers of Prince Rupert defeated the
Kitkatla Jr. Warriors 82 to 81 in their
action-packed final game. The Bea-
vers opened scoring in the game and
jumped out in front of the Warriors,
quickly taking a nine point lead. By
the end of the first half the Warriors
had closed the gap to four points to
43 to 39. In the second half it was the
Warriors who came out strong, tying
the score minutes into the game and
taking a quick but short lead. How-
ever, it went back and forth several
times before the game ended, with the
Beavers coming out victorious...The
senior division final had Metlakatla
running themselves into the Cham-
pionship. A key factor in the game
was Gerry Scudero, who with ‘five
minutes left, netted a tying basket
and then the goal ahead. Metlakatla
never looked back, as they went on to
prove themselves Champions.

Awards:

Intermediate Division

Most Valuable Player—Marshal Vick-
ers of the Kitkatla Jr. Warriors.

Top Scorer—Roland Barton, Sons of
Kincolith. He netted 126 pts. A game
average of 29.

Most Sportsmanlike Team—New
Ajiyansh.
Most Promising Player—Richard

Morvin of the Beavers.

Most Inspirational Player—Terry
Shannon of the Skidegate Saints.

Best Defensive Player—Bruce Innis-
Kitkatla Jr. Warriors.

ist All Star Team—Roland Barton—

=
a

=
bs

‘call i

= Sal

Most valuable intermediate player
Marshal Vickers checks the court for
an open teammate.

Kincolith, Terry Shannon—Skide-
gate, Wayne White—Beavers, Bruce
Innis—Kitkatla and Marvin Morvin
—Beavers.

Final Standings Intermediate
Division:

First Place—Beavers

2nd Place—Kitkatla

3rd Place—Sons of Kincolith

4th Place—Skidegate Saints

Senior Division

Most Valuable
Scudero or Metakatla

Player—Gerry

SMON Apieqg wedny sug ‘ppg, prEysTy :o1oyd

Top Scorer—Melvin Barton of Kin-
colith netted 179—game average 29.
Most Sportsmanlike Team—Alaska.
Mr. Hustle Award—Marty Martinez.
Most Inspirational Player—Dale
Johnson of Makha Nations, Wash.
Best Defensive Player—Gerald Amos
—Kitimat.

First All Star—Melvin Barton—Kin-
colith. Dale Johnson—Makha Na-
tions, Morris Amos—Kitimat, Aaron
Cook—Metlakatla, Marvin Collinson
—Skidegate Saints.

Final Standings in the Senior
Division:

First Place—Alaska

2nd Place—Skidegate Saints

3rd Place—Sons of Kincolith

4th Place—Kitkatla Warriors.

a *

a
er

SMAN Alteq Wadny adutig ‘ppoy pieysry :oloya

| sen
“yr =

Gerry Scudero, no. 42, most valuable
senior player, moves in for a lay-up

INDIAN WORLD 25

Our group consists of about forty-two kids and we
meet at the Paquachin Band Office. What we are really
interested in now is other Indian peoples’ cultures. We
also want to travel all around British Columbia.

Weraise money by Fifty Fifty draws at the longhouse
and by raffling off things. We also had a pot luck last
November and raised a lot of money.

Getting along with our parents and Elders

The parents and Elders around here are really helping
us a lot because our goal is to grow better with our
Elders. Our main problem nowadays is parents not being
able to talk to their teenagers. From this end it’s
communication that’s the biggest problem. We are
helping out in the home with counselling too. Our point
of view is on family life, and Sammy Sam is working on
getting a workshop going for the adults. So he is going to
be working with the adults and our Youth Club will be
working here too.

_ Ithasto Hele with a lot of the Cultural Tradition things
__ that are being lost. Those are the main objectives for '
them. etch tat | the cultural

Sark. the Indian lenguase:

The other is through the process of learning. When we
| look back at the strength of our people we will be able to
avoid some of the very frustrating things that are
happening to our people. (Sammy Sam)

—— a oo

INDIAN WORLD 26

Helping each
other along

Pauquachin
Youth Group

This is mainly to prepare ourselves for the future
because we’re all going to be parents too, someday. We
are the generation coming up, so our problems will
probably be just as tough, maybe tougher. We want to
solve them now before they start.

I think this group is very important because a lot of the
kids need a place to go.

It’s not cool to drink

~ To a lot of the kids here, drinking is just out of it. It’s,
not even cool as far as we are concerned. There are quite
a few students here who want something to do. We want
to travel. Our next trip we are raising money for is going
to be in May and we are going to go to Cultus Lake in
Chilliwack. We are going to be there for about five days.

Our group went on a trip to Chehalis in November and
we had a real good time. We were there for quite some
time. The kids really want to have another Youth
Gathering. .

Unity is what we really need right now. When we feel
alone, loneliness is terrible; we get all depressed. We
could drink or do a lot of things, but we don’t want to.
We really want to just be with other kids to help one
another. We are here to listen to what they want to say,
counsel them, give them opportunities.

Education too, is one thing everyone in our group,
even the ones who have quit school, have started up
again. We really want to get through education, none of
this Welfare bit. We have got so many goals that we want
to reach and this Youth Group is helping us along.

TAWKA (4N%

By Brenda Leon

While reading the January issue of
the Sto:lo Nation News, I came
across a short article about an Eagle
being rescued. It brought back to me
a wonderful memory I now wish to
share.

One day my dad was out hunting, it
was late in the winter. Down in
Grampa’s slough he found a young

TRE Pe
AR)

-

Editor’s Note:

Brenda came to the communica-
tions portfolio last spring as a radio
trainee. Since then she’s worked her-
self into training with the Indian
World magazine and has done well.
Brenda was recently invited home to
work for her people at the Chehalis
Band.

Keith Pootlass worked as a
darkroom technician trainee for four
months. Shortly after completing his
training he was asked to return home
to Bella Coola Band to organize and
work in a darkroom there.

Angie Eagle has added beauty to
the Indian World for a number of
months with her art work. She also
donated her time many times learning
and helping us with the layout of the
magazine. While on the Constitution
Express, she visited Akwasasne Band
in New York and was offered a job

bald eagle, who somehow, probably
because of weather conditions, broke
his wing and was unable to fly.

I guess you might say dad rescued
him. He tied the Eagle’s beak and feet
and in the process the eagle, being
scared, clawed dad’s palm. It looked
just awful but he said there was no
need to go and get stitches.

Dad built a cage out of chicken
‘wire and fish net. Every day he threw
a fish into the cage. He even placed a
log inside for him to perch on.

My brother and sisters and I deci-
ded to name him Tawka because it
seemed to be the only eagle name we
knew.

Every day there were other kids
from the reserve that stood for hours
staring in amazement because didn’t
people usually keep budgies and
canaries!

Tawka and Dad became good
friends. Dad talked to Tawka and he
would squawk back.

Time passed fast and in a few
months the bandages came off the
wing. Tawka was getting stronger.

Then one day a man from The
Wildlife Department came to our
front door. He told dad it was against
regulations to keep an eagle for a pet.
He gave all sorts of dumb reasons.

The day came when we all stood
around watching in silence as dad
opened the cage and told Tawka to
go. He did not budge. Dad then gota
long pole and began to poke at him
until he hopped out of the cage. He
didn’t fly, he just waddled down the
road. He stopped for a brief moment
and turned to get a last look at us.
Dad shouted and Tawka continued to
walk down the road. He told us the
bird was meant to be free so we felt
better but still lonely inside.

Now whenever I see an eagle in the
sky, it often makes me wonder if
Tawka remembers my Dad, his
friend.

Dear

Dear Mr. Wonderful,

A few days after Friday the 13th, my truck went up in
smoke. I had to run almost four miles to get help. When I
got there I didn’t know what kind of help I needed.
Could you please tell me what kind of help I need.

BURNT OUT.

It’s not under Education, it’s not under Indian Govern-
ment, it’s not under Energy and Resources, but you
might find some help in the Health and Social Develop-
mMient Portfolio, Ask for the psycho ward.

Dear Mr. Wonderful,

The whole world seems set against my freedom. I’ve
lived and loved throughout all the lands but everyone
keeps bringing up matrimony. At one point a friend of
mine hit my girlfriend’s dad because in the culture the
young man has to fight the father for the daughter. I
wanted to get away but my friend wanted me to sacrifice
myself. I did survive.

Now the other day, another friend offered me a gold
ring and he says we’re going to have a double wedding
when he finishes the other one. How do I fly free forever?

GETTING TANGLED UP.

doing the same work for the Akwe- Is there something Dear Tangles,
sasne Notes. bothering you? Traditionally you had to earn the right to more than
Terry Aleck and Charles Brown Looking for an | one wife. You also had to give something to the daugh-

ter’s parents. If you stay stupid you won’t be able to earn
the right to have a wife; and you’re so poor you won’t be
able to pay. Stay stupid and poor, is what I say.

answer? Write to
Mr. W. at the
Indian World!

from Lytton Band, who wrote the
story on page 21, will be taking four
months of training in the communica-
tions portfolio.

INDIAN WORLD 27

-—HELP WANTED

ADMINISTRATOR, NESKAINLITH INDIAN BAND

Competition for this position will be closed March 27,
1981 at 4:30 p.m. Applicants must submit a complete
Resume with their apllication.

Qualifications:

Extensive experience in working with Indian organiza-
tions.

Personnel and Office Management skills.

Working knowledge of provincial and federal govern-
ment departments and programs.

Working knowledge of financial management and ac-
counting procedures.

Working knowledge of provincial, national and tribal
Indian organizations.

Proven ability in the area of policy analysis and devel-
opment.

A minimum of two years post secondary education in the
field of Administration.

Applicants with work experience will also be considered
for the position.

Duties:

The Administrator will be responsible for the day-to-day

operation of Administration and Office Control.

Financial Analysis and Management.

Preparation of fiscal year projects, budgets, providing
support, and services in the development of various
projects in the area of Education, Social Development,
Economic Development, Communications, Cultural
Development and Community Affairs.

Maintaining Administrative Policies and Office Proce-
dures in conjunction with Program Directors.

Maintaining a working relationship with Indian organi-
zations.

Salary: Negotiable.

Applications to be forwarded to:
Neskainlith Indian Band,
Box 608, Chase, B.C. VOE 1M0O
(604) 679-3295 or 679-3296

INDIAN WORLD ADVERTISING RATES

| AND DATA

Black and White:

Full outside back cover $400.00
Full inside covers 350.00
Full page 300.00
2/3 page 260.00
1/2 page 200.00
1/3 page 160.00
1/4 page 115.00
1/8 page 75.00

Black plus colour: $75 for each additional colour.
Camera-ready copy preferred—25% surcharge for art-
work and typesetting.

Four colour process extra—colour separations must be
supplied: $475.00.

Payment to be made within 30 days of billing.

Deadline: All advertising material must be submitted by
the 15th of each month for insertion in the following
issue.

JOB OPENINGS: TWO FARM WORK HELPERS

Duties: To assist the Farm Manager from April 1, 1981
| to October 15, 1981.

Salary: Negotaible, according to experience. ($800.00
per month).

Other Information:
1) Closing date for applications: March 1, 198.
| 2) Interviews: March 18, 1981.
3) Applications must be sent to:
Kootenay Indian Area Council
Site 15, Mission Rd. S.S.1
ee Cranbrook, B.C. VIC 4H4

FARM MANAGER/FARM MANAGER TRAINEE

Farm Manager will be employed on the basis of six
months from April 1 to October 15, 1981.

| Salary: $1,500.00 per month.

Farm Manager Trainee will be employed from April 1 to”
October 15, 1981.

Salary: $1,200.00 per month.

Experience:

Have farming experience, e.g.

e Haying

® Seeding (Irrigating)

© Moving the irrigation equipment

® Drive a tractor, maintain equipment, mechanics of
equipment.

© Land clearing

© Fencing

Qualifications:

¢ Must have a good working relationship with Indian
people.

® Work under limited direction.

® Be able to establish hay market and prices per ton
(Selling price per ton for good quality hay)

® Must have knowledge of Agriculture-related programs.

1) Closing date for applications: March 1, 1981.
2) Interviews: March 18, 1981. ;
3) Applications:

Kootenay Indian Area Council

Site-15, Mission Rd. S.S. 1

Cranbrook, B.C. VIC 4H4 ay

INDIAN WORLD 28

Review by Bess Brown

Produced by Pacific International Enterprises
Ltd.

Directed by Keith Merrill

Starring—Trevor Howard, Nick Ramus, James
Remar and Serene Hedin

The movie industry has at last taken the first
steps toward correcting the negative stereotypes
of Indian people on the screen. Windwalker,
based on the novel by Blaine Yorgason, is an
excellent example of how the movie industry can
project positive images of Indian people.

Windwalker takes place two hundred years
ago. It centres around a Cheyenne family and

their struggle to
survive not only a harsh environment but also their ene-
mies, the Crows. The movie begins with Windwalker
telling his grandchildren stories of his youth. Through
flashbacks we are able to share with him some of the
highlights of his life. He tells his grandchildren that he
thinks it is a good day to die. His son, Smiling Wolf, then
wraps Windwalker in his buffalo robe and places him on
a scaffold to die. After leaving the old warrior, Smiling
Wolf and his family are unaware that they are being fol-
lowed by the Crows. Though the family escapes, Smiling
Wolf is seriously injured. Meanwhile Windwalker
awakens thinking that he is in the Spirit World. He is
quickly brought down to earth as he finds himself face to
face with a pack of wolves, a bear and the ever-present
band of Crows.

After Windwalker rather unexpectedly returns to his
son’s home, he guides them through a final battle with
the Crows. In order to survive not only the physical
element but also to escape death at the hands of their
enemies, the entire family must work together. It is
Windwalker’s wisdom and ‘past experience as a warrior
that help his family overcome many obstacles that they
are,faced with,

Windwalker will undoubtedly evoke many reactions
within the Indian community. There will be those who
feel that the Indian has been ‘‘used’’ again by the money
hungry and exploitive white man, while others will feel
that the film is a step in the right direction, in terms of a
sensitive and accurate portrayal of Indian people. I
personally feel that the positive aspects of the film far
outweigh the negative ones.

One of the major complaints about the film was the
selection of a white British actor to portray Windwalker.
At this point in time I believe it would have been disas-

trous to attempt to sell a movie which contained an all-
Indian cast, without having at least one actor who could
potentially draw a large audience. It is unrealistic at this
stage of the game to expect the general public to spent x
amount of dollars to watch unknown actors, particularly
in a movie whose subject matter is so sensitive. The
producers of Windwalker should be: commended for their
courage to use such a large Indian cast because this type
of film leaves itself wide open to criticism from the
Indian population.

Another area of concern was the portrayal of the
Crows. I don’t feel that their portrayal was unfair or
biased; after all, they were the traditional rivals of the
Cheyenne. Rivalries among Indian tribes were certainly
not uncommon in the past. We don’t have to look far to
see evidence of that. At one time or another many of the
tribes of B.C. were at war with each other.

Previously the major complaint about any movie con-
cerning Indians was that we were portrayed as savages
who for reasons unknown terrorized the poor innocent
white man. Now it appears that the complaint will be that
one of the Indian tribes is being portrayed as ‘‘bad.’’ It
would appear that the only way to keep everyone happy is
to portray all Indian people as ‘‘good.’’ How many
successful movies have you seen recently where all the
characters are ‘‘good’’? It would seem essential to have
both good and evil forces in a movie for it to achieve any
amount of success.

Windwalker may not be without faults, but it’s cer-
tainly worth seeing. Should you decide to see the movie, I
wouldn’t spend a lot of time looking for inaccuracies in
the film. Just sit back and enjoy this excellent action.
oriented movie, which also portrays the Indian culture in
a positive and dignified manner. +

INDIAN WORLD 29

- Spirituality
in

Indian Art

In the day-to-day lives of those who came before us,
there existed a deep abiding respect for that which was
provided by the Creator.

This respect was celebrated and shown in mary ways:
in ceremony and song, legend and prayer and through the
gifted hands of the craftsman and painter.

To our forefathers, there was no concept of art as we
know it today. What was created by the artisans of that
time was a living testament to a heritage and spirituality
that made them one with the land, sea and sky.

From the practical to the ceremonial, a man’s
possessions spoke of his wealth, lineage and spirituality.

A man’s ability to carve and paint was believed to
come from a special vision given to him by his spirits and
brought him a prominent place in society.

Whether it be a product of the sensitivity and skill of
the master Haida carver or from the hands of the many
Indian artists of the other Nations throughout B.C.,
spirituality and man’s relationship to all things around
him were a constant theme.

We were a people whose social, religious, economic
and art impulses were inseparable. The spirits, man and
animal, the natural and the supernatural were all part of
the same circle of life. If one part of this circle should be
broken, then the other would cease to exist.

In the days of our forefathers, there existed a definite
social system and religious beliefs, and they were pro-
. vided with an abundance of raw materials from the sea
and land. The materials were turned into beautiful works
which met the needs of the community, and the commu-
nity in turn fulfilled the needs for artistic expression.

INDIAN WORLD 30

Portrait MaskTsimshian, late 15th century. Representing a
person honoured in a memorial service,

Portrait Masks, Haida Queen Charlotte Islands, late 19th
century. These masks were thought to be carved for the
tourist trade.

Family Crest Mask, Kwakiutl, early 20th century. Repre-
senting the wild woman of the forests.

Raven with Broken Beak: Robert Davidson, 1974.

Stunned by commerce and the church

With the coming of the Europeans came metal tools
and the introduction of commercial paints.

Aside from providing faster and better carving tools
for the craftsman, another new aspect was the production
of art for strictly commercial use.

Captain and crews of visiting ships, and later missio.1-
aries and anthropologists, were anxious to collect
artifacts and souvenirs from the new land. When the
traditional supply of trade items dwindled, the Indians
devised new ones. Included in these were argillite carvings
of platters, pipes, bowls and miniature totem poles.
These were produced by the craftsmen as purely saleable
commodities.

After a while, changing values and the overwhelming
negative influence of a foreign church and government
stunned the creativity of culture and craftsmen.

As the old craftsmen died and the apprentice system
was forgotten, the principles of the old art went into
hibernation.

Art and spirituality renewed

In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the
cultures of the Northwest Coast. The art of our ancestors
has re-emerged in all its forms through the skilled hands
of artists such as Bill Ried and Bob Davidson, Haida Ron
Hamilton, Nootka Tony Hunt, Kwakiutl Walter Harris,
and Earl Muldon, Tsimshian; Bob Sebastean, Gitskan-
Carrier and many others.

As the powerful traditions of the Northcoast Indians
are rediscovered and re-interpreted by new artists, one of
this continent’s oldest and most sophisticated art forms is
being reborn.

The reproduction of traditional designs on paper by
the silkscreen process continues a custom of two-
dimensional art in a contemporary medium.

The first artist to capture a traditional motif by silk-
scseening was Ellen Neel, a Kwakiutl living in Alert Bay.
In 1948, she reproduced a variety of crests and designs on
notepaper and silk ties.

Today, Northwest Coast prints are a recognized art
form that is world renowned and has become a distinct
part of our heritage.

The banning of the potlatch was an attempt by the
authorities of the day to prevent the creation and use of
masks and poles in the traditional way.

When the Indian Act was revised in 1951, and the
sections prohibiting potlatch and ceremonial dancing
removed, the traditions of the arts which secretly
maintained began to resurface.

Today these masks, poles and ceremonial objects not
only stand as works of art but also serve as a moving
force in the rebirth of our customs.

The spirituality that was ever-present in the lives of our
forefathers was due in part to the work of the artisan.
Today the art form that exists serves not only as a
reminder of the spirituality and power that was but is also
a message from a spirituality that will be.

INDIAN WORLD 31

I THINK...

By Rosalee Tizya

If we were to look at the history of the UBCIC
since its formation, we would see a history as rocky as
the mountains separating B.C. from Alberta. However,
the dividends.are evident in the political growth and
development of our people. The people who have been
involved in our survival and growth cannot take full
responsibility for all the wrongs of the past or credit for
all the accomplishments. The wrongs against us began
long before the Union was formed and will take a long
time to correct. We can only do what our will and ability
will allow.

a

Indian organizations have been severely limited in
being able to meet the aspirations of our people. It
seems that if we are to continue to survive, grow and
fulfill our dreams, we need as many organizations as
possible to meet the workload. In practical terms, this
would be unworkable and undesirable. Yet, there is a
need for our interests to be protected. The contributions
we have to make are worth preserving. Our people
deserve the opportunity to make their contribution.

The values of sharing and learning and working
together become more difficult when splits occur. As
leaders and people entrusted to protect the interests and
rights of our people, we have to ask ourselves whose
interest we are protecting. Can we see where we are
heading far enough in the future to know that we must
work collectively or will we see that perhaps this will
never work? There is one fact that is sure, the govern-
ment cannot make that decision.

Yet there is another fact we hesitate to admit. The
government is upon us every day to make these deci-
sions simply because their money only allows us to move
by small steps. How will we resolve this dilemma? We
take from the government on one hand and curse them
for having to on the other. How did we ever come to
this! Does nothing bind us but poverty and embarrass-
ment? Our living like this must end. It has to.stop with

us. We are responsible, regardless of who pays. We’ve.

become good at taking our strength and counteracting
one another. Granted, it does develop some good
things. Through differing views come different solu-
tions and alternatives. Yet, confusion arises from the
different schools of thought.

B.C. has developed strong leadership time and again,
who have stood up to any threat of our survival. It is
when we fight among ourselves that we destroy the

~

INDIAN WORLD 32

things we stood for. If the trend in B.C. is for control to
be vested in the tribal groups and Bands, then we owe it
to our people to allow this to happen constructively,
Each group should know the consequences and oppor-
tunities in doing so.

The system of provincial bodies representing the
majority has created a climate of political dissension. Is
this reason enough to threaten their existence or is it
political growth that we must still experience? The
political forces we are up against every day now requires
all our strength, talent and power to maintain what we
have. Who is prepared to take on that struggle? Only
Indian people are left to fight. We have no choice and
are forced to reckon with our limitations. When only a
few disagree with the way the political movement is
developing, is this any reason for a major change or do
we take the concerns and allow for gradual change?

The UBCIC cannot and will not claim to represent all
the views of the total Indian population of B.C. No
group or organization anywhere can do so. Why should
we be any different? All we can do is find the avenues
and open them for the people desiring to present their
political views and concerns. If we cannot do that then
we are useless as a political organization and don’t
deserve to exist. When an issue arises which threatens
the constructive plans at the community level, how will
the collective strength of the people come together?
Will each tribal group with its limited resources be able
to protect the interests of its members? If the present
core dollars were divided among the tribal groups for
operations, how would $17,000 help in a struggle so
huge? However, the collective strength of the Indian
people of B.C. would be unstoppable. We don’t agree
on everything, but we can support one another on
certain issues. We need not threaten one another politi-
cally or otherwise. With the rejection by governments of
the Indian peoples’ claim to B.C., it would be their
interest to have us separated. That is how battles are
won and lost.

Our objective should be to win for all of us against
whatever the opposition, not to outdo or harm one
another. If there is no way for this to happen now, then
we shouldn’t change until we can find a way. In the
meantime, the future of many young people, Elders,
parents, children and grandparents will lie with the
quality of our work and our conduct as leaders.

INDIAN LAW

By Derek Wilson

Indian law will give strength to the idea of Nation-
hood. One of the only ways in my eyes to bring back the
idea of Nationhood to our people, is if we start taking
back the responsibility of every fraction of our everyday
life in the communities.

One area of our lives that needs to be revived is our
laws, including the sacred laws that we passed down on
conservation. The whiteman’s conservation laws are not
working. They are only working to better the people who
have more money than the Indian people and who want
more money. We have to start passing around the idea of
setting up our own conservation officers especially fer
fishing, hunting and logging.

Community had law enforcers

We did have one person enforcing laws to protect the
salmon and many other things like that. One person
protected the salmon and everybody had to listen to that
person. He had to tell you when you could catch a salmon
and how much salmon you could catch. It was also that
person who sang the welcoming song and did the welcom-
ing dance for the salmon because the salmon is so sacred
to us and it provided us with a staple diet through the
winter. There was somebody looking after the medicine
we picked and the oolicans we caught every year.

The same was with our everyday laws, like the law of
stealing and the law of marriage, the law that has been
passed on from generation to generation on the sacred-
ness of marriage. There were people who looked after all
these laws. They were the law enforcers of the community
and we had to listen to them because they were working
for the Chief.

Whole community lived our laws

The whole community used to go and get all the food,
get all the salmon, all the oolicans, all the berries, all the
seaweed and everything that we needed through the
winter. It was all picked, preserved and prepared for the
Chief and his wife and his family. But it was a duty of
that Chief and family to share that food with everybody
else. It was divided up equally amongst the community.
That way everybody had the same amount and nobody
went hungry. That is how we looked after each other. If
there was a potlatch the community would get together
and help this one family and everybody would benefit
from what they had done. In that way it brought back
that community feeling because it was law.

It was law that made us dance to give thanks for the
many things that have been given to us and to give thanks
for the life that has been given to us. It has been given to
us and we dance to thank the Great One.

It is up to the community to start researching deeper

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into the laws we had. Because it is with these laws that we
will have a Nation. Once we start enforcing our own laws
that have been ours since the Creation of time, then we
will become a Nation.

Youth need Indian laws

One thing we have to do right now is to start teaching
our young people about our Indian laws, because it is
they who are going to enforce them. We should make
them strong now believing in our own laws and tell them
it is the only law. The only way we can teach the young
people about our laws is if we sacrifice ourselves into
learning and practising the laws that have been given to
us. Only then can we gain Nationhood. Only then will
our people be strong again. ~O-

INDIAN WORLD 33

EDITORIAL

\

Reality can sometimes be the hardest part of life to
accept. Sometimes when we’re living with a dream as
being our-goal, it becomes our reality and we forget
that it’s a dream.

While working for an organization such as the.

Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, Indian Government be-
comes more than an everyday working term. It takes
over the mind and heart. It becomes a central part of
life. It takes over to a point where you speak, think
and dream Indian Government. Everything concern-
ing Indian people becomes instinctively compared with
Indian Government.When you hear any Indian news,
your mind immediately, but not necessarily purposely,
thinks about whether that action is or isn’t based on
Indian Government. Because of the way the whole
concept of Indian Government takes over your think-
ing, reality can take a back seat to the dream. Each
month this magazine receives articles, photographs
and information concerning Bands or individuals
implementing Indian Government in one way or
another. This flood of Indian Government thinking
and action can push the reality of the world to the back
of the mind. However, occasionally something
happens which forces you to look at the world in a
more realistic sense.

Recently, I travelled to a Band to work with its
newsletter for 2 week. The Band has a reputation as a
strong Indian Government base. However, before the
week was over, it became obvious that before Indian
Government is to be fully achieved, the Band has an
enormous amount of work to do. At the same time as
this truth was being realized, I was also realizing that
what I had expected of the Band was unrealistic. The
Band was just at the beginning of a long, slow drive
towards the day when Indian Government will again
be their way of life. At this point, it is yet a vision. The
Band and its people face the same problems as any
other—inadequate housing, high unemployment, an
uncaring DIA bureaucracy to deal with, a small land
base, poverty, alcoholism, and all the rest.

INDIAN WORLD 34

On the way to the community I was quite excited
with the expectation of the Indian Government para-
dise I believed I would see. I was wrong. Thinking in
retrospect, I now know that my expectations of the
community were both unrealistic and unfair. I guess
what the trip to this community forced me to see and
accept is that we, as Indian people striving for Indian
Government, have a long way to go. We’re all at
different stages in our thinking on Indian Govern-
ment, but they are all early stages. Some of our com-
munities are now prepared to act. Some are still strug-
gling with the thinking process. Some have begun to
implement. However, are there any of us actually
living Indian Government? Possibly the only ones
amongst us even coming close to living it would be
some of our Elders.

There are many Bands and individuals out there
who are implementing Indian Government in the areas
of education, health, religion, language, law, fishing,
hunting, citizenship, economics and others. But who
really knows how far down the road it is before we will
be fishing according to Indian laws, or testing our laws
in an Indian legal system, or when our people will use
English only as a second language, or when we will be
using our own methods of curing our illnesses. Most of
us are still learning what Indian Government is and
how it should be implemented and will be learning all
of our lives.

The reality that I found myself having to accept is
that I will probably never see total Indian Government
a reality. However, we know that it can and will be
real. During my life it will remain a dream to work at,
as it will be to many Indian people. It will be a dream
that will be the reality of future generations. Now that
I understand this I will listen more closely to my Elders
when they tell me to be patient. However painful, I
will be patient.

Darrell Ned, Editor.

,

IN MEMORY
OF
JOSEPHINE
LOEWIE

By Lillian Sam

Josephine was born July 9, 1903, at Nation River about
63 miles away from Fort St. James. Parents were Sekani
and Louie Sam. She was married to Isadore Loewie on
January 20, 1920. Though not having any children of her
own she raised four of her grandchildren. She was not
afraid of hard work and was very much respected for her
honesty.

She was also a midwife when there was no hospital. She
was president of a Homemakers club since 1950, helped
raise money for Lady of the Snow Church in 1952, and
was treasurer for Community Hall.

She was noted for Indian handicraft and was also hired to
make a pair of slippers for Prince Charles. She was an
outspoken lady, but gentle. She was very active up to
four months before her death. I went to visit her after she
moved into her new home: she was building herself
shelves and said they should hire her as a carpenter.

I got to know her very well during her illness, I learned of
the strength and love she had for her grandchildren.

My Grandmother’s
Ways Meant Home To
Me

By Kenny Sam
I was raised by my grandparents since I was a year old.

There was no big happenings back then and people really
relied on her because she was always there at home.

That’s why I feel so lucky to have been raised like that. I
could always depend on her being home, not out drinking.

The biggest thing I guess she always told me was not to

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look down on people. She told me that a few times. At
the time I did not know what she meant. It finally hit me
when I was twenty or so.

She did a lot of hide work, making mocassins, jackets
right up until the time she died. She was very strong, she
was a big woman. Men were afraid of her. She also
prayed every night and went to church every Sunday, ever
since I was just a kiddie. She never complained about
little things, no matter how sick or tough things got.

She always thought of other people before herself.
Long before TV and all that stuff came about, people
used to come from Tache. They would visit her and talk
about the old times.

She lived a full Indian life, enjoying what life had to
offer her.

Remember

the time just

a few months ago, when
words like Constitution, En
trenchment and Patriation meant
a_ hasty search for a dictionary for

a

ae most of us? Now those words can make

our blood run cold, our emotions run high.
The battlelines are drawn indeed: Entrenchment of
ndefined rights in the new constitution, dependent on

the continuing goodwill of the Federal Government

versus the stand for our Aboriginal Rights as the indigen-
ous and sovereign Nations of this country. Our leade:s
have been very occupied with this issue (pages 7-9).
How can we talk of Nationhood when our unsurren-
dered lands are plundered before our eyes for energy
resources. This is the subject of our Special Supplement
this month (pages 17-20). An enormous pressure to
terminate our rights comes from the energy-greedy giant
corporations who want everything we have. There are so
many energy-related projects affecting so many of our
people, we thought it was time to review them, and
measure the pressures against us. Chief Michael Leech of
Lillooet and the Napoleons of Moberley Lake talk about
the cost to people of coal and hydro power. Jewel James
of the Northwest Indian Fishery describes how the
approval of the Northern Tier pipeline will affect our
shared salmon resources. The Necoslie Band declaration
opposes what Kemano II could do to our salmon. Kathy

Norrisof the Nanoose Band brought in a poem that
seems to sum up what many of our people feel about all
this.

This issue is brightened up with a lot of contributions
by young people with energy and hope. The Pauquachin
Band’s Youth Group write about learning to grow better
with their Elders and families and travel to other Indian
Nations (page 26). Thanks to Jackie Thomas of Stoney
Creek for her poems ‘‘Leave Me’’ and ‘‘Joy’’ published

on tac 16.

ince Rupert was the scene of the great northern
Native Basketball Championships (page 25). A shy spec-
tator sent in a snappy report of this exciting event, Thank
you! and also to the staff of the Nicola Indian, who sent
us the photos of the champions from the Merritt Invita-
tional hockey tournament last month (page 11).

A meeting of Indian teachers from across the country
brought renewed strength to NITEP student Ethel
Gardner. She writes of the pulls and challenges she sees
for an Indian teacher on page 13. Two members of the
Lytton Band hope to begin training here on Indian World
and in our darkroom next month. Their enthusiasm led
to some early stories: thanks to Terry Alec and Charles
Brown for their report on the meeting of the Chiefs of the
Thompson Nation (page 21). They also share their visit to
Elder Liz Andrews who recently celebrated her 100th
birthday (page 10).

Our back page is in memory of Mrs. Josephine Lowrie,
an Elder of the Necoslie Band. Her daughter, Mrs.
Lillian Sam and grandson Kenny Sam share the respect
and courage they learned from her (page 35).

Part of Indian World - volume 3, number 10 (February 1981)

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Union of BC Indian Chiefs Historic Newsletters

Indian World - volume 3, number 10 (February 1981)

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