Periodical
Indian World - volume 4, number 4 (December Issue, 1981)
- Title
- Indian World - volume 4, number 4 (December Issue, 1981)
- Is Part Of
- 1.06-01.04 Indian World
- 1.06.-01 Newsletters and bulletins sub-series
- Date
- December 1981
- volume
- 4
- issue
- 4
- Language
- english
- Identifier
- 1.06-01.04-03.07
- pages
- 16
- Table Of Contents
-
Young People of Nuxalk Nation Speak............2
Sovereignty of Our Sacred Languages.............4
President's Message............................5
Updates......................................6
One Step Towards Independant Indian Nations.....7
13th Annual General Assembly.................8,9
Our People Home from Europe..............10, 11
Who? Adolph Trudeau or Pierre Hitler...........12
The Constitution, What Do We Want?...........13
Editorial.....................................14
Indian Nations Unite..........................15 - Contributor
- Lorna Bob
- Glen Williams
- Darrel Ned
- Millie Poplar
- Vera Manuel
- Dinah Schooner
-
Glen
W. Miihko - Bobby Manuel
- Donna Pootlass
- Carmen Maracle
- Kat Norris
-
Barry
Wilson - Type
- periodical
- Transcription (Hover to view)
-
INDIAN WORLD
DECEMBER ISSUE, 1981
" T H E CHOICE IS OURS"
THE REAWAKENING
OUR
ONE DOLLAR
OF
INDIAN
NATIONS
Constitution Express Returns
13th Annual General Assembly
Independent Indian Nations
OUR WORLD
This message comes from the young people of the N u X a l k Nation, of Bella Coola, our leaders of tomorrow.
We the youth of the Nuxalk Nation
would like to express our sincere appreciation to our ancestors and elders for helping us survive as a Nation. Also to let
them know that we are 100% behind
them. We deeply care about our land, our
culture, and our ways of life. We do not
want to lose these.
The Indian leadership in this country
must continue to fight for our survival.
Especially on this Constitution issue
which threatens our future and the future
of children yet unborn. We thank our
ancestors and elders again.
These words from the young people of the Nuxalk Nation are great evidence of the power that is building up in
our young people. Seeing their strength portrayed hopefully will encourage our leaders to continue to be strong.
The high regard and respect for our elders and ancestors shows that our young people are following our traditional
Indian Law. This kind o f action is what is going to help in developing stronger Nations for our people.
To these young people we thank you for this message and hope that you will keep up your strong stand for the
struggle for a stronger Indian Nation.
INDIAN WORLD 2
INDIAN
WORLD
VOLUME FOUR NUMBER FOUR
I N D I A N W O R L D is the official voice of the Union
of British Columbia Indian Chiefs.
It is dedicated to building a strong foundation for
Indian Government by providing an awareness of the
political and social issues affecting the Indians of
British Columbia.
Signed articles and opinions are the views of the
individuals concerned and not necessarily those of the
UBCIC.
The power of the people protecting their Aboriginal Rights.
Contributors
Table of Contents
Editor: Lorna Bob
Written Contributors: Glen Williams, Darrel Ned,
Millie Poplar, Vera Manuel, Dinah Schooner, Glen
W . M i i h k o , Bobby Manuel, Donna Pootlass
Illustrations: Carmen Maracle, Kat Norris, Barry
Wilson
Young People of Nuxalk Nation Speak
Sovereignty of Our Sacred Languages
2
4
President's Message
5
Updates
6
One Step Towards Independant Indian Nations
7
13th Annual General Assembly
8,9
Our People Home from Europe
10, 11
Who? A d o l p h Trudeau or Pierre Hitler
12
The Constitution, What D o We Want?
13
Editorial
14
Indian Nations Unite
15
Our Cover: Our journey symbolizes the reawakening of our Indian Nations.
INDIAN WORLD 3
SOVEREIGNTY OF OUR SACRED
LANGUAGES
To the Elders of our nations and
the Chiefs and Councils of our
people, we send a prayer to the creator for your guidance and direction
and for the wisdom and the
knowledge that is needed to protect
the sacred birthright that is our language. Our sacred languages are our
one and only resource that is left to
our direct relationship to our sacred
mother the Earth and all living creation. The expressions of our sacred
songs and dances, along with everything else that is part of our great
languages and culture is sovereign
and is recognised by the law of this
land and respected by our ancestors.
There is talk of the formation of an
institute of British Columbia Indian
Languages by an M L A Gordon
Hanson from Victoria. M r . Hanson
and
his
colleagues
from
the
Provincial Museum state a great need
to study our languages so as to
develop literacy materials, including
alphabet dictionaries, to assist in the
translation of important documents
and to provide for the development
of B . C . Native literature, and to train
Native speakers to work as teachers
and teacher-aids in classrooms.
Meeting with
MLA Gordon Hanson
We stated to M r . Hanson the position taken by the U B C I C , that we
cannot fully support that B i l l , as it is
written, because it does not define
local control, which is a priority as
stated by the Aboriginal Rights Position Paper and adopted by the
General Assembly of the Chiefs of
B . C . We suggested the use of this
document by all members of his party
when considering issues that concern
Indian Bands in B . C . We further
stated, " A l l position taken by our
member Bands are consistent with
our Aboriginal Rights Position
Paper."
INDIAN WORLD 4
Organizations Support Private
Members Bill?
M r . Hanson said that he has the
support of organizations representing 300,000 Native people, for the development of the Institute. This has
been one of support in principle from
the U B C I C office, because of the fact
that we do need Tribal training
facilities and supplies. We need
capital to build a solid foundation for
the development of traditional Indian language programs in a cultural as
well as an educational sphere. It
would indeed be more a benefit to the
aboriginal peoples of the First
Nations if this institute could be
developed on a Tribal basis to build
or develop programs that would be
meaningful to our people's needs.
Many express the need for the sound
wisdom and direction of our Elders
and the people who work both
directly and indirectly with our languages. Each Tribal Nation knows
what their specific needs are in training
teaching and development of
materials necessary for teaching and
learning our language.
Return To The Respect of Our
Ancestors
We are facing many difficulties and
hope that we will be able to develop a
traditional approach to meeting our
expenses for any work to be done
concerning our languages. We pray
that the Provincial and Federal
governments will be able to do something to see that our sacred languages
will be protected, preserved and
developed in the ways of our People.
We know we face a challenge in the
eighties in the kinds of development
that our languages are going through
for a more positive reality. It is in this
positive sense that we will work together, to clearly define what it is we
do want for training, development of
materials and whatever kinds of services
are
necessary
for
the
preservation and enrichment of our
languages. Tribal policies and Indian
laws that cannot be changed must be
enforced to insure that proper way
for our languages to grow in our
Tribal National.
SQUAMISH L A N G U A G E T E A C H E R
RECOGNIZED
Louis Miranda, an 88-year-old Elder of the Squamish
Band, for his work with the Squamish language, was
granted an honorary Doctorate of Law Degree from the
Simon Fraser University, June 6, 1981. He was being
recognized as a dedicated Elder who wants to preserve his
people's culture for the future.
"Uncle Louis" was one of two men who developed the
Squamish language in the english alphabet form. He
started in 1972 on what is believed to be the only written
Squamish language textbook available. His language
book contains about 1,800 Squamish words.
The principal of the Eslahan Indian School said that
the Squamish language is the only compulsory subject
taught there. The language is taught to Indian children at
the Queen Mary, St. Edmonds and Norgate schools, by
"Uncle Louis", as well.
PRESIDENT'S
MESSAGE
Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau and the nine
provincial premiers reached agreement on Thursday,
November 5, 1981 on a "made in C a n a d a " Constitution but it came without the consent of the Indians of
Canada and the French people of Quebec. The Canadian people must understand that we are a sovereign
people and our Tribes are our Nations. We have never
been defeated and we will not let Pierre Trudeau and
the nine premiers defeat us now. It is shocking to
realize that after all these years, as a country, when the
chips are down it is the Indian people and the
Quebeckers who are brutally ripped off by the majority. The criticisms that Indian people make is that, even
if the federal and provincial parliaments do serve the
wishes of the great majority of the Canadian people,
they can never fully serve the needs of our people. We
do not doubt that these institutions might serve the
purposes for which they were intended. We are saying
that our own needs can be fully served only through
the development of our own Indian institutions.
The route to be followed to
the Fourth World will be as diverse and varied as our
Indian tribes.
Unilateral dependence can never be
ended by a forced assimilation. Real integration can
only be achieved through a voluntary partnership and
a partnership cannot be based on a tenant-landlord
relationship. The way to end the condition of
unilateral dependence and begin the long march to the
Fourth World is through Home Rule. It was the demand for Home Rule and responsible government in
upper and lower Canada that gave rise to an enduring
partnership among the provinces of Canada and bet-
ween the dominion and her mother country. Confederation guaranteed local autonomy at least for the
two major powers—the English and the French. The
demand of the Indian people is that we be allowed to
sit at the table with the Prime Minister and the Provinces as the third political entity where our lives are
being negotiated; where our resources are being carved
up like a pie.
We know that no Canadian government will ever
deal fairly with the Indian people until we can
negotiate from a position of strength. We also know
that Prime Minister Trudeau and the nine premiers
want to assimilate us, but what we want is the kind of
integration based on mutual respect and acceptance of
each other's values as valid for the other, will only
happen when the Indian people achieve the same standard of living as that enjoyed by the white Canadians.
Remaining Indian must mean that Indian people gain
control of the economic and social development of our
own communities within a framework of legal and
constitutional guarantees for our land and our
political institutions. Without those guarantees our
people and our institutions remain in a defensive position and our only weapon is passive resistance.
The
racial myths that were created to justify the seizure of
our land base will only be fully dispelled when we have
received the legal recognition of our aboriginal title to
the lands that remain to us and sufficient grants to
compensate for what is lost so that we can afford to
develop what does remain. Only then will we be able to
demonstrate that there is no conflict between wanting
to live comfortably and wanting to develop within our
own traditional framework. The desire for legal
recognition of our aboriginal and treaty rights has
taken on a religious perspective. But as in most natural
or traditional religions, the spiritual has not been
separated from the material world. Recognition of our
aboriginal rights can and must be the foundation of
our future along with economic and social independence. It is as much in the long term interest of
the non Indian peoples of Canada, as in our own interest, that we be allowed our birth right rather than
that
governments
and
the
multicorporations
perpetuate the conspiracy that renders us the objects
of charity while others enjoy the wealth of our land.
The patriation of the Canadian Constitution could
be the political act which once and for all orders relationships between the Indian Nations and Canada to
the benefit of both groups, or Canada may be finally
vested with sufficient legal power to effectively prevent
the fulfillment of crown obligations to the Indian N a tions. Should the latter occur, the Indian Nations are
at the dawn of total genocide. We propose the formation of an International Indigenous Trust Council with
the United Nations to oversee future relations between
Indigenous peoples and countries with which they are
associated. The Indian Nations have directed and
authorized the establishment of a Provisional Government.
In Love and Brotherhood,
George Manuel
Grand Chief
Union of B . C . Indian Chiefs
UP-DATE
The
Nightmare
Could it be? Have I become that
bureaucratic? Things couldn't be
that bad—or could they? Naw,
these guys didn't really mean they
were occupying my office. M y
space of well worth in the cubbyhole of life.
I thought I had been loyal to my
employers, you the people. O h no,
am I giving into assimilation? A m
I just a by-product of the Canadian government? Not me, I'm Indian and always will be. I ' l l never
be bought off by the Canadian
government because I'm not a prostitute. But, that still doesn't explain why these people are here occupying the little room I call my
office.
That day I was told I had visitors
in my office I didn't expect it to be
occupiers. They asked me to leave
but didn't give me any excuse why
I should leave. Beads of sweat
began rolling down my brow. H o w
was I going to handle this? I didn't
know.
One of the fellows began to
hand me something. He said,
"Here's
twenty
dollars
now
leave!" I still wouldn't budge.
Could it be I wouldn't budge
because the twenty dollar bill was
drawn on a blank piece of paper by
pencil. They once again made an
attempt to try and bribe me to
leave by offering me another twenty dollar bill. But, I was smarter
than them I knew phoney money
when I saw it. I knew that the
queen didn't
really have a
mustache.
INDIAN WORLD 6
LETTERS TO THE
EDITOR
Dear Editor:
The news media says, "Natives could claim
billions. I say, So what! What did you expect to pay
for Canada, some beads? Canada is one of the richest
countries in the world. Y o u knew the day would come
when you would have to make amends for your
skulduggery. We were ousted from our lands, our
homes and our livelihood upset. A l l this done by professed Christian people. The church was in the
forefront saying, " D o the whiteman no harm he only
wants to live near you peacefully." Utter hypocracy!
In your bible, Exodus 20:5, "The sins of the fathers
shall be visited upon the children." This means the sins
of the greed for other people's property are finally being visited upon the children. Y o u have your chance
now to "divvy u p " so this similar dread inheritance is
not passed on to your children. We have been here for
thousands of years. We did not come the route your
history says we did. N o one has explained the awesome
petroglyphs of Nazca. Where it is seen clearly only
from the air. That indicates we had contact with outer
space. A s we have no treaty with you we still claim the
resources. In a true sense you have no jurisdiction over
us. Your laws should not concern us. The only laws we
should adhere to are moral laws.
Alfred Recalma
EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITY
SCHOOL DISTRICT #32
(HOPE)
Native Indian Support Worker
Handwritten applications will be received for this
postition until 81-12-31.
The successful candidate will:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Have some university training
Work closely with Learning Assistance teachers
Tutor and counsel native pupils
Assist in implementing native curriculum
Application with supporting documents should be
mailed to: J . G . Leaman, Superintendent of Schools,
Box 700, Hope, B . C . VOX 1L0.
ONE STEP TOWARDS
INDEPENDANT
INDIAN NATIONS
The Upper Sumas Band is a community with a dream—a dream to see
all its people working and the community rid of social assistance.
The Band is a small community at
the foot of the Sumas Mountain, near
Abbotsford, B . C . In the past, many
of the people in the community were
without incomes, other than social
assistance. Then in 1978, the Upper
Sumas Band, Kilgard, saw an opportunity for the community to become
economically self-sufficient.
A clay manufacturing plant on
Band land shut down because of a
slump in the market. The shutdown
meant a loss of jobs for several Band
members. However, the community
believed that clay products could still
sell well enough to keep the plant in
operation.
Since then, the Band has never
looked back. There was much work
to do and many obstacles to overcome. The most difficult was financing. When previous owners abandoned the plant, they literally took
everything they could remove. A l l
that remained was some heavy equipment, the Beehive kilns and the
buildings. The immediate need was
for money for operations and pay for
the workers. Another problem was
getting a small parcel of land owned
by another company, on which stood
4 of the plant's 9 kilns. The land was
expropriated for a railway right-ofway years ago. When the railway shut
down, the land went to private hands,
rather than reverting to the Band.
After sitting idle, the plant equipment was in need of repair. Money to
cover these expenses eventually came
from grants. However, the dollars
were only enough to cover operations. The plant is still hoping for a
grant to cover capital, which would
allow the plant to repair equipment
and buildings, purchase new and
replace worn out equipment, and
restore the beehive kilns.
Because of present interest rates
and a slow housing market, sales of
products for building have dropped
off sharply. This is now the major
obstacle to the success of the community's dream. Sumas Clay Products had made an agreement with
another brick manufacturer to buy
products and in turn market them.
However, sales haven't been up to
par with forecasts. Therefore, to supplement sales, Sumas Clay Products
is trying to carry out sales directly
from the Band. The company sells
products directly to Bands and Band
members at a price much lower than
the retail price. Although sales are
a problem, they're picking up.
September was the best month ever,
and sales seem to be looking up.
The only area in which Sumas Clay
Products doesn't have any problems
is quality. The brick, especially, is
easily one of the best qualities produced in North America. Most manufacturers use faster kilns to burn their
brick. The old beehive kilns are
slower, but burn at a higher temper-
ature, leaving harder, longer-lasting
brick. The same is true for the flue
lining (for chimmneys), paving brick
and agricultural drainage tile. Sumas
Clay Products' items are guaranteed
to last a lifetime.
The agricultural drainage tile is far
better than what some farmers are
turning to—plastic pipe. Plastic is
very thin and can collapse easily. If
there is a flood, it may float to the
surface and away. A n d , it will
deteriorate in highly alkaline water.
Clay pipe will outlast the farmer.
Although the prices are comparable,
some farmers are turning to plastic
because it can be laid in the ground
faster, not because of the quality.
Before Sumas Clay Products
became a reality, the community of
the Upper Sumas Band, at Kilgard,
saw little brightness in the future. The
gloomy cloud of social assistance
hung low overhead. But, now there is
a reason to look forward. There is
reason for dignity, for pride in the
community. This is the dream.
An Indian owned and operated company.
INDIAN WORLD 7
13th Annual General Assembly
October 28, 29, 30, 1981
A t the 13th Annual General
Assembly, it was obvious that the
communities in British Columbia had
experienced discipline and cooperation and power in their ongoing battle
to
achieve
independence.
The
assembly was a working conference
and the strength of the people could
be felt throughout the deliberations.
The spirit of the Concerned A b o r i ginal Women who had boldly taken
over Indian Affairs was on the minds
of the people up to Assembly time but
there was a greater concern to be
dealt with and that was the Patriation
of the Canadian Consitution.
Everything dear to the Indian people was on the line and the Leaders
had to make the most difficult decision in the life-time of fighting for
Aboriginal Rights. It was obvious
after the Supreme Court Decision
that the rights of the Indian people
would not be recognized. With a
heavy heart, George Manuel declared
to the assembly that he was calling on
every ounce of ingenuity we all
possessed to stop Prime Minister
Trudeau from patriating the constitution without consulting the Indian
people.
Louise Mandell reported that the
legal action in Great Britain was
ready to be launched at the same time
that the Indian Constitution Express
was to leave for Europe but that
above everything else, the U . B . C . I . C .
had to come up with a million dollars.
Could the Chiefs present at the
assembly come up with money to support the legal action? Without hesitation, Chiefs got up on behalf of their
people and pledged their share
towards the legal action. By the end
of the day, $45,000 was raised. This
kind of action gave a strong beginning to the assembly and a strong support to the Indian Constitution E x press which was prepared to leave for
Europe on November 1st, 1981. This
was the kind of spirit needed by the
Indian Constitution Express which
was going into a foreign land and
everyone looked forward to this
historic voyage by our people. Once
the decision was made to go ahead
with the legal action there was no turning b a c k . . . we would carry this
fight to the end at a cost of time,
money and family needs.
After a summer of meeting and
learning and politicizing as many people as possible, the Indian Constitution Express were ready to travel into
the International arena. The power of
the people was seen in the clear direction they gave to their leaders. The
government could not steer the Indian people from their goals despite
their efforts to use the "Status of Indian W o m e n " as an issue. The Indian
Constitution Express was made up of
Chiefs, men, women, children and
elders from communities throughout
British Columbia.
Our decisions will effect the future of our Indian Nations.
INDIAN WORLD 8
Several
copies
of
documents
belonging to the Federal Government
was distributed to the delegates.
These documents showed clearly how
the government planned to assimilate
the Indian people. A n y Indian group
talking "Indian Government" was to
be ignored. This is one reason the
Union of B . C . Indian Chiefs was so
rudely deprived of its funding and
proved to be a good example of what
would happen to all those bands who
bravely declared their Nationhood.
However, the Indian Nations i n
British Columbia recognized the
powers they have and whatever plans
the Government had was of no concern to the Indian Governments.
Their goals far outweighed the
depressing control of the governments. A l l the documents was
evidence enough for the Chiefs to
know that they would continue to
hold a hard line against government
policies to assimilate them.
On the second day of the assembly,
the Chiefs gave George Manuel a
standing ovation and bestowed on
him the title of " G r a n d C h i e f " of the
Union of B . C . Indian Chiefs. He had
decided not to run for the office o f
President. The two candidates, Chief
Bob Manuel of Neskainlith Band and
Chief Dennis Alphonse of Cowichan
Band, gave presentations on their
positions and their plans as leaders to
the Indian Governments at this difficult time in the history of
Aboriginal Rights. After a difficult
decision, Chief Bob Manuel was
declared the new President of the
Union of B . C . Indian Chiefs.
Elections were also held for the
Vice President positions. Chief Saul
Terry was re-elected as Vice President
of the General Interior Region; A r chie Pootlass was re-elected as Vice
President of the Coastal Region;
Chief Clarence Pennier was elected as
Vice President of the Southwestern
Region; and Stanley Stump was
elected as Vice President of the Northern Region. The Vice Presidents
declared their committment to represent their regions in the continued
fight for independence of the Indian
people.
Administratively, adoptions of the
minutes of the 12th Annual General
Assembly and the 6th Special General
Assembly were adopted. The President's Report was adopted and the
Our elders take their traditional role in our Nation as our traditional lawyers.
Financial Report and Audit was approved. The Chiefs voted on Resolutions for continued work of the
U . B . C . I . C . on their behalf.
The delgates, along with their
relatives and friends shared the first
evening with the Nuhalk Nation
dancers from Bella Coola. The next
evening was devoted to the popular
yearly talent show. O n the last evening there was a feast held for the people who were leaving on the Constitution Express and their friends and
family.
Pappas Furs and Indian Traders
specialists in
North American Indian Materials,
Artifacts, Rare Old Collectors Items,
Jewellery, Baskets, Carvings, etc.
W E BUY, S E L L , A N D T R A D E
F R E E APPRAISALS
459 Hamilton St. at Victory Square Vancouver, B . C .
V6B 2P9
681-6391
INDIAN WORLD 9
CONCERNED ABORIGINAL
WOMEN RETURN HOME
FROM EUROPE
By Vera Manuel
On October 8, 1981, eight Concerned Aboriginal
Women, (five children plus Frank Rivers and Ron George)
left for England as members of an Advance Team to
prepare for the arrival of the Constitution Express to
Europe. The day we arrived in London, Terry Williams,
Frank Rivers, their children Tamara and Delmar and also
Ron George left immediately for Paris, France. The rest of
us spent one night in London and the next day left for Rotterdam, Holland (Netherlands) where we were met by Rod
Jeffries, Lyn Crompton and three members of our support
group from Holland. We were a pretty ragged crew when
we arrived in Holland, suffering from sea sickness, too
much luggage and jetlag. Then Rod informed us that we
were to spend the next two nights on the Greenpeace boat.
We really learned to appreciate the hospitality and
warmth of the people that we met throughout the trip
especially when we were so far away from our own people
and our homeland. Understandably, there was a lot of
curiosity and silly questions. Many people were surprised to
learn that Indians still existed in Canada. They were more
than a little shocked to learn about conditions under which
we are forced to live in a land as rich as Canada. There is a
totally different attitude in Europeans. There was not that
underlying guilt, ignorance and disrespect shown to Indians
by Canadians in our own lands.
Spirits were kept high despite our heavy work load.
I N D I A N W O R L D 10
Educating the Europeans about our Indian Nations' existence.
We spent a week in Rotterdam getting briefed about the
different countries we were to be sent to. Our first speaking
engagement was at the Congress Hall in The Hague. Lorna,
Meagan and Gaye Williams stayed in Holland; Karen
Anderson and Sylvia Woods were sent to Belgium; Dinah
Schooner, my nephew Rainbow and I left for Bonn, Germany. Rod, Judalon, Ron and Lyn were to move from
country to country helping out wherever they were needed.
When we first arrived in Germany I really began to feel
the weight of the responsibility and the immensity of the
work before us that was felt amongst us all. We were
grateful to our people and honoured by the trust and belief
that they had in our abilities. I felt eternally grateful to my
father for teaching me that I must fight for my people and
to my mother for giving me the tools with which to fight, by
teaching me about the spirits that make an Indian strong.
Every morning before we left the house; Dinah, Rainbow
and I would prepare ourselves. We would burn the sacred
smudge and ask the spirits to give us the strength and
guidance to carry ourselves in a respectful manner that day.
We were constantly reminded that the eyes of the world
were on us. We would ask the spirits to guide our words
and our actions and to always remember that we were
speaking for our people back home. After a victory or an
accomplishment we would remember to take the time to
thank the spirits for helping us. We were discovering
strength that we never even knew we had and our commitment to our people grew stronger in our hearts.
The children gave us comfort and strength. They
were constant reminders of why we were i n Europe
fighting. A t times, they gave us the added push that
was needed to gain support. One time Rainbow and I
were confronted with a very stern looking man i n a
grey suit. I wondered how in the world to convince him
to help us. Rainbow sat down next to him and
throughout my presentation he would make small i n terruptions. The man asked things like, " W h y don't
you people want to assimilate into the rest of the Canadian society?" I would then talk about how our young
people are suffering today from the bad influence of
the white society; the suicide rate, the alcoholism, the
drugs, the prisons. While I was talking Rainbow tied a
string around his arm and started to pull his arm
toward him. Pretty soon the man's eyes softened and
he was smiling and laughing. Then he was on the
phone making the arrangements for food for 150 people for 2 days. In the south of France Delmar was helping his father drum and sing. Tamara was in Paris with
her mother; staying up late, getting up early, hopping
off and on subways. Meagan and Jacqueline were i n
Holland. The schedule was not easy for any of these
little ones, but they were learning to be strong. They
were learning about patience, discipline and most o f
all they were learning to fight for their people.
When Dinah and I first got to Germany we seemed
to sense a slight underlying feeling of non-confidence
in our abilities because we were women. In some interviews we were asking why women were sent instead of
men. We spent a great deal of time explaining the
traditional roles of men and women in Indian society,
emphasizing the deep respect we held for our men, the
confidence and support that was shown to us by our
men and how we are working to bring our own ways
back where men and women work together and there is
no question of one being above the other. We told of
the hardship and changes we have had to endure, the
concern we have for our children, welfare, the
bureaucracy of the Department of Indian Affairs who
control our lives. The weight of our words and the
strength of our conviction could be felt. The effect we
had was strong because we spoke the truth from our
experience and they came to know Trudeau for what
he was.
In Marberg, Germany, Dinah held the audience
spellbound for about an hour and a half relating story
after story about the injustice and the wrong that has
been done to our people and the frustrations we have
to live with. Afterwards, I was approached by two
Canadians, one from Nelson and other from Toronto.
They were shocked and admitted how ignorant they
felt because they did not know what was going on in
their own country.
We were asked what we would do i f we didn't win
this fight and how we expected to win such an impossible fight. We told of our parents and our grandparents
who fought all their lives so that we would have
something for our children and grandchildren. They
never sold our land and never gave up fighting. We
will never stop fighting and we will teach our children
to fight. For the last 200 years, in spite of all the Cana-
The children gave us comfort and strength.
dian government has done to destroy us, we have survived.
Sylvia Woods and Dinah Schooner attended the International Women's Day held in Brussels, November
11th. Women from all the European countries and
South America were present to pledge their solidarity
and present problems faced in their countries. The
women received the Concerned Aboriginal Women's
statement very enthusiastically.
The ceremonies at Flanders Field will always be a
memorable event. Especially after years and years
hearing and seeing the seeming disrespect of our Indian soldiers who fought in the wars. Seeing the brief
flicker of pain in the eyes of our Elder Statemen and
Chiefs, whenever the cemetary was mentioned.
The stories of our men returning home after going
to " f i g h t " for our "freedom" only to return to fences
and signs saying, " N O H U N T I N G , N O T R E S P A S S ING, P R I V A T E P R O P E R T Y , K E E P O U T . " He
fought and risked the same as everyone else but he lost
more. A s the years went by the price went higher. The
loss of self respect, dignity and the memories of a far
away land, where there was dignity and where he was
worth something—soon forgotten.
There was another pain more real, the men were not
"sent" away through traditional ways. The Constitution Express made this a reality. The people of this little town of Langemark, understood and respected the
sacrifices made by all these soldiers and our need to
honour our men who rest there. We were received in
such a manner and stood there sharing for the moment
the reality that brought us to this memorial. The irony
of ironies, the loss of lives—for freedom?
O n behalf of the Concerned Aboriginal Women we
would like to sincerely thank our people for the opportunity that they have given us to grow and learn
through the experiences we had in Europe. We would
like to thank the people for the commitment that has
grown strong in our hearts and our experience. This
commitment that tells us we must share our experience
with our people and that we must never stop fighting
for our people.
I N D I A N W O R L D 11
WHO? ADOLPH TRUDEAU
OR PIERRE HITLER?
Have you ever tried to figure out
something that is totally beyond
figuring out? Well, that is exactly
how our people feel about the Canadian government and the King
Beaver, Trudeau. This feeling is
especially strong during this time of
the
big
constitutional
battle.
Trudeau's final attempt at going
down in history at anyone's expense,
especially ours.
Trudeau's
personality is very
similar to Mohammed A l i ' s , his intellect is also very similar. H e keeps
wanting to get out of the ring and
retire. N o sooner is he out of the ring
and he shows up for another match.
This time it is him fighting the whole
of Canada. He is not only fighting
our people but the Canadian citizens
too.
The only reason he keeps jumping
back into the ring is because he wants
to see his name go down in history
books. But, as we all know those
Canadian history books are full of
balogna as far as our people are concerned. That is exactly what he is
feeding the Canadian public. He says
Canada will no longer be a second
class country. But, what he fails to
mention is that this would make our
people foreigners in our own country.
Shouldn't those leaders have time to
think about their decisions because it
concerns all of Canada and the future
of the citizens of this country called
Canada. It is not a fly-by-night deal
that should be made the way Trudeau
depicts it. This is good for Trudeau
because now he has someone to
blame besides himself. He was able to
try and make himself look like the
good cowboy. He said, " I guess I will
just have to pass this resolution as it is
now, holding my nose. I would have
rather had the earlier decision than
the latter. But this is what the
premiers have agreed o n . " But we all
know he got what he wanted, which
was to exclude us and have all the
blame being pointed at the premiers
and not himself. What a smart liberal
minded person.
I N D I A N W O R L D 12
Once the agreement was made between the provinces and the federal
government, Trudeau was so anxious
to get the document signed. He said,
"Let's get this signed before anyone
has time to change his m i n d . " This
was his response to a decision as i m portant
as
the
Constitution.
this determination is his 1969 White
Paper Policy. He is so anxious to let
Canada control the vast amount of
resources we hold. He doesn't care
how he does it as long as it gets done
as quickly as possible. A l l he is thinking about is his retirement and it can't
come none-too-soon for him.
Apparently these decisions don't
matter anyway because not long after
he announced tha he would move
unilaterally. This meant he was going
to patriate the Constitution with or
without support from the provinces.
If this is his attitude towards his own
people, his blatant attitude towards
us, the first people of this land, is
hardly surprising.
In past history we know that
Trudeau is determined to destroy our
Indian Nations. A good example of
It is sure good to know that our
leaders and our people are not blind
to his acts of genocide. We are strong
and this is shown by our people who
took the challenge on the Constitution Express to Europe. It seems the
bigger the challenge, the more power
we seem to get to fight. This struggle
has been going on for over 100 years
now, since the Canadian hicks took
over trying to
administer
her
mother's,
Britian's,
obligations
toward our people.
THE CONSTITUTION
WHAT DO WE WANT?
Our position on the Constitution is that Crown
obligations must be fulfilled. The Crown obligations,
in our opinion, are nothing less than:
1. Recognition
and
affirmation
of
ABORIGINAL A N DT R E A T Y RIGHTS.
our
2. Along with an I N D I A N C O N S E N T C L A U S E
that ensures the federal and provincial governments are required to receive our consent before
any changes, deletions or amendments are made
relating to the Aboriginal Peoples sections in the
constitution.
3. A n d that the R O Y A L P R O C L A M A T I O N of
1763 must apply uniformly across Canada.
Anything less than these 3 points is not a fulfillment
of Crown obligations to the Indian Nations in Canada.
It is our contention that neither the federal government nor the provincial governments have any right
whatsoever to alter or eliminate Crown obligations to
the First Nations. The only body that can alter Crown
obligations is the British parliament with the C O N S E N T of the Indian Nations.
The Constitution as it exists today in Britain goes
beyond the British North America A c t . It includes
such documents as the Royal Proclamation of 1763
and the numerous treaties made across Canada. These
documents along with many others are fundamental
parts of the Constitution. This brings forth the four
parties that make up the constitution today, that is,
before patriation.
The four parties include the Indian Nations, the
British Parliament, the federal government and the
provincial governments.
What Prime Minister
Trudeau is proposing to do is to eliminate both the Indian Nations and the British Government from the
constitution. In other words, what he wants is to make
himself and the 10 provincial premiers the supreme
power over our lives and the lives of all Canadians.
The British want to dissolve their part in the Canadian Constitution. However, it is clear that all First
Nations across Canada have no desire to disolve our
part in the Canadian Constitution. Our people want to
strengthen our position so that a better balance of
power exists where we can co-exist equally with all
other peoples and governments of Canada. It is for
these reasons that we have taken such a strong stand
on the constitution and are prepared not to compromise to anything less than the fulfillment of Crown
obligations to the Indian Nations of Canada.
We have gone so far as to travel into the international world community to assert our Nationhood and
ensure that the First Nations o f Canada will forever retain our seat in and amongst the family of Nations. We
advised Prime Minister Trudeau through his Foreign
Affairs office in L o n d o n , that no longer will he represent our First Nations. We will resume our seat in the
international community and make our own representations to other nations in the world. It was obvious in
our international mission that other nations in the
world did not know of our existence and the few that
did, had been left with the impression that we lived
under ideal conditions under the Trudeau regime and
that no problems existed in our lives. T o the world
Trudeau projects the image of a man concerned with
human rights and filled with good will. We have
prepared a legal case to be presented in the British
court. This has been done because neither the federal
government nor the provincial governments have the
authority or jurisdiction to dissolve our international
relations with the British without the consent of the
British and the First Nations of Canada.
We have been lax in not developing that relationship
through strengthening our bonds, however, this does
not suggest that the relationship does not exist. We
have always spoken of ourselves as being nations of
people and what your International Diplomatic Corps
(all those on the Constitution Express) were doing was
to secure and strengthen our relationship with the
British and other nations of the world.
We will continue to fight to ensure Crown obligations are fulfilled. Before the Constitution is patriated
it must contain the 3 basic clauses. We will continue to
hold our position and fight for their inclusion. The
ways in which we will fight are:
a. Continue the political lobby in Great Britain
b. Present the legal case in Britain
c. Expose Trudeau internationally
d. Continue our home front activities
I N D I A N W O R L D 13
EDITORIAL
By our rights and natural law our people have been
free to cross the man-made border line between
Canada and the United States freely. This border was
not made by our people, it was drawn by two separate
entities. Whether our people are on the Canadian side
or the American side we have the same philosophies
and values because we are one people. We understand
that the Earth is our Mother. We have never recognized this split in our mother.
In the past our grandparents crossed freely back and
forth. Our people would go to the United States and
work at some of the lowest labour jobs. They were not
allowed to travel i n the passenger section of the train
to get to their work sites. They were only allowed to
travel in the baggage compartment. There they would
work and once the jobs were finished they headed back
home to their homelands in this land called Canada.
A l l over countries were facing the depression. Our
people were slaving and working hard in the United
States and bringing their earnings back to Canada
where they were spent and circulated into the Canadian economy. This is only one example of our people
building the backbone of this country. A t present we
are not recognized by the Canadian government. They
would rather control us as objects than recognize us as
nations.
We are always hearing a familiar righteous line,
" W e l l , I am a taxpayer." If you are a taxpayer, you're
paying pretty high taxes because those taxes are going
to thieves. Thosetaxes are going to a government that
has stolen our land and our resources. It is not only
white Canadians who are paying taxes, our people are
paying high taxes as well. A lot of our people are in the
work force and those who aren't pay taxes in day to
day chores like other Canadian consumers. It seems
ridiculous that our people have to pay taxes to a
government that is stealing our land, resources and
right to self government and self determination as a
nation.
The only tax we are really exempt from are land
taxes. O f course we have never had to buy and sell our
land. We don't feel that our Mother the Earth should
be bought and sold. That is why our ancestors were so
I N D I A N W O R L D 14
generous i n sharing this beautiful country with our
visitors. They shared it with the visitors with the
understanding that they would not impose on our
peoples' lifestyle. This didn't give the government
jurisdiction over our people.
It is very hard for non-Indians to understand the
unique situation of the Indian Nations. The government's tactics are always to assimilate our people. If
we wanted to assimilate and become something we
aren't we would have left our homelands a long time
ago. There was no reason for us to leave our
homelands. We have survived here for thousands of
years even with the arrival of this foreign people's
government and their acts of genocide against our people. If we have survived that then surely we are not
about to get slaughtered by Trudeau and his merry
men.
During the occupation of the Regional office of the
Department of Indian Affairs by the Concerned
Aboriginal Women it was said, "The Canadian
government said that there will be justice in this country. But we didn't know they meant J U S T U S ! " Our
political ties are with the mother country Britain and
not Canada. The Canadian government was just set
here to administer her mother's obligations in this
land. The Canadian government doesn't have legal or
political ties with our people. We have never surrendered our lands or our rights as aboriginal people
to anyone.
INDIAN NATIONS UNITE
The seriousness of the fight
against the patriation of the Canadian Constitution can be seen in
the numbers of people who come
out to participate in demonstrations held around the country.
These demonstrations show that it
is you the people who have the
power to convey our disagreement
with the Constituion package that
is proposed by Trudeau. There is
no greater power than our strength
in our unity. This is exactly what
the government doesn't want to see
is the strength in numbers,
especially Indian numbers. They
would rather see us continue to
play the little funding and programs game and keep us fighting
amongst one another for a little
piece of the pie.
This divide and conquer tactic
has got to stop and we as Indian
people have got to see who is the
real Enemy. Our own people are
not the enemy it is the Canadian
government. It is shown in our
people that they are not going to
play the power game; who is the
better leader or who is the better
organization. They are coming and
saying W E A R E A L L I N D I A N
PEOPLE A N D WANT TO KEEP
OUR INDENTITY A N D OUR
SOVEREIGNTY.
First, the strength of our people
showed from the U . B . C . I . C . office on Hastings Street to the front
of the Tower where the Regional
Office of the Department of Indian Affairs is located on Granville
and Georgia. Then it carried on to
the Four Seasons Hotel where a
meeting was being held by the
Social Credit Party. Our people
went there to inform Bennett of
their protest against the patriation
package. A n d that Bennett should
get out of bed with Trudeau and
start making decisions for himself.
The second march took place the
next day and used the same route
with again approximately 400 Indian people joining the march. The
rallying point was at our tradi-
presented to him in 1975. His usual
uncaring response and saving face
to the rest of the public response.
While
these
demonstrations
were taking place there were many
more taking place in different provinces. Indian people all over the
country coming out in protest of
Trudeau's proposed patriation
package. Our people's strength
was building all over and becoming
more powerful. If the first people
of this nation can be so easily ignored then what justice exists in
this world?
The First People of this land
demanding their rights.
tional spot the temporary home of
the
Concerned
Aboriginal
Women, the D I A office. This time
the demonstration went to the
Hyatt Regency Hotel where there
was a fund raising luncheon and
dinner taking place for the Liberal
Party. The message was brought to
Trudeau of how we opposed his
proposed patriation package of the
Canadian constitution because
they have not included us in their
talks about the future of this country and our lives. He was also informed that i f the Canadian
government does accept
this
patriation package and send it off
to Britain without any Indian consent, then the Canadian Government has declared war on the Indian Nations. Trudeau's response
was again the usual not knowing
what the Indian people wanted or
what Aboriginal Rights were. Then
to try and ridicule us by saying that
we didn't even know what our
Aboriginal Rights were. A l l the
while, conveniently misplacing or
forgetting our Aboriginal Rights
Position
Paper
which
was
When the demonstrations were
held in Vancouver for some
strange reason the Regional Office
of the Department of Indian A f fairs shut down and closed for
business early. It was apparent that
as soon as Indian people came
close to the office they felt
threatened. Threatened by the very
people that they are supposed to be
working for. This is evidence that
the federal government is no
longer working in the best interest
of Indian people, as i f they ever
have. It no longer serves its purpose if, as soon as Indian people
come close to the office, they shut
down. H o w can an office shut
down so easily and quickly? Surely, it must be costing somebody a
lot to give these people uncalled
for holidays. It makes you wonder
about the bureaucrats' professional decisions, especially the
head bureaucrat, the Regional
Director of that office. Obviously
someone is going through some
strange head trips. Imagine someone walking around suspicious
of every Indian that comes around,
especially i f they are supposed to
be working for Indian people.
The people's support to the
leadership gives strength to the
leadership and also strenghtens our
actions taken against this government which is out to kill our people. It looks like 1982 will be one
tough long struggle.
I N D I A N W O R L D 15
THE SPIRIT OFCANADIANCOMPROMISE
"OK THEN, WE'LLMEETHALFWAY"
"Another Moon"
We come, once, in peace,
they destroyed us,
'til we were but few,
Brothers, Sisters, it is
another moon now,
We are once again many,
this time, we stand proud,
we'll not bow,
for we are a Great Nation
Now Brothers, Sisters, sing
Sing our songs, as one,
For the Great Spirit, for today.
If need be, Brothers, Sisters,
It is a good day, to die.
Glen W. (Miihko)
Okalla Prison
I N D I A N W O R L D 16
SECOND CLASS M A I L
REGISTRATION NUMBER 4983
VANCOUVER, B.C.
F R O M : U N I O N O F B . C . Indian Chiefs
4 4 0 West Hastings St.,
Vancouver, B . C . V 6 B 1 L 1
INDIAN©WORLD
DECEMBER ISSUE, 1981 “THE CHOICE IS OURS”
THE REAWAKENING OF
OUR INDIAN |
NATIONS JZ.
OUR WORLD
oN
This message comes from the young people of the NuXalk Nation, of Bella Coola, our leaders of tomorrow.
We the youth of the Nuxalk Nation
would like to express our sincere apprecia-
tion to our ancestors and elders for help-
ing us survive as a Nation. Also to let
them know that we are 100% behind
them. We deeply care about our land, our
culture, and our ways of life. We do not
want to lose these.
The Indian leadership in this country
must continue to fight for our survival.
Especially on this Constitution issue
which threatens our future and the future
of children yet unborn. We thank our
ancestors and elders again.
These words from the young people of the Nuxalk Nation are great evidence of the power that is building up in
our young people. Seeing their strength portrayed hopefully will encourage our leaders to continue to be strong.
The high regard and respect for our elders and ancestors shows that our young people are following our traditional
Indian Law, This kind of action is what is going to help in developing stronger Nations for our people.
To these young people we thank you for this message and hope that you will keep up your strong stand for the
struggle for a stronger Indian Nation.
INDIAN WORLD 2
ee | 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 FOUR NUMBER FOUR eae
" CL \ Pa
7 en — CANAD Te
ALL.
Cae NDIA
ay,
The power of the people protecting their Aboriginal Rights.
Contributors _Table of Contents
Editor: Lorna Bob
Young People of Nuxalk Nation Speak............ 2
Written Contributors: Glen Williams, Darrel Ned, Sovereignty of Our Sacred Languages .............4
Millie Poplar, Vera Manuel, Dinah Schooner, Glen President's: Wesgare <.cs.c0 0005050040 hienae cae ceue 5
W. Miihko, Bobby Manuel, Donna Pootlass UUs a iiss CSG We RRA ARRON SRR Ra 6
One Step Towards Independant Indian Nations..... I
13th Annual General Assembly................. 8,9
Our People Home from Europe .............. 10, 11
Who? Adolph Trudeau or Pierre Hitler........... 12
Illustrations: Carmen Maracle, Kat Norris, Barry The Constitution, What Do We Want?........... 13
Wilson Bt Sil och neaeincu chant haadnmanakaanaentne’ 14
Indian Nations LN cessive tweed eee eae ales 15
Our Cover: Our journey symbolizes the reawakening of our Indian Nations.
\. = SAS
INDIAN WORLD 3
SOVEREIGNTY OF OUR SACRED
LANGUAGES
To the Elders of our nations and
the Chiefs and Councils of our
people, we send a prayer to the crea-
tor for your guidance and direction
and for the wisdom and_ the
knowledge that is needed to protect
the sacred birthright that is our lan-
guage. Our sacred languages are our
one and only resource that is left to
our direct relationship to our sacred
mother the Earth and ail living crea-
tion. The expressions of our sacred
songs and dances, along with every-
thing else that is part of our great
languages and culture is sovereign
and is recognised by the law of this
land and respected by our ancestors.
There is talk of the formation of an
institute of British Columbia Indian
Languages by an MLA Gordon
Hanson from Victoria. Mr. Hanson
and his colleagues from the
Provincial Museum state a great need
to study our languages so as to
develop literacy materials, including
alphabet dictionaries, to assist in the
translation of important documents
and to provide for the development
of B.C. Native literature, and to train
Native speakers to work as teachers
and teacher-aids in classrooms.
Meeting with
MLA Gordon Hanson
We stated to Mr. Hanson the posi-
tion taken by the UBCIC, that we
cannot fully support that Bill, as it is
written, because it does not define
|
local control, which is a priority as
stated by the Aboriginal Rights Posi-
tion Paper and adopted by the
General Assembly of the Chiefs of
B.C. We suggested the use of this
document by all members of his party
when considering issues that concern
Indian Bands in B.C. We further
stated, “All position taken by our
member Bands are consistent with
our Aboriginal Rights Position
Paper.”
INDIAN WORLD 4
Organizations Support Private
Members Bill?
Mr. Hanson said that he has the
support of organizations represent-
ing 300,000 Native people, for the de-
velopment of the Institute. This has
~ been one of support in principle from
the UBCIC office, because of the fact
that we do need Tribal training
facilities and supplies. We need
capital to build a solid foundation for
the development of traditional Ind-
ian language programs in a cultural as
well as an educational sphere. It
would indeed be more a benefit to the
aboriginal peoples of the _ First
Nations if this institute could be
developed on a Tribal basis to build
or develop programs that would be
meaningful to our people’s needs.
Many express the need for the sound
wisdom and direction of our Elders
and the people who work both
directly and indirectly with our lan-
guages. Each Tribal Nation knows
what their specific. needs are in train-
ing teaching and development of
materials necessary for teaching and
learning our language.
By: Glen Williams
Return To The Respect of Our
Ancestors
We are facing many difficulties and
hope that we will beable to develop a
traditional approach to meeting our
expenses for any work to be done
concerning our languages. We pray
that the Provincial and Federal
governments will be able to do some-
thing to see that our sacred languages
will be protected, preserved and
developed in the ways of our People.
We know we face a challenge in the
eighties in the kinds of development
that our languages are going through
for a more positive reality. It is in this
positive sense that we will work to-
gether, to clearly define what it is we
do want for training, development of
materials and whatever kinds of ser-
vices are necessary for the
preservation and enrichment of our
languages. Tribal policies and Indian
laws that cannot be changed must be
enforced to insure that proper way
for our languages to grow in our
Tribal National.
RECOGNIZED
“Uncle Louis”, as well.
SQUAMISH*LANGUAGE TEACHER
Louis Miranda, an 88-year-old Elder of the Squamish
Band, for his work with the Squamish language, was
granted an honorary Doctorate of Law Degree from the
Simon Fraser University, June 6, 1981. He was being
recognized as a dedicated Elder who wants to preserve his
people’s culture for the future.
“Uncle Louis” was one of two men who developed the
Squamish language in the english alphabet form. He
started in 1972 on what is believed to be the only written
Squamish language textbook available. His language
book contains about 1,800 Squamish words.
The principal of the Eslahan Indian School said that
the Squamish language is the only compulsory subject
taught there. The language is taught to Indian children at
the Queen Mary, St. Edmonds and Norgate schools, by
PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE
( 3
Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau and the nine
provincial premiers reached agreement on Thursday,
November 5, 1981 on a ‘‘made in Canada’’ Constitu-
tion but it came without the consent of the Indians of
Canada and the French people of Quebec. The Cana-
dian people must understand that we are a sovereign
people and our Tribes are our Nations. We have never
been defeated and we will not let Pierre Trudeau and
the nine premiers defeat us now. It is shocking to
realize that after all these years, as a country, when the
chips are down it is the Indian people and the
Quebeckers who are brutally ripped off by the majori-
ty. The criticisms that Indian people make is that, even
if the federal and provincial parliaments do serve the
wishes of the great majority of the Canadian people,
they can never fully serve the needs of our people. We
do not doubt that these institutions might serve the
purposes for which they were intended. We are saying
that our own needs can be fully served only through
the development of our own Indian institutions.
The route to be followed to
the Fourth World will be as diverse and varied as our
Indian tribes. Unilateral dependence can never be
ended by a forced assimilation. Real integration can
only be achieved through a voluntary partnership and
a partnership cannot be based on a tenant-landlord
relationship. The way to end the condition of
unilateral dependence and begin the long march to the
Fourth World is through Home Rule. It was the de-
mand for Home Rule and responsible government in
upper and lower Canada that gave rise to an enduring
partnership among the provinces of Canada and bet-
ween the dominion and her mother country. Con-
federation guaranteed local autonomy at least for the
two major powers—the English and the French. The
demand of the Indian people is that we be allowed to
sit at the table with the Prime Minister and the Pro-
vinces as the third political entity where our lives are
being negotiated; where our resources are being carved
up like a pie.
We know that no Canadian government will ever
deal fairly with the Indian people until we can
negotiate from a position of strength. We also know
that Prime Minister Trudeau and the nine premiers
want to assimilate us, but what we want is the kind of
integration based on mutual respect and acceptance of
each other’s values as valid for the other, will only
happen when the Indian people achieve the same stan-
dard of living as that enjoyed by the white Canadians.
Remaining Indian must mean that Indian people gain
control of the economic and social development of our
own communities within a framework of legal and
constitutional guarantees for our land and our
political institutions. Without those guarantees our
people and our institutions remain in a defensive posi-
tion and our only weapon is passive resistance. The
racial myths that were created to justify the seizure of
our land base will only be fully dispelled when we have
received the legal recognition of our aboriginal title to
the lands that remain to us and sufficient grants to
compensate for what is lost so that we can afford to
develop what does remain. Only then will we be able to
demonstrate that there is no conflict between wanting
to live comfortably and wanting to develop within our
own traditional framework. The desire for legal
recognition of our aboriginal and treaty rights has
taken on a religious perspective. But as in most natural
or traditional religions, the spiritual has not been
separated from the material world. Recognition of our
aboriginal rights can and must be the foundation of
our future along with economic and social in-
dependence. It is as much in the long term interest of
the non Indian peoples of Canada, as in our own in-
terest, that we be allowed our birth right rather than
that governments and the multicorporations
perpetuate the conspiracy that renders us the objects
of charity while others enjoy the wealth of our land.
The patriation of the Canadian Constitution could
be the political act which once and for all orders rela-
tionships between the Indian Nations and Canada to
the benefit of both groups, or Canada may be finally
vested with sufficient legal power to effectively prevent
the fulfillment of crown obligations to the Indian Na-
tions. Should the latter occur, the Indian Nations are
at the dawn of total genocide. We propose the forma-
tion of an International Indigenous Trust Council with
the United Nations to oversee future relations between
Indigenous peoples and countries with which they are
associated. The Indian Nations have directed and
authorized the establishment of a Provisional Govern-
ment.
In Love and Brotherhood,
George Manuel
Grand Chief
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs
UP-DATE
The
Nightmare
Could it be? Have I become that
bureaucratic? Things couldn’t be
that bad—or could they? Naw,
these guys didn’t really mean they
were occupying my office. My
space of well worth in the cubby-
hole of life.
I thought I had been loyal to my
employers, you the people. Oh no,
am I giving into assimilation? Am
I just a by-product of the Cana-
dian government? Not me, I’m In-
dian and always will be. I’ll never
be bought off by the Canadian
government because I’m not a pro-
stitute. But, that still doesn’t ex-
plain why these people are here oc-
cupying the little room I call my
office.
That day I was told I had visitors
in my office I didn’t expect it to be
occupiers. They asked me to leave
but didn’t give me any excuse why
I should leave. Beads of sweat
began rolling down my brow. How
was I going to handle this? I didn’t
know.
One of the fellows began to
hand me something. He said,
‘“Here’s twenty dollars now
leave!’’ I still wouldn’t budge.
Could it be I wouldn’t budge
because the twenty dollar bill was
drawn on a blank piece of paper by
pencil. They once again made an
attempt to try and bribe me to
leave by offering me another twen-
ty dollar bill. But, I was smarter
than them I knew phoney money
when I saw it. I knew that the
queen didn’t really have a
mustache.
INDIAN WORLD 6
LETTERS TO THE
EDITOR
Dear Editor:
The news media says, ‘‘Natives could claim
billions, I say, So what! What did you expect to pay
for Canada, some beads? Canada is one of the richest
countries in the world. You knew the day would come
when you would have to make amends for your
skulduggery. We were ousted from our lands, our
homes and our livelihood upset. All this done by pro-
fessed Christian people. The church was in the
forefront saying, ‘‘Do the whiteman no harm he only
wants to live near you peacefully.’’ Utter hypocracy!
In your bible, Exodus 20:5, ‘‘The sins of the fathers
shall be visited upon the children.’’ This means the sins
of the greed for other people’s property are finally be-
ing visited upon the children. You have your chance
now to ‘‘divvy up”’ so this similar dread inheritance is
not passed on to your children. We have been here for
thousands of years. We did not come the route your
history says we did. No one has explained the awesome
petroglyphs of Nazca. Where it is seen clearly only
from the air. That indicates we had contact with outer
space. As we have no treaty with you we still claim the
resources. In a true sense you have no jurisdiction over
us. Your laws should not concern us. The only laws we
should adhere to are moral laws.
Alfred Recalma
EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITY
SCHOOL DISTRICT #32
(HOPE)
Native Indian Support Worker
Handwritten applications will be received for this
postition until 81-12-31.
The successful candidate will:
1. Have some university training
2. Work closely with Learning Assistance teachers
3. Tutor and counsel native pupils
4. Assist in implementing native curriculum
Application with supporting documents should be
mailed to: J.G. Leaman, Superintendent of Schools,
Box 700, Hope, B.C. VOX 1L0.
ONE STEP TOWARDS
INDEPENDANT
INDIAN NATIONS
The Upper Sumas Band is a com-
munity with a dream—a dream to see
all its people working and the com-
munity rid of social assistance.
The Band is a small community at
the foot of the Sumas Mountain, near
Abbotsford, B.C. In the past, many
of the people in the community were
without incomes, other than social
assistance. Then in 1978, the Upper
Sumas Band, Kilgard, saw an oppor-
tunity for the community to become
economically self-sufficient.
A clay manufacturing plant on
Band land shut down because of a
slump in the market. The shutdown
meant a loss of jobs for several Band
members. However, the community
believed that clay products could still
sell well enough to keep the plant in
operation.
Since then, the Band has never
looked back. There was much work
to do and many obstacles to over-
come. The most difficult was financ-
ing. When previous owners abandon-
ed the plant, they literally took
everything they could remove. All
that remained was some heavy equip-
ment, the Beehive kilns and the
buildings. The immediate need was
for money for operations and pay for
the workers. Another problem was
getting a small parcel of land owned
by another company, on which stood
4 of the plant’s 9 kilns. The land was
expropriated for a railway right-of-
way years ago. When the railway shut
down, the land went to private hands,
rather than reverting to the Band.
After sitting idle, the plant equip-
ment was in need of repair. Money to
cover these expenses eventually came
from grants. However, the dollars
were only enough to cover opera-
tions. The plant is still hoping for a
grant to cover capital, which would
allow the plant to repair equipment
and buildings, purchase new and
replace worn out equipment, and
restore the beehive kilns.
Because of present interest rates
and a slow housing market, sales of
products for building have dropped
off sharply. This is now the major
obstacle to the success of the com-
munity’s dream. Sumas Clay Pro-
ducts had made an agreement with
another brick manufacturer to buy
products and in turn market them.
However, sales haven’t been up to
par with forecasts. Therefore, to sup-
plement sales, Sumas Clay Products
is trying to carry out sales directly
from the Band. The company sells
products directly to Bands and Band
members at a price much lower than
the retail price. Although sales are
a problem, they’re picking up.
September was the best month ever,
“and sales seem to be looking up.
The only area in which Sumas Clay
Products doesn’t have any problems
is quality. The brick, especially, is
easily one of the best qualities pro-
duced in North America. Most manu-
facturers use faster kilns to burn their
brick. The old beehive kilns are
slower, but burn at a higher temper-
=
[= l= wre
| ~~ we
ature, leaving harder, longer-lasting
brick. The same is true for the flue
lining (for chimmneys), paving brick
and agricultural drainage tile. Sumas
Clay Products’ items are guaranteed
to last a lifetime.
The agricultural drainage tile is far
better than what some farmers are
turning to—plastic pipe. Plastic is
very thin and can collapse easily. If
there is a flood, it may float to the
surface and away. And, it will
deteriorate in highly alkaline water.
Clay pipe will outlast the farmer.
Although the prices are comparable,
some farmers are turning to plastic
because it can be laid in the ground
faster, not because of the quality.
Before Sumas Clay Products
became a reality, the community of
the Upper Sumas Band, at Kilgard,
saw little brightness in the future. The
gloomy cloud of social assistance
hung low overhead. But, now there is
a reason to look forward. There is
reason for dignity, for pride in the
community. This is the dream.
| ES
|
‘
An Indian owned and operated company,
INDIAN WORLD 7
13th Annual General Assembly
October 28, 29, 30, 1981
At the 13th Annual General
Assembly, it was obvious that the
communities in British Columbia had
experienced discipline and coopera-
tion and power in their ongoing battle
to achieve independence. The
assembly was a working conference
and the strength of the people could
be felt throughout the deliberations.
The spirit of the Concerned Abori-
ginal Women who had boldly taken
over Indian Affairs was on the minds
of the people up to Assembly time but
there was a greater concern to be
dealt with and that was the Patriation
of the Canadian Consitution.
Everything dear to the Indian peo-
ple was on the line and the Leaders
had to make the most difficult deci-
sion in the life-time of fighting for
Aboriginal Rights. It was obvious
after the Supreme Court Decision
that the rights of the Indian people
would not be recognized. With a
heavy heart, George Manuel declared
to the assembly that he was calling on
every ounce of ingenuity we all
possessed to stop Prime Minister
Trudeau from patriating the constitu-
tion without consulting the Indian
’ people.
Louise Mandell reported that the
legal action in Great Britain was
ready to be launched at the same time
that the Indian Constitution Express
was to leave for Europe but that
Our decisions will effect the future of our Indian Nations.
INDIAN WORLD 8
above everything else, the U.B.C.I.C.
had to come up with a million dollars.
Could the Chiefs present at the
assembly come up with money to sup-
port the legal action? Without hesita-
tion, Chiefs got up on behalf of their
people and pledged their share
towards the legal action. By the end
of the day, $45,000 was raised. This
kind of action gave a strong beginn-
ing to the assembly and a strong sup-
port to the Indian Constitution Ex-
press which was prepared to leave for
Europe on November Ist, 1981. This
was the kind of spirit needed by the
Indian Constitution Express which
was going into a foreign land and
everyone looked forward to this
historic voyage by our people. Once
the decision was made to go ahead
with the legal action there was no tur-
ning back:..we would carry this
fight to the end at a cost of time,
money and family needs. ©
After a summer of meeting and
learning and politicizing as many peo-
ple as possible, the Indian Constitu-
tion Express were ready to travel into
the International arena. The power of
the people was seen in the clear direc-
tion they gave to their leaders. The
government could not steer the In-
dian people from their goals despite
their efforts to use the ‘‘Status of In-
dian Women’’ as an issue. The Indian
Constitution Express was made up of
Chiefs, men, women, children and
elders from communities throughout
British Columbia.
Several copies of documents
belonging to the Federal Government
was distributed to the delegates.
These documents showed clearly how
the government planned to assimilate
the Indian people. Any Indian group
talking ‘‘Indian Government’’ was to
be ignored. This is one reason the
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs was so
rudely deprived of its funding and
proved to be a good example of what
would happen to all those bands who
bravely declared their Nationhood.
However, the Indian Nations in
British Columbia recognized the
powers they have and whatever plans
the Government had was of no con-
cern to the Indian Governments.
Their goals far outweighed the
depressing control of the govern-
ments. All the documents was
evidence enough for the Chiefs to
know that they would continue to
hold a hard line against government
policies to assimilate them.
On the second day of the assembly,
the Chiefs gave George Manuel a
standing ovation and bestowed on
him the title of ‘‘Grand Chief’’ of the
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. He had
decided not to run for the office of
President. The two candidates, Chief
Bob Manuel of Neskainlith Band and
Chief Dennis Alphonse of Cowichan
Band, gave presentations on their
positions and their plans as leaders to
the Indian Governments at this dif-
ficult time in the history of
Aboriginal Rights. After a difficult
decision, Chief Bob Manuel was
declared the new President of the
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.
Elections were also held for the
Vice President positions. Chief Saul
Terry was re-elected as Vice President
of the General Interior Region; Ar-
chie Pootlass was re-elected as Vice
President of the Coastal Region;
Chief Clarence Pennier was elec das
Vice President of the Southwestern
Region; and Stanley Stump was
elected as Vice President of the Nor-
thern Region. The Vice Presidents
declared their committment to repre-
sent their regions in the continued
fight for independence of the Indian
people.
Administratively, adoptions of the
minutes of the 12th Annual General
Assembly and the 6th Special General
Assembly were adopted. The Presi-
dent’s Report was adopted and the
Our elders take their traditional role in our Nation as our traditional lawyers.
Financial Report and Audit was ap-
proved. The Chiefs voted on Resolu-
tions for continued work of the
U.B.C.I.C. on their behalf.
The delgates, along with their
relatives and friends shared the first
evening with the Nuhalk Nation
dancers from Bella Coola. The next
evening was devoted to the popular
yearly talent show. On the last even-
ing there was a feast held for the peo-
ple who were leaving on the Constitu-
tion Express and their friends and
family.
Pappas Furs and Indian Traders
specialists in
North American Indian Materials,
Artifacts, Rare Old Collectors Items,
Jewellery, Baskets, Carvings, etc.
WE BUY, SELL, AND TRADE
FREE APPRAISALS
459 Hamilton St. at Victory Square Vancouver, B.C.
V6B 2P9
681-6391
INDIAN WORLD 9
CONCERNED ABORIGINAL
WOMEN RETURN HOME
FROM EUROPE
On October 8, 1981, eight Concerned Aboriginal
Women, (five children plus Frank Rivers and Ron George)
left for England as members of an Advance Team to
prepare for the arrival of the Constitution Express to
Europe. The day we arrived in London, Terry Williams,
Frank Rivers, their children Tamara and Delmar and also
Ron George left immediately for Paris, France. The rest of
us spent one night in London and the next day left for Rot-
terdam, Holland (Netherlands) where we were met by Rod
Jeffries, Lyn Crompton and three members of our support
group from Holland. We were a pretty ragged crew when
we arrived in Holland, suffering from sea sickness, too
much luggage and jetlag. Then Rod informed us that we
‘were to spend the next two nights on the Greenpeace boat.
We really learned to appreciate the hospitality and
warmth of the people that we met throughout the trip
especially when we were so far away from our own people
and our homeland. Understandably, there was a lot of
curiosity and silly questions. Many people were surprised to
learn that Indians still existed in Canada. They were more
than a little shocked to learn about conditions under which
we are forced to live in a land as rich as Canada. There is a
totally different attitude in Europeans. There was not that
underlying guilt, ignorance and disrespect shown to Indians
by Canadians in our own lands.
Spirits were kept high despite our heavy work load.
INDIAN WORLD 10
By Vera Manuel
é dit i
Educating the Europeans about our Indian Nations’ existence.
We spent a week in Rotterdam getting briefed about the
different countries we were to be sent to. Our first speaking
engagement was at the Congress Hall in The Hague. Lorna,
Meagan and Gaye Williams stayed in Holland; Karen
Anderson and Sylvia Woods were sent to Belgium; Dinah
Schooner, my nephew Rainbow and I left for Bonn, Ger-
many. Rod, Judalon, Ron and Lyn were to move from
“country to country helping out wherever they were needed.
When we first arrived in Germany I really began to feel
the weight of the responsibility and the immensity of the
work before us that was felt amongst us all. We were
grateful to our people and honoured by the trust and belief
that they had in our abilities. I felt eternally grateful to my
father for teaching me that I must fight for my people and
to my mother for giving me the tools with which to fight, by
teaching me about the spirits that make an Indian strong.
Every morning before we left the house; Dinah, Rainbow
and I would prepare ourselves. We would burn the sacred
smudge and ask the spirits to give us the strength and
guidance to carry ourselves in a respectful manner that day.
We were constantly reminded that the eyes of the world
were on us. We would ask the spirits to guide our words
and our actions and to always remember that we were
speaking for our people back home. After a victory or an
accomplishment we would remember to take the time to
thank the spirits for helping us. We were discovering
strength that we never even knew we had and our commit-
ment to our people grew stronger in our hearts.
The children gave us comfort and strength. They
were constant reminders of why we were in Europe
fighting. At times, they gave us the added push that
was needed to gain support. One time Rainbow and I
were confronted with a very stern looking man in a
grey suit. I wondered how in the world to convince him
to help us. Rainbow sat down next to him and
throughout my presentation he would make small in-
terruptions. The man asked things like, ‘‘Why don’t
you people want to assimilate into the rest of the Cana-
dian society?’’ I would then talk about how our young
people are suffering today from the bad.influence of
the white society; the suicide rate, the alcoholism, the
drugs, the prisons. While I was talking Rainbow tied a
string around his arm and started to pull his arm
toward him. Pretty soon the man’s eyes softeried and
he was smiling and laughing. Then he was on the
phone making the arrangements for food for 150 pea-
ple for 2 days. In the south of France Delmar was help-
ing his father drum and sing. Tamara was in Paris with
her mother; staying up late, getting up early, hopping
off and on subways. Meagan and Jacqueline were in
Holland. The schedule was not easy for any of these
little ones, but they were learning to be strong. They
were learning about patience, discipline and most of
all they were learning to fight for their people.
When Dinah and I first got to Germany we seemed
to sense a slight underlying feeling of non-confidence
in our abilities because we were women. In some inter-
views we were asking why women were sent instead of
men. We spent a great deal of time explaining the
traditional roles of men and women in Indian society,
emphasizing the deep respect we held for our men, the
confidence and support that was shown to us by our
men and how we are working to bring our own ways
back where men and women work together and there is
no question of one being above the other. We told of
the hardship and changes we have had to endure, the
concern we have for our children, welfare, the
bureaucracy of the Department of Indian Affairs who
control our lives. The weight of our words and the
strength of our conviction could be felt. The effect we
had was strong because we spoke the truth from our
experience and they came to know Trudeau for what
he was.
In Marberg, Germany, Dinah held the audience
spellbound for about an hour and a half relating story
after story about the injustice and the wrong that has
been done to our people and the frustrations we have
to live with. Afterwards, I was approached by two
Canadians, one from Nelson and other from Toronto.
They were shocked and admitted how ignorant they
felt because they did not know what was going on in
their own country.
We were asked what we would do if we didn’t win
this fight and how we expected to win such an impossi-
ble fight. We told of our parents and our grandparents
who fought all their lives so that we would have
something for our children and grandchildren. They
never sold our land and never gave up fighting. We
will never stop fighting and we will teach our children
to fight. For the last 200 years, in spite of all the Cana-
The children gave us comfort and strength.
dian government has done to destroy us, we have sur-
vived.
Sylvia Woods and Dinah Schooner attended the In-
ternational Women’s Day held in Brussels, November
11th. Women. from all the European countries and
South America were present to pledge their solidarity
and present problems faced in their countries. The
women received the Concerned Aboriginal Women’s
statement very enthusiastically.
The ceremonies at Flanders Field will always be a
memorable event. Especially after years and years
hearing and seeing the seeming disrespect of our In-
dian soldiers who fought in the wars. Seeing the brief
flicker of pain in the eyes of our Elder Statemen and
Chiefs, whenever the cemetary was mentioned.
The stories of our men returning home after going
to ‘‘fight’’ for our ‘‘freedom’’ only to return to fences
and signs saying, ‘‘NO HUNTING, NO TRESPASS-
ING, PRIVATE PROPERTY, KEEP OUT.” He
fought and risked the same as everyone else but he lost
more. As the years went by the price went higher. The
loss of self respect, dignity and the memories of a far
away land, where there was dignity and where he was
worth something—soon forgotten.
There was another pain more real, the men were not
‘‘sent’’? away through traditional ways. The Constitu-
tion Express made this a reality. The people of this lit-
tle town of Langemark, understood and respected the
sacrifices made by all these soldiers and our need to
honour our men who rest there. We were received in
such a manner and stood there sharing for the moment
the reality that brought us to this memorial. The irony
of ironies, the loss of lives—for freedom?
On behalf of the Concerned Aboriginal Women we
would like to sincerely thank our people for the oppor-
tunity that they have given us to grow and learn
through the experiences we had in Europe. We would
like to thank the people for the commitment that has
grown strong in our hearts and our experience. This
commitment that tells us we must share our experience
with our people and that we must never stop fighting
for our people.
INDIAN WORLD 11
WHO? ADOLPH TRUDEAU
OR PIERRE HITLER?
Have you ever tried to figure out
something that is totally beyond
figuring out? Well, that is exactly
how our people feel about the Cana-
dian government and the King
Beaver, Trudeau. This feeling is
especially strong during this time of
the big constitutional battle.
Trudeau’s final attempt at going
down in history at anyone’s expense,
especially ours.
Trudeau’s personality is very
similar to Mohammed Ali’s, his in-
tellect is also very similar. He keeps
wanting to get out of the ring and
retire. No sooner is he out of the ring
and he shows up for another match.
This time it is him fighting the whole
of Canada. He is not only fighting
our people but the Canadian citizens
too.
The only reason he keeps jumping
back into the ring is because he wants
to see his name go down in history
books. But, as we all know those
Canadian history books are full of
balogna as far as our people are con-
cerned. That is exactly what he is
feeding the Canadian public. He says
Canada will no longer be a second
class country. But, what he fails to
mention is that this would make our
people foreigners in our own country.
Shouldn’t those leaders have time to
think about their decisions because it
concerns all of Canada and the future
of the citizens of this country called
Canada. It is not a fly-by-night deal
that should be made the way Trudeau
depicts it. This is good for Trudeau
because now he has someone to
blame besides himself. He was able to
try and make himself look like the
good cowboy. He said, ‘‘I guess I will
just have to pass this resolution as it is
now, holding my nose. I would have
rather had the earlier decision than
the latter. But this is what the
premiers have agreed on.”’ But we all
know he got what he wanted, which
was to exclude us and have all the
blame being pointed at the premiers
and not himself. What a smart liberal
minded person.
INDIAN WORLD 12
Once the agreement was made bet-
ween the provinces and the federal
government, Trudeau was so anxious
to get the document signed. He said,
‘‘Let’s get this signed before anyone
has time to change his mind.”’ This
was his response to a decision as im-
portant as the Constitution.
Apparently these decisions don’t
matter anyway because not long after
he announced tha he would move
unilaterally. This meant he was going
to patriate the Constitution with or
without support from the provinces.
If this is his attitude towards his own
people, his blatant attitude towards
us, the first people of this land, is
hardly surprising.
In past history we know that
Trudeau is determined to destroy our
Indian Nations. A good example of
this determination is his 1969 White
Paper Policy. He is so anxious to let
Canada control the vast amount of
resources we hold. He doesn’t care
how he does it as long as it gets done
as quickly as possible. All he is think-
ing about is his retirement and it can’t
come none-too-soon for him.
It is sure good to know that our
leaders and our people are not blind
to his acts of genocide. We are strong
and this is shown by our people who
took the challenge on the Constitu-
tion Express to Europe. It seems the
bigger the challenge, the more power
we seem to get to fight. This struggle
has been going on for over 100 years
now, since the Canadian hicks took
over trying to administer her
mother’s, Britian’s, obligations
toward our people.
THE CONSTITUTION
WHAT DO WE WANT? >
Our position on the Constitution is that Crown
obligations must be fulfilled. The Crown obligations,
in our opinion, are nothing less than:
1. Recognition and_ affirmation of our
ABORIGINAL AND TREATY RIGHTS.
2. Along with an INDIAN CONSENT CLAUSE
that ensures the federal and provincial govern-
ments are required to receive our consent before
any changes, deletions or amendments are made
relating to the Aboriginal Peoples sections in the
constitution.
3. And that the ROYAL PROCLAMATION of
1763 must apply uniformly across Canada.
Anything less than these 3 points is not a fulfillment
of Crown obligations to the Indian Nations in Canada.
It is our contention that neither the federal govern-
ment nor the provincial governments have any right
whatsoever to alter or eliminate Crown obligations to
the First Nations. The only body that can alter Crown
obligations is the British parliament with the CON-
SENT of the Indian Nations.
The Constitution as it exists today in Britain goes
beyond the British North America Act. It includes
such documents as the Royal Proclamation of 1763
and the numerous treaties made across Canada. These
documents along with many others are fundamental
parts of the Constitution. This brings forth the four
parties that make up the constitution today, that is,
before patriation.
The four parties include the Indian Nations, the
British Parliament, the federal government and the
provincial governments. What Prime Minister
Trudeau is proposing to do is to eliminate both the In-
dian Nations and the British Government from the
constitution. In other words, what he wants is to make
himself and the 10 provincial premiers the supreme
power over our lives and the lives of all Canadians.
The British want to dissolve their part in the Cana-
dian Constitution. However, it is clear that all First
Nations across Canada have no desire to disolve our
part in the Canadian Constitution. Our people want to
strengthen our position so that a better balance of
power exists where we can co-exist equally with all
other peoples and governments of Canada. It is for
these reasons that we have taken such a strong stand
on the constitution and are prepared not to com-
promise to anything less than the fulfillment of Crown
obligations to the Indian Nations of Canada.
We have gone so far as to travel into the interna-
tional world community to assert our Nationhood and
ensure that the First Nations of Canada will forever re-
tain our seat in and amongst the family of Nations. We
advised Prime Minister Trudeau through his Foreign
Affairs office in London, that no longer will he repre-
sent our First Nations. We will resume our seat in the
international community and make our own represen-
tations to other nations in the world. It was obvious in
our international mission that other nations in the
world did not know of our existence and the few that
did, had been left with the impression that we lived
under ideal conditions under the Trudeau regime and
that no problems existed in our lives. To the world
Trudeau projects the image of a man concerned with
human rights and filled with good will. We have
prepared a legal case to be presented in the British
court. This has been done because neither the federal
government nor the provincial governments have the
authority or jurisdiction to dissolve our international
relations with the British without the consent of the
British and the First Nations of Canada.
t
We have been lax in not developing that relationship
through strengthening our bonds, however, this does
not suggest that the relationship does not exist. We
have always spoken of ourselves as being nations of
people and what your International Diplomatic Corps
(all those on the Constitution Express) were doing was
to secure and strengthen our relationship with the
British and other nations of the world.
We will continue to fight to ensure Crown obliga-
tions are fulfilled. Before the Constitution is patriated
it must contain the 3 basic clauses. We will continue to
hold our position and fight for their inclusion. The
ways in which we will fight are:
a. Continue the political lobby in Great Britain
b. Present the legal case in Britain
c. Expose Trudeau internationally
d. Continue our home front activities
INDIAN WORLD 13
EDITORIAL
By our rights and natural law our people have been
free to cross the man-made border line between
Canada and the United States freely. This border was
not made by our people, it was drawn by two separate
entities. Whether our people are on the Canadian side
or the American side we have the same philosophies
and values because we are one people. We understand
that the Earth is our Mother. We have never recogniz-
ed this split in our mother.
In the past our grandparents crossed freely back and
home to their homelands in this land called Canada.
nations.
We are always hearing a familiar righteous line,
‘*Well, Iam a taxpayer.’’ If you are a taxpayer, you’re
paying pretty high taxes because those taxes are going
to thieves. Thosetaxes are going to a government that
has stolen our land and our resources. It is not only
white Canadians who are paying taxes, our people are
paying high taxes as well. A lot of our people are in the
work force and those who aren’t pay taxes in day to
day chores like other Canadian consumers. It seems
ridiculous that our people have to pay taxes to a
government that is stealing our land, resources and
right to self government and self determination as a
nation. .
land. We don’t feel that our Mother the Earth should
be bought and sold. That is why our ancestors were so
NN
INDIAN WORLD 14
forth. Our people would go to the United States and
work at some of the lowest labour jobs. They were not
allowed to travel in the passenger section of the train
to get to their work sites. They were only allowed to
travel in the baggage compartment. There they would
work and once the jobs were finished they headed back
All over countries were facing the depression. Our
people were slaving and working hard in the United
States and bringing their earnings back to Canada
where they were spent and circulated into the Cana-
dian economy. This is only one example of our people
building the backbone of this country. At present we
are not recognized by the Canadian government. They
would rather control us as objects than recognize us as
The only tax we are really exempt from are land
taxes. Of course we have never had to buy and sell our
—
generous in sharing this beautiful country with our
visitors. They shared it with the visitors with the
understanding that they would not impose on our
peoples’ lifestyle. This didn’t give the government
jurisdiction over our people.
It is very hard for non-Indians to understand the
unique situation of the Indian Nations. The govern-
ment’s tactics are always to assimilate our people. If
we wanted to assimilate and become something we
aren’t we would have left our homelands a long time
ago. There was no reason for us to leave our
homelands. We have survived here for thousands of
years even with the arrival of this foreign people’s
government and their acts of genocide against our peo-
ple. If we have survived that then surely we are not
about to get slaughtered by Trudeau and his merry
men.
During the occupation of the Regional office of the
Department of Indian Affairs by the Concerned
Aboriginal Women it was said, ‘‘The Canadian
government said that there will be justice in this coun-
try. But we didn’t know they meant JUST US!”’ Our
political ties are with the mother country Britain and
not Canada. The Canadian government was just set
here to administer her mother’s obligations in this
land. The Canadian government doesn’t have legal or
political ties with our people. We have never sur-
rendered our lands or our rights as aboriginal people
to anyone.
|
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The seriousness of the fight
against the patriation of the Cana-
dian Constitution can be seen in
the numbers of people who come
out to participate in demonstra-
tions held around the country.
These demonstrations show that it
is you the people who have the
power to convey our disagreement
with the Constituion package that
is proposed by Trudeau. There is
no greater power than our strength
in our unity. This is exactly what
the government doesn’t want to see
is the strength in numbers,
especially Indian numbers. They
would rather see us continue to
play the little funding and pro-
grams game and keep us fighting
amongst one another for a little
piece of the pie.
This divide and conquer tactic
has got to stop and we as Indian
people have got to see who is the
real Enemy. Our own people are
not the enemy it is the Canadian
government. It is shown in our
people that they are not going to
play the power game; who is the
better leader or who is the better
organization. They are coming and
saying WE ARE ALL INDIAN
PEOPLE AND WANT TO KEEP
OUR INDENTITY AND OUR
SOVEREIGNTY.
First, the strength of our people
showed from the U.B.C.I.C. of-
fice on Hastings Street to the front
of the Tower where the Regional
Office of the Department of In-
dian Affairs is located on Granville
and Georgia. Then it carried on to
the Four Seasons Hotel where a
meeting was being held by the
Social Credit Party. Our people
went there to inform Bennett of
their protest against the patriation
package. And that Bennett should
get out of bed with Trudeau and
start making decisions for himself.
The second march took place the
next day and used the same route
with again approximately 400 In-
dian people joining the march. The
rallying point was at our tradi-
| GROW
The First People of this land
demanding their rights.
tional spot the temporary home of
the Concerned Aboriginal
Women, the DIA office. This time
the demonstration went to the
Hyatt Regency Hotel where there
was a fund raising luncheon and
dinner taking place for the Liberal
Party. The message was brought to
Trudeau of how we opposed his
proposed patriation package of the
Canadian constitution because
they have not included us in their
talks about the future of this coun-
try and our lives. He was also in-
formed that if the Canadian
government does accept this
patriation package and send it off
to Britain without any Indian con-
sent, then the Canadian Govern-
ment has declared war on the In-
dian Nations. Trudeau’s response
was again the usual not knowing
what the Indian people wanted or
what Aboriginal Rights were. Then
to try and ridicule us by saying that
we didn’t even know what our
Aboriginal Rights were. All the
while, conveniently misplacing or
forgetting our Aboriginal Rights
Position Paper which was
INDIAN NATIONS UNITE
presented to him in 1975. His usual
uncaring response and saving face
to the rest of the public response.
While these demonstrations
were taking place there were many
more taking place in different pro-
vinces. Indian people all over the
country coming out in protest of
Trudeau’s proposed patriation
package. Our people’s strength
was building all over and becoming
more powerful. If the first people
of this nation can be so easily ig-
nored then what justice exists in
this world?
When the demonstrations were
held in Vancouver for some
strange reason the Regional Office
of the Department of Indian Af-
fairs shut down and closed for
business early. It was apparent that
as soon as Indian people came
close to the office they felt
threatened. Threatened by the very
people that they are supposed to be
working for. This is evidence that
the federal government is no
longer working in the best interest
of Indian people, as if they ever
have. It no longer serves its pur-
pose if, as soon as Indian people
come close to the office, they shut
down. How can an office shut
down so easily and quickly? Sure-
ly, it must be costing somebody a
lot to give these people uncalled
for holidays. It makes you wonder
about the bureaucrats’ profes-
sional decisions, especially the
head bureaucrat, the Regional
Director of that office. Obviously
someone is going through some
strange head trips. Imagine so-
meone walking around suspicious
of every Indian that comes around,
especially if they are supposed to
be working for Indian people.
The people’s support to the
leadership gives strength to the
leadership and also strenghtens our
actions taken against this govern-
ment which is out to kill our peo-
ple. It looks like 1982 will be one
tough long struggle.
INDIAN WORLD 15
THE SPIRIT OF CANADIAN COMPROMISE
‘‘Another Moon’’
We come, once, in peace,
they destroyed us,
til we were but few,
Brothers, Sisters, it is
another moon now,
We are once again many,
this time, we stand proud,
we'll not bow,
for we are a Great Nation
Now Brothers, Sisters, sing
Sing our songs, as one,
For the Great Spirit, for today.
If need be, Brothers, Sisters,
It is a good day, to die.
Glen W. (Miihko)
Okalla Prison
INDIAN WORLD 16
SECOND CLASS MAIL
REGISTRATION NUMBER 4983
VANCOUVER, B.C.
FROM: UNION OF B.C. Indian Chiefs
440 West Hastings St.,
Vancouver, B.C. V6B ILI
Part of Indian World - volume 4, number 4 (December Issue, 1981)