UBCIC News - volume 2, number 5 [August 1979]

1.06-01.03 UBCIC News

1.06.-01 Newsletters and bulletins sub-series

August 1979

2

5

1.06-01.03-03.07

48

Beth Cuthand, Pauline Douglas, Violet Birdstone, eah George, Audrey Dudaward, Ken Michel, Christina Joseph, George Manuel, Darrel Ned, Carmel Nanamaboo,Royalee Tizya, Anfinn Siwallace, Dinah Schooner, Violet Birdstone, John Rogers, Debbie Boggan, Gene Joseph, Louise Mandell, Linda Jordan, Della Wilson, Val Dudoward, Darryl Watts, and Bobby Manuel.

Editorial 2
Table of Contents 3
Howachaht Pollution By-Law hearings 4
President's Message5
The Lillooet Decision 8
What Does it Mean 8
Fisheries React 10
Conservation and Management: By-Law Alternatives 12
Up-Date 13
Fraud, Negligence and Breach of TrusT :
Musqueam Band Sues Queen 14

John George Diefenbaker 17
Constitutional Talks 17
Do Hunting and Mining Mix? Inuit Say No18
Treaty Hunting Rights Tested 19
Chipping Away at Hunting Rights 19
Fishing Cases: Last Month in Court 20
Pennask Lake Fish-In 22
Elders Gather at Saanich 23
Stony Creek 24
The Year of the Child at Morley 26
Eddie Peters' Inquest Shows Lack of Compassion 27
CMHC On-Reserve Housing Rip-off 28
Resource Centre 30
In My Grandmother's House 31
Education 32
Mount Currie: Timber Lease and Right of Way 33
Chiefs' Council 34
Band Farm Plans 36
Tsimshian Food Gathering 38
Kincolith: A Northern Reserve 40
The Community News 42
Help Wanted 44
Indian Expressions 46
Politics by Firelight 47

 MOWACHAHT POLLUTION BY-LAW HEARING THE LILLOOET DECISION EDDY PETERS’ INQUEST AND SUMMER INDIAN GATHERINGS. ONE DOLLAR  EDITORIAL We live with anger and frustration. Like brown eyes and brown skin, they have been passed down to us from our grandfathers, our fathers to ourselves. And we are passing our anger to our children. Ever since we were colonized, our rights ignored, our human worth attacked, our religions maligned, we have been angry. As long as we are prisoners in our own land, as long as our lives are ruled from the out- side, the anger grows and festers and explodes; not against the people deserving of it but inward against ourselves. We live with violence. Husbands beat wives, sons beat fathers, Alcoholism, suicide, child neglect, assault, rape and murder: these are our legacy, our gift from the and mothers their daughters. colonizers. When my brother protested to my aunt that our cousin was beating his wife, she replied ‘‘But that’s the way it is. All the women get beaten.’’ Acceptance. We have lived with violence for so long we forget that it isn’t our way of life. Recently I was privileged to witness the most positive and effective use of anger that I have ever seen. It was nearing the end of the Mowachat Band’s public hearing (see page 4). Throughout the long day, Band members went to the mike to speak of the destruction of their land. They spoke more of grief that their once plentiful and beautiful land had been destroyed. Their anger was tightly controlled. Then Len Mark came to the mike. This young man was angry and every muscle in his body was tensed to strike. His eyes glinted and sparked. He was a fear- some warrior fighting for life. He directed his frustra- tion and anger at the Tahsis Co. and the government. Every word was a shout which echoes through the hall. His whole body trembled with rage. As I studied the faces of the mowachat-Muchalat people I knew that he was venting the collective anger of the whole Band. The people were behind him. The impact of his anger was like a collective catharsis, a group cleansing for Band members and observers alike. The anger that had been so tightly controlled throughout the day was being released through one man, His testimony finished, Len Mark aplogized. Mr. Mark, you needn’t have apologized. You let go of your anger and directed it at the people who deserved it. For this you are to be commended. The Editor N UBCIC NEWS 2 OUR COVER: During the berry picking season, Theresa Schooner of the Bella Coola Band likes to go to Tallheo Cannery for berries. Just before this shot was taken she told the photographer, ‘‘Stop taking pic- tures and help me eat the huckleberries. There’s lots!’*  'UBCIC NEWS Editor: Beth Cuthand Summer Editor: Violet Birdstone Typesetting: Penny Goldsmith Written Contributions: Leah George, Audrey Dudaward, Ken Michel, Christina Joseph, George Manuel, Darrel Ned, Carmel Nanamahoo, Rosalee Tizya, Anfinn Siwallace, Dinah Schooner, Violet Birdstone, John Rogers, Debbie Hoggan, Gene Joseph, Louise Mandell, Linda Jordan, Della Wilson, Val Dudoward, Darryl Watts, and Bobby Manuel. Photographs: UBCIC staff where not credited. The UBCIC NEWS is the official voice of te 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. Assistant Editor: Pauline Douglas TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial Table of Contents Howachaht Pollution By-Law hearings President’s Message. .. . . The Lillooet Decision . What Does it Mean ... sa Pi SHePMCC CCA ea trae osteis plage tk + es Conservation and Manageme: y-Law Alternatives . NBA So ete onan Se SEEM sl tin cia 13 Fraud, Negligence and Breach of Trust: Musqueam Band Sues Queen..................+5 14 John George Diefenbaker. . . Constitutional Talks . . . Do Hunting and Mining Mix? Inuit Say No . Treaty Hunting Rights Tested .... Chipping Away at Hunting Rights. Fishing Cases: Last Month in Court .. . NS Pennask Lake Fish-In .... Elders Gather at Saanich. . MIOHDVCTOCK c cileew ccs cee The Year of the Child at Morley .. es Eddie Peters’ Inquest Shows Lack of Compassion uae CMHC On-Reserve Housing Rip-off ..... 28 Resource Centre -30 In My Grandmother’s House . aot Education . nee oe Mount Currie: Timber Lease and Right of Way ...... 33 Chiefs’ Council ... Band Farm Plans. . Tsimshian Food Gathering. . . Kincolith: A Northern Reserve The Community News Help Wanted Indian Expressions Politics by Firelight . . UBCIC NEWS 3  " e July 14, the Mowachat Band held a public hearing on their proposed pollution by-law. Commissioners for the hearing Left to right: Jack Johnson, councillor, Chief Councillor Mary John, Morris McLean, councillor, Brian Amos, Councillor, Hereditary Chief Ambrose Maquinna. MOWACHAHT POLLUTION BY-LAW HEARING The Mowachaht Band near GoldRiver on Vancouver Island held a public hearing about its proposed pollution by-law. The Band hearing and the by-law are the first of their kind in Canada. The precedent- setting move was a result of fifteen years of mis-treatment and broken agreements. It isan example of how industry and government conspire to destroy the Environment and ignore the health costs of Industrial develop- ment to people. The hearing was held UBCIC NEWS 4 in the Band Hall across the road from the Tahsis Company pulp mill which is the object of the Band’s discontent. Representatives of the Pollution Control Board, the Department of Indian Affairs, National Health and Welfare and the B.C. Medical Associ- ation and the Pulp and Paper Workers of Canada, the Union repre- senting the workers in the mill, attended the hearing. The Tahsis Company Officials were invited but did not attend the one- day hearing. The hearing was organized by the Band to allow all sides to express their opinion of the controversial by-law. Throughout the day the stars of the hearing were the Mowachaht people. It was their chance to go on the record and they responded with powerful testimony. The large ma- jority of the people who spoke never talked to more than 4 or 5 people at one time but their frustration and an- ger over the destruction of their land and the daily effect of pollution over- (continued page 6)  PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs will have been in existence for ten years on November 17th, 1979. As you will recall, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs was formed by the Chiefs of B.C. for basically two reasons: ©To oppose “The White Paper Policy’? (Federal Liberal Government Policy) which was meant to exterminate Indian people in Canada through assimila- ting us into the larger Canadian society. This was supposed to be done through transferring the authority for Indian people from the Federal Government to the Provincial Government. This would mean that our hereditary rights to our Indian reserve lands and unique status would have been eliminated. Fortunately, though, our Chiefs and Indian leaders during that time, saw through this Federal Government scheme and had the wisdom to pull together and begin to organize against this effort of the Government. © The second and equally important reason why the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs was established by our Chiefs was to develop an Aboriginal Rights and Land Claims position for Indian people in British Columbia. Since then, your organization has done much work to fulfill this mandate. We have utilized many approaches. Not all were fruitful, nonetheless though, all has been focussed on achieving the objective of our Chiefs. The work done has involved extensive research and consul- tation with our people through workshops, meetings, conferences and various Indian gatherings. As a result, in 1975, a Declaration was adopted which basically declared B.C. as Indian land and that our Aboriginal Rights were non-extinguishable. As a result, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs has been able to develop an Aboriginal Rights Position Paper that both fits within the framework of the Declaration and addresses the Land Claims question in British Columbia. The Aboriginal Rights Position Paper that has been developed through your Chiefs’ organization is based on: ¢ Recognition that Indian people are the Original People of this land. Recognition that we are self-determined people. ¢ The expansion of our Indian reserve land base. ¢ That adequate amounts of natural resources be made available to Indian people on a continuing basis and in sufficient quantities. © Recognition of Band Councils having complete authority. All these areas are regarded as being essential to our survival and the development of our Indian cultural heritage. The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs Indian Government Portfolio has, during two assemblies, presented and received endorsement in principle for the Aboriginal Rights Position Paper. On both these occasions our Chiefs expressed the desire to have time to analyse it more carefully with continuous discussions taking place at the Band level. At this next Chiefs conference in October, we have to be prepared to go into final debate for endorse- ment of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs Aboriginal Rights Position Paper. Yours in recognition of Indian Government | UBCIC NEWS 5  (from page 4) came their fear. Ambrose Maquinna, grandson of Maquinna, and Hereditary Chief: “We have seen our deer, our fish de- cline. We have seen our native Indian lands being ruined. We have seen our Indian vegetation, medicine and roots, disappear. We are experiencing severe pollution which is of great damage to our people especially to our children. We are tired of living in this situation. “This was a real peaceful place to live. . . .This is where we used to make our living all the way up Muchalat Lake, all the way up Nimpkish Valley. We never used white man’s traps. We used snares for mink, marten, otter, deer, hare, elk. Now today what have we? Our food is unsafe.”” Jerry Jack, Heriditary Chief, Able John, Sam Johnson. Then the elders spoke, tracing the history of the Mowachaht people. They remembered the days of inde- pendence as proud fishermen living at Friendly Cove and the mouth of the Gold River, They told of their parti- cipation in the commercial fishery as early as 1911; by 1946 there were about 30 boats used by Band mem- bets, from J.H. Todd Company. UBCIC NEWS 6 Able John speaking in his own lan- guage eloquently related the people’s history and the forces which led to their move from Friendly Cove. The J.H. Todd Company went bankrupt in the mid-sixties and the boats were either sold or destroyed. At the same time the people were forced to send their children to residential school. The Tahsis Co. entered a 75 year lease negotiated by DIA with minimum in- put by the Band in 1963 at the Gold River Reserve. With anger the old man said, “Look at what they’ve done to us.’” All these factors led them to leave Friendly Cove and live in Gold River. The Tahsis Company agreed to give preferential hiring to the Band as well as free electricity. Neither promises were kept. Morris McLean “We didn’t even know this was to come—to our physical health. We thought it was all money. Sure it’s all money to the Tahsis Company. . . .I wish our ancestors were here with us. If they only knew what the pollution has done. Let’s join together and fight.” Dr. Bob Woollard, chairman of the Environmental Health Committee of the B.C. Medical Association sup- ported the band’s move. “One thing we in white society have not learned yet, is the sense of humil- ity in front of nature that North American indigenous cultures in gen- eral have learned. We have always stumbled along thinking that we could find a solution to any problem that might arise because of a particu- lar development. It has now become apparent to anyone that there are health costs associated with the kinds of industrial development. We’re go- ing to have to search them out be- cause they are not obvious.”’ Time and time again Band members repeated two sentences, “I am angry’’ and ‘‘I remember’’. Louis Howard—‘‘A lot of the moun- tains around here are balding be- cause of the fallout. And that’s real- ly depressing. If you look closely you see a lot of the trees are dying. That makes me angry. I would think the Tahsis Company would be stepping up on their pollution controls. The trees are dying and if any one thing dies in the environment, the whole environment goes. All the trees will be gone in one hundred years if we don’t start doing something about it now.”” Concern for their children and their children’s children was very evident throughout all the testimony given at the by-law hearing. Band members repeatedly stated that the pollution that they live with leaves them afraid that their lives will be shortened. Verna Jack—‘‘Are my children going to be able to see their grandchildren? I’ve often wondered if our children are going to be able to live a long life, if we continue with what we put up with here in Gold River. We’ve had a lot of problems. It was one of the teachers up at the townsite who brought it to chief & council: why are our children always sleepy in school. Could it possibly be from the constant noise of the pulp mill that we put up with 24 hours a day?’’  Connie Mark, a young girl, accompanied by her friend, Evelyn Sabie. ‘When kids go swimming they get sores, sometimes the water’s polluted and kids don’t like that. When kids are coming up, some- times we don’t see where we’re going. The pollution has been around here for a long time. The sawdust gets in our eyes. Kids get an infection in their eyes because of the sawdust. I don’t really like what’s going on because of the pollution. I know kids don’t like it that much.” Teenage boys, not yet fathers, related over and over their memories of the fish and how plentiful they were, and how the fish had been destroyed by pollution. Connie Mark supported by her friend Evelyn Sabie spoke on behalf af the kids, who get sores when they swim in the polluted waters. Augie Johnson—main fisherman for the Band. ‘I’ve been fishing here 9 years. When I first got here the fish looked real nice but now—they don’t look as good. When I used to get fish with burns on them, they were fresh. They were still bleeding. They looked like acid- burns. I guess that stuff that’s floating around in the water, I guess it’s slowly making its way around. If the kids happen to jump in the water one day they’re going to end up like these fish that are all burnt.”” Ronnie Johnson—‘‘It really hurts me to see these kids swim, to see them get infected by the pollution that is caused by the mill. To see the old people get rashes especially when the women wash clothes and hang them out. I think we should do something about it now before it gets worse.” Jerry Jack, hereditary chief of the Mowachat band, put the struggle in perspective: ‘We are attacking a cor- poration which the third largest cor- poration in the world. The East Asiatic Co. They’re making all kinds of profits in New York and Denmark from our homeland and they’re leaving us nothing but dirt. We may be attacking a giant but we can beat them.”” ee Sa a ee Benny Jack kept watch over the fish while fellow band members spoke out in JSavour of the pollution by-law. (continued page 16) UBCIC NEWS 7  By nine in the morning of August 2, 1979, there were about 30 people standing outside the Lillooet court. These Indian people were waiting to hear one of the most important court decisions for Indians in recent history. There were Indians from up and down the Fraser River. As they stood outside they discussed how they thought the decision would go. Although there was some anxiety, most present were optimistic. When Bradley Bob got to the court house he was met with an enthusiastic greeting. After all, he had become a famous man over the past year. Soon before 9:30 a.m., the people began shuffling into the court room. Now the mood was more tense. The time had come. Once the court room seats were filled, the Sherrif attemp- ted to stop anyone else from entering. No one is allowed to stand in a court while it is in session. However, he gave up as people refused to listen. The people were of every age, young and old. A couple of children ran around the court and ended up playing in the witness stand. How- ever, Judge Diebolt didn’t say anything at the slightly higher level of noise. Once the Judge began stating his decision, the excitement grew. But the problem then arose that the only UBCIC NEWS8 to understand jargon were the judge and the lawyers. The rest of the people were persons the legal baffled. The only thing anyone caught was the part of the decision when the Judge said he found Bradley Bob guilty. The decision didn’t take long. After about a half hour it was all over. Leaving the court, the mood of the people was totally different to what it was while they were going in. The people were angry. The Judge had found Bradley technically guilty, but gave him an absolute discharge. That wasn’t enough, people said. They would appeal the decision, Once everyone was outside, UBCIC lawyer Louise Mandell explained to some that the decision was pretty good. So everyone sat in a circle on the court house grass and Louise sat in the middle, explaining what the decision really meant. Once again the mood of the people changed. As the heat of the day became greater, it was decided that there should be a meeting immediately to discuss what Indian people should do next. So, the group broke up and decided to meet at the Thunderbird hall at Lillooet reserve. The meeting broke up with the decision that the UBCIC Fishing Portfolio must get moving fast to figure out what the next move should be. ° “WHAT With the end of the Bradley Bob court case the question which Indian people are asking is how does this decision affect fishing at this parti- cular point in time. It’s a question where the answer is very difficult because the court didn’t really address itself to that question. In the Bolt decision in the State of Washington, the court did say what the decision meant. What Judge Dicbolt did was he found the legal right just as it happened in the Bolt decision. Then, he never went on to say what that right meant. He said that in general the Fisheries Act would apply so long as it is for conservation purposes but he never said how that right affects Indian Fisheries or whether or not it gives Indian people, as it did in the Bolt decision, some kind of preferred allo- cation of the fishing resource. In order to answer the question of what Indian people may do with the newly confirmed right is to choose from among alternatives. Indian people can clarify the point legally which. would mean appealing the decision and trying to get some better clarification of higher courts or possibly by taking another case to court in the future, for example, a by-law had been passed and argue the full blown case of the relationship between Indian management and the Fisheries. The greatest value in appealing a case of this kind would be to support political action developed by the Bands which asserts Indian people’s right to control, manage and conserve the fishing resource. Merely to go to court without a political objective and rely on the court’s interpretation of the meaning of the right would be to turn our backs on our experience with the courts in the past, where, in general, Indian people’s fishing rights have been denied.  DOES IT MEAN?’ Indian people can clarify the point politically. Together the bands can work to develop a comprehensive mangement scheme for managing the fisheries which protects the fish and protects Indian fishing. Included in the scheme may be avenues for Bands to pass by-laws managing the fisheries on their reserves. The scheme may include the drafting up of demands to make to Fisheries to force changes in fishing policy and changes in the laws. Whichever way B.C. Indians decide to go it would a hollow victory if “Indian people didn’t assert the right either in terms of their own fishing or in terms of directing the politicians or the lawyers to do something because Department of Fisheries will want to act as if the right has not been recognized. The only ones who are going to push the question are the Indian people. So, it’s going to be a question of picking up at the next stage of the struggle and moving on with it. As far as moving legally goes, the Union and the Bands have to decide whether to appeal or not. If the case is appealed, the Union has a choice of appealing to the county court or to Supreme court. If it goes to the Supreme court what can happen is that a portion of the case may be questioned. For example, what can be said is that, given that the Judge found that Indians have the exclusive right to fish, was he correct to say that the exclusive right didn’t allow Indian people to exert their own control of the fish over the Fisheries. The Union could state that case and the court would have to answer the questions presented. However, it that’s the way it went then the Crown could cross appeal with their question. That question could probably be ‘‘was the court right in finding that Indian people have an exclusive right to fish at all.”” Generally, if we challenge the manage- ment question, it seems quite certain that Fisheries will challenge the right. The other way to go is to County Court. That’s a much larger appeal in that all the transcripts, all the evidence, the whole trial goes up to the next level. The advantage of County Court is that the Judge who hears the question doesn’t hear a question as an isolated point of law. He has to sit down and review all of the transcripts to see how that point of law arose and in what context. If by Louise Mandell the Indian people go by way of the Supreme court, the transcripts don’t go up at all. Therefore, the different levels of court hear only the evidence as a legal argument. There are two questions which are still in mind, One is how far can Band Councils go in regulating their fish by way of by-laws. The other is what rights do Indian people have to keep the Fisheries Act from affecting their lives. On the first question the road is Bradley Bob and Louise Mandell pose after the decision with the Spoilt year old fish and barbecue stick. Bradley sends a letter to all the people who supported him. “J, Bradley Bob, would like to thank all the people who came to the court hearing and the handing down of the decision. Thanks to the elders for their evidence, the womenfolk and the Chiefs, George Manuel and Barbara Lane. I would especially like to thank Louise Mandell, Stuart Rush and all their fellow workers who did an excellent job. I would like to thank the people for their support, the ones who came from near and far. 1 met a lot of nice people through- out the year: thank you very much. I will remember this for the rest of my life.”” UBCIC NEWS 9  FISHERIES REACT After a bold raid by the Federal Fisheries and the RCMP, four Foun- tain Band members and one member of the Mt. Currie Band were arrested Aug. 17 with fishing charges. Victor Adolph Jr., Ronny Adolph and Billy Boy Adolph were charged with fishing during a closure. Jim Bob and Roger Adolph were charged with fishing during a closure and with obstructing a Peace Officer in his duty. At about 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 17, three Fisheries officers approached Roger Adolph who then asked for their identification, They refused to show any identification but went on. to ask Roger for his. He also refused, saying he wouldn’t give them information without Fountain Band Chief Victor Adolph Snr. present. At that time the Fisheries officer confis- cated Roger’s dip net. By six in the evening, the men had finished fishing. No one was fishing after six on the Fountain Band fishing grounds. However, there were still about 20 Indian people at the river. There were nine men, nine women and two children. Meanwhile there (continued from page 9) open to pass fishing by-laws. Where an exclusive right of fish exists, there is a property right attached to the reserves. This means that the fish that pass through the reserve waters are owned by the Band. So, as it is now, Indian people whose reserves have an exclusive right to fish granted, own the fish that pass through the reserve and the Fisheries are there merely to manage the resource. They are managing it for Indian people. Before this case the Fisheries would say to Indians, “‘you’ve got a privilege to fish, it’s not your right, you’ve got no more right to fish than anybody else. We grant Indians special days to fish and that’s by our good grace, so we can cut you off once in a while.” Now that Fisheries can only regulate as far as conservation goes there are some things that may change. They are now no longer able to say that Indians have no special rights. There’s not really any apparent conservation reason for Indian fisher- men to cut off the nose and dorsal fins or to get a fishing permit. With Band by-laws these practices may be eliminated. Whether an exclusive right to fish exists, Bands can still pass by-laws. The major shortcoming with the Band by-laws is the by-laws cannot touch on the issue of allocation of the catch in terms of the overall manage- ment question. A by-law can control the fishing on reserve waters. Bands who work together can extend the reaches of a Band by-law but basically the quesiton of how much escapement goes up the River must be handled at a larger political level than through by-laws. A by-law can bring out in the open what assertions are being made by Indian people. In this regard it is important that Bands pass by-laws to control reserve water fishing. But it is also equally important that the Bands A meeting in the Thunderbird Hall to discuss the next move. UBCIC NEWS 10 ee do it in a way which coordinates with each other so there isn’t a lot of by-laws doing different things on the same river. One way by-laws may be especially useful is by making use of the ‘whereas’ clauses at the beginning of each. Anything may be. put in these sections. Therefore they may be used to state politically the Band’s views on fishing. These are then passed by the Federal Government and in a sense incorporated into the law of the land. Last year at this time, Indian people were saying ‘‘We have a right to fish!’’ This year the courts have recognized that right. Indian people can now go on to the next step of protecting and conserving their fish for the future. It is an exciting time fishing.  were Fisheries officers across the river watching the Indians with telescopic equipment. At about eight in the evening the raid began. About 30 Fisheries and RCMP took part in it. The Fisheries quickly attacked the fishing grounds with a helicopter, a boat and by foot. The RCMP waited above the area, on the road. When the officers got to the shore of the river they grabbed Billy Boy Adolph by the jacket neck to get a fish from him. One officer yanked it from his hand without first asking if he would give it up. As a result of the action, Billy Boy got blood poisoning in one of his fingers. At the same time another officer was going to take a fish from a 14 year old boy. Again without asking for the fish, the officer twisted the boy’s arm around his back and took the fish. One ofthe Elders, Maggie Adolph, Roger and William Adolph, two of the Fountain Band members who were arrested during the raid. wad J Sao Scene of Fisheries raid on members of Fountain Band fishing on August 24th. was involved in a discussion with one of the Fisheries officers and another Band member heard the officer tell her to ‘‘Fuck off’’. Mary Louise Williams, Maggie’s niece said, ‘‘I don’t think that anyone has a reason to swear at an old woman like that. She was upset after that. As several officers ran down the hill towards the shore, they met up with two men carrying about 100 dried fish. The officers then began pushing and shoving the Indians around. Once they found out that the fish weren’t freshly caught they again headed towards the river. “They didn’t ask first,”’ said Mary Williams. ‘‘They just started pushing them around. It’s really steep and you have a hard time if you have a big pack on your back.”’ Once the five men were arrested, they were put in a helicopter and taken to the top of the hill where RCMP cars were waiting. The men still hadn’t been told what they were arrested for. One witness said that he overheard an RCMP asking what they would be charged with. The Fisheries officer replied that they didn’t know yet. Before being pushed into the heli- copter, the men were handcuffed. They said that by the time they were in the air their hands were numb. Not only was the helicopter over- crowded, but when it was high over the ground the door opened. This could easily have resulted in a death. The men were then brought to the police station in Lillooet and put in holding cells. When Roger refused to give out any information, a constable threatened to charge him with with- holding information. During that day, the Indian people at the river noticed a black truck on the road across the river. When they got to the Police station the truck pulled up be- hind him and an officer got out carry- ing an exposed high powered rifle. Finally the men were released at three in the morning after a Justice of the Peace arrived. Although the Fisheries officers read the men their rights and man-handled them, the Indian men were not told what they were charged with. e UBCIC NEWS 11  CONSERVATION BY-LAW MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES With the end of the Bradley Bob case and the confirmation of our reserve right to fish, the next step appears to be the drawing up of Band by-laws which would strengthen our position in these regards. The by-laws would determine what Indian people will do with the newly confirmed right. In Kamloops on August 11 there was a meeting held at which several Chiefs from that area looked over the Upper Nicola Valley and by-law and discussed other aspects of the right which will have to be reckoned with, Det “Members of the Upper Nicola Indian Band shall be permitted to engage in fishing upon Upper Nicola Band waters at any time and by any means except by the use of explosive materials, projectiles, shells’’, reads the by-law. The by-law also defined several terms such as, fishing, Fishery Officer, Fishery, and Upper Nicola Indian Band waters. One of the concerns voiced by several of the Chiefs is pollution which affects the fishing and spawning grounds. With our new rights guaranteed, concerned Chiefs from the Interior got together at Kamloops to discuss strategy for the future During the informal meeting the Chiefs spoke on what was important to their Bands as far as fishing goes. But the major topic was a by-law. There was a general approval of the Upper Nicola Band by-law. One aspect which was especially liked by the Chiefs was naming the fish in Indian, English and scientific lan- guages in the by-law. The Upper Nicola Band by-law deals with such issues as, who may fish on the Band water, what type of fishing gear may be used, pollution affecting fish and fishing, and enforcement of the by-law. UBCIC NEWS 12 As far as enforcement of the by-law goes, the Upper Nicola Band said they will appoint their own fisheries officer to monitor the fishing. Should anyone break the rules of the by-law, the officer will report that person to the Fisheries. The Chiefs decided that their first priority would be to draw up their own by-law. This by-law would be along the same line as that drawn up by the Upper Nicola Band. “From my point of view, what we've got to do now is lay out our priorities. and what we’ve done is decide that our number one priority is to get a by-law going. And what the next priority probably is, is to get the regulations going pertaining to the by-law of the reserves,’’ said Bridge River Band Chief Saul Terry, adding, “Enforcement is also very impor- tant,”’ Mary Leonard, Chief of the Kamloops Band spoke for all Chiefs: “I think the main issue here is conser- vation. That’s the big issue.’” “think what we’re hitting at here is something more than conserva- tion,”’ said Chief Saul Terry. “‘It’s preventative actions, preventing the thing from coming to the point where you have to close it down. To me that’s conservation.” “If you put conservation in the by-law, anybody who goes against the by-law goes against conservation. That’s a very important part of it,’’ added Lillooet Chief Mike Leech. Selling fish has been an issue for years. This was a topic the Chiefs thought should be handled very carefully. However, they agreed that Indians should be allowed to sell their fish. “We have the right to fish, we should have the right to cure that fish and sell it,’’ said Lytton Chief Nathan Spinks. ‘‘The white people smoke fish and where did they learn it from? They learned it from the Native People. They could sell it. Why couldn’t we? My grandfather learned three languages just doing this.’” The Chiefs decided that one move they plan to make is to hire someone to monitor the Fraser River. Thi person would make sure no one is breaking the by-laws set up by the Bands. He or she would also monitor the Federal Fisheries and the Wildlife branch to be sure they’re staying within the laws of the Band by-law. Saul Terry is optimistic that funds may be found to hire sucha person. *  UP-DATE DRAM SEIS IER Tammany Warkdiegs ‘The Unmas of B.C. lade Chichi of prepared io oordect: workshops on ihe baa: arising cer of thy Urns Mining Inquires. Woelihops souk) indie informe on the aparacion of arariien mines: Sazards inecdved ba Wwasien sising: what Baad have bom identified a Pementialty affected Sy erapiven piping; ape WCCO: rode in che Inquiry. We are abso atterepting t© aequerc 1 shide shore from the U%., where Indiv pace hase tena dqgeifantly ad sometimes dewaecngly affected by unaam Wortihops toes aleeady beet planed for fe (Mlewrthh: “Thnaenagaaaa ial Alin aco Agy other umarened Bands shouk conan Swephen Aas! oe Boh Boge at the Unon effi. FSAI (CASES Cie sai UF Aahoredt, September bi—decision on Herman Thorn at Langics. Sepucmber 11 - Sas) Willara—tpad for egal lating, at Heopee. Sepumber 1%#—Rod Cooper thom Anaham. continuation Of trial at Williams Labo. DEADLY GAS LEAR AT BLUEBERRY ‘The Bleeberry Baad mnembersare anskneity awaiting the after a pear gas well leaked a large choad of bedrogen aul Ghiake creer ther village oot Duly 14, 1979. AA few wees eer, Marional Heakh and Welfare were peomasdled bo acd up belies air monitoring ayo far oe meek. Band Comedie Eakbo Apsassin ail Nie wife were hired te check. and change the iubes ket moniiorad the Most poisseces gan, Hydrogen sulphide, Hosever, they wore aot sepplicd with enoegh ocauring lubes aed sen Fan 201, #0: het avon voring has been -felaped. Th welll was re-opened bai waa dood dows agen shortly afeerwurds. The people are will wilfering from che ailfects of tha poiscnem go. Ce ceeriy man and fixe children see in haapiral ane) parents report thar all che sfuldren are copecially afflecond. The Band members are ll camping away from the village while ey reewrcit anal (hint aberel [heer options. ‘The decidons they Gave oo eake ore far-reaching: from reivcuting tke whede vllage la serving an injurstioe Gail and gas companies ton chosw all the ells armand che re- serve. Rasuhs Gromn the experts whe examierd che people for homg-tern: are shert-lerm direege from: both the chrosic aad major leak ane espeqed doriag the lax weak of August. LATE FLASHE The Bcberry Council ail be serving am injenction againat chy Kidonan are! Woods Compenics ota dren the wells Chat are hanniig Ger commons. CO HAN TRADEM ARE The Coen Secaicr ban Acthentic Indian Proc, kenen work! wide Several aoe ehine companies have hoon capiializing on tke prodect and its repuiaiion. ie May of this wear a group of kniess, weavers aad the? Sintered people came ingeiher te dims ihis increasing problem, Since thee lime seneral anectings hace beet held iitadiag onc on Aoguad 16, 197) at che Loken © Sa alemdol by Harry Addison, Prosiscial Bgpreanties of Comune aad Corporare AMfairt, Wes Madestc, Mucge Oeerg: ar Howard Camphell, err fabd High Commisthone for Tradenae ls in Mew Zealand. Mr. ‘Campbell informed the group abowt Mesgial Led... oMte tele cnpany which ben been ening ihe mare ‘Cowichan flor some time now, Mir, Canvgbell has been in GGuh *nk the Cami High Commivioner and bas wld for che refuel of che propaend New Zealared! Titeimck 314. asthe before ccgnireaton, The company vould like 16 int the Hae Coeichan on eeeabers they produce an being the authentic product. Phe proup feck ihe i in mifemigemicht i he pane aed frontece of che Cowichan people, Uf thr company reflaaca to comiove ihe name an a oui as he grep Prepared no go no cour, The company may argo tha Cewichan Seater canal be biaglil if foreign ounce dod thes showhd be atte 10 ese they race and denige of che: quiberms product. The LCKC bid Good Fidiliag ah The Comkhan poopie 0 gaiher Information on the history of tha wna. LATE FLASHE Yarn Bam Hiddings. he coanpariy Una ene the nqgiacerod trade mor “OOWICHAN™ in acer ‘wlling (he lmilation Cowichan genre il a beat al the PALE. La Aes  FRAUD, NEGLIGENCE AND BREACH SUES THE QUEEN Several years age, 8 cE acting irk shirted by the Mingueaa poopie aque the Deparcnear of incom Altair. The actaon cosiccriend i lease that bed bem conrad into berwerm Chee DALAL ot behal oof the Miqucat Hand, unl a Wanooeer Cif Cioo. The Eaaad clair that the DLA wan negli gern ged fromdolerc ond breached LEU fa a bag Ui ese. The ell che thet dura: ther nepotbrtions Ue DLA agers dake aboot ose aot of chrgee for tha lowers which the peopke ig@eed to, bat Ghee lee gat dawnup aed sgaed with » comple- eas ea eres oe economic devlopment coukl be pombe on the land af it ean’! ied Up aa 8 galt course. IMA S413 THEY ARE SOT LEGALLY BEAPOMIELE FoR THER ACTIONS: What dees the Department of Indian Affairs baveoo aay oben thea? The Department, through their fare- Bers. in hele defence howe pleaded thet if therein a trust relation chad bom been Greached, then than crest is a Phe Band pays the OYA eas framcavent. negiigedt eed beeacted fel Penn Ee claret i Ear hemo: for Mamie Bane livid tea godt efub. fefp different st of close, Whort ie hand bed agreed no seat mor, im Pact, sea eri in the firad kemer. Ain a reed: of char, the Deparmmesr cere ino a Ieait @hich dos moi poy the Hand ‘ery qrech money are! om terms ‘which, the Band my, they aceer ageead to Au beta 0 ct Sin: etl andl the Mand claims damage. They pe dking Ube court bo demand thon the umowt of money which could hase been picided! from ibe laad and sabich could bee phaieded on the Purare If be hired! coaikl be pail io ik utiliry, Thr Baad « cafling » comtar al cipets bo dhe ahal Hinds af LOM AG A 9 POLITICAL AND LEGAL TRUST: THERES A Darren ree ft im mot m iegel treet, anguex tha Deparinenl, al Uerelere 2 cancel (ee cowkeeed ip the courts. They op hac if chee Cntian peogke den") bite ere the trot bas been haralied, then hey ea ee goer, Bol thar is cur gals courses of action. teforein a cam iwihving one of the “British Empire Colonics where the coicrazed commiry bart their Lapad completely pelleted by mening ard deviopre whee fo wos cetied bp the Britis. The Absrigiaal poopie took than miner ne ger, wai ng “Sa OF TRUST:MUSQUEAM .- ageromen! we made bere wilh he Greab was darwin tras.” The eouree feuded Were was a political irast aed aid hare was areding the corarm creakd! che abcraia , Thhae iss het ie: DAL fae insiracted He Justin bere to arpa br this caine: than Ubeie is fo peer Sythe courts. Thin is going io be their fit aepemnent chan will be browght po he sour om September 1th. Tr sadinage. the OS fas pleaaked char Hf there waa 2 breach of imi, ihe Baad cance sie bee, socording ta the Sigiutc of Larnietoes, ibe Taad should bavey qiepd by AL Bar Ge Baad didn't soca copy af the lea or gumrander Sa fiere |370, G14 CLAIMS THAT THE (CAVERSMENT AGENTS WHE ENTERED INTO THE LEASE HAD Ma ME 1 Baap THE CAG Another argument which DLA i Taking: wineries than if there war a here cxiered min, tee A feo id rapy bare they aummtacerity tes bard! rhe comm cc i. Basecally they are chorrang rat relations mits which untermtically makes the Coren re spible fer action taken by rqgoaal DLA agen. They aay chan theses DA agents operared pretty machon their cer. Slashing this urge ent, they are ia etfeet, Imviring the cours to camocd che boiee fe some anys than arguriene is a good one for the Mingucam poopie becaesc. if Chere wae ne gantherity to bind rhe Crown then the beac thoakdl be end Te segrms that the Goverment wood prefer oo cod the leuee in thi reine Taher than having ae mbtionhip decierad, where they arc bekl legal reperaitle poche Indian pecquip. THE MFLICATIONS— CHAE APT AY BSN IF thee cetarts fad te DMA, bet legal Pmpnaiiiiies, (hem ee cam To ‘sho: number of actions all over Lhe (Province where OLA. bas behaved! ino  ay which beri bert Indian = People ond where ike Ag: oe tecy faa been af fan fe gives sine to damages where- ewer Indian (people bearer affered eases as a resuh of bel DLA debi, DY ever there waa a proper uae of the word “flocedigade’ this ks eI", cold a member of cur Legal Tiik Fore. 1 the coerce find the rdatienaig bervecn ube Indian people in the print whese they break any rela. Phe Haare! fate Danan eg ft cant Fait ara dee pat Wd cae do ie Cee Gumkip wih BLA if de 9 9° September Mint, These chidreo were barely walring [en ‘EIEN is Lol aoe. ——— able: io the doer cori, the: cen my mo be ween polices! oofibilicy by Indian pepe Higsrevet, Hf ue cote flecks thant there waa mo lama, an che Kade het to bind che Coan, thee this could Hand, and where the Band or onthe Baty bo: Ube ease may ehh the keine to Corrinne. Ay wiy joe look af fH, it aero thant thare ie going 1 he shufTiieg aot a result of the decaian. Giver nd Doig River Marks [ow WCC MEWS Yol. 1, Mo. 7) law year, The force eoried cour aol guia the Croan for the LA'S omamanagemecst of the Barris’ affairs. ‘Originally Ubey bad boon part of tha Port ft. foe Mand who bad digned Tesacy 6 entitling thom ta here fii, bh acres of their toned in thes ori . Fob aren. Then il aad gaa were discovered iv ibe area. The Depari- oar of Veteran Alfianrd beapai bo flock covivesiy af che Banc rich mgei- quiural linds aed approached wie LA, bo get this bored for wor vererace, The DLA negetiaied on behalf of cae Band: he Bark! ated og div kied inng two mnalicr Bash. sith tree onal Parods of land povalling eat Lhe cae third of their orignal reserve, oad with mao mndneeral rights. Tht devils are different, but the facts are paraiiel. io the mnthcain, ihe peOpe diy Chal DLA agen care in ddl obereed dhe peop tin one cr of ection which seas. eee: folly exphicned ane which operated againe dhe Mand™y imeens, The Munyaeam people are lease, The difference berecen che Giec is thet Blocberry and Doig Eevee people have ibe relationship defited Ea thea Tocaty. MLS RAM COURT CASE STARTS SEPTEMBER The Derig!Hheeberry cos in peo cooding diel: ihe coun plednga heres bewn [iked; che research to tthe faa Beet completed: aad oe Lhe Fore Si. Boba peoghe ara inearwiewing their Elder to pater ceidcnce. IL a eg proces. Ih has taken the Musqosam people fowr andl a ball poaci fromm che time they fins iapved the writ agziamt the DLA ih el ae coe ~The Mique casa carts on Sepiember ith at the Poferal Coan, George Saree, Vancouver, It wall be a jong use, lailiihy Ihtough to Oeeter Hah. LOCeD Saas id  fram page T) “Bask in 19, GGA sold oat my people. Jack Hobnan, Supe of DA amd 3.¥, Gigges wae Indian Com- miascner —scilig back and forth ro aach coher, We have thee records. duck Hoke made op o phooey weming (a of orp peepiic uaytng thot we rpendicped 3 eee oo Taha Co, by a peterencdon Ghat mever book plese. Today che DLA i polling oe they connot fied the referendum. Ther can't find & becom & omecr took place....We sever ene bo saerender this lod we Gave Gere to Take Co. Wie herve i lente with Lhe mpeg up 1 mpeak laie in the aernoce, © won ther firwt time that she had) ever dpoken in pablke, She nommed. Gar beck to the crowd anal idee be a plete af bee aacewor pained on a muralon the wall, “ll womder hore long er re poing: 19 lies! To book at the ray oy poopie: are dulicring beceat of the palladon, | myif wa wey fortunaiz to have my giariparenc. ‘abo woght me mp ceo iede language. They maight me bow oo fap, bow ip hued, bore io fish, bere Gen amnadie Tih, leo bo peeserve Mah, "Today | inck at ary deughic. | have a 17 pear of) daughoer, Whar cue uke soe body? She: fea) cu perieiced ehae | were throagh, | was wm fortomaie. ‘Whi barks ibe ieared i that Doda | came beach ory daughowr bow te dry fish become fk is id oot Cat Mere rare Sickie Heeerd—") wed fo doo bt od Tubing down ao the river myselt red bia beard) bo eee Leon dee, Wc eed to thee om Mah ad deer ancl wan") hegppening 8 ua io really deeiriying: we becuse we have to depmd on “The mame, A bot of kice aoc heer have car treble. | have a ee of Gieces and nephews thar are Dios that ial Ueery Ghee be gh te Ue cipal, no pet Uteeir eae. Timed. | wreaked bike oo hase: Keele Gen 0 den’) eae bo have any anedl this thong @ sect. If oo SM Gar Lh bo pe ep, ew he im the right moee."* LOCH SEW bo Amory Ge Band 9 wpperncri Preare at cha rating ware a cemtar of iadian people from: other parts of tha peredince, [oh Bradley from (Lilkeoet, Les Eciesonds, Torumy Bacal from the Damspane Mand, Hugh Wa fren Port Albers and Amory Gabriel from Prnicion afl pledged hee mppON, Gen perdead depp betke Band and peorresed io go back nothel reapemed areas and lobby for Pon cpp. The hewring lased ane oO ax aight. Gre af the last ipebers wai ‘Chet Mary Pobasos. Sire pares a very fe ooeningop othe day's seuimonies and applrwded for their verge for speaking oui. As the tpole cea were figwing Goan bor Refleved ang aagay mar rhe Avarimg went well, wecied! Chigy Mery Jake ferry dock—thanited ibe people, ihe coy. ond ihe fihermgs, “Thani, fou fer your sepport. Hf there's aog- thing we ihe Mirwachot pacply cam do to help cut, we would Ghee knoe. The bearing & all cover Table Co. sever shorwed ap. | dos’ keow whont they're scared of, ar if chap jue dos't gic a damm They've had Gunce io creme ond coy what ihey feel [seas cally soe sembly from the Corpasy sould ba bere in ime Oo cur com plained aout wha (they're dog co ue fot nore of ihern had the dines bo be here oo fee io our people. Tak bg corpersticon, this salt milion dollar onipeeralaan, Fou can sec where their beads are Mos. fevyp ded geod’ eit Selo doe! eres Coane, Benlra ond Hoar, face, yet ber eoice never wavered, “There ape really no words io ep evfial it's Eiee be live here. You hawe to really lies bere to uaderend oe Poople' cer, Gpehily Suh ser chikénm, They bores no chomce ful bo vim down Where. There) ao many things. We ial soul cur bearing. We earl af sake & ee, we heres a gay “fo, * we ber io repel Lh. “The Mig cornaikiis are Wiking full control and power from ihe gore- ene. Wha happciilig Me Be perecemeni? They re net coecermead aise the poops, They're aaly cea: come about technology. They‘ cele comeered atcet the aliggals della. “Ge mow we're going in eng, Ad Mischa: Mughal people, bea‘h beady give bt all we we geet Today che Tabah gompany seer to Ibe qpaite worried) aberat fhe bone’ mores, Marp Bohmson negearis thet tht Gay afer ike pollution hearing try were getting calls from the marched pecgle im cgerd eho seendered if che band would blockade the road or do SEeThing Fo soo Ihe fmctioning of Us mill, ood ihren = hee Kevelitimd, Het it is tot thee ‘berms’ Bisnis to poi chew people oat of werk. It is thir MeBtioes be pedicel their kandi protect ihe bali of che bis, 10 De able bo ace Ghee praca Gilden. For ther grandchildren in: Ive ng see their ger :hildees, fe  CONSTITUTIONAL TALKS: INDIAN “PARTICIPATION PROMISED by Boden? Wane ste Jar H, 0979, the beadicrs of the Inefian, exe-serres, Moria ane! Train (people were uremed to participa: in the Conuinaioaad dicesiien. | think chin hom a good teal of mgrificance in har the public #0 view che Indian pecgiic na better light By taking this me dd chig b precede. che ‘Comsereaires Ccacrmment i purty the Forme? poset! bi an awkward pamition, ond any other evcraiiedd hel ones lo perwer ih tthe fucure in going oo bores a difficult ite: GEviigg fo poet a fen the dicumaion: table Lt ia a etd thot seer, by and large, to howe been set by the Comernsiivea during Dicfenbaloor's fae, Many will recall (hen he eas the ame who inilisied ihe action thai tended the ve 10 ihe Indian people witheai cer baring f gee up cur Tectia sana. Previcws no thar, ander She Liberal Qeverameni, ihr only way at Indian peop could have the Sight fo vote wan whee Indian peop became “cisiliged™™ encegh so Func Goa Eke wit-lidiag poopk md aniranchise, The Consersarier Gow eramerdt, ander Diclenbaler, made a major mores by saying that the Indian people don't have bo give up inp of Sauk oberiging! rights oa Indian (Poteac Gb ean the fight to vome. | dee kind of paralal with this mows that ies have made i greg India people a war at the Cosmtuticnal dittesiioni. MOE TH CSS TTT TE TALES THAN SECTION 90 119 Beng @ ocnorky govemmeni, ibe Cara Gaeniment 2] prob ably heer oo porwr the comatiiviticrel charges i a peatletig way. Tn be mor ikely thet any of the coostiutional nee Sill be alkene pos be de tardies Miramear, thy inereuing fant li ten of the comatiodtional discuomdons that we have to realize fo, & thet we den only here iin ante im vera of Section 39 (7a) of he By Porth Agicrica Acct ihe makes ihe Federal Cicaermmen re- apomake fer “Indiaas aad lands omarved for Intians"’, Obviously thar 3 ine Peay than ee are very conceracd gout Hat cboold be cwtzined be the Comerica, Ell Gist edie pe tee Lhe ae oof neural rewenns, wicilife furagencdni, iimber, war refis, foheres ancl thingy like chat: theme Hlgs OTe i al WE at py 1 ‘want to Se partes co decumiom in these artis, The Comsereatiece have ned opelicd cut ehetker they ea us no be parties to the dintesiions ia theme ether areas, cr jest m ier of Sethe 9) (4). BAe aay meubing fel RParticpaiion in the Conuitution! talkey gold have bo lmchide all aee miter arcax. For my ores of the Conmituaam that affece: Iran mac pie. we will ware ce be here. SO FURTHER DETAR On TALKS The emghaiis at the momeant with dhe Proc of ibe different Prov mes is with the economy aad anilaiion. Mo mention has bem made of dams for the man of the ‘Comsiiiutcned talks, nor haer we hae any further danas af the scope of the file, ket alene any indication of het par ‘ae will fore in the daciion- making peotte. Che pition i ihe nem fi wach and gee Aller ger peat conlceence in Cxnober. ae all be in a mech bern Rimi io cot cur painitien in Briiah Colombia. ff ic our inention kis tee lo ify aod pet i final adngiion of cla Aborigizal Rights Position Pager. Test ill give aa Ube dherctio io take in tern of amy com ut onal GameonAa, = GBC NEw RTE  DO HUNTING AND MINING MIX? INUIT SAY NO. In mid May, 1979, the injunction hearing involving the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, the Baker Lake Hamlet Council, the community Hunters and Trappers Associa- tion and 113 individual Inuit hunters, met with the federal government and six Canadian and foreign owned mining companies. The meeting was in Baker Lake, an Inuit community about 200 miles south of the Arctic ~ Circle. Over the past ten years, mining and prospecting activities have been conducted in this area for uranium. The federal Government put a temporary freeze on industrial development in part of the Keewatin district north of Manitoba in 1977. The freeze was extended with a temporary injunction in 1978 and now the Inuit are trying for a permanent injunction blocking the gov- ernment from issuing ex- ploration mining permits and the companies from — exploring in an area of 100,000 square kilometers. The Inuit feel that low fly- ing planes and other activi- ties of the mining companies will disturb the caribou in their traditional migration routes, moving further into the bush and making it difficult for the Inuit to hunt. For years the Inuit have followed the tracks of the caribou as a way of life and only until 1958 did they settle in the area of Baker Lake. Today, many of the Inuit hold jobs and community responsibilities but caribou hunting is as much a prt of their lives as it was a hundred years ago. Evidence for the first segment of the trial was presented by the Inuit in their langauge, Inuktitut, which was translated by an interpreter for the court. The personal accounts and history of Inuit hunters were also presented as evidence. Through this the Inuits were trying to establish the fact that they have occupied Canada’s North ° for hundreds if not thousands of years. The Inuit also marked on a map the areas in which they have hunted throughout their lifetime. The trial is a major test case because the Inuit are trying to establish in law the rights of Northern Natives to hunt and fish undisturbed by the prospecting of uranium mining companies. UBCIC NEWS 18 The technical aspects and final arguments for the trial ‘resumed in Toronto from the 8th to the 13th of August. The question of whether Inuit hold aboriginal title to the land was the major argument throughout. Justice Patrick Mahoney listened to the arguments presented by both sides during the four days. The federal government argued that land rights never existed and added that even if they did they were signed away by an English King 300 years ago, based on English and French Colonial Policies. The lawyers also claimed that Inuits have no land rights because they ‘‘have no concepts that are remotely akin to property concepts. . . people just roamed around and used the land for hunting.”’ The six mining compan- ies claimed that Inuit of the North West Territories have no aboriginal right to pro- tect their hunting and fish- ing grounds from uranium exploration. They asked Mr. Justice Patrick for a clear ruling against aborigi- nal rights, saying that with anything less ‘‘an extremely serious ambiguity would arise.’’ They also told the judge that any ruling which re- stricts federal powers in the north would not only affect mining but could interfere with such other activities as the construction of defence radar sites. ‘““We’re here to protect our rights’’ he said, adding that Ottawa and the mining companies “‘have never denied the Inuit the right of access to hunt and fish over these lands. You can hunt and fish—and you can mine.’ On the last day of argument, August 13, 1979, mining company lawyers charged that the Inuit moved into the region after the signing of the Hudson Company Charter, and therefore have no aboriginal title to the land. Before rights can be asserted there must be a community, a tribe or a nation to assert a right. Aubrey Golden, the lawyer representing the Inuit people suggested industrialized society has a real problem understanding the Inuit way of life. ‘‘How do we approach the question of deciding what they have to show so they can say to us they have the right to remain and not be dispossessed?’’ he said. Judgement has been reserved. .  TREATY HUNTING RIGHTS TESTED In June 1977, Joe Bartleman and Doug August went hunting for deer. Today they are still awaiting the verdict of a court case which arose from that hunting trip. Joe Bartleman was charged with hunting with a .22 calibre rifle and Doug August with hunting without a permit, The case was originally set for two days, but has since run to be about five days stretched over the pat two years. . The case is now at the point where the defence has made their final submission and is waiting for those of the prosecutor. Then, the defence will respond to those and the Judge will make his decision. The final decision is not expected before November. Since the beginning of the case there have been two babies born and one is on the way. Joe and Doug each have a new child and their UBCIC lawyer is expecting. Joe’s defence was that he is a descendent of the people who signed a Treaty which allows him to hunt and fish as formerly, Doug was defended on the grounds that he is a relative to Joe. According to tradi- tional ways, this allows him to hunt and fish on the grounds of another tribe. Doug was also defended on the grounds that his descendents were also given the right to hunt and fish as formerly. However, this was given by way of letters between various levels of government. ‘Although this wasn’t a signed document, those assurances were there and they should receive the protection of the Indian Act which exempted Indians from provincial law where there is a treaty,’ said their lawyer. The major issue brought up in this case was the meaning of the phrase, “‘the unoccupied land’”’ and whether it means only that the land ceded or also any other unoccupied land. The evidence was that it is unoccupied when there is no farming or habita- tion on the land. If the Judge goes with the definition that it is only the ceded land, then the decision would be very narrow. The men lost one deer to confisca- tion and if they win the case, compen- sation will be sought. e UBCIC NEWS 19  LAST MONTH IN COURT July 31 to August 3 was the week of fishing court cases for Indian people. In four days there were six cases. It was during that week that the Legal Task Force lost their first case. However, we also saw an extremely important case come to an end. July 31. Chief Ralp Peters The case of Chief Ralph Peters of the Peters Indian Band once again brought up the issue of confiscated fish. 135 fish were confiscated from Chief Peters. To date, none have been returned and he has not gotten compensation for them. The only reason the Fisheries have any right to take the fish is to use them as evidence for a court case. However, the UBCIC lawyer says she has not yet seen any fish used in an Indian food fishing case. Therefore, there appears to be no reason why the Fisheries should take the fish, let alone keep them for the length of time they do. Indians have been told time and again by the Fisheries that their main purpose for existence is the conser- vation of the fish stocks. Allowing 135 fish to freeze burn is not an efficient way to promote conserva- tion. On july 8, 1978, Chief Peters, his wife and several of their grand- children were stopped by the RCMP and Federal Fisheries. It was at night and the children were frightened. However, the officers took quite a while before speaking to the Peters. “You'd think we were criminals or something by the way. they acted,’’ said Mrs. Peters. They surrounded the car with four cars. Then they sat around for an hour talking before they attended to us.”’ Once the officers approached the car, they checked it and found the 135 fish. The couple had cut off the heads and cleaned the fish. However, they didn’t cut off the dorsal fins. Although cleaning the fish easily shows that they didn’t plan to sell them, the officers persisted in charg- ing Chief Peters with failure to legally mark the fish. Chief Peters went to court three times hoping to see justice. The last time was on July 31 in Hope. At that time Louise Mandell asked the prosecutor to drop the charges. He “You'd think we were criminals or something, the way Fisheries acted”, said Mrs. Peters. UBCIC NEWS 20 BY Darrell Ned refused. It, wasn’t until about one week later that she got word the charges were dropped. So, after a year Chief Peters saw some justice. However, his fish are probably spoilt after more than one year in the Fisheries freezer, As far as Chief Peters is concerned he lost the case in the end. Edna Ned’s case was discharged because she had not intended to break the law. July 31,1979 Matsqui Edna Ned Edna Ned of Sumas Band was charged in September of 1978 with illegally disposing of fish, trans- porting fish across a commercial boundary and possession of salmon where salmon was illegal. The case came to trial in April, when the charges of disposing of fish was dropped. On that day Edna told the court why she had crossed the boundry line. She did so to bring the fish to the Matsqui Band where she was to have to fish smoked. On the way she stayed at her grandchildren’s house. Other witnesses also took the stand to back up her story. Edna told the court that she thought it was alright to cross the boundry line if she was just going from her fishing site to another reserve.  Although the evidence was heard on that day, the legal argument was put off until August 1. Judge Kelly of the Matsqui court decided that Edna did commit the offences she was charged with. However, she was given an absolute discharge. He did this because he realized she didn’t know that she’d committed. any offences. It doesn’t do the court any good to sentence someone who didn’t mean to break the law. He also said he let her off because she is a very respected member of the community. The only problem left from the case is the confiscated fish There were about 80 of them. Because Edna technically lost the case, she cannot get her fish back. Suly 31, 1979 Matsqui Herbert Silver Herbert Silver of Sumas Band was in Matsqui Court at the same time as Edna Ned. His case didn’t go as well though. In October of 1978 Herbert was asked by a relative to give him a ride to his net to check it. Herbert gave the man a ride and was on his way home when he was stopped for speeding. The police checked the car and found six fish. Herbert was charged with possession of unmarked fish. The reason they weren’t marked was because the men thought they had a knife at the river. However, they didn’t. Although the fish weren’t his at all, Herb was convicted and received a $25 fine. This was the UBCIC’s first acutal loss this year. August 1, 1979 Bernard Hewitt Ashcroft Bernard Hewitt from the Cook’s Ferry Band, was charged with possession of fish in October of 1978. His case came before the court on August | in Ashcroft. After a confusing court case, Judge Diebolt found Bernard guilty of the charge. However, he was given an absolute discharge. Therefore, he has no record and was not fined. August 2, 1979 Lillooet Bradley Bob The final decision for the Bradley Bob case was heard after going through the courts for more than one year. See page August 3, 1979 Doreen Bonneau Matsqui Doreen Bonneau is an Indian who wanted to learn the traditional ways of her people, and for it she was Doreen Bonneau and her father Jimmy Peters wait for her decision. Doreen’s anger Is still alive today. argument was that the process of cutting off the nose and dorsal fins is discriminatory against Indian people because it treats Indians differently than white people in the same situation. There is no law that says white people must mutilate their fish to indicate ownership. The court didn’t answer any of the arguments. Judge Kelly found her technically guilty of the charges. I I — a charged for failure to legally mark her fish and illegally transporting fish. Last summer, Doreen was learning to fish from her father. Not only was she learning traditional fishing ways, she was also learning the rules of the Fisheries. Her father was teaching her both. However, her father didn’t know that they weren’t allowed to bring fish to relatives. Besides, he never cut off the nose and dorsal fins because he eats the nose. Doreen was stopped last summer for speeding. The officer checked her car and found fish. She was unhappy with the way she was treated by the officers. She said they held her for a long time before releasing her. In court Doreen explained that neither she nor her father knew the law she had broken, Her other However, she was really let off with an absolute discharge. But for Doreen Bonneau, the anger is still there. ° Indian Government Fishing Portfolio Raffle Buckskin Jacket, size 42.44 Valve: $200.00, 2nd Prieé; Plague of Sasquatch holding and seeking towsalmon Value: $190.00 tnt Prize: 3rd Prize: Gili Certificate, Silver Jewelry by Harold Hood. Drew held October 18, 1979. ‘8111 General Assembly at 2075 Socan St. 151.00 per toket Licence No, 29782 Support your Indian Government fishing portfolio by selling or buying raffle tickets. Bands inter- ested, please contact Herman Thomas at 684-0231 local 23, or write 440 West Hastings Vancou- ver. Thank you for your support. UBCIC NEWS 21  PENNASK LAKE FISH-IN: A QUIET REMINDER by Ken Michel ° The Pennask Lake Fish-In is an annual event and is regarded as a celebration of the on-coming spring and summer. Winters in the Nicola Valley, in the time of our fore- fathers, were extremely harsh and often accompanied by famine. The annual springtime trek to Pennask in those times was viewed as the end of winter and the beginning of summer. Men would go ahead of the people and break a trail through the snow and make preparations for camping along the way. Nevertheless many people died along the path to UBCIC NEWS 22 Pennask, victims of starvation or cold. Many of our Elders vividly recall the days of McKenna-McBride when they were granted the right to hold on to their food fishing and hunting rights. With the increase of sport-fishing the consequent tourist attraction and all the tourist dollars, Indian food fishing rights are being impinged upon. In this regard the fish-in is a quiet [auDTA Woy :o}o4d reminder of the importance of the fish to the people of the valley. Pennask Lake is extremely well suited toward this end. In addition to the Indian history surrounding Pen- nask, it is also the site of a world famous rainbow trout hatchery. The lake itself is literally teeming with fish and there is thus no possibility of the Indians wrecking any drastic ecolo- gical damage. With the Fish-in in its third year it is becoming a well established occa- sion. Many people look forward to the time when they can camp out, sing songs, catch fish, tell stories and to quietly remind the world that the Indian people of this valley view their fishing rights seriously enough to preserve them. -  The Third Annual Elders Gathering held in Saanich on Tsartlip Reserve, August 18th and 19th, was attended by people of all ages coming from many nations. One by one, elders rose to speak, each reflecting the demise of elders, expressing the same thought in many different words: the lack of respect shown to and felt by elders. They talked about how our value system changed with the imposition of whiteman’s education and culture, and how this was beginning a break in the strict discipline practised by our people. It marked the beginning of ridiculing the beliefs of elders and left in its wake generations of confused people. This is what affects our young people now. Deep down they really know where it’s at, but lack the spiritual strength and direction, many choosing suicide as the easy way out. This was further expressed by another elder saying—‘‘How can we expect the young people to respect us, when they cannot respect themselves, and until they do. . . .”” The loss of respect was blamed very much on the loss of language. The irony of the sit- uation was expressed in the thoughts of another elder—‘‘Why? Oh! Why do they (whites) want to learn our language, when they were the ones who took it away?”’ A local elder told in a matter of fact voice of an incident when he had tried to correct one young man who just out-right told him where to go. Another visiting youth stood up for the elder, almost causing a fight. Much later, the same elder, with sc much emotion, said he really fea. that the gathering would not happen, that there would be no support; but as he looked up and saw before him, all the young people, students, young men, women, young elders who parti- cipated, his facial expression said it all. A young man expressed his feeling about elders as:‘‘Awe.’’ He only re- cently discovered how ‘smart’ they really were. His attitude to attending a meeting of elders had been that he only went because he felt sorry for them and that they were just old. Now his head was spinning from a new awareness at ‘‘how knowledge- able they are’’, with love, respect, joy and humility. A tradition that was developed by Stalo Nation with the first Annual Elders Gathering is the Passing of the Totem Pole which will ensure that the Elders will always have a place to gather once a year; and the hosts will in a ceremony pass it to future hosts, The future hosts that received the totem were from Nooksack and Lummi, in Washington. Other events that happened were canoe races, tours of the Tsawout, Tseycum, Pauquachin and Cowichan reserves in Duncan, and of the provincial museum. Ceremonial dances were performed by Chief Hummingbird and his Sun Dancers, Henry Smith’s Welcome Dancers, Abel Joe’s Dance Group (Indian Opera) Tzinquaw. Every event and the words spoken made for a very strong gathering. ° UBCIC NEWS 23  FIRST The Stoney Creek Bana July 20. Spike driving a races were well attende hosted the nightly dancin UBCIC NEWS 24  ANNUAL held its first gathering on the weekend of id wood sawing contests as weil as canoe 1 and Stoney Creek’s own dance group 2. A good time was had by ail. UBCIC NEWS 25  R OF THE CHILD A few weeks ago, on July 28, the Burrard Indian Daycare went to Morley Indian Reserve in Alberta. It was the Ecumenical Conference cele- brating the Year of the Child. In all there were forty-one participating in the trip. There were three adult super- visors, seven girl student counsellors plus three boy counsellors and, of course, the children. It took nineteen hours to get there by train. With all those children, it wasn’t a picnic. We arrived in Banff on Sunday morning, having left Saturday after- noon. We waited for the bus and our luggage as we were excited about finally being in Alberta. In forty-five minutes we were lost, but soon were back on the right track to our final destination—the Morley Reserve. No fanfare greeted us, only the fact that we didn’t have a tipi to stay in. Then we found a small tipi which could sleep ten. So ten people stayed in it, crowded with all the assorted luggage. By nightfall the rest of us were placed into tipis with extra room. Lucky for us the people were friendly. The grounds where the conference was taking place were sacred. We had to understand that they were doing things from days gone by, things we were not used to. As they say: You learn something new every day. The first few days were not very good as there was nothing for our kids to do. But always looking on the bright side we found something. For UBCIC NEWS 26 D8 littler kids, it was my stories; for the older it was horse-back riding. Then we rented a van and went to a near-by lake, Our children were in better spirits and the horse lovers were in heaven. Came Wednesday night and a Pow-Wow, all our children dis- covered hidden talent for Indian Dancing and enjoyed it. Our own dance troupe: ‘‘Children of the Shining Moon” sans our leader, nervously performed our ‘‘Swan Dance’’, which was heartily app- lauded. We attended a mass especially for g $ 3 ay 5 : Z 28035 Yur] o1oyd the children. There were numerous Elders who all spoke. Then they gave all the children an individual blessing. Each child agreed that it was quite an experience. As there were many people, the meals were cafeteria style: first come, first serve. Plus volunteer help, for which we volunteered. Our help was happily welcomed. We met many different native people. People from Alberta, the NWT, Montana, BC, virtually people from everywhere. It was interesting to see all the other tribes come together to celebrate the Year of the Child. For us, the children represent our chance for tomorrow. Seeing all the laughing innocent happy children, I know we have a great chance. We left on Thursday August 2. Even though we said we’d be happy to leave, I was kind of sad. Sitting on the train we realized, in spite of low points, that we learned a lot and had fun while doing it. And we would gladly do it again. Arriving home in Vancouver, we missed the Morley Indian Reserve. Looking at all the smiling happy faces in the pictures we realized just how much fun we had. From these pictures we knew we had fun but we had to leave to realize it. I would gladly go on another trip such as this. Maybe back to Morley, we miss it! ¢  EDDIE PETERS’ INQUEST: _ ______ LACK OF COMPASSION Eddie Peters was in his late thirties and he lived in Mission; he was a member of the Seabird Island Band. Eddie had a pretty serious drinking problem but he was very well liked by the people in the area; he used to go over often to the shopping centre in One morning last April, about noon, the people saw him standing outside the delicatessen. Then he fell back on his head, with nothing to break his fall. His mother was at the Barber’s and they rushed out imme- diately. He was unconscious and eventually the police were called. The policemen and barber tried to put him in the back of the police car but they had a lot of trouble moving him. So then the ambulance was called and one driver arrived, without a stret- cher. Mr. Peters was placed in the side door of the ambulance rather than in the back. He was just put on the floor and taken to hospital. The doctor assumed that he did not have a family doctor and that he was an indigent, gave him stitches in the back of his head and sent him still uncon- scious, to the police to the jail. Mr. Peters died there a half hour later. At the June inquest, the doctor did not come with medical records and he was asked to go and fetch them. During the break it was discovered that one of the jurors was related to an RCMP member. One particular section of the Coroners Act says that if a person dies within a penal insti- tution and an issue is raised as to the propriety of the actions of that insti- tution, then no member of the insti- tution will sit on the jury. The wife was not a member of the RCMP but it seemed clear to the Coroner and to everybody else that this was doubtful. After a call to the Chief Coroner in Victoria, it was decided that the inquest should be postponed to August 20th. The UBCIC lawyer requested that two Indian people be summoned to appear on the jury. On August 20th, there were seventeen people on the jury, inclu- ding two Indian jurors. More or less the same evidence was presented initially about the unconscious man going to the hospital. The evidence of the doctor, however, was that he was sleeping, but arousable, that he seemed okay and could respond to questions: it sounded like a different man. So the doctor treated him and sent him to the police. The: doctor assumed that the police wanted Mr. Peters for further investigation, which was not true at all. The police would take him if the hospital didn’t want him. The most dramatic part of the inquest was when the nurse gave her evidence: it was revealed, on cross examination, that one page of the three page medical report had been prepared after the documents had been subpoenaed for the inquest. This extra page was a result of the demand by the Administrator of the hospital to the nurse. No one could tell by looking at the documents when they were prepared. Everyone assumed that they were all done on April 4th, instead of four months later. When it came out in the testimony, it was a surrpise to everyone. The nurse’s voice was shaking; she was really upset about it because she hadn’t wanted to do it. So the Administrator was called to the witness stand for his explanation as to why he had fiddled with the records. His explanation was really weak: he said he thought all the information was supposed to be in front of the court. It was interesting to note that in 1978 this man, Ronald Cox, was a trustee of the school board. He was the one that presented and promoted a motion that Indian students at the Hatzig Junior secon- dary school should not be taught unless the Indian people paid for the new addition to the school wing. There were no facilities at the hospital itself at Mission Memorial Hospital for blood alcohol analysis, but the coroner did a little test with the answer ‘‘if you had wanted to find out what his blood alcohol level was, you could have found out in two hours”. The jury deliberated for two hours. They found that Eddie Peters never regained consciousness after he left the shopping mall, despite the evidence of the doctor and nurse. They found that he should ever have been released from the hospital in the condition that he was in; that he was treated very badly,as just a drunk. They then gave 12 recommendations: that there should be proper equip- ment to test blood alcohol levels; that an ambulance driver who is not physically able to carry out his duties should not be on duty. The ambu- lance driver’s reason he did not use the stretcher was because he had a sore leg. That there should be two ambulance drivers in every ambu- lance, that the police should not take into their custody anybody who was unconscious, they should take them to the hospital and not put them in cells; than nobody should be released from the hospital in an unconscious condition. There were other recom- mendations dealing with more fund- ing for alcohol rehabilitation centres and things like that. These recom- mendations are from the jury and they are going to be sent to Ottawa, to the Attorney General’s Department here and to everybody who has anything to do with hospitals. The Coroner estimates that 30 per cent of a jury’s recommendations are in fact, followed through. The new Coroners Act came into effect after Alert Bay. It says that juries cannot establish fault and blame but what the jury did was basically find facts from which one can draw one’s own conclusions. The main conclusion that the Coroner drew was the lack of compassion shown to Mr. Peters during the last few hours of his life, from the ambulance driver, from the hospital, and from the police . e UBCIC NEWS 27  CMHC ON- RESERVE HOUSING RIP-OFF by Della Wilson The Kitwanga Band is having problems with the CMHC Housing . Program. In 1975, twenty-two appli- cations were made for CMHC loans by the Kitwanga Band Council. The CMHC Housing Program was intro- duced by the Department of Indian affairs to the Band Council. The Kitwanga Band originally started out looking for homes that could be built on their Reserve, other than the regular DIA housing. However, the CMHC Houses were built almost exactly the same as the DIA Houses. After looking around for new con- tractors, the Kitwanga Band heard of the CMHC housing and after a meeting with the Department of Indian Affairs and the CMHC, the Kitwanga Band thought they got themselves a good deal. So in the spring of 1975 the Minister of Indian Affairs guaranteed the loan appli- cations of the twenty-two that had applied. When the applications were made, CMHC told the Band Members that had applied for the new houses that their monthly payments would be UBCIC NEWS 28 A family of eight live in this house. How can DIA and CMHC ignore the dangers of these electrical defects? between $150.00 to $180.00, Instead, the payments were much higher than that, like about $280.00 to $365.00. On August 14 and 15, 1979 I was in Kitwanga to look at these new CMHC houses, Larry Moore, Chief Counsellor, and Glen Williams, Band Manager of the Kitwanga Band, showed me the problems with some of the houses. Before entering the first home | noticed that the sidings and carports of some houses were not completed and yet it was part of the CMHC packaged deal. Landscaping was also part of the deal and yet the homes looked as if they were just set on gravel pits, Walking through these homes and talking to the homeowners I realized that they had been having problems right from the beginning. Some of the problems were sewers backing up in the basements, septic tanks flooding in bathrooms, unlevel basement floors, electrical problems, one home which has electric heating has a 220 amp circuit hooked up with two light switches, and a door bell which should not have been there to begin with. The 220 amp circuit. had a 100 amp cable running to the panel which should have been a 200 amp cable. Anyone would know that a 220 amp circuit automatically should have a 200 amp cable. One of the worst houses that I saw was that of Jasper Daniels. This house was in such a bad state I couldn’t see why CMHC or DIA had not done anything about it. Mr. Daniels’ home had mould growing on all the walls and up from the floors and the carpeting of the Daniels’ home is deteriorating. Mr. Daniels says that the moulding started in the spring of 1978 and still nothing has been done about it. Mould in other houses has started and Glen Williams believes that the reason for this problem is that there is no ventilation in the upper part of the house, and there is no air circulating in the homes. The administering of the whole deal right from the beginning seems to be the main problem here. Mr. Larry Moore, Chief of the Kitwanga Band feels that the whole thing was not handled properly. Housing has become a strong political issue within the Band. By refusing to pay their monthly mortgage, the individual homeowners have put the Band funding in jeopardy. Last year the Band’s housing money was held up, some $24,000. After the new council was elected the money was released to the Band. However, it is my under- standing that the Minister of Indian Affairs is to take this year’s funding as partial payment for payouts of these houses. °  The financial difficulties that the Band is experiencing has increased the Band’s problems: they now have an exceedingly poor credit rating in the community. Some of the main issues that are involved with these CMHC houses are that the construction of these homes was partially done by Carpenter Trainees of the Band and that some of the responsibility may lie on the individual Band members. In all the times that CMHC came to inspect these houses after each advance of the homeowners loans, the CMHC should have noticed that the construction was faulty. Once CMHC did an altogether improper inspection and gave out the home- owners advance, nothing else matter- ed to them. According to Chief Moore, some of the loans should never have been given to these homeowners. A credit check should to crawl around. have showed that they were unable to handle monthly payments for a CMHC hou.e. Mr. Moore says that some of the homeowners did not have steady jobs. I believe that some of the repsonsibility of the homeowners refusing to pay can lay on DIA for approving the applicants, as well as CMHC. Under normal situations I feel that after each inspection of the homeowners’ financial, situation, it would have been evident that some applicants did not measure up for CMHC housing. ld right throughout the house, leav- ing no space for the one-year child who lives here The committee dealing with the CMHC housing situation in Kit- wanga has been meeting and planning exactly what strategy they should take on behalf of the homeowners who are refusing payment. The Regional office of the Depart- ment of Indian Affairs has appointed the Gitksan District to see what they can do to try and resolve the situation, and make the homeowners pay their CMHC loans. The Kit- wanga Homeowners received letters from the Regional Director General of DIA, F.J. Walchli, requesting that Chief and Council of the Kitwanga Band: 1, Pass a Band Council resolution cancelling allotment to home- owners of the described reserve land; 2, Pass a Band Council resolution requesting the Minister to record ] house. in the reserve land register the cancellation for allotment to homeowners of the described; 3. Demand that homeowners and all members of household quit possession and peaceably vacate the land; on the ground that homeowners are in arrears of the monthly installments payable to the Central Mortgage and Hous- ing Corporation on their loans for a period longer than three months. Last winter Jasper Daniels had to kick his way out of his new CMHC because frost formed inside the In connection with this matter, I draw your attention to a Band Council Resolution dated December 9, 1975 wherein the Council obli- gated itself as follows: “4, That the Band Council will, upon default under the loan, and at the request of the Minister, instruct an agent on its behalf to commence such proceedings as may be neces- sary against the borrower and other members of his household to take possession of the house in respect of which the loan is made.”’ That letter was that similar to the one received by the Kitwanga Band Office, and the Homeowners on February 19, 1979. Chief Larry Moore and Glen Williams, Band Manager, stated that they suspect the Department of Indian Affairs and the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation worked on this before they sold the idea to the Kitwanga Band. Today the Legal Department of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs are investigating the situation of the Kitwanga CMHC Housing Project and so far nothing definite has been planned regarding what steps the CMHC homeowners should take. Many homeowners say things like, “‘Itis only because we are Indian that CMHC is doing this to us; if we were white they wouldn’t even let one crooked nail or wall inthe homes.”” ¢ UBCIC NEWS 29  { | RESOURCE CENTRE These are some of the books on Indian housing at the Resource Centre. Canada, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Department Statistician Divions, Indian Housing Survey, 1975. Ottawa: Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, 1976. Canada, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Program Support Group. Preliminary report: housing needs analysis National summary Statistics, Ottawa: DIAND, 1978. Canada, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Statistical report: listing of Information related to the housing needs analysis, 1977. Ottawa: DIAND, 1971. Canada, Health and Welfare Canada, Medical Services. Report: Indian housing survey south mainland zone. N.p.: n. pub., n.d. iii. ‘ Canada, Ministry of State for Urban Affairs. Human settlement in Canada. Ottawa: Ministry of State for Urban Affairs, 1976, viii, 91. Canadian Association in Support of the Native Peoples. Native housing: overcoming government neglect. From: Bulletin. August, 1976. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, United States Senate. Indian housing in the United States: a staff re, ort on the Indian housing effort in the United States with selected appendixes. Washington: U.S. Govern- ment Printing Office, 1975. vi, 646 p. UBCIC NEWS 30 * Ker, Priestman and Associates Ltd. Preliminary design sewarage system for South Saanich Indian Reserve #1. Victoria: Ker, Priestman and Associates Ltd., 1976. © Laubin, Reginald and Gladys. The Indian tipi: 8 its history, construction and use. New York; Ballantine Books, 1975. *® Lloyd, Anthony J. Managing housing: background information for groups directing housing projects. Vancouver: Social Planning and Review Council of British Columbia, 1973, vi. ‘speue.) Jo soaqyauy jouoney :osoNd National Indian Brotherhood. Declaration on India housing: policy paper. Ottawa: National Indian Brotherhood, 1974. National Indian Brotherhood. Indian housing policy and program. Ottawa: N. pub., 1976. National Indian Brotherhood. A submissin to undertake a study of Indian housing in Cada past, present and recmmendations for the fut. -e. Ottawa: National Indian Brotherhood, 1971. Pasco, R.S. Housing conditions and needs in the Thompson River district: a study for the Thompson River District Indian Council. N.p.: n. pub., June, 1973, Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs. Fire prevention program. Vancouver: Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, 1971.  IN MY GRANDMOTHER'S by Violet Birdstone During my childhood there were few places I favoured more than Granny’s, she and Grandpa had a simple 2 storey wooden framed home on a 30 acre farm next to the highway which was built with the help of the whole family, and paid for out of the profits of the farm. I can remember our family car approaching the simple structured house on a bright sunny day and the excitement that built up inside our stomachs in antici- pation as we neared the barb-wired gate. Opening the barb-wired gate was always the grand entrance because we knew everyone was looking out the window to check who was all in the car. There were no phones to announce our intended visit and who would think of writing a letter? We would all pile out of the car and start playing with our favourite cousins for we all had someone about the same age. Two aunts lived on neighbouring farms next to Granny’s so everyone automatically congregated at her place. On certain occasions one could count fourteen grandchildren and ten adults. Her youngest son, who worked the family farm and ranch lived with his family at this wonderful, mysterious house. I always envied them for there never seemed to be an unhappy moment, and they had so many different things to do. Every morning at 8 a.m. sharp a large three course breakfast was served with fresh eggs and milk and if you were a late riser you still had a good breakfast for there was always someone in the kitchen. The noon meal was four courses as well as the evening meal which was served at 6 p.m. sharp. Desserts were almost always wild berries of the season which the children picked during their play. Somehow, it seemed there was never any planning, things just got done. The cleaning was always done right after breakfast by the older girls while the mothers went on with their handicraft, tended the garden, or fed the cattle. The men would go to the fields or tend the horses. I cannot remember any one ever resting except for Granny or Grandpa and it always seemed such a short rest. Their home was simply furnished with plenty of chairs, tables, bear rugs, and a trusty old Singer sewing machine. There was a frightful religious picture of a sick man on his death bed with the Angels above and Satan pulling at the bed clothes from below; I often wondered who won and outgrew my fear only at the age of 12. The dining room which was the favoured room for evening enter- tainment consisted of a large round oak table and ten chairs, the legs had carved claws which every grandchild touched and wondered at. The bedrooms up two flights of stairs were also simple except for the large four poster brass bed, with large brass balls which one could look into and enjoy the funny shapes your countenance reflected. In the evenings the gas lamp would be lit by one of the men and everyone would sit around the big oak table for tea. Granny would start by telling stories of the old times when she wasa little girl and how her family would travel over the rockies on pack horses to hunt on the plains in Alberta. Everyone would tell stories, each had their own style and sense of humour, the room was always filled with warmth and laughter. The children went to bed only when they showed fatigue, an aunt would light up a pretty coal-oil lamp and lead the way up the stairs, the children following reluctantly, Lying in our beds we could hear the laughter from downstairs, hoping the day we would be allowed to stay up late would come soon. One morning my mother would wake us early to prepare for our trip home; the old model T took at least six hours to drive one hundred miles of winding roads, we were always reluctant, and only after being reassured we would return some day, would we leave happily. UBCIC NEWS 31  EDUCATION Many of our students trying to further their education have difficulty paying for suitable accommodation. Some students fortunately can find suitable accommodations on campus, but many are not so lucky. Rents have risen sharply in the past year but student rates paid by the Department of Indian Affairs have not been increased to meet the demand. This gives the off-campus student two options. First, to accept poor living accommodations which they can afford, and second, going into debt to pay for a more suitable place to live. The Department of Indian Affairs have employed counsellors: “‘to ensure that newly arrived students and their dependents receive required orientation services. This may include, upon request of the student, location of suitable accomodation. ..”” (E 12 Policy) Too often this information is not made available to students, and the students don’t have enough time to find adequate housing. If the students have to pay more than 25% of their income for rent, the Department of Indian Affairs is required to make up the balance. Students from around B.C. say this is not happening. Some of them are getting a frozen rate of $75 when in UBCIC NEWS 32 NATIONAL INDIAN EDUCATION CONFERENCE To be held in Vancouver—April 1980 This Conference will be 3-5 days long. The theme of the Conference will be “INDIAN CONTROL OF INDIAN EDUCATION OF 1980” The main participants of the conference wil be from the Band Level. There will be 6 workshops: © Role in the take-over of local control © Indian philosophy of Indian education * Roles and responsibilities of local Indian school, boards The role of parents © Relationship with integrated schools © Students 5 Resource people will be the Band workers at the Band level. These Band workers can be expected to be contacted to be the Conference’s resource personnel. need, and in many cases this is just not enough. Many students have to take money from their food budgets to pay rent and utilities. Students have enough problems just making it through school without having the added burden of figuring out how to make ends meet. This predicament is common to the single student with no dependents, to the married student(s), and to the single student with children to support. From information gathered from students across B.C. there is a general consensus that training allowances be increased to meet the needs of students. At the moment these rates are below the poverty level as dictated by Statistics Canada. Poor living conditions and lack of money do not encourage Indian students to further their education. This directly contradicts stated DIA policy that “the Post-Secondary Education Assistance Program is designed to encourage Registered Canadian Indian and Inuit to acquire university and professional qualifica- tions...” (E 12 Policy) The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, Education Portfolio, is currently working under a mandate handed to us at General Assembly to overcome this problem.  The Mount Currie Band asked the UBCIC to research the Timber lease on IR 6 and 7 and the Lillooet Lake road. The two issues are linked together by the new school and housing development planned on reserve no. 6 and also through the road access to the site. The older of the two problems is timber lease 125, Originally it covered both James Maclaren and Bells land. James Maclaren was the holder of the lease on April 1, 1891. In 1903 the lease was exchanged to 21 years. In 1907 no. 7 was created from Bell’s land but the Timber lease continued on that-land, without the knowledge of the Federal Govern- ment. While all this was happening North Pacific Lumber Co. took over the lease. In April 1924 the lease expired and N.P.L. Co. wanted a renewal. The two governments (DIA and Superin- tendent of lands in B.C.) disagreed. On June 9, 1924, Mr. Cathcart of the Province wrote to the DIA saying the Mount Currue IR 6 and 7 now encroached upon the Timber lease issued in the name of Ka James Maclaren in 1891. Cathcart argued that reserves should be subject to the Timber lease and that the holder of the lease would have the right of entry to cut and remove timber without interference. The DIA agent replied: the Proy- inces should recognize that the Timber rights should have been passed to the Mount Currie Band. The Province did not change its Position: the timber lease was made renewable by statute and had priority over any title granted to the Depart- ment of Indian Affairs. It would appear from local stories that the | Depariment eventually accepted this position. In February 1930 the correspondence ends. MOUNT CURRIE sscrsins soon DISCOVERS A MESS Mary Williams and Juliana Williams on the Lillooet lake road. fe 3 is Ng Nothing really happened regarding the timber lease until the early 1970s. In 1974 about eight to twelve parents pulled their children out of school and hired a teacher and asked him to teach their children. They worked the class for one year. Later, when more students wanted to join, they went to DIA and they eventually got help. In 1975 June 15, there was the rejection of all DIA’s funding. Parents pulled all their children out of Public Schools. Then Mount Currie Band set up a road block over the Lillooet Lake road. The reason for this is they found, after doing research, that the road was not legally taken in a few places. The road blockade stayed up for nearly two months and was removed by the RCMP. In September of °75 almost all students from Mount Currie attended the school that those parents started. It was not until 1977 that the Band found out the lease on IR 6 and 7 was still in force. This held back the Band’s plans for the new school on IR no. 6. At this time CFP Co. was holding the lease. The area they wanted was clear of trees so the Band finished off. with the plans. The Band got the money to build the site then Forestry stepped into the scene, In the summer of 1979, the Band asked the UBCIC for help on the question of the lease and who had rights over the land and what to do about it. The Union put its legal staff on the problem right away. At the same time they were asked to find out everything on the Lillooet Lake road that they could. Legal staff went to Mount Currie twice, once on the Timber Case, and the other on what to do on the road issue. They discussed options on the situation. The Band will be contacting UBCIC when a decision is made on what they are going to do. ° UBCIC NEWS 33  CHIEFS UBCIC NEWS—CHIEFS COUNCIL Chiefs Council met for 3 days last week (August 21, 22, 23) and many important issues were discussed and reported on. George Manuel opened Chiefs Council with a Prayer and a few opening statements before turning the chair ovr to Saul Terry. George was invited to Ottawa by the Native Council of Canada to receive an award in recognition of his internationally-known efforts. RESOURCE CENTRE Gene Joseph, UBCIC librarian, outlined the services and holdings of the Resource Centre. We have the best-equipped Indian library in all of Canada, and are the only organization outside the Government with copies of ‘Record Grou 10’—a series of internal documents, letters, of the Department of Indian Affairs from 1870 to 1959. Gene also reported on the Original People’s Library Assoc., of which she is President. Chiefs Council gave their support to the goals and objectives of this Association. Everyone is reminded that the UBCIC Resource Centre is always open to you—for research, history, films, fiction books, etc. INDIAN FISHING INDIAN LEGAL UPDATE A brief summary was presented to Chiefs Council of the work that Specific Claims and Legal have accomplished in 1978/79. Of these many cases, it was felt that the greatest success has been in forcing DIA to back out of negotiations between the Band Councils and other parties, and take the Bands’ position in the negotiations. The position of the Union is to do research for the Bands and adivse the Bands of their options. The decision as to what course of action to take is left totally in the Bands’ hands, and the UBCIC supports whatever decision is made. Legal has also prepared a ‘‘Copyright, Trade Marks and Industrial Design manual.”’ The final draft is now complete and we hope to have these out to the Bands as soon as possible. INDIAN SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPEMENT This is our number one Priority issue and detailed reports on Indian Fishing are in this issue (see stories pp. 8-12, and 20-22) However, Chiefs Council unanimously agreed, and gave direction that UBCIC staff send notice to all Bands of B.C. to get together and think about ways and means of setting up a ‘comprehensive management system’ of marine resources. Timing is crucial right now, and the General Assembly coming up in October is deemed to be the forum we all need to adopt the Aboriginal Rights Position where Section 11 states: “Indian government. . .to include. . . all marine resources contained within the waterways and bodies of water that are established as being associated with our Indian reserve lands.”’ Further, Section 13: ‘‘The productive Indian management of the environment within the boundaries all lands, water and resource areas that have been established under the jurisdiction of Indian Govern- ment for the benefit of all Indians in B.C. and other B.C. Canadians. UBCIC NEWS 34 John Warren, our présent Socio-Economic Co-ordi- nator, formally announced to Chiefs Council that he will be leaving us in November. John has contributed greatly to our needs and we will miss him. We were introduced to Phil Thompson, who is on staff now and will be taking over the Socio-Ec. Portfolio. Phil made a firm statement of his plans by explaining that now that various position papers have been prepared in socio-economic develop- ment, our next step is to implement them. Sounds like busy year for 1979/80. INDIAN ENERGY AND RESOURCES See the fight against Tahsis in Gold River (page 4) Hat Creek Steven Basil reported that community meetings will take place on the Bonaparte Reserve, tentatively September 24th. We have been working on a visual presentation about Hat Creek and this will be ready for the General Assembly. West Coast Oilports Barbara Kuhne gave Chiefs Council a brief of the 4 proposals for the controversial oil pipeline. The U.S. government is forced to make a decision by December 6th, 1979 and because 3 of these proposals are routed through Canada, we, and other concerned organizations are on the alert.  COUNCIL INDIAN GOVERNMENT WESTERN INDIAN AGRICULTURE CORP. Chiefs Council endorsed the Aboriginal Rights Position Paper and Flag, which now gives our Indian Government Portfolio the authority to procede stronger and further. Many people are still confused about Aboriginal Rights Position, the British North America Act, the Indian Act, without realizing that the concept of Indian Government is all of these things, that it’s our way, and it’s up to us to decide our alternatives. The theme of the 11th Annual General Assembly is “INDIAN GOVERNMENT” and between now and October, we will all be working towards ensuring that everyone has a very clear definition of the Aboriginal Rights Position Paper. A booklet is now being prepared to explain the paper, and the next issue of the UBCIC NEWS will concentrate on Indian Government. 11th ANNUAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY Bob Pasco and Gordon Antoine gave activity reports of WIAC and requested the acceptance of 2 new Board Members: Len Marchand and Jack Mussell. Chiefs Council accepted the report as presented, and the additional Board Members. INDIAN EDUCATION Bobby Manuel and the Indian Government Portfolio staff have been working closely with the Conference Committee in planning this year’s Assembly, with the theme “INDIAN GOVERNMENT”, and everything is progressing very well. Plans are going ahead with the Assembly, and bulletins with more information will be going out to all Bands very soon. INDIAN COMMUNICATIONS An update was presented to Council on the Radio Training Program which is scheduled to conclude on September 28th. The program has been a success, and the 4 trainees, Della Wilson, Ken Matthew, Joyce Bourassa and Mel Seymour, are now working out of radio stations in B.C, for 8 weeks. There is a need to develop Indian people as Communi- cations specialists, especially in radio, and to develop radio packages for Indian people throughout B.C., and Chiefs Council endorsed their support of this goal. Now that the “Clarke Papers” relating to College Programs have been formally rejected by Chiefs Council, Progress will carry on for our own Band Training. Most of this information has already been sent out to the Bands. It has become evident in recent months that a PROVINCIAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE IS NEC- ESSARY IN B.C. Tentatively planned for September, this conference will deal with all major Indian Education isues facing us in our goal of Indian Control. Left to Right: Chief Wayne Christian, of Spalluncheen, Chief Archie Pootiass of Bella = Coola and Chief George Saddieman of Upper Nicola at Chief’s Council. ADMINISTRATION Chiefs Council accepted the audit of the UBCIC for 1978 Fiscal as presented. Official copies of the audit will be available for the General Assembly. e UBCIC NEWS 38  “When we first started talking agriculture to DIA one thing we had thrown at us was ‘Look at Seabird Island. Boy, Seabird really flopped.’ We ate that Sor the first two years. Then we thought: well what did Seabird do? They were just slapped down as a public example like: ‘Well, they tried but they couldn’t make it.” Then we saw it wasn’t all Seabird’s mistakes. There was DIA and ARDA in there too. And then we thought: ‘Weill, Seabird is still there, and that’s their home and that’s their land.’ We looked a little bit closer and it was an example of a good program. And now the outsiders are eating their own words because Seabird’s doing just fine, and in their awn way. They need ta go for outside help once ina while, sure, but it is under their own management. BAND FARM PLANS As you enter the major Hope Band reserve, you pass a little house in the trees with a cow grazing nearby, There is an Elder, Evangeline Pete living there with her cattle, the only one now. Hope Band used to be nearly self sufficient. There were seven or eight large family plots— those families had their own land: it was fenced, cleared and the family © provided. They had their own home gardens, chickens and grazed their own cattle. And they had their own cattle marks so if there was any open grazing, they could all use it. They used to grow spuds and corn and the usual vegetables. Band researchers say they used to grow tobacco here too. There are plenty of deserted orchards around: they haven’t been pruned or anything but there are lots of cherries, apples, plums and there are a few pear trees. You find that in just about all the East Fraser reserves. Now there are just a few deserted barns around. Research shows how the building of the roads in the area brought new values that started a transient trend away from the Band farms. The Highway Dept. took away a lot of incentive. The Indian people had self- maintained, lived off their land; then the roads came and the need for money. Then the people started going off to other fields and areas, following logging because they need- ed money, and the land was deserted. It’s the same thing that happened UBCIC NEWS 36 They are their own government.”’ [Pat John, Hope Band Manager| The Hope Band is hoping to use 600 acres of arable land to build up a strong beef herd. when the highway went through in the north. It brought a money economy where there was a land economy before. NEW AWARENESS OF AGRI- CULTURAL POTENTIAL Now there has to be an awareness created about the potential of the land, especially with agriculture. “There are so many reserves left idle, that were once producing. People aren’t aware of what they have any- more,’’ says Chester Douglas, area fieldworker for the Western Indian Agriculture Corporation. One of the Bands who are ready to test out their agricultural potential is Hope Band, following the examr! the Seabird Island farm. As Pat John explained: “There have to be examples, a few who will try it out, stay with it. Because there will be a few bad decisions before you find the good one. And one of us is going to have to be that example to our brothers’’. The Band has been turning over ideas and researching specific ones for some time now. They started with the water system, wanting to channel off the water from the hills into fire protection. Planning for fire protection turned into plans for a reservoir and also an energy source for agriculture, the new homes and Band office. The main thing is recognition of the potcatial; there is such a lot of potential on all the reserves around the East Fraser.