Northern communities urged to seek claims

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GROUARD - Delegates at the land claims workshop April 11 were told a land claims could be pursued based on a legal obligation, a comprehensive claim based on Aboriginal title or a combination of both claims.

Last month a federal task force report on comprehensive land claims recommended that federal policy requiring all rights as Natives can be extinguished before concluding claims agreements should be abolished.

Harold Cardinal, indicated that the isolated communities of Alberta should follow the lead of the Lubicon Lake and press both governments for a land claim settlement.

"The northern communities are backed by the entrenchment of Aboriginal rights in the Constitution and by the Indian Act amendments which allows bands to determine their own membership," Cardinal said in encouraging the isolated northern communities not to delay in determining their own band membership.

He told the delegates to "work together to advance your claims and don't accept the narrow definitions of the old Indian Act when determining their membership." This was the resolution of the advisory board 16 years ago, he reminded the delegates.

"At the time, the leaders said, 'we know we're not going to have the resources for all our individual claims so we agreed to spearhead our claim effort.' This was the wisest decision," Cardinal said.

He went on to say, "Lubicon Lake undertook the task of spearheading and have gone through a lot of oppression, suffered hardships and financial burdens, yet set an example that all isolated communities can aspire to."

The Fulton report took in isolated communities in the north along with Lubicon Lake. This Cardinal sees as an advantage to their benefit, although he didn't speculate on it.

Indian rights flow from the title, not the governments. The Indians have jurisdiction to issue the laws that govern them and can override the provincial and federal governments, the workshops delegates were told.