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The Aboriginal Newspaper of British Columbia & Yukon
Published August 17, 1998
|
Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart and British Columbia
Premier Glen Clark flank Nisga'a Tribal Council President Joe
Gosnell as they celebrate the signing of the Nisga'a Final Agreement
in New Aiyansh on Aug. 4. The agreement must be ratified by the
provincial and federal legislatures, and by the Nisga'a people
before it takes effect. Photo credit: Debora Lockyer |
Nisga'a people survive their long
treaty journey
by Debora Lockyer
Fish fight with federal government
continues
by David Wiwchar
Smoke Signals star heads off to
medical school
by Jackie Bissley
Carvers reviving a lost tradition
in Whitehorse
by Brigitte D. Parker
Healing a generation hard work
- Column
by Gil Lerat
A month full of highs and lows-
Editorial
By Paul Barnsley
News in Brief
Healing Fund executive finalized
Bella Bella journalist hired by Newsworld
New Land Management Act gets first reading
Here is a full list of additional stories featured in the August, 1998 issue of Raven's Eye. If you are not receiving your own copy of Raven's Eye, then you have missed all this information.
Click here for Raven's Eye subscription information.
Huu-ay-aht band will charge West Coast Trail users
Dene pay respects to Hiroshima victims
Public opinion next battle for Nisga'a
Nisga'a deal will mean big changes
Carvers, yes, but don't forget the toolmakerBeau Dick reflects on Canada House opening
Healing Fund executive finalized
The foundation which will administer the $350 million healing fund for victims of sexual and physical abuse at Indian residential schools has finalized its 17-member board of directors.
Two of the original nine board members have retired now that the foundation is established. That meant 10 new names were announced on June 23 when foundation chairman Georges Erasmus revealed the full board membership.
Debbie Reid and Janet Brewster-Montague have given up their seats on the board. They were replaced by John Amagoalik, chief commissioner of the Nunavut Implementation Commission, and Viola Robinson, a former commissioner on the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.
The eight other additions to the board are: Garnet Angenecob, an Ojibway media consultant from Sioux Lookout, Ont.; Charlene Belleau, former coordinator of the British Columbia Residential School Committee; Ken Courchene, a Manitoba Ojibway addictions counsellor; Richard Kistabish, an Algonquin social services specialist from Val d'Or, Que.; Carrie Lynn Lamouche, a Métis consultant from Gift Lake, Alta. who specializes in reducing barriers for people with disabilities; Annie Meekitjuk-Hanson, an Inuk freelance writer from Iqualuit, N.W.T.; Cindy Swanson, a Métis Native Studies student at the University of Alberta who has researched residential school syndrome; Charles Weaselhead, a health administrator for the Blood Tribe First Nation in Standoff, Alta.
Bella Bella journalist hired by Newsworld
Aug. 4 was moving day for Carla Robinson. The Bella Bella-born reporter whose most recent high-profile assignments were investigative pieces for All My Relations, the critically acclaimed CBC-TV national Aboriginal affairs program, has been hired to anchor newscasts on CBC's all-news network, Newsworld.
Robinson left Vancouver for Toronto to take the new position.
"I'll still be able to work on All My Relations, if it's renewed," she told Raven's Eye before leaving for Toronto.
Industry insiders say the public broadcaster is leaning towards renewing the 60 Minutes-style news magazine show about life in Indian country. A decision is expected shortly.
The United Church of Canada filed its appeal of the British Columbia Supreme Court's decision on vicarious liability on June 15.
The appeal could delay the final decision on how much compensation is paid to the victims of Arthur Plint, a former residential school employee jailed for sexually abusing Aboriginal students in his care. A decision on how much the federal government and the church is each liable to pay to the victims was originally expected later this summer.
New Land Management Act gets first reading
An act to take the Indian Affairs minister out of the decision-making process when it comes to the use, possession and occupancy of First Nations lands and the division of assets upon the breakdown of a marriage was introduced for first reading in the House of Commons on June 11.
A similar act was introduced under former minister Ron Irwin but died on the order paper when last year's federal election was called. Irwin's replacement, Jane Stewart, said the new act is "a key sectoral component of self government."
Fourteen First Nations are supporting Bill C-48, the First Nations Land Management Act. Chief Austin Bear of the Muskoday First Nation in Saskatchewan said the new act, if passed into law, will ensure "that our lands are protected for future generations by prohibiting any surrender or sale, or any expropriation by provincial or municipal governments, all of which are now possible under the Indian Act."
Nisga'a people survive their long treaty journey
By Debora Lockyer
Raven's Eye Writer
NEW AIYANSH
The Nisga'a people are as tenacious as the vegetation that persists through the craggy blanket of hardened lava that covers the land leading to their community of New Aiyansh.
It's been more than 100 years since three Nisga'a chiefs, who paddled their canoes to Victoria to discuss their people's claim to the lands of the Nass Valley, were rebuffed on the steps of the legislature buildings by the premier of the time. And it's been more than 20 years since the provincial government thought better of that decision and welcomed a new crop of Nisga'a back to the negotiation table.
The result of this tenacity is the first modern day treaty in British Columbia - the Nisga'a Final Agreement - initialed and celebrated on Aug. 4.
Drummers, dancers, dignitaries
and a swarm of determined reporters were on hand to witness and
record the initialing. Members of the four Nisga'a communities
- Kincolith, Greenville, Canyon City and New Aiyansh - as well
as urban Nisga'a from Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Terrace, attended
the ceremony in the full regalia of the four Nisga'a tribes -
Wolf, Eagle, Raven and Killer Whale.
Celebrations began quietly at 8:30 a.m. with Harry Moore leading his community in song and reached fever pitch about three hours later as the treaty signatories were led to the stage.
While the gentle refrain of the Nisga'a peace song filled the room, the final agreement was initialed. And then, as the dignitaries held their agreements high over theirs heads, the jubilant people of the Nass Valley drummed, cheered, whistled, applauded and yelled their approval of the historic moment.
Signing on behalf of the Nisga'a Nation was President Joe Gosnell, Sr. who said the ceremony was a triumph for the Nisga'a people and the people of British Columbia and Canada.
"Today, we make history as we correct the mistakes of the past and send a signal of hope around the world. Today, let us talk about reconciliation and a new understanding between cultures. Today, we join Canada and British Columbia as free citizens, full and equal participants in the social, economic and political life of this country. That has been our dream for more than a century. Today, it becomes reality," Gosnell said to the crowd of more than 1,000 spectators squeezed into the New Aiyansh Culture and Recreation Centre.
Premier Glen Clark, signing on behalf the province, was greeted with a roar of approval when he addressed the crowd with a few words in the Nisga'a language.
"Aama sa tgun ahl Nisgaa ganhl British Columbia," he said. "This is a great day to be Nisga'a. This is a great day to be a British Columbian."
But Clark warned of the difficult days ahead as the agreement heads to the ratification stage for the Nisga'a people (some of whom believe the Nisga'a negotiating team did not get enough), the provincial legislature (some members of which believe the government gave up too much), and to the federal House of Commons where it will have to pass three readings before the agreement becomes a done deal.
"I said it before. We have waited a long time for this day. But none of us should be mistaken. We are going to have some difficult times ahead of us. We will have to confront the words and deeds of those who deny our history. Those who are blind to the injustice of the past and who reject 30 years of negotiation and compromise," Clark said.
Gosnell also commented on the dark cloud that still hangs over the agreement, the public debate that will soon rage.
"Our detractors do not understand, or, practising a willful ignorance, choose not to understand. Or worse, using carefully coded language, they are updating a venomous attitude so familiar to First Nations of the world. They are very wrong, in my view. By playing politics with the aspirations of Aboriginal people, they are blighting the promise of the Nisga'a treaty, not only for the Nisga'a, but for all Canadians," Gosnell said.
Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart signed the agreement on behalf of Canada. She recognized the contribution of Frank Calder who, in 1968, launched a lawsuit seeking recognition of the Nisga'a's Aboriginal title in the Nass Valley, which Calder claimed had never been extinguished. The Calder case, as it became known, was appealed to the Supreme Court which was divided on the issue. The case was eventually thrown out on a technicality, but it was enough to persuade Canada to change its policy on land claims and accept the Nisga'a claim for negotiation.
"Frank Calder is here today with us, and I want to pay special tribute to him and to all Nisga'a men and women who have worked so hard over the past 112 years to bring about this treaty of recognition and reconciliation. . . we never would have arrived at this hopeful moment without the countless acts of faith and courage displayed by Frank Calder and countless others," Stewart said.
The minister said the Nisga'a agreement demonstrated the wisdom of the Delgamuukw court decision in which Aboriginal title to land was recognized. She said the agreement showed that negotiation, not confrontation, was the best way to settle Aboriginal land claims in Canada.
"It reaffirms the value of seeking negotiated solutions on land and resource management issues, even if they demand time, hard work and compromise," Stewart said.
Gosnell also said negotiation was a superior way for nations to settle disputes.
"No longer beggars in our own lands, we now go forward with dignity, equipped with the confidence that we can make important contributions - social, political and economic - to Canadian society. The Nisga'a treaty proves, beyond all doubt, that negotiations, not lawsuits, not roadblocks, not violence, are the most effective, most honorable way to resolve Aboriginal issues in this country," Gosnell said.
Fish fight with federal government continues
By David Wiwchar
Raven's Eye Writer
UCLUELET
The heat waves rising over west coast communities come not just from the summer heat, but also from the foreheads of First Nations fishermen fuming over the latest announcements from David Anderson's Ottawa office.
A coalition of coastal communities, First Nations and commercial fishermen filed a petition earlier this month with the Commissioner on the Environment and Sustainable Development of the Auditor General's Office. They accused Federal Fisheries Minister David Anderson with politically distorting DFO science in his coho plan, harming both the endangered coho stocks it claims to protect, as well as small-boat fishermen all along the coast.
The petition, supported by the West Coast Sustainability Association, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, West Coast Troller's Association and the Sustainable Fisheries Group, claims the minister changed areas on the West Coast from no-fishing Red Zones where endangered coho are prevalent, to selective-fishing Yellow Zones and vice versa.
The minister's red-and-yellow maps contradict those prepared by Department of Fisheries and Oceans scientists, and contradict his stated objective of zero mortality in Red Zones, the petitioners claim.
In a press release from the West Coast Sustainability Association, Anderson is accused of political interference which could be damaging to both the coho stocks and the fishermen who will have their catches re-allocated to American fishermen and the corporate fleet.
"David Anderson is distorting DFO science", said Ucluelet Chief Larry Baird. "He's putting political science before fisheries science, which is having devastating effects on local coho stocks and local fishermen."
"Anderson is using the coho crisis to re-allocate salmon from B.C. small-boat fishermen to Americans to settle the Pacific Salmon Treaty and give more fish to the corporate commercial and sport fleets," said Dan Edwards, executive director of the WCSA. "It's devastating to the communities on the west coast of Vancouver Island that have been put in these politically motivated Red Zones."
In one instance, Minister Anderson designated a one-mile-wide Yellow Zone in the shape of an index finger around his Victoria constituency. This is the site of an intensive sports fishery.
DFO science had designated the area as a Red Zone in September because of the prevalence of South Thompson coho. The area is now referred to as "David's Finger" and, according to the WCSA, clearly points to the political distortion of DFO science which will harm endangered coho.
WCSA claims the Minister distorted four other areas, including the west coast of Vancouver Island, Georgia Strait, Johnstone Strait and an area near Langara Island.
All offshore areas from Ucluelet to Cape Cook (on the Brooks Peninsula) were red, but the Minister has redesignated these areas as yellow up to five miles offshore in some places.
The Minister is allowing intensive sports fisheries in the two southwestern areas (Sooke and Port Renfrew) despite advice from DFO science to close them.
In the northwestern areas, commercial fishermen are being prohibited from selectively harvesting sockeye in late July and August, when endangered coho have moved south, although sport fisheries are being allowed throughout the summer.
The WCSA statement said "using dubious and distorted science, Mr. Anderson has designated Red Zones that will eliminate the 460-boat troll fleet on the west coast of Vancouver Island. These small-boat fishermen will be forced to sell their licences in the next buy-back. Once these independent, small-boat fleets are gone, DFO will be able to reallocate their sockeye to the corporate fleet, and reallocate their chinook and coho to Canadian sport fishermen."
Judging by activity in Anderson's office, the next licence buy-back could happen soon, as a survey titled Pacific Salmon Licence Retirement and Proposed Early Retirement Program Licence Holder Survey is being conducted by independent Price-Waterhouse-Coopers to determine general requirements of future buy-back programs.
Anderson's latest plans were developed behind closed doors in Ottawa and, as the WCSA points out, did not meet DFO's constitutional obligations to consult with First Nations, as defined by the Supreme Court decisions Sparrow and Jack, as well as the John and John cases.
The coalition is filing its charge under the statutory public petition process of the Auditor General's Act. The Environment and Sustainable Development Commissioner, Brian Emmett, is responsible for investigating the operations of government departments which violate their own sustainable development principles. Anderson must respond to the charges within 120 days.
Smoke Signals star heads off to medical school
By Jackie Bissley
Raven's Eye Writer
VANCOUVER
A benefit screening of the film Smoke Signals on July 13 at Vancouver's Varsity Theatre raised funds to establish the Evan Adams Health Sciences Bursary.
Adams, a member of the Sliammon Band who calls Powell River home, stars as Thomas Builds-the-Fire in what is being billed as the first Native American written, directed and co-produced feature film. Based on award winning poet and novelist Sherman Alexis' collection of short stories The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight In Heaven, Smoke Signals is receiving rave reviews from not only the Native community, but also from Hollywood's filmmaking community. In fact, there's already talk of possible Oscar nominations for next year's awards.
However, Adams is not your typical actor. Starting in September, he'll be attending the University of Calgary as a first year medical student. At a time when capacity building within the Aboriginal community is growing in importance, one area of concern is the lack of trained people in the healthcare field. Joanne Archibald, of the University of British Columbia House of Learning, is hoping to address this need by encouraging Aboriginal enrollment in her school's Health and Sciences section. Archibald spearheaded the evening's festivities.
After screening the film, a reception was held at UBC's First Nations House of Learning where Adams was praised for his commitment to education. While delivering an impromptu speech, Adams showed he was moved by the many well wishers and friends who came to support the bursary fund and see him off as he leaves for Calgary. He referred to the Longhouse as "my refuge for the last two years" and, when asked about his experience in Smoke Signals, said he was grateful that school had taught him discipline, relating the long hours on the film set to "a 14-hour exam day, everyday!"
Earlier that week, while sitting in a coffee bar in downtown Vancouver, Adams talked about the impact of the film and why it is being seen as something of a major breakthrough for the Native filmmaking community.
"Native audiences laugh at us [actors] because they recognize their culture. It takes a great deal of cleverness to capture our sense of humor and sensibility overall, as opposed to the quirkiness of an individual," he explained. "The movie doesn't play status; it doesn't divide between the haves and have-nots. It's very inclusive - it's really about family."
With many movie offers now coming in, Adams is content to stay at home in Canada and has no plans for heading south.
"Indian country in Canada is a really exciting place to be, and I want to be a part of that" he said. "In the States I would definitely make way more money as a physician, and I would have more acting opportunities there as well. But this is my home; this is where my people have been for thousands of years. Also, Canada is much more progressive when it comes to integrating ethno-pharmacology, Aboriginal medicine, into the health science field."
The student/film star is realistic about the challenge that awaits him as he juggles two long-standing passions. His dedication will undoubtedly be put to the test when, at the same time as midterms, he'll be starring in another Sherman Alexis film, Indian Killers, which is slated to begin shooting in Seattle sometime this November.
"They actually go really well together for me - acting and medicine. I know my school is nervous, thinking that I might leave, and my agent worries that I won't be available for jobs so I'll get forgotten. But medicine is something I've always wanted to do, and I've found out it's much easier to do what you want than to avoid it," he said, with a smile.
Carvers reviving
a lost tradition in Whitehorse
By Brigitte D. Parker
Raven's Eye Writer
WHITEHORSE
Photo Credit: Mario Villeneuve
Keith Wolfe Smarch regularly transforms raw materials into works of art. For 15 years, the Tlingit carver has sculpted traditional masks and totems of ivory, bone, metals and wood. This summer, the artist faced his biggest challenge: hand carving a dugout canoe out of a giant cedar log - something he'd never done before.
The canoe is the first to be carved in the Yukon interior this century. The project was former MacBride Museum president, Brian Walker's idea. A canoe historian, Walker's curiosity was spurred by a museum photograph of a dugout canoe leaning against Yukon-famed Sam McGee's log cabin.
While the log cabin remains part of the museum's collection, the canoe's whereabouts were unknown. Walker's research led to a 1948 newspaper article describing the disposal of the large artifact. The community council considered it to be a public safety hazard. At the time, the MacBride Museum did not exist. Rather, the 10-metre-long canoe was part of an informal collection of Yukon artifacts.
Walker also discovered that dugout canoes were historically used by the Yukon's Tlingit people. Teslin Tlingit George Johnson owned a large cedar dugout canoe which was known as "Eater of Water."
With the photographs and newspaper article confirming the canoe's existence, Walker and the museum's curator, Tip Evans, decided to revive the Tlingit tradition. In terms of scale and duration, it is one of the museum's largest undertakings and represents an important contribution to Yukon First Nations culture.
"We wanted to increase the amount of First Nation content in the museum's exhibits, programming and activities," said Evans. "The canoe itself is a vehicle for teaching visitors about different cultures and customs. It opens up an opportunity to talk about Yukon First Nations and to demonstrate the artistry of carving and producing a dugout canoe."
To locate a suitable cedar log, which is not locally available, Walker approached the Queen Charlotte Haidas, inspired by the Tlingits' long history of trading with the First Nation. It took a year of political maneuvering between the Haida, logging giant MacMillan Bloedel and the British Columbia government to find a log.
After some time, Walker sought the assistance of Yukon tourism minister, Dave Keenan. Keenan, a member of the Tlingit Nation, wrote to the Haida who agreed to donate a log to the museum.
A 500-year-old Red Cedar log from the Haida's traditional harvesting area was hauled 1,500 km from the Queen Charlotte Islands to Whitehorse. A cedar's natural oils, size, pliability, light weight and durability make it the ideal building material for a dugout canoe.
Throughout the summer, visitors and tourists have watched the log's transformation as work progressed in the museum's yard. The yet-to-be-named canoe which will become a museum piece, will be launched into the Yukon River at the end of August.
After stripping the bark and removing the top cap, Wolfe Smarch and his two apprentices, Morton James White and Werner Hoffelinck, drew the keel and carved the hull. For guidance, they referred to the old black and white photograph to replicate the lost canoe.
The log was then flipped and it's insides dug out. Meticulous measuring was done to balance the watercraft's sides and eliminate its list. At the time of writing, rough edges are being smoothed, seats installed and decorative details planned.
The sheer size of the 12-metre-long log, often intimidated the work crew. "Some days, I did not want to be here," said the 36-year-old Wolfe Smarch. "But it is good to walk away from a project and come back to it later. We got stuck once and lost our line. We had no idea what to do. So we left for lunch. When we came back, there it was. That's what art is. You can't rush art."
Healing a generation of hard work
By Gil Lerat
Raven's Eye Columnist
Like so many of my people, I've been affected by alcohol and drugs all my life. Three years ago, after attempting suicide, I decided I was going to do whatever it took to turn my life into something meaningful.
After a lot of work, I became a chemical dependency specialist, employed by Four Quarters Institute, a counsellor training centre which prepares people to enter the field of counselling in grief, chemical dependency, sexual abuse and family violence intervention.
When I decided to do this column, I wanted my people to pay close attention to the devastating effects of alcohol and drug abuse.
It's time we started facing the cold, hard facts of what we're going through in order to start on our own healing journeys. We have to begin accepting what has happened to us, as Nations and as individuals, through colonization.
We cannot change our past, but we can change the present and future. Only through acceptance can we learn from our mistakes and move towards generational healing. We have to stop the "poor me" stance that continues to keep us feeling helpless and hopeless and in turn, keeps many of us in our active addictions . . . drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex, work, etc.
Once we truly accept and acknowledge what has happened, only then can we do something about it. Not for anyone or anything else, but for ourselves. By beginning with ourselves, we can make positive changes and choices in our lives which will overflow into the community.
This is no easy task. It is a daily commitment to yourself, affirming to yourself that you deserve a happy, healthy life, that you are worth it!
I'm in recovery from both alcohol and drugs, I'm a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and I am two-spirited. In these columns, I will refer to my own life experiences in order to protect a countless number of people who have shared a similar, yet distinctive, past.
Drugs and alcohol use is but a symptom of what is really going on. These problems stem from an inability to cope with feelings and emotions. To deaden these overwhelming feelings rather than face them, it is much easier to run to drugs and alcohol. There is a mistaken belief that the drugs and alcohol will erase or lessen the intensity of the emotion. While this may work for awhile, eventually the pain gets deeper and harder to deny. This is where the spiral of addiction begins. It takes more and more of the drug or drugs, with more frequency, to deaden the feelings.
Statistics show that a majority of the people we would professionally classify as alcoholics or drug addicts suffer from some form of childhood abuse - sexual, physical, emotional, mental or spiritual.
Abuse of any form leads to feelings of low self-esteem and low self-worth, two things a recovering addict almost invariably has to overcome.
What do I mean by spiritual abuse? Many First Nation people have been affected by this type of abuse either directly or indirectly. Most know someone in their family who attended residential school. The priests and nuns in those schools told our people their way of paying homage to the Creator was evil and wrong, that they were pagans and they would be damned to hell.
Coupled with this and other types of abuse from the priests, nuns and others in those schools, First Nation people were prime targets for the "dis-ease" of alcoholism.
The abused becomes the abuser. Many, if not most, of the sufferers of "Residential School Syndrome" pass abuse on to their loved ones.
The cycle continues until it is broken.
People drank in my family and in my community. I grew up believing life was about drinking. I was 11 when I first got drunk. I was 13 when I first experimented with marijuana, and by age 15 I was popping acid and doing mescaline.
It wasn't until I was in my first year of university, at age 19, that I met someone who didn't drink. I thought there was something wrong with that person. And it wasn't until 3 years ago, at age 30, that I realized life didn't have to be this way.
In future columns, I plan to explore these basic concepts in more detail and write about what we can do to repair ourselves and our communities.
A month full of highs and lows
By Paul Barnsley
Raven's Eye Editor
This past month has truly been a month of highs and lows across the province. The high temperatures (in the 40s Celsius in many areas) have spawned a number of forest fires that have left a big part of western Canada covered in a smoky haze and forced the evacuation of several interior communities.
The high spirits of the Nisga'a treaty signing-our cor-respondant Debora Lockyer was deeply impressed by the power and solemnity of the occasion despite her typical journalist's cynicism regarding government-staged events - was balanced by the tragic crash of a small plane carrying several members of the Kincolith community.
The sadness we feel at the passing of Musqueam Elder Edward Sparrow is lightened when we revisit his remarkable life, achievements and legacy. Raven's Eye extends our condolences to his family members and friends, who must continue on with the memories of a great man and a great leader.
It was a shock to hear of Robert Manuel's death. The former Neskonlith chief and former president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs died suddenly on Aug. 8. He was only 51 and very politically active in the province. "Bobby" Manuel ran against Phil Fontaine last summer in Vancouver and was instrumental in organizing the Interior Nations chiefs into a united political organization. He was continuing that work at the time of his death.
At this crucial time in the history of Indigenous peoples in the province, there will be times when the wisdom and energy of these two proven leaders will be missed.
Gil Lerat, our new columnist, is a guy with a past who is writing about the future. He was as low as low can be three years ago, when the despair of living in a desperate situation convinced him to attempt suicide. Now he has broken his cycle of addiction and is training others to help his people. His passion for his work is unmistakable, as is his willingness to risk being unpopular by writing about some issues that many First Nation leaders would rather not face. This month's first column is relatively tame, an introductory article that the Vancouver resident (a Cree, originally from Saskatchewan) felt needed to be written to form the base for more contentious writing to come. Lerat's work fills the space formerly occupied by the work of another passionate and controversial Indigenous writer, the late Arnie Louie. After speaking at length to Gil, I made the decision to give him the opportunity to follow in Arnie's footsteps.
It was not a decision taken lightly.