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The Aboriginal Newspaper of British Columbia & Yukon
Published
July 6, 1998
Victory Lap! June Sports Days in Alert Bay produced a rocking final in the men's soccer championship game. A couple of local teams went at it through two overtime periods before the Commorants stopped Red United 1-0 to claim the title. The victors began their lengthy celebration with this impromptu victory parade. Photo credit: Debora Lockyer |
Two years less a day for Alert Bay arsonist
by Malcom MacCollLaw changed: bands can tax
by Paul BarnsleyYukon Nations celebrate first annual Commisioners potlatch
by Bridgitte D. ParkerStick together, writer urges
Letter by Lori SpeckProvince claims BCTC partial?
By Paul BarnsleyNews in Brief
Here is a full list of additional stories featured in the July, 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.
New member for Summit Task Force
Métis president re-elected
Church, feds liableLaw changed: bands can tax
Writer supports youth activismAboriginal Affairs minister explains
government's positionVickers takes a leader's role
Indications that provincial funding will be cut for the First People's Cultural Foundation, which administers programs designed to preserve Indigenous languages and cultures, had the First Nations Summit leaders worried during their meetings in late June.
"Such a decision by the provincial government would deal a serious blow to the preservation of Aboriginal language and culture in B.C.," said Task Force member Grand Chief Edward John.
John's colleague, Chief Joe Mathias, agreed.
"First Nations people in this province are entitled to ongoing funding from both the provincial and federal governments for programs to preserve our languages," he said. "It was the policies and directions of both governments that contributed to the severe language loss by First Nations throughout B.C."
The Summit leaders passed a resolution calling on the province to re-affirm its commitment to fund language programs at the same level
Old Massett Village council members and staff left on June 17 for a two-and-a-half week tour of several European capitals.
The six-person delegation (which included councillors Vince Collison and Cliff Fregin) planned to visit and help officially open "Xaadaa Chaan Sgaanewaay - Haida Spirits of the Sea" an exhibit at the Canadian Pavilion at Expo '98 in Lisbon, Portugal.
After the excitement of opening the exhibit which shows the world their traditional culture, the contingent planned to continue on to Berlin to meet with officials of Museum fur Volkerkunde, where some of the oldest Haida artifacts in the world are on display.
A visit to another museum, the Pitts River Museum in Oxford, England, was scheduled to be the start of repatriation talks aimed at securing the return of Haida skeletal remains, which are currently in the museum's collection.
All along the way, the delegation will promote economic development initiatives their council is involved with.
It's been 18 months since racist slogans directed at Indigenous people were spray-painted on the walls of Smithers Secondary School and, after much soul-searching by the school's staff and students, a project is proceeding which will "rid the school of the taint of racism."
Principal Christine Dickinson is excited by the plan to erect a totem pole outside of the school next summer. She told Raven's Eye the school is located within the traditional territory of the Gidimt'enyu (Grizzly) clan of the Wet'suwet'en Nation and is working in partnership with several Wet'suwet'en chiefs to complete the totem pole project.
Those who are involved in the Bridge the Gap project are following a plan which will see a carver chosen this month, a Smoke Feast held in October to announce the project and school fund raising beginning this September and lasting until December.
The carving will begin in Jan. 1999 and the pole raising and feast is scheduled for June of that year.
The seven metre (20 foot) pole will portray the students theme of bridging the gap between cultures with five traditional symbols and the Smithers Secondary School team mascot - a Gryphon.
"It is our intent to involve our students and local elementary students in every phase of the project," said Dickinson, who added that local Elders will teach the students traditional Wet'suwet'en songs and dances which will be performed at the pole raising feast.
Two years less a day for Alert Bay arsonist
By Malcolm MacColl
Raven's Eye Writer
CAMPBELL RIVER
Last August Julio Castro-Andino burned down the big house of the Namgis First Nation. Early last month, Supreme Court Justice Allan Thackeray handed down a sentence of two years less-a-day for the arson.
"I think we lost this one," said Chief Pat Alfred, a Namgis council member who watched the sentencing. "They didn't take our big house seriously enough. He got a slap on the wrist for what he did."
The case was heard in March in Campbell River. During the trial, the court was told Castro-Andino, a recent immigrant from El Salvador, moved onto the reserve in 1995 because of a relationship with a woman from the Namgis First Nation.
Eventually Band management told him to leave the reserve due to an uncontrollable anger that he displayed over and again around the reserve, especially towards the woman's children. In fact, Castro-Andino might have been welcomed back, they said, if he had followed through on anger management counselling.
The night of Aug. 29, 1997 was devastating to the 1,400-member Namgis First Nation when the 30-year-old big house was consumed by Castro-Andino's fire. The artifacts of many celebrations and much history were lost in the blaze. The arson was planned to ruin the building out of revenge, the judge agreed. But Thackeray apportioned a measure of blame to the Namgis themselves.
"Unfortunately the band showed significant racial bias against Mr. Andino. The band rejected Mr. Andino as a person whom they wanted to associate with."
The judges' remarks raised the ire of many Namgis people.
"(The judge) owes an apology to the Namgis Band," said Alfred. "I understand racism, I've seen it all my life. How many times have you heard the chug, the welfare bum, the drunken Indian. When you talk about racism we understand."
Alfred, a Namgis potlatch chief, added that it seemed ridiculously unfair to blame the entire band for the actions of a few that dreadful night. One or two called him 'the Mexican' or 'the spic' when they saw what he was doing.
Chief Bob Joseph of the Kwakwaaineuk nation said, "It was unfortunate the judge put such a strong emphasis on racism." During sentencing the judge had suggested the Namgis people look inward at their own sense of racial bias and Joseph agreed, "Looking inward to ourselves is important for Indian and non-Indian." It's something that applies to everyone, Joseph said, not just Alert Bay's Namgis people.
Law changed: bands can tax
By Paul Barnsley
Raven's Eye Writer
OTTAWA
Kamloops Indian Band Chief Clarence "Manny" Jules sees an imminent change to a federal law as an opportunity for his community to raise its own money and escape its dependence on federal funds. Opponents to the change, both inside the Kamloops community and across the country, see it as the thin edge of the wedge of taxation.
Tax lawyers say Bill C-36 - Part 4 of the Budget Implementation Act of 1998 dealing with "Certain First Nations' Sales Taxes," - is a deal where the federal government is giving away part of its taxation authority to two British Columbia band councils.
The new law will allow the Kamloops band to set a seven per cent band tax, which replaces the GST, on tobacco, liquor, gasoline and propane. It will also allow the band to enter into an agreement with Revenue Canada so that the federal government will collect the tax and then turn it over to the band.
The Westbank band, which has been charging a band tax on tobacco for a year, will have that tax and a new tax on alcohol also collected by Revenue Canada on its behalf.
Despite several presentations to the Senate Finance committee by opposition groups, the new bill will soon be read into law. It was introduced for first reading in the House of Commons on March 19. It received second reading and was passed on to the Standing Committee on National Finance 12 days later. The committee held hearings on the bill and adopted it without amendments on May 8. After third and final reading in the Commons, the bill proceeded to the Senate on May 28. After going through the committee stage in the upper chamber, it was expected to receive third and final reading there on June 15.
Opposition to the bill centres around a fear that it will erode the tax-exempt protection provided by Section 87 of the Indian Act.
Douglas Maracle, the Grand Chief of the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians, addressed the Senate Finance Committee on June 11.
"Bill C-36 will open the door to undermining our Aboriginal and treaty rights to tax immunity," Chief Maracle told the Senators. "It will also remove the limited protection we have to tax exemption under Section 87 of the Indian Act. Section 87 provides for a tax exemption for a band and also for each individual member of the band. Therefore, as an Indian, within the membership of my band, the band cannot legally move unilaterally to negotiate my statutory right away without my consent."
Chris McCormick, an anti-tax specialist employed by Chief Maracle's organization was more blunt.
"I don't think anybody has the right to step on anybody else's statutory rights," he said. "What's worse, in my mind, is that it's imposed by a segment of the community only. There's a petition of 116 Kamloops members that will be presented to the Senate and to the Finance minister which says 'Hold the phone. I have a statutory right to be tax exempt. I'm not willing to get into this process.'
McCormick is aware that this is a case of a band taxing its own people and using the money for its own purposes. That doesn't put his mind at ease.
"What is a band by-law doing in front of the House and Senate? If it's a band by-law and the people decide they don't like it, they can change it or change councils in the next election. A band by-law goes to the regional director of Indian Affairs who forwards to the minister who has 40 days to accept or reject it. This is carved in stone as federal law. You have to ask yourself why Canada is so anxious to have this. If they can find a way around Section 87 by passing legislation, well, you've got the Reform Party waiting in the wings there and you know they'll immediately implement it across the country if they ever take control," he said.
The petition presented by the Kamloops members claims that Chief Jules is not following his own rules about accountability. The members also accuse the chief of manipulating the vote to ensure that he had the mandate to take this forward. One Kamloops member told Raven's Eye that the community vote on this issue was held at 11: 30 at night and that the item was not on the agenda. The petition claims the two weeks notice required for a referendum under Kamloops council's own rules was not provided to the membership. The petition also claims that there were not enough people at the meeting to make a vote binding under the council's own rules.
"Evidence of this can be provided in the minutes of that meeting, where membership voiced concern about a quorum not being present," the petition states.
A tax lawyer familiar with First Nations issues told this newspaper that the new law very definitely has an impact on the Indian Act tax exemption. He said it gives a band a power to tax its own people, which is not the same as the federal government taxing those people for its own benefit. That, the lawyer said, would be illegal under the Indian Act.
"But they are dipping into the pockets of people who used to be exempt," the lawyer, who asked to not be identified, said.
Transcripts of Chief Jules' brief appearance before the Commons' Standing Committee on National Finance suggest that Nelson Riis, the NDP member of parliament for the area in which the Kamloops reserve is located, has been well-briefed by the band on this issue. Although Chief Jules did not respond to requests for interviews from this paper (or several other local papers which covered the issue), Riis is widely quoted as saying this is a pilot project which could spread across the country.
During his appearance in front of the committee, Jules was asked by Reform MP Monte Solberg if the band would accept less federal money as its tax base grew.
"No, I'm not suggesting that," Jules said. "What I have been suggesting and advocating is a new fiscal relationship with the First Nations of Canada and the federal government, including the provinces."
Yukon Nations celebrate first annual Commissioner's Potlatch
By Brigitte D. Parker
Raven's Eye Writer
WHITEHORSE
Yukon Elders revisited fond childhood memories recently with the revival of a long neglected tradition. On June 23, the first Commissioner's Potlatch was held in Whitehorse to celebrate the territory's First Nations cultures and traditions.
Attracting thousands throughout the day, the inaugural outdoors event featured over 200 performers from the Yukon's eight linguistic groups. An early morning parade launched the colorful celebration as performers and guests, dressed in traditional regalia, walked to the downtown park.
Visitors participated in stick gambling and Dene games, helped stitch the sun design on the potlatch's community button blanket, listened to Elders sharing stories and learned to make dream catchers, beading designs and head dresses. An artists' tent featured local First Nation artists demonstrating their skills. Traditional structures like a skin house, pole house, brush and fish camp were also erected in the park.
The day's highlight was a traditional meal served to 1,500 guests who feasted on a menu of moose, caribou, salmon, white fish, wild rice, bannock and mixed berries. In true potlatch spirit, the free event was open to the public.
The festivities were hosted by Yukon Commissioner, Judy Gingell. Earlier in the year, she noticed little was being done for Yukon First Nations within the territory's centennial celebrations. In addition, many nations disagreed with celebrating the historic event that largely impacted their ancestors and way of life.
Despite this, Gingell said she and her council of Elders wanted to look upon the anniversary years as a chance to incorporate First Nation traditions and history into the celebrations. By heightening her people's profile, she said, this Gathering of Traditions encouraged the healing process and helped her sisters and brothers unite.
"What I have found through my travels is that people immediately come up to me at functions or after a speech and ask a lot of questions about Yukon First Nations or just First Nations people," explained Gingell. "This itself is another way of showing and telling people who the First Nations really are. Plus, it really helps bring us together and provide the unity and the respect to build a strong relationship with one another as First Nations people."
Yukon singers, dancers and drummers were joined by guest performers from Alaska, the Northwest Territories and British Columbia. During the evening's presentations, the American Gei San Dancers stole the show with their quick comedy skits, punchy one-liners and rendition of Amazing Grace. While introducing his nation's national anthem, young Harry Johnson reminded the crowd to listen to their grandfather's stories and share them so that they continue to live on. The 14-member group was mostly comprised of energetic Elders with a cumulative age of about 1,000 years.
In contrast to their Alaskan cousins, the Yukon's Tr'ondek Hwech'in group filled the stage with 40 young performers. These people greatly affected by gold rush events treated the crowd to five special songs. Prior to the historic gold rush, these songs had been safely stored in Tok, Alaska by their chief who foresaw the impact of coming events. The songs were returned to the Tr'ondek Hwech'in a few years ago.
Many traditional ceremonies were performed during the Elder-approved evening. One young Tagish Nation Dancer honored his Elder's kindness by giving her a gift from his button blanket. A 40-minute blanket dance was also held with the newly made community button blanket. Donations totaled $1,700. At evening's end, all guests received a commemorative poster and bookmark as gifts from the Commissioner.
"This is what our people used to do a long time ago," said Gingell. "There used to be a couple of potlatches a year where people would come back from hunting and trapping, get together, share stories and catch up on the happenings of the community. And in the fall, they would do the same when they got ready to leave."
Despite the weather, the evening finished with a large circle dance in the rain lead by the Ross River Drummers. Organizers say the $50,000 event was a success and hope it becomes an annual summer celebration. They hope to hold next year's Commissioner's Potlatch on June 21 to jointly celebrate National Aboriginal Day. This year, the date unfortunately conflicted with another local festival.
First outlawed in 1880, the potlatch gatherings helped promote understanding of First Nation cultures and pass on knowledge. With this first Commissioner's Potlatch, Gingell hoped she brought this understanding closer to reality and fulfilled her vision of a united Yukon.
"What I am hearing from people is that some have had a bad year or there has been some hardships within their communities and it is nice that they can come to a place like this where everybody is happy and feeling good about it. To me, it really signifies that our tradition is still here. It survives and it is going very strong," said Gingell.
Dear Editor,
I am confused and concerned about an article I read in the May 1998 issue of Raven's Eye. I am not sure how to respond to Malcolm MacColl's article: "Man fights for recognition of his people."
I am Kwakwaka'wakw formerly known as Kwakiutl. Kwakwaka'wakw means Kwak'wala speaking people. When the Europeans first arrived in our territory, the first tribe of people they met were the Kwagu'l of T'saxis (Fort Rupert). Since then they continued to call all of our tribes Kwakiutl or Kwagiulth, neither of these terms correctly or collectively described the Kwak'wala speaking peoples.
What confuses me is the content of this article. It makes absolutely no sense at all, I can understand the anger and frustration towards the cultural genocide First Nations people everywhere have endured. The total loss of our languages and cultures could mean the loss of our identity as First Nations People.
Please forgive me, but who is George Quocksister? And what does he mean that "Kwakiutl is a bull*** invention of the residential school system," and "There is no tribal history whatsoever in Kwakiutl?" Which we are no longer! Or is he seriously talking about the Kwakwaka'wakw when he says, "Kwakiutl are squatters who were enabled by the government. Kwakiutl was a hodgepodge of bands that were subjected to repeated land seizures and relentless chasing from the land". And what about "The Kwakiutl have no idea where they came from or any of their family or tribal histories"? When I read this my heart sank, my stomach did nervous flips. Why is he saying these things about a group of people who have been subject to the same societal repression his people have?
The government tried to rub us out once by banning our Potlatch ceremonies and putting our children into residential schools. Please don't even go there with your words Mr. Quocksister.
The Potlatch ceremony is where our families pass on the traditions, names, songs and dances of our ancestors. For 67 years the Canadian government outlawed our Potlatch. Those were very dark and sad times for our people, but we never gave up. Since the ban was lifted in 1951 our people have Potlatched as our ancestors before us had, which has contributed to the growth of the cultural revival of our people.
Mr. Quocksister, please tell me why you say what you did in this article about the Kwakiutl. Please help me to understand, where these words come from. Who are you talking about when you refer to the "Kwakiutl?"
I have read this article over and over again to try to figure out and understand what Mr. Quocksister is saying and what I interpret is this:
The Kwakiutl are just a bunch of Indians who were lost on the land because they lost their real language to Chinook trading jargon and were not able to link their family histories to the land. Therefore they amalgamated together and built their homes wherever they could until some other force kicked them out?
The Kwakiutl have no family or tribal history. Basically, we didn't exist as a cultural group before the Europeans arrived carrying little booklets of Chinook.
Mr. Quocksister, I am a proud Kwakwaka'wakw women, everyday I walk with head held high thankful for my family and traditions, thankful for our histories and our strengths to overcome the governments efforts to eradicate the Kwakwaka'wakw Culture and Language.
I strongly believe in fighting for the rights of the First Nations peoples but we should stick together and support one another. Please don't tell me the Kwakwaka'wakw don't exist. Because that is what you are saying when you say we don't have any family or tribal histories.
Gilakas'la, (Thank you)
Lori Speck
Alert Bay, BC
*I do enjoy reading your newspaper, thank you for some very informative and interesting stories.
By Paul Barnsley
Raven's Eye Editor
After having had time to sit back and digest the daily coverage of the B.C. Treaty Commission's annual report and the provincial government's response to it, a couple of ideas come to mind.
The BCTC is supposed to be the keeper of the process, the impartial arbiter of the game. The game is supposed to be to provide a place where the province, Canada and First Nations can sit down as equals and hammer out modern-day treaties. If one side tries to gain an unfair advantage, (read "cheat") the commission is supposed to stop play and restore order.
Anyone who has ever refereed or umpired a sporting event knows that all sides will use every trick in the book to attempt to influence the official and gain an advantage. Good officials are virtually immune to this kind of pressure and are quick to stop it. Savvy hockey players know that any obvious attempt they make to influence a good referee will force that referee to be harder on them to prove his impartiality and professionalism.
So think about what happened to Alec Robertson, the former chief commissioner of the BCTC. He, the referee, was effectively fired by one of the teams, the provincial government!
We may as well go all the way with this sports analogy. In sports, the rules committee sets the standards. If there's something about the game that isn't quite working, it's the rules committee that comes up with the rule changes. The referees are expected to keep up with the changes and call the game the way their bosses want it called.
For the treaty process, the Supreme Court of Canada is the rules committee. Delgamuukw was a big rule change this year, sort of like the new obstruction fouls that the NHL rules committee instructed its officials to start calling this past season.
Interestingly enough, deciding to call the obstruction fouls was basically a decision to apply the rules the way they've always been written. The NHL decided, at long last some would say, to follow its own rules.
You could say Delgamuukw is the same thing. What did Delgamuukw say, after all? It said that if somebody was living on land and somebody else came along and took it, the person or people who were displaced had a legal recourse to compensation. That's a basic idea in common law - Canada's rule book.
It was Robertson's call that the province was dragging its feet and coming up short on providing the funding necessary for the game to progress. He made that call - and his fellow commissioners agreed and repeated the message in their annual report - even though he knew the province had the power to put him out of a job.
Sports fans would say that's a gutsy call. Robertson knew his job was not to take sides. He showed complete disinterest in the hopes and ambitions of the teams in the game and showed an interest only in the game itself.
The province, meanwhile, is the defending champion in this game. The province has to win in order to keep the trophy - which is the right to maintain unfettered control of most of the resource-rich land in the province. The Clark government knows it will come out of the game with less than it started with. The smart move in the short term is to delay the start of the game. That might explain why five years and $93 million later, there have been no treaties signed. If the B.C. government could find a way to postpone the game forever, they would. Robertson told them they can't. So they fired him. When he wouldn't take their side, they accused him of taking the other side.
Of course, the province says it didn't fire him. The province is willing to argue at length that it only "deferred" his re-appointment until the treaty talks speed up. That sounds incredibly lame when you think about it. Now they'll argue over the BCTC's interpretation of Delgamuukw. They'll quibble over every little detail. They're willing to spend years arguing to convince you they're not stalling.