The Raven's Eye takes flight by Bert Crowfoot
Man charged in cutting of Sitka spruce still listed as missing by Paul Barnsley
Nisga'a Tribal Council re-elected by Paul Barnsley
High expectations for '97 Indigenous Games by Paul Barnsley
Aboriginal Sport Development Centre opens by Paul Barnsley
Funding approval for water supply and treatment projects
Alkali Lake to conduct inquiry
Youth occupy treaty commission office
A First Nation in British Columbia wants to revive its traditional practice of whale hunting off the coast of Vancouver Island. A world-wide effort to persuade governments to allow the resumption of whaling is underway. Groups in Japan, Norway, Washington state in the United States and the Huu-ay-aht of British Columbia (one of the Nuu-chah-nulth nations) are hoping to resume the hunt in the fall when the grey whales migrate south from the Arctic Ocean to waters near Mexico. It's been 70 years since the Huu-ay-aht harvested the greys. Chief Tom Happynook said his people will make an effort to restore respect for whaling people by practicing "community-based whaling."
A 1995 survey which concluded that inadequate water and sewer systems on many First Nations territories were potential health hazards led to a promise in 1996 from Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin that the process of modernizing water and sewer systems would be accelerated. Days before the federal election call last month, a government announcement revealed that $17.7 million of the $98 million Indian Affairs was injecting into the process will go to British Columbia. Skidegate ($3 million), Hartley Bay ($2.5 million), Kitkatla ($3.7 million), Kwicksutaineuk-ah-kwaw-ah-mish ($870,000), Ditidaht ($450,000) and Lytton ($7.2 million) have or will receive government funding.
Impatient with what they perceive as a lack of government attention to the abuse which occured in the residential school system in British Columbia, the Alkali Lake community will conduct its own public inquiry this month. The inquiry will begin on May 19.
About 30 young Aboriginal people spent two days and a night occupying the B.C. Treaty Commission office in downtown Vancouver last month. A spokesman for the group says the youth are opposed to the province's treaty process. Members of the Native Youth Movement refused to leave the office until the commission agreed to meet with them. A meeting was set for April but then changed to later this month, prompting the group to warn it may resume the occupation.
The Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations will be 51 per cent owners of a forestry venture in the northern Clayoquot Sound region. MacMillan Bloedel is the nation's partner in the venture. The new company is expected to take over MacBlo's forest tenure in the area and begin operations in 1998 or early 1999, cutting about 40,000 cu. m of wood per year. The new company will employ about 20 people.
Two Aboriginal employees of Television Northern Canada have been awarded internships with Cancom (Canadian Satellite Communications) as winners of the 1997 Ross Charles Award.
Mike Rudyk and Jeff Dorn both work at Northern Native Broadcasting, Yukon.
· The McKenna-McBride Applications claim of the Mamaleleqala Qwe'Qwa'Sot'Enox band has been recommended for settlement by the Indian Claims Commission The commission reported to the Minister of Indian Affairs that the Indian Agent in the region in 1914 did not fulfill his fiduciary obligation when the band applied to have several of its traditional sites recognized as reserve lands.
· The Tsimshian Nation signed a framework agreement with Canada and the province that brings the nation another step toward an agreement-in-principle under the B.C. treaty process.
· An agreement has been reached regarding the Tobacco Plains First Nation's specific claim. Canada will pay $500,000 to the First Nation as full and final settlement to compensate for alleged mismanagement of a timber lease on Tobacco Plains territory in the 1920s.
· The Kwakiutl First Nation also received $500,000 in payment for a claim filed in 1992. The claim stated that Deer Island and Eagle Island should have been part of the reserve pursuant to the Douglas Treaty. "Since 1993, when this government took office, 68 specific claims have been settled and more than 100 are in negotiations across the country. I'm very proud of this record in accomplishments," Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin said of the agreement.
· The Cowichan First Nation received $150,000 in compensation to settle its specific claim. The First Nation, located outside of Duncan, filed the claim in relation to the loss of land known as Greenpoint.
By Paul Barnsley
Raven's Eye Writer
BRENTWOOD BAY
More than 100 guests were invited to mark the opening of Canada's first Aboriginal Sport Development Centre on May 2.
The guests - Aboriginal leaders, provincial sports figures, government officials and media representatives - assembled at the newly-built structure on the Tsartlip First Nation to witness the traditional ceremony as two Coast Salish Elders blessed and opened the building.
The completion and official opening of the sports development centre is the realization of a goal set by Vancouver Island Aboriginal leaders in 1989. When the 1996 Commonwealth Games were hosted in Victoria last summer, leaders and Elders of three Vancouver Island First Nations - Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth and Kwakwaka'wakw - were asked to become involved. Members of the nations that eventually accepted the offer formed what became known as the Native Participation Committee
From the beginning, the committee members decided they would leave a legacy to future generations of young Aboriginal people as a result of their involvement in the project. That was part of the deal and the centre is the result.
"Back in 1989, even before the bid was in, we were discussing how First Nations could be involved," said Tom Sampson, a former tribal chairman and Native Participation Committee member who now chairs the management board for the centre. "Our purpose was to involve our people in a major way. We decided early on that we didn't want to participate in the presentation of medals or the selling of tickets; we wanted to tell our peoples' story and that is something we certainly did."
Staff members at the new centre say that the Maori contribution to the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand was so impressive that it was only natural that neighboring First Nations be invited to participate in the Victoria games. As is often the case after the completion of a major international competition, the community enjoys a lingering benefit in terms of improved athletic facilities, and the Native Participation Committee was determined that the Aboriginal community would share in that benefit.
Sampson said successful involvement of Indigenous peoples in the two games persuaded the Commonwealth Games committee to change the way all future games will be organized.
"They had to change their constitution to accommodate a First Nations person on the board. At the Victoria games it was the very first time there had been an Aboriginal person on the board," he added, proudly.
The building is a two-storey, 18 m by 25 m [60 ft. by 90 ft.] structure, designed to resemble a post-contact Salish house. The main floor features training space and sports medicine facilities. Offices and meeting rooms fill the upper floor The land was leased to the centre by the Tsartlip First Nations for 25 years at what centre's board members call a very modest price.
The job's not quite done
There's still a bit of work for the centre's management board to do so that Aboriginal athletes can get on with the huge job of preparing themselves to compete with the best in the world.
"The building's finished," Sampson said. "The Team BC boxers are using the centre for their workouts right now. Some of the athletes involved in the canoeing events had their time trials there last weekend."
But some equipment is still not in place. Sampson said he's involved in negotiations with the federal and provincial governments and with a corporate sponsor to get the money that's needed to add the finishing touches. He's confident the negotiations will be successful.
"The government's spent $1 million to help build it; they're not going to leave it with nothing around it. And I've been negotiating with the Ben Weider Corporation to see if they will donate all the exercise equipment. They would be the first company to get involved with the first Aboriginal Sport Development Centre," he said.
The centre is committed to provide access to recreational athletes as well as elite level competitors. Sampson said the centre will create more and more success stories and role models for Aboriginal youth.
"That's what we're looking for," he said. "Before, First Nations people had no platform to train and prepare athletes to compete at a very high level. With the new centre we're now linked. We've got an organization now."
Big plans for new centre
The chairman of the centre's building committee has stayed on as a volunteer member of the management board and has high hopes for the future of Aboriginal athletics now that the facility is up and running.
"Aboriginal people all across the country should know about this centre because it's their centre," Gordon Hanson said. "Ideally, we want Mi'kmaq coaches, Inuit coaches, coaches from all over to use the facility. We want to develop a large number of credited, certified coaches in all sports from all regions."
"This can be a beacon for all Aboriginal sports," he added. "The centre will tie in with the Commonwealth Centre for Sports Development."
The Commonwealth centre was established near Victoria and, with a $10 million dollar fund set aside to allow it to become a national centre for the training of elite level coaches and athletes, will provide a handy supply of top level expertise to the new Aboriginal centre.
The Aboriginal centre's management board will be lobbying one of it's own members in the hopes of attracting an important new partner.
The chair of the Aboriginal Circle, the national body for First Nations sport, is Mohawk Olympic medalist Alwyn Morris. Morris also sits on the centre's board. The Aboriginal Circle is looking for a home right now and the centre seems to be logical choice.
"I may be a bit biased, but I think it makes sense," Hanson said.
By Bert Crowfoot
Raven's Eye Publisher
Welcome to our premiere issue of Raven's Eye, a publication for and about the Aboriginal people of British Columbia and Yukon.
Raven's Eye is published by the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta (AMMSA), which also publishes Windspeaker and Alberta Sweetgrass and Saskatchewan Sage.
In my travels, people have continually asked me when AMMSA would produce a publication for the people of British Columbia and Yukon, like it has for Alberta and Saskatchewan. Repeatedly, I have been told of the need for an independent, objective publication which unites all people of Aboriginal heritage. AMMSA's mission has always been to bring people together, to share and to empower Aboriginal people through open and objective coverage of news and other important current events. Open communication will secure a more prosperous future for all Aboriginal people and, with this in mind, we bring you Raven's Eye.
Raven's Eye will profile people who are active and successful in the Aboriginal community in the province and territory. Raven's Eye will bring you information about the activities of Aboriginal people, the celebrations that they are taking part in, and how they are achieving their goals. It will focus on the positive aspects of the community as it grows and prospers.
AMMSA is financially and politically independent and always has been. Readers of Raven's Eye can be assured that there will be no political biases in the newspaper, now or ever. What you can expect is coverage about your community, your events and the news and information that is useful to you.
I am pleased to welcome Paul Barnsley as the new editor of Raven's Eye. Though he has his work cut out for him with this new publication, he has proven himself to be an enthusiastic and energetic addition to the AMMSA staff. Paul has put together a wonderful first issue and has chosen to feature, among other things, the North American Indigenous Games, an update on the police investigation into the cutting of the Sitka spruce, an Aboriginal program on the province's newest TV station and local views on the approaching federal election. Enjoyable reading all and extremely enlightening.
As mentioned earlier, the focus of Raven's Eye is on community events that are happening throughout the province and territory. It will be published monthly and will be distributed to all Aboriginal organizations, First Nations offices, individuals and companies that have a strong interest in Aboriginal community affairs.
I hope that you enjoy your first issue of Raven's Eye and please remember, this is your publication. Please call us with story ideas or to let us know about upcoming events in your community. We will endeavor to cover as much of the province each month as space allows.
By Paul Barnsley
Raven's Eye Writer
VICTORIA
North American Indigenous Games organizers already know that this summer's competition is going to be the biggest games yet. They're also confident that it will be the best-ever version of the "Indian Olympics."
Team B.C. members, the top Aboriginal athletes and coaches from across the province, are honing their skills at training sessions co-ordinated in various locations by the Aboriginal Sport/Recreation Association of B.C. The games organizing committee, the group that Team BC and each of the other 26 teams heading to Victoria this summer will count on to make things run smoothly, is busily working out the logistical details to ensure that the scheduling nightmares experienced during the previous games in Blaine, Minnesota in 1995 will not re-surface.
An organizing committee, consisting almost entirely of Aboriginal people, has recruited more than 2,000 volunteers, many of them with Commonwealth Games experience. These volunteers will look after the details that will make the difference between the success or failure of the games.
The Indigenous games are meant to be more than just a top-flight athletic competition. The cultural activities that will accompany the sports will give the six-day gathering a distinctive flavor. In addition to the more than 5,000 coaches, managers and team members involved in the youth category of competition, 500 senior athletes and 2,500 Aboriginal cultural participants will arrive on Vancouver Island in time for the opening ceremony scheduled for the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 3.
Aboriginal artists, singers, musicians, dancers and paddlers from all over the world will add to the cultural diversity of the games. Aboriginal people from New Zealand, Australia, Norway, South America, Africa and Hawaii will make cultural contributions to the event.
As part of the opening ceremony, more than 60 Aboriginal ocean-going canoes will complete a 500 km "tribal journey" and arrive in Victoria's Inner Harbor. The "pullers" [paddlers] will be welcomed to the traditional Coast Salish territory by local chiefs in a welcoming ceremony.
There are 16 summer sports included in the medal competition: archery, track and field, badminton, baseball, basketball, boxing, golf, canoeing, lacrosse, rifle shooting, softball, soccer, swimming, Tae Kwon Do, volleyball and wrestling. There is one demonstration sport that might find its way onto the list of official sports in time for the 1999 games in Fargo, North Dakota - futsal, a version of indoor soccer that's played on a basketball court. Other sports that will be demonstrated for the appreciation of the fans include war canoe racing, hoop dancing, lahal (an ancient stick game) and a variety of Arctic sports.
Three annual cultural events in the Victoria region coincide with the games and will add to the flavor of the week. The Watanmay Powwow in Brentwood Bay, put on by the Tsartlip First Nation, will be followed by the Songhees First Nations' Lekwammen Powwow in Esquimalt which in turn will be followed by the Victoria Native Friendship Centre's First Peoples' Festival in Thunderbird Park.
The election for the Assembly of First Nations national chief at an assembly in nearby Vancouver will conclude in time for the start of the games and many of the chiefs, including Chief Ovide Mercredi's successor, are expected to attend the games.
The games logo "Our Beginnings" is the work of Victoria resident Art Thompson. The Nuu-chah-nulth/Coast Salish artist shows the Ditidaht creation story in the logo which depicts Raven offering his knowledge of the world to the people who pass the wisdom on through the generations and are transformed by it. The image of Raven is meant to symbolize the transforming, healing power of sports and culture.
Barb Hager, games committee communications advisor, told Raven's Eye that the federal and provincial governments contributed about 90 per cent of the game's $2 million budget. Corporate sponsors provided the rest.
Alex Nelson, executive director of the games, believes the Indigenous games encompass the Olympic spirit and more.
"Sports play an important role in the lives of Aboriginal youth throughout Canada and the United States. They offer our young people an opportunity to develop on many levels - physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual. The North American Indigenous Games bring together thousands of young athletes, their coaches and managers, in a spirit of competition, friendship and cultural sharing," he said.
Unlike the Olympic or Commonwealth games, spectators won't need a ticket to see most of the competitions. Organizers say they may have to charge admission to some of the finals and perhaps the opening and closing ceremonies to be held at the University of Victoria's Centennial Stadium, but otherwise there will be no charge for admission.
By Paul Barnsley
Raven's Eye Writer
CANYON CITY
The 40th annual Nisga'a Tribal Council convention wrapped up on May 2 with a visit from retiring Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin, who arrived just in time to congratulate Joseph Gosnell, Sr. on his re-election to a third straight four-year term as president.
The five-day-long series of meetings of the member bands of the tribal council was a high-profile affair, given the bright national - even international - spotlight that has been shining on the treaty talks that the council has been in engaged in with the province and the federal government during their recently completed term.
The entire tribal council executive was given a renewed mandate during last week's election, something President Gosnell sees as a vote of confidence in the treaty negotiations.
"The Nisga'a people have spoken," Gosnell said. "They told us to press on to the final phase of our treaty making - formal ratification. We have been reminded of the lessons of perseverance. Many people from the Nisga'a Nation, from across Canada and around the world are watching carefully and supporting us as we press on to our goal of a just settlement of the Nisga'a land question. This convention has had a strengthening effect and has been a powerful re-affirmation of the work accomplished so far and of the work that lies ahead."
"The voting shows the people are behind the agreement-in-principle," said Rod Robinson, the tribal council's executive director. "It's against our laws to openly campaign, we let the people decide. It's up to them."
Robinson said the federal negotiator was at the convention at the same time as the Indian Affairs minister, suggesting there might be some progress towards a final agreement, but no announcement was made that day. He added that both sides are hoping to get the deal finalized before the uncertainties of the federal political situation - Irwin is retiring and a federal election is scheduled for June 2 - put yet another roadblock in the 110 year process.
The details of the historic agreement-in-principle have caused controversy in every corner of the country. The Nisga'a people will receive $190 million ($175.5 from Ottawa and $14.5 from B.C.) along with 1,930 sq. km of land in the lower Nass River area, as well as other considerations. In turn, they will agree to extinguish their tax-exempt rights under the Indian Act. It is this last item that has attracted the most criticism from other Aboriginal leaders.
Executive director Robinson admits that some of the urban members of the Nisga'a community are opposed to the deal, but he added that the voting last week proved that the majority of the people support it.
Minister Irwin agreed. "Democracy is alive and well in the Nass Valley," he said.
Several other dignitaries made appearances at the convention.
Along with leaders of Yukon, Gwich'in, and Sechelt First Nations,
former Canadian Human Rights Commissioner Max Yalden attended.
He praised the Nisga'a compromise during a speech he made to the
delegates. Environmentalist David Suzuki, Progressive Democratic
Alliance party leader, Gordon Wilson, former Skeena MP Jim Fulton,
M.K. Wong, director of the Hong Kong Bank of Canada and retired
justice Thomas Berger also attended.
Man charged in cutting of Sitka spruce still listed as missing
By Paul Barnsley
Raven's Eye Writer
MASSET, Queen Charlotte Islands
The crew of the RCMP patrol boat Inkster continues the search for the man accused of cutting down a golden spruce considered sacred by the Haida people.
Thomas Grant Hadwin, 48, was released on his own recognizance last January after being charged with mischief to property in connection with the felling of the rare conifer. When he failed to appear for his first appearance in provincial court on Feb. 18, a warrant was issued for his arrest.
"Mr. Hadwin was last believed to be paddling his way towards the Queen Charlotte Islands, which means that the patrol boat section is conducting the investigation," RCMP Corporal Grant Wilson told Raven's Eye.
Police laid the charge against Hadwin after a letter he wrote - in which he admitted felling the tree - was published in a local paper. Wilson says police are taking this investigation more seriously than the usual mischief charge.
"From a criminal standpoint it's not the most pressing issue we're dealing with. The monetary value of the tree is, of course, not the main issue. It's the spiritual and moral value, and not just for the Haida people but for everybody," the non-Native policeman said. "I took my kids to see it last year - before it was cut down, thank God. It was important to everybody in this area."
Officers in the region are actively seeking Hadwin.
"We all know what he looks like," Wilson said. "And the public is calling us if they suspect they've seen him. We're averaging a report about once a week, but no leads have developed."
"Mr Hadwin has a lot of questions to answer. I only hope he didn't understand the significance of the tree," Wilson added.
The 300-year-old Sitka spruce was more than 45 m [150 ft.] high and about 1.8 m [6 ft.] in diameter. It was one of the largest of its kind and all the more rare because of its golden color, caused by an unusual lack of chlorophyll. Scientists are hoping to clone the tree using a variety of methods.
The Haida people have passed on a story through the generations about the tree, explaining its spiritual value to the culture: Kiidkayaas, a Haida boy, and his grandfather were the lone survivors of a very severe snowstorm. As they sadly left their traditional home to join with another community, the grandfather warned the youngster not to look back. But the boy couldn't help himself. When he turned to look he became rooted to the ground and transformed into the tree.
A spokesman for the Council of the Haida Nation said the community is hoping the police can successfully conclude their investigation.
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