The Aboriginal Newspaper of British
Columbia & Yukon
Published October 11, 1999
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Three north coast peoples gathered in Kitimaat Village on Sept. 23 to formalize an agreement that will ensure there is a respectful process for settling any future disagreements over land and resource use within their traditional territories. The colorful ceremony saw chiefs and Elders in regalia sign the peace treaty. Photo Credit: Jennifer Lang |
Three northwest B.C. bands sign
peace treaty
by Jennifer Lang
British Columbia logging issue
heats up
by By Tracey K Bonneau-Jack
with files from Paul Barnsley
Province backs down: Compensation
for MacBlo
by Dana Wagg
Fijian healers visit British Columbia
First Nations
By Troy Hunter
Learn about the work of Bill
Reid
By Yvonne Irene Gladue
On the western edge of Indian
Country - column
by Keith Matthew
To:ske - It's True - column
Playing the white man's game
By Taiaiake Alfred
Here is a full list of additional stories featured in the October, 1999 issue of Raven's Eye. If you are not receiving your own copy of Raven's Eye, then you have missed all this information.
Three northwest B.C. bands sign peace treaty
By Jennifer Lang
Raven's Eye Writer
KITIMAAT VILLAGE
A peace treaty signed by three north coast bands last month
to resolve the question of overlap within their traditional territories
is an agreement that represents their enduring, historical relationship,
the signatories say.
Signed during day-long celebrations in Kitimaat Village Sept.
23 by the Haisla, Kitasoo/XaisXais, and the Heiltsuk First Nations,
the peace treaty paves the way for managing and sharing traditional
resources because it recognizes and re-confirms the ongoing relationship
between the neighboring nations.
"Throughout our history we have had protocol between us
that has worked for our mutual benefit," said Haisla chief
negotiator Gerald Amos. "We hope that this agreement points
us down the road of our ancestors."
While the peace treaty is a step towards ensuring that boundary
issues won't hold up their respective treaty talks with the provincial
and federal governments - something that's necessary for each
to continue negotiating treaties with the provincial and federal
governments - the agreement recognizes the historical cultural,
economic and political ties that have existed between the three
peoples since time immemorial and have ensured their economic
and cultural survival.
Before Amos read the text of the agreement aloud at the signing
ceremony, he told the crowd of more than 500 that he hoped the
peace treaty will act as a mechanism to resolve potential conflicts.
"There is much fighting over resources," Amos said,
"and we are looking to this document to enable our chiefs,
our councillors and our people to come to an agreement in a fashion
that might prove to the rest of the world that it is possible
to co-exist in a territory such as ours."
Percy Star, chief negotiator for Kitasoo/XaisXais, told Raven's
Eye how his people had always worked with neighboring communities
before contact, an arrangement that lasted until his father's
generation.
That special relationship of cooperation and mutual respect resulted
in inter-marriages and the granting of permission to fish in
a neighbor's territory when circumstances deemed necessary.
"We have agreed to start redeveloping those relationships,
whether it's management for commercial purposes, or trying to
make some strong effort to be heard," Star said. "When
there are problems, we are going to try working together as a
group."
For Star, the present-day relationship will now work in much
the same way as in his ancestors' day; extending to the areas
of barter and exchange, co-management of dwindling resources,
such as fish and wildlife, and will encourage the communities
to stand together.
"I can now feel comfortable in coming and talking to these
people if I have any concerns, and to try and further our relationship
in the area of trade and barter as we once did," he said.
Arlene Wilson, Chief Councillor for the Heiltsuk Tribal Council,
said the treaty recognizes territorial ties and kinship ties.
"We look forward to working together with our neighbours
and families to implement the peace treaty," Wilson said.
Along with a large delegation of hereditary chiefs and Heiltsuk
band members from Bella Bella who arrived by boat, nearly 80
Kitasoo/XaisXais made a 12-and-a-half hour journey north from
Klemtu to Kitimaat on two fishing boats to attend the signing
ceremony.
At 9 a.m. Haisla canoes met Heiltsuk and Kitasoo/XaisXais representatives
at the breakwater at the Kitimaat boat landing Sept. 23, where
their canoes were welcomed onto the shores of Kitimaat Village
for the historic gathering.
Delegates and well-wishers from as far away as Haida Gwaii, Terrace,
Prince Rupert, and the Nass Valley were also on hand for the
celebration, held at the Kitimaat Recreation Centre in the afternoon,
and followed by a feast in the evening.
"It's a great and necessary step forward for our people,"
observed Tsimshian chief negotiator Gerald Wesley. He said the
peace treaty means the Kitasoo, at the Tsimshian treaty table,
have taken another step towards ensuring that boundary issues
won't be a barrier when it comes to finalizing treaties with
the provincial and federal governments.
Wesley said the agreement also lays the groundwork for how the
Kitasoo/XaisXais and their coastal neighbours will work together
in the years to come.
"It will ensure our nation of people respect each other's
traditional territories, and how we share resources and how we
manage these resources in the future."
The Heiltsuk and Kitasoo/XaisXais Nations signed a bi-lateral
peace treaty agreement in 1996, but it wasn't until May of 1999
that all three signatories of this peace treaty sat down to discuss
their proposals and work out an agreement, said Kitimaat Village
Councillor Ken Hall.
It's expected that more bi-lateral and multi-lateral agreements
between the signatories and their neighbours will be reached
as the treaty process continues.
British Columbia logging issue heats up
By Tracey K Bonneau-Jack
with files from Paul Barnsley
Raven's Eye Writer
KELOWNA
As the battle lines are drawn over resource extraction from
traditional Native lands, it appears the unity that First Nation
people in the province of British Columbia have been searching
for has become a reality.
In a region where Native politics have traditionally been split
- frequently with great animosity - along the line of those who
support the idea of treaty-making with the province and those
who don't, all the factions have been united behind the actions
of one Interior band.
Westbank First Nation's chief and council, in a move they say
was aimed at "creating jobs and economic fairness,"
ordered their loggers into the woods on September 7. Their job
was to harvest 25 hectares of timber in what is known to them
as Okanagan Nation traditional territory. Under the provincial
system, the land was open for bid later in the year and is not
yet covered by a provincial timber license. Those licenses are
issued by the Ministry of Forests.
Instead, fed up with two years of waiting for the provincial
government to embrace the spirit of the landmark Supreme Court
of Canada Delgamuukw decision, the Okanagan Nation Alliance has
issued its own cutting permit to the band. The permit requires
the band's loggers to adhere to all safety and forest codes and
is similar to current provincial regulations.
Shortly after the Westbank loggers took to the woods and the
mainstream backlash began, the Okanagan Nation chiefs joined
the battle to show support for Westbank Chief Ron Derrickson.
As provincial officials issued stop work orders, criticized the
logging as illegal, and talk of RCMP intervention began, more
and more First Nations and First Nations organizations joined
in an unprecedented show of solidarity.
"The harvesting of our timber grew from frustration led
on by the province ignoring Aboriginal title and rights under
the Delgamuukw decision," Derrickson said.
Earlier this year, Westbank tried to find a way to participate
in the lucrative billion-dollar forest industry within the province's
rules. After attempting to obtain what the band felt would have
been a reasonable amount of timber, Westbank was informed they
were eligible for a puny 2,000 cubic metres of "blow down,"
considered by Native leaders to be a "mere scrap" which
would have created only a couple of weeks work for Native loggers.
The remainder of the 7.6 million cubic metres harvested in the
Okanagan Valley would remain under provincial control and most
likely awarded to non-Native commercial loggers. Local Native
observers joke that woodpeckers and termites are getting more
wood than Okanagan First Nations, but leaders don't see the humor
in it.
"We, as Native people, have an undeniable right to participate
in the economic interests of the province," Stewart Phillip,
president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, told
Windspeaker. "Delgamuukw says we are the owners of this
land and that must be fully understood, respected and implemented
in all future planning of resource extraction."
Forest Minister David Zirnhelt, during an emergency meeting in
Vancouver on September 15, told a huge gathering of Native leaders
that the forest industry will continue to be regulated under
the current guidelines.
"First Nations groups must go through appropriate channels
to negotiate timber extraction rights," the minister said.
"Those channels must be negotiated through the current treaty
negotiation process. Two thousand cubic metres were offered to
the Westbank First Nation under our direct award program and
the Westbank First Nation has ignored our offer."
Approximately 80 chiefs and delegates arrived for the meeting,
expecting the minister would have something to offer as a way
of reaching a negotiated settlement. Shortly after the meeting
began, the chiefs walked out, angry and frustrated. Before exiting
the meeting, Phillip thanked the minister for "uniting the
Aboriginal people in B.C. and across this nation" by not
coming to the meeting with more to offer.
The Westbank logging operation has since gained the support of
the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the Union of British Columbia
Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), the First Nations Summit and the Six Nations
Alliance - all the province's major Native political groups -
plus a number of individual bands.
The meeting was requested by Derrickson, who invited National
Chief Phil Fontaine to mediate. Fontaine opened the meeting by
urging the province to bargain in good faith. He criticized the
province for releasing media reports that said Westbank "was
engaged in criminal legal activities as an attempt to create
fear in the minds of British Columbians."
Fontaine went on to say this issue "is not about criminal
activity, it is about the assertion of Aboriginal rights in their
traditional territory."
Fontaine said the Native loggers have "rock solid"
support from the AFN, adding that a resolution had been passed
by the Summit chiefs supporting the logging.
"This is not an isolated incident," he said. "It
is reflective of the deep frustration held by many First Nation
communities across this nation."
Interior bands have traditionally been less willing to negotiate
with the province, saying they're prepared to stand on the legal
validity of their claim to ownership of land which was never
surrendered. Treaty-making in Canada generally stopped at the
top of the Rocky Mountains, leaving title to most of the present-day
province of British Columbia in a state of legal confusion. In
the Delgamuukw decision, Canada's highest court applied the law
of the land and decided that Aboriginal title to the land existed
and must be dealt with. The Interior bands, their position vindicated
by the court, have become more insistent and less patient with
a provincial government that they believe has allowed the status
quo to continue unchanged despite the court ruling. Even the
less adversarial coastal bands, which participate in the British
Columbia Treaty Commission process as members of the First Nations
Summit and are seen as more conciliatory, have had enough.
"First Nations groups have watched as the very lands being
negotiated are stripped of resources, which are key to First
Nations' future economic stability and self-sufficiency,"
Grand Chief Ed John, Chief Joe Mathias and Robert Louie, leaders
of the First Nations Summit, said in a letter to the editor published
in the Vancouver Sun. "First Nation groups have asked whether
there will be any resources left by the time we finalize out
treaties or are we negotiating for nothing more than barren pieces
of land?"
Although they still prefer the method of achieving reconciliation
through treaty negotiation, in the short term the Summit has
supported the actions of the Westbank First Nations.
As the logging issue came to a boil, the Union of British Columbia
Indian Chiefs held a three-day special assembly in Westbank.
The political organization which represents First Nations opposed
to the treaty process passed a resolution which could have a
serious impact on the forest industry in the province. Borrowing
an idea from environmentalists who have made big trouble for
the British Columbia logging industry in the past, the UBCIC
chiefs have resolved to take their grievances to the world stage
by calling for an international boycott of British Columbia wood
products. Phillip believes the international attention will help
his cause in several ways.
"The more Canada and B.C. try to use their courts, police
and army to deny our Aboriginal title, laws and jurisdiction,
the more evidence we will have to show the international community
that Canada's wealth is based upon the theft of our lands and
resources which constitutes economic racism against our Aboriginal
Nations," he said.
With even media commentators like conservative Gordon Gibson
struggling with how to describe the Westbank logging - Gibson,
the Globe and Mail columnist who is normally unsympathetic to
Aboriginal viewpoints, wrote in a column published on September
21 that he isn't sure whether to call the logging illegal or
unauthorized - Aboriginal groups have no such trouble with their
terminology. They are claiming the province is involved in illegal
resource extraction on their traditional lands, an act of bad
faith bargaining.
Province backs down: Compensation for MacBlo
By Dana Wagg
Raven's Eye Writer
NANAIMO
Faced with overwhelming opposition, the British Columbia government
has scrubbed a plan to give land at the heart of the treaty process
to timber giant MacMillan Bloedel (MB).
The logging giant will now receive close to $100 million cash
instead. The agreement compensates MB for timber rights and investment
money lost on Vancouver Island since 1991 to new parks and protected
areas and stems from a settlement agreement signed by the government
and MB March 16, 1999 following out-of-court negotiations prompted
by two MB actions for compensation. The two sides agreed on an
$84 million package, which will be paid over five years. Interest
costs bumps the figure by about $16 million.
At the government's request, MB had selected land instead of
cash. It picked 32,000 ha. of Crown land and asked for fewer
logging restrictions on 91,000 ha. it owns. It amounted to about
120,000 ha. of land spread over more than 100 parcels on Vancouver
Island, Powell River and the Queen Charlottes. The land to be
transferred to MB would have been free of Forest Practices Code
restrictions and provincial stumpage fees, a levy charged on
all wood cut on Crown land.
First Nations and environmentalists reacted with outrage and
disbelief when the proposal was unveiled. First Nations threatened
legal and direct action to block it. Anger mounted at a series
of public meetings held in nine communities in June by Victoria
lawyer David Perry, who had been told by the government of then-premier
Glen Clark to gauge reaction and report back.
At a highly-charged meeting in Nanaimo, Clarence Dennis of the
Huu-aye-aht Nation warned "there'd be war" if the plan
went ahead. He said he was upset the scheme threatened his dream
of building a longhouse near Sarita Lake, north of Bamfield on
the West Coast, on land that has been in his family for thousands
of years. Fearing the site would be logged, he vowed "We're
going to put up armed roadblocks, we're going to stop Macmillan
Bloedel from taking any more wood from our territory."
In announcing the province was abandoning the land-exchange plan,
Forest Minister David Zirnhelt stated the obvious.
"There was virtually no support for it at all," he
said. "The idea of a wholesale transfer of land, much of
it critical for other values, clearly is not acceptable to the
public. The response was overwhelming. In hindsight, it wasn't
such a good move."
Reluctant to pay MB money and add to the provincial debt, the
government had come up with a proposal that wasn't well thought
out, he admitted.
Zirnhelt said treaty settlement considerations were a factor
in his decision to back away.
Perry said he had never before heard such passionate views as
those expressed in the community meetings he chaired from Vancouver
to Queen Charlotte City. There was virtually no public support
for the plan, he said.
Ninety-eight per cent of written submissions opposed the plan.
Opposition at the public meetings attended by a total of about
1,500 people ranged from a low of 60 per cent to a high of 95
per cent, he said in his report to government.
"The written submissions are virtually unanimous in opposition,"
he said. "Of 1,100 written submissions received, less than
20 were in support of using land and resource rights as payment."
He strongly warned the government was asking for a trainload
of legal troubles with First Nations if the land exchange wasn't
dropped and he specifically cited areas in which First Nations
would be on solid legal ground to go after the government.
"I am convinced the province has an obligation to engage
in further consultations with every First Nation affected by
the proposed land transfers before any such transfer can be completed,"
he said, noting that the Supreme Court of Canada's Delgamuukw
decision obliged any government infringing Aboriginal rights
or title to consult with the First Nation.
"Aboriginal rights asserted in the lands at issue include
hunting and fishing rights, gathering of traditional foods and
healing medicines, the opportunity to have cultural and religious
experiences in wilderness areas sacred to First Nations, obtaining
wood supplies for traditional Aboriginal activities such as home
building, canoes and artwork and finally, a protection of Aboriginal
heritage such as village sites and culturally modified trees,"
said Perry. "There is a strong possibility Aboriginal rights
could be proven over a large area of the lands in question and
that Aboriginal title may exist in at least some of the parcels
being considered. The lands in question are all located on Vancouver
Island or near the coast in areas where First Nations are known
to have lived continuously for many thousands of years up to
the present time. Many of the parcels are adjacent to or near
existing reserves, along river valleys or near coastal areas,
all of which are indicators of continuous use and occupation."
Perry noted that on much of the land, infringement of Aboriginal
rights and title would be high and it was questionable whether
it could be justified.
"There is a strong possibility the exercise of Aboriginal
rights could be extinguished on lands used as part of a settlement
process."
He predicted consultation would be complex and time consuming
and noted the province was under the gun since it faced an Oct.
31 deadline to transfer land to MB. Perry doubted any transfers
could take place that quickly.
The issue affected more than a dozen First Nations including
Chemainus, Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo), Malahat, Cowichan and Huu-aye-aht
on Vancouver Island and Sechelt and Sliammon First Nations on
the Sunshine Coast, some of which belong to the Hul'qum'num Treaty
Group or the Victoria-based Te'mexw Treaty Association, which
both planned to file judicial reviews if the province didn't
back down.
Perry said the MB proposal left a very bad taste in the mouths
of First Nations, who expressed "shock, hurt and disappointment"
that treaty table land had been offered to MB without their knowledge.
"They expressed frustration at the province's apparent willingness
to settle a claim from MB quickly and expeditiously while First
Nations are forced to wait for settlement of their own treaty
claims," he said.
The Te'mexw said in a news release they were sandbagged by the
proposal and the province acted in bad faith.
"The province agreed to transfer virtually all Crown lands
on southeastern Vancouver Island to MB. First Nations on south
Vancouver Island have been trying to get a fair treaty since
1850. Now, in one year of private negotiations, the province
has given a corporation what amounts to a treaty."
MB, Canada's largest forest company, controls 1.1 million ha.
of land, most of it on Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte
Islands and was at the centre of the West Coast's forestry war
at Clayoquot Sound. The fight was costly for the company and
activists. At its peak, in 1993, hundreds of people were arrested
and thrown in jail.
Thirty-eight large parks including 14 in Clayoquot Sound and
upwards of 35 smaller ones were created from land taken from
MB, which lost logging rights on about 7,793 ha. of timber licences
and on 43,877 ha. of Crown land in two tree farm licences. The
company lost about 5.75 million cubic metres of old-growth timber
from licences and a 100,000 cubic metres annual allowable cut
from other Crown forest land. One cubic metre equals the size
of a telephone pole.
Washington State-based Weyerhaeuser Company, the world's largest
pulp producer and softwood lumber producer, reached an agreement
in June to take over MB in a $3.6 billion deal.
MB is just the latest in a string of corporations to be compensated
in B.C. for lost resource rights on unsurrendered First Nations'
land. But the provincial and federal governments refuse to discuss
compensation with First Nations. The First Nations Summit said
in June it hoped the government's decision to negotiate compensation
with third parties like MB indicated it would "discuss compensation
for past and present infringements of Aboriginal rights and title
with First Nations at treaty tables."
But the province's deputy minister for Aboriginal affairs, Patrick
O'Rourke, has since said that compensation can be settled only
through the courts.
"The treaty process is intended to look into the future
and not on past events," he said.
That's a position that doesn't sit well with First Nations. Musqueam
closed its treaty office in May after being told financial compensation
for lost lands wasn't on the table.
"I figured the treaty process was all about correcting past
injustices," said Chief Ernie Campbell. "If it's not
about compensation, what's the point?"
After announcing his decision on the MB compensation issue, Zirnhelt
was probably hoping the next flashpoint was some time away. But,
a mere four days later another war in the woods erupted as frustrated
Westbank Nation members picked up chainsaws and started logging
their land without provincial permission - in part to protest
the government's double standards. While large companies haul
away about 7.6 million cubic metres of wood annually from Westbank
territory with provincial permission, band members look on from
the sidelines, offered minimal amounts of windblown and burned
timber outside their territory.