Trust. Integrity. Reputation.
August- 2000
Chantay Day Chief from southern Alberta has some fun with dancers at the Canadian National Competition Powwow held in Edmonton on June 16 to 18. This year's event attracted 22 drums and 700 dancers. Leslie Saddleback, a university student form Pigeon Lane, was selected Miss Indian Canada.Photo Credit: Brad Crowfoot
AFN elects new Chief
Heart disease trend alarms doctorsNew approaches for compensation considered
The Tunguska Project is a blast!
Spirit of Gladstone lost
First Nations want fish out
New show is all too familiar - Opinion
The nature of Delgamuukw - Guest Column
Real democracy achieved - Editorial
The above is only a partial list of all the stories featured in the August, 2000 issue of Windspeaker.
If you are not receiving your own copy of Windspeaker, then you have missed out on a great deal of news, information and humour.
AFN elects new Chief
By Paul Barnsley
Windspeaker Staff Writer
OTTAWAMatthew Coon Come will get his chance to prove he can make a difference for Native nations. Elected after Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Phil Fontaine, who was trailing 287 to 207 after the second vote, chose to concede rather than force a third ballot, the former grand chief of the James Bay Cree Nation will have a lot of work ahead of him if he is to accomplish his
stated goals.
In his speech to the gathering of band council chiefs from across Canada on July 11, the evening before the vote, Coon Come railed against the previous three years' work of the incumbent. After questioning the strength of the support offered by the AFN on a number of issues, including the shooting of Dudley George and the actions of Revenue Canada in pressuring reserve businesses to pay taxes, he hammered one of Fontaine's proudest achievements, the government's apology for sexual and physical abuse in residential schools.
"I didn't accept the apology," Coon Come said. "It was like they committed adultery and they only regretted they got caught. If there really was an apology, the federal government would be asking for our forgiveness."
He aggressively challenged Fontaine's stated position that it is better to build bridges than burn them, saying Fontaine's approach of working in partnership with government had only encouraged the government to resist the kind of progress First Nations people need.
"Today, it is a one-way street," Coon Come said, referring to the government. "We give and they take."
Coon Come pledged to use the same tactics that worked so well for the James Bay Cree when they were battling the Quebec government over a variety of issues during his tenure: he will seek to embarrass and pressure Canada on the international stage and make use of his considerable skills as an orator to make his points inside Canada.
Fontaine spoke after Coon Come, no doubt sensing the closeness of the race and knowing a strong performance was essential to sway any undecided chiefs. Fontaine delivered a masterful performance. He pointed to his accomplishments: the AFN/National Congress of American Indians summit in Vancouver last July, the Healing Fund, the statement of reconciliation and a host of others. He took on Coon Come's assertions that he was too close to the government.
"There are those who say we're too cozy with government, that we're selling out. They're wrong. They couldn't be more wrong. We have never been afraid to take on the government," he said.
He asked the chiefs to allow him to "continue the momentum" rather than "start from the beginning." He claimed his experience would be preferable to electing a chief who didn't have national experience. But the chiefs, by and large, didn't buy it.
The two man race in the second ballot was created when Marilyn Buffalo, former president of the Native Women's Association of Canada, failed to garner even the votes of the 15 chiefs who signed her nomination papers. She finished with 13 votes. According to AFN election rules, she was
disqualified for that reason. Lawrence Martin, who gained only 26 votes, was dropped as the last place finisher and the race was quickly narrowed down to two candidates.
Coon Come won the first ballot with 244 votes to Fontaine's 202. As the chiefs left the hall to caucus in tents outside the hockey rink in anticipation of the next round of voting, the candidates and their representatives made the rounds, meeting with regional groups and pleading their respective cases. The quest for the support of the eliminated candidates began even as they walked down the steps from the stage at the front of the hall after they had been presented with gifts to mark their candidacy.
Northwest Territories Vice Chief Bill Erasmus, a key Fontaine supporter, competed with Coon Come for a chance to talk with Martin and Buffalo. Although it could not be confirmed, as they disappeared behind a curtain to meet out of the view of a horde of reporters, it appeared some of the Martin's supporters in northern Ontario supported Fontaine. Buffalo declared her support for Coon Come almost immediately after she was knocked out of the race and lobbied on his behalf in the caucus tents.
In the British Columbia caucus, First Nations Summit and Union of British Columbia Indian Chief members sat side-by-side and listened to an impassioned plea for support from Coon Come. After he left, the chiefs seemed to be leaning towards throwing their support behind the James Bay Cree.
Grand Chief Edward John, a Summit Task Force member, suggested the B.C. chiefs should unite behind one candidate.
"There is a split amongst B.C. voters," he said. We know that. I believe we should decide who best reflects the struggle that lies ahead of us right now. In B.C. we need to start getting our voice back together."
Lake Babine Chief Betty Patrick, wearing a Coon Come T-shirt, asked where the AFN had been when British Columbia chiefs protested outside the provincial legislature on May 25.
"We need to come together and unify our voices because together we can move those mountains," she told the chiefs. "We all keep running to our different camps. That's what's defeating us in B.C."
The two organizations in the westernmost province, formerly bitter political foes, have recently united in protest of the British Columbia Treaty Commission process. Other British Columbia chiefs suggested that uniting to support one candidate would be a strong symbol of their unity in the fight for a better treaty process in their home province and an important step in the drive for a unified First Nation front in the region.
But one long-time Fontaine loyalist stated bluntly that he was sticking with the incumbent, no matter what. "I've worked with Phil Fontaine for many years and he's a strong advocate of our rights," said Kamloops Indian Band Chief Manny Jules.
"In this next ballot, I'm going to vote for Phil Fontaine." As the polls closed after the second ballot, a smiling Fontaine entered the hall at the head of a long line of supporters who chanted, "We want
Phil."
Within minutes, the AFN chief electoral officer, Bob Johnson, announced the results.
Coon Come had 58.1 per cent of the vote to Fontaine's 41.9 per cent. The election rules require that the winning candidate secure 60 per cent of the vote. But, minutes after the second ballot results were announced, Fontaine huddled with his supporters and then, despite the urgent pleas of many of them to stay in the race, he marched across the Ottawa Civic Centre floor to shake Coon Come's hand and concede the race.
"The chiefs of Canada were presented with a very clear choice," he said in his concession speech. "The chiefs of Canada have spoken. You have made your decision. It must be respected."
He emotionally thanked his supporters. "I told my supporters at the beginning that I wanted us to walk the high road and I believe we did. We must support the new national chief as he goes on to such an enormous responsibility."
He said he had dedicated his campaign to his late brother, Wally, who passed away a few months ago.
"I asked him at one time if he would be here for this," he said with great emotion, "and, of course, he was here."
Fontaine then left to take his place in AFN history (for at least the next three years) with a farewell to the assembly. "I only hope I didn't bring dishonor to you. I love you all. Thank you very much."
Coon Come spoke of his respect for Fontaine's wisdom before he delivered his victory address. Then he sent a message of what will come in the next few months.
"People ask me if I respect the rule of law," he said. "I do respect the rule of law. Under the rule of law, this land is ours. Even under European law, this land is ours. The problem is this: I want Canada to respect the rule of law. I want Canada to respect its own law. I want Canada to respect the treaties, which are part of its law. I want Canada to respect the international treaties it has signed."
He spoke of pursuing a First Nations' agenda and then he turned to a point that was spoken of quietly but never became an issue on the election floor - his religion. As a devout Christian, many chiefs wondered if he would champion Native spirituality.
"The heart of our people is in the diversity of our cultures," he said. He then pledged to promote and protect freedom of religion and the freedom of people to practice traditional spirituality.
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Heart disease trend alarms doctorsBy Joan Taillon
Windspeaker Staff Writer
TORONTOHospitalizations for ischemic heart disease in Native people have doubled in the past two decades, while the rate has decreased for others, according to a study published in the June 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Toronto doctors who conducted the 17-year Ontario heart study are calling these findings an "alarming trend in Native health," which urgently requires "further research and targeted intervention."
The biggest contributing risk factor for heart disease is diabetes, they say. The rate of diabetes among Native people is currently at least three times higher than for the general population and is believed to be associated with a sedentary lifestyle and high-fat diet.
Dr. Bernard Zinman was one of the heart study's principal researchers, along with doctors Baiju R. Shah and Janet E. Hux . All three are associated with the department of medicine at the University of Toronto and major Toronto teaching hospitals.
Zinman explained that ischemic heart disease is a general term that encompasses all kinds of heart disease resulting from atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. Ischemia refers to decreased blood flow to the heart when coronary arteries are blocked.
"What we are shocked to find is that the rates for those Native communities (covered by the study) were much lower in 1980 and 1982 compared to the provincial average, almost half for heart attack rates, but now they've surpassed everybody and are far above the provincial average," Zinman said from Mount Sinai Hospital on July 4.
What's to blame?
"It's almost all diabetes," said Zinman.
He said they examined the health records of 41 communities, 39 of which were in Northern Ontario, that identified a Native population of at least 95 per cent. They found heart disease rates among Native people rose to 186 per 10,000 hospital admissions in 1995 from 76 per 10,000 in 1984.
In the general population in Northern Ontario, the rate decreased from 129 per 10,000 to 110 per 10,000 during the same period.
The rate for all of Ontario currently is 82 per 10,000.
The downward trend among non-Natives is a "common story," Zinman said.
"In the United States and Canada, the rates of heart disease are going down, whereas in this community (Native people) they're going in the opposite direction, and based on other information from other studies, you don't get heart disease if you're a Native unless you have diabetes. It would be very unusual.
"And that is why (Native people) were protected previously," Zinman said. "They almost had lower rates. And so diabetes seems to be the major risk factor for Native people, whereas, Caucasian people-diabetes is a risk factor, so is smoking, so is a bunch of other things.
"So if went into a unit where there were 100 Caucasian people with heart attacks, I would find that about 20 to 25 per cent had diabetes. But if I went into the Native population where there were 100 Native people with heart attacks, I would find that about 80 to 85 per cent had diabetes," Zinman said.
To turn it around, he said a three-pronged intervention is needed.
"One, you've got to try to prevent diabetes," by improving diet and increasing exercise, Zinman said.
"But, that's not enough, because there are lots of people that already have diabetes, so diabetes also has to be treated effectively.
"And the third thing is that people with heart disease must have appropriate access to the good therapies. Just because you have heart disease doesn't mean you are going to die. It means you need, maybe, bypass surgery, you need good drugs, you need effective therapy."
All three are probably deficient in northern communities, Zinman concluded.
Margot Geduld, a spokeswoman for Health Canada in Ottawa, said the government is aware of the study and is "concerned," but Health Canada's programs usually only address factors related to heart disease, such as non-traditional tobacco control and nutrition initiatives to improve diet "in collaboration and consultation with" Native people.
Whether the study will change the way Health Canada deals with the problem of heart disease in Native communities, Geduld said she's "not sure." She indicated they will likely only change what they pay for if Native communities redefine their own health priorities to the federal government.
Geduld pointed out that Health Canada funded a 28-month diabetes research project undertaken in the Sioux Lookout Zone of northwestern Ontario in 1991. Dr. Zinman and Dr. Stewart Harris, medical director of the zone hospital, spearheaded that work.
Sandy Lake First Nation, with a population of 1,500, was the base for the study that encompassed 30 communities.
Chief Ennis Fiddler of Sandy Lake said following the diabetes study they got some federal funding to hire two people to work on prevention programs that include a radio program.
The workers also have just completed a year-long program to develop an elementary school curriculum in conjunction with the school board in Sandy Lake.
The other thing the community has developed is a walking trail that surrounds their large reserve, as well as programs to encourage its use.
"And recently the program has ordered pedometers that record how many steps you take and how far you walk, the chief said. So far 160 are in use and the workers hope to order more.
Fiddler said it is not as difficult as it once was to get a selection of good food, since it is flown direct from Winnipeg. Food is still "twice as expensive" as it would be in Winnipeg, though, he said.
"I think people are starting to be aware about the diabetes itself and also what they can do to make themselves combat the disease," the chief said. "Ten years ago, people didn't care what they ate . . . all they knew was that today they were okay and they were eating this fat. Today people are starting to think about that. People are making a conscientious effort to make sure they no longer eat that kind of diet." He said foods like cheese and vegetables are becoming more popular, but the community still has work to do on getting people to leave their vehicle behind and walk.
Fiddler said he is concerned they still have nothing to offer community members who are already seriously affected by diabetes and whose mobililty may be limited. He said the community has set its sights on getting kidney dialysis set up in Sandy Lake and maybe establishing a nursing home. Currently band members have to move to Sandy Lake or Thunder Bay, 200 and 500 km away, for dialysis.
The chief was aware a study had recently been concluded on heart disease and said the findings would be shared with the community when they got the report.
One of the Sandy Lake diabetes workers, Roderick Fiddler, had also heard of the heart study but had not yet seen it. He said the community was becoming more aware of both diabetes and heart disease and prevention.
He said they have an "ongoing community intervention program" that involves home visits to teach about all aspects of diabetes. Also their hour-long weekly radio programs address different related topics, such as foot care, nutrition and wild game, and eye care.
"I think we're going in the right direction right now," Roderick Fiddler said.
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New approaches for compensation considered
By Paul Barnsley
Windspeaker Staff Writer
OTTAWAIt's too early to tell if behind-the-scenes political and legal maneuvering will lead to more settlements of residential school compensation cases, but many observers don't think a fair disposition of the claims is the federal government's real goal.
Several published reports in the mainstream national press in recent weeks have featured attacks on the government's approach to the residential school compensation issue. The focus of the stories has varied from criticism of the government's inclusion of the churches in lawsuits to the amount of money that former students' lawyers are earning.
The Canadian Race Relations Foundation analyzed mainstream media reporting on the issue and the foundation concluded the coverage is bigoted and anti-Native in that it focuses on the financial side of settling claims rather than ever mentioning - or considering - the importance of compensating Native people who were harmed in residential schools. The debate continues over whether mainstream newspapers are driving that approach to the issue or merely reflecting the sentiments of Canadians. But limiting the cost of compensation appears to be the main objective of most non-Native Canadians. And documents obtained under freedom of information legislation reveal the federal government is going to great pains to limit the cost of settling claims.
"The media is embracing the 'residential school syndrome.' There tends to be a blanket acceptance that residential schools were a difficult and terrible experience, which led to, among other things, cultural genocide. Our communications challenge will be to separate the issue of cultural assimilation from cultural eradication in the public's mind and characterize them as separate and distinct," one government document reads.
Churches appear to be winning their battle to convince federal politicians they need some relief from the growing number of residential school compensation claims.
Published reports this month revealed that the federal cabinet is looking at ways to help the churches dodge - or minimize the damage of - what could be a fatal financial bullet. The national office of the Anglican Church is already predicting it will face bankruptcy within the next year. Certain Roman Catholic groups are facing similar financial disaster, as well.
Peter Lauwers, a Toronto lawyer who advises church groups, presented a paper at a meeting of the Canadian Bar Association in Winnipeg last month that dissected the federal government's approach to the large and growing numbers of lawsuits filed by former residential school students.
Lauwers said the government is using the courts to avoid dealing with a politically dangerous matter of public policy, and the process is harming everyone involved, including the victims. He said the current path will lead to the destruction of many churches as they are crushed by the weight of paying to defend legal claims against them and of paying any damage awards in cases they lose. And, even though many of the victims aren't too sympathetic to the plight of the churches, Lauwers said the Canadian public will feel the pain.
"The effect of a church bankruptcy in public policy terms should not be underestimated," he said. "On a strictly utilitarian basis, church organizations now do a number of things for people that governments consider to be valuable in a social sense, all the way from running soup kitchens, to out-of-the-cold programs, to fundraising for crisis events at home and abroad, etc. At a time when the government is pulling away from social programs and is actively asking churches to take on a greater responsibility, it is ironic that the same government is engaging in activities that create significant financial pressures for churches. On a political level, the backlash that will result if active churches are taken over and sold to satisfy debts should not be underestimated."
He said he hasn't seen any attempt by government to face up to hard political decisions to deal with the claims. He said the government would rather leave the issue in the courts and then blame the courts if unpopular decisions are made.
"I do not detect . . . any real public policy thinking going on in the federal government about how to respond to Native residential school claims," he said. "These claims have to be addressed. The government has essentially adopted a litigation management response."
Lauwers dismissed the alternative dispute resolution pilot projects the government has set up, saying they aren't a real alternative to litigation because of the limits the government puts on the process.
"Both are essentially litigation management tools and nothing more," he said. "The recent reorganization of the Crown's response under the leadership of Shawn Tupper (Indian Affairs) and Doug Ewart (Justice) simply solidifies and makes more bureaucratic, and theoretically efficient, an approach which the government has been following for years."
Internal Indian Affairs documents, marked 'Secret' but obtained through an access to information request, show the department is working hard on several fronts to keep the concept of cultural destruction from being considered as a legal (or tortuous) damage for which the government could be made to pay compensation.
Since records show clearly the government's policy was to assimilate or eradicate Indigenous culture through the school system, it could be seen as a public policy. Legally, the government hopes to escape liability for cultural eradication by arguing that it isn't legally accountable for a bad public policy. This has generally been the case throughout history as public servants and politicians have successfully argued they couldn't possibly do their jobs if the spectre of facing a civil lawsuit should they make a mistake haunted them at every turn.
Regina lawyer Tony Merchant, whose firm represents close to half of the residential school plaintiffs, said he will argue that the cultural eradication policy led inescapably to physical abuse and therefore could be seen as a civil harm for which damages could be awarded.
"Cultural eradication had to evolve to physical abuse," he told Windspeaker. "How could you make a six-year-old child not speak his language without being sadistically brutal?"
But Merchant admitted that no one knows whether cultural eradication will be considered a civil harm until the courts decide.
Lauwers said during a phone interview on July 10 that he wrote his paper for the Canadian Bar Association while feeling a high level of frustration. He said he later wished he'd been more diplomatic. Lauwers has noticed the government is striving so hard to keep the concept of cultural eradication out of the courts that the genuine harm that the cultural eradication has done is not being fully addressed.
"The government draws a bright line between traditional tort claims such as assault and sexual assault, that are compensable, and new causes of action such as claims for cultural eradication and inter-generational adverse effects," he said. "The latter, it says, are not compensable in the civil justice system and should not be compensable by pilot projects. The Healing Foundation is intended to deal with the cultural issues but not specifically in relation to Native residential schools; it does not provide redress directly to victims.
Lauwers believes politicians haven't intervened to stop the legal wrangling because it would be politically dangerous to come out and make a policy that could enrage either Aboriginal and human rights leaders or a public that would see any great financial disbursement as the government coddling a vocal minority.
"The advantage of a litigation management model, if one is trying to avoid public accountability, is that there is no need to make any public policy pronouncements. Litigation management is reactive and operates almost automatically. In the end, it does not really visit accountability on anyone. If the result is bad, you can always blame the courts," he told the bar association. "But accountability will come in another form. The system will run its ordinary course. The litigation model will eventually cause some very serious public policy difficulties. The system may or may not break down. Claimants may or may not rise up in righteous anger. Church organizations may or may not go bankrupt with all of the attendant difficulties.
"So the litigation strategy may be effective, from the government's point of view, in allowing it to avoid issues of accountability in the short term. However this strategy is shortsighted, and likely to lead to an even larger public policy issue. For example, if the government forces a church organization into bankruptcy - as seems increasingly likely with the Anglican Diocese of Cariboo, or the Roman Catholic Diocese of Whitehorse, or an Oblate province, then a public policy issue will arise in which the government is forced either to make clear public policy choices - or to be seen as refusing to do so. Either way, it will be held accountable."
Merchant accused churches and the federal government of posturing and not being honest with the public. He said that only five of the 300 cases settled have cost the churches money.
"The churches have not handled this well," he said. "They've spent all kinds of money on lawyers but they would have been better off to file a defence and say we'll pay our share if it turns out there's a judgement."
Merchant said that when his firm left the churches out the lawsuits, the government then sued the churches, which had the effect of slowing down the entire process. In several cases, the government has also sued First Nations, something Merchant see as 'ridiculous.'
"The First Nations get their money from the government," he said. "If the government doesn't pay as much and the First Nation has to pay, where is the money coming from? It's more about optics. The government is saying we want to spread the blame and say those other people are really the wrongdoers.
A July 6 meeting sponsored by the Law Society of Saskatchewan was held in Regina at the request of the federal Justice department. Federal representatives said the meeting was called to examine the issue of lawyers gouging residential school victims. Merchant attended the meeting. His firm has been accused of gouging. He said he charges 20 per cent for cases settled out of court and 40 per cent for cases that go to trial.
He said the main issue of the meeting is another government smoke screen.
"If the government didn't cause delays, First Nations people would pay a lot less in fees," he said. "It's so bizarre for a defendant to be saying we want to have something to do with the fees being charged to the plaintiff. It would, of course, be a legitimate question to ask for First Nations leaders."
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The Tunguska Project is a blast!By Pamela Sexsmith
Windspeaker Contributor
LLOYDMINSTER, Sask.The gigantic Tunguska blast of 1908 should have made headlines around the globe, but there were no intrepid reporters combing the wilds of Siberia able to record what has been called the biggest celestial event in historic times. Only a few nomadic tribesmen with their herds of reindeer were witnesses to a mystery that goes unsolved to this day.
Saskatchewan Native playwright Floyd Favel wants to set the record straight with a new stage production called The Tunguska Project.
The Tunguska Project is based on 33 years of conflicting scientific evidence and the oral testimony of Native tribesmen.
The Tunguska event has been called an "ecological catastrophe of the greatest magnitude." It was the only time in recorded history that our planet may have collided with a huge celestial object.
There were no Russian eye witnesses to the event. No one, except observers in central Siberia, were aware that an explosion (2,000 times the force of the Hiroshima bomb) had taken place.
Russian scientists did not discover the event until the 1930s when they found 1,000 square kilometres of flattened mass destruction. Tremors had been recorded in 1908 on a seismograph 4,000 kilometers west of St. Petersburg. To the scientists, it looked like a large earthquake or meteorite explosion, but there was no meteorite. They also hypothesized that it might have been a comet exploding in the atmosphere seven or eight miles above the earth.
"The oral evidence from Native people in the immediate area consists of one paragraph, which is dismissed by the scientists as folklore and superstition. But what we know of Native people, within that folklore and superstition would be an entirely different story. It would be much better than the scientists' story because the scientists don't even have a story. They just have several different theories because they have no conclusive evidence," said Favel.
Nomadic Tungus reindeer herders 30 kilometres away had reported seeing a giant fireball and the mass destruction of forests. Thousands of reindeer were instantly vaporized. The shaman - chief of the Tungus people - closed off the region, regarding it as "enchanted." Tungus tribal superstition put the blame on "the rage of the gods."
In The Tunguska Project, it is the people and their journey who take centre stage over the forces of nature, explained the playwright.
"The devastating explosion is more the dramatic theme, the principle action. Because of it, everything else takes place, the scientific investigation and cultural investigation, a journey to the epicentre of the event. That means traveling there geographically, but also more thematically, finding out the heart and spirit of the event and how it affected the people of that time. According to my research it was almost apocalyptic to the Native people of that time," said Favel.
The site is reached today by helicopter or on foot through swamps, bogs and hilly taiga (a northern region of vast coniferous forests composed of spruce, larch and fir.)
Favel will travel to Siberia this winter to work closely with Native Siberian actors and receive support from the Russian Indigenous People's Association to facilitate exploration and search out key collaborators.
A Russian translator will help smooth the way between cultures.
"There are many similarities between the Aboriginal cultures of Siberia and Canada. Both are originally nomadic and share a common northern environment. The bottom line is this: they are the Native people of that area. We are the Native people of this area. That's our shared heritage, our shared destiny as tribal people. They share the same cultural experience, traditionally and historically, through colonization. As artists they have the same concerns and visions that we do," says Favel.
The trip though will present its own challenges.
"Modern Russia is undergoing many changes. I've never been in a country where, one might say, 'the rules are very fluid.' In that way it will be incredibly challenging. Most people think going to Siberia in the winter or spring would be difficult, but it can't be worse than a Canadian winter. We will be doing most of our creative work in a city called Yakutsk with explorations out into the countryside. We will also go to Moscow, a very western city, manageable with proper planning and a good translator," said Favel.
As an Aboriginal director, producer, playwright and actor, Favel has plans to integrate Cree and English into The Tunguska Project.
"It is very important that our Cree language is transmitted through the media, arts and in books. The health of our language is reflected in the scope of its use. It is directly proportional. If we don't hear it, that means it's not very healthy because that's where we get our primary information, through those mediums and entertainment. I can't presume as an artist that our own people will appreciate the show. I can only hope."
Spirit of Gladstone lost
By Trina Gobért
Windspeaker Staff Writer
HEILTSUK FIRST NATION, B.C.Amidst a pristine ecosystem rich in natural resources, the Heiltsuk First Nation continues to struggle for survival and has made the decision to take the government to court.
On July 4, the First Nation confirmed its decision to work outside of the British Columbia treaty process because of what they see as a narrowing intrepretation of the 1996 Gladstone decision by negotiators. The Supreme Court Gladstone decision entitled Heiltsuk to a commercial fishery of herring roe on kelp.
"We get such a minute amount and we don't feel that there is any equity there in terms of social value. Really, they're not giving us anything significant," said Robert Germyn, chief councillor of the Heiltsuk First Nation.
"A fleet comes in here and there is a $40- or $50-million in value of the herring fishery. A commericial sector comes in and none of those benefits stay in our area. We really don't derive any of those benefits from our resources in our territory other than the five per cent of the total herring fishery catch quota, which we have really had to work at trying to achieve."
In the first year after the Gladstone decision, Heiltsuk was alloted 96,000 pounds. of the fishery by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). The second year they saw that amount increase to 144,000 pounds, where it has remained static as the nation continues to deal with 85 per cent unemployment in the community.
"We submitted our management plan to the DFO where we wanted incremental every year," said Kelly Brown, chief negotiator for Heiltsuk. "We want in the neighborhood of 400,000 pounds of herring roe on kelp given to our people and that we would settle on that in the interim agreement until treaty neogitiations were completed."
The Heiltsuk Nation has stalled at stage four, or the agreement-in-principle, in treaty negotiations.
"We developed the management plan with some of the leading experts on fisheries and tabled our own management plan in how we would implement and exercise our rights under the Gladstone decision," said Germyn. "But we have not gotten anywhere. DFO has basically said that they have met their requirements for Gladstone."
John Bell, chief negotiator for the federal government at the Heiltsuk table, plans to address and discuss the issue at the next main table meeting with the nation.
"I think it is natural to want to get the maximum that you can. I do know, we all know, what the decision of the Gladstone case was in terms of the court's pronouncement, that the Heiltsuk had a commercial right for fishing herring roe and kelp," said Bell. "And now the issue is the quantity, and the sub-issue is how do you arrive at that? Through a treaty negotiations or outside a treaty?"
The Heiltsuk Nation has more than 2,000 members in its band and the number is expected to increase in the next 20 years.
"We are saying we are not going to settle for this. This is not a workable proposition for us and we have no other recourse but to go forward legally," said Germyn. "We have to try to meet the need of our community which is a growing community. Who is going to provide and what kind of resources are going to save those people?"
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First Nations want fish outBy David Wiwchar
Windspeaker Contributor
ALERT BAY, B.C.Tensions are on the rise between British Columbia First Nations and coastal fish farms, despite the provincial government's new process to relocate aquaculture operations away from sensitive areas.
The newly established Salmon Aquaculture Review Committee (SARC) recently announced that 11 Vancouver Island fish farms would be relocated because of environmental concerns, but with more than 120 tenure sites in the province, many First Nations are saying the process isn't moving fast enough. And while many First Nations spent National Aboriginal Day celebrating their cultures and languages, the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk Tribal Council spent June 21 rallying community members from throughout northern Vancouver Island to serve a symbolic eviction notice to fish farms operating in their traditional territory.
A flotilla of boats led by five war canoes gathered at the edge of the Broughton Archipelago, a previously pristine group of islands that is both a provincial marine park and home to 26 fish farms.
"This protest is our way of saying 'we've tried everything else - enough is enough,'" said Yvon Gesinghaus of the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk Tribal Council. "They can take their friggin' fish farms and put them somewhere else."
"We've spent 14 years going through all the government processes to file objections to these fish farms in our territories and have yet to receive any response from the ministers in charge," said Gesinghaus. "The Broughton Archipelago is our grocery store; it's where all our foods come from. These fish farms are polluting our waters by breaking their own restrictions because they've been left to police themselves."
Duncan Williams from the British Columbia Assets and Lands Corporation claims Musgamagw Tsawataineuk's concerns are being addressed with the recent relocation of the Marine Harvest Canada / Nutreco fish farm from the Broughton Archipelago. It will be moving north near the mainland community of Klemtu in a joint venture with the Kitasoo First Nation.
A few coastal First Nations have become involved in British Columbia's burgeoning salmon farming industry, which is the fourth-largest in the world, generating more than $677 million for the province's economy. But most First Nations have said they are against fish farms within their traditional territories.
Two years ago, the Tsouke First Nation attempted to evict a fish farm from its traditional territory. Now, the SARC has approved an application to allow that fish farm to move to Clayoquot Sound, where fish farmers have also found themselves in conflict with the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations.
Representatives from the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association have been attempting to quell the many concerns of coastal First Nations, admitting that fish farms have not been "good neighbors" in the past, but are working to remedy past problems.
The main concerns against fish farms are the effects of escaped Atlantic salmon on the already beleaguered wild salmon populations, and the build-up of waste materials beneath the net pens.
"I don't know how fish farmers can expect us to believe them," said Richard Watts, southern region co-chair for the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. "First they said their fish could never escape, and now we know they do. Then they said their fish couldn't survive in the wild, and now we know they can. Then they said their fish wouldn't be able to reproduce in the wild, and now we're finding out that they can do that too."
Fish farmers have also shunned the idea of closed-containment systems, arguing the technology is too expensive and collapses when there is a power outage.
"The capital cost is higher, but it is offset by other benefits such as protection from predators and hazardous algal blooms, as well as providing better feed conversion," said Phil Andrew, the director of sales and marketing for FutureSea Technologies in Nanaimo, B.C. "And as far as power outages are concerned, there are number of backup systems that prevent the problems associated with power losses," he said.
New show is all too familiar - opinion
By Kenneth Williams
A tribal war is brewing in the South China Sea. The Pangong Tribe and the Tagi Tribe of Palua Tiga are trying to oust the other off their island paradise. The conditions of these tribes are primitive. They have to march for miles through thick jungle for fresh water. They receive a meagre ration of rice. Some have taken to eating rats. Each tribe has only one ramshackle shelter for its members to sleep in. When they're not competing for resources against the other tribe, the individual members conspire against each other. Exile is a constant threat.
At the centre of this conflict? Money. A million dollars to be exact. And only one tribe member will get it. Sounds like a casino deal gone wrong, doesn't it? But I'm not talking about band councils at sea, but something more akin to Gilligan's First Nation. I'm talking about Survivor, the CBS series that purposely stranded 16 middle-class Americans on a tropical island. The purpose is to avoid being voted off the island by your fellow castaways and win various competitions that will eventually lead to one person becoming $1 million richer (and probably a few pounds lighter).
Every moment of the castaways lives is taped and edited for our visual enjoyment. I have to admit, it's compelling television. And I'm not being sarcastic, even though I want to be. But what I do find odd is the tribalism that the producers have put at the heart of the show, as if it's necessary to get these "civilized and pampered" Americans into the mood of the game.
The two teams are referred to as tribes, named after the respective beaches they landed on. Tribe members are voted off at the dreaded tribal council. The tribe that doesn't have to go to tribal council gets to keep the council totem, a hokey looking thing that combines the worst elements of Polynesian and African totem stereotypes - you know, wild hair, frowning eyes, big teeth, gruesome smile, straw hat. (I'm not making this up!)
All this "tribalism" makes me wonder just who's in charge of this show. Hmmmmm. Let me see. Poor housing conditions. Lack of proper sanitation. Dreaded tribal council. Members getting kicked out and losing their right to live in their home. Encouraging tribe members to fight amongst themselves and neighbors for precious resources. One person making off with all the cash.
Oh my God! It's Indian Affairs! They're behind all this! No wonder it looked so familiar.
