Olympic boycott meeting a draw

Page 3

CALGARY - The long awaited face to face meeting between Calgary Olympics Native liaison co-ordinator Sykes Powderface and Lubicon Lake Chief Bernard Ominiyak which took place in Calgary, Friday, October 17, appears to have ended in a stalemate.

In an interview shortly after the meeting, Powderface said that he and Ominiyak agreed to disagree on his role within OCO '88 (Olymiques Calgary Olympics.)

"The chief and I had a long discussion and I think now we each appreciate each others position," he said.

However, he added, Ominiyak still stood by his letter dated August 22 which requested Powderface resign his position with OCO immediately.

The letter charges that the Native liaison position was "specifically designed and created to help 'defuse' the Lubicon boycott by creating the impression of Indian involvement in the planning and conduct of the Calgary Winter Olympics."

Ominiyak's letter adds that Indian participation in the Olympics will probably be confined to "subsidizing the production of handicrafts and the hiring of Indians to perform traditional dances at selected Olympic ceremonies."

This, says Ominiyak, is "transparent and insulting":

Powderface said he appreciated the chief's stand but added he felt Ominiyak wasn't aware of the many economic and socio-economic plans that OCO was developing for Native communities.

"I say give us a chance to get these ideas off the ground first," he added.

In an interview Monday, Ominiyak said he didn't feel the meeting was productive but it had been a good opportunity to explain the Lubicon stand on a one-to-one basis. "Mr. Powderface figures he has enough influence to work on the inside in regards to Native concerns," said Ominiyak. "I pointed out that talking to these guys wasn't the answer because there wouldn't even be a boycott if talking could solve anything."

Ominiyak added he felt Powderface had compromised any influence he might have enjoyed just by being on the OCO payroll.

The Lubicon Lake band called for a boycott of the Olympic games earlier this year to protest the lack of progress on their 43-year-old land clam. A campaign to influence international museums to boycott the Native artifacts exhibition at Calgary's Glenbow Museum is also gaining support.

Ominiyak reiterated that he felt the Calgary Olympics are being organized by the same government "old-boys-network" that controls the petroleum interests on their traditional lands and pointed out that Shell Petroleum is providing the Glenbow museum with a $1.1 million grant.

Ominiyak added that the meeting was requested by Powderface and that no other meeting is scheduled. However, Ominiyak will be returning to Calgary next week to meet with Treaty 7 chiefs.

The chiefs held a meeting late last month on whether to support the Lubicon land claim and boycott the Olympics. No decision was made at that time, however, a request was made to OCO to intercede with the government on the Lubicon land claim.

OCO Chairman Frank King said in a later interview that OCO could not get politically involved over the issue but he added that a letter requesting Indian Affairs Minister Bill McKnight to look into the situation was sent.

In a news release earlier this month, McKnight said he regretted "the band has chosen this avenue to reach a more generous settlement of its claim in Alberta" and that the government had offered a "substantial settlement in an honest effort to find a fair and just resolution of these grievances."

However, to this date, Ominiyak confirmed that negotiations between the band and the government still have not reopened.