November 25, 1999 November 20, 1999 November 16, 1999 November 15, 1999 November 13, 1999 November 11, 1999
Indigenous Peoples at the WTO
Musqueam to Build Casino
Exercising Sovereign Rights
Kahnawake to Become Banking Power
Exercising Jay Treaty Rights
Growing Push for Peltier Clemency
November 7, 1999
New Brunswick Natives Cut Trees
UPDATE:BC's Fragile Treaty Process
Famous Mohawk Warrior Passes Away
Union of BC Indian Chiefs Assembly
Implementing Aboriginal Title & Rights
into the Millennium
Strategic Working Session on Aboriginal Title and Rights
Governments are Backtracking on Indigenous Rights
Native Group Calls for Change to Act, says
There are No Human Rights for Indians in Canada
The Unique Status of Indians in Canada
Aboriginal Rights Research Resources
October 28
Native Rights Stall Oil Pipeline Project
October 28
BACKGROUND:Resource Conflict and First Nations Rights
October 26
From Fish to Logs--Mi'kmaq Now Cutting Trees
October 25
On Aboriginal Rights,Natives say--Fishing is Only the Beginning
October 24
Gitxsan Leader Calls BC Treaty Process a Scam
October 23
Douglas Treaty Indians Prepare
to Fish Commercially
BC Court says No to
Siska First Nation Injunction to Halt Logging
October 22
Douglas Treaty Bands Will Fish
BC Government Will Not Intervene
October 21
Mi'kmaq Win Another Court Victory
October 15
Natives say Treaty Rights Extend to Logging
October 14
First Nation Declared Extinct Plans Ceremony
October 11
Westbank Chief has been Threatened
October 10
Conservation Concsious Douglas Treaty First Nations Conservation Ends First Nations Protest Plans
October 9
Douglas Treaty Fish Test by Seven Nations on Vancouver Island
October 9
Cowichan First Nation Plans to Start Logging
October 8
Douglas Treaty Nations to Fish but Conservation Comes First
October 7
BC Natives Plan Thanksgiving Fishing
October 6
Court Action---Siska First Nation Forestry Protest
October 1st, 1999
October 1st
BC Logging Dispute Grows September 30
Okanagan First Nation Steps Up Protest
September 29
September 29
PRESS RELEASE
Three Shuswap Communities Commence Aboriginal Title Timber Harvest
Kamloops, Shuswap Territory/September 29, 1999- The Shuswap communities of Adams Lake, Neskonlith and Spallumcheen, will start a coordinated logging operation today, on a site within the Aboriginal title territory of the Shuswap Nation, under a permit issued by the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council.
The profits from the timber harvested will be distributed among the participating communities towards the costs of building homes in order to alleviate the current housing backlog which exists within each of the communities.
Neskonlith Chief, Arthur Manuel, Chairman, Shuswap Nation Tribal Council, stated today "just as the Okanagans at Westbank have exercised their Aboriginal rights and title to harvest timber for their community's social and economic needs. Our Shuswap communities are doing the same thing. We have a constitutionally protected priority right to all of the natural resources within the Aboriginal title territory of the Shuswap Nation."
Chief Manuel added, "we are reasonable people, so whenever the federal and provincial governments are ready to respect the Delgamuukw decision by recognizing our Aboriginal title on the ground, and discuss co-management of the natural resources, as well as, resource revenue sharing with us, we are ready to negotiate. But we are tired of having our rights and interests ignored. We also have immediate community needs to address. However, we want to make it clear to the governments, that we will not get involved in the illegal British Columbia "Treaty Process", or accept the assimilation type terms of the Nisga'a Template Agreement."
Chief Manuel concluded by saying, "the provincial Minister of Forests, Mr. Zirnhelt, has called the Westbank Aboriginal title Timber Harvest ‘illegal', and publically labelled some of our Interior Alliance Nations and leaders as "radical" and "Militant", because we have challenged the B.C. Forest Act and Code and stood up to his government for trampling on our constitutionally protected Aboriginal title and rights. Now the Supreme Court of British Columbia has told Mr. Zirnhelt he was wrong. The B.C. Forest Act and Code are not supreme, the Minister of Forests now has the burden of proof on him, to show how he has accommodated Aboriginal title. Mr. Zirnhelt will have a hard time doing this in the interior because since the Delgamuukw decision was rendered two years ago, we have tried to have talks with the provincial and federal governments outside of the B.C. ‘Treaty Process' and they have not taken us seriously. Our people are suffering under the status quo, and as leaders of our respective Aboriginal Nations we are charged with the responsibility to address our peoples social and economic needs and that is what our Shuswap communities are doing today through our Aboriginal title Timber Harvest. If the provincial, or federal authorities attempt to stop our legitimate economic development activities by force, or otherwise, we will document their actions and vigorously use it in the course of our international consumer boycott campaign against B.C. Forest Products, which are being taken destructively and illegally from our Aboriginal title lands, on a daily basis."
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Chief Arthur Manuel Office (250) 828-9789 or Cell (250) 314-7179
Neskonlith Indian Band
Chairman, Shuswap Nation Tribal Council
Spokesperson, Interior Alliance
Co-Chair, AFN Delgamuukw Implementation Committee BC Wants Talks with Westbank First Nation
September 27
Westbank Wins Round One in BC Court
26 SEPTEMBER, 1999
NAWASH TO BE AT NORTHERN BRUCE COUNCIL ON SEPT. 27TH OVER UNREGULATED TREE CUTTING
Neyaashiinigmiing - Ralph Akiwenzie, Chief of the Chippewas of Nawash in the Bruce Peninsula, will be at the
Council meeting of the Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula during Council’s discussion of white cedar cutting
practices in the north part of the Peninsula. The meeting starts at 7:30 pm, September 27, at the old Lindsay Municipal
offices on Highway 6 north of Ferndale. The Bruce National Park is expected to make a presentation to Council on the
same issue.
Chief Akiwenzie has already written to Northern Bruce Mayor, Milt McIver, and the Bruce County Council outlining
the Band’s concerns over unsustainable cutting practices in the northern part of Bruce County. One logging operation
in particular, the Northern Bruce Timber Company, operated by Chris Rovers, is cutting, milling and shipping a large
quantity of white cedar from lands bought by Frank Rovers (of Conestoga Rovers Environmental Consulting in
Waterloo Ontario).
Representatives of the First Nation have viewed areas cut by the Northern Bruce Timber Co. and noted the following:
* Cut areas were piled with slash, sometimes over 12 feet deep, creating a severe fire hazard.
* Cutting was not done in accordance with white cedar cutting guidelines published by the Ontario Ministry of Natural
Resources.
* Large areas where white cedar was cut left other trees open to the wind, resulting in a high degree of blow-down,
principally poplars.
* Cut areas with deep slash and wind-blown trees have made traversing the area impossible for large animals such as
bear and deer.
* Although the slash is not deep in other areas, the ground is exposed to drying, making it unlikely cedar will be able to
re-generate itself.
* Some of the white cedar trees near cutting areas, particularly in upland areas on ridges of limestone, are 90 years old
(as tested by the MNR)-in other words, as old as the trees that began to grow after the devastating fire that swept the
Bruce Peninsula at the turn of the Century, itself caused by the poor forestry practices of the day. The age of trees still
standing begs the question of whether the area can sustain another logging within the 30 years assumed by the
Company.
* Apparently, unopened road allowances were cut as well, without permit from the Municipality. Road allowances are a
key part of the multi-billion dollar land claim launched by the Chippewas of Nawash and Saugeen in 1994.
In his letters, Chief Akiwenzie says, "The Company’s cedar cutting is not being managed to benefit biodiversity. We
fear the practices as reported will adversely affect the flora and fauna in the areas that are being cut. We are especially
concerned with the effect on the deer yards to the west of Highway 6."
The Rovers have bought some 3000 acres in the area of the Bruce National Park and their Company inadvertently cut
100 acres of the Park. They have also bought 1400 acres not far to the west of the Nawash and Saugeen FNs’ hunting
reserves. That purchase includes the cedar yards the Peninsula’s deer heard use over the winter. We also believe some
of those lands include lands designated by the County as "hazard lands"-lands that include significant wetlands.
In letters to Ministry of Natural Resources Minister John Snobelen and Environment Canada Minister David Anderson,
Chief Akiwenzie expresses concern about the potential effect on the Bands’ section 35 hunting rights.
Chief Akiwenzie also notes that the only non-Native government trying to assert some control over unsustainable
cutting practices on private lands is the County of Bruce. However, the County’s tree-cutting by-law does not cover
trees (except for sugar maple and white ash) north of Hepworth. That leaves the entire Bruce Peninsula vulnerable to
unsustainable forestry practices. Inadequate regulation of tree cutting on private lands is not common to the County of
Bruce, it is a problem throughout southern Ontario where much of the remaining forests and woodlots are on private
land.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT-
Chief Ralph Akiwenzie: 519-534-1589
David McLaren, Communications Coordinator: 519-534-4107 (d.mclaren@bmts.com)
Further background is on the Dibaudjimoh Nawash web site at http://www.bmts.com/~dibaudjimoh.
HISTORICAL NOTES-
On May 27th, 1994, the Saugeen and Nawash First Nations filed a statement of claim against Ontario and Canada for a
breach of their fiduciary obligations to the First Nations in the negotiations and signing of the Treaty of 1854. The
Saugeen and Nawash Ojibway are also asserting ownership of road allowances currently vested in municipal defendants
in Grey and Bruce Counties.
Together the Saugeen and Nawash Ojibway signed the 1836 Treaty which resulted in the loss of one and a half million
acres of their traditional territory just south of what is now the Bruce Peninsula. In return for all that land, the First
Nations got a promise that Canada would protect their fishery as well as their new home, the Bruce Peninsula. In 1854,
they signed another treaty which resulted in the loss of the Peninsula itself (some 500,000 acres).
The two Bands are seeking financial compensation for lands that were sold but cannot be returned to the First Nations
because they are owned by private parties; and for financial compensation for the loss of use of lands in the Bruce
Peninsula since 1854. The value of the Bruce Peninsula, set by independent assessment is 80 billion.
In 1995, an Ontario court recognized the Chippewas of Nawash and Saugeen have section 35 constitutional rights to
fish for trade and commerce. That decision (the Jones-Nadjiwon decision) required Ontario to open the fishery around
the Bruce to Native fishermen. The Ontario government has bought out non-Native fishermen for some $14 million, but
has yet to sign a fishing agreement with either Band. Nevertheless, the Nawash FN has instituted its own fisheries
management regime. It has also begun to take a more active role in protecting lands and waters in its traditional
territories.
------------------------------------------
David McLaren
d.mclaren@bmts.com
Visit Nawash on the Web: http://www.bmts.com/~dibaudjimoh
------------------------------------------
September 25
Aboriginal Right to Hunt in Parks
September 24
September 23, 1999
News Release
First Nations Summit Supportive of For Immediate Release:
Vancouver, BC — The First Nations Summit, which represents First Nations currently engaged in the British Columbia Treaty negotiation process supports the Williams Lake Indian Band's (WLIB) position regarding the protection of lands and resources in the portion of their traditional territory known as the Spokin Lake area.
The WLIB has requested that Riverside Forest Products cease construction of a logging road in the Spokin Lake area as its construction and use would violate the WLIB's legitimate aboriginal rights within their traditional territory. The WLIB has indicated to both government and industry that all road construction in the Spokin Lake area must stop pending an extensive study to determine the impacts such a road would have on the environment and wildlife in the area.
The Summit's support stems from a resolution passed by leaders in attendance at last weeks First Nations Summit meeting in North Vancouver. The Summit resolution, while in support of the Westbank First Nations decision to exercise their legitimate aboriginal rights within their traditional territory, also stated, "that the First Nations of the Summit support all First Nations in the exercise of their aboriginal rights and title in BC".
Grand Chief Edward John, a member of the Summit executive said, "this is clearly a case of a First Nation in BC acting to protect the integrity and usability of their traditional territory for future generations. Unfortunately, it is yet another example where governments have failed to address the negotiation of effective interim measures agreements which would see the protection of selected lands and resources in the traditional territories of First Nations who are currently negotiating treaties in BC."
The Summit plans to monitor the WLIB, Westbank and other similar situations where First Nations are being forced to exercise their aboriginal rights as a means of recognition.
For Further Information contact:
Colin Braker, Communications Coordinator, FNS:
Ph. Office: (604) 990-9939 or Cell: (604) 328-4094 Nuxalk Nation Will Log on Traditional Land BC Government in Court to Stop Logging
Tensions Mount After High Court Treaty Rights Ruling
September 21
Native Camp Set Up at Logging Site
September 16, 1999,
NOTICE: TO ALL SHAREHOLDERS OF BC FORESTRY
COMPANIES AND CONSUMERS OF THEIR PRODUCTS
The Interior Alliance, representing the five Nations of south-central
British Columbia, is calling an international consumer boycott of companies
who are destroying forest resources with destructive logging of Aboriginal
title lands without our consent. From now on, any forestry operations on our
Aboriginal title land will require written permission from the member Nation
This action is designed to halt the destruction of the forests of Aboriginal
title lands and to advise forestry companies, the province, Canada, and the
world, that we are exercising our rights over our lands and resources. These
Aboriginal territories, including all lands and resources, have always been
ours. They were a gift to us from our Creator. We have been willing to share
our wealth but we are not willing to convert, alienate or extinguish our
sacred relationship to our land.
To those who have suggested that we work inside the BC Treaty Commission, we
point out that it is just these type of treaties, both historic and modern,
which call on us to extinguish our Aboriginal title to the land and its
resources, that have left us in a state of poverty and dependence. Instead,
Canada has an obligation to begin to build upon the legal concepts set out
by the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark Delgamuukw Decision of December
11, 1997, and on the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal
Peoples Final Report, both of which affirmed that the source of Aboriginal
title is from the pre-existing laws of Aboriginal Nations. In Delgamuukw,
the Supreme Court further specified that:
“First, aboriginal title encompasses the right to exclusive use and
occupation of the land; second, aboriginal title encompasses the right to
choose what uses the land can be put, subject to the ultimate limit that
those uses cannot destroy the ability of the land to sustain future
generations of aboriginal peoples; and third, the lands held pursuant to
aboriginal title have an inescapable economic component.” (Paragraph 166)
Our announced international consumer boycott is not an attempt to disrupt
the economy of British Columbia, but a signal that we, the original owners
and caretakers of the land, are exercising our Aboriginal title, as affirmed
under the Delgamuukw Decision, so that we can once again fully participate
in the economic benefit it provides. It is only in this way that we can
begin to restore our families and communities to self-sufficiency.
The owners and management of the forestry companies now operating on our
Aboriginal title lands are being contacted and notified of the requirements
for an Aboriginal forestry permit. Those who refuse compliance will
immediately become part of the international consumer forestry boycott
campaign. Our message to the world will be:
- -That the forest products come from stolen logs
- -That the forestry companies, along with governments, have been willfully
ignoring our Aboriginal land use needs, resulting in our impoverishment
- -That the current forestry practices have resulted in a dramatic loss of
biodiversity, which threatens the future health of all of us
Representatives of the Interior Alliance Nations have already begun building
a broad coalition of support for the boycott. Over the next several weeks,
each Nation will be identifying the main company targets and will be
publicizing their consumer products for international boycott. Delegations
from Interior Alliance Nations will then begin a series of North American
and international tours to spread the message about the theft and
destruction in our Aboriginal title forests.
At the same time, we are prepared to enter into serious negotiations about
how we, the Aboriginal Nations of the Interior Alliance, and non-native
British Columbians, can resolve our differences and start down together on
the road to reconciliation that was laid out by the Royal Commission on
Aboriginal Peoples and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada in the
Delgamuukw Decision. We are recommending that you, the shareholders, owners
and managers of forestry companies operating in our Aboriginal title
territories, urge your governments to negotiate a just solution. It is sad
that it has come to this, but we have been left with no choice. This path is
the only one, in present circumstances, that offers hope to our Peoples.
For more information about the boycott, please contact:
Chief Arthur Manuel
Spokesman of the Interior Alliance
355 Yellowhead Highway
Kamloops, BC, V2H 1H1
Email: amanuel@msn.com
INTERIOR ALLIANCE:
Southern Carrier
Secwepemc
Stl'atl'imx
Nlaka'pamux
Okanagan
NORTH VANCOUVER, Sept. 15 /CNW/ - Leaders of First Nations Summit, who are representative of First Nations currently engaged in the BC treaty negotiation process, have passed, by consensus, a resolution in support of the Westbank First Nation.
The resolution states (see below), ``that the First Nations of the Summit fully support the Westbank First Nation in exercising their aboriginal and common law rights to harvest the forests within their traditional territory, and further, that the First Nations of the Summit support all First Nations in the exercise of their aboriginal rights and title in B.C.''
Grand Chief Edward John, Task Group Member of the Summit said, ``the choice of the Westbank First Nation to assert and exercise their legitimate aboriginal rights within their traditional territory through logging is anything but surprising to the other First Nations currently participating in the BC treaty negotiation process. It is a clear result of the frustration that all First Nations participating in the treaty process face on a daily basis. This frustration is a direct result of the governments' lack of will to come to the table to negotiate appropriate interim measures which would see the protection of resources in treaty settlement areas. Until now, First Nations have sat back and watched as the very lands being negotiated are stripped of resources, which are key to First Nations future economic stability and self-sufficiency, prior to the finalization of treaties. This
has been cause for First Nations to ask themselves, will there be any resources left by the time we finalize our treaties or are we negotiating for nothing more than barren pieces of land?''
Chief Joe Mathias, another member of the Summit executive said, ``we understand and fully support the actions of the Westbank First Nation and have shown that with the resolution passed at today's meeting. We are sending a clear message to governments' on First Nations frustrations with respect to
what has become a painstakingly long, costly, and to date, unproductive treaty negotiation process. Unfortunately, if governments fail to address this issue, the negotiation process may give way to the less preferred routes to resolving
the land question for First Nations, direct action and litigation.'' The First Nations Summit meeting, which provides a forum for First Nations in the BC treaty process to have discussions on issues of common concern, is scheduled to continue until Friday.
FIRST NATIONS SUMMIT RESOLUTION No. 0999.02
SUBJECT: EXERCISE OF ABORIGINAL TITLE AND RIGHTS BY WESTBANK FIRST NATION
--------------------------------------------------------------
WHEREAS
A. The legal interests of the First Nations in British Columbia have been recognized and affirmed in of the Supreme Court of Canada decision known as the Delgamuukw decision.
B. BC and Canada have agreed to negotiate the reconciliation of Crown title and aboriginal title in BC through the BC Treaty Commission process.
C. The government of BC continues to use the renewable and non-renewable resources in BC without the consent of First Nations.
D. The government of BC fails to recognize and respect the legal interests of First Nations in the land, marine, and natural resources within BC.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED
1. That the First Nations of the Summit fully support the Westbank First Nation in exercising their aboriginal and common law rights to harvest the forests within their traditional territories.
2. That the First Nations of the Summit support all First Nations in the exercise of their aboriginal rights and title in BC.
MOVED BY: Ralph Dick, We Wai Kai Nation
SECONDED BY: Chief Kim Davidson, Council of the Haida Nation
DATED: September 15, 1999
Passed unanimously.
<
September 7, 1999 Aboriginal Rights and Delgamuukw A generally conservative personality. Until recently, that was a fair description of the public personna and politics of the West Bank First Nation, located near Kelowna in British Columbia's Okanagan valley. It's an area of rich fruitlands, what seems like a record number of golf courses, and a never-ending strip-mall of fast-food franchises. British Columbia's treaty process is fragile and not as fruitful as the valley soil. But it offers hope to many. So while fellow Okanagan Indian Nations have bullishly boycotted the treaty tables, the West Bank people have participated with a noticeable determination in the negotiation process. So what has pushed this usually politically-moderate Indian Band to the front of the stage of aboriginal rights issues in Canada? Much the same as First Nations elsewhere --- frustration, and a loss of trust in governments and their established processes. In British Columbia, First Nations are starting to walk away from the treaty tables. The eyes and ears of First Nations coast-to-coast will begin to focus on the West Bank First Nation as this week's drama promises to unfold, perhaps further than provincial and federal officials care to imagine. A saga scripted with the help of botched government offers and diverse support - from national Chief Phil Fontaine of the Assembly of First Nations to Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. But more importantly, this week's plan by Chief Ron Derrickson to cut trees on provincial crown land/also known as Indian land, is fortified by the almost two-year old Supreme Court 'Delgamuukw' decision. The word in Indian Country is that it is time to do it. What needs to be done of course is to assert the aboriginal rights the high court affirmed. Negotiations have not given the West Bank people what they hoped. Councillor Chad Paul told the story of a promise by BC's Minister of Forests Dave Zirnhelt to permit logging in an area known as Tullameen. It looked like the beginning of an opportunity for the First Nation. But when they got there to do an assessment, to their amazement it was nothing but a burned out wasteland. "It was not an economcally sound offer", said Mr. Paul. His words were kind compared with those from other First Nations who told him, " Zirnhelt has abandoned other deals - don't trust him". Still stinging from the Tullameen disappointment, the West Bank people have served notice that starting today they intend to take action to assert their rights and, "start logging in the Hidden Creek area - at our back door", said councillor Paul. He was referring to an area a short distance from the Indian Reserve, designated for a small forest business with four areas of two thousand cubic metres each. Certainly enough treees there to make a political statement, "a practical test of the Delgamuukw decision", he said confidently. When I interviewed Chad Paul it was Friday night - tourists and most everyone else in the Okanagan were headed for a leisurely long holiday weekend. But councillor Paul and the West Bank First Nation people were polishing the strategy for what is shaping up to be the start of a showdown in the forests of BC ... perhaps in other parts of Canada too.
Postponed a Protest
Opposition Calls for Government to get Tough
Williams Lake Indian Band
Showdown in the BC Forest
Westbank First Nation to Start Logging
in Traditional territory
by Tehaliwaskénhas - Bob Kennedy
Laden with irony, and an illustration of the Band's character - when they start cutting the plan is to follow the BC Government's Forestry Code. "We will in fact, beat the Code", he emphasized proudly. They intend to do that by providing two hundred metre buffer zones from the waters rather than the fifty to one hundred metres provided for in the Code.
Camp Justice Updates
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