Still no justice in Fred Quilt case By ALD. HARRY RANKIN The findings of the jury in the second inquest into the death of Fred Quilt, the Chilcotin Indian who died on November 30, 1971, after being handled by the RCMP, added nothing to the cause of justice in this case. The first inquest, held in Williams Lake in January, was labelled a whitewash by the Indian people and many others concerned with civil rights. The jury was selected by the RCMP, the coroner was a former member of the RCMP. Indian witnesses and even Indian eye- witnesses were not subpoenaed (although other witnesses were and had their expense paid). When Indian witnesses insisted on appearing they had to pay hen ex-RCMP Corporal James Ramsay publicized his story recently about the RCMP’s prime concern for its ‘‘image’’, he told only half the known tale. That “‘image’’ which belongs to the long past was founded upon integrity, honesty, a strong sense of justice, plus a devotion to its frontier-days services that often went far beyond the “‘eall of duty’’, as a little graveyard up in Dawson City silently attests — a grim reminder of the hectic gold-rush days, in which many of the old RCMP gave their lives to save others. That ‘“‘image’’ which the modern RCMP police-state brass seek to resurect is as dead as a stale herring, and no amount of J-Edgar Hoover FBI-injected ‘‘glamor”’ will bring it back. The transformation of a once great force, in which most Canadians felt a tinge of pride began some 50-years ago when the powers-that-be began the work of countering the growth and influence of labor organization, both economical and political, by infiltrating the ranks of labor with RCMP stool pigeons, trained informers and professional perjurers, provocateurs, Judases who made a life-time career as ‘‘star”’ perjurers, winning rapid promotion in the force by their adeptness at fabricating falsehood. That “‘image’’, roughly delineated in the Ramsay article, just doesn’t and won't fit into the old traditional image of a once highly-respected police force, no matter how hard its deceit-experts may try, nor will the Hoover-F BI assistance and advice on super-stooling help in its re-creation. Nor can the ranks of organized labor, even if it wanted to (which it doesn’t) erase the experience of nearly 50-years of professional RCMP stooling and provocation in a futile (but costly) attempt to “‘set the clock back’’. Even the most recent province-wide RCMP raids on trade union offices contain some salutory lessons on the role and identity of this grotesque, and albeit, class “image’’. Then take the Fred Quilt tragedy as a case in point, in estimating official RCMP attitudes towards the Native Indian people of Canada. At neither inquest on the death of this Chilcotin Indian worker did the psychological factor ever come up for serious discussion. But it was, and is, an important factor, just as the untimely death of this Indian worker is now an inefacable factor. In this sorry sequence of events, in which, from an attorney-general down to the meanest Establishment hanger- on, all wanted to play ‘‘innocent’”’ and apply the official whitewash brush to an ugly RCMP episode. If official RCMP. attitudes are to be gauged by their herculean efforts to riddle the ranks of labor with stool- pigeons, informers, professional perjurers, etc., what then is the official RCMP attitude towards Native Indian people? There is little doubt that when a new ‘“‘rookie’’ enters the force he gets, among other things, a psychological training on the status and treatment of Native Indians; they are like ‘‘children,”’ like ‘‘animal,’’ are ‘‘sub-human,”’ to be kicked and abused and pushed around at will. They have no claims upon ‘justice’? ‘‘the law’’ or the humanities. So if they need ‘Jumping on,” jump on them good and hard. What’s an Indian anyway? We haven’t the least doubt that when the average ‘‘rookie’”’ joins the force, he is or was a normally decent sort of chap. But a few months of intensive official psychologizing, brain- washing, etc., soon cleans all the elements of human decency out of his system. After that he either accepts labor espionage and brutalized contempt for Native Indians as a ‘‘career’’, a ‘‘way of life’’ at a moderate salary, or as Corporal Ramsay says, he may salve what is left of his former conscience with a steady dose of John Barleycorn, drugs or worse, even taking the suicide route to ‘‘get away from it all.”’ The findings of the Kamloops coroner’s jury inquest holds ample grounds for preferring a murder charge against the RCMP member involved in the death of Fred Quilt. The evidence given by two of the deceased worker’s family was obviously unheeded or unbelieved, but certainly not refuted. Until that piece of evidence is confirmed or rejected by an unprejudiced and competent Court, the present ‘‘image”’ of the RCMP is tarnished beyond all repair. There cannot be one code of morality and justice for the RCMP — another for the labor movement, and another for the Native Indian. Even the iron-willed ‘‘Lady Macbeth’’ found the blood of her murdered victims, difficult to wash off. their own expenses, and Indian witnesses were insulted and discriminated against on the witness stand. The RCMP-selected jury in that inquest ignored the evidence of an Indian witness that an RCMP constable jumped up and down on Quilt’s body and it ignored the evidence of Indian and other witnesses who heard the dying man make similar statements. It found the death. to be due to peritonitis, caused by rupture of the small bowel. ‘‘We find this death to be unnatural and that it was accidental,” said the jury. ‘““We attach no blame to any person in connection with this death.” This miscarriage of justice aroused a tremendous outburst of indignation and anger among the native Indian people across Canada, and among trade unions, civil rights groups and many others concerned with justice and equality under Cana- dian law. “A nation-wide campaign developed for an open- hearing into Quilt’s death. The provincial Attorney General Leslie Peterson, at first refused to do anything, then called fora second inquest. The jury in the second inquest, held in Kamloops in July, con- cluded that the injury resulting in Quilt’s death was caused by ‘‘an unknown blunt force applied by an unknown object to the lower abdomenfiand that.it was sustained ‘‘between the time Quilt was removed from. the Quilt’s vehicle and assisted to the police vehicle.”’ Headlines in the Vancouver Sun reportirtg the verdict stated that ‘‘Second Inquest Fails Solve Mystery Quilt Death.” As far as the Indian people (and many others too who have followed this case) are concerned there is no mystery. They are firmly con- vinced that ‘‘the blunt force applied by an unknown object to the lower abdomen’’ was the boots of an RCMP officer. The Vancouver Province in headlines a day or two after stated that ‘‘Attorney General Calls for Use of Kid Gloves”’ in referring to RCMP treatment of the Indian people. To me this sound suspiciously like saying: “T know you didn’t do it, but don’t do it again!”’ And despite the fact that a man has died and despite the fact that sworn evidence was , given that his death was caused by an RCMP officer jumping up and down on his body, the Attorn- ey General still refuses to bring charges against the RCMP officer concerned and to let the Courts decide the issue. Can you blame the Indian people for col cluding that this is racism of the worst kind? Suppose the shoe were on the | other foot. Suppose an RCM officer had died, suppose te | RCMP testified at an inquest } that an Indian had jumped UP” and down on the body of the RCMP officer. Would te Attorney General lay charé against the Indians involve You can be sure he would. Wi then doesn’t he lay charge against the RCMP office? involved in the Quilt case? The Kamloops inquest ©” perform a useful service however, with no thanks to He” Attorney General or the powel | structure he represents. rf halped to rally the Indian peop 2 in protest against discriming tion and police brutality: e 4 helped to expose the rae 4 system that operates in Cana against the native Indian oe Eskimo peoples. It helped expose those who protect 4 perpetuate that racist system. ; The Fred Quilt Committ has not given up its campaig® in justice in this case. It demar that charges be brought agent the RCMP officer involved. e demand deserves the suppor” all who want to see justice 1 tially administered 1 fot | country by those responsible its enforcement. = > =a Fight for Alderman Harry Rankin and Tenant’s Council secretary Bruce Yorke told an audience who gathered at Kitsilano beach last week that a justified increase in rent, so far as city taxes are concerned, should not be more than $1.00 this year. In answer to a number of ques- tions to do with rent increases; notice of increases; getting their names on the voters lists, discrimination against young tenants with long hair and many others, Rankin and Yorke spent closé to two hours discussing civic problems. Rankin stressed the impor- tance of getting one’s name on the voters list and the impor- tance of voting. He told the crowd that the so-called Non- Partisan Association (NPA) was anything but non-partisan; three of their numbers are run- ning in the provincial election as either Tory or Social Credit tenants voting rights candidates. He said TEAM was different from the NPA only in- that their representatives were ““vounger’’ reactionaries. The Vancouver Tenant’s Coun- - cil has asked permission to appear before city council to make’ representations on changes needed to get all tenants on the city voters list. Bruce Yorke said the tenant’s’ group would ask for public posting, during the month of September, of the municipal civic voters list in each of the 100- odd polls in the city. This will enable the tenant to ascertain if he is, or is not, on the list and take action to get his name put on it, if necessary. Secondly, tenants will ask for the right to be added to the voters list in the period Septem- ber 8th to 21st, without the neces- sity of a sworn declaration before a commissioner of oaths. eligibility during the Septerre each poll. t wee a tenall To be eligible to vote, vel must be 19 years of age OF ‘i by the time of the election, Pe British subject, and have res! f in the city since January 18°" | the election year. re | Yorke says the way it 1s ae | even the most conscientl canvass will miss 4 tol number of people. If one is 8° the voters list the requiremé ‘e to do so at the present time a extremely cumbersome time-consuming. cil : In 1970 the Tenants Coun, 7 and others got 5,000 persons ole swear out declarations 8 to 21st period, Yorke sal®: i. immediate knowledge of 400 fact. This is a cogent reas’ tsi the public posting of the !!§ To Rent Ples en ¢ A ant WE ite oP dein < ert to The Prichuk family of Prince George are looking for a home. Their house on Cottonwood Island was fh Me out and they were forced to sell it to the city for $3,900, and now cannot find another home f° “ni Prichuk blames discrimination. She says ‘We don’t drink, we’ve got money for the rent. We are make the best out of our life; we're trying to live decently.’ She is shown above holding the sigt ew along with friends and her little daughter and two step -daughters. It is people like the Prichul WE ORE Cameaals help a heost) op dve ere Seen, i (cet circumstances give the lie to Bennett's boast of a “good life’’ in B.C. DACIEIC TDIRIINIE__FRINAY ALIGUIST 18 1972—PA