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Reported
demise of
roadblocks
premature,
Chiefs say

Contrary to recent reports carried
in lower mainland newspapers and
provincial broadcast news outlets,
the Gitksan Wet’suwet’an Tribal
Council has not abandoned road
blockades as a pressure tactic for
land claim settlement.

Herb George, a spokesperson for
the Gitksan Wet’suwet’an here-
ditary chiefs, said last Friday in an
interview from Hazelton that the
chiefs are considering a number of
other strategies but road blocks
have not been ruled out. George
blamed the inaccurate reports on a
misunderstanding that occurred
during an interview with a reporter
from the Vancouver Province.
"She got it all mixed up," he said.

Options for action other than
roadblocks were discussed by the
chiefs last week, George said, and
the discussion will be compiled
into a report to be examined in a
meeting Sept. 6. During the inter-
vening time the partial blockade of
the Kispiox road will continue,
with all traffic except logging
trucks being allowed to pass
through.

The target of the blockade has
been Westar -Timber’s Carnaby
sawmill near Hazelton. A Westar
representative said two weeks ago
that the mill’s operations haven't
been affected so far and there are
stocks of logs adequate to keep it
running for several weeks,

George said the chiefs are not
satisfied with an announcement by
Premier Vander Zalm two weeks
ago that the provincial government
is prepared to take a position in
land claim negotiations. "The
province hasn’t said anything new.
They accept no liability and still
say all responsibility lies with the

‘federal government. They men-

tioned a moral obligation, but all

they’ve actually said is that they
will be at the negotiating table."
A number of federal policies will
have to change before the Gitksan
will negotiate. Extinguishment —
the concept that surrender of abo-
riginal title would be a condition
of settlement — has to be removed

from the federal agenda, George

said. The federal government has
also done nothing to date to speed
up negotiations in B.C., continuing
to negotiate only one claim at a
time.

Although the B.C. government
has changed its position on the
land issue dramatically by agreeing
to become part of the negotiations,
Vander Zalm has stopped short of
recognizing aboriginal title to the
land. George says that isn’t good
enough.

"We will negotiate on one con-
dition: that title be recognized. It is
imperative that the province recog-
nize title; otherwise, we have
nothing io negotiate with," he
stated.

GOT THOSE SKIS DUSTED OFF? Doug Russel of Russel Painting began preparing the old Kitsumkalum chairlift towers for painting
last week. Each of the towers was first sandblasted, and then painted Oxford Blue. Once all the towers are painted and rigged, they
will be trucked over to Shames Mountain for erection by helicopter. The foundations for the towers will be ready for the first concrete
pour this Friday, with the able assistance of Canadian Helicopters.

Kitselas Band reclaims p
in order to shape future

by Tod Strachan

Things are happening on Kitselas
reserve land around Terrace. Most
of these events are out of the pub-
lic eye, however, and there is no

‘great public awareness of that any

significant change is taking place
at all. But that is about to change,
and an event at the rear of the
Queensway Drive band office last
Friday afternoon may have been a
luring point.

‘i

Dempsey Bob: “We have to.
get back to our culture
because that’s who we are."

The event was the dedication of
a 24-by-45 foot longhouse. This
was done with traditional fare,
both new and old. It began with
chief Mel Bevan explaining that
this was the one of the first full
sized longhouses built on the
Skeena in well over 100 years. The
ribbon was cut by elders Lila
Mason and Phylis McDames, two
totem poles destined to be one half

of the Kitselas contribution to the
entrance of the Muks-kum-ol Pear
St. housing complex were carried
into the longhouse, and the affair
was rounded off with Native danc-
ing, a few words on the value of
the Native culture and the hanging
of an eagle feather by elder Phylis
McDames to "keep away bad
things".

This dedication, though, heralded
something far greater than just a
longhouse. This is the new home
of the yet to be named Kitselas
Native craft school. The school
will be enhanced by a second
longhouse adjacent to the first that
will serve as a classroom and
under the direction of carver
Dempsy Bob, who will be assisted
by Stan Bevan and Ken McNeil,
the school will help to insure the
survival of the Native culture.

The survival of the Native cul-
ture is extremely important. As
Bob explained during the dedica-
tion, "We have to get back to our
culture because that’s who we
are... If we don’t teach our culture

it’s going to die." Bevan put it ©

another way: "I believe that our
culture and traditions makes us
strong.” And McNeil, "...Our art.
It’s our strongest point with our
culture,"

As important as the new craft
school is to the survival of the
Native culture, though, it is only a
small part of what’s happening to
maintain the culture of the Kitselas
people. me

Their proposed national park at
Kitselas Canyon, the "Stanley Park
of the North", is moving rapidly
towards reality. Bevan says they
have set a target date of 1992 as
the completion date for the park,
and when it is complete local
residents and tourists will be able
to spend a half day or more wan-
dering park trails through acres of
Native history dating back 4,000
years or more.

Asmall longhouse that will serve
as an information centre at the
entrance to the park has already
been built, says Bevan, and Kit-
selas leaders are working closely
with Parks Canada in development
of the park. Bevan says Parks
Canada is currently doing an
archaeological impact study and
Kitselas workers are in the preli-
minary process of laying out the
trails.

A new housing development
currently under construction near
Kitselas Canyon is also progress-
ing well, says Bevan, and this will
provide housing for urban Natives
who want to move back to a more
traditional lifestyle. The original
Kitselas village on the opposite
side of the Skeena may also pro-
vide a link to the past soon.
Skeena MLA Dave Parker and
representatives of agencies like
B.C, Hydro and the Ministry of
Highways visited the area recently,
and if Parker’s prediction is right
that area could have a proper road
and electrical power in about a

year.

do with economic development
than culture but will enhance the
park at Kitselas Canyon is a
campsite at Copper Flats. It will be
more than just a campsite, with
fishing guides and river tours to
Kitselas Canyon also available.

And there is one other project
that will soon be underway to help
bring the Native culture back to all
Kitselas people. A 45-by-90 foot
longhouse on Kulspai Crescent will
be dedicated as the Kiiselas Com-
munity Hall before mid-December
of this year. There is no flexibility
in this date. A traditional com-
munity Christmas has already been
planned,

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