Friday, May 9, 1975

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Ke Vol. 37, No. 19

isUNE

—Sean Griffin photo

Demonstrating his point with an artist's sketch of the Trident sub,
: €wdney NDP MLA Peter Rolston outlines campaign against Bangor
ub base at May Day raily last Thursday. (Story below.)

}

TRIDENT BASE CONDEMNED —

There was much to celebrate on
this year’s May Day. And the 600
People who turned out to the annual

ay Day rally in Vancouver came

do just that.

It was without a doubt the most
Successful rally for labor’s
traditional holiday in many years,
or the first time in some years
held on May Day itself.

With the liberation of Vietnam
and the birth of the new Ho Chi

Inh City upermost in the hearts
and minds of the crowd, they had
Come to cheer. The opportunity
Came quickly as chairwoman
Helen O’Shaughnessy opened the
Meeting with a resolution hailing

the victory of the Vietnamese and
calling on the Canadian govern-
ment to provide aid for recon-
struction and to immediately
recognize the new government.
The thunderous ovation that filled
the auditorium at Vancouver
Technical High School made a
formal vote unnecessary.

The great change in the world
that the events of the previous
week had dramatized found added
meaning inthe remarks of
featured speaker Ross Russell.

‘ National organizational director of

the United Electrical. Workers

Union, he flew from Toronto to

Vancouver for the rally.

PROTESTS SPREAD

Chile protest called

The Canadians for Democracy in Chile committee in Vancouver
has called a demonstration in front of the Chilean consulate at 1139
Lonsdale in North Vancouver on Saturday, May 17 at2p.m.

In announcing the protest action, the ‘committee: said in a
Statement that “the Chilean people must have their full rights
restored and all political prisoners must be released immediately.”

The public are urged to support and parficipate in the demon-
stration which coincides with a conference of trade unionists in the
United States on May 17 to decide on solidarity action with trade

Unionists in Chile.

The urgency of the protest is underscored by the serious threat to
the life of Luis Corvalan and other Chilean patriots.

British Columbia’s Native Indian
people took up the fight for their
rights on an unprecedented scale
this week as they demonstrated in
many centres across the province
and occupied Indian Affairs offices
in four cities to publicize their
demands.

Native Indians are demanding
settlement of outstanding
grievances including com-
pensation for lands cut from Indian
reserves 50 years ago as well as
aboriginal title to land that was
never surrendered by treaty. Back
of this week’s protest is the
growing impatience of the Indian
people with long years of poverty
and oppression and denial of their
basic rights by every level of
government.

The new spirit growing among
Native Indians was expressed at
the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs
Conference on Land Claims at
Terrace, B.C. in April by Research
Director of Land Claims Phillip
Paul, when he said:

“We have reached a very critical
period in our development as In-
dian people . . . as Indians we have

A veteran of the Spanish Civil
War, where he served with the
Mackenzie Papineau Battalion,
Russell drew attention to another
cause for celebration — the 30th
anniversary of the victory over
fascism.

“Those of us who went from
Canada to fight in Spain-did so in
the finest tradition of May Day,”’
he said. The message of a changing
world began to take shape as he
related the story of the retreat of
the International Brigade from
Spain. Leaving behind a
beleagured republican army
depleted of ammunition and
supplies to face Hitler and
Mussolini’s crack troops, they
were transported by train north
through France. And there all
along the route at each junction
they could see the huge stockpiles
of armaments, ammunition and
supplies sent by the Soviet Union
but blocked at-the French border
by the complicity of the capitalist
powers. so

“Surely this is the great
change,’ he declared, pointing to
Vietnam.”’ The aid of a strong and
powerful socialist world can no
longer be blocked.”

See MAY DAY, pg. 3

the distinct responsibility of
designing a plan for today and
tomorrow that will remove our
people from the unnecessary
emptiness that poverty has
brought to our people. Poverty, not
just from the absence of money,
but poverty and all its con-
sequences.” i

The issue which has aroused
widespread indignation among
Indians, and prompted : the
demonstrations of the past week, is
the land claim issue and_par-
ticularly the cut-off lands.
Peaceful occupation of Indian
Affairs offices have taken place at
Vernon, Kamloops, Bella Coola
and Williams Lake. Roadblocks
have been thrown up on Highway
97 near Kelowna and the Tachie
reserve near Fort St. James,
where Indians are seeking com-
pensation for B.C. Railway con-
struction over their lands.

Cut-off lands are those taken
from Indian reserves by the 1916
McKenna-McBride Royal Com-
mission which was set up under an
agreement between the federal
and provincial governments. They
include 36,000 acres of land cut
from 23 B.C. reserves and in some
cases included the abolition of

’ entire reserves.

Native Indians were not con-

‘sulted when the two governments

entered into the McKenna-
McBride Agreement, nor .in the
setting up of the Royal Commission
which followed. Not a single repre-
sentative of the Indian people was
named to the Commission despite
the fact that Section 2 of the
Agreement between Ottawa and
Victoria provided that no land was
to be cut off unless the Indians
gave their consent.

These cut-offs were made
without the consent of the Bands
concerned and in most cases were
directly against requests for more
land. Under the terms of the
Agreement these cut-off lands
were to be sold by the province and
50 per cent of the proceeds were to
go to the benefit of the Indians.

The major claim of the Indians is
that “these cut-off lands were
decided on without the consent of
the Bands concerned, contrary to
the terms of the McKenna-
McBride. Agreement.

The cut-off lands are only one
kind of loss of reserve land. There
are many other ways Indian
reserve land has been taken away.
The issue of compensation for cut-
off lands is different from the
general land claim which deals

See NATIVE INDIANS, pg. 10

. accel
—Carey Robson photo

Native Indians took their protest against cut-off lands being taken from
reserves to steps of the provincial legislature in Victoria on Friday,
April 18. Some of the demonstrators are shown above.

TIT