pmmmmmemee TTA ATL CTL (AN | AAU eT BRITISH COLUMBIA Labor-Native co-operation, highlighted by the historic conference in Nanaimo last October, jointly hosted by the B.C. Feder- ation of Labor and Native groups, was advanced a step further Dec. 3 as delegates to the B.C. Fed’s annual convention called on the federal government to negotiate a comprehensive claims policy and prom- ised support for the Kwakiutl Indians’ campaign to prevent logging on Deer Island. Delegates unanimously endorsed a spe- cial resolution drawn up by the federa-. tion’s executive council pressing the federal government to negotiate a land claims policy based on several key points: @ The recognition of basic political rights as fundamental to the objectives of Native people; e Affirmation of aboriginal rights; @ The right of aboriginal people to par- ticipate in the economic development of natural resources; @ Development of resource manage- ment systems in which aboriginal peoples are full decision-making participants; @ Investment of political authority in federal government negotiators with full access to ministers; @ The availability of long-term finan- cial resources to aboriginal peoples to plan, negotiate and conclude comprehen- sive claim settlements; e Acceptance of the principle that set- approach to permit the implementation of tlements must be on a planned, phased . negotiated acts prior to complete agree- ments being enshrined in legislation. B.C. Fed secretary Cliff Andstein told © the convention that the Fort Rupert band of the Kwakiutl District council had approached the federation asking for sup- port of the band’s action in blocking log- ging on Deer Island to uphold their aboriginal claim to the island, located in Queen Charlotte Strait near Port Hardy. Andstein said that federation officers would be preparing a statement backing the Kwakiutl council’s action. He urged affiliated unions to contact the Fort Rupert band and offer their sup- port as the federation as several unions did last year in backing the Haidas’ action to prevent logging on Lyell Island in the Queen Charlottes. The convention support followed an eloquent and impassioned address by Joe Mathias, chief of the Squamish Band and regional vice-president, in which he told delegates that land claims contained the key to Indian peoples’ sovereign existence. ~ For a full half hour he held more than 900 delegates in hushed attention as he drew on history and metaphor to dramat- ize the issue of aboriginal land claims. “Title is how we define ourselves as a people including how we govern ourselves and how we maintain our culture,” he - said. “If it can be taken away, it means we do not exist as a people.” He noted that federal governments have maintained that the 1763 proclama- JOE MATHIAS ... eloquent appeal for support of land claims. tion which established British North America effectively stripped Indian people of their sovereignty as a people, defining — them as a minority group in Canadian society. : Even where they have been prepared to negotiate land claims, “politicians have insisted that we sign a claim we extinguish our land rights for all time. “No Indian leader is about to do that,” he said to applause. “We take the position that our sover- eign existence has never been extin- guished,” he said. “There is no document that says we gave up our right.” Fed backs Natives’ political rights Mathias told delegates that the “old structure” which was imposed on Indian people “has failed Canada. “A new structure must be achieved — we hope by negotiation but the moment of truth is fast approaching,” he warned. Praising federation president Art Kube and UFAWU president Jack Nichol for their instrumental role in bringing the trade union movement and Native organi- zations together, he urged unionists to continue the process of co-operation. “We must reach new levels of under- standing, we must light up the dark places ... and we must ensure that our rights will not be trampled by the powerful of this world,” he declared, bringing 900 dele- gates to their feet in a standing ovation. Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council chair- man George Watts, one of the key figures in organizing the Nanaimo conference, was given a thunderous ovation as he told delegates that in their fight for equality, Indian people were concerned first of all “about economic inequality — the kind of inequality that (Forest Industrial Rela- tions president) Keith Bennett and Peter Pocklington stand for.” He urged unionists to “get rid of any bogeymen about Indian people and land claims” adding that they “are not trying to force anything on other people. Pledging his solidarity with striking woodworkers, he told delegates: “We want to share with you the job security you are fighting for.” ES Support for S.A. sanctions crucial, rally told — his goons attack youths in the townships of - Kwazulu, No, Gatsha Buthelezi does not speak for us. He speaks for his masters in ~ Pretoria,” he said. The most damning statement about Buthelezi came from Anglican minister Rev. Tom Anthony who told the audience that he had invited the Kwazulu leader to Vancouver in 1975 and had, at that time, accepted his proposals for “peaceful change” to apartheid. But after a visit to South Africa in 1980, “I am now absolutely convinced that he is horribly and tragically mistaken and I hope during his stay here in Vancouver to say that directly to him.” People across the province are asked to write to Vander Zalm and Minister of External Affairs, Joe Clark, demanding _ Japan and Israel. We’re going to have to send a very big message to the world that we are willing to pay the price to live in a world that is democratic, that has compassion,” he said, He was also critical of the role Vander Zalm has played in “‘just a few short weeks in managing to give B.C. a shameful name and reputation in Canada and the world because of his attitude and the kind of statements he’s been making with respect to apartheid.” Barnes reiterated the call for expanded sanctions and appealed to every Canadian to get active in the campaign. — Cliff Andstein, secretary-treasurer of the B.C. Federation. of Labor, prompted repeated ovations from the audience as he read the sweeping resolution adopted that Peter Mahlangu wants Canadians to understand. clearly. that. the: majority of South African people, black and white, support the call for. mandatory and sweep- ing sanctions against the apartheid regime ,. in his country. “We have called for the withdrawal of the __- monopolies, understanding what this means in the loss of jobs. We have called for sanc- tions, understanding what this means for the working people of our country. But our people understand what it means to suffer a little, to die a little in order to be free tomor- row,” he said. a ; Mahlangu, the representative to Canada from the South African Congress of Trade _ Unions(SACTU), spoke ata rally held Dec. 4, organized by anti-apartheid groups to reiterate the call for sanctions in the wake of include all imports from and exports to South Africa of goods and services; ' e “Condemn Premier Bill Vander Zalm for meeting with South Africa state repre- sentatives and encouraging more trade with South Africa; * e “Call on the Canadian government to press for the release of Nelson Mandela; e “Financially support the organizing drives of all trade unions committed to creating a non-racial South Africa ; @ “Co-ordinate labor action in protest of trade with South Africa, including boycotts and other measures; @ “Reaffirm ... the right of workers to refuse to handle goods from, or destined to, South Africa and encourage all affiliates to negotiate contract language to protect that right.” Premier Bill Vander Zalm’s recent propos- als to increase trade with South Africa. More than 350 attended the rally, which was organized by a coalition of organiza- tion including the Anti-Apartheid Network and the SACTU Support Committee. day by the 1,100 delegates to the federation of the federation in support of a “‘non-racial South Africa.” The resolution includes the commitment of the B.C, Fed to: @ “Reaffirm its support for sanctions against the apartheid regime;” Speakers also targetted the visit to Van- couver by KwaZulu leader Gatsha Buthelezi who was brought here by the right-wing think tank, the Fraser Institute. “He is a puppet of the apartheid regime,” said George Lai Thom, Vancouver repre- sentative of the African National Congress. mandatory and comprehensive sanctions. Pre-printed post cards addressed to Vander Zalm, Clark, Liberal party leader John Turner and NDP leader Ed Broad- bent are available at 10¢ for a sheet for four cards from anti-apartheid organizations. In Vancouver, contact the Anti-Apartheid All of the six speakers at the rally critic- ized Vander Zalm’s recent meeting with South African ambassador Glenn Babb and he premier’s proposal to sell prefabri- cated housing to the apartheid regime. | Mahlangu also condemned the sanctions imposed by the federal government as “minimal,” stating they would have no effect on South Africa. “The South African _ regime is a monster,” he said, emphasizing that sanctions are an important part of the process in defeating the apartheid system. “It is the obligation of the cea oe working people to support this struggle, a said. “The workers of this country are the ones that will monitor the sanctions against South Africa. I do not believe in vee Zalm, I do not believe in the federa government but I do belive in workers who are exploited exactly xi cage : ti con- - fidence in you,” he said to app!ause. aii Centre NDP MLA Fad Barnes emphasized that “more than jus @ Through the Canadian Labor Con- gress “demand expansion of the recently announced federal government sanctions to Network or the Southern Africa Action Coalition at 734-1712 or Oxfam Canada 736-7678. = “How can Buthelezi speak for us when his Inkata warriors kills students demonstrat- ing against inferior Bantu education, when Season’s Greetings _ from the membership of Vancouver United Transportation Union, Local 701 WORKING TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THE TRAINS OVER THE HOLIDAY SEASON. WITH A CABOOSE!