. Care for.” igher learning Students gain wisdom from elders in the ancestral land of the Kitlope BEGINNING AT the dock in Kitamaat village, two clas- ses from Northwest Community College took part in a fi- ve-day journey by water into the Kitlope south and east of Kitimat in late August, * The geography and anthropology students took in- struction from Haisla elders, visited nalive sites and stopped in to view Alcan’s Kemano hydro-electric gen- erating station. ~ The area, home of the Hen'aak’sila people of the “Gardner Canal, from Crab River to the Kitlope water- “shed, once numbered 8,000 people, but catastrophic dis- ease led to.a dramatically reduced population to only about 60 people. * The Hen’aak'sila moved to Kitamaat and amalgama- led with the Haisla in the late 1940's. Traditionally, Kit- lope Lake was the summer home to 3,000 people, who would move to winter villages at Kemano and Crab River, ‘Today the Hen’aak’sila population numbers have re- bounded, and they maintain the original clan lineages: Eagle; Blackfish, Beaver, and Raven, At the first stop, Kemano village, the ancestral lands of the Hen’aak’sila, the students were shown the Na Na Kila totem pole, erected when the Watchman steward- -ship program began. ‘Na Na Kila in Hen’aak’sila meaning “to protect, or The students were also shown the village gra- veyard, containing mass burials of people and children, ‘victims of the waves of epidemics that killed thousands, The graveyard is now protected from wave erosion by a stone breakwater constructed by Alcan. While at Kemano the students toured the Alcan power house complex. A large hydro-electrical facility, the complex funnels water from the Nechako reservoir that is converted into electricity. This electricity travels by power lines 70km to Kitimat to provide electricity to . Alcan's aluminum smelter and the B.C. Hydro grid. Once through the compiex and its generators, the water. joins with the glacial water from the Kemano River. Today, Alcan monitors the river and fish habitat, like the Oolican run closely which is essential to First ‘Nalions culture in the area and throughout B.C. * The college tour then went to the Kawesas, an untou- ched rainforest inlet and estuary, in an area left out of ihe agreement establishing the Kitlope protection area in 1994. To date the impact on the Kawesas has been mini- mal. Only some select Sitka spruce were taken out dut- ing the Second World War for airplane construction. At the Kawesas Lodge, the students were welcomed by the hereditary chief of the Kawesas, Che qwee kash, (Ken Hall). The future of the -—Kawesas remains uncer- tain, but the Hen’aak’sila seek to protect the natural ecosystem for fong term usage for all to share and enjoy. While at Kawesas, Na na kila Watchmen took students on-cultural interpretative trails and explained plant use and traditional ways of life, Upon entering Kitlope Lake, the students washed iheir faces, following a tradition requiring people to open their-eyes and ears, and introduce themselves to the guardian of the lake, the Man Who Turned, To Stone. On the sand beach at the edge of the lake, Elder Cecil Paul Sr. told the legend of the The Man Who Tumed To Stone, and sang a traditional Kitlope wel- coming song. During this sunny day, The Man Who Tumed To Stone revealed himself to all that ventured to the end of the lake. In the evenings, students participated in a sharing cir- cle, and benefited from the teachings and wisdom of the elders Ken Hall, Cecil Paul Sr. and John and Bea Wil- son, They learned the importance of respecting yourself, others, and nature. Cecil Paul Sr. challenged students to know whe they are. (The Kitlope journey, part of the geography and anthropology courses undertaken during an intensive per- . iod of instruction by the students in August, began as an idea. of Northwest Community College instructors Sheree Ronaasen and Gord Weary. It was supported by the Na Na Kila Institute and Alcan, This chronicle was assembled by Ronaasen, Weary, Ken Downs and Michele Cook.) A bad strike CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD CECIL PAUL SA. and Cecil Paul Jr. stand with a pole named Musquska at one of the stops undertaken by Northwest Community College students during a fi- ve-day tour of the Kitlope area in late August. PHOTO COURTESY OF SHEREE RO- NAASEN AND GORD WEARY, NORTHWEST COMMUNITY COLLEGE. A PETROGLYPH examined by students. PHOTO COURTESY OF SHEREE RONAASEN AND GORD WEARY, NORTHWEST COMMUNITY COLLEGE. Safety first Dear Sir: Mr. Ross Slezak, in his Sept. 17 letter-to the editor, “A place for unions,” illustrates my — concern with present day unions. Certainly, the right to form a union and the right to strike are important and integral parts of a working de- mocracy. Early unions overcame horrendous injustices, Principled leaders made great pet- sonal sacrifices to better the lot of the working Governments past and present have rec- ognized their important role in society with strong legislation to protect the working man and the union structure, This does not mean, as Mr, Slezak implies, that everything present day unions do is above The Mail Bag rocan strike was ill conceived and frivolous “nan. and lacking in social conscience. I walked into the bathroom this moming and half closed the door. I went to open the drawer to get the tooth- paste oul and the door was in the way so I had to completely close it. This reminded me of a friend’s story about her child learning this trick when she was about two years old. She would close the door, and open the drawer knowing the parents couldn’t get in. My question then becomes, in the world of safety products and warnings of unsafe toys ete, who would still design bathrooms with the vanity right beside the door? In my not so humble opinion, perhaps the archilects should attend a safety class for Pete Weeber, New Hazelton, B.C, criticism and that we should all sit idly by while they play with our lives. It-is a long stretch from early century op- pressed workers striking for a living wage to present day well paid (some would say over- paid) unions making excessive demands and then going on a prolonged strike that throws hundreds of innocent bystanders out of work. My criticism is not of. unionism, It is of members and leaders who lack the social con- science to take into consideration the wide- spread hardship their actions have imposed on -. the community al large. As for me “picking up the torch and j joining the struggle”, I'd rather pick up the torch for al] the people who were put out of work by the . Kitimat strike — people who make a iot less wages when they are working than the broth- ers. Many of them were seasonal workers who had hoped to make a few bucks this summer to see them through the fall season. So if your aim is a fair and just society, lock a little beyond your union huddle, Strikes that impoverish entire communities and strikes that- have nothing to gain from the eventual setllement should only be considered to cor- rect major injustices with which the average » person can sympathize. When viewed in that light the Kitimat Eu- More flim flam Dear Sir: Once again, in the Sept. i7 edition of The Terrace Standard, we have been treated to yet another full page ad from our Ministry of Edu- cation (“Providing a First Rate Education System,” Page B4) extolling the putative vir- tues of its New Era in education. From extensive enquiries made in Vicioria, I have learned that this is a prolonged and province-wide campaign, But to discover the overall cost to the education system (and the taxpayer) for this propaganda pitch, I’m In- formed that we'll have to wait til the publica- tion of the public accounts next June or July, In the absence of firm figures, relying on a little back-of-the-envelope calculation based on The Standard’s rate of $2,000 for a full page commercial, I'd reckon that the campaign has to date squandered at least $600,000 of scarce educational funds on this “feel-good” flum- mery. , Let's hope that our students — as they trun- dle off to their crowded classrooms through the unnecessarily-early morning gloom — are Prop- erly appreciative of this government's “educational” funding priorities. John How, Lakelse Lake, B.C. children, Sharlene Lindstrom, Terrace, B.C Who is next? Dear Sirs Very soon this letter to the editor will be- come illegal to print or to speak about in pub- lic because of new federal legislation put for- ward by Svend Robinson called Bill C-250. It considets calling a hate crime any description of homosexuality as an unhealthy lifestyle. Bill C-250 is not an issue of protecting pay rights. It is a question of free speech. As politi- cal correctness slowly whittles away at our common rights, we will soon find ourselves in a fascist occupied territory in Canada. Various portions of the Bible, Leviticus 20:13 and Romans 1, for instance,. condemn homosexuality in addition. to other forms. of kinky behaviour such as adultery and sodomy. What concerns Christians like myself is that quoting the Bible may soon be. illegal if the courts don't like the substance of ‘the text. a Brian Gregg, Terrace, B.C, The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 8, 2003 - A5 CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The Mail Bag Column’s union info was simply all wrong Dear Sir: We all know that freedom of the press is vital but you have allowed Claudette Sandecki to cross the line into the National Enquirer category. There is no way that her column of Sept. 24, 2003, “Eurocan strike hurt us all badly,” can be called journalism, It is trash. As a citizen of Kitimat and as-a spouse.of.a union member I am outraged. Instead of having her financial planner on hold for the trickle of extra income she might be better served to have her lawyer on hold, My husband was on the negotiating committee for CEP Local 298 and Ms, Sandecki can rest assured that my husband took the strike very seriously. My husband did not receive his normal pay; he received strike pay like every union member. He knew the issues. He knew it was concessions on the line and eventually job losses and not extra income albeit dishonestly earned. After all Kitirmat doesn’t have any entrepreneurs and our dollars are not earned honestly. , There are so many errors, half-truths and downright lies in this column that it’s not even worth my time to educate this woman. We, the people of Kitimat, although decimated, are fully aware of the facts. It would be unfair for us here in Kitimat to judge all Terrace people by this one person's view but my first reaction was what would happen if all Kitimat union people (and their dishonest money) boycotted shopping in Terrace? Where would the extra income trickle come from? S.Verde, Kitimat, B.C. Strike leaders get same pay as members do Dear Sir: There are inaccuracies in Claudetie Sandecki's. Sept. 24, 2003 column. * CEP Local 294 did not vole to accept the company offer. It was CEP local 298. * It is wrong to say two other unions at the plant couldn’t cross the picket line. There is only one union at the plant but there are two locals of that union — CEP Local 298 (on strike) and CEP Local 1127, whose members were laid off due to lack of work and. in all likelihood would have supported the picket line. That's how organized labour works. Even Ms. Sandecki, I’m sure ,understands that * Contrary to Ms. Sandecki’s claims I'm certainly. not aware of any businesses that went bankrupt and there wasn’t any evidence of moving vans leaving the city. * Ms. Sandecki asks why a mediator wasn’t brought. inthe first:week,of the -strike,:Although: not. during the first week of the’ strike, a mediator did: meet with both parties in July. It was his determination,that the sides were too far apart,so he booked himself out (which is mot an- unusual decision for mediators to make). * Ms. Sandecki says a woman told her that her husband had been working in Fort Nelson for two months and wont be home until October, What relevance does this have to the strike at Eurocan? Was her husband a Eurocan employee/union member? If sc, how did he know the strike was going to last until ctober? * Terrace, says Ms. Sandecki has more entrepreneurs, according to a survey, than does Kitimat and she suspects it may be because Terrace folk have to earn a dollar any honest way they can. Is Ms. Sandecki suggesting that earning a dollar in (the pulp and paper industry,is dishonest? Would she care to convey that message to the many Terrace and district residents that work at Eurocan’? * Ms. Sandecki says it wouldn't hurt if union executives had to live on strike pay during a strike rather then collecting normal pay. Let me assure you that union executives do live on strike pay. During the length of a strike, their normal pay is derived from their employment at Eurocan, same as their members who, by the way, voted to po on strike. I would hope that in the future, Ms, Sandecki will, get the facts before she goes to press, As an interesting aside, I heard the new manager of Eurocan, Mr. Rick Maksymetz, on 7o The Point. with host John Crawford once. He told John he had arrived at Eurocan just three days before the strike commenced and therefore had very little (if any) input into the negotiations. That was completely: understandable. He went on to say he had talked to a few people’ on the picket tine and he thought he knew. what issues; could be addressed to settle the impasse, He then said that these same issues existed 16 weeks later that he identified three days before the strike. Did the company not want to run? Did the union: not want to work? : We are all free to draw our own conclusions, but has anyone ever considered that maybe, just maybe, - the company welcamed the down time? I understand that the difference between July and September, when the mediator inet with both parties, was Eurocan’s agreeing to remove the concessions from their agenda. , , Had those concessions not been part of Eurocan’s original agenda, the chances of CEP Local 298 accepting the norske agreement (like the rest of the province) and avoiding a strike,was a very, very real Bill Whitty, Kitimat, B.C, About the Mail Bag The Terrace Standard welcomes letters. Our address is $210 Clinton St, Terrace, B.C. V8G §R2,. You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mail us at newsroom@terracestandard.com. No _ attachments, please. We need your name, address and phone number for verification. Our deadline is noon Friday or noon Thursday It i's a long weekend.