An winter “the | “crest | of:
ountain ‘stands. alone. . th
ing the snow begins-to.melt. -
mtik summer, when what’ was
price a peak, becomes a series of |
‘ooks ‘Tunning- down’ the.’
mamountain side to the sea.
Mer; Just as we cannot say to the

Bsseasons...Stop! We cannot halt’

the changes called ‘progress

at affect mankind: The Haisla
people of Kitimaat Village are a
ofound example of ‘the
easons * -
For. six or 700 years - ‘the
village ‘remained isolated and
Sself sufficient'on the shores of
Douglas Channel. Generations
me watched giant cedars grow in
ithe place. that the ‘village
miounder, Wamiss, had. once
ee called “Gravel Banks”. The
men fished in the abundant
waters of the Kitimat River for
oodlichan which was.thelr main
Wee source of food. They shot ‘goat,
deer and bear which the woman
ma Smoked’ and set aside for the *
Bwinter. In the late summer
whole families gathered’ to
me clamber up the hillsides ‘in-
search’ of salmon berries

WISTFULLY CONS DER

FREEDOM -

To keep well they depended. .
on what the Jand and sea could
t offer them, They prayed to the -
sun, and danced at the joyous:
harvest festivals.

- Life for the people had a’
fm pattern imposed on. it by. the
cycles of nature. That and self
imposed reulations were their
only a condition many ‘wistfully -
consider freedom.

However the fingers of
industrial civilization were
spreading upward.
grasp they found British:

- Columbia, a paradise of natural

f resources for the’ needy

. markets to the south. Lit the mid .

1800's news of great change

compelled some of the Haisla

band to travel to the lower
mainland and Vancouver Island
where they found work in the
forest and sawmills, The
workers who returned. brought
with them strange’ ‘bacteria
against which‘the people were

- helpless. A seige of smallpox

and an epidemic of what. they.

called “overnight death" wiped.

popMalion.rve.2

built .in’ Kiamaat’ by “Charles:
. Amos,’ formerly | ° Wahux
Gamala; ‘a ‘young: Haisla’ who
had been baptized by a
_Christian - Missionary in
* Victoria. ‘As in: many cultures
the ‘ coming of .Chirstianity
- heralded: the beginning of an
entirely new way of life.

Rumors of a proposed railway
terminus brought -the: first
_ settlement of white men to. the
Kitimat Valley in: the early
1900's: But by 1943 the last of the
settlers who hdd remained. in
: the valley died and the Haisla
: people once more had Kitimat
to themselves...to fish, to, hunt,
and to trap the lands where the
- eity of Kitimat is today. ,

SURVIVED THE PLAGUES.. .

Less than 30. years : later,
driving along Haisia Blvd, neon
signs blinking on the left,
modern homes on the right, I
* thought to myself, the peaple of
‘ Kitamaat survived the plagues: -
Of wilderness » living, “Now.:
they've had to abruptly adjust :
"to the’ 2ist century. Men work:
: for the industries children go to ~
- School in. the town; Can, the
village survive? 5

ao Gordon Robinson, native of
_ Kitamaat. and “now ‘with the

“Terrace says ‘yes, the village =
_, will never be deserted."
a » If you were.to, visit ona’ dusky
aa autumn’ evening: hear. the cires
(of boys playing. football ‘on ‘the
waterfront mingle’ with the:

- voices of a chor drifting frm. the
_ stained glass. windows of the:
church, you. ‘would: agree with:

. Mr: ‘Robinson. a
. » Tom. Nyce. :ig: 67. years old.
” His cheerful” face “explains: the
. namé -that : was: given -to. his
: father by the missionaries. Tom
-was.working on a dug ‘out canoe
~ as he spoke-to us of how life. had
"hanged ‘for’ :him; In_. the
. background: across the channel
- is a hillside of dead trees, .They
* say’ ‘it’s a bug that cuased those
- treds ‘to diel said: Tom with a
i bwinkle in his eve.

" Blect ‘leity: was suit tb the |
“lage ‘about, three years ago,
Now. the: People n store: their.

*. food and” heat * their homies
~ easter. But of 2m ‘they

“bigger than a man’s. thumb” -

cut over half ‘éf the: Villages"!

bureau. of “Indian” Affairs..in | +

» ehildren when. presented with Ba
‘difficult:,;choice a

‘ said; ‘you can’
“and eat! it:too."":

‘the village; oan: ‘Indian’ ‘bands _

through the association of.B.C.

‘mother:

- Chiefs are making moves to get §

their old rights restored.

- Mr. Robinson .thinks’ that if ~~

given the choice of old ways or.
new, | most Indians : would not go:

ba !
: However, it is only: fair. that
they be given a real-choice. |

I met a boy. riding a: ‘bicyele

‘along the waterfront. His smile
was . friendly;:-
resigned for.one so young. He
‘says he will probably ge to work .

his: words

for ‘Alcan when he. finihed

school. He was born the. same
‘years as‘ the company.

For . the ‘elderly the” ‘change
has been miost- puzzling. A 73 old
Grandmother- of 43 recalls the
old ‘days ‘when: fish “were
plentiful and she . Spent weeks

‘weaving nets. She’ showed me
-jars of grease and dried fish put

away Eor Winter. But she is poor
and ‘hag no. way to go aut to

. Kemano where. the fishing is

still good. Her: dark ‘eyes
moisten as’ she- tells of the

demise of the colichan camp a-"

nd the filth the men had to ‘pick

~ out of the nets.
-This is the shame that white .

men brought.’ For years raw

‘sewage was dumped into’ the

river. The following is an

excerpt from a letter Ireceived .

from Vie Bryant now at Nass

--Camp who was active in making,

public the -disgrace of . the

-Pollution of the Kitimat River; |
‘In. their

Though you could see and
smell pollution and find it in the

‘stomachs of the. fish there, the.
riter was -not: considered |

- Ascene of the village waterfront taken back in 1952,

pulluted. Even when people.
were hospitalized with

‘intestinal infections and the

acting medical’ health’ officer, -
Dr, Woolcott publicly warned
the people not to eat the fish
caught there, nothing was done
to improve the situation. It all
left me with the impression that
whether or not a waterway is

- considred polluted depended on

who received the down: stream .
benefits of.it all."!”
. Mr: Bryant goes.on to say that

the reason the people of Kitimat...

used their most’ beautiful asset
of the disposal of sewage was

‘because the facts were not .

known -to .wiost of them.
However aflermuch: work by
people like Mr. Bryant, Kathy
Fraser (then’ edition.of .The

’ Herald) and members: of the :
- village, -a pollution control’.

board was formed and: the”

decision made . to ‘put. in a
sewage treatment plant. The
Plant has been in operation a
little over a year,

All this does’ not make life
much easier for people like the
grandmother. The fish are not
coming up the Kitimat like they
used to, and there are' smoke
stacks where she once danced
and picked berries...

. “Sometimes it's good tobe an
Indian, ” she said with:a sign,
“but I'm afraid - of. what the
white man can ‘dot - n

It's easy to ‘label things: to
say this is good and this is bad.
It’s also unrealistic. Times have
indeed changed for the péople of
the Snow - for all of: US, All we
can -temember - is ‘that -real

progress can be. achieved only
‘with concern tor all. : a

” game as that of scouts but are

- except for the senior boys who .

- over the northern region. - The

/1969. FORD LTD

- Small boy peers out from village store. It's ho supermarket but satisfies the needs, of the people.

Scouts. and. cubs.

Cont'd, from page 1.

sponsor - this for boys who é are
interested in earning a badge or
‘working towards a higher stage
badge. There are four stages
for this badge. and last year a
couple of boys got their gold (or

: final) stage badge. . os
The sponsoring churches
and -

‘the Venturers built a kayak
‘which was so-successful they
decided to build two more. Both
‘the . Scouting troop and
Venturers make their own
equipment, back packs, snow
shoes, wood carving, etc. Cub
activities are essentially the

geared. to..the. interests and
abilities of young boys. :The big -
‘yearly event for the public is
The Annual Cub Hobby Show
held in the Kitimat’ Centennial
Museum after Easter.. Fund
raising events are bottle drives

and the Hot Cross Bun Drive,
All boys, participate in these .

have. their own fund raisers
such as car washs, “odd jobs”’
and so forth. These are usually
for a-specific purpose such as
travel expenses to Jjambarees,
can'ps, etc, .

The Boy ‘Scouts have a

long weekend every year. This
is attended by Scouts from all

Kitimat troop were hosts last
- year with Venturers and Rovers
acting as organizers and
“staf”,
ie andi ap apeae yt cae
mevok® {hi ie? intel ting
Satins of thé iatanization ie ‘the
St. John’s Ambulance First Aid
Course. The local. Firemen.

natn oT

‘a Dr. H T.. Tu fone paint

429 Cu. in. -P.S. & PLB. Auto, low
mileage. Real Clean

Now Only

V-8, Auto, P.S, & P. B.
Radio, vinyl roof
‘ ‘Now Only ‘

Transportation ‘special ot

p “Brakes, Dual ‘tanks - rear:
‘ Bumper’ ‘and radio:

: Naw Onty

. (United,
Presbyterian) give a course.in -
Religion and Life for interested. :

This’ course ‘is also
available to Guides and;
Brownies. The course is in four’:
stages and a badge is awarded ..

at the end of the training period.

Scouting camps are held’ in /
the summer and last -year'a
number of Kitimat boys went to
camp Hughes at Prince George.
. One boy‘ attended’.
International Jamboree
Alberta, ;

boys:

Anglican

LUNENBURG, NS. (CP) _
“Camporee” on the May 24th ~A 20inch-high white bird, ap- © =
parently carried thousands of -
miles from its natural habitat
by winds, has taken up resi-
dence in cow pastures near -
ere. Farmer Frank Veniotte of
nearby. Second Peninsula first
noticed the bird—later iden-
tified.as-a, cattle egret—in his
field , follawing:a -severe wind
storm. Cattle egret are native: to
South’ America and since 1952
they. have been found in Florida,

_ $2998,

q 1968. IMPALA custom 2 Dr. HT. :
“$1950,

1968 VOLKSWAGON 2 dae Beas

_ $795.

the
vin

~ explains his: sharp | bull et

His show name (Bullet) cn
not only explains * ‘his.
flashie speed“but it’ also” »

like pastes. a a
nalive.o exas, .
Charles. “Bullet?! ~ Hawkins, the joined t:
Hawkins,’ .name was. Chares . “Bullet”
respected through out the © ‘Hawkins. joined the
state. during his “Harlem Stars in 1966.: He
school. days at. Dunbar Of Used’: his. ping “and

“shooting” ‘ability:"to earn
honors -as.one ‘of
Harlem Stars top payers.
Because of his fancy .
-balk. handling and. his _
humorous style he was
called-upon to carry the
load. as ‘a’ showman.::-
Today he’ thrills crowds
from coast to.coast with  —am
his humorous actions..He . aim
has been compared with = |
some of the .. best:
‘showmen on 1 the road.

school ° he ‘was an ‘all
around athletic. He
earned honors at three |
times, . Ail-tournament, ’
~All- state: and.* most
valuable player. He then
resumed his career in his
hometown: at ' Lubbock
‘Christian College: ‘ While
- at Lubbock Christian’ he
was ‘the teams leading
scorer. He also seta field
- house record with 59.
Points. mt

| 1969 HONTEGO . Hard Top
2 OPS. & PB. 1 -cusin. |

” Radio - low mileage
one owner

. New Onit: _ $2695.
7a60 MARQUIS TROUGHAN |

$2898,

4 Dr. H.T. PS. & P.B.
Avto, 390 motor: - loaded
with accessories, : ‘Now Only"

| 1987 CHRYSLER ‘dour.

-P.S, P.B. Auto, 383 motor, ,
Radio Now Only .

390 eu. in motor ‘speed a a
: “Trans, P.S. PLB. Bucket. seats .

a ve Auio. siding
_ window Dual tanks:
-, Low mileage. ri