The Battle For The History of the Nisga’a land claim, Part Ill — the fishery This article is the third in a series by Terrace Review reporter Tod Strachan on the history of the Nisga’a people of the Nass Valley since white settlers arrived in the area, It is based on material pres- ented by chief Harry Nyce to the Salmon Enhancement Task Group in Terrace. White government - legislation took little time to change the rules of the game. In 1877 the first fish cannery was built on the shores of the Nass River, and in 1878 the Canadian government decided to ensure a supply of fish by remov- ing traditional native rights. A distinction was made between food ‘and commercial fishing; a prohib- ition was placed On the use of nets in fresh water. . The B.C. Inspector for Fisheries said at the time, "No light obstacle should be allowed to impede (the) speedy settlement (of Indian fish- ing tights) from whatever standpoint we may regard — whether as concerning the future welfare of the Indians themselves, the immediate care of the Indian ‘department, or the prospective development of the vast resources of this seaboard," It made little difference. In 1880 non-Indian traps were erected on the Nass River. And in 1881 another cannery was built on the Nass. This brought the total num- ber of Northwest canneries to six and they were all operating over capacity. Much of the salmon caught in the Nass River was being barged out. In some cases ‘the barges couldn’t be towed, and as a result, tons of rotting dead fish were dumped into the river. This caused the Nisga’a to peti- ‘tion the government for an end to ‘the over-fishing of salmon in the Nags. But due to disease, the native population was declining, - and with it the strength of their “collective voice. When B.C. . became a British colony, there ~ were 63,000 natives and 400 . whites living in the province. But in 1881, due to smallpox intro- duced ‘by. the whites, the native population had dropped to 25,661 while the white population had grown to 23,798. In 1886 the federal government sent surveyors to the Northwest to survey the upper Nass Valley. In light of the commercial fishing situation, this invasion by whites of traditional Nisga’a territory was the final straw. The surveyors were told to leave and Chief Mountain, Charles Russ, T. Crosby and A. Green headed to Victoria to lobby for the fair and quick settlement of the issue of native rights on native lands. At this point, things seemed to turn around. Perhaps there was justice for all. A Royal Commis- sion of Inquiry investigating north coast indians visited the Nass Valley in 1887. There was a small setback when the chairman of that commission, a Mr. O’Reilly, voiced his personal opinion during cross-examination. "Every inlet is claimed by someone," he said, "and were I to include alt these, it would virtually declare the whole country a-réserve." 7" ee Still, there were signs of hope. In 1889 a federal fishing permit sys- tem was introduced and the Nass harbour chief informed the fish- eries officer that non-Indians should pay the Nisga’a for fishing in the Nass. And in 1890 the Nisga’a Land Committee was established to research and negoti- ate a peaceful and lasting land agreement. In 1901, though, the bubble burst. The provincial government decided existing reserves were 100 large and asked the federal govern- ment to reduce their geographical size. Also, the pressure on Nass River fish stocks continued. In 1905 the Arrandale and Port Nelson canneries were added to the growing list of processing plants. The Nisga’a fought back by encouraging a stronger native © voice. In 1909 The Nisga’a Land ‘Commiitee was successful in con- vincing other north coast tribes to join them in forming the Indian Tribes of B.C. Whether this coalition of native | power was a factor or not is not known,’ but in 1910 Canadian prime minister Sir Wilfred Laurier promised to settle the land question once and for all. It was a promise he would never keep, however. In October, 1911, the Liberals lost to the Conservatives and Sir Robert Borden took Laurier’s job. But even as Laurier made his promise to resolve the land claims issue, the growing pressure on Nass River salmon continued. In the year of Laurier’s promise Mill Bay, the largest of the Nass River canneries, packed 13,000 cases of salmon with a quota of 60 of the 240 fish boats operating on the Luise river. The Nisga’a found cause for hope in 1913. A petition presented to Ottawa was sent to England for presentation to the Monarchy. The petition pointed out in part that no part of their traditional territory had been ceded to or purchased by the Crown and their land was not within the boundaries of territory granted to the Hudson Bay Com- pany. But at the same time, the petition stated that the province of British Columbia "under the assumed authority of the ’Land Act’ of British Columbia, have made sur- veys of, granted records of pre- Terrace Review —— Wednesday, November 27, 1991 9 Getting pushed away from the river emption of, sold and issued patents for various parts of the said terri- tory”. -....° And, "Your Petitioners allege that the said transactions and all other . Similar transactions which have been entered into in respect of any “>. part of the said territory have been ‘so entered into in violation of the provisions of the said Proclamation of King George the Third and without competent authority. "From time to time Your Peti- tioners have delivered to surveyors of the said Government entering the said territory for the purpose of surveying portions thereof, and to persons entering the said territory of the purpose of pre-empting or purchasing portions thereof under the assumed authority of the "Land Act,’ written notices of protest, of which the following is one..." The quoted protest stated in part that the Nisga’a people were the “lawful and original inhabitants and possessors of all the lands contained therein from time im- memorial", and that the Nisga’a people had been assured ownership of their land by proclamation of King George II on Oct. 7, 1763. Any hope found in the words stated in the Nisga’a petition, however, was false hope. Nothing changed. In 1919 there were 48 cannery boats working out of the Mill Bay cannery. It was true that by that time Nisga’a natives were _ working in the cannery and 19 of the 48 boats were being operated by Nisga’a fishermen. But that may only have been due to econ- oinic decisions made by the com- puny. Native fishermen averaged only $270 a season and cannery workers were paid only $150 to $200 per season. | In 1923 Nisga’a fishermen, fishermen who had been taking their food from the Nass for per- haps 10,000 to 25,000 years, were told by the federal government that they could be licensed as commer- cial fishermen. This was more of an insult than anything else, and did nothing to address the issue of resource management within the Nisga’a territory. Instead, the land issue became even more desperate. The Victoria- based McKenna-McBride Commis- sion toured the province in 1924 to determine reserve boundaries. The commission allotted the Nisga’a 18,755 acres. To put this into perspective, out of the traditional Nisga’a_ territory which encompasses the entire 5,750 square mile Nass River water shed, they were given 18,755 acres, just over 30 square miles. 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