JUL LIM oe | a aseaeesianeiammeniesiiaaatil By GEORGE HEWISON | ews just returned from the three-day convention of the Nish- ga Tribal Council at Canyon City, a village of 150 on the Nass River in Northwestern British: Columbia, I am still feeling the rumblings of one of the most positive conventions that I have ever attended. Canadians from now on are going to hear more than just rumb- lings as our Red brothers across Cana- da turn hopeful eyes toward the Nish- gas. The frustration of years of futile action, inaction, disunity and diversion which have been a plague, now are “NEW PRECEDENT IN INDIAN LAND STRUGE and decry the lack of a dent program in. which 99 percent population in her area require ment and are unable to receive also outlined one of the most health problems which camé pectant mothers who were expe travel over 60 miles of pothe roads in order to receive pre ment during childbirth. : One possible shortcoming . Convention appeared to be the at? of some delegates to different™ tween sections of the white COM Certainly not all white men of the same corporat plague the Indian people an being channelled into one progressive direction. The Nishgas decided that they could wait no longer for complete unanimity of B.C. Indians, as desirous as that is, and on September 27th launched a suit in B.C. Supreme Court against Attor- ney-General Bonner, claiming owner- ship of the 7,000 square miles of land in the Nass River Valley. This test case on behalf of all non-treaty B.C. Indians is based on the fact that all of the land comprising what is now known as Brit- ish Columbia was occupied by one or another of the many Indian tribes that inhabited B.C. from time immemorial. The Government of British Columbia since Confederation has refused to re- cognize the Indian title of the Nishga tribe and its members to the land of the Nass River Valley. In a press statement issued Sept. 27, 1967, the Nishga Tribal Council said: “The people of the Nishga tribe have never surrendered their land to the Government of the Province of British Columbia. That Government has never purchased any of their land, nor has any representative of the Government of the Province of British Columbia ever purchased any of their land. The Nishga tribe has taken the position for more than a century that no part of its land should have been taken from it without compensation. It has never * been compensated for its land, nor has any offer of compensation ever been made. Yet the alienation of the land belonging to the Nishga people has proceeded for many years under the purported authority of the Statute of the Province of British Columbia.” Indeed where does the Government of British Columbia, or any other gov- ernment for that matter, derive the authority to take land without payment. Frank Calder, MLA for Atlin Constitu- ency, and the president and leading figure in the Nishga Tribal Council A fascinating play (EMITTV: URELY one of the most time- ly (and fascinating) plays for 1967 is on view in To- ronto Workshop Productions cellar theatre at 47 Fraser. Only a few days earlier we had read about Von ‘Thadden’s demands for The Fatherland. Now we can see Karl Zuck- mayer’s The Captain of Kope- nick, a 1931 stage work about the German Establishment — its jingoes, its military officers, its civic Officials, its police and its dispossessed — an Establish- ment that has stewed in reac- tion for a long time and has af- fected every aspect of life in every corner of its empire. Here is a vivid documentary account of the dilemma of an ex- convict who cannot reestablish himself because the bureaucra- finally dons it, even those who know he is an impostor jump to sue ae oe attention. “Impossible!” cries the bemused pretender. The red uniform is, of course, the symbol of a society’s cul- ture, its superficial values, its creed of violence. There is the very feel, the sound and the tanned leather smell of militar- ism in the Workshop’s produc- tion, directed by George Lus- combe. The 19 scenes, related episodes in a dramatic whole, are at times kaleidoscopic, oc- casionally panoramic, and range from the epic spectacle to the personal vignette. The action takes place on a small central stage and plays also in the restricted back- ground and foreground areas. Space problems do not seem to confine Mr. Luscombe. True, you need a few minutes to get used to actors only a yard from your face, but they are so involved in what they are doing, and so convincing, that one must be awfully phlegmatic not soon to become entranced. What distinguishes Mr. Lus- DECENBERNS 1987" PRCIMC TRIBUNE Page 10 ois describes the seizure of land from the Indians as the “biggest real estate deal in the history of Canada.” Indeed any fair-minded Canadian would have to agree and go even one step further— we did not give our leaders in govern- ment the authority to land-grab. According to Calder, the purpose of the suit is to “obtain judicial recogni- tion, binding upon the government of the Province of British Columbia, of the Indian title of the Nishga people to the lands of their forefathers.” In an impassioned delivery to his people sitting in convention, the Nishga leader stated that they could not lose the case. Put simply, if the courts accepted their suit, then it established an important precedent for all other bands; but if the courts threw the case out, it only proved that the provincial authorities had not changed their attitude. “If necessary, the case could be taken to the International Court at The Hague or to the UN.” he said. “We will not rest,’ Calder summarized, “until we have won recognition for our title to the land . . . We are not on trial; the Indian people of B.C. are not on trial _,.. British justice is on trial.” To appreciate just how deeply the emotions amongst average (and I hesi- tate to use that adjective) Nishgas, it is necessary to review the status of Indi- ans in our society. The one over-riding aim of the Nishgas is to be equal in every respect with the white man. He wants, expects, and will fight for equal status in Canadian society. At present, their national pride appears to be se- verely damaged. James Gonsell, one of the chief. councillors remarked that while conditions in his village and the opportunities for his people are sub- standard compared to those of whites, he sees his land all about him being stripped (Columbia Cellulose Ltd. holds tal costs. and contemporary scripts; his imaginative and experimental staging; his economy in the use of stage props, costumes and ef- fects; and his actors’ conscien- tious performances. Francois Klanfer as the ex- convict, Ray Whelan as shop owner and prisoner governor, Milo Ringham as the mayor’s wife and the doss-house keeper, Geogrey Read as an officer and as Herr Hoprecht, and Jack Bos- chulte as the mayor, together with David Clement, Peter Faulkner, Tom Fisher, Diane Grant and Larry Martin (nearly all in several roles) make up the cast of players. Nancy Jowsey is responsible for the design (grey uniforms, grey hats, phones, _ bottles, books) and Jon Spears for the sound (military marches, folk song, martial sounds, factory noises). Things to remember: The mili- tarist, goose-stepping, heiling automatons; the grunting scene, when a trio of genial officers use nothing but barnyard sounds; the prison governor’s speech to the inmates ‘(the great, society); i oper luk? BA cee eG 29 timber management license #1 from the Provincial government, which al- legedly gives this huge corporation the right to log in the|Nass Valley). Proper educational facilities appeared to be lacking. So far the Indian cannot get equal treatment under even the Nation- al Housing Act to construct his home, and is forced into slum dwellings when he enters nearby urban centres. Education is hampered because of lack of funds. Children are expected to go hundreds of miles away from their parents to receive secondary education. The child is taken from the security of his village, his family and friends; placed aboard a plane; and within two hours is in a speeded-up, “insane” world of tall buildings, crowded corri- dors, and strange, if not hostile, faces. Needless to say, “drop-outs” was a big concern to the convention delegates. The health of the Nishgas, as indeed most Indians in B.C., has been neglect- ed. The one nurse who covers the Nass Valley made a plea for ‘medical clinics on that river. Since she started working in her present capacity, her plea has been ignored by the Department of Indian Affairs. One arrogant and over- bearing representative from the Depart- ment tried to stress that he would not be prepared to spend one nickel on any needed capital expenditures, unless ~the bands were prepared to pay for operating the facilities. Needless to say, this “rep” was greeted angrily by the Convention, which reminded him of the fact that their resources had been stripped from them along with the right to self-government many years before. Finally, one of the Chief Councillors challenged the Department to make good this pledge of paying for all capi- Certainly the nurse had the courage to stand in the face of her superiors The Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan Communist Par- ties met in Regina to discuss agricultural policies. The conference agreed that the parties in the 3 provinces” would immediately campaign for signatures on a card addressed to Prime Minister Pearson, call- ing for the fixed price on wheat to be raised to $2.50; for laws to control U.S, dumping of surplus products on Canadian markets; for a guaranteed annual income for all farmers; for new freer trade policies with all countries based on barter, mutual ex- change and friendship; and for higher interest-free cash ad- vances. The conference concluded that the red coat in apparently inde- pendent flight on its trolley; the fits by the h inspired body moyement; the bined with hee a eloquent mime. cessive econo : And the news that Workshop ed by the wat ! is planning soon to enter better = The main or ag quarters and needs $30,000 to lems, the CON ae move and establish itself at 12 are the result our Alexander, Street (near, Maple domination © jes NAAN WANAKA Marti Stone the U.S. money Pa aaah RAED A REC URW 4 4 i Nee RASS AAANANAA SAN real influence on governme plicity in the injustice fois’ Indian people is in tolerating of those financial circles victimize both white 4 Certainly the clique in the lons of the Bank of Montré Argus Corporation, Sun and the Hudson’s Bay C® never been interested in ec? tish or otherwise. Their P role in history was to © biggest land-grab of our © tory (first in the fur trading, : in the expansion of the Wes ‘building of the railway). that successive Canadian Bp have been the active ace and intertwined with, Furthermore, it is 1° ovels Columbia Cellulose Ltd. © millions of acres of U Forest Management : | the Nass Valley. But it is ae held lasting discredit as Canadia go along with the giveaw nef ces to foreign interests W “igs not even have legal title sources. Organized labor, ciety, has a stake in of the Indian land cessful resolution of not be easy with the p? arrayed against settlem' 1, The Nishgas have made 4 sau se? the only fully prepared Indian tribe (non-treaty. his ¥ and the just settlement of the basis for establishing tween the Indian people * brothers. The time to WiPé our history’s blackest P near. It is my opinion ™ at nation is deserving of eve jands! support in its fight for its ; and equality. nt, OU, ted on” nd India top r coun It’s 1° this clid d mber xo.! Licence ay ent, in Je an® age th en among the more ute lems of the farm "15. Canada today is soe policy of its agin’ ne | ducts, triggered Ue Vietnam and its of life on the Pr! pared to Cana i! centres. ed Y The conferencé a allt business and t caP in ar cians had succeed the workers blaming wages es without any for their claim. proven that t “ne € high prices are 7 above-the-averae | yop?