A NATION POISED | Nisga’a Tix eye on their future By ALVIN MCKAY PRESIDENT | NISGA’A TRIBAL ~ . COUNCIL ; These are days of tumultuous ~~ change, , After decades of indifference to - the demands of aboriginal peoples; Canadians have accepted: the notion that First Nations have the inherent right to self- government. As many of our neighbours in _ Terrace and the region know, the — Nisga’a have long been at the forefront of the struggle to settle the Land Question, a struggle that continues to: this day with new impetus... -CAt-the same lime, we realize that many of our neighbours have “legitimate questions and concerns . about how a Jand claim agree- “ment will affect them. Change, we all know, can be unsettling. “Let me start with a few things ’ that will sof happen when our Land Question is settled. _. * Non-natives living in our ter- ritory. will not be double-taxed, Even though we. may collect taxes in the future and establish .tates for. royalties, we will not squeeze land users to acquire an unfair portion. of economic returns. Nisga’a taxes will encourage -—- not thwart —- economic develop- ment, ; * We do not want to be an inde- pendent state. Let me say it loud and clear so there can be no mis- understanding. The Nisga’a want to be part of Canada. by settling the Land Question we will as- sume control over our own lives and destiny, | “ We are often asked the, mean- ing Of. self-government. "To" tHe! Nisga’ a, ‘it méans jurisdiction over our renewable and non- renewable resources, educalion, health, social services, public or- der and the shape and composi- tion of our public institutions. Put more simply, what we want — what we have fought for 130 years. — is nothing more than control over our ownlives and destiny. This past year has been a busy, eventful one for the Nisga’a, At the negotiating. table, it was a’ time of frustration and a time of transition. . As both féderal and provincial governments introduced new ne- gotiating teams there was an ex- ploratory period as new people were brought up to speed. Bui recently there has been NASS VALLEY resident Nancy Stephens prepares a salmon. Long standing plan of ihe Nisga’a in- volves restoring salmon stocks in the Nass River and improving the economic opportunities that derive fram a healthy fishery, GARY FIEGEHEN PHOTO movement as we tum our atten- tlon to more substantive ‘matters. There is now a strong desire to sign a treaty. We will not let that feeling die. This past winter we were again reminded that-there are those who ~ doynotawantata!see.ofair-settles ment of the Land Questions fcr; Representatives. of the . BC. Fishermen’s | Survival Coalition proclaimed, in a barrage of news-— paper headlines, their intention to disrupt and derail negotiations. Other angry voices were raised, hiding behind a veil of ignorance, fear and old-fashioned racism, so familiar to the First Nations of - this country. - Sti, we met, and continue to meet, with people because knowl- edge and education are critical pre-requisites for 4 just settlement of the Land Question. It is Nisga’a Tribal council policy to avoid media wars. Instead we meet with everyone — critics and allies; native and non-native — to explain the facts of the matter. OOLICHAN FISHING at Fishery Bay continues an ageless har- vast of the tiny but prized fish. harvest each year requires t GARY FIEGEHEN PHOTO Ithas a multitude of uses and the he. assistance of many people. To this end, we held successful open houses in Terrace and Prince Rupert. Another open house is planned for Stewart next month. In another development, repre- sentatives of. Gitanyow . have claimed‘portions of, Nisga’a terri- tory..From the outsct we ihave been willing to meet with our neighbours to . resolve this “overlap’’ issue,’ but we have been frustrated time after time, as we set dates and places only to have. meetings cancelled at the last moment. The Nisga’a Land Question will be settled. Of that we are certain. We are'prepared: to do whalever is necessary to bring this about. Our elders are teaching us to look inside te find the. strengih and purity we need. Our young people are coming back from the cities to consult the elders and to learn from them. They are bringing back home the skills and education we will need to build a new economy here in the Nass, We are poised Alvin McKay on the edge of a new era for the Nisga’a Nation. . The final two days of our 36th annual assembly, now underway at the Terrace arcna, are open to — the public. Bring your questions. Talk to us, But please be prepared to listen as well. You may be sur- prised at what you will learn. FIRST POLE raising in 100 years at Gitwinksihlkw (Canyon City) last fall was the. cause for a large gathering of people, The pole was carved by Alver Tait and a snowy day did little to dampen enthusiasm, GARY FIEGEHEN PHOTO The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 28, 1993 - Page AS Dear Sir: Rob Brown’s comments in the ‘‘Skeena Angler’ of April 21 issue of The Standard deserve a response, While Rob argues that the glass is half also half full, Some readers may find en- couragement in Rob’s voiced disappointment but they should note that it is’ now on the support the governments deci- sion on the Clayoquot. The decision was not an easy one. It balanced the need to protect the environmental values wilh the need for families to make a decent living, and -communilics to have a stable economy. I as- sure Rob Brown and others who are equally concerned that the NDP has members on both sides of this issue. The government has permanently protected 33 per cent of the Sound, including four of its major unlogged forests, ils entire outer coast- line and the largest untouched watershed on Vancouver Is- land. Another 17 per cent will be placed under special man- agement which allows. for some logging but protects wildlife, recreation and scenic landscape values. Instead of 80 per cent previously open to logging we've reduced the area dedicated to logging to approx- imately 45 per cent set sound - Dear Sir: We, the staff of E.T. Kenney, are writing in response {o the recent Year 1 registration con- troversy in the Horseshoe area. We wish to express our con- cem about the negative im- plications of comments made through the media. There are many positive things happening at E.T. Ken- ney School. As.a staff we are * proitd of'ouf scHodl, ot. r, ATL Distritt 88 Sthools:have good teachers and clerical slaff - E.T. Kenney is no exception. Our staff is committed lo the all the children in attendance here, The teachers are highly trained and participate In on- going professional develop- ment. Currently most of the staff are involved in an innova- Dear Sir: It was recently snnounced that a crown corporation will be formed by the provincial NDP government. This corporation may borrow money to finance future high- way construction and repair existing roads in British Columbia. , It was the policy of the for- mer Social Credit government to bring out-of-province con- Iractors into northwestem B.C. lo perform highway coustruc- lion, This practice is being continued by the present ad- ministration in Victoria, A good example of this is Ledcor Constniciion from Al- beria who built the Carnaby by pass 70 miles east of Terrace. Ledcor recently finished a highway construction project at Meziadin near Stewart, B.C. The majority of Ledcor’s employees were brought in from Alberla and some from Saskatchewan. The provincial share of income tax for thesc employees reverted back to the governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and one could most likely assume the pay emply, the point is that it is, record that all three partles- school and to the well-being of J ETERS | | Helmut’s glass ie half way full harvesting and environmental standards, Even with these standards and performance- based: enforcement, harvesting will be at a rate of only 1,000 hectares per year. Operations in Clayoquot “River and Sydney River will emphasize skyline and helicap- ter harvesting to reduce road densilics and: mid-slope roads, Harvesting. plans’ throughout the Sound will incorporate smaller dispersed cut blocks, moving away from large scale clear cut areas. The environmental problems of the world which are of con- cern to atl will not be solved by demanding thal onc side get everything it wants, while the other side concedes every- thing. Compromise. in many situations will be necessary if only to equalize the. sacrifices we will all have to make, in or- der to ensure an environmen- tally sustainable economy. The other side is also persuaded more by a willingness to com~- promise thal a desire to con- front, Rob Brown’s reaction to the Clayoquot decision is un- fortunate but that is his right. Since he did it publicly and some may be swayed by his comments. ] am compelled to remind readers that the glass is half. full. Yours truly, Helmut Giesbrecht, MLA, Skeena School responds tive program of peer consulta- tion. The multi-ethnic nature of our school reflecls our society and enable our children to learn about and appreciate other cultures. Our cultural awareness program encourages our children to value and get along with all members of the community, We feel that the working and featniig etivirohment at E.T. -Kefiney is. 4 pokitive and happy one. Visitors have commented on the welcoming atmosphere of this school which is fostered by children and adults alike. We would invite the. parents who have concerns 10 visit E.T. Kenney to find out first- hand what a good school it is. E.T. Kenney staff Terrace, B,C, Locals need jobs cheques did also, creating a substantial loss of business to the surrounding towns of Stewart, Hazelion, Smithers, Terrace, and Kitimat, “Tt is a loss these towns can ill afford to lose during recession- ary times, All of the above mentioned municipalities can supply highly trained people capable of performing any kind of construction work. Ledcor Construction hired a subcontractor last year to per- form work on the highway al Meziadin. This subcontractor, Chevalier Construction, had deplorable living conditions, the like of which | have never scen in the 40 years I have lived in the northwest. Pictures. of the above condi- tions were forwarded to the NDP government, and a plea was included, requesting the government to use contractors, who have the welfare of their employecs in mind, on future highway construction projects. I received a reply from labour minister Moc Sihota Jan. 25, 1993. Con't Page A8 y . The’ Start. ra for poole. r learning how to read. Big bingo It’s big. It’s a monster. I's a $250,000 bingo May 8 at Gitanyow. Gitanyow used to be called Kitwancool. It is north’ of Kitwanga. on Hwy37.... The village wants ‘to build «a new _ primary school. — “So cit. is holding’ ‘the "bingo | to taise money.” There will be 15 main games. The last game is a blackout game. The prize for that one game is $100,000. - There will be people from all over. Some will come from Alberta. Others will come from the United States. -Up.to.1,000 people are : expected : at the bingo. Litter These students are from Cassie Hall. They were out last week picking up garbage. Lots of other people also picked up garbage. The idea is that spring is the time to clean up the city. You can do your part by not throwing garbage on the streets. Put it in a gare. bage can instead. er ee