By JEFF NAGEL A NISGA’A chief whose waditional tersilory has been left out of the agreement-in-principle says he will continue to exercise rights over that land. Willard Marlin, a hereditary chief from Kin- - colith who operates a bed and breakfast in ~ ’ Greenville and lives in Terrace, says he has no »-+ intention of relinquishing rights to his family’s v.. territory, _ + The area in question — the Quinimass — is “outside the Nass River estuary and is part of -.. West Fraser Timber’s timber holdings. “Regardless of the establishment of proposed boundaries for Nispa’a communal lands con- ', tained in the A.LP,”? Martin writes in a letter to the forests ministry, ‘I maintain ownership, tra- ditional and aboriginal rights to the lands which belong to my forefathers,’ Martin told the Standard last week he will not sland by and watch his ancestral territory be destroyed. ‘We have means by which we can intervene — including civil disobedience as far - as [’m concerned.” Exactly what that means — and in particular whether it would threaten the entire treaty if a “number of chiefs took such action — remains unclear. Aboriginal affairs ministry spokesman Peter Smith said people like Martin can assert their ". --aboriginal rights until a final treaty is signed. “The continuation of this uncertainty is what we're trying to resolve,” Smith said, ‘The treaty will resolve those issues.”’ Marlin says he’s nat out to sabotage the treaty, He says he voted for the agreement-in- principle and likes most aspects of it, except for the fact his family’s territory isn’! included within the boundaries of Nisga’a core lands. “There are a lot of good things in it — things that will allow us to grow,’’ he said, He said they only heard days before the vote that the Quinamass would be excluded, “They said that’s the best we can get,” he said. “And that’s the most devastating state- ment.” By Samuel H. Lincoln Jr. 1 ATTENDED the Nisga’a special assembly in Gillaxdamix recently. The agreement-in- principle was railroaded over anghoasks (traplines) belonging to my village, Gingoilx » (Kincolith). A supposedly fair ratification vote on the AIP was to take place, but did not. According to the « AIP booklet, the vote was supposed to be via ~+ Secret Dallat. ‘ ‘» There was an uproar of opposition from Kin- . colith delegates who lost their anghoasks (traplines). The opposition contended that all, or mosl, of the Gitlaxdamix anghoasks were in- cluded in the core lands. All of Kincolith’s ang- whoasks were excluded. All of Kincolith’s alle hoasks became ‘‘communally’’ owned! Under the Indian Act, these anghoasks were protected from exploitation by mining or mineral exploration, Under the AIP, this pro- . tective umbrella is removed. The “‘new’? Nisga’a government, the federal government and the provincial goverument all will benefit from the AIP. All will benefit, ex- cept the principal anghoask title halders of Kin- colith, There was strong negative discussion directed at the AIP for three days by the Kincolith and “** their supporters who lost lands. The writing was on the wall. On the fourth day, the negoliating committee lulled the remaining delegates to _near slumber, with dragged on orchestrations of - trivial ramblings regarding the AIP package. By three o’clock Sunday, the opposition Kincolith chief speaks ou for those cut out of d WILLARD MARTIN (Simo'ogit Niis 'Yuus) says he won't accept the deal that would ex- clude his family's traditional territory. He said many Kincolith people were angry and refused to vote, “A big majority of the Kincolith people are not satisfied because they lost 18 reserves,’? Martin says. ‘Rather than voling, they left.”’ The Quinimass area is significant to the Kin- colith because it’s particularly rich in wildlife, salmon, and seafood. For Martin, it bas special importance because his family’s waditional territory includes a petrified raft that’s a landmark of the Nisga’a anda mountain. ‘A mountain is a symbol of your authority, Slrength, your power and ability to hold your clan together,’’ he said. “It has a lot of impor- Nisga’a vote was stage delegates, believing the ratification would be held at a later date, all returned home, dis- gruntied, The Nisga’a Tribal Council will tell you, the public, that the vole was a majority. Yes, it was 4 majority, a majority of Gillaxdamix and sup- porters who lost nothing from the two remain- ing villages, I really do not know where President Joc Gos- ell got 1,200-plus voters on the: ratification vote as 1 was there. The vole was 493 for AIP, 18 against the AIP and 14 abstainees. That makes only 525 voters. A motion was floored to have a standing vole (contrary to the AIP booklet), after all other op- position had gone honie believing otherwise, Naturally the mation carried!’ Out of 5,000-plus delegates attencting the spe- cial assembly, even if half were. eligible voters, I firmly believe the AIP would have becn voted down had parliamentary procedure been [ol- lowed as directed in the AIP booklet. I know this ratification vote is only on the AIP package. But democratic protocol should have been followed regarding this very important legislative agreement. A slanding vote and a Secret ballot vole are two different par- liamentary procedures. On a delegated Iegista- tion issue, the two cannot have combined to Settle issues, either one way or the other — peri- od! Samuel H. Lincotn Jr. is from Kincolith, I stated in the beginning of this column | was not impressed. I’m not! This is our future tance beyond sentimental value,” Martin is asking the province to tum over copics of all cultural and archaclogical studies on the area. Nisga’a leaders have always advocated what they call a ‘common baw)” philsophy that said everyone would share in the final settlement. _ But the result is that some families’ territories are within the jurisdiction of Nisga’a Central Government and therefore protected while some aren't, ; Martin said not everyoue is going to be able to accept that. “T think the Nisga’a nation is split down the middie,’’ managed Nisga’a government in action, Truly they -have learned the fine art of political skulduggery well. They should be proud. They and the provincial and federal govern- ments succeeded in doing what no other force on Earth could do -- steal our anghoasks from us, and they used our own people to do it. Our anghoasks become fee simple lands open and vulnerable to. mineral explorations and govern-- ment expropriation with no guarantees of any-. _ thing for the principal title holders. According lo the original treaty, these lands were to be ours forever, handed down from gen- eralion to ‘generation along wilh the family *‘adowaak”’ (history). The Kincolith history is pushed aside and forgotten. They were the first negotiators ever! Now that this agreement-in-principle is in place, the Nisga’a Tribal Council can re-write their own adowaak and place themselves above the original warriors from Kincolith and strip their descendants of ‘land power’? I, personally, fear the future of our nation. If this is an example of Nisga’a government in ac- lion, heaven please help us! I am real happy and very sad today. I ab- solutely love the idea of self-government, but 1 fear the price the Kincolith people paid was way, way too high! Tam a direct descendant of Ska Nish-Sim-Sim Aw-Ghit. | was bom under his roof. I carry his Christian name. | grew up under his tutelage ‘and walked with him on his anghoask. My Nisga’a name is Sax’Klain. The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 20, 1996 - AS pupae nemmeee wemeememeet CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD _ Companies get little comfort - provincial - Nificant By MARLIE BEETS Marlie Beets is the ' aboriginal affairs vice pres- dient for the Council of ' Forest Industries. She also sits on the Roverninent’s ‘Treaty Negotiations Ad- visory Comuniitee. The following ts an ex- cerpt of a speech about the Nisga’a agreement in prin- ciple given March 3 at a SHARE B.C. conference in Prince George. The starting point for -B.C.’s negotiators was the premise that a large piece of Crown land would be trans- - ferred to the Nisga’a — thereby climinating — sig- portions of the ~secure tenure which forest industry licensees rely on and leading contractors and workers to conclude thal they would be displaced, Quite frankly, the third parties in the forest industry, and a fot of others besides, didn’t support that idea at - all, And because we didn’t agree with what our negotia- ‘‘ tors were doing, there was little comfort in being asked to comment on how they ~ should do it. bos It was as if government had arbitrarily decided that certain people in certain communities would all be- come designated organ donors. But everything would be fine because the surgeon would consult with them about whether they wanted the kidney cut out with a sharp knife or a rusty swede saw. ‘‘Oh, and by the way, do you want the anaesthelic, sir? Or would you like the natural surgery?”’ But we were, after all, being consulted, and in the end the licensees opted for the anacsthetic, You can read about it in the AIP on page 20; it’s called “‘Transi- tional Provisions For Forest Resources’? and it’s meant to dull the pain, But nothing will change the fact that when the patient wakes up, the kidacy will still be gone, And when the doctor says: ‘“‘No prob- lem, most people get along just fine with only one,’ nothing will change the fact that the patient stil! won't be whole, And, worst of all, nothing will change the fact that ihere’s another treaty opera- ting team coming around the corner and those negotiators want the other kidney! But don’t worry, they're going to consult with you about how they cut it out, All in all, [ would say that about 85 percent of our ex- perience with consultation ot Marlie Beet on the Nisga’a AIP con- sisted of the federal and provincial negotiators tell- ing us whal they had already done or were intending to do, The remaining 15 percent might qualify as real input I think we have to do belter than that in the future. But to do belter, we have to make a few things clear first. We have to make it clear that we do support the treaty process and that we are not satisficd with the slatus quo any more than aboriginal people are. : We have to make it clear that we do want to partici- pate in the negotiations; not to derail them as some people say, but to ensure that we understand and sup- port what’s going on. And we have to make it clear that we do want aboriginal people to be equal and respected Cana- dian citizens who participate fully in socicly and the economy — but we do not want this achieved by dis- placing one group of workers for another, or granting special rights to anyone, I believe openness can work for a better treaty pro- cess, bul only if we all find the time and the resources to make it work, Maybe then I will be able to hold up one of these agreements and say [ worked on it; but in the meantime, even though these are not my words, now that I’ve had a chance to read it, why can’t I say that I’m proud of it? Because ] am not proud of the way this document — and others that could follow — would create two sepa- rate societies in British Columbia, onc for aboriginal people and anoth- cr for non-aboriginals. We have all heard about the pain and frustration ex- pericnced by native people in British Columbia because for many years they did not have the same rights as other Canadians, They could not vote in the communities where they lived; there were different laws for Indians that made them fecl like second-class citizens; and Indian people lacked the in- dividual freedom of other Canadians because they were wards of the federal governincat. If those things were wrong before — and I believe they were — then for me to be proud of a treaty I would want to see that it corrected those wrongs; and [ am not convinced yet that this Agreement In Principle ac- complishes that, Instead, it purports to sct up a system of government which would deny voting tights to non-Nisga's citizens living in a Nisga’a communily. Now Tf have no problem with a community being predominantly Nisga’a, but would it not still be a Cana- dian community? A Brilish Columbia community? I think it should be; so I have to ask: if denying a vate to people because they were Indian was wrong be- fore, how can it be any less wrong to deny voting rights to someone because they are white? Or, to be more exact, because they are non- Nisga’a? Is that what self The Mail Bag Stay abortion-free Dear Sir; Re. Di, Watson's decision to stop perlorming abor- tions at Mills Memorial Hospital, Whatever the reasons tor her decision, Dr. Watson knows firsthand the cruel details of abortion, ‘She knows the reality of a tiny but perfectly complete hn- man being being torn. apart and discarded, a life wasted, because he or she was nol wanled — wanted by whom? Consider the five to eight year wailing list for adoplions naw. ~ , [am one of the many pro-life nurses working at Mills Memorial Hospital who greeted the news with a great sigh of relief. We have been deeply troubled by our un- willing involvement, directly or indirectly, in the evil of abortion, Furthermore, we know women too are victims of this “quick fix’? for a crisis pregnancy. In my experience women are rarely well informed of the risks and lifelong fallout connected to abortion. Does the women’s centre in its counselling include a warning fo women about the immediate dangers’ of abortion like infection, lacerations, even hemorrhage? Do they tell women that abortion increases the risk of miscarriage in future pregnancies? Do they dare to raise the issue of post-abortion syndrome — a debilitating self-abusive state of chronic depression and despair? Do they tell a ‘‘client’’ about the mounting scientific evidence showing that a woman who has had a first time, first trimester abortion dou- bles her risk of getling breast cancer? Ms. Hennig states “most women needing abortion counselling are between the ages of 14 and 22, or over 35”. In fact, it is a matter of public record that the vast ma- jority of abortions at Mills Memorial Hospital have been performed on women over the age of 20, The truth is teens are largely not having abortions but choosing to keep their babies. They know somelhing their elder, more sophisticated ‘'sisters’? have chosen to ignore — ‘‘but mum, it’s a baby.” Let us pray that when Dr. Almas rctums this summer she also will no longer pick up the suction tube or scal- pel, that she will flee the camage so that our hospital may remain abortion free — a centre for healing only. , Isobel Brophy, R.N,, Terrace, B.C. Ground the Angler Dear Sir: , As-a visitor to your fair city, I found your paper to be a refreshing tasie of the sweet flavour of your com- munity, The sour finish of the Skeena Angler (Feb. 28, 1996) spoiled my sampling, however. I imagine Rob Brown felt better after casting bis barbed hook into your local airline but he hit the wrong larget. , a IfT were silly enough to ship a fly rad by air, would expect it to be bent like a pretzel, unless I put-it-in a PVC pipe. Depending on ‘colourful stickers” is reall dumb. If T were to ship an expeusive guitar, Pd cheek out in- surance before shipping, not afler it was-lost. Ifiny pilot didn’t spend time circling and assessing the icy runway and if he didv’t use the full length of the tarmac to minimize braking, | would be concemed, F would want a seasoned Vietnam pilol! And if be had flown Rob to Rupert, imagine the gripes about the bus back to Terrace! Flat tires happen to everyone. The expensive airline wouldn't lake off either with onc, Rob chose to be fru- gal; the inconvenience of delay while sharing a me- chanic between Vancouver and Terrace is part of the package. “Tneptitude Air’? can’t be blamed for DOT’s faulty fog detector or the short circuited runway lights of Rupert. Imaginc having to prepare instant meals in a tiny air- craft galley for dozens of ‘‘frugal”’ passengers, one of whom is planning to. use his fishing column for a diatribe on your airline, What meal could satisfy him? Perhaps a bow! of sour grapes? My advice to Rob is to accept that he can’t afford to fly with the big boys and stick to fishing, preferably with a telescapic rod. . Derek Tait, Prince George, B.C, The Terrace Standard welcomes |et- ters to the editor. Our deadline is noon on Fridays. Our mailing address is 3210 Clinton St., Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R2. You can fax us at 604-638-8432 or try us on e-mail. That address Is ter- race. standard@sasquat.com ‘THE START IS FOR PEOPLE LEARNING TO READ government means to aboriginal people? The Start Youth helped THE GOVERNMENT WANTS to hear from young people in Terrace. It is starting a program to keep young people away from crime. The program is called ‘‘Nighls Alive.’’ There will be money to put on night time things for young people. These will lake place at recreation centres and at schools. The government says that young people will slay away from crime if they have something else to do at night. Young people with ideas can call Constable Kim Hall. Her number is 638-0333.