News A well-attended potluck supper at St. Paul’s United Church was ‘Me venue for guest speakers from the four Saanich Peninsula native Indian bands on Sunday evening, Nov. 18th. In the wake of current Indian demonstrations held across Can- ada, the outreach committee of the church organized the event to fos- ter better personal understanding of the needs and feelings of local ative people, spokesperson Eva -— Eichenbaum Bares said. David Paul of the Tsartlip band gave a brief historical background of his people. He explained how the four local reserves have evolved from a large Indian terri- tory that once included the entire 2 Peninsula. Indians always believed 2 gta they should share their land "and resources, but they never thought they would lose them, he said. Eric Pelkey, manager of the Tsawout band, said told about 90 attending people that all the Indi- ans have wanied are their hunting and fishing rights. Federal Liberal Party native affairs critic Ethel Blondin said Thursday the federal government is avoiding dealing with the land claims dispute over the new site for a Central Saanich middle -— school. She said federal Minister of Native Affairs Tom Siddon is r ducking the issue in the same way he tried to avoid dealing with the land dispute at Oka. “The federal government feels its can position itself so it forces the province to take responsibil- ity,” she said. “But the prime authority in this situation is the federal govern- ment. Always, always, always.” The Saanich Indian bands filed a lands claim with the federal government, demanding title to the Peninsula in 1987. However, the government sold the 4.5-hectare site near the Tsart- ~ lip reserve to the Saanich school district in 1988. Blondin feels supportive of the S rarslip Indian band’s decision to fight for its belief that it owns the sil€. These have not always been respected by governing bodies, as has been the case with recent developers’ bids to build a mega- marina in Saanichton Bay. The ensuing legal case has cost the local Indians $160,000, Pelkey said. Because their resources are run- ning out, Indians are now being forced to go to great lengths to protect their land claims and take legal action, he said. Paul told the audience of the government's failure to respect its _ promise to return land used during the Second World War for a wire- less station on Stellys Crossroad. Construction on the land by School District 63 was halted by native Indian bands last week. Norman Underwood of the Tsawout band wondered why the Canadian government has apolo- gized to Canadian Japanese int- erned during the war, and has respected post war treaties with other nations, while failing to deal with its promises to native people here at home. Siddon ducking school issue “Tf the government doesn’t want to tangle with people who can handle themselves, they shouldn’t fool around with the B.C. Indi- ans,” she said. As for whether the provincial government plans to become involved in the debate between the Indians and the Saanich school board, she doubts it. “It's a jurisdictional dispute. The provincial government doesn*t want it and the federal government doesn’t want it. “They just use the whole land issue as a political football,” she said. B.C. Indians have 597 unsettled land claims disputes, which the federal government will continue to ignore unless they develop into a powder keg situation like Oka, she said. “The federal government will continue to let the situation deter- iorate until you have Canadians pitted against one another,” she said. ‘Indian reps air views at Sidney church Underwood emphasized that local Indians have been very patient while enduring ongoing hurt and embarrassment to them- selves and their children, decade after decade. He remembers a time when children were severely pun- ished in schools for speaking their own native language. All of the speakers talked of deep concems about pollution and the destructive impact it has on others, as. well as their own way of life. Concern was also made know about the negative image that Indi- ans might have in the local com- munity. Underwood pointed out that the many fine people in his band who were teachers or leaders seldom receive recognition. During the question session that followed, many members of St. Paul’s congregation expressed amazement over how little the general public knows about the difficult struggles Indian neigh- bors are having with local organi- zations on the Saanich Peninsula. Dr. George Tuttle conveyed the desire on behalf of the Outreach Committee to encourage continu- ing contact between Sidney resi- dents and members of the local native Indian bands. Rey. Jim Allen, the new minister at St. Paul’s, stressed the impor- tance of listening to what our neighbors can tell us, so that we can develop better insights for decision making and action. Heather Lapper thanked the speakers for coming to share their thoughts and concerns. Further - meetings are being planned by members of the congregation. 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