- measure

Eight keys to land claims

MP unveils his vision for settlements

By MIKE SCOTT MP for Skeena YOGI BERRA once observed, “Tf you don’t know where you're going, you’re likely to end up someplace else,”’

Where are we going with land claims and Aboriginal Self- Government?

Who knows?

Where will we end up?

How: can we say until govern- ments draw a road map complete with a destination?

It is absolutely vital, to my way of thinking, that before we talk about specifics such as how much land; resources, and cash is put on the table or how Indian Self-

government will be implemented, °

basic principles must be estab- lished to guide us to our destina- tion.’ . Tsubmit that the following eight principles must apply and must be, the yardstick by which we specific —_ proposals, counter-proposals and draft settlements.

1, Equality of All Citizens

The laws which govern society must provide for the equality of all citizens and strictly avold dis- crimination of any kind, There is no such thing as ‘‘good dis- crimination”. It is x bad idea and it doesn’t work, The Indian Act is ample evidence of this, Uncqual treatment, based on face, is racism. It breeds resentment, leads 10 an us-versus-them mentalily, creating social unrest.

2, Finality and

Extinguishment Negotiations should lead to a

’. conclusion of special government

‘ obligations to Indian people and -end for all times to the question

of aboriginal rights. Government responsibilities and obligations

_after extinguishment should be

the same for ali citizens, 3. The Sovereignty of Canada must be upheld Aboriginal governments must be by delegated authority based

‘on a municipal model, Federal

and Provincial statutes and laws of general application must apply to all Canadians. In addition, the Canadian Charter of Rights,

flawed though it may be, must

Reform

By TOM WEEGAR

A SOMEWHAT wite cliche proclaims that in due time, his- tory will repeat itself.

‘A more specific version indi- cates that those who are ignezant of history are doomed to repeat it,

Such is the case in the Pacific

northwest,

‘After some 130 years since

~ British Columbia politicians first

‘ decided to deny the very exis- _ tence of aboriginal title, Skeena’s

‘Reform MP Mike Scott would

- ‘Iiketo do the same.

His view is strikingly similar to a process of historical revisionism which. occurred in the mid-

* 4860's.

“However, much has changed since 130 years ago.

Aboriginal tide has become firmly entrenched into Canadian

- law; any attempt to deny ils exis-

tence would indeed be met with intense opposition,

_.. Nevertheless, in his general ig-

norance of native history, Mike Scott. persists with his denial of aboriginal title, and history will

.. once again be repeated,

‘Alihough many Canadians remain unclear on the concept, the principle of aboriginal title is not new,

Aboriginal title has been defined as those ‘‘rights which

flative peoples retain as a result of

their original use and occupancy

=» OfTands.”?

_ ~ Although ‘aboriginal. tite had

‘ been discussed for many ycars, it

was not. formally recognized un-

- der. European :law until King

George III passed the Royal ~ Proclamation of 1763.

“Ie was signed at a time of in- creasing conflicts over aboriginal:

-- Jands, and at a time when the aboriginal peoples of Canada still

ck outnumbered the early colonial- Ass.

Jt was. thus seen by the British

-© as a means of preventing further

‘Indian grievances and revolts,

ee ae ee oe oe ae

weeee eet

nat and maintaining peace within the ~colony. “The proclamation, which be-

came the foundation of Canada’s

treaty system, first recognized “aboriginal title to all [ands which

First Nations had not formally surrendered.

* Second, the Proclamation stipu- lated that only the Crown, and not

. individual settlers, could purchase

lands from First Nations. This

- Was an attempt to prevent a land-

grab from settlers,

Third, the = Proclamation

Mike Scott

continue to guarantee basic rights to all citizens including Indian people. : -

4. Private property rights

must be respected

Government and Native leaders repeatedly reassure us that private property is not on the table in land claim negotiations.

This a good statement but it ap- pears they are only referring to deeded land.

My view is that agricultural

leases, registered traplines, com-

mercial fishing licenses, tree har- vesting licenses, mineral claims, guiding areas and all crown tenures must be protected.

5. The individual rights of In- dian people must be respected and take precedence over band rights,

Compensation for the ex- tinguishment of aboriginal rights should be paid on an individual basis. This would allow Indian people io decide their own fu-

_ tures,

If individuals choose freely to pool resources into band funds that is fine, but no one should be forced to. ,

Surely aboriginals more than anyone in this country know that governments are not to be trusted wilh the livelihoods and property of citizens,

6. The

ers still

cost of settling

Tom Weegar is an instructor of First Nations Studies at the Northwest Community College in Terrace. proclaimed that lands had to be purchased through .a formal agreement. OO

The fourth principle was that the government was responsible for evicting any person who was trespassing or unlawfully occupy- ing Indian lands.

Another very important dimen- sion of the Royal Proclamation was that it used the term "Nations

_ or Tribes of Indians."

This term apily demonstrates that in using this term, the British recopnized that First Nations were independent sovereign Stales well before the arrival of Europeans to North America.

As westward European expan- sion proceeded after Confedera- tion, the Canadian government made treaties with First Nations from 1871 to 1929,

In treating with the First Na- tions of Canada, the federal government was directly applying the principles of the Royal Proclamation of 1763, and there- by implicitly recognizing the ex- istence of aboriginal title.

By the end of this treaty making phase, British Columbia had long since joined Confederation and federal Indian policy was well es- tablished in that province.

However, the province had not always followed the principles laid forth under the Royal Proclamation of 1763.

James Douglas, one of the first governors of the colony of Van- couver Island, and Jater of British Columbia, was the first B.C, government official to address the native question,

In the years leading up to 1871, when the colony entered Confed-

eration as the Province of British Columbia, miners and settlers were. moving onto the land, and the Europeans and Native peoples

aboriginal claims should be borne equally be all Canadians

The Act of Union by which British Columbia joined confed- eration over 100 years ago clearly states that the Federal. Govern- ment is responsible for all out- standing obligations to aboriginal people, Canadians should share equally in the cost of land claim settlements rather than having the burden shifted disproportionately onto the backs of those who live within land claim areas.

7, Compensation must be af- fordable

Compensation paid to ex- tinguish aboriginals claims must be within the Canadian taxpayers’ ability to pay.

8. British Columbians have the right te be consulted in a real and meaningful ay during negotiations and to have their voice heard and counted prior to signing of agreements.

These principles lead to in- evitable conclusions, ~

In keeping with the principle that the cost of settlements should be born equally by all Canadians, compensation should primarily be made with cash by the. federal government.

This would ensure that all Ca-. nadian taxpayers were contribut- ing equally and would also serve to ensure that true costs were known to the public,

A cash settlement would no doubt mean a substantial amount of money, but the alternative means putting land and resources on the table which will have a much greater impact on the regions of British Columbia which are heavily dependent on resource industries, :

Furthermore, a cash settlement would respect the principle of pri- vate property rights and the prin- ciple that Indian people could easily take their portion of a settlement on an individual basis.

Cash could be used by individu- als and/or Indian bands to pur- chase Crown land, forest tenures, commercial fishing _ licenses, . taplines, mineral claims, etc. in

the market place at fair market value,

The net effect is Indian people |

would end up with an opportunity lo participate in the economy on an equal ‘basis with other Cana- dians,

Their entry into the resource sector would respect the property rights of others and not displace existing tenure holders or 1i- censes,

It would ensure a level playing field for all as regulations for land and resource us would apply evenly to all, Indian and Non- Indian alike.

Individual Indians should have the right to accept their portion of cash compensation on an individ- ual basis if they so choose.

Title to reserve lands should be conveyed to the appropriate bands with a provision that band

members and non-bind members may purchase land from the

crown or others.

Self-government should be ter- ritorially based as opposed to ra- cially based, What works is a municipal style of government that allows band councils to levy Property taxes and set by-laws within their communities, on the same basis as any municipality.

Any such government must be democratic, People must have an opportunity to elect their leaders and/or remove them from office at regular intervals in keeping with basic democratic principles,

By paying compensation the Government of Canada should be free from any further claims by Indian people for all times.

The programs administered by the Department of Indian and

_Northem Affairs along with all

other Federal and Provincial pro- grams specifically targeted toward Indian people should be phased out over a period of time. Programs available to all Cana- dians such as Social Assistance, Unemployment Insurance, Health Care, Education, etc, should be available to Indian people as well as Non-Indian people on the same basis.

repeat history —

were for the first time competing for Jand and resources. ;

. Between 1850 and 1854, Gov- emor Douglas made 14 treaties with the First Nations of Van- couver Island —- eleven in the area of Fort Victoria, two at Fort Rupert, and one at Nanaimo.

This is extremely significant be- cause, although Douglas was recognizing the existence of aboriginal title (as had the federal goverment when they were sign- ing treaties with First Nations east of the Rockies), later govern- ments of British Columbia were to deny its very existence, -

Following Douglas’ retirement in 1864, Indian policy in British Columbia changed dramatically.

Successive governors left In- dian policy to'their subordinates, and Joseph Trutch; Chief Com- missioner of Lands and Works,

became the dominant policy-—

maker, ;

Whereas Douglas had a great dea] of experience and knowledge of First Nations, Trutch had litile experience.

In contrast to Douglas, 'Trutch personified settler interests and attitudes, considering Indians °as.

beastial rather than human,’ ’as -

' uncivilized savages,’ as ugly and lazy, and as ‘lawless and violent.’ Trutch became the first official to assert explicitly that British Columbia Indians had never owned the land, and therefore did not possess the right to aboriginal title. wo, Since this assertion was directly contrary to British goverament policy (as stipulated in the Royal Proclamation of 1763), to- the policies of James Douglas, and to federal. government policy, Trutch decided to revise the his- tory of the colony to match his view and deny the existance of aboriginal title. Trutch in 1870 denied that spe- cial arrangements had been made to extinguish native claims: for ‘possession, and reinterpreted the Douglas treaties on Vancouver Is- lands as gifts to the natives in ex- change for good relations. Trutch’s views — that natives were primitive savages with no concept of land ownership — fed the emerging white myth that British Columbia had been in es- sence an empty land, devoid of society, governance, or laws. This myth legitimized the denial of aboriginal .title and

sanctified the new white doctrine . that all land in the colony was not.

only under British sovereignty but also directly owned by the Crown. »

This "white myth" remains to this day, as can be exemplified by the recent British Columbia Supreme Court décision (Del- gamuukw v. theQueen) which struck down the Gitksan- Wet'suwet’en claim of aboriginal

tide to their traditional territories.

And so history begins to repeat itself, ;

As Joseph Tmtch attempted to revise history to match his policies toward aboriginal title, so too does Reform MP Mike Scott try his hand at historical revisionism.

Scott’s belief that aboriginal title docs not exist completely ig- nores Canadian Constitutional ‘and case law.: ‘

' The Supreme Court of Canada began to recognize aboriginal title

- in 1973, when it evenly split on

the question of whether the Nisga’a still hold aboriginal title to their lands today, The court

-agreed that title had existed prior

to the colonial era. Despite a technical loss for the Nisga’a the momentous ruling

compelled the federal govern--

ment to begin settling outstanding land claims.

Since then, aboriginal rights were taken a step further when they were entrenched, although Jeft undefined, in the Constitution

“in 1982,

Subsequent court decisions have strengthened those rights and given natives priority in the areas of fisheries, for one, .

So when Mike Scott states that the courts have held that aboriginal title to land has been extinguished, or that First Nations in B.C. have no right to land, he is grossly misrepresenting the facts and the law of Canada.

Scott’s (and the Reform Party’s) approach to aboriginal title is nothing short of the histor- ical” revisionism which was promoted by Joseph Trutch some 130 years ago. -_

In both cases, an attempt has been made to deny that aboriginal

- title even exists.

However, unlike Trutch’s day, aboriginal title is now firmly recognized by Canadian common law and Is entrenched into the Ca- nadian Constitution.

To argue that it does not exist is both contrary to Canadian. law

and an insuit to the First Nations’ of this country.) oe

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 17, 1995 - AS

es | - CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD

The Mail Bag

Burning over the Jets An open letter to: me - ae : Dave Hodge, TSN oe

Dear Sir: a, vb :

1 am finding it hard to hold back my anger, as there are many words I want to use but must focus on what can be said.on air, -

I am of course writing about the mighty Winnipeg Jets. What a fear have they now struck the NHL with,

First it was Alan Eagleson when he removed the Nationals from Father Bauer and moved them back east, Then we had the business man from Winnipeg, and we all remember the WHA when we atole Bobby Hull from Chicago. Then Winnipeg was raped when they entered the NHL. Has the NHL finally gotten its revenge?

Where was the media when all this took place, conspicuous by their absence or should it be their silence. What power does the NHL hold over the media that they do not speak out, or mention the WHA or the goals scored by Bobby Hull, Gordie or even the Great one, W.G, ;

We still have not forgotten when you threw down your pencil on the CBC sportseast, Dave, I did expect more from you, Could TSN not have shown more Canadian games from Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Quebec rather than American teams,

I am looking for excuses but now I can remove TSN from my cable vision. I don’t think I can watch American NHL anymore,

When I came to Canada in 1964 from Scotland I was 22 years old.

_ [had watched hockey in Europe so I was not green to the game. Toronto was and still is my team but I became a Winnipeg fanatic even when after 19 years in Winnipeg, I moved to northera B.C.

I now and will always believe in the free market place. If MEC bought the Jets it should be of no concem of the NHL whether or not the Jets moved in three or five years down the road. They should have been given the chance to see if the fans would show up and support the team. - © - ~~ :

Frank Bowsher, : Terrace, BC,

Joke’s on Reform MP DerSim 0 .. a

One of Mike Scott's problems in accepting land claims and native self-government as a legitimate entity on the political agenda is his inclination to confuse the facts of historical and contemporary land claims issues with his interpretation of it. | ;

Anyone who would rabidly pursuc and attack an issue as Mr. Scott has on the legitimacy of Jand claims should be removed from office for the following reasons:

(1) Native people (his favorite target) are not being represented in the Skeena riding because their right to fair representation is antithetical to Mike Scott’s personal beliefs, . _

(2) Other more immediate concerns such as the unemployment

"seized lands and resources. (4) By feverishly attacking the legitimacy of native concerns, Mr, Scott is adding to the problem mther than ‘secking solutions, and --thus he is prolonging and creating a win/lose and ultimately, a no- win situation for all concerned,

Anyone who would draw supposedly valid conclusions from a questionnaire that: was riddled with leading questions and one in which the population was not drawn from a random sample, as was reported in The Terrace Standard April 12, 1995, has 10 be superfi-

- cdal and considered a fraud.

It surely must have been an insult to the intelligence of the ap- proximately 94.3 per cent of those who chose not to return Scott's so-called survey. ; :

It is understandable that 5.7 per cent returned their survey questionnaire because if you look at the normal spread of I.Q. bell-

‘ curve it’s not too difficult to see the connection between those who answered Scott’s call to their position on the lower end of the bell- curve, The joke is on you, Mike! oo

Po a oe = ‘Ray Guno, New Alyansh, B.C.

hn ns

_ Wood mixed with politics Dear Sir: So .

- Malcolm Baxter's article “Wood went to company due to close”’ in the May 3 issue is a bit like the energizer bunny. There is a bit of partisan politics and sour grapes from the unsuccessful applicant fueling the issue. ,

single small business timber sale cannot by itself result in long-term ' Jobs. No processing facility could rely on a single sale. ‘

The decision on A36554 was made more than a year ago based on the set of criteria which have been in existence for many years. Lo- cal preference does not rate high on that list. ,

Probably — and this only a bunch; they were set by a previous ad- ministration — because it was recognized that since a small busi- ness sale could not sustain a processing facility in the long-term sustaining existing facilities with existing employees working and eaming salaries made more sense.

Now Victorla Plywood was going to be winding down its opera- tion because of chronic wood supply shortage and that was-com- mented on in the news reporis at the time the award was made, The Freedom of Information was not needed to find that out. :

The award would sustain employment a little longer. Whatever wood was harvested from the sale it translated into the same num- bers of hours of employment albeit not in Kitimat or Terrace.

So whether VicPly was closing or has closed is not the issue, The issue is whether every small business timber sale should be awarded based om a higher preference for local processing: — existing or planned. :

I wrote to the Minister of Forests months ago asking him fo review the criteria for awarding small business sales with a view to giving local jobs (existing or planned) a higher rating in making a decision. that remains my position, He wrote back saying that his ministry would review the rules.

The public should understand that a demand for “local prefer- ence’ in the access to resources is a two-edged sword. Look.at it from the perapective of Stewart residents and how they fcel about us wanting access to Orenda's forest licence,

Or consider the view of a resident of Gitwangak and Kitwanga watching logging trucks rolling by each day past their mill while they struggle to get a tinber supply. ue 7

TEE ee i Helmut Giesbrecht, _: MILA, Skeeng

What scems to be missing in the article is the recognition that a __ ;