Story by Morgan O’Neal

Of Gabriel Dumont the world has never heard enough. Skilled, strong, brave, gentle to weakness, durable as rawhide, inflexibly faithful to his people and to Riel, whom he worshipped, he not only saw more plainly than most the desperate situation of the Metis, but he was their most capable leader and their most redoubtable champion. It was Dumont who rode a round trip of 700 miles from the North Saskatchewan to Fort Benton to visit Riel and ask his aid in the fight against Ottawa’s implacable stupidities. It was Dumont …who beat the Mounties at Duck lake, forced the abandonment of Fort Carlton, whipped Middleton’s column at Fish Creek, disabled the steamer Northcote that was coming downriver to the aid of the militia besieging Batoche, and finally, against heavy odds and the overwhelming firepower of repeating rifles, 7-pounders, and one of the new Gattling guns graciously donated on a test basis by the United States, was driven out of Batoche and into hiding in the Birch Hills. (Wolf Willow by Wallace Stegner)

Gabriel Dumont is best known as the man who led the small Métis military forces during the Northwest Resistance of 1885. He was born in the Red River area in 1837 and died near Batoche, Saskatchewan on 19 May 1906. He was the son of Isidore Dumont, a Métis hunter, and Louise Laframboise, and the grandson of French Canadian voyageur Jean-Baptiste Dumont. Brought up to the free prairie life before central government entered the West, Dumont was introduced early to plains warfare when, aged 13, he took part (at Grand Coteau) in the defence of a Métis encampment, against a large Sioux war party. Yet in 1862, with his father, he concluded a treaty between the Métis and the Sioux, and later one with the Blackfoot, that helped ensure pacification of the Canadian prairie.

Although unable to read or write, Dumont could speak six languages; he was a good shot with both the bow and the rifle, a splendid horseman and canoeist and an unrivalled guide. These abilities made Dumont a natural leader in the large annual Buffalo hunts that were an important part of Métis culture. His skill as a buffalo hunter led to his election in the summer of 1863 (when he was 25), as permanent chief of the Métis hunters on the Saskatchewan. Until the virtual elimination of the buffalo, he led the Métis on the hunt; the last time was in 1881.

When a provisional government was declared in 1885, Dumont was named “adjutant general of the Métis people.” He proved himself an able commander and his tiny army experienced some success against government forces at Duck Lake and Fish Creek. The Canadian militia, however, proved too large and too well equipped for Dumont’s army, which collapsed on 12 May 1885 after four days of fighting near Batoche.

By the 1860s, Dumont was the leader of a group of hunters living in the Fort Carlton area. Dumont apparently took no direct part in the Red River rising of 1870, though he made an offer – rejected by Louis Riel – to lead Métis resistance against Wolsely’s expeditionary force. It is obvious in retrospect that he recognized the great changes coming to the prairie due to the decline of the buffalo and the spread of Canadian influence. In 1872, he took advantage of the growing traffic on the Carlton trail and opened a ferry across the South Saskatchewan River and a small store upstream from Batoche. Gabriel’s Crossing is an important historical site now, the original house having been restored under the stewardship of Metis elder and author Maria Campbell.

In 1873 Dumont became president of the commune of St Laurent, the first local government between Manitoba and the Rockies. Taking its form from the organization of the buffalo hunt, the commune tried to establish a system of landholding, since Dumont recognized that when hunting ended, his people would have to turn to farming. But in 1875 the commune confronted the newly arrived North-West Mounted Police and the attempt at local government was crushed. Metis concern over land did not diminish, however, for like vultures government surveyors and land speculators now began to flood the West.

Gabriel Dumont was forced once more to lead the Métis in agitating for full legal recognition of their rights. His leadership role in the South Branch community continued throughout 1877 and 1878. Dumont chaired the meetings which drew up various demanding the federal government provide for representation on the Territorial Council, farming assistance, schools, land grants, and title to already occupied lands. When this political campaign made no progress, Dumont was one of the delegates who sought Louis Riel’s assistance. Negotiations with the government foundered, and when Riel declared a provisional government at Batoche, Dumont became “adjutant general” in charge of the tiny Métis army of 300 men formed at the beginning of the rebellion.

During the subsequent clashes known as the North-West Rebellion Dumont proved himself a remarkable guerrilla leader. He won the first battle against the NWMP at Duck Lake in March 1885 and then halted General Middleton’s army at Fish Creek on Apr 24. But Riel did not allow Dumont to continue his successful guerrilla campaign. Batoche was therefore besieged and captured, despite the resistance Dumont organized on May 12. Upon learning that Riel had surrendered, Dumont fled to the US where he plotted to rescue Riel, but the latter was too carefully guarded.

Having avoided capture by escaping to the United States where, in 1886, following Riel’s execution, Dumont accepted an offer to demonstrate his marksmanship by performing in Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show. After the amnesty for rebels, he returned to Canada in 1888. He hunted and traded a little, and then visited Quebec (where he apparently dictated two vivid oral memoirs of the rebellion.). Finally in 1893 Dumont returned to his old homestead near Batoche where he lived quietly until his sudden death of heart failure in 1906.

Gabriel Dumont was a man of great courage and chivalry, superbly adapted to the pre-settlement prairie life into which he was born; in the world that followed, however, his skills quickly lost their relevance, and were reduced to entertainment equivalent to the reality television shows of our present cultural wasteland. The qualities of intelligence and his mastery of the many necessary skills of surviving and thriving as a natural inhabitant of the prairie landscape he loved were ultimately insulted by the greed and hype so typical of American imperialism. As Daniel Francis writes in The Imaginary Indian in describing the context of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show,

“The show purported to be much more than simple entertainment. Cody and his imitators claimed to be presenting actual events, as fresh as yesterday’s headlines. Not only that, they were using actual characters, notorious for the part they played in the events they portrayed.”

Among those native heroes reduced to parodies of themselves by the circus act created by Bill Cody was Gabriel Dumont who along with Sitting Bull and the Sioux holy man, Black Elk gave an air of historical authenticity to a show which was otherwise pure and unadulterated fiction.. After the disturbances at Wounded Knee in 1890, for example, the government forced thirty Native malcontents to join the Wild West Show or face going to jail. They re-enacted the famous Battle of Little Big Horn. The Indians entered, pitched their camp and performed a war dance. The cavalry burst upon the scene, a skirmish followed, the Indian left a heap of dead cavalrymen and their horses on the ground to emphasize the myth of the savage primitive which would maintain the degradation of the Native population of the Western Hemisphere for the centuries to follow.

Story by Frank Larue

First Nations groups applauded opposition MPs after they stalled a clause-by-clause study of Bill C-44, the First Nations Human Rights Act, at a rare summer sitting of the House Aboriginal Affairs Committee at Parliament Hill in late July.

Members of the aboriginal affairs committee had been recalled from summer recess to hold a meeting on the controversial bill that would make the Indian Act subject to the federal human rights code.

The governing Conservatives forced the committee to meet to extend the Human Rights Act to aboriginal communities, but opposition MPs and aboriginal groups argued for more time for consultation.

The bill repeals Sec. 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA), a 30 year-old exemption which states that no part of the act affects the Indian Act. The bill would extend the reach of the Canadian Human Rights Commission over claims of discrimination that have been shielded because the Indian Act is outside the human rights code.

The Canadian Human Rights Act outlaws discrimination in employment and services on such grounds as sex, race, ethnic origin and marital status. The exemption has been condemned over the years in Canada and the United Nations.

Opposition MPs were angered that the government has rejected calls for advance consultations with First Nations and for changes to the bill advocated the Assembly of First Nations, the Canadian Bar Association and the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

The opposition had been trying to force the government to honour a motion approved by the majority of the committee in June, requiring a suspension of committee hearing for up to 10 months while consultations take place between government and First Nations organizations.

They questioned what they were doing there in the first place, saying that the chair of the committee called the meeting of his own accord and against the will of the majority of the committee.

“This government has shown nothing but contempt for the will of a standing committee of Parliament and total disregard for the concerns of those who will be most affected by the new legislation,” said Liberal MP Anita Neville. “Why are the Conservatives afraid of consulting with First Nations?”
NDP aboriginal affairs critic called the committee recall a political stunt.

“This bill is creating too many doubts in the First Nations communities,” she said. “These are the people who have to live with the consequences of hasty legislation before and they want the Harper government to stop bullying First Nations and get it right.”

The opposition argued that further consultation is necessary to work out safeguards to ensure the law does not backfire on the collective rights of First Nations and equip the country’s band councils with the necessary resources to cope with anti-discrimination complaints and redress.

MPs argued over whether the committee would enter into a clause-by-clause examination of the bill, as Conservatives wanted, or a change the agenda of the meeting to first consider a motion put forward by Neville.

“The opposition parties want to put off clause-by-clause, but we took the time to come back this summer to deal with a very important issue, extending human rights to First Nations people,” said Tory MP Rod Bruinooge, parliamentary secretary to Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice. Bruinooge said that there has been ample consultation and that there was no consensus among aboriginal groups on the form, length or definition of adequate consultation.

The committee eventually voted to change the agenda and debate the Liberal motion that called on the committee to suspend the study of the bill.

“We’re very pleased that the Liberal motion passed overwhelmingly,” said Candice Metallic, legal advisor to Phil Fontaine, AFN national chief. “The AFN position has been from the beginning that First Nations need to be consulted, not just on this legislation, but on every legislation and specific initiative that comes through this parliament.”

Story by Frank Larue

Coastal BC is one step closer towards the establishment of an ecosystem-based management (EBM) system for forest resources with the signing of a ministerial order to legally establish the South Central Coast Legal Land-Use Objectives.

“Ecosystem-based management is an innovative and groundbreaking approach to sustainable stewardship of natural resources that is world-class,” said Pat Bell, minister of Agriculture and Lands. “It will ensure the vital balance between healthy ecosystems and vibrant communities.”

The EBM objectives are one of a number of commitments made by the province to support a sustainable economy while protecting a healthy ecosystem in the central and north coast areas of the province.

“We are excited to be working with the province to implement EBM in the southern portion of the Central Coast land-use plan,” said Dallas Smith, president of the Nanwakolis Council.

“Implementing EBM in our territories will help manage and preserve our cultural values while maintaining the balance between the ecological and economic values that is necessary for healthy communities.”

Smith said the partnership is a direct result of the new relationship between the BC government and First Nations.
“This is something unheard of in our territories,” said Smith, who noted that their territories have been subject to industrial logging for over 100 years that have left very few of the so-called ‘monumental’ cedar used in totem poles and traditional canoes.

“As we see the new relationship develop, you’re starting to see the ability for us to work at different technical levels that we never even comprehended in the past,” Smith explained at the news conference in Victoria.

The preservation of monumental cedars is a key objective of the new ecosystem management plan. The seven aboriginal groups represented by the Nanwakolis Council participated in the development of the plan, as was environmental groups such as Greenpeace, ForestEthics, and the BC chapter of the Sierra Club.

The order signed by Minister Bell specifies logging limits on a large area of BC’s coast covering a portion of the south central coast extending from near Campbell River north to the Bella Coola.

The South Central Coast Legal Land-Use Objectives plan stems from the historic Coastal Land-Use decision encompassing the north and Central Coast plan areas that was announced in February 2006. A similar plan is being developed for the remainder of the central and north coast and is expected to be announced in the fall of 2007.

Vast areas of temperate coastal rain forest are protected, including the largest intact temperate rain forest left on earth, which is home to thousands of species of plants, birds and mammals. The combined areas encompassed by the decision are approximately 6.4 million hectares, or more than twice the size of Vancouver Island.

Under the new management system, forest companies or licensees will be required to adhere to 15 objectives in their development plans, including the protection of giant cedars – those trees that are more than 100 centimetres in diameter that range from 160 to 230 years old.

“We’re able to identify the areas where monumental cedar traditionally grows and write those objectives that protect those values to ensure that we have room for economic growth, but we can go back to the past and use that monumental cedar,” explained Smith. “So its very important for us not only where monumental cedar exist now, but where they will be in the future for our future generations.”

Other objective include measures to protect important fisheries watersheds and habitat for species-at-risk such as mountain goats, grizzly bears and the marbled murrelets.

Maps for identifying species-at-risk habitat are still being drawn up and is expected to be completed by September 30th.

Environmental groups gave the minister a ‘countdown’ clock to remind the government of its commitment to fully implement the ecosystem-based management scheme over the entire coast by 2009.

“Today is a significant step forward in that process,” said Bell, who noted the clock now reads 608 days to go.

Similarly, land use decisions for the north-central Bulkley Valley area of the province will ensure the long-term sustainable resource management and critical habitat protection for the area under the “Morice” plan, announced on July 18th.

The agreement is the result of five years of negotiation between First Nations, industry and local governments.

First Nations involved included the Office of the Wet’suwet’en, the Lake Babine Nation, Nedo’ats Hereditary Chiefs and the Yekoohe First Nation.

The agreement protects 123,000 hectares of land, critical fish and wildlife habitat, , certainty principles around mining activities and water quality monitoring.

Debbie Pierre of the Office of the Wet’sewet’en said the Morice plan does not address all of the interests of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary cchiefs, who have sought an accommodation with the province since 1994, when they initiated the Delgamuukw aboriginal title court case that went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, establishing the concept of aboriginal title in Canadian jurisprudence.

“However, this is a step in the right direction in working together,” said Pierre. “Through collaborative management, we believe that we can effectively protect critical ecosystems that maintain the quality of life of the Wet’suwet’en.”

Photos & Story by Anji Smith

The 31st Annual BC Elders Gathering hosted by the Squamish Nation took place at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre and The Capilano Reserve through out August 8th, 9,th, 10th of 2007. The circle of events began with a Squamish welcome of respect as each nation proudly made their entry into the hall. With an estimated attendance of over three thousand people, this three-day event brought together Elders from close to thirty BC First Nation bands. Sharing their wisdom, knowledge and the keeping of their traditional and cultural ways of the past, while respecting and connecting with today’s youth. This was the main agenda of the Elders Gathering.

Chief Alana Andrew, Chief Gibby Jacob with this year’s elder royalty, King George Jacobs Sr and Queen Marjorie Natrall along with mayor Sam Sullivan and MP Blair Wilson were at the opening ceremony, which began early with cultural prayer and elder speeches. The entertainment came in a variety of expressions, several dance groups which included the Metis Dance Group, the Kwa’kawaka, The Urban Dance Group and the West Coast Dance Group gave stellar performances on both days. Author, poet, Richard Van Camp headlined the storytelling along with Gene Tabagan who gave a touching rendition of Raven Dreaming. Native lawyer Calvin Helin who has released his first book ‘ Dances With Dependency’ gave a compelling speech on the spirituality of wisdom that is handed down by the elders.

Darren YeltonSquamish carver Darren Yelton who enjoys the reputation of keeping the ancient conventions of native artwork alive by carving many intricate symbolic figures such as the bald eagle, the Orca, the Bear and the Wolf. Darren has also carved many totem poles and was asked to carve one for the Elders Gathering. The pole was unveiled on the final day of the gathering as a symbol of the Squamish nation’s strong community spirit that won them the right to host this year’s gathering. Prince Rupert Friendship House has won the right to host next years gathering.

Story by Morgan O’Neal

Cardinal has long been a well-known name in Canada, especially in the West. And Lorne Cardinal, who plays the quirky police officer Davis Quinton on the off-beat CTV hit show, Corner Gas, has now made the name known much further a field, as there is a good possibility that the half-hour television show set in the fictional Saskatchewan town of Dog River, will sooner or later be sold to international media companies. Cardinal is more than an actor though, he also directs. He is a son, a brother and a husband in realm life, and an avid observer of reality. Lorne cardinal sees his ability to observe as having helped him to achieve the success he enjoys today. He has learned his craft by paying attention to the teachings of others and by close observation of the talent around him. Even now, as an established actor/director, he still tries to absorb as much information as he can from his colleagues and his surroundings, to better himself and improve on work. Cardinal currently which but his talent is not limited to acting.
Born in High Prairie, Alberta, Cardinal spent most of his formative years on the Sucker Creek First Nation and in Edmonton.. He has previously appeared in television shows such as North of 60 and renegadepress.com, as well as live theatre productions, which in recent years has led to his foray into directing. He has put that experience to use in directing an episode of Moccasin Flats and four episodes of renegadepress.com. Although directing demands an entirely different set of skills the challenge is one he gladly accepts. “It’s incredible, it’s stressful, it’s incredibly creative; you are surrounded by creative people all the time and the buck stops with you,” he says. “You have to make every single decision.” The experience has been a huge learning curve for Cardinal and he admits he’s made some mistakes, but he welcomes these as lessons in learning the craft. Cardinal credits the support of the crew behind him, going above and beyond to do its best work, as a blessing that has made the learning process that much easier.
For some actors, the path is clear at a young age. For Cardinal it wasn’t so cut and dried. In his early twenties he spent time working at a newspaper as a photographer, then freelanced for a year and a half before deciding to go tree planting in B.C. After the season was over he decided to return to school. He attended Caribou College, now called Thompson Rivers University, and signed up for basic courses that piqued his interest. He saw an introduction-to-acting class and figured it looked like an easy way to pick up credits, so he enrolled.

The class was “fantastic,” and it was due to the instruction of Dr. David Edwards, that Cardinal was turned on to the theatre.. “I did my first one-act play and it was the first time, when I stepped onstage, it felt right. It felt like this is what I should be doing,” Cardinal says. Edwards encouraged Cardinal to seek more training if he wanted to pursue a career in acting. Those words stuck with Cardinal and have sparked his drive to absorb as much of the business as he can. Proof of Cardinal’s drive to become the best he could possibly be came while he was attending the University of Alberta in Edmonton, where he enrolled in the Bachelor of Fine Arts acting program. In the first year of his studies he received a call from his agent about a show called North of 60. He was asked to read for one of the lead characters, but when he found out the show was starting production later that year, he turned it down.

Cardinal made the difficult choice but it was the correct decision in the end. “I’ve turned a lot of work down, actually, when I was in university, because for me the most important thing was getting my training. I didn’t want to short-change myself. And you know how tempting that is just to jump at the work because it’s there – but I chose not to. I chose to actually finish my training and get my degree.” Cardinal has learned from others that it was not only important to develop his craft, but also to have an awareness of the work being done around him. To this day Cardinal puts that advice to work. He watches the director’s work between his own scenes, and observes the rest of the crew doing their jobs, and he believes it has made him a better actor.

“It’s just something I’ve always done. I’ve always just paid attention to what’s around me. The only way to learn is by paying attention. It’s having that attitude of taking the whole picture of theatre, from the first day of rehearsal to the closing, and all the steps in between. It’s very much like a team sport,” he says. “I played a lot of rugby growing up and that’s what taught me about teamwork. I take that experience and put it right into the theatre and it’s a perfect fit. It’s about team play; it’s about supporting the story. And if you have a small part you do that small part the best as you can to support the story. It’s part of the links, sort of the stronger that you are the stronger the story becomes.”

Cardinal has experienced first hand how the strength of a story can touch more than just the actors playing the parts. Early in his career, he was doing a play with Native Earth Performing Arts in Toronto. The production was called 60 Below, a play written by Leonard Linklater and Patti Flather. Cardinal played a town hero named Johnny, who had died and returned as a ghost to visit his friend Henry. The townspeople thought that Henry had something to do with Johnny’s death. Only Henry knew that Johnny had actually taken his own life, but he keeps the secret to himself, even after being sent to jail. In the end, Henry tells his girlfriend and Johnny’s wife the truth about what happened and lets go of the painful secret he had been carrying around. Following a performance of the play, the actors were backstage changing out of costume and a young man popped his head in and thanked the crew for the show. The crew said thanks and went back to what they were doing. But the young man interjected again and told them they didn’t understand. His best friend had killed himself a few weeks earlier and the man had been thinking of doing the same thing, but the play had changed his mind. He realized he would be hurting more people in the long run by taking his own life.

“That’s the point,” Cardinal says. “That’s when, to me, everything – reviews, awards – that doesn’t mean as much as affecting somebody like that. And that’s what I hope my work does, is affects people. Lets them know they’re not alone; lets them know there are other options, other ways to look at things and that there are people who’ve been through it and who have survived through it and can help.” Cardinal himself knows something about survival – he learned it from his parents and other relatives who struggled with haunting memories of residential schools and other demons, such as alcoholism. .”Both my father and my mother are residential school survivors, as are most of my aunts and uncles,” he says. “And growing up under the effects of that has been brutal.” Even through his pain, however, Cardinal’s father Don Cardinal made sure to pass on words of wisdom to Cardinal and his brother, Lewis. “Even when he was down and at his lowest point, he always managed to sneak a lesson in there,” Cardinal says.

He recalls a time when his father took him and his brother out to every bar on the “skids” in Edmonton. They would have a beer at each place. His father would tell them to take a look around. “This is what will happen to you if you let this,” he’d say, pointing to the beer, “grab a hold of you.” This memory has always stuck with Cardinal, and because of that he made sure he followed a different path than his relatives who struggled through painful times. The life lessons he took from his father were tough, but they worked. “It’s a shame, because you see so many beautiful glimpses of beautiful people, but then they’re in so much pain and turmoil that it’s just heartbreaking, to see that waste of talent and gifts that were given to each and every one of us, and to see them not fulfilled is very heartbreaking.”

Constable Cardinal is a very funny man on television. In fact, to my mind he’s the most capable actor in Dog River, and that is saying a lot; because as television goes, this time CTV got it right, Corner Gas is a great half hour of Canadian comedy, funny, unique, and polished. And having grown up in a small a small Saskatchewan town exactly like it (long before there was any such thing as an Aboriginal cop), I know how difficult it can be to make comedy out of a one-horse town in the middle of nowhere, at least if you have to live there. So the Constable is a very funny character. Lorne Cardinal, on the other hand (the man, the son, the brother, the husband) is a very serious man, and seems to be doing what he does so well for all the right reasons. He is a credit to the name Cardinal, and (I believe) he will become–if he is not already–a sort of national treasure. The guy is a great actor.

By Bernie Bates

How many Indians does it take to screw in a light bulb? The answer will probably never be known. You may think this to be a snide comment, that is, unless you’ve tried to get more than two Natives politicians to agree on anything: and that includes everything from the colour of the sky to pizza toppings!

I await the day when it will be announced that Natives from shore to shore, from North to South are united by one voice …. Ah, who am I kidding? It’ll never happen, and I’ll tell you why; Natives, by natures are back-stabbers, our Chiefs are greedy and the old boys club, who own the halls of power ,want to keep it that way!

As the old saying goes: “If you want to find the truth – follow the money!” From the first day, when the first non-Natives stepped onto this continent – No, I’ll go even further, even before they arrived here, they were looking to make a killing. And I’m not kidding, they literally tried to exterminate the Natives of North America. Shooting, didn’t work – too many Injuns, not enough bullets. Germ warfare was another alternative they tried to execute; smallpox, tuberculous to an assortment of STDs. When that didn’t work, starvation was tried, hence the wholesale slaughter of the great plains buffalo.
The first fledgling governments even went so far as to hold a vote on what to do about us pesky Redskins! And if not for ‘TWO’ votes: chances are you wouldn’t be reading this bit of history. One group voted for eradication of every last Native, the other group voted for integration. Systematically, the installation of institutions, under the ruse of religion, was implemented, with the intent of crushing everything that made Natives, Native. Starting with language, clothing, rituals even to the cutting of our long hair.

Divide and conquer has been used for thousands of years, to vanquish an enemy. And it’s still in use today, and it’s still working as well as it did, oh these many years later. Treaties are being struck with different Native bands across this land: one by one. Some Native bands get more, some get less: ‘Divide and conquer!’ The only thing these bands have in common is that they’re being treated (treaty-ed) like a hooker: they’re getting screwed without the kisses!

If every Native, from north to south, from sea to sea, united and held steadfast to what was justly and rightfully ours: only then would the ‘old boys club’ stand up and take notice. Here’s an FYI: “Did you know that not one single treaty, that has ever been written, has ever been completely, 100% upheld? And therein is another weapon Natives have never used: the education of the voting public. If Jane and Joe public were informed of the shenanigans their government was imposing on the aboriginal minority – they’d be outraged!

But … Ah, who am I kidding, it’ll never happen! And I’ll tell you why …. For every Native who gets off his or her ass and does something with their lives, there’ll be two other Natives who’ll talk behind their backs (back-stabbers) or even in some cases, I’ve known people who’ve falsely accused others of something amoral or underhanded. If a Native starts up a business, they’ll be branded as crooks and demands will be made on their profits. If a Native tries to better themselves, by studying hard, receiving a diploma and getting a well paying job – they’d be called names like: stuck-up, uppity or ‘apple,’ you know, red on the outside, white on the inside.

Which brings us back to the root of all evil: ‘MONEY!’ We’ve all heard of taxpayer’s dollars being spent on expensive trips abroad, government approved toilet seats and expense accounts that no one has to account for? News like that hits the front pages and everyone is pissed …. then as time passes the voters slowly forget, the blame gets shuffled and the ‘dick-heads,’ who screwed us, fade away unpunished, without so much as a kiss goodbye! So, you now know how a hooker feels.

How does it feel? Do you feel used, unappreciated, unworthy – Native? If you’re a hard working, taxpaying citizen who is used to bureaucratic waste, this will really tickle you right down to your wallet. The government, in all their wisdom, with all their resources and endless man hours did an official study concerning the plight of the poor Natives. After spending billions and billions of your hard earned tax dollars, they came up with the following statement: “Natives wouldn’t have as many social problems, if not for their poverty!”

THE END
Dear reader: Please feel free to contact, B. H. Bates at: beeinthebonnet@shaw.ca

Story by Frank Larue

‘’I fear that John will not receive a fair trial in the US any more than I did. I must remind you, it is court record that the FBI lied to extradite me back to the US.’’ – Leonard Peltier

The fate of John Graham accused of the murder of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash was in the hands of B.C. Court of Appeal until July 26 when Graham’s extradition to North Dakota to face trial for murder was approved. Considering the fashion Leonard Pelletier’s trial was conducted, Graham can look forward to a kangaroo court that will put him in jail the rest of his life.
John Graham is a member of -AIM- (American Indian Movement), which has been at war with the FBI for more than forty years. The Bureau will never forget nor forgive the death of their two agents in a shootout in Pine Ridge South Dakota in1975 for which Leonard Peltier is now serving a life sentence. Since the tragic showdown the FBI have done everything in it’s power to bring AIM to it’s knees.

The great American lawmen have made a mockery of the word justice in their pursuit to suppress the movement. A prime example, the extradition of Leonard Peltier from Canada was done with the pressured testimony of Mytle Poorbear who had severe mental problems. The testimony was never questioned by Canada’s judicial system and Leonard Peltier was dispatched south. Under Canadian law, U.S government authorities can request extradition using flimsy or hearsay evidence before Canadian courts. A Canadian judge need simply believe that arguments presented by U.S. authorities provide a ‘reasonable expectation’ of conviction of the accused.

The evidence against John Graham is provided by Arlo Looking Cloud a homeless alcoholic for the last twenty years who was convicted in 2004 for his role in Anna May’s murder. Arlo’s video recorded testimony states that John Graham was the one who pulled the trigger. Later, Arlo told Lakota human rights representative David Seals. ‘’It was a set-up. I was drunk, they were giving me drugs and alcohol.’’ The tape itself according to Seals ‘’Was almost incoherent, and the police were asking a lot of leading questions.’’

The BC Court of Appeal considering the FBI’s tainted past should have given the video to the RCMP to verify it’s authenticity. This of course was never done because Canadian judges can’t bend over quick enough when US authorities are involved. The reason the FBI want Graham convicted so badly, to cover their own tracks, because it is one of their own agents who killed Anna Mae.

FBI agent David Price arrested Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash after the two FBI agents were killed at Pine Ridge and before Leonard Peltier was extradited. Price warned Anna Mae that if she didn’t cooperate ‘’ You won’t live out the year.’’ His warning was prophetic, Anna Mae died that year. It was Price who extracted the false confession from Myrtle Poor Bear, his method to convince Myrtle she should co-operate was showing her pictures of Anna Mae’s body, the consequences if she didn’t cooperate. In Myrtle’s own words ‘’ He showed me pictures of the body and said that if I don’t cooperate this is what may happen to me.’’

John Graham is the fall guy while the FBI can claim yet one more victory, another AIM’ member out of the way. Thanks to the BC Court of Appeal, Canada is guilty one more time of complicity, this time a judge not a politician. In 1992 fifty five Canadian MP’s filed a brief to a U.S. court affirming that Canada had been duped in the Peltier extradition. The trial will only compound the fact that any native resistance against the U.S will be crushed and justice will be trampled on by the same people who are in charge of administering it. Leonard Peltier in a letter of support said

‘’When we talk of sovereignty, we must be willing to solve our own problems and not go running to the oppressor for relief… We have been and still are at odds with the most dangerous, well-funded, strongest military and political organization in the history of the world. The U.S government.’’