COVER

Current Issue

COVER
A Look Back at 2004

BIOGRAPHY
Simon Baker Plays Native

BUSINESS
Twassassen Signs $47 Million Deal with Vancouver Port Authority

Deh Cho Negotiate Framework Agreement for Pipeline Panel

COMMUNITY
Trust Fund Established for Shooting Victims

CULTURE
Mohawk Woman Invites Unity Riders From South Dakota

Victory Through Honour

Métis Fighting over Implementation of Right To Harvest

HUMOUR
Bee in the Bonnet: Notice: Government Cancels Christmas

Bee in the Bonnet: So, What's New Year With You?

TRADITION
Recipes for the Holidays

Over the past year several interesting developments have come together to reshape the political landscape of Aboriginal Canada. Amnesty International condemned Canada's treatment of aboriginal women in Canadian society. A new prime minister is working to revamp the sagging relationship with the nation's First Peoples. The Supreme Court of Canada further defined the duty to consult First Nations on development on traditional territories.

In British Columbia, the Aboriginal Fishing Strategy was reinstated after a lower court found it in violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In Ontario and Maitoba, Métis hunters struggled for the implementation of their newly won right to hunt. These are just some of the major issues and events that have come about to push the Aboriginal agenda to the front of public policy discussions in Canada today. Following are news highlights from the past year that affected Natives across Canada.

January

Chief's house set on fire
Kanesatake Grand Chief James Gabriel, his wife and two children fled from their home at Kanesatake hours before it was set ablaze by an angry mob on January 13, 2004.

Protesters were angry over the recent firing of interim police chief Terry Cross. Cross was dismissed over a perceived failure to combat smuggling and drug-related crime in the community. The criminal activity in this town has continued unchecked for at least seven years following the infamous Oka Crisis of 1990.

Cross's replacement, Terry Issac and 55 police aboriginal constables from surrounding communities, were barricaded in the community's police station, surrounded by the angry mob.

While protesters felled trees to block the highway near the reserve; Chief Gabriel's car and house were torched by the mob. They prevented firefighters from entering the reserve to douse the flames to the chief's car and house.

A showdown between the community's police and the protesters was narrowly averted when the Quebec government intervened with a deal that allowed Issac and the 55 constables to leave the troubled reserve without incident.

February

Osoyoos community economy flourishes
Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos Indian Band received this year's National Aboriginal Achievement Award in the category of business and commerce. Since the mid-1990s under his leadership, the band has decreased dependence on welfare to almost nil through job creation and economic development.

Under his direction, the OIB owns and operates nine businesses with annual revenues of more than $800,000. These band-operated businesses employ at least 140 people.
In 1995, OIB became financially self-sufficient with self-generated revenue surpassing federal transfer funds.

March

Samson Cree seeks $1.4 billion from feds
Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien testified in a billion dollar lawsuit involving the Samson Cree First Nation of central Alberta.

The Samson Cree claim that federal bureaucrats mismanaged oil and gas revenues to the First Nation during the last 60 years from the lucrative Bonnie Glen natural gas field on the Hobemma reserve; approximately 60 miles southeast of Edmonton.

Band officials say the federal government owes them $1.4 billion for charging inadequate royalties and failed to properly track gas production that prevented the Samson Cree from collecting higher interest rate returns.

The case began in May 2000 and has already cost the First Nation and taxpayers millions of dollars.

April

Campaign launched against new dumpsite
The Ashcroft Indian Band and the Nla'pamux Tribal Council launched a public campaign against a proposed new dumpsite in Ashcroft beside the Indian Band community; which would start in 2007 for the next 100 years.

The Greater Vancouver Regional District places 800,000 metric tonnes of garbage each year right in the middle of Nla'pamux territory. Potential impacts include the leaching of toxic substances into the local groundwater, toxic fumes, the destruction of wildlife habitat and danger from increased trucking through the Fraser Valley Canyon.

Potential impacts on the aboriginal food chain have not yet been determined. Small mammals, such as rats, could contaminate the local wild food chain by carrying toxic leachate out of the dumpsite.

Innu hunters accused of slaughter
Quebec Innu hunters were accused of slaughtering possibly dozens of rare Red Wine caribou in western Labrador in early April in protest of restrictions on their aboriginal right to hunt.

The Council of Innus of Vashot and Mani-Utenam said they do not want to wipe out the rare caribou and instead accused the province of Labrador of threatening the survival of the herd.

Chief Rosario Pinette said that the Churchill Falls hydro-electric project reduced the numbers of some herds by as much as 80 per cent and have also reduced caribou calving areas. The Quebec Innu further said that the Newfoundland government had no right to order a ban in their traditional hunting area as a conservation measure without first consulting them as required by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Innu acknowledged that about 70 hunters set up a camp in the Churchill Falls area in the first week of April in protest of the provincial governments refusal to meet with them to discuss the issue.

More than 30 caribou were killed in the protest hunt. Some of the caribou killed were believed to be from the endangered Red Wine herd, which numbered less than 100 last year.

May

Appeals ordered for Maritime bands
The Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to hear appeals by the governments of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in two watershed aboriginal rights cases involving access to forest resources on the east coast.

The two appeals stem directly from the controversial findings of the landmark Marshall decision of the Supreme Court in 1999.

The Marshall decision found that Mi'kmaq and Maliseet peoples of the Maritimes have an aboriginal right to earn a "moderate livelihood" from hunting, fishing and gathering based on an 18th century treaty with the British.

Aboriginal people interpreted that to include a right to harvest forest resources in the modern context.

The New Brunswick appeal involves Mi'kmaq logger Joshua Bernard originally convicted of illegal possession of 23 spruce logs harvested on Crown land. The New Brunswick Court of Appeal found that Bernard had an aboriginal right to harvest and sell trees growing on Crown land - a right not restricted to natural resources harvested at the time of the signing of the original treaty in 1761.

The Nova Scotia appeal involves 35 Mi'kmaq loggers convicted of illegal harvest of lumber in 2001. The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal overturned those convictions based on an error in law and ordered a new trial.

It is expected to take at least a year before the Supreme Court of Canada will hear the two appeals.

Prime Minister meets with nations
A host of promises and commitments by Prime Minister Paul Martin rejuvenated the sagging relationship between the federal government and nations aboriginal peoples. Some 70 aboriginal leaders from the top five national organizations met with the prime minister, the majority of the federal cabinet, and high-ranking officials for a one-day session to tackle the longstanding problems plaguing the nations 1.3 million aboriginal peoples.

Martin pledged that aboriginal people would have a "full seat" at the table in regards to the development of any policies that directly affect them. Martin also promised that the Cabinet Committee on Aboriginal Affairs would meet with the leaders as soon as possible to develop a national action plan to address outstanding issues. Individual ministers will also hold a series of policy roundtables to develop key aspects of the action plan. Meetings would include aboriginal leaders and experts, provincial and territorial governments and private sector representatives.

The federal government also pledged to produce and annual report card on their actions in regards to major issues such as economic development, housing health and education.

June

Stonechild case put to rest
Final arguments into the death of Saskatoon aboriginal teenager Neil Stonechild concluded at a public inquiry on May 19, after months of hearings, dozens of witnesses and 8,000 pages of testimony.

Stonechild was found frozen to death in a northern industrial area of the city with one shoe, a blackened sock on the other foot, with his hands curled up in his sports jacket in a vain attempt to keep warm on the night of November 29, 1990.

The public inquiry began on September 8, 2003, after an extensive RCMP investigation and a Saskatoon Police inquiry mired with overtones of racism.

The case made international headlines based on the testimony of Jason Roy, Stonechild's friend. Roy testified he had seen Stonechild in the back of a police cruiser screaming, "Help me, these guys are going to kill me."

The RCMP investigation suspected constables Larry "Redneck" Hartwig and Brad Senger, but the constables were never charged.

Native leader guilty of theft
In Manitoba, former aboriginal leader Margaret Swan received a one year suspended sentence on May 31 for stealing $35,000 from her own band while she was chief of the Manitoba Lake First Nation of southern Manitoba.

Swan, 42, was charged with fraud over $5,000 and theft over $5,000 last August, but denied any wrongdoing for months. Late in March at trial, she admitted she had stolen the money from her band while she was chief.

The RCMP alleged the former chief had drawn $61,000 in unauthorized cheques for her own personal use before leaving to become grand chief of the Southern Chiefs Organization two years ago.

Swan was fired from her $85,000 per year job as grand chief in mid-May, when the chiefs passed a non-confidence vote. She had been suspended without pay in March after pleading guilty to the theft.

Swan was ordered to repay the money she stole and to perform 50 hours of community service.

July

Missing child in Regina
Over 60 aboriginal searchers from across Saskatchewan continued a desperate bid to find any sign of missing five-year old Tamara Keepness, in the city of Regina ten days after she was reported missing on Tuesday July 6.

Regina police announced on July 13, that they had called off the search for the missing aboriginal child, but promised the investigation into her disappearance would continue. Regina police have interviewed more than 100 people including family friends relatives and neighbours, as well as known sex offenders.

The immediate family of missing girl has said little publicly since her disappearance and police said they still have some unanswered questions about what was going on in the family home the night Tamara went missing.

Métis claim racism rampant in police force
The Commission on First Nations and Métis Peoples and Justice Reform released its final report on June 21. The two-year $2.8 million investigation into the Saskatchewan justice system found that anti-native racism exists throughout the provincial police force creating an environment of distrust between aboriginal people and the Saskatchewan police force.

The commission's final report, entitled Legacy of Hope, comprised two volumes and makes 122 recommendations. It suggests a number of ways to combat racism in policing such as better screening procedures, training programs for officers who exhibit racist attitudes and a proactive strategy to recruit First Nations and Métis people into the police force.

August

Salmon sales program reinstated
The BC Supreme Court reinstated the pilot salmon sales program known as the Aboriginal Fishing Strategy, stating that the AFS does not discriminate against non-aboriginal fishermen in a ruling handed down on July 12, 2004.

The federal aboriginal-only fisheries program was immediately cancelled last summer when a provincial court judge found that the pilot sales program was unconstitutional as it violated the equality rights of non-aboriginal fishermen under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The pilot sales program provided a handful of First Nations living along the Fraser River the opportunity to fish for commercial purposes on specific days during the salmon season.

In reversing the provincial court ruling, Justice Brenner of the BC Supreme Court said that the pilot sales program was flawed, but it did not violate the charter rights of non-aboriginal fishermen.

In rendering his decision, Brenner J. said the plight of aboriginal must be considered, noting that aboriginal people are a disadvantaged group subject to historical inequality, suffering significant unemployment and poverty. The judge further stated that the pilot sales program did not result in the denial of commercial fishermen any fishing opportunities because no commercial openings were displaced because of the program. Brenner further noted that the take of salmon by aboriginal fishermen in the pilot sales program was only a fraction of the commercial take.

Judge guilty of sexual acts
Former Prince George judge William Ramsey received a seven year sentence for a string of violent sexual offences against young aboriginal girls - one as young as 12. The seven-year sentence was two years more than the five-year sentence sought by Crown prosecutors.

The offenses took place between 1992 and 2001. The investigation into Ramsey's sexual offenses started when a 16-year-old girl (he had raped) was released from a rehab centre. In May 2002, the girl appeared in court to regain custody of her son only to find Ramsey sitting in judgement over her.

Although Ramsey granted the order to allow custody, the girl ran out of the courtroom outraged, screaming on the courthouse steps that the judge deciding her case was a violent john she knew. She told her social worker and the investigation took off.

Ramsey was originally charged with ten counts of sexual offenses, but a plea bargain was reached and Ramsey was charged with one count of sexual assault causing bodily harm, three counts of buying sex from a person under 18 and one count of breach of trust.

Outside the courtroom, about 50 aboriginal protesters hurled insults at the former judge as he and his wife left the courtroom.

Missing and Murdered
The Fort Nelson First Nation of northwestern British Columbia put forward a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for the disappearance and murder of community member Loretta Capot-Blanc.

The 31-year-old mother of one was last seen with some friends seven years ago at the Fort Nelson Treaty Days celebration in early August 1997. Her remains were found three weeks later in a shallow grave in a barn.

The cold case is another example of the tragic phenomenon of missing and murdered aboriginal women across Canada. Over the last 30 years more than 500 aboriginal women have disappeared only to be found later slain or not at all.

A national campaign called 'Sisters in Spirit' has been launched by the Native Women's Association of Canada to raise awareness to the plight of murdered aboriginal women.

September

Prairie Gangs Spread Out
The Criminal Intelligence Services Canada said that aboriginal gangs in the prairie provinces has reached crisis proportions in major urban centres, supporting larger, more sophisticated gangs like the Hells Angels in their annual report.

The report said that these gangs are spreading out into smaller cities and rural areas moving on and off reserves recruiting new members.

Released late in August, the report states that aboriginal gangs are present in several urban centres across Canada, particularly in Winnipeg, Regina and Edmonton.

Nationally, the primary gangs are the Indian Posse, Redd Alert, Warriors Syndicate and Native Syndicate, with a number of smaller gangs that frequently form and reform.

Aboriginal gangs are generally involved in street-level trafficking of crack cocaine, cocaine, crystal meth and marijuana. They are also involved in assaults, prostitution, robberies, vehicle thefts, and weapon offenses.

In Winnipeg, the gang scene is dominated by the Manitoba Warriors and the Indian Posse. In Edmonton, there are 12 aboriginal gangs operating in the city with over 400 members and 2,000 known associates. Aboriginal Based Organized Crime has become one of the intelligence services' highest priorities.

October

Report urges action to protect women against violence
A report by Amnesty International said that Canadian officials and police have for too long turned a blind eye to the reprehensible acts of violence perpetrated against aboriginal women in Canada.

In Stolen Sisters: A Human Rights Response to Discrimination and Violence Against Indigenous Women in Canada, the human rights group condemned what it termed the "overt cultural prejudice" and official indifference" that government and police have shown toward the plight of missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada.

The report reveals the appalling state of racial discrimination, cultural prejudice, economic deprivation, social marginalization and government failure in regards to the well being of aboriginal women.

It cites a litany of horrific acts of violence perpetrated against aboriginal women over the last three decades.

The report recommends a number of urgent measures governments should implement for the protection of aboriginal women in Canadian society.

Musqueam oppose land sale
The Musqueam First Nation was in court for three days in late September in an effort to stop the sale of a public golf course to the University of British Columbia by the provincial Liberal government.

The 58-hectare site is located in Point Grey, one of Vancouver's wealthiest neighbourhoods and is pegged at $10 million. It is currently Crown land, leased to the golf club by the province and is subject to the Musqueam First Nations' treaty negotiations under the BC Treaty Commission negotiation process.

The Musqueam are seeking an order to quash the sale as null and void so the land remains Crown land while its final disposition is resolved through treaty negotiations.

The Musqueam say the golf course is part of Musqueam's traditional territory and that the sale was transacted without their consultation and accommodation as required by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Deh Cho seek environmental review of pipeline
The Deh Cho tribal group of the Northwest Territories and the federal government signed a framework agreement in an effort to avoid further delays to the $7 billion Mackenzie Valley Pipeline.

No details about the framework agreement are available because the two parties sighed a non-disclosure clause as part of the agreement.

The Deh Cho seek greater representation on an environmental review panel. The panel was set up by the government in August to oversee the complex environmental assessment of the mega project.

The Deh Cho have filed two court applications to block the review panel's hearings until they get greater representation on the panel. They are the only aboriginal group in NWT who have not completed a land claim in NWT and the only froup that have not signed on to the pipeline deal.

The proposed pipeline will pump more than one billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Mackenzie Valley delta and has been on the drawing board since the early 1970's.

Twassassen wins $47-million deal
The Twassassen First Nation and the Vancouver Port Authority signed an unprecedented $47 million deal that compensates the Twassassen for three decades of adverse environmental impacts and clears the way for future development.

The deal resolves a three-year legal battle between the band, the port authority and related government entities involved in the development and operation of the port.

It also establishes a wide-ranging 25-year business partnership between the band and the port authority, providing much-needed long and short term jobs for the First Nation. It also provides port-related business and investment opportunities.

The agreement removes a major obstacle to the port authority's plan to expand the existing Deltaport container terminal.

The Band has also agreed to support the transfer of certain provincial land and water lots to the port authority needed for the expansion of the facilities.

The agreement also stipulates that the port authority will provide $4 million in construction contracts.