Posts By: First Nations Drum

By Shauna Lewis

Just 19 years old, Nadine McMillan possessed youth and the potential to turn her life around. Today, all that is left of McMillan are the memories her family and friends choose to share with others; memories of a life that ended in violence on the cold dark streets of Vancouver’s notorious lower eastside. Dragged across the Hasting viaduct by her hair, and seen being forced into a vehicle by two unknown males; the young woman’s body was found the next day in a downtown apartment.

Cara Ellis was a bright and attractive woman, with black curly hair and big brown eyes. A good joke-teller and writer, Ellis was said to have kept many journals. Sadly, Ellis will never have the opportunity to write the ending to her life story; allegedly, a pig farmer did it for her.

For Ann-Marie Livingston, her sister Florence was the pride of her life. As children, the two First Nations women simultaneously lived through what no children should have to. Born into a dysfunctional family affected by residential school abuse; Ann-Marie and her sister were repeatedly raped and beaten by priests and male family members. With only each other to lean on for emotional support, Ann-Marie is now forced to find comfort elsewhere, as she decides a final resting place for her sister’s remains.

Told to a small community hall full of people on February 14, these personal stories are just a sample of what has, and will continue to happen to women living on the cold, dark streets of Vancouver’s eastside if issues continue to be overlooked by those in power.

On a day when most people declare their love through gifts of flowers and chocolate, approximately 300 people made their way to the downtown eastside to show their love and support in a different way. Piling into the Carnegie Center’s small meeting area; family, friends and a concerned and supportive public, gathered for a day of respect, remembrance, and recognition for the murdered and missing women of the downtown eastside.

The 14th one of its kind, the annual women’s march provides a public platform for family and friends to find support in each other, while discussing social issues that need changing. With focus placed squarely on the issue of authoritative liability, the word ‘accountability’ was repeated throughout the day.

Maggie Gisle, former drug addict and citizen of the eastside, is a single mother of two and the coordinator of a safety and self-care group for women of the area. She urges Vancouverites to open their eyes to the on-going social marginalization facing citizens of the lower eastside.

“Where is community accountability? Where is the public accountability of providing better healthcare?” Advising the public to stand up to what she calls government sanctioned “band-aid solutions,” Gisle is frustrated with the public’s lack of pro-activity. “Where is the public outcry? If you don’t like what you see down here, then change it,” stated Gisle.

More government and police action needed
The lack of responsibility at the hands of both the government and the Vancouver police department was also of major concern. Ernie Crey, brother of murdered woman Dawn Crey and member of the United Native Nations Society of BC, focused his attention on the detrimental elimination of much-needed resources for those who call the Vancouver streets ‘home.’

Crey approached Doug Kelly, active member of the Chief’s Health Committee and representative of the First Nations Summit, urging him to do whatever he could to force government to address the cries of the lower eastside. In a speech Kelly said that he plans to organize a meeting with federal and provincial officials in departments including Health Canada, BC Ministry of Children and Families and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.

He stressed the importance of women’s role in society: “It’s only the women that can give life. Women are the first teachers, and because of that powerful obligation and gift from the creator, society-men in particular- have to respect our woman.”

Further thoughts and comments concerning the role of the Vancouver police department, were echoed by Maggie DeVries, sister of Sarah De Vries and author of Missing Sarah, a book that highlights the life and tragic death of a women living in Vancouver’s downtown eastside.

“I’m feeling more and more that the problems… between this community and the Vancouver Police department are at the root of so many of the terrible, terrible problems that exist.” Sadly, DeVries admits that while she has no concrete solution that will fix the issues, she knows that change must occur, “or else women are going to continue to die.”

This is how we live
Following the speeches, a large group of participants took to the streets, forcing passersby to take a closer look at the realities facing Vancouver’s homeless and drug addicted. Adorned in a tradition Northwest coast button blanket and marching with others who pulsated like lifeblood through Vancouver’s arterial streets, ex-prostitute and drug addict Anita Hautk blames the system for laws that fail to address a larger social problem.

“You can’t just illegalize people. Right now homelessness is illegal, how can that be? If homelessness is illegal, then it must be illegal to be evicted, it must be illegal to be refused housing in any area for any reason.”

When asked who these women were – beyond their tragic circumstances – one resident of said: “These women were somebody’s daughter, somebody’s sister, somebody’s aunt, somebody’s mother; these women were all somebody who somebody loved.”

The love that Ernie Crey, and others, possess for their murdered sisters, daughters, mothers and aunts, is one that was/is unconditional. “Sometimes there are things out there that appear at first glance to be stronger than love,” confessed Crey. “But it’s only temporary, because in the end the love we felt, and continue to feel for our sister, is stronger than anything down here on the downtown eastside.”

By Jackie Humber

Miss Viviane Sandy is a member of the Sushwap Chilcotin Nation. She is originally from Williams Lake now living in Vancouver. She is a grandmother, a Native American Church member in good standings; and she is an elder.

She and her community are deeply saddened by the recent news of the killing of bald eagles in North Vancouver. She has a message for the young men who took part in the terrible act:

Viviane”I want to call on these young men to come forward and do the right thing. There’s a big price to pay with the spirit world. The families get affected also and I want these young men to think about their families and come forward,” said Miss Sandy.

According to Miss Sandy, there is no such thing as an apology in the Native tradition as you must take responsibility for your actions. However, Miss Sandy apologizes anyway:

“For the eagles to be found in the territories surrounding Vancouver and the community we live in – that threatens our relationships. I put my hands up to the surrounding territories and apologize for what these young men have done. It doesn’t seem like
enough. It was like someone from my own family was killed. The eagle is our grandfather,” said Miss Sandy.

Miss Sandy wants the young men who took the eagles apart to know that she and others know who they are. “Some of the guys are Native American Church members. They can come forward but it may not save them. But it will help,” said Miss Sandy.

In the Native tradition when an eagle is killed or its life taken without completing its work, then the spirit of that eagle must be taken care of; just as a human being.

According to Miss Sandy, many eagles have been killed. “It is devastating to know that the lives of more than 200 eagles were taken. I want to call on the young men who were involved in the killing, the preparation and the selling for profit,” said Miss Sandy.

Miss Sandy confirmed that some of the young men felt guilty and turned themselves in to the elder women in the community. The elder women then spoke with the chief and council who told the Vancouver police.

Miss Sandy said a man living in Vancouver at that time was responsible for the organizing and the killing of the eagles. He then hired other men to take apart the eagles.

“Men from Vancouver Island, Alberta, Saskatchewan and further were involved. The guy that did all the killings and hirings is a Native American Church member. He ran away to the States,” said Miss Sandy.

The Eastside Native community known as Rez has spent many years working to develop a relationship with the surrounding traditional territories. Miss. Sandy stated they have worked hard to have access to resources to help the youth and elders dealing with addictions through their traditional songs and dances.

“We’ve worked hard with the Squamish, Burrard, Musqueam and Capilano peoples. They’ve helped us in our healing process,” said Miss Sandy.

Miss Sandy is still hoping the young men responsible will turn themselves in. “Come forward. Think about your families and take responsibility,” said Miss Sandy.

By Shauna Lewis

“Some will tell you what you really want ain’t on the menu.
Don’t believe them. Don’t believe them.
Cook it up yourself and then prepare to serve them, to serve them.
They don’t know. They don’t know what you have in your heart.
They only care what you have in your wallet.
They don’t know what you have to contribute.”
~Buffy Sainte-Marie
Talking Stick Festival, UBC First Nations House of Learning
March 14, 2005

BuffyAt this year’s weeklong Talking Stick Festival in Vancouver, which celebrates Aboriginal arts and artists, Buffy Sainte-Marie took to the University of British Columbia’s First Nations House of learning stage on March 14 to the delight of Elders, students, youth and other members of the public.

Rather than sing, Buffy, whose timeless song Universal Soldier was recently indicted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, spoke to the artists and educators of the 21st century.

“There is trouble in our time,’ said Buffy. “The world of commerce is so unfair to artists that you have to understand it going in. It might not make it any fairer to understand it, but it might keep your heart from getting broken.”

While Buffy says that she is not against commerce, she is very much for the content of which commerce looks to ‘pimp’ or ‘coin.’

“The content is you and me, it’s the arts. We are more than just something to be exploited,” declared the passionate artist. “Medicine is medicine before you ever share it with another person, let alone take it on stage and pimp it for an audience.”

Describing the inherently organic nature of the artistic persona, Buffy accredited her creative spirit to a childlike innocence. “Most of us when we grow up, we continue growing away from who we really are. If you take any children to the beach and they make a sculpture- nobody will call it sculpture, they’ll call it sandcastles. They’ll make dramas- nobody will call it drama because that’s an adult word. The creative mind is given to all of us by the creator,” said Buffy.

Educating a global audience
Recently Buffy has added ‘online educator’ to her long list of roles. Her newest baby – the cradleboard project – is something that excites the Saskatchewan-born Cree. Through her extensive travels around the world, Buffy has come to realize just how uninformed global citizens are in regard to the Indigenous peoples of North American.

“People wanted to know Aboriginal people. People in Paris and Rome and China- they wanted to know about us.”

Born out of a scholarship foundation for Native American education, the cradleboard project is an online teaching tool providing both non-Native and Native students with information in regard to the social history and geography of Indigenous North Americans. Inspired by a fourth grade field trip to the Natural History museum, Buffy recalls how her teacher wanted the class to ‘go see the Indians.’ “There we were, dead and stuffed next to the dinosaurs. That’s what I saw when I was a kid. That’s why I’m an educator,” said Buffy.

Asserting that anger is unproductive and that education, life and art “flow into one another,” Buffy Sainte-Marie’s remedy for cultural ignorance is truthful enlightenment. While Buffy insists that the artistic soul is a direct gift from the creator and not something one can learn in college; she also understands that knowledge is a tool that can help to eradicate historically established stereotypes.

Following her talk at the First Nations House of Learning, First Nations Drum had a chat with the acclaimed artist.

FND: “What advice would you give to the youth and adults pursuing their dream in music, dance, drama, painting and writing? What advice do you give to those artists struggling financially and struggling on their career paths?”

BSM: “Well I can’t tell you how to get rich, but I can tell you how to be happy. Whether you’re being rich or poor, if you’re an artist keep your nose on the joy-trail. Just like a dog, keep your nose sniffing joy-looking for joy- because your gonna need it if your broke. I can’t tell you how to get rich, but for me what I deal with is how to appreciate yourself as an artist and it happens before you try to go commercial. So I would say, ‘don’t quit your day job’, be an artist and don’t expect to pimp the sacredness of art.”

FND: “Let’s talk about that notion of ‘pimping’ your art. I have often wrestled with the notion that I love to write’, but I have always felt like I was selling myself through making a profit from what I love to do. Maybe that’s ridiculous?”

BSM: “Well I don’t feel that way myself. For me the real healing comes to me in many stages- when I first get the idea, when I first hear the song, when I play with it for a couple of days. I mean, it just gets better and better. It’s just like raising a child and every day is different. For God sakes appreciate it every time you know. Enjoy it! I think it’s terrific if other people take a song like Universal Soldier, Until Its Time For You To Go, or Up Where We Belong, and bring it into their own lives and sing it in a different way- oh what an honor! But it’s not the same honor as the honor of first hearing it in your head.”

FND: “What do you do for writer’s block? Do you get it?”

BSM: “No, because I don’t think like that. I write like I dream. I don’t write because somebody gives me a deadline. So the only times when I have been in that position has been in movie scoring. I don’t put myself in the position of total prostitution of somebody else’s demand.”

Artist, visionary, animal lover and forthright earth mother, Buffy’s new projects and ideas prove that she is steadfast in her quest to not only ‘serve up’ some public recognition of the arts, but to encourage everyone to celebrate and nurture the creative spirit that resides in the hearts of artists.

By Lloyd Dolha

Regardless of the availability of resources for progressive action to address the “shameful conditions” faced by Canada’s First Nations, aboriginal issues have fallen off the federal budget priority list despite a federal surplus of almost $9 billion.
In his speech releasing this year’s budget, federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, acknowledged that “for too long in too many ways, Canada’s aboriginal people – our first citizens – have been last in terms of opportunity for this county.”

In responding to the finance minister’s speech, AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine said, “this budget will condemn our people to last place for a lot longer. The prime minister’s commitment to transformative change must be backed up by real investments and a real effort to work together to fix a broken system that’s holding us back.”

Released on February 23, the 2005 federal budget contained modest amounts for urgent needs such as increased housing on reserves and education. In the area of health, some First Nations programs received substantial cuts.

The 2005 budget offers only $295 million nationally for native housing or 6,400 new units over five years, despite a backlog need of some 35,000 new homes.

In the area of health, the federal budget actually moves away from sustainable First Nations health systems. Most notable is a $27 million cut in non-insured health benefits over the next three years. And the phasing out of $36 million in investments in First Nations Health information services.

Another $75 million of previously announced $400 million in funding for upstream investments and enhancement programming has been reassigned as renewal funding for the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative.

The cuts to aboriginal health care fly in the face of a $700 million commitment over the next five years made last fall by the prime minister to address the growing crisis in aboriginal health. The budget contained no plan on how that money would be spent.
Out of the overall $5 billion set out nationally for early learning and child care, only $100 million was set aside for First Nations over the next five years.

In the area of alternative dispute resolution for residential school survivors, the budget has committed $40 million in funding, but takes no measures to make alternative dispute resolution more cost effective of results-oriented. Former students of the residential school system – alleging physical and sexual abuse as well as loss of language and culture – have filed more than 13,000 lawsuits. Only 15 percent of these cases have been resolved.

Canada’s record unmatched
And remember the money is there. Canada recorded its eighth consecutive balanced budget in 2004-05 and continues to set aside an annual reserve of $3 billion. The federal budget boasts of an economic record that is “unmatched” in the world-leading Group of Seven economies.

The amounts set aside for First Nations pale in comparison to the billions planned for a revamped military, the rebuilding of Canadian cities and Kyoto Accord commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Federal officials have been meeting with First Nations leaders for months since last September’s roundtable discussions, drafting proposals on a wide range of issues and priorities.

Next fall a national summit meeting between aboriginal leaders and federal ministers is scheduled to take place, where First Nations leaders expect to see some major funding commitments on critical issues such as housing and health care.

“The budget seems to postpone any real action on the crisis conditions facing our citizens until the First Ministers meeting in the fall of 2005 which has been sold as the culmination to the Canada-Aboriginal Peoples Roundtable process,” said the national chief.

“We brought our best ideas and our best experts to these roundtable sessions and participated in good faith with the goal of making progress, not postponing progress.”

Two-Spirited and Multifaceted
By Shauna Lewis

Aboriginal singer, dancer, storyteller, filmmaker, government official, activist and humanitarian Duane Ghastant’Aucoin, creator of independent films including Children of the Rainbow (2003) and Chez D’s (2004), is the quintessential 21st century Renaissance man.

Aucoin, who currently shares a basement suite in Vancouver’s east side with roommates and fellow actors, friend Lorne and Chi-Chi the cat, is a rising star in both the Aboriginal and gay community. With many arts achievement awards under his belt, and a cameo role in a commercial on APTN announcing next week’s Vancouver Aboriginal film festival, of which the Yukon born filmmaker will be exhibiting his works, Aucoin is refreshingly down-to-earth for someone in the spotlight.

Being a Leo, Aucoin is the first to justify his inherent love of the limelight, however, the Tlingit filmmaker knows when people are in the profession for the wrong reasons, and asserts that simply “making a difference” is his biggest reward.

Born in Whitehorse, to a Tlingit mother and French Acadian father, Aucoin is no stranger to diversity.

“I always knew I was physically different. As a child I would avoid going out in the sun so I wouldn’t tan as much,” confessed the now self-assured artist who admits that such bi-racially induced embarrassment was a residual result of his mother’s time in residential school.

Today, rather than shame, Duane shows empathy for his people. “To be ashamed of who you are, and having no control over what your ethnic background is…My god! No wonder there is so much dysfunction in the Aboriginal community right now.”

Not growing up on the reservation, and admitting that he was far removed from any early cultural affiliation, Aucoin’s life transformed dramatically when his parents separated and he moved back to his mother’s community of Teslin. Through exposure to various cultural celebrations and festivities, Aucoin consequently forged a connection to his culture.

“The drums woke up the Tlingit spirit in me,” Aucoin confessed, “and it hasn’t gone to sleep since.”

What initially set out to be a temporary move for Aucoin, turned into an eight-year relocation – one that he would later call a personal and cultural ‘rebirth.’ During another brief stint in Whitehorse before finally relocating to Vancouver with his two young cousins, Aucoin joined a First Nations theater production group and began his career in the entertainment industry.

Influenced by his mother’s strength, Prince’s sexuality, and the purity of love shared with his partner Rob, Aucoin is grateful to all those who has touched his life. While there are many individuals who have helped Duane’s along his journey, it was his contemporary and friend Alex Archie, who passed away from HIV/AIDS in 2003, which gave him the tools to illuminate and celebrate the two-spirited world.

Take a hearty dose of camp humor, a sprinkling of jest, a tidbit of resentment, and a generous heaping of cultural reverence, and you have a recipe for artistry that is both forthright and unapologetic. With titles like ‘Queer as Chief’, ‘Bobby the Social Worker Slayer,’ and ‘Sex & the Rez,’ one can’t help but want to know more about Aucoin and his work.

Rather than attack ignorance with ignorance, Aucoin plays on the typical Aboriginal stereotypes and homosexual stigmas in an attempt to shock and consequently deconstruct set social constructs. Combining film with live stage performance, Aucoin is the first to admit that his storyline can get a bit emotional at times.

“I like taking the audience down,” Aucoin confesses, “but I don’t like leaving them there…I’m not that cruel.”

A self-professed activist who “stands up to any form of ‘isms,’ Aucoin is all about fundamental freedom and equality. With films that ultimately force individuals to loosen the proverbial noose of westernized conformity and question the rationality of the ultra-conservative world, it’s safe to say that the 21st century Renaissance man is Postmodern after all.

By Natasha Netschay Davies

A Vancouver filmmaker has released nine documentaries that feature Native artists, tackle First Nations issues and explore spirituality.

The made-for-television films were inspired by stories that “haunted” producer and director Richard Hersley. “The First Nations spirit has bubbled in my blood for quite some time now – a lone eagle in the naked winter tree – and it has touched my heart. I want to tell stories about this spirit and this doorway into a wisdom, a simplicity and a belief that may someday create the road that many people may follow.”

The topics of the award-winning films include politics, land history, family, health and art. Whose Land is This? and Making Treaties deal with First Nations’ relationship to the Canadian governments regarding land settlements, and a detailed look into the current modern treaty process. Native Women: Politics gives voice to several of the nation’s Aboriginal female leaders and their take on issues such as rebuilding a balanced self-government. An examination of the Indian Act and Bill C31 demonstrate their consequences on Native women.

The film closest to Hersley’s heart is The Medicine Wheel. “The film is the closest to the very nature of native spirituality today. It was the film that went “inside” native thought and even a few native secrets and allowed me to grab on to and hold a faith and a spiritual warmth.” The film, told in the first person by a Cree woman from Manitoba, includes segments of the Sweat Lodge and Pipe Ceremonies.

The Beat of The Drum takes both a poetic and philosophical look at the Native culture’s most important musical instrument. A traditional Native saying: “The drum is the heartbeat of mother earth; to beat the drum is to match the heartbeat,” introduces the profiles of four popular Native singers, songwriters and actors including Chuck Sam, Sandy Scofield, Jerry Alfred and Renae Morriseau. Each performer shares the inspiration behind their work, and what they hope to give back to their communities.

Other films include a look into the sad truth behind the residential school experience and the effects it had on their students; a report on the growing rate of breast cancer amongst Native women; and a program that explores why 45% of children in care are Native.

After working in mainstream television for many years, Hersley’s mind was “clouded with commercial appeal.” As he began to work on these Native-focused films, he began to see that others were searching for something different, just like he was. “A group of people that is native and non-native alike. A group that is learning to take the best of the best of what spirituality has to offer. A group of people that is interested in learning what we can from the wisdom and vision of First Nations thought and spiritual beliefs.”

The previously televised films are available to individuals, schools and libraries. To find out how you can access them visit www.motionvisual.com and click on First Nations Films or call 604-318-5418.

By Lloyd Dolha

Hopes of avoiding further delays in the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline project are fading fast as it looks almost certain that lawsuits concerning aboriginal involvement in the review of the multi-billion dollar project will go to trial.

The Deh Cho First Nations of the Northwest Territories met with the federal government on February 8 to discuss when the lawsuits will be ready to go to trial.

Last September, the Deh Cho filed the two lawsuits looking for a greater role in the environmental assessment of the pipeline.

Negotiators for the Deh Cho and the federal government have been trying to reach an out-of-court settlement to accommodate Deh Cho concerns.

Those talks “may have hit bottom,” said Deh Cho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian. Norwegian has instructed his lawyers to step up the pace of legal action. Last month, when it appeared a settlement was close, legal counsel for the Deh Cho requested an adjournment of a court hearing on the lawsuits.

But federal negotiators have rejected a Deh Cho demand for their own land and water
board to monitor the project in their last meeting.

The two parties have been negotiating under a framework agreement signed in early November last year. A non-disclosure clause has left other parties in the dark of the specifics.

The dispute stems from last August’s appointment of a seven-member joint review panel to oversee the complex environmental assessment of the mega-project.

The panel includes representatives of the federal government, NWT First Nations and the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Review Board.

The Deh Cho say they need greater representation on the review panel because their First Nations are the only group in the territories whose interests in lands and resources are not protected by a comprehensive land claim.

In applications filed in the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories and the Federal Court of Canada, the Deh Cho allege that they have been unfairly excluded from the review panel process and the two applications ask the courts to block its hearings until their concerns are addressed.

The 4,500 mostly Dene members of the Deh Cho cover virtually all the southwest corner of the territories. Fully 40 per cent of the proposed12,000-kilometre route of the pipeline would run through Deh Cho traditional territory.

The Deh Cho is also the only aboriginal group who have not signed onto the pipeline project through the Aboriginal Pipeline Group.

The APG represents a one-third ownership of the pipeline to the Acho Dene, the Gwich’in, the Sahtu and the Inuvaluit. These groups have already negotiated impact/benefit agreements, are assured long-tern training and jobs, as well as a host of other benefits.

APG has already borrowed $80 million to participate in the project definition phase of the pipeline and require $1 billion in financing for its one-third share of the pipeline.

Major oil companies represented in the Mackenzie Delta Producer’s Group have already spent hundreds of millions in preliminary engineering and environmental studies, and will be spending more on the preparation of applications necessary for the pipeline.

Final approval was expected to take at least two years with the pipeline in full production by 2009, but the Deh Cho have extended that timeline considerably.

If the dispute isn’t settled in the near future, the Producers Group will have to re-evaluate the benefits and costs of the project.

By Lloyd Dolha

A North Shore resident found the mutilated remains of more than 20 bald eagles near the Raven Woods condominium project on the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation (formerly known as the Burrard Band), in North Vancouver.

Julie Bryson-McElwee walked her dog on February 2 when she spotted four dead bald eagles. Looking further, she discovered the remains of three more.

Conservation officials gathered a total of 18 eagle carcasses later that day. They returned the following day and found another eight eagle heads.

Aboriginal leaders from the First Nation expressed their disgust and resentment at inferences of their involvement in the grisly incident.

The eagles’ wing and tail feathers were mostly gone and their talons were cut off.

“Whoever did this is not familiar with Tsleil-Wauth traditions,” said Leonard George, chief negotiator for the First Nation. “Our people honour the eagle. We honour its spirit through our ceremonies, our crests, our stories and our songs. Coast Salish culture, all First Nations’ culture teaches us to respect nature.”

Chie Maureen Thomas said that the Tsleil-Waututh community is in shock over the incident. Thomas called on all members of the First Nation and local residents of the North Shore to come forward with any relevant information that may assist in the investigation.

She also said that the First Nation will cooperate with law enforcement and wildlife officials to help identify and prosecute the persons responsible for the horrific crime against nature.

Bald eagles are not considered an endangered species but are protected by the British Columbia Wildlife Act. It is illegal to hunt or possess bald eagles and violators face fines of up to $50,000.

Each fall, thousands of eagles gather on lower mainland riverbanks to feed on spawning salmon.

“This is a tragic occurrence,” said Leah George, director of Treaty, Lands and Resources, for the First Nation. “It saddens us to see such a blatant display of disrespect and cruelty. It appears these animals were killed for their claws and tail feathers, and then dumped near our community. Unfortunately for us, their actions may be interpreted by some people as reflective of aboriginal people.”

The investigation into the tragic incident continues. Eagle remains are highly prized by all First Nations people and conservation officials usually give any dead eagles found in the wild to local First Nations.

By Lloyd Dolha

A new Internet-based system for acquiring title to mineral and placer claims in British Columbia has raised the hackles of at least one northern First Nation in the province.

“This unprecedented allocation of mineral exploration rights to third parties involving our traditional territory causes us great concern,” said Chief Leonard Thomas, of the Nak’azdli First Nation.

Announced by the Ministry of Energy and Mines in January, Mineral Titles Online is a Web-based mineral tenure administration system that is accompanied by an Internet-based map selection process for acquiring mining claims 24 hours a day, seven days a week from any computer with Internet access.

MTO went fully operational online on January 12, and is the latest step in the provincial government’s strategy to further streamline administration in the mining claims process in an effort to boost mining investment in the province.

Within a week of its launch, the tenure web site received more than two and a half million hits and registered 3,110 claims.

The launch of MTO was preceded by amendments to the Mineral Tenure Act and regulations that eliminated more than 300 regulatory requirements.

As a result of provincial efforts to streamline the regulatory process and rising commodity prices, exploration spending in mining has taken off in the last few years.
In 2001, exploration spending in BC was $29 million. By 2003, it more than doubled to $63 million. Forecasts now suggest that in 2004 mineral exploration could run as high as $120 million.

The unprecedented staking of claims on traditional territories subject to aboriginal claims has First Nations doubting the provincial government’s duty to consult and accommodate First Nations concerns as recently highlighted by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Haida and Taku River Tlingit decisions.

“It’s pretty clear to me that the provincial government is neither respecting the spirit or direction of the Supreme Court of Canada in its recent Haida and Taku rulings,” said Chief Thomas.

“The court stated that the honour of the Crown commits the government to consult with us whenever it has knowledge of an activity that could impact our aboriginal title and rights. Essentially, the government has burdened our traditional territory with numerous third party claims without carrying through on its duty to consult and possibly accommodate us.”

The Nak’azdli traditional territory has been over-run by online claims, with one claim alone reported to be 1,200 square kilometres in size, just north of the First Nations’ village near Fort St. James.

Chief Thomas said that the provincial government is creating undue strain on their time and resources by constantly forcing the First Nation to monitor their territory against provincial infringements, taking valuable energy from other priorities.

“Because this online scheme operates on a provincial scale, I think all BC First Nations will want to respond to it,” said Chief Thomas. “As it is, I think the program is legally suspect and should not go unchallenged.”

Pat Bell, minister of state for mining said mineral title staking system is not infringing on the level of aboriginal consultation or has any impact on the level of aboriginal consultation.

Bell explained that the appropriate time for consultation is when activities are about to take place on the land and doesn’t take place until a notice of work is given to the ministry.

By Lloyd Dolha

The BC Court of Appeal has suspended the $10 million sale of the UBC golf course by the BC Liberal government for a two-year period because of a “flawed” consultation process with the Musqueam First Nation.

“It’s a great victory,” said Musqueam Chief Ernie Campbell. “It’s unfortunate we had to go to court to get them to negotiate. It’s pretty frustrating. We shouldn’t have to go through this.”

The three judges ruled that the provincial government had breached its constitutional duty to consult and accommodate the Musqueam’s aboriginal title rights in authorizing the sale. They concluded that the Musqueam are entitled to a new “meaningful consultation process in order that avenues of accommodation could be explored” because the Crown’s past consultation process was “flawed.”

Last May, the provincial Liberal government authorized the sale of the 58-hectare golf course located in the high-end Point Grey area adjacent to the university. Under that arrangement, the Crown lands in question would become private lands thus removing them from the treaty negotiation process. The lands had previously been under lease to the university.

In recognizing the province’s breach of its constitutional duty owed to the Musqueam, the Court of Appeal suspended the authorization of the sale of land for a period of two years in order to provide the parties the opportunity to reach a negotiated settlement. Failing an agreement, the Musqueam are free to bring the matter back before the courts to force UBC’s hand to transfer the land back to the provincial Crown.

Moreover, the Court of Appeal specifically found that the duty owed to the Musqueam by the provincial Crown “tended to the more expansive end of the spectrum” (of consultation) and acknowledged that the Crown “conceded the Musqueam had a prima facie case for title over the golf course land …”

“The judge said there has to be expansive consultations, not just offer us little tidbits,” said Campbell.

With this in mind, the Musqueam are eager to begin discussions with the province regarding what the appeal court termed a “wide field” of “accommodative solutions” as well as the development of land protection measures with regard to Crown-held lands within Musqueam traditional territory with the goal of repatriating some portion of their territory.

The First Nations Summit, the body representing the approximate two-thirds of the province’s First Nations negotiating modern-day treaties, applauded the court’s decision.

“The legal ground has shifted in very significant and constructive ways,” said Grand Chief Ed John. “It’s important that the courts have pushed the Crown and First Nations to work together towards a fair and just agreements.”

Casino deal next on agenda
Chief Campbell said the outcome of the golf course case would be of help to the Musqueam in their legal challenge against the city of Richmond over the construction of the River Rock Casino Resort.

In that case, the Musqueam argue that the city of Richmond did not adequately consult the First Nation before approving the massive casino complex.

Campbell believes the city of Richmond and the BC Lottery Corporation fast-tracked the casino project “without proper regard” for the procedures and requirements outlined in the Gaming Control Act.

“They didn’t do the proper consultation. They already had the deal done and the construction begun before we even found out,” said Campbell.

The River Rock Casino is the largest in the province with 1,000 slot machines, 90 gaming tables and a resort hotel. The site is one of the few remaining parcels of Crown land that falls within the traditional territory of the Musqueam.

Interestingly, in the UBC golf course case, the court observed that the UBC golf course land “is not the only tract of land in the lower mainland that is provincial property …” and that “having regard to the wish of the appellant [Musqueam] to obtain … an enhanced land base as well its desire to pursue a land settlement … the parties should be afforded a wide filed for consideration of appropriate accommodative solutions.”

If the court rules in favour of the First Nation, some kind of compensation should be forthcoming. The compensation should be exceptional considering the casino’s annual revenue estimates are up to $185 million.

“I believe it (the UBC case) should help because it’s the exact same thing,” said Campbell.