Topic: 2002

A brilliant star is rising in Canada and his name is Adam Beach.

After shining in Smoke Signals two years ago, last August he entered a new orbit of fame. He began filming with Nicolas Cage in Windtalkers, a $100-million movie directed by John Woo, who was behind the camera of Mission: Impossible II.

“The craze from it,” he says, “was insane.”

In the movie, Beach plays a Navajo code talker in the Second World War who becomes friends with his bodyguard (Cage). He says getting the part happened quickly. A call came, he flew to Los Angeles, read for the producer and three days later met with Woo.

“That was it.”

Although he speaks Saulteaux, he learned Navajo for the part. And on the set he was getting lessons from an acting coach. He was told not to smile so much, but it’s hard to hide his happy nature.

It’s the first formal training he will have had since he started in the business at age 16. He learned on the job and relied on instinct to give his comic and touching performance in Smoke Signals and for his powerful roles in The Last Stop, and Dance Me Outside.

Orphaned at age 7
Beach’s journey toward stardom has been awesome. A Saulteaux born on the Dog Creek reserve north of Lake Winnipeg, Beach, 27, was orphaned at age seven when his mother was killed by a drunk driver and his father drowned two months later.

He was taken in by an uncle and aunt for the next five years, then moved in with another uncle and aunt, who adopted him and raised him in Winnipeg.

Now living in Ottawa with his wife and two sons, aged 4 and 2, Beach talks openly about the hardships of his childhood.

“I will always have that reflection to the past: the hurt and pain and anger. But I’ve learned to overcome it with love for people, love of myself and to achieve my goal of being the greatest actor I can be ‹ not the greatest ‹ but within myself to become a good actor.”

“Now I’m in the position to go: What mountain am I climbing now? There’s no stereotype. I am who I am.”

Along with Windtalkers, Beach starred in a comedy with David Spade and Christopher Walken. In The Adventures of Joe Dirt, Spade plays “a young, white trash guy” who wants to find out whether his parents really died or whether they abandoned him as a baby.

Beach is enlisted by Spade as his Indian tracker. Beach says his character tries to make a living by selling fireworks but they’re cheap fireworks and he and Spade blow up a lot of stuff.

A proud stereotype
Beach talks head-on about the perception by some people that he might end up playing stereotyped native roles.

“I am Indian. I am Saulteaux. I’m native. I am aboriginal, whatever word they have. That’s who I am and I’m not letting anybody use that in a negative way. When people say, ‘Adam, do you feel you’re stereotyped in a film?’ I say, ‘No, because I am Indian. I am proud of who I am.’

When I’m doing an Indian running in the woods, I am proud of doing that because that is a part of our life. When I’m playing an Indian cop trying to solve a murder, I am an Indian cop and I’m proud of who I am. So, stereotype to me? There’s no stereotype. I am who I am.”

While on the edge of potential international stardom, Beach already has mapped out his retirement. He says he’ll act another 20 years and then get into politics. For now, he goes into schools to speak to native children, trying to show them by example that dreams can be achieved.

Native youth don’t give a damn about land claims
Beach’s dream is to take the small organizations across Canada that are trying to create a positive awareness for native people, especially the youth, and gather them under an umbrella group to make them stronger.

“They’ve been taught to fight for the biggest piece of pie among themselves,” he says passionately, with growing frustration in his voice. He wants to create an environment in which they would share resources and power more equitably.

He’s disgusted with both the federal government and native leadership, but he’s particularly impatient with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) for not paying more attention to aboriginal youth.

“About 70 per cent of the native population is under 25 years of age and nobody is doing anything to support that. They’re attempting to keep the younger generation under control. There’s the whole structure that’s been built over the years, of land claims, that just doesn’t work anymore.”

He says the young native generation doesn¹t give a damn about land claims. He thinks it would be better to delay settling because when the younger people come of age they “will be 50 times more educated” than their elders and could get better deals.

Back to school
In the next few years, Beach wants to work on his own education ‹ he quit school while in Grade 11 to act ‹ and get a degree in political science. He is at times poetic in his speech, with moments of lightning clarity and away from a tape recorder he is a natural speaker.

But when he talks in a situation where he thinks what he’s saying counts, as in an interview, he knows he sometimes struggles to find the right word. He’s bothered by that, by what he sees as a limitation, and is determined to learn how to express himself better.

“I want to be, not a grand chief, but I want to be able to be a guy with a voice, which I already have with the (native) youth across Canada.”

He wants to use the voice his fame has given him to push for change from the “old-school” thinking of organizations like the AFN.

“I feel I’m destined for something, and it’s greater than the acting because the acting is an occupation. I want to push farther and a lot of that pushing is going to be going against the grain.”

Ready for change
But before he walks away from acting he wants to get on a television series to fight negative images of natives. It would be American, of course, because that would expose him to a wider audience.

Canadian shows, such as North of 60, which Beach appeared on, limit themselves, he says. Asked what they need most to improve, he bursts out laughing and answers quickly: “A budget.”

He says he’s made his career by not falling into the “I can’t” way of thinking that holds people back from making their lives happier and more complete. In this next phase of his life, he will likely journey well through the changes he faces by doing what he believes in: “Just following my heart.”

For information on Adam Beach’s upcoming movie roles, visit the Internet Movie Database.

BC Attorney General Geoff Plant tabled the eight questions to be asked in the mail-in referendum ballot on treaty negotiation principles on March 13, in the provincial legislature.

Union of BC Indian Chiefs president Chief Stewart Phillip was quick to denounce the referendum questions as seeking a mandate to perpetuate the same outdated colonial relationship BC First Nations have always had with the provincial government.

“As First Nations we have a unique constitutional relationship with the provincial and federal governments. The referendum questions presented today demonstrate a complete and utter disregard and denial of our constitutional relationship,” said Chief Phillip.

Two million ballots containing the eight questions will be mailed out to the BC electorate beginning April 2, and citzens will have until May 15, to return their ballots.

“In the end, what matters is not how many people vote. It is that people can vote to help shape this future,” Premier Gordon Campbell told the legislature.

That night in an interview on the public affairs talk show Voice of the Province, A.G. Geoff Plant defended the referendum as a conversation directly with the BC electorate. He said that the referendum has nothing to do with trying to undermine constitutionally protected rights.

Plant argued that the referendum will give the BC Liberals a renewed mandate from the people that will help move the treaty process forward. Plant went on to explain that because the referendum is being conducted under the Referendum Act, there has only to be a majority of 50 percent plus one on any question is binding on the government and has to be implemented.

First Nations Summit leader Bill Wilson phoned in to comment, “These people have opened up a house of ill repute … Let’s get on with negotiations, building a better future. For him to say that he thinks he knows what’s best for Indians is simply a repetition of the old assumption that white people know what’s best for Indians.”

Wilson said that all the referendum process is doing is giving racists in the province a legitimate platform to make racist statements.
The First Nations Summit has adopted a strategy developed by the AFN that outlines 12 “direct legal, political and communication action strategies” in a document titled A Communications and Media Approach to the BC Government’s Referendum on Treaty Negotiations.

Tactics include:
-silent vigils outside the homes of prominent politicians and business leaders
-making appearances at meetings of ministers, events, business group conferences, environmental gatherings, cruise ship facilities etc. to hand out brochures and engage people
-set a date to organize rally/march to either the BC cabinet office at Canada Place or other symbolic venue
-identify potential legal challenge to either the treaty referendum, breaking of aboriginal law, breach of good faith negotiations and undertake a public spectacle of filing a writ in court

In a legal analysis, aboriginal rights lawyer Louise Mandell points out that the provincial government lacks the jurisdictional authority to implement the results of the referendum.

First, unextinguished aboriginal title, which is a burden on Crown title, can only be lifted by a treaty with the federal government.

Second, provincial legislative power is limited by the federal government’s exclusive jurisdiction over Indians and lands reserved for them.

Third, the provincial legislative power is limited by the fiduciary relationship between the Crown and aboriginal peoples. In other words, governments must act in the best interests of aboriginal peoples and ensure a fair process if and when aboriginal people enter into a treaty.

“When read in light of the recent court decisions of Taku River Tlingit and the Haida, the Mandell Analysis clearly shows that the province does not have the power to proceed unilaterally with any attempt to implement the results of the referendum.

“Clearly, the referendum questions seek a self-serving mandate to perpetuate an outdated ,economically racist and colonial relationship, of which many features have been repudiated by the courts,” said Chief Phillip.

Proposed treaty referendum questions
Whereas the Government of British Columbia is committed to negotiating workable, affordable treaty settlements that will provide certainty, finality and equality;

Do you agree that the provincial government should adopt the following principles to guide its participation in treaty negotiations?

1. Private property should not be expropriated for treaty settlements.
2. The terms and conditions of leases and licenses should be respected; fair compensation for unavoidable disruption of commercial interests should be ensured
3. Hunting fishing and recreational opportunities on Crown land should be ensured for all British Columbians.
4. Parks and protected areas should be maintained for the use and benefit of all British Columbians.
5. Province-wide standards of resource management and environmental protection should continue to apply.
6. Aboriginal self-government should have the characteristics of local government, with powers delegated from Canada and British Columbia.
7. Treaties should include mechanisms for harmonizing land use planning between aboriginal governments and neighbouring local governments.
8. The existing tax exemptions for aboriginal people should be phased out.

By B.H. Bates

Woman ChiefsIf you’re reading this sentence . . . the title has done its job! And I think I can describe the kind of person you are! Curious, to see if I can? Good, then this paragraph has done its job.

First, you’re one of two types. If the “title” offended you slightly or even made you a little mad; if you answered “yes” to this, I’ll deem you number, “ONE”.

If this “title,” made you grin and want to read on, bless your little ol’ heart, and I’ll call you type “TWO.”

First, type “ONE”, I think you’re a smart, fair minded person. And, as the author of this “title,” I apologize! I’m sorry I had to use such a cheap trick to get you to read this article. But I have a reason, please read on. “TWO”, I hope you are too. Keep on grinning, I’ll get back to you later.

“ONE,” as a fair-minded person, you think, if a woman gets voted into the office of Chief, all the more power to her! Right? You’re a person who has a soft spot for the underdog, the discriminated against. And I’ll just bet you’re the kind of person, which would just love to do something about injustice.

Other traits you might have include – if you love something, (be it a person, pet or cause) you love with all your heart. Which means you know all too well about pain. Right? This pain has made you cautious.

In turn, your decisions are better thought out. But all this inner wisdom has come at a price. Your sense of humor has diminished over the years, as sure as a “Bear does!”

If you didn’t get that (“Bear does”), I’ve proven my point, and you’re definitely a number one. By the way “Bear does,” refers to an old saying . . . “As sure as a bear “CRAPS” in the woods.” (An affirmative) I don’t know where this saying comes from, but other than the bear, who gives a crap? But you’re not totally humorless! Admit it, you couldn’t help but grin a little when you read the word “CRAP.” It’s just one of those funny little words, like “POO, POO” or “TINKLE.”

By now you’re wondering if I’ll ever get around to the issue of “Woman Chiefs.” You want to read something you can disagree with! If you think I’m going to write one word against women being Chief’s, I sense disappointment in your near future. Because, my intent is to provoke thought with my writing – not a fight. And being a type “ONE,” that’s just what you want. Sorry!

Hey, “TWO,” told ya I’d get back to you! So what kind of person are you? I’ll give it a shot. You were clever enough to know what was meant by, “Bear does.” And “CRAP,” had you grinning from ear to ear. And more than likely the word “TINKLE,” had you chuckling out loud. You see humor as a way to let off a little steam, right? You have steam to blow, because you see the realities of the world (according to you). Change is something you’re just not comfortable with. You may or may not say it out loud, but “The good ol’ days,” are something you use to measure today’s issues.

The title (women Chiefs) piqued your interest, because you already had an opinion. More than likely a very strong opinion. You think the issue of women Chiefs is nothing to laugh at, but you do! Again, you use humor as a “safe” way to get across your point of view.

You wish things were the way they used to be, reliable, predictable, and safe. Hell, if you had your way, you’d bring back “Happy Days,” and elect the “FONZ” as Chief. But you have a limited amount of humor, when it comes to the way things are going today. You believe in the wisdom of old time justice. You have a true sense of what’s fair. And you’re willing to back it up! Right? Well, “TWO,” you’re not so different from “ONE.” You both believe strongly in fair play and justice (using your own inner wisdom). Right?

At any point did you think, type “ONE” or “TWO”, was male or female? The truth is, apart from your different sense’s of humor, “ONE” or “TWO”, could be the opinions of either sex. It doesn’t matter if you thought yourself to be a ONE or a TWO! Sorry I had to fool you.

Which brings me to the reason why I wrote such a controversial title as “WHAT’S WITH ALL THE WOMAN CHIEFS?” I wrote it to prove a point . . . It makes no difference if you’re a ONE or a TWO. What should really count is your common sense of justice!

You should vote for a smart, honest person. Someone you trust will represent and protect the interests of the people! The dumbest thing you can do with your vote is, waste it on a popularity contest. The person you elect to Chief should be elected, based on their ability to do the job. Not based on something as silly as, to whether or not they leave the seat up or down!

The Haida Nation formally launched their groundbreaking claim to aboriginal title to the Queen Charlotte Islands/Haida Gwaii, following a ceremony at the First Nations Summit meeting on Wednesday March 6, 2002.

In the Writ of Summons filed by Haida lawyer Terri Lynn Williams Davidson, the Haida are seeking a declaration that the Haida Nation holds aboriginal title over all of Haida Gwaii including the seabed resources of over half of Hectate Strait and 320 kilometres out into the Pacific Ocean.

The legal team is headed by aboriginal rights lawyer Louise Mandell, who successfully argued a legal duty to consult in the Weyerhaeuser case. It is the first aboriginal title lawsuit since the 1997 landmark decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Delagamuukw which found that aboriginal title exists in Canada.

Haida Gwaii is an archipelago of hundreds of islands on the northwest coast of British Columbia that is 300 kilometres long by 85 kilometres at the top in the shape of a rough wedge that comprises roughly 5800 square kilometres.

“Aboriginal title is a compromise for us. We think we can find a way to live with Canada. What we want to do is clarify our relationship with Canada,” said Guujaaw, president of the Haida Nation.

The Haida are also seeking an order quashing all licenses, leases, permits and tenures that are incompatible with aboriginal title and the exercize of aboriginal rights. The Haida also want an accounting of all profits, taxes, stumpage dues, royalties and other benefits acquired by the province and Canada and third parties and are further seeking damages and compensation for what the writ describes as the “Defendant’s unlawful conduct.”

The Haida aboriginal title claim was launched, in part, in reaction to the BC Liberal government’s plan to lift the moratorium on off shore drilling for oil and gas in the waters off the Queen Charlotte Islands.
There has been a federal moratorium on offshore oil and gas for thirty years and a provincial moratorium was put in place in 1989.

The Geographic Survey of Canada estimates there are untapped reserves of oil reserves of 9.8 billion barrels and gas reserves of 29.5 trillion cubic ft.

Guuwjaaw said that the Haida are not totally opposed to off-shore exploration as long as it could be done in an environmentally friendly way. He said that so far, no one has been able to prove that such technology exists to safeguard the waters and coastline of Haida Gwaii.

“We don’t believe offshore oil and gas can be safely obtained – the technology doesn’t exist and we are not prepared to see offshore oil and gas drilling in any waters within a 200 mile limit surrounding Haida Gwaii,” Guujaaw told the Vancouver Sun.

It has long been speculated that only the Haida can meet the test set out in the 1997 Delgamuukw decision because of their geographic isolation.

Guujaaw said the Haida have been working toward the launch of the case for over three years, seeking and gaining the support of the First Nations Summit and the AFN.

The launch of the case came a week after the Haida won a major victory against the province and Weyerhaeuser which found a legal duty to consult the Haida over a tree farm licence. In the BC Court of Appeal’s decision, the court all but admitted that the Haida will win a claim to aboriginal title.

“If my opinion, there is a reasonable probability that the Haida will be able to establish Aboriginal title to at least some parts of the coastal and inland areas of Haida Gwaii,” wrote Justice Lambert.
Of the roughly 5000 residents of Haida Gwaii, about half are non-native and support among non-native residents is growing.

“This case is about respect for the earth and for each other; it is about culture and about life,” said Guujaaw.

A stunning Federal Court ruling has found that the oral history of some 1500 Dene and Cree peoples of northern BC, Alberta, Saskachewan and the Northwest Territories translates into a constitutionally protected treaty right to absolute tax immunity – on reserve or anywhere else.

On March 7, 2002 Federal Court justice Douglas Campbell ruled that : “Any income earned by a member of Treaty 8, regardless of where it is earned is exempt from tax.”

“We were very pleased when we heard that the Federal Court has recognized and affirmed what our elders have been very clear on – that it’s our treaty right not to be taxed,” said Grand Chief Clyde Goodswimmer, of the Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta.

The 175 page decision was rendered following a 35-day trial in Edmonton that involved voluminous documentation and hundreds of expert witnesses. Indeed, Campbell’s ruling provides a detailed account of the negotiation and implementation of 1899 treaty.
In considering the oral evidence of the treaty negotiations, Campbell found that the Crown was understood to have made promises of no taxation to the aboriginal people of the time and it therefore “constitutes an enforceable treaty right.”

“I have found that the Cree and Dene people believed the commisioners promised a tax exemption.” wrote Campbell. In opening northern Alberta for settlement, the government of Canada made promises to the Cree and Dene people of the region. During the negotiation of Treaty 8, the federal Crown assured the signatories that the treaty did not ” open the way to the imposition of any tax” wrote Campbell J.

The ruling is a major victory for Gordon Benoit of the Mikisew Cree Nation, supported by all Treaty 8 First Nations, after a ten year legal battle The legal proceedings, begun by the Benoit family in 1992, grew to include the Athabasca Tribal Council, the Kee Tas Kec Now Tribal Council and the Lesser Slave Indian Regional Council of northern Alberta as plaintiffs against the federal government. The province of Alberta participated as intervenors, as did the Canadian Taxpayers Federation in a limited capacity.

The sweeping decision has huge implications for treaty rights across Canada and is expected to be appealed. Justice Campbell went on to condemn Canada’s “surprisingly negative and disrespectful attitude” toward what he ruled was a constitutional right .
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has denounced the ruling as a “troubling precedent.”

The ruling gives the 40 First Nations of Treaty 8 more extensive tax rights than any Canadian First Nations.

Treaty 8 Political Advisor Jim Badger said, ” This case is truly part of legal history, particularly in the areas of aboriginal and treaty rights. It is about treaty rights and getting our rights affirmed in Canada’s courts – rights that are constitutionally protected. They supercede both federal and provincial legislation that was intended to extinguish and diminish treaty promises.”

The strength of the judgement derives from the 1997 Supreme Court of Canada’s Delgamuukw decision that ruled that the oral tradition of aboriginal peoples be given equal weight as written documentary evidence.

Justice Campbell went so far as to scold the intervening Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) of “unfairly playing the race card to gain publicity.”

He called the CTF’s position “ill-informed, misguided and inflammatory.”

A small group of determined protesters staged a sit-in at the Shuswap Indian band office that escalated into death threats and resulted in Chief Paul Sam’s son, Nicolas Sam (a.k.a. Bubba) being charged with uttering death threats and the granting of a restraining order preventing Nicolas Sam from communicating with protesters Audrey Eugene, three year old grand-daughter Amy Eugene and brother and sister Ted and Marjorie Eugene.

At 11:30 a.m. on Monday February 25, 2002, 11 members of the band office demanding a meeting with Chief Paul Sam and Councillor Alice Sam, the chief’s former wife and a representative of the Department of Indian Affairs to discuss their concerns over financial accountability from the chief who has held office for over 20 years.

The protest was initiated after 90 year-old elder Marceline Stevens went without heat for three days in minus 20 degree weather in the last week of February. With no assistance forthcoming from the band office, the wheelchair-bound elder was forced to spend $700 of her pension cheque to have an electrician fix a broken fuse box.

According to Audrey Eugene, spokesperson for the protesters, while the chief and council met with the protesters that evening, Dean Sam, the chief’s other son and CEO of the Kimbasket Development Corporation, began removing files from the corporation. Alarmed by this development the protesters chained the doors at 7:30 am the following morning after chief and council left following a night of fruitless negotiations.

Unable to break the impasse, Chief Sam sought and gained a court injunction that ordered the protesters to leave the office. On numerous occasions during the stand-off, Bubba Sam, who stands over six feet tall and weighs over 300 lb.s and friends, gathered outside of the chained door shouting death threats to the mostly female protesters inside.

Bubba Sam was formally charged with uttering death threats against Audrey Eugene and grand daughter Amy Eugene and will appear in court on April 23, 2002.

Later, Audrey Eugene recounted several instances of excessive spending by the extended Sam family controlled band office. Two weeks before the protest, the Shuswap band and local businesses sponsored two baseball teams to travel to Australia this summer for a tournament. But on the other hand, the band office refused to give $83 for an off-reserve child for school supplies whose mother is on assistance. Eugene said that the band office sent the chief’s other son down to Las Vegas for a three month bar-tending course that was available at a local community college.

Eugene has started a campaign to oust Chief Sam in this fall’s band election now that the Corbiere decision allows for off-reserve members to vote. She said that prior to 1982, when Chief Sam was first elected, audit reviews sent to INAC, were open to all band members to review.

“This is a reserve in crisis. We want someone from the department (of Indian Affairs) to come in here and take a look at what’s going on,” said Eugene.

The Osoyoos Indian Band is “cautiously optimistic” that a deal can be struck with forest industry giant Weyerhaeuser over an allotment of wood fibre in order to keep its band-owned sawmill operating and divert a major conflict in the woods of the Okanagan Timber Supply Area (TSA).

The Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) has been at odds with Weyerhaeuser over a yearly allotment of 30,000 cubic metres of lodgepole pine promised to the band by Weyerhaeuser.

A briefing document prepared by Chris Scott, Chief Operating Officer for the OIB identifies the problem. On July 23, 2000, the OIB opened a sawmill on band lands in partnership with Bitterroot Valley Forest Products. The mill employs 11 band members with the finished wood exported south to the United States.

The mill was started with the clear understanding that the dry log fibre supply would be made available to the OIB through Weyerhaeuser Canada Ltd. But Weyerhaeuser subsequently reneged on the agreement, refusing to supply the wood fibre. The company pointed to the Ministry of Forests (MOF) for a solution.

The ministry, on the other hand, says that the provincial legislature must provide legislation to allow the fibre supply to be increased, thus allowing Weyerhaeuser to meet the fibre request by the OIB.
At a press conference in Vancouver on February 26, 2002, Chief Louie outlined the problem.

“We have spent the past 14 months negotiating with both Ministry of Forest officials and Weyerhaeuser executives and all that has happened is constant buck passing with neither party willing to actually live up to the promises to us,” said Chief Louie.

“Even the province’s own Job Protection Commissioner has investigated this matter and concluded we do have a viable mill operation worth saving. Yet our mill stands idle and our workers remain unemployed,” said Louie.

The OIB has had a working relationship with Weyerhaeuser since 1995 when the parties signed a Cooperative Working Agreement which, among other things, stipulated the two parties “Jointly identify and develop business and/or commercial opportunities that may arise in the areas of accessing new forest tenures and new processing facilities (emphasis added).

Two years later, on July 2 , 1997, the OIB, the Spallumcheen Indian Band, Weyerhaeuser and Canwood entered into a limited partnership on a forest license for the purposes of harvesting. The OIB created Inkameep Forestry Corp. specifically to hold its interest in the license.

Then on February 28, 2000, the seven forest license holders in the Okanagan Timber Supply Area (TSA), of which Weyerhaeuser was one, signed a Cooperative Forestry Agreement.

The objective of the agreement is to provide licensees with opportunities to advance their interests through new cooperative arrangements with First Nations in the Okanagan TSA.

The general intent of the agreement was that the licenses would surrender part of their allowable annual cut (AAC) to the province for the purposes of Interim Measures Agreements (IMAs) between British Columbia and those First Nations of the Okanagan TSA who enter into IMAs in the context of treaty negotiations.

According to Joe McGinnis, head of forestry operations for the OIB, both MOF and Weyerhaeuser urged the OIB to enter into an IMA to obtain the 30,000 cubic metres of wood fibre.

“They led us to believe that we could achieve an IMA outside of the treaty process. We felt they were trying to force us into a treaty scenario. But the band felt we would be acting outside of our authority as part of the Okanagan Nation Alliance, ” said McGinnis.
McGinnis said that the 14 months of protracted negotiations focussed on that issue.

At the Feb. 28 press conference Chief Louie called on the Campbell government to resolve the growing dispute before the conflict escalates into direct action by band members who feel they have a right to a share of the resources of their traditional territories.

But the province insists that the negotiation of the wood supply be conducted under a treaty process initiative. In other words, the wood fibre supply would be granted in return for the OIB entering the treaty process.

“Every year between Princeton and Okanagan Falls, Weyerhaeuser harvests over 950,000 cubic metres of wood. All we are looking for is access to 30,000 cubic metres of wood,” explained Louie.

“The previous government was focussed on process; the new government said they are focussed on results. It is now time for the provincial government to step up to the plate so we can reach a deal all parties can work with. Otherwise we face the prospect of seeing all forestry operations in the Okanagan Valley affected by this dispute,” said Louie.

In a letter to Forests Minister Mike de Jong, Chief Louie warned to move quickly to avoid the potential shutting down of all non-native forestry operations in the Okanagan Valley.

“As the most business-oriented band in Canada, we hope that the Campbell government has the political will to include First Nations in the economy of BC,” states the letter.

Chief Louie and COO Chris Scott met with de Jong, local MLA Bill Barisoff and Tom Sheldon of MOF the following week and the parties agreed to set up a tri-partite meeting with OIB, Weyerhaeuser and MOF by the end of March.

“British Columbia’s forestry legislation was never designed to allow First Nations direct participation in this sector,” noted Chief Louie.

“However, amending that legislation will take at least 12 months. So, as minister de Jong stated, any interim arrangement will require the cooperation of Weyerhaeuser. It is for that reason that Minister de Jong has agreed to set up another meeting by the end of March that will include Weyerhaeuser.

Forestry operations manager for OIB Joe McGinnis noted that a review of the region’s annual allowable cut is coming up and commented, ” In light of the recent Haida decision by the BC Court of Appeal, we expect Weyerhaeuser to follow the court’s directives, which include accomodating the cultural and economic interest of the First Nations territory in which they are operating.”

Two recent decisions of the BC Court of Appeal have extended the duty to consult BC First Nations to a legal duty for the province and third parties and recognized the existence of aboriginal title as an encumbrance on third party development activities on Crown lands without forcing BC First Nations to go to court to prove the existance of aboriginal title.

In Taku River Tlingit First Nation v. Ringstad, the highest court in the province refused to allow the Tulsequah Chief mine project in northern BC to go ahead. The Court of Appeal said the province of BC did not take into account how much the proposed mining project woulf effect the aboriginal people of the area.

“This is a great victory for the Tlingits,” said John Ward, spokesperson for the Taku River Tlingit First Nation. “The Court of Appeal has confirmed our place in the fabric of British Columbia. Finally, the government must recognize that ‘business as usual’ means doing business with us in a way that sustains our way of life, not without us in a way that destroys us. First Nations are here to stay. We now expect that the government of BC will do the honourable thing and respect our rights and act accordingly,” said Ward.

In 1998, the provincial NDP government approved the Tulsequah Chief project, a multi-metals mine on the Taku River in northwestern BC. The project was subsequently the subject of a three and a half year environmental assessment. The project called for the creation of a 160 km road from the mine site to Atlin that would run right through the heart of the Taku River Tlingit’s traditional territory.

Evidence from the environmental assessment and in court showed that the road would ruin the Tlingit way of life, affect their aboriginal title and rights and threaten their very existance as a people.

The Tlingits successfully challenged the mine approval in the BC Supreme Court arguing that the province did not adequately consult with the Tlingit concerning the project’s impact on their aboriginal title and rights. The province subsequently appealed the decision, arguing that they did not have a legal or fiduciary duty to consult with the Tlingits until those rights or title are proven in court.

A majority of the Court of Appeal rejected this argument, noting that the Crown’s position, of ignoring the existance of aboriginal title and rights has “the effect of robbing s. 35 (1) of much of its constitutional significance” and would “effectively end any prospect of meaningful negotiation or settlement of aboriginal land claims.”

In its judgement, the court of Appeal clearly stated that the provincial government has a legal duty to consult with BC First Nations about their traditional lands and resources with the aim of addressing those concerns and that it is not necessary for BC First Nations to prove the existance of their rights.

The court further noted that for the provincial government to proceed with land and resource approvals without taking into account assertions of aboriginal title would be a constitutional violation of aboriginal rights that would lead to a “serious injustice.”

Three weeks later the same court ruled that both the province and Weyerhaeuser had breached a legal and enforceable duty to consult with the Haida Nation regarding the replacement and transfer of Tree Farm Licence 39 on the Queen Charlotte Islands.

In Haida Nation v BC and Weyerhaeuser, the province issued a tree farm licence (TFL) to MacMillan Bloedel, who subsequently transferred the TFL to Weyerhaeuser. In finding the obligation to consult the Haida Nation, the court went on to suggest that the Haida would probably win in an aboriginal title claim to most of their claimed territory.

The court ruled that:

The strength of the Haida case [to succeed in an aboriginal title claim] gives content to the obligation to consult and the obligation to seek an accomodation … the aim of the remedy [in this case] should be to protect the interests of all parties pending the final determination of the nature and scope of aboriginal title and aboriginal rights.

Commenting on the success of the Haida Nation, Union of BC Indian Chiefs president, Chief Phillip Stewart stated, ” As in the Taku River Tlingit decision, the court has recognized that the province of British Columbia’s approach to consultation is fundamentally flawed … What we find compelling in the Haida decision is the Court of Appeal ruled that there is an ‘enforceable, legal and equitable duty to consult’ to both the provincial Crown and to third parties. This will certaily open the door to some frantic rethinking of strategy by the Attorney General’s office and the big corporations.”

Indeed the finding of a legal duty to consult for third parties has prompted the BC Business Council to seek a legal determination as to the implications for resource development projects on Crown lands which comprises 95 per cent of the land base in the province.

The largest employer of Native people in Canada, Casino Rama since opening its doors in 1996, has become the success story of First Nation’s business.

The casino has never stopped growing, last July the entertainment complex, a 5000-seat theatre was officially opened with country superstar Faith Hill as the opening act. This summer a 300-room hotel will be open for business, it promises to be 4-star all the way with hot tubs in some of the rooms.

Casino Rama has turned a profit since day one because nothing has been left to chance. No expense has been spared to make it a first class casino.

Kenny Rogers whose signature song is the gambler was the first entertainer to appear at Casino Rama and this was before the entertainment complex was built, since then the list of stars who have appeared there include former Beatle Ringo Starr, country sensation Martina McBride, Classic rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and the godfather of jazz singers Tony Bennett.

The all-star lineup has help put the casino on the forefront of Ontario’s tourist attraction. And one of it’s premier entertainment facilities, not a easy feat considering that it’s a two hour drive from Toronto and the small town of Orillia is it’s only populated neighbor. The marketing has been effective and its reputation has grown as the premier casino in the province

It was conceived as a means of generating wealth for the collective First Nations population in Ontario and has delivered on it’s promise, 400 million dollars has been divided among all native bands in the province

Beyond the Financial gains is the employment opportunities the casino has created, from the beginning the premise has been to not only to create jobs but also open the door to apprenticeship and full time careers. Cindy St. Germain states that it was part of the original plan.

“It’s something that chief and council wanted to happen, since there was going to be such great opportunity here, we wanted to make sure our people got apprenticeships.”

For Lanny Beaver it has allowed him to follow in his father’s footsteps and pursue a electrician’s career with Guild Electric.” I work on the drawing and drafting. The job is so big and moving so fast there are always a lot of changes. It’s very exciting,” says Lanny.

Another worker Steve Simcoe saw a chance to discover his calling in a hands on situation,” They have us go through a 90 day period to see how you are, see if you’re interested in the trade or another one at that time. It gives you a chance to see how it is and it gives them a chance to see how you perform at the same time.”

Casino Rama also sponsors the ”Awards for Excellence” a program developed to provide financial support to aboriginal students who have completed one year of College or University, the applicants are judged on academic standing and of equal importance their record of community involvement.

Art Frank the president and CEO of Casino Rama sees the awards as a investment in the future of Native leaders, “As a large corporation, we are pleased to be able to assist aboriginal students with their education. It is an important way for us to motivate aboriginal students to excel, many of who struggle financially. By assisting students who are strong academically as well as excellent community workers, we encourage these future community leaders to do more.”

As a native business Casino Rama has done three things that most tribal councils should take note of the planning was done with professional who understood what guidelines to follow, the project was accomplished by creating employment for Natives.

Workers and not just a band aid that doesn’t go beyond the project but helping to develop a lifetime career and funding for professional who will become the future leaders.

By Cher Bloom

Sandy Scofield”With approximately 200 Aboriginal radio stations across Canada, Aboriginal record labels, a Juno category and the Aboriginal Music Awards now approaching its fourth year, the native Canadian music scene is stronger and more organized than ever,” says Juno-nominated Métis singer-songwriter Sandy Scofield.

The Aboriginal rock and pop scene is earning its place on the musical map. This year, native musicians were given the opportunity to present their sounds to the Grammy Awards voting committee, at the first annual Native American Grammy Nominee Showcase in Hollywood.

Sandy Scofield’s CD, “Riel’s Road,” was nominated for a Juno this year in the “Best Music of Aboriginal Canada” category; in 2001, it received two nominations for the 2001 West Coast Music Awards; and, took home the “Best Alternative Album” and “Beat Single” awards for the opening track, “Beat The Drum,” at the 2000 Aboriginal Music Awards. As well, Sandy performed live on this show at Toronto’s Skydome and, more recently, was filmed and interviewed by Star TV at her sold-out, standing room only Junofest showcase in St. John’s, NFLD.

Sandy has been described as a “transforming trickster. She can use melody and beautiful harmonies to carry weighty messages. Her keen ear for original arrangements, her experience articulated in powerful lyrics, and her beautiful vocal instrument, combine to form a growing body of incisive musical works which touch contemporary audiences of all cultures. At one moment she can sing delicate, satiny pop, creating a cracked and broken down scenario, and in another, can boldly harness robust rhythm, blues and rock. She brings a modern heartbeat to the singing of her Metis heritage.”

She has opened for artists such as Buffy Sainte Marie, Tom Jackson and Louisiana’s Buckwheat Zydeco. Her songs have appeared on compilations, film and documentary sound tracks and in theatre productions. Recently, she provided the music for a series of Diabetes Awareness radio broadcasts and previously co-wrote and performed CKLG Radio’s Christmas Toy Drive song in December rotation from 1996 to 2000.

She has just completed the commission of eight songs for Namgis playwright Laura Cranmer’s theatre play entitled “DP’s Colonial Cabaret,” and will be attending the Banff Centre in August to compose a piece for Blackfoot choreographer Byron Chief Moon and his dance ensemble.

The year “Riel’s Road” was released was a very emotional one for Sandy. Her stepmother and favorite Auntie passed away within months of each other. “My Aunt was the mainstay in my life. I was quite grief stricken when she passed into the spirit world in July of 2000. The record came out in September, and I won the awards in November.”

It was submitted to the 2001 Juno’s without being nominated. Because of the timing of the album’s release, there was a window in which it could also be submitted for the 2002 Juno’s as well.

The same thing occurred with Mishi Donovan, whose CD “The Spirit Within” was submitted in 1997 without garnering a nomination. The next year she was not only nominated for the same recording, she took home the award.

One of the people instrumental in encouraging Sandy to resubmit the album in the Aboriginal category was Elaine Bomberry. Sandy calls her “a real mover and shaker in Toronto. She has a radio show, she’s an events promoter at the Comfort Zone Club and she works for The Centre For Indigenous Theater.”

This year’s 2002 nominees in the “Best Music of Aboriginal Canada” category included Métis singer/songwriter Marcel Gagnon, Alberta’s Billy Joe Green, an established blues player, the youth Pow Wow group, Nakoda Lodge from Morley, and the Winnipeg based Eagle and Hawk led by Vince Fontaine.”Vince is a friend of mine and I was really happy that his group won. He’s been at this music thing as long as I have and totally deserved to win. Getting nominated was award enough for me. Being able to go to the Juno’s in St. John’s, NFLD was the trip of a lifetime!”

Sandy was honored to be invited by Sheila Copps, the Minister of Heritage Canada, who distributes all the arts funding money in the country, to take part in a round table discussion the day of the Juno’s, on how her ministry can better support music artists in this country.

“I was to speak from aboriginal perspective and stressed that we need more support in the mainstream industry. While education funding and programming is outside of the mandate of Ms. Copps’ ministry, I had to express the importance of Native kids needing opportunities and access to the same kind of education programs that dominant society kids do, like media, music and arts. These kids need professional people from their own communities to administer these programs. There are lots of successful aboriginal professionals in theatre, art, music and film who may not have a degree in education, but possess the cultural awareness, skills and expertise and who have demonstrated success in their fields, to go into the communities to mentor the kids.”

Sandy thinks that it’s great that the Juno’s are honoring the First people, and that this category exists. “Best Music of Aboriginal Canada”, however, encompasses everything from traditional Pow Wow music to straight ahead jazz, blues, pop, and everything in between. She would like to see Aboriginal artists whose work is specialized in a particular genre, be recognized in the dominant Juno categories.

“There’s a whole scene emerging in Native hip hop, for example. The kids identify very much with the issues of black Americans. Red Power Squad, is a native rap group with break dancers–they rap about issues directly related to the communities.”

For her fourth recording, Sandy is negotiating with Kinnie Starr, who is Mohawk by heritage and who works in hip-hop and beat poetry, to do collaboration. She has also begun writing with her guitar player, Stephen Nikleva, towards this end, and they have a few pseudo hip-hop songs already in the bag.

Scofield says the impact of contemporary aboriginal music is reaching more than just aboriginal audiences. “Think back to the days of Nirvana and the whole grunge scene in Seattle, and how they put alternative music on the map, ” Scofield says. “Before that, alternative music didn’t count. Now it’s been established as a viable genre. “That’s the stage I think we’re in now,” she says.” Our audience is expanding to include the greater society and the industry needs to recognize that.”

Sandy describes her players as “a really happening band.” Her drummer is Randall Stoll, (he plays with Tom Cochrane, and was k.d.lang’s drummer on her “Ingenue” tour). Her bass player is Brian Minato, who also works with Sarah McLachlan and Jack Tripper, and her guitar player (and Sandy’s co-producer on Riel’s Road), is long-time friend Stephen Nikleva (he plays with Ray Condo and the Ricochets and used to be Mae Moore’s guitarist).

Other players on “Riel’s Road” include Sue Leonard (a previous back-up singer or k.d. lang), trumpeter/fiddler Daniel Lapp and R&B songstress, Fara. The album features her glorious voice, her imaginative musical ideas and a very sharp pen. Cover art is from renowned Cree artist George Littlechild. Elements of folk, pop, jazz, country rock, rap and Cree music lead her to be called “alternative”.” Get High,” a track from Riel’s Road, is being re-released on the First Peoples Blues compilation from Sweetgrass Records out of Saskatoon, distributed by EMI Music, Canada, alongside tracks from Keith Secola, Murray Porter, Billy Jo Green and Jani Lauzon. First People’s Blues is due for release by late spring 2002.

The song “Yellowgrass” from “Riel’s Road” is dedicated to her father who grew up in La Pas, Manitoba. It speaks to a “homeland”, the closest she could identify with home, if the Metis had one.

There’s another song called “Bloodlines.” “It’s about the downtown east side (Vancouver)-the Native women who leave their communities, come into the city and who end up in the sex trade or addicted, and who have forgotten about ‘the strength and pride of their bloodlines’. We don’t have to be crackheads or be in the sex trade to know what despair is about. All human beings need to feel that we have something to offer and that we matter to someone. Sure there are ethnic differences between one group and another, cultural protocols that we may not understand, but the essence of humanity is the same. We all have fear, hurt, rage, hope, and joy. I’m especially interested in our condition here on this physical plane.”

“I’m aware that the spirit world is all around us. Ours is a three dimensional plane. My ancestors might be right here whispering in my ear, the words that are coming out of my mouth. That’s what fascinates me, the fact that we are spirit beings in the material plane, as Sting cited in one of his songs. I have a responsibility to make constructive use of the gifts that the Creator has imparted to me and of which I’ve inherited from my ancestors, many of whom were singers and musicians.”

Both Riel’s Road and Dirty River (her first album), took a long time to do, because of the financial challenges surrounding the production of a CD. Sandy is determined that the next project won’t take as long to produce. She’s basically invested everything she’s ever had into her career. In order to keep such a career afloat, an artist has to be in the public eye. Even when they’re out there, you’re subjected to the “flavour of the month,” as she puts it. “Sometimes all you come out with is a reputation (hopefully its a good one). I can’t even say objectively if I like playing live all the time. Its just what I do.”

Her greatest goal in life is to be able to continue creating and committing music to disc. The creative process is the thing for her. Once the songs have been recorded, she’s onto the next thing. The courtship is in the creation.

Sandy is about half way through recording her third record, which features Sandy and singers Lisa Sazama and Shakti Hayes. There are three songs in Algonquin, which Lisa has written and several in plains Cree, most of which Sandy has written. Five of the songs are round dances.

“I’ve taken four of these songs and arranged them with my band. This is pushing the envelope a little bit, I suppose.” Hand drums and/or rattles accompany the rest of the songs, some of which have additional, but minimal harmonic instrument accompaniment so that the whole hangs together. The working title is “Katoum,” a Cree word for ‘until we meet again’ since the word ‘goodbye,’ in itself, does not exist in the language.

“Any artist whose work I’ve truly admired has always said the same thing-to create from what is real and true for you. It is when your work is derived from your personal truths, it is that truth that comes through and touches others. I don’t profess to be a spokesperson, per se, for any artist or community. I write from my own truths about things I’ve witnessed, experienced personally and which have impacted my life and shaped my perspective as a result.”

Interestingly, Sandy was not involved in traditional native music until she attended a residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts in 1995. This program was a ten-week immersion in aboriginal musical traditions, featuring Native elder women from across North America, and led by Sadie Buck, the artistic director of the acclaimed “Aboriginal Women’s Voices”.

Sandy’s a strong believer in education, which is why she keeps going back to school to study different forms of music. Formally trained in classical and jazz after a two-year stint at Vancouver Community College, she hopes to attend SFU this fall towards the completion of a Bachelor in Music with a focus on electronic and digital music.

For more information on Sandy Scofield, please visit her website.