First Nations will control what kids learn

Brian Lewis, The Province

Published: Thursday, December 20, 2007

If you look closely at any negative indicator in B.C.'s public-school system, such as the high-school dropout rate, chances are that a First Nations group will be at or near the top.

So says Tyrone McNeil of the Fraser Valley's Seabird Island Band and president of the First Nations Education Steering Committee.

He's giving me a crash course on the state of primary and secondary education for many First Nations youngsters who attend either on-reserve schools or are in the provincewide public-school system.

Appropriately, we're sitting in the staff room of the Seabird Island Community School on the band's reserve near Agassiz, where about 750 of their members reside.

This is one of the more progressive on-reserve schools in the province, I'm told, and a tour shows that native culture and heritage is a big part of what is being taught here to about 150 kindergarten, primary and secondary students.

And as a heavy, wet snow paints the school playing fields white, construction workers next door are busy building a new high school.

But by the time it opens next fall, the most significant change ever in B.C. native education will be well underway. Empowered by the First Nations Education Act, which the B.C. government passed late last month, all First Nations bands in B.C. can now take over jurisdiction of their on-reserve kindergarten-to-Grade 12 education systems.

This means they can make laws over education on their own lands and run their own schools, as long as their systems are based on the provincial curriculum for core courses leading to graduation.

The act also establishes the First Nations Education Authority as a regulatory body for teacher certification, school certification and curriculum and exam standards.

In preparation for this new era in native education, the Seabird Island Community School is one of several teaching a new English 12 First Peoples course as a pilot project under the new jurisdictional setup.

Unlike the regular public English 12 course, this one features First Nations writers and poets. As with similar courses to be created under the program, it is designed to give native students a sense of identity, confidence and, most importantly, the will to succeed.

"We need to take control of our education system, because public schools often don't work favourably for us and are not always relevant," McNeil says.

He also explains that, by improving on-reserve education, First Nations will automatically improve on-reserve social conditions, since more band members will finish high school, attend post-secondary schools and be more gainfully employed.

A primary goal of the initiative is to close the graduation gap. While the current average for high-school completion in B.C. is 82 per cent, on the reserves, where approximately 6,100 students attend 130 schools, it runs anywhere from 32 per cent to 52 per cent.

This new direction should benefit the larger community, since improved on-reserve social conditions will ultimately lead to lower social-services costs.

"View it as investment," McNeil advises.

"It'll have a long-term payoff for everyone."

If you have a noteworthy item about anything in the Fraser Valley, e-mail Brian via blewis@png.canwest.com

By Robert Mangelsdorf - Maple Ridge News - December 08, 2007

First Nations students in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school district completed high school last year at a rate 40 per cent higher than the provincial average.

However, aboriginal education principal Doug Hoey says there's still lots of work to be done.

"It's one measure of success, but certainly not the only measure," he said of figures in a Ministry of Education report released Thursday. "Our challenge is to level the playing field, and we're not there yet."

The school district currently has 952 self-identified First Nations students, 52 of which live on the Katzie Reserve.

For the 2006/07 school year, the high school completion rate for First Nations students in the district was 65 per cent.

That is up from 51 per cent in 2004/05.

The provincial average for First Nations students is 48.4 per cent.

The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school district had the sixth highest First Nations completion rate out of 60 in the province.

Arrow Lakes, a small school district around the town of Nakusp, had the highest rate at 99.5.

The completion rate for all students in the district is 78.1, slightly lower than the provincial average of 80.4 per cent.

"There's a gap that exists and our job is to provide as much support as we can, so that gap disappears," said Hoey.

He attributes the disparity between First Nations students and non-First Nations students to many social, economic, and cultural challenges they face.

"Much of their culture and identity has been stripped away from them by the residential schools," said Hoey. "And on top of that, they have to deal with everything every other child has to go through."

The high school completion rate is the percentage of students who have graduated high school within six years of starting Grade 8 for the first time.

However, Hoey said it's not necessarily the best indicator of progress.

"We really have to start looking at how we measure success," he said. "We also have students who are successful in other ways."

A number of First Nations students have completed trade programs and pre-apprentice training with the district, he said, and although they have not received their Dogwood diploma, they have landed high-paying union jobs.

"That's success," said Hoey.

Key for the district has been to try instill in First Nations students that their culture is something to be proud of, while educating other students about it.

Hoey said projects like the community carving project and the after school aboriginal art project help First Nations youth identify with their culture and form connections to their schools.

"We want to share aboriginal culture," he said. "The more we understand, the more welcoming we can be."

Jonathan Fowlie, Vancouver Sun

Published: Wednesday, December 05, 2007

VICTORIA -- Two recent treaty successes in B.C. should not necessarily be seen as a sign of easing tensions in the province, the BC Treaty Commission said Tuesday as it warned of problems in negotiations with other first nations.

"The successful ratifications in Tsawwassen and Maa-Nuulth are taking place against a backdrop of growing provincial, national and international unrest surrounding the rights of indigenous peoples," the commission said in its annual report, released Tuesday.

"Many [B.C.] first nations are a long way from achieving their idea of 'true reconciliation.'

No one can be complacent. There remains much work to be done despite the progress."

The commission said that, of the 58 first nations negotiating, 20 are "making progress" -- eight of which could vote on a deal within the "next few years."

Of the remaining 38 nations, however, the commission says 14 are "struggling due to significant differences in positions" and 24 are "doing very little or nothing at all at the treaty table."

Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Mike de Jong was travelling outside the province Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.

In its report, the commission heralded the success of the two recent treaties though it also raised warning flags about groups who are calling for significant change.

"Frustrated and disillusioned first nations must have a meaningful opportunity to engage in all issues that are important to them," commissioner Jack Weisgerber said Tuesday as he advocated a new approach to negotiations, including the idea of a common negotiating table.

"The ideal situation, from our perspective, is the negotiating table -- perhaps a table configured differently than what we see today."

Weisgerber's comments and the commission's report come just days after first nations leaders from across B.C. issued a declaration affirming their belief of aboriginal title to their territories.

"We will only negotiate on the basis of a full and complete recognition of the existence of our title and rights throughout our entire lands, waters, territories and resources," read the declaration signed Thursday by members of the First Nations Summit, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs and the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations.

jfowlie@png.canwest.com

The Times

Published: Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Editor:

Your editorial "Failing to protect our children" (Dec. 4 Times) is bang on.

In 1995, Justice Thomas Gove reviewed the death of a child, Matthew Vaudreuil. Gove detailed government failings from front-line social workers to the top executives. The ministry began an endless re-organization effort.

In 2001, Premier Campbell began brutal cuts to social programs. In his zeal to fix the deficit, Campbell abolished the Children's Commissioner, Ombudsman, and Child Advocate. To save a few bucks, Campbell put vulnerable children at risk.

In 2006, the Hon. Ted Hughes reviewed the child protection system in B.C. Like Gove, Hughes confirmed the failings of government. Hughes made pointed comments about spending cuts. Hughes recommended the appointment of a legislative officer--the Representative of Children and Youth.

Hughes said that government and First Nations must take time to get the Aboriginal Authorities governance model right. Hughes recommended the ministry work with aboriginal communities to develop a shared vision. Sadly, Minister Christensen, the ministry, and the Fraser Region Interim Aboriginal Authority are ignoring this advice.

For these reasons, the Stó:lô Tribal Council, Chehalis Indian Band, Fraser Valley Métis, United Native Nations Fraser Valley, and In-SHUCK-ch Interim Government reject the Fraser Region Interim Aboriginal Authority.

Grand Chief Doug Kelly

(Tseem Th'ewali)

Treasurer & Tribal Chief for Intergovernmental Relations

Stó:lô Tribal Council

Dec 11, 2007

OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada is hearing arguments today in a case involving allegations of a "race-based" fishery on British Columbia's Fraser River.

At issue is whether the government has the authority to issue early fishing rights to select First Nations, in advance of an open commercial fishery.

The dispute revolves around a decision by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to give three aboriginal groups a 24-hour head start on the sockeye fishing season in August, 1998.

In protest, nearly 150 commercial fishers set their gill nets during the 24-hour window, arguing that the early opening for the Musqueam, Tsawwassen and Burrard First Nations created a segregated or "race-based" fishery.

One of the commercial fishers, John Michael Kapp, who was convicted of fishing illegally in a closed season, lost his appeal in B.C.'s Court of Appeal.

Conservative MP John Cummins, who helped launch a protest against the 24-hour DFO fishing agreement, says the decision gave an unfair commercial advantage to three First Nations over other aboriginal groups and commercial fishers in the region.

Kevin O'Callaghan, who represents the Atlantic Fishing Industry Alliance, argues the government didn't have the authority to grant special fishing rights to select aboriginal groups.

It's unclear when the Supreme Court will issue a ruling.

ENVIRONMENT

JUSTINE HUNTER

December 12, 2007

In a town squeezed by intense development pressure, a unique deal to share control over land and water will be signed tonight between the district of Tofino and a local native band.

The community, one of B.C.'s hottest resort spots, has effectively traded on its breathtaking waterfront and environmental values.

But success outstripped its infrastructure, to the point that Tofino ran out of tap water in the summer of 2006.

Under the agreement to be signed at a community dinner tonight, the district and the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations will create a joint sustainability plan.

"This is about how best we can get along, and how we can all benefit from what we have out here," Tofino Mayor John Fraser said yesterday.

Long before the community took off as a high-priced resort town - second only to Whistler in B.C. - Tofino was at the centre of environmental battles over Clayoquot Sound and Meares Island.

Those battles reflect an interest in sustainability shared by the community of about 1,600 and the Tla-o-qui-aht people, Mr. Fraser said.

"I don't think there's a lot of difference; our values are the same. We are dealing with such pressure of outside people here with all the tourism, it's hard to keep the identity of a small community."

The agreement includes a distinctive commitment from the district to uphold Nuu-chah-nulth tribal principles in development.

The protocol agreement that will be signed by the band leaders and the district council includes, for example, a promise to respect the rules of Hishuk ish tsawalk - "that everything is one and all is interconnected."

The next step will be to launch a community planning process that will allow input from the public and interest groups in the district, adjacent to Pacific Rim National Park.

Although a municipal government can't negotiate land claims, the document recognizes the band's claim to title in its traditional territories and its right to self-government.

The Tla-o-qui-aht are trying to revive treaty negotiations with the province, on the heels of a settlement with the neighbouring Maa-nulth First Nations.

The district has promised, as part of the deal, to support the band in its bid to acquire Crown lands for development in an interim-measures agreement with the province and the federal government.

The proposed land deal, essentially a bridge to a treaty settlement, would allow the Tla-o-qui-aht to develop a cultural centre that would offer more tourism opportunities.

By Am Johal

VANCOUVER, Dec 12 (IPS) - Suicide rates are now five to seven times higher for First Nations youth than for non-aboriginal youth, according to Health Canada, and among Inuit youth, suicide rates are 11 times the national average. Some aboriginal bands have suicide rates over 800 times the national average.

In northern British Columbia, in the rural Hazelton region, the Wrinch Memorial Hospital has seen 111 suicide attempts since Jan. 1, 2007. There were also unreported suicide attempts, so the number is believed to be much higher. In November, there were seven suicide attempts in one week alone.

The local Royal Canadian Mounted Police attachment has told media outlets that it is not uncommon to get one or two suicide calls a day in the area.

"Our community has had historically high unemployment for the last eight years -- almost 90 percent," Sharon Robertson, the CEO of Wrinch Memorial Hospital, told IPS.

"We have the worst socio-economic indicators in the province. We don't have a lot of services that we need. Our demographics are primarily First Nations. The forest industry is being hit hard. We need to get rid of drugs and alcohol and bring some structure and order in to the community," she said.

More than 150 people attended a community meeting on the problem in Hazelton last week. "The feedback from young people was really good," Robertson said. "We have separate service providers and we need to coordinate our activities better to provide good care for people here. We don't have a good way to deal with local crisis responses because we're a small town. The hospital is often full and isn't equipped to deal with these issues very well."

Though healthcare is a provincial responsibility, representatives from Health Canada have been present at the recent community meetings. Health Canada is often involved when a situation becomes heightened. If a public health emergency is declared, federal health dollars can also be released in the region to deal with the issues.

Robertson added that there are no safe houses for young people if they feel that they have nowhere to go.

Victor Robinson, a member of the neighbouring Gitanmaax First Nation and administrator of the Glen Vowell First Nation Band, co-chaired the meeting last week.

"When we had this meeting, we were trying to reach answers and solutions," he told IPS. "We found that service agencies, mental health and other intervention services -- there were no protocols to link all of them. We need to accomplish that to provide a service in the area so that people don't threaten themselves."

Robinson added that there were youth representatives at the session. "In addition to economic hardship, there needs to be recreational activities, and there has to be youth-oriented activities. Service agencies need a more coordinated approach. We don't link well with other programmes. We have to keep the youth engaged."

"The biggest issue is the ongoing boundaries between the provincial and federal governments," Robinson added. "As a result, human beings fall through the cracks."

According to the Assembly of First Nations, a national aboriginal advocacy organisation, life expectancy at birth has improved among the First Nations' population. In 2000, it rose to 68.9 years for males and 76.6 years for females, an increase from 1980 of 13.1 percent and 12.6 percent respectively, but still five to seven years below the national average.

The 1999 First Nations' infant mortality was 8.0 deaths per 1,000 live births -- or 1.5 times higher than the Canadian infant mortality rate of 5.5.

Among First Nations men between the ages of 15 and 24, the rate is 126 per 100,000 compared to 24 per 100,000 for young Canadian men. Young women from First Nations registered a rate of 35 per 100,000 versus only 5 per 100,000 for Canadian women.

The proportion of Canada's total AIDS cases contracted by Aboriginal people also climbed from 1.0 percent in 1990 to 6.2 percent in 2001, six times the national average. There are concerns that HIV/AIDS may reach epidemic proportions among First Nations.

Overcrowded housing, mould, and unsafe drinking water helps spread communicable diseases at a rate 10 to 12 times higher than the national average, according to government figures. More than 40 percent of homes are considered to be inadequate shelter.

The First Nations Action and Support Team, or FAST, an initiative of the regional health board, will work in communities which have recently recorded a high rate of suicides, according to the CBC.

Health Canada also funds programmes under the National Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy.

According to a federal government report, suicide has accounted for about two percent of annual deaths in the general Canadian population since the late 1970s. In both males and females, the greatest increase between 1960 and 1991 occurred in the 15-to-19-year age group, with a four-and-a-half-fold increase for males, and a three-fold increase for females.

A Suicide Prevention Advisory Group did produce a vague federal government report in 2002 focussing on aboriginal suicides. It recommended that the federal government provide youth with opportunities and settings to encourage positive mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health and pathways to a positive future, and to share their perspectives on suggested suicide prevention strategies.

It also recommended that they augment the available sources of support for youth, including parents, peers, role models and elders.

The Assembly of First Nations has continued to criticise the federal and provincial government for slow movement on changing socio-economic numbers which clearly show a major gap in poverty rates and over-representation in the criminal justice system by First Nations people.

Neal Belanger, executive health director of the Gitxsan Health Society in Hazelton, told IPS, "First Nations have been clearly affected since colonisation and other policies such as the effects of residential schools [in which native youth were separated from their families and culture]. It is an economically depressed region."

"Hopefully, we can address this," he said. "We have to get through the Christmas season and have support personnel in place. We've accessed restricted funding over the holidays. We are working with the provincial and federal governments. We are continuing to hold public meetings. People will have services in place if they need them."

(END/2007)

I liked the article, however I believe that the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People is a sham (Re: "Our Native Rights Stance is a Foreign Policy Failure," Nov. 21). Many may be blinded to the fact that our rights as Indigenous peoples do not have to be included into laws of a third party. Rights are sovereign things that cannot be given to peoples by other peoples.

We always had our rights regardless of what province we live in or whether or not we live on or off reserve, or even have "Indian Status." We as Indian people are a problem to the government of Canada because we are the only peoples that hold title to the land.

Canada knows it is already in a mess with its policy for Indians, as the Indian Act supercedes even the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. It is funny to see how Canada can participate in the formation of such a declaration at the UN level, when they have a bigger mess at home.

We as Indian people are somewhat lucky that the government of Canada did not agree to a declaration that would give them the power (that they do not have today) to assume our own rights that we have always had. Our own leaderships fail to represent us in this way, as they are too prone to getting bent into submission by federal dollars.

AARON B. TOOTOOSIS student events manager/cultural representative, First Nations University of Canada Students' Association

Protesters in trees set to clash with work crew.

By Andrew MacLeod
Published: December 17, 2007

TheTyee.ca

Construction is set to start any day on a highway interchange to serve the Bear Mountain Resort and Country Club west of Victoria, but first the authorities will have to deal with protesters who've camped for a year in the area and are determined to prevent the destruction of what they say is an environmentally and archaeologically rich place.

Eight RCMP officers visited the camp on Dec. 14, writes activist Zoe Blunt in an e-mail. "We expect they will try to evict the camp either this weekend, or in the next week or two." There are five people on platforms in the trees, she writes, plus supporters on the ground. Her e-mail encourages more people to come to the site to act as witnesses.

The interchange will be used by people living both north and south of the Trans-Canada Highway, but opponents of the project say it is mostly to serve former hockey player Len Barrie's Bear Mountain development. Companies connected to Bear Mountain gave the B.C. Liberal party $1,900 last year.

Several activists, including Betty Krawczyk, who has served almost three years in jail since 1994 for charges related to several environmental actions, have said they are prepared to be arrested to prevent the Bear Mountain interchange.

Part of the proposed route is on land owned by the Provincial Capital Commission, a crown corporation dedicated to connecting British Columbians with the capital. The rest uses land the City of Langford has bought at above market rates from several homeowners.

The area includes a Garry oak meadow, a fir forest, a seasonal pond that is home to endangered red legged frogs and a limestone cave. The consulting firm Golder Associates has produced environmental and archaeological reports for what the city calls the Spencer Road Interchange, but activist Ingmar Lee claims they have failed to make a thorough examination of the area and missed some key features, including some possible culturally modified trees and a series of limestone kettles that first nations may have used for ceremonies.

Endangered frogs

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Golder's geoscientist Rob Buchanan defends the firm's reports. "To be honest with you, we're doing everything that's required," he says. "There's no rubber stamp approach being given."

The firm was aware of the cave, the Garry oaks and the pond, he says, and the route was planned accordingly. "Most of the issues are outside the alignment boundaries," says Buchanan. "They're in the general area, but they're outside the alignment and any of the areas affected by the actual construction."

Plans are being adjusted as issues arise, he says, but the goal is to mitigate the impact of a project that is going ahead. "Public support seems to be more in favour of the interchange," he says. "The majority of people want it so it's moving ahead with the logical steps you would for any project."

Tsartlip left out

One group that was left out of the consultation is the Tsartlip First Nation, who consider the interchange area as part of their traditional territory. Lands manager Wendy Edwards was surprised to hear Golder had completed the archaeological assessment without contacting them.

The report says Ron Sam from the neighbouring Songhees First Nation came on the assessment and a representative of the Esquimalt First Nation was invited but could not attend. Virgil Bob also attended. The report doesn't affiliate him with a First Nation, but Edwards says she knows him and he is Pauquachin from a reserve further from the site than Tsartlip.

"I think it's really amazing how they can exclude some First Nations when we have an interest in the same area," she says. "It's just like they are doing in the B.C. treaty process."

The Tsartlip were vocal opponents of the destruction of a nearby cave last year on Spaet Mountain by the Bear Mountain developers. Edwards says the chief and council are also against expanding the highway and are considering applying for an injunction to stop the construction. "I do know Tsartlip is opposing the construction of the interchange because it is taking away very important ecological systems," she says.

The meadow, wetland, pond and cave are all part of a water course that feeds into the salmon bearing Goldstream, she says. "All these places are important, that's the first thing on the mind of the chief and council," she says. "What's going to happen in the future to our Goldstream? Goldstream is so important . . . It's our food, our ceremonies, our right."

The Goldstream runs through a provincial park.

Bunch of constraints

Transportation minister Kevin Falcon declined an interview. A ministry spokesperson says it is Langford's project and questions should be directed there.

Langford directs questions to Tim Stevens, a transportation engineer the city has contracted to manage the project. Asked if the assessment and consultation process have been thorough enough, Stevens says, "We're getting all the reports done we need to get done. If we find any entity we have to deal with, we'll deal with them." The planners moved the alignment to go around the cave, for instance, he says. "It's not like we don't want to do the right thing."

The interchange is needed, he says. "The place is growing like crazy. There's more people and more people want to drive."

The engineers looked at other options, he says, but a trailer park and a gas station are in the way of the nearest alternatives. "Where we chose to put it was the best place we could find given the constraints we have," he says. "There's a bunch of constraints out there, all of which have issues. Some are environmental and some are social. Some are money . . . The alignment that's there is the most benign we could come up with, in my view. Not everyone would necessarily agree."

That disagreement is set to become even more obvious very soon. Stevens says the city hopes to start clearing trees in January. But as activist Lee writes in an e-mail, "They've got a lot of tricky work ahead of them to dislodge the protesters, should push come to shove."

He adds, "People at the tree sits are already risking much and are putting their lives on the line by the very nature of what they are doing. The RCMP should avoid making the situation even more dangerous."

With pending legal action, protesters in the trees and others willing to be arrested, it will take a whole lot of brute force to have construction ready to go in January.

KAMLOOPS, BRITISH COLUMBIA, December 14, 2007-The Government of Canada today announced financial assistance for a Housing and Life Skills program that will help Aboriginal people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless in Kamloops and the surrounding area. The Interior Indian Friendship Society will use $121,618 in federal homelessness funding to offer the Housing and Life Skills program, which will provide homeless individuals with improved access to programs and services that will help them to make the transition from the streets to more stable housing alternatives. "The Government of Canada is delivering on its commitment to help those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless," said Ms. Betty Hinton, Member of Parliament for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo, on behalf of the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development. "Programs such as those of the Interior Indian Friendship Society are enabling vulnerable individuals to access the information, life skills training and services they require to become more independent and enjoy a better quality of life."

The Housing and Life Skills program will provide support and services to Aboriginal people in Kamloops, including one-on-one assistance with obtaining personal identification documents, and access to housing information and referral services. The Society will also offer life skills workshops and certificate programs that will provide participants with basic survival, personal hygiene, housekeeping and budgeting skills along with developing their knowledge and skills in the area of human relations, problem solving, long-term planning, assertiveness and self-esteem.

The Government of Canada, through its Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS), is taking action to prevent and reduce homelessness. This Strategy is providing $269.6 million over two years to help communities across Canada combat homelessness more effectively. The HPS puts in place structures and supports that help people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless achieve self-sufficiency and full participation in society.

For more information on the federal government's Homelessness Partnering Strategy, please visit www.homelessness.gc.ca

- 30 -

This news release is available in alternative formats upon request.

Please visit the new departmental Web site at www.hrsdc.gc.ca.

For more information (media only):

Pema Lhalungpa

Press Secretary

Office of Minister Solberg

819-994-2482

Media Relations Office

Human Resources and Social Development Canada

819-994-5559

Times Colonist

Published: Tuesday, December 18, 2007

VICTORIA -- A First Nations teacher at North Oyster elementary school in Nanaimo was forcibly taken out of the school Friday by members of the Chemainus band who wanted her to participate in a secretive long house ceremony.

As of yesterday, Roxanne Harris hadn't returned to her class. Band and school board officials were not talking about why the 32-year-old was reportedly grabbed by a man and two women, and what has happened to her since.

The incident took place at 1 p.m., while Harris was teaching a class, but it is unclear whether she was in the classroom or was called outside the room, or to what extent she fought the removal.

Nanaimo RCMP Staff Sgt. Jack MacNeill said the incident has not yet come across his desk, but it may be under investigation by other units, such as Ladysmith RCMP, or First Nations RCMP officers. Ladysmith RCMP didn't return phone calls Monday.

"Absolutely we do investigate these occurrences because a person is being taken against their will. Regardless of the cultural significance, it is still investigated as an abduction," MacNeill said, but noted such cases are handled in a delicate manner.

Nanaimo District Teachers' Association president Kip Wood said yesterday that there is "some anxiety" among teachers about the incident and he will be meeting with district staff and trustees today about safety issues.

School board chairman Jamie Brennan said senior school board staff knew ahead of time that Harris was going to be taken from the school for the long house ceremony.

1 day ago

OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada is hearing arguments today in a case involving allegations of a "race-based" fishery on British Columbia's Fraser River.

At issue is whether the government has the authority to issue early fishing rights to select First Nations, in advance of an open commercial fishery.

The dispute revolves around a decision by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to give three aboriginal groups a 24-hour head start on the sockeye fishing season in August, 1998.

In protest, nearly 150 commercial fishers set their gill nets during the 24-hour window, arguing that the early opening for the Musqueam, Tsawwassen and Burrard First Nations created a segregated or "race-based" fishery.

One of the commercial fishers, John Michael Kapp, who was convicted of fishing illegally in a closed season, lost his appeal in B.C.'s Court of Appeal.

Conservative MP John Cummins, who helped launch a protest against the 24-hour DFO fishing agreement, says the decision gave an unfair commercial advantage to three First Nations over other aboriginal groups and commercial fishers in the region.

Kevin O'Callaghan, who represents the Atlantic Fishing Industry Alliance, argues the government didn't have the authority to grant special fishing rights to select aboriginal groups.

It's unclear when the Supreme Court will issue a ruling.

By Basil Waugh

Magnolia Unka and Sita-Rani MacMillan want to improve the lives of Aboriginal people in Canada: they’re just going about it in different ways. One plans to use the court room, the other, the classroom.

One of over 500 Aboriginal students at UBC, Unka is studying First Nations Legal Studies in the Faculty of Law, including aboriginal law, litigation and self-government. She can also gain first-hand legal experience representing Aboriginal clients at UBC’s First Nations Legal Clinic on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

“Growing up, I was always aware of the injustices that Native people faced within the legal system,” says Unka, a member of the Northwest Territories’ Dene First Nation. “I entered law to address these injustices and improve the system from within.”

MacMillan is training to teach public, band and independent school through the UBC Faculty of Education’s Native Indian Teacher Education Program (NITEP). Currently doing a practicum at Vancouver’s Nootka Elementary School, MacMillan is teaching 28 children social studies, weaving Aboriginal history and perspectives into her lessons.

“I would like to work as an elementary school teacher,” says MacMillan, a member of Saskatchewan’s Sakimay First Nation. “We begin teaching classes in our first year so we are really comfortable and ready to teach full-time in the classroom by our final year.”

As two of B.C.’s longest-running Aboriginal education initiatives, these programs are helping to address a national shortage in Aboriginal lawyers and educators. Since it was established in 1974, NITEP has educated more than 330 Aboriginal teachers, while the law program, founded in the mid-’80s, has graduated more than 200 Aboriginal lawyers.

Over the past three decades, UBC has introduced a wide variety of Aboriginal academic programs, research projects, student services and community outreach projects. These include initiatives in Arts, Education, Forestry, Land and Food Systems, Law, Medicine, Science, and the Sauder School of Business, plus more than 100 courses with an Aboriginal focus. UBC’s Trek 2010 vision statement pledges ongoing improvements to UBC’s accessibility to Aboriginal people and its ability to meet their educational needs.

Since retired Senator Leonard Marchand (Okanagan First Nation) graduated in 1958, UBC has educated generations of Aboriginal leaders, including B.C.’s new lieutenant-governor Stephen Point (Skowkale First Nation), retired judge and hereditary chief Alfred Scow (Kwicksutaineuk First Nation), Chief Kim Baird (Tsawwassen First Nation), Grand Chief Ed John (Tl’azt’en First Nation), the late Métis scholar and activist Howard Adams, and the late Frank Calder (Nisga’a First Nation), the first Status Indian elected to Canada’s Parliament.

When Unka and MacMillan want to connect with other Aboriginal students, staff and faculty at UBC, they visit the First Nations Longhouse. A recipient of the Governor-General’s award for architecture, the Longhouse serves as a “home away from home” where students can study and learn in a surrounding that reflects Aboriginal traditions and cultures.

“I am honoured every time I step foot in it,” says Unka of the Longhouse, which includes a Great Hall, Xwi7xwa Library, a computer lab, counselling, advising, and other student resources. It houses the UBC First Nations Student Association and a variety youth programs aimed at burgeoning Aboriginal leaders and scientists.

Inspired by a number of female Aboriginal lawyers, Unka says she is proud to be following their footsteps at UBC. “A Cherokee elder once said: ‘The battle for Indian children will be won in the classroom, not on the streets or on horses. The students of today are our warriors of tomorrow.’ To me, that really sums up the importance of Aboriginal students in university.”

“I have never doubted that NITEP was the right program for me,” says MacMillan. “It has helped guide me towards a very positive future. I just hope to give back as much as has been given to me.”

For more information, visit www.longhouse.ubc.ca.

Laura Walz -- Peak Editor

12/06/2007

OPEN DIALOGUE: [left to right] Steve Gallagher, Tla'Amin (Sliammon) First Nation intergovernmental coordinator, City of Powell River Mayor Stewart Alsgard, City of Prince George Mayor Colin Kinsley and Rick Krehbiel, Lheidli T'enneh First Nation treaty negotiator, participated in a community-to-community forum in Powell River.  

A comprehensive master agreement between the City of Prince George and Lheidli T'enneh First Nation was explained during a community-to-community forum in Powell River on November 23.

The event focused on intergovernmental community planning and involved representatives from Tla'Amin (Sliammon) First Nation, the City of Powell River and the Powell River Regional District.

City of Prince George Mayor Colin Kinsley shared with the group details of the comprehensive master agreement, which was ready to be adopted if the Lheidli T'enneh final treaty agreement had been approved. In April this year, a majority of band members rejected the agreement, which would have been the first to be reached under the province's treaty process.

The final agreement included large tracts of Crown land located within the city's boundaries, which would have been part of the treaty settlement lands, said Kinsley. "The agreement was meant to capture the relationship between the Lheidli T'enneh and the city in a multitude of areas, including taxation, services, land planning, all kinds of situations that exist within a municipality," he said. "We agreed that prime Crown lands within the municipality would be part of the treaty settlement lands. They would be regulated and governed by the first nation."

The agreement provides direction concerning harmonization of development, servicing and use of the proposed treaty settlement lands. It covers issues such as supplying water, sewer, storm water drainage, garbage pick-up, police and fire services and snow removal, Kinsley said. "We call it a comprehensive master agreement because it covers every aspect," he said. "It had to be done in a way that was equitable between the two parties, that allowed for dispute resolution, consultation and flexibility going forward, because it will be something that will be in existence in perpetuity."

When the treaty failed to pass on the vote, Kinsley said, the City of Prince George council passed a resolution asking both the provincial and federal governments to keep the treaty settlements lands until March 31, 2008.

Steven Gallagher, Tla'Amin's intergovernmental coordinator, said the forum gave Powell River officials an opportunity to look at other initiatives. "We've always been ahead of most first nations and local governments in these areas," he said. "Now we need to start looking at other models. We're looking at all the arrangements that need to be in place as we move forward."

Tla'Amin is involved in a comprehensive planning process and intergovernmental community planning with the city and the regional district.

The three parties have established an intergovernmental community planning technical committee.

Part of the project involves harmonization with the regional district post treaty, said Gallagher. Tla'Amin has in place a comprehensive community plan and a land and water use plan for its traditional territory.

©The Powell River Peak 2007

Businesses take aim at natives' settlement money

JOE FRIESEN AND KATHERINE O'NEILL

December 6, 2007

WINNIPEG, EDMONTON -- The sign said "We Welcome First Nations," and it stood outside a Regina car dealership for three days before complaints from the public forced the owner to take it down last week.

The owner of AA Car World, who declined to give his name, said he was surprised by the negative reaction. His is just one of dozens of businesses trying to attract their share of the $1.9-billion being paid to survivors of residential schools, much of it destined to be spent on the Prairies and in the North.

"The whole of Saskatchewan knows this is going on with the residential schools money," the owner said. "Fifty per cent of our business is with these cultures, and we were just trying to say, 'Welcome, come on in, look around, meet our staff.' We have a First Nations fellow on staff and he knows a lot of them from the different communities. But they felt we targeted them and that was unfortunate."

Former residential school students in Manitoba complain that for weeks they've had unsolicited calls from car dealers and banks. They wonder how their names came to the attention of these companies.

"I think they must just be guessing, unless they're getting the information off somebody," said Stella Smoke, who lives on the Dakota Plains reserve.

"I've had a few calls from car dealerships in Winnipeg trying to sell me a car, but I have a new car, I don't need a new car. There's a couple of finance companies that wanted to loan me money, one of them wanted to loan me $9,999."

The minimum common-experience payment, the lump sum given to anyone who attended residential school, is $10,000, with an additional amount based on the number of years in school. The average cheque in Manitoba has been about $18,000, although many have yet to receive the money. It's the first time some have had such substantial funds.

The North West Company, which owns the only stores on many remote reserves, recently moved more big-ticket consumer items such as snowmobiles, big-screen TVs and furniture to its northern outlets.

"If you look at the surge now, it's been an uptick in business of 6 to 7 per cent, and we're expecting higher, but the money [hasn't arrived] yet," said executive vice-president Michael McMullen.

The Blood Tribe in Alberta has recently nailed up "No Trespass" signs at its entrances to keep out unwanted vendors. Located about 200 kilometres south of Calgary, about 2,000 of its 10,200 members are eligible for the payment.

"It's up to the individuals on how to spend their money, but we want to help make sure they aren't taken advantage of," said spokesman Rick Tailfeathers.

He said the reserve has been papered with flyers for everything from kitchen appliances to farm equipment. More used cars with "For sale" signs have popped up on nearby roads. The number of businesses applying to trade on the reserve has doubled in recent months. Everybody from drug dealers to lawyers wants a piece. "The lawyers are like vultures sitting on a fence post," he joked.

No band members have reported any serious problems yet. "But that could change in the next few months," he added.

SCOTT SUTHERLAND

The Canadian Press

December 5, 2007 at 5:15 AM EST

VICTORIA — The B.C. Treaty Commission is trumpeting some breakthroughs on land claims this year but warning it may be time to come up with new approaches to get more first nations to the negotiating table.

In releasing its annual report yesterday, the commission anticipated that several aboriginal groups may take the successful ratifications of the Tsawwassen and Maa-nulth treaties over the past few weeks to heart and move to the final agreement stage.

"It creates the buzz that treaties are possible," commissioner Jody Wilson said.

The deal with the Tsawwassen First Nation will give the 300-member band more than 700 hectares of prime land in Delta, south of Vancouver, about $14-million in cash, self-government provisions and fishing rights.

The Maa-nulth treaty will give the five bands on western Vancouver Island a capital transfer of $73.1-million, annual resource royalty payments averaging $1.2-million for 25 years and a land transfer of approximately 245 square kilometres.

The commission report said there are eight first nations whose members could conceivably be casting votes over the next few years. They are among about 20 said to be making some progress at the negotiating table.

However, another 14 bands are reported "struggling due to significant differences in positions" and the remaining two dozen are "doing very little or nothing at all at the treaty table."

"There is serious dissatisfaction within many communities with what they view as not enough on the table in order to effect a treaty," said acting chief commissioner Jack Weisgerber.

The commissioners pointed to the Lheidli T'enneh First Nations' rejection of their final agreement, the first treaty to go to a vote this year. They felt it was a case of many members of a band who were not quite ready to sign on to a deal that was seen as problematic and not well understood.

A major strategic error identified by the commission was the decision to hold the band council election just eight days before the treaty vote.

While treaty content is a major factor, Mr. Weisgerber noted that the preoccupation with other issues and priorities is a challenge for some bands.

"For many first nations the treaties simply do not represent their idea of true reconciliation," he said.

So the commissioners are supporting the concept of a common table, which has been suggested by a group within the treaty process known as the unity protocol.

The group has called on both the provincial and federal governments to change their positions regarding certainty provisions - deciding whether federal, provincial or native laws are to apply on the lands under the settlement agreement and in the case of a disagreement, whose law takes precedence.

It also wants government to modify its stance on the constitutional status of treaty lands, governance, fiscal relations and taxation and co-management throughout treaty lands.

The commission notes that a recent statement from the First Nations Summit, which represents aboriginal groups in the treaty process, warned that reaching further agreements is in serious jeopardy unless the governments change their negotiating mandates to ensure the recognition of aboriginal rights and title.

The commission believes a so-called common table could allow the parties to negotiate and develop options regarding those issues.

In addition, the commission said it would also be prepared to convene a separate high-level table for those bands with a shared interest in negotiating specific treaty chapters.

Mr. Weisgerber also noted that increasingly, first nations and other governments are seeking solutions outside the treaty process.

Over the past year there have been significant announcements in British Columbia of deals on health, education, language, housing and economic development.

"Actions taken as a result of these announcements may well relieve some of the pressure on treaty negotiators to solve all of the problems through treaty," Mr. Weisgerber said, but warned it's a double-edged sword.

"There's always the danger that these initiatives will divert energy away from treaty negotiations. The ideal situation, from our perspective, is the negotiating table."

The commission is also pointing to recent court cases that will undoubtedly have an effect on coming negotiations.

Mr. Weisgerber said decisions such as the recent B.C. Supreme Court ruling in the Tsilhqo'tin case - it confirmed aboriginal rights and title to thousands of square kilometres in the central B.C. Interior - usually have the effect of fortifying bands' attempts to win more concessions at the negotiating table.

But the commission felt it also provided a clear message that the courts are not the right place to effect reconciliation of competing interests and provided further encouragement to all parties to negotiate.

Another court case that quashed an attempt by several Vancouver Island bands to thwart the Tsawwassen treaty because their agreement overlapped competing claims gives another compelling reason to first nations to resolve their territorial issues early on in the negotiating process.

The treaty commission said it now is proposing to get more involved in resolving these so-called overlap issues.

"Things are going to change in our process and I think the commission is receptive to that," said Ms. Wilson. "We are going to encounter a hugely busy year next year."

Since being created in the spring of 1993, the B.C. Treaty Commission has allocated $398-million in negotiation-support funding to more than 50 first nations, or about two-thirds of the aboriginal groups in the province.

The commission lost two of its five members when former B.C. premier Mike Harcourt left in May at the end of his term and chief commissioner Steven Point became the first native appointed B.C. lieutenant-governor.

A spokesman for the commission said the federal government announced yesterday that Jerry Lampert, former head of the B.C. Business Council, has been named to replace Mr. Harcourt effective immediately.

Lindsay Kines, Times Colonist

Published: Wednesday, December 05, 2007

The B.C. treaty process still faces major hurdles despite breakthrough deals with the Tsawwassen and Maa-nulth First Nations, according to the independent body that oversees negotiations.

In its annual report released yesterday, the B.C. Treaty Commission tempered its optimism with warnings about looming problems.

"The enthusiasm of governments and others for the agreements that have been achieved with First Nations is understandable," the reports says.

"But these treaty ratifications are taking place against a backdrop of growing provincial, national and international unrest."

The report pointed to First Nations' disappointment with Canada for refusing to sign the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.

The Assembly of First Nations also organized a national day of protest last June that "signalled growing frustration with the level of poverty in First Nations' communities across Canada and, in B.C., drew attention to the lack of overall success in resolving the 'land question,'" the report says.

Commissioner Jody Wilson told reporters yesterday that the Tsawwassen and Maa-nulth success "creates the buzz that treaties are possible in British Columbia."

Lt.-Gov. Steven Point, a former chief treaty commissioner, gave royal assent to the two treaties during the recent B.C. legislature sitting.

Wilson said other First Nations will want to reach deals on their own terms, but many of the negotiating tables face huge challenges.

The commission says it's unclear how many First Nations can negotiate treaties under the current process. Up to eight First Nations could go to a vote on treaties in the next few years, and a total of 20 are making progress.

But another 14 are "struggling due to significant difference in positions" and another 24 are doing very little at the treaty table, the report says.

"Many First Nations are a long way from achieving their idea of 'true reconciliation,'" the report says. "No one can be complacent."

In order to remove some of the roadblocks, the commission voiced its support for the idea of a "common table" to resolve key issues. The issues include the constitutional status of treaty lands, governance, fiscal relations and taxation, and fisheries.

Wilson said First Nations are showing a unified front in pushing for changes to the provincial and federal governments' positions at the treaty table.

Over the past 14 years, the commission has allocated $398 million, most of that in loans, to assist more than 50 First Nation with negotiations. The federal and provincial governments have spent about $30 million on the commission since it opened in 1993.

2-2977

OTTAWA (December 5, 2007) - The Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, today announced the appointment of Mr. Jerry Lampert to the British Columbia Treaty Commission.

"Our government understands what can be accomplished through a shared commitment to dialogue and by working together to find common solutions – solutions that balance the rights of all Canadians," said Minister Strahl. "We are confident that Mr. Lampert's knowledge and experience in the region and understanding of complex land and treaty issues in B.C. will be a benefit to the work of the Commission."

Mr. Lampert recently announced his retirement from the Business Council of British Columbia, where he focussed on building a competitive and growing economy for the province. As President and CEO of the Business Council since 1993, Mr. Lampert led efforts to broaden and strengthen BC's economic base in order to bring more jobs and new investments to British Columbia. He also led the Business Council's initiatives to build positive relationships with First Nations representatives, including economic development opportunities and workable consultative processes.

Established in 1992 by an agreement between Canada, BC and the First Nations Summit, the BC Treaty Commission and the six-stage treaty process are designed to advance negotiations and facilitate fair and durable treaties.

The BC Treaty Commission's primary role, as an independent and neutral body, is to ensure the effectiveness of the negotiation process. The Commission is guided by the 1992 agreement and the 1991 Report of the BC Claims Task Force. In carrying out the recommendations of the Task Force, the Treaty Commission is responsible for facilitation, funding, public information and education.

Biographical notes are attached.

For further information please contact:

Minister's Office

Philippe Mailhot

Press Secretary

Office of the Honourable Chuck Strahl

819-997-0002

Media Relations

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

819-953-1160