Carrier Sekani Tribal Council

The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council brings together seven member nations to unify our voices and strengthen our inherent indigenous rights, title, and interests in our territories.

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Ottawa bargaining in bad faith on land claims, native groups say

MARK HUME
VANCOUVER— From Wednesday’s Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Jul. 26, 2011 12:22PM EDT
Last updated Tuesday, Jul. 26, 2011 9:46PM EDT

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-bargaining-in-bad-faith-on-land-claims-native-groups-say/article2110067/

Native organizations have accused the federal government of negotiating in bad faith by imposing deadlines and making “take-it-or-leave-it” offers to bands trying to settle specific land claims. The allegations were made in a lengthy document released Tuesday by the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, the Nlaka’pamux Nation Tribal Council and the Alliance of Tribal Nations. The Assembly of First Nations echoed the concerns, with National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo calling on Ottawa to clarify the situation.

“First Nations are naturally concerned about any apparent attempt that may diminish or deny our lawful claims,” said Mr. Atleo. The organizations say that, in an effort to clear up a backlog of specific claims, the government is pressuring bands to settle by threatening to “arbitrarily cut off negotiations.”

The government, however, contends it is just working expeditiously to clear up claims that otherwise might be left unsettled for years. “First Nations raised concerns in the past about the slow pace of progress in resolving outstanding claims,” Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan said in a statement issued by his office. “To address their concerns, we have adopted a new approach to speed up claims resolution. This includes three-year time frames for negotiating settlements.”

He said bands that can’t negotiate a settlement within three years can still go before the Specific Claims Tribunal, where a panel of judges can make a decision. The tribunal was set up recently to give bands a place to appeal if their claims were rejected by the Specific Claims Board. The board has 471 claims before it.

The analysis by native organizations states the government is now putting pressure on bands by “insisting that negotiations be substantially competed within three years, after which Canada will cease negotiating.”
The report accused the government of adopting “a highly adversarial, technical and legalistic approach to specific claims rather than a collaborative one… It is, in short, negotiating in ‘bad faith.’ ” The government is pursing a strategy of “partial acceptance,” in which it offers to open negotiations only if large parts of the claim are abandoned, the analysis said.

“In some of these cases, Canada does not offer to negotiate, but sets out a pre-calculated figure or formula which is offered as part of an ‘expedited settlement.’ There is no offer to negotiate or even talk,” it said. A spokesman for the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs who asked not to be named said bluntly worded “take-it-or-leave-it letters” are being received by bands across the country. Specific claims are separate from broad-based land claims and generally deal with issues such as the removal of land from reserves or other individualistic legal matters.

For example, one of the claims before the Specific Claims Tribunal deals with the alleged failure of the government to pay annual treaty annuities to members of the Beardy’s and Okemasis bands, near Duck Lake, Sask. The bands claim their Treaty 6 payments were unfairly stopped for several years, to penalize them because the Northwest Rebellion of 1885 started near their reserve. No Beardy’s or Okemasis band members were ever convicted of taking part in the rebellion.

In another case, the Huu-ay-aht First Nation, on Vancouver Island, is seeking compensation for timber removed from reserve lands in 1918. Jodi Wilson-Raybould, Regional Chief for B.C. for the Assembly of First Nations, said specific claims are often legally complex and reach back over many years. Such cases, she said, might not be resolvable within the three-year window the government seeks to impose.

“We want to ensure there is no arbitrary cut-off of negotiations,” she said. “Negotiations aren’t negotiations if there is a game of take-it-or-leave-it being played by one side.” 

CSTC 30th Annual General Assembly

“People, Purpose, Passion” The Pathway to Success.

October 6th, 2011
Wet’suwet’en First Nation
Decker Lake Hall
Starts at 9 a.m.

For more information, please contact Mariam Louie at 250-562-6279

Carrier Sekani Tribal Council 30th AGA – “People, Purpose, Passion: The Pathway to Success”
Please join us at Decker Lake Hall, Wet’suwe’ten First Nation, Thursday, October 6th, 2011
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Commercial Salmon Deal Reached

After years of conflict over sockeye salmon sales by First Nations in the Alberni Valley, commercial sales will now be legal under an agreement signed this week by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations.

By Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist

After years of conflict over sockeye salmon sales by First Nations in the Alberni Valley, commercial sales will now be legal under an agreement signed this week by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations.

The deal, based on First Nations receiving 33 per cent of the commercial sockeye catch in Alberni Inlet and the Somass River, is a victory, said Tseshaht fisheries manager Andy Olson.

“We haven’t had a commercial sockeye agreement for 10 years,” Olson said.

“We had one before that, but the problem has been the allocation formula.”

The pilot sales agreement, started in the 1990s, was supposed to be renegotiated every year.

But for the past decade, the DFO has demanded a sliding scale, with the aboriginal commercial fishery receiving a decreasing percentage during good runs and the bulk going to the non-aboriginal commercial fishery.

That was unacceptable, but 33 per cent is a better offer, Olson said.

“Now we have been able to reach an agreement with DFO that allows Somass First Nations to commercially sell sockeye, chinook, coho and chum,” he said.

The deal was approved last week by Tseshaht members in a 49 to nine vote.

Some aboriginal fishermen are likely to sell their catch to commercial fish buyers, but others will put their fish on ice and sell at roadside stalls, Olson said.

The roadside sales, which have continued despite the lack of an agreement with the DFO, have been an annual bone of contention.

Although it is a good sockeye run this year, with a prediction of more than one million fish, prices are low, and the aim will be to get the best price for the product, Olson said.

“We are working on getting a brand so we can market fish on our own,” he said.

That could include commercial ventures such as smoking or canning fish.

Somass First Nations, like many other coastal B.C. bands, claim their economy historically included fish sales and argue they should be allowed to sell salmon as well as catch food, social and ceremonial fish.

Tseshaht and Hupacasath were not part of a Nuu-chah-nulth lawsuit, led by Ahousaht First Nation, which in May saw the B.C. Court of Appeal affirm the right of five First Nations to sell fish in their traditional territories, but it has had an effect, Olson said.

“It forced DFO to come to the table with a more reasonable allocation offer,” he said.

No one from the DFO was available to comment Tuesday.

In the 1990s, the SomassAlberni agreement with First Nations drew accusations of a race-based fishery and protest fisheries by opponents, including thenReform Party MP John Cummins.

jlavoie@timescolonist.com

© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist

Cohen Inquiry Panel Debates Aboriginal Fishing Practices

Cohen Inquiry Panel Debates Aboriginal Fishing Practices – THE GLOBE AND MAIL

SUNNY DHILLON
VANCOUVER— From Wednesday’s Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Jul. 05, 2011 8:59PM EDT
Last updated Tuesday, Jul. 05, 2011 9:01PM EDT

Aboriginal fisheries were under the Cohen Commission’s microscope on Tuesday, with parties at the public inquiry debating just how much fish first nations need.

The commission, which is investigating the decline of sockeye salmon in B.C.’s Fraser River, is in its last week of evidentiary hearings before its summer break. Four witnesses took the stand for the day of testimony, including Ernie Crey, fisheries adviser for the Sto:lo Tribal Council.

During the morning session, Mr. Crey was cross-examined by Phil Eidsvik of the B.C. Fisheries Survival Coalition, which represents the interests of commercial fishermen. Mr. Eidsvik asked multiple times whether the illegal catching and selling of fish was a concern for the Agassiz-based Sto:lo council.

Mr. Crey said no.

“They appear to be an issue of concern to some folks, but I don’t think those folks are in our community,” Mr. Crey said, appearing to turn the question back around on Mr. Eidsvik. “When we do sell fish that we catch, we do so under agreements with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. We also have food social and ceremonial fisheries. Those fish are intended for just what it’s described as.”

At one point in the proceedings, Mr. Eidsvik tried to introduce a Globe and Mail article that detailed a black-market operation for salmon caught in some aboriginal food fisheries. When other parties objected to the document’s introduction, Mr. Eidsvik simply asked Mr. Crey if members of the Sto:lo ever had their salmon supply cut short because of illegal sales.

“Not that I’m aware of,” Mr. Crey replied.

Mr. Crey was joined in the witness box by Barry Rosenberger, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ area director for the B.C. Interior, Marcel Shepert of the Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance, and Ross Wilson, director of the Heiltsuk integrated resource management department.

Mr. Shepert said in his 15 years of work, he has never seen first nations receive the number of fish that they need. Mr. Crey said it’s difficult to explain how much fish is required, since the salmon are used in important cultural ceremonies like weddings and potlatches.

The panel of witnesses also discussed how best to manage the fisheries in a way that serves all the various stakeholders.

On Wednesday, the commission is expected to begin three days of testimony on marine environment habitats. The commission, which is headed by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen, will return from its break Aug. 18. Its final report must be submitted to government by June, 2012.

The commission has been steadily holding hearings since a holiday break at the beginning of the year, and the time off will likely come as welcome news for some of the parties. Tempers appeared to flare during one exchange Tuesday morning. Mr. Eidsvik was interrupted several times during his cross-examination and said he could do without the objections.

“I know in hockey where somebody makes an objection and one side loses, there’s a penalty to the person making the objection. I think it’s with measuring sticks. Maybe that would be appropriate here,” he said.

That comment sparked responses from a couple of opposing parties. Mr. Eidsvik said he did not mean to cause any offence.

Aboriginal fisheries were under the Cohen Commission’s microscope on Tuesday, with parties at the public inquiry debating just how much fish first nations need.

CSTC to Speak at Russian Forestry Round Table

Dakelh Territory, Prince George, British Columbia.  Canada. – The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council (CSTC) representative Vice Tribal Chief Terry Teegee, RPF will be in Russia from July 6 to 7, 2011 speaking to Russian forestry experts, government and Russian indigenous groups.  As the British Columbia Representative on the National Aboriginal Forestry Association (NAFA), Vice Chief Teegee will provide some insight into the challenges and opportunities First Nations have had in north central British Columbia, Canada.

“We are very excited about sharing our knowledge and experiences with the Russian government and indigenous communities”, stated Teegee.  The Russian project is being led by Minregion and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Khabarovsky Krai, with the participation from the All-Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East (RAIPON).  The Department of Aboriginal Affairs Canada is leading the Canadian side of the project.

The project is aimed at sharing best practices in the area of socio-economic development of indigenous communities and sustainable resource management in Russia and Canada.  The Russian government is working on developing a Model Territory district to pilot how indigenous communities can better benefit from resources in their territories.

“A cornerstone of improving indigenous peoples socio-economic situation is to develop domestic policies and laws, with indigenous peoples that include principles of respect, reconciliation and reciprocity,” said Vice Tribal Chief Teegee.  He also noted, “If these instruments don’t exist then there are international ones like the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  It outlines minimum globally accepted standards for the well-being, survival and dignity of indigenous peoples.” 

Vice Chief Teegee stated, “Our Dakelh and Sekani peoples share similar climates and customs as the indigenous peoples in Russia.  We are looking forward to learning more and contributing to respectful and productive dialogues with everyone involved.”
   
For more information please contact:
Vice Tribal Chief Terry Teegee.  Office (250) 562-6279 e.223.  Cell: (250) 640-3256.
Email: tteegee@cstc.bc.ca 

Dakelh Territory, Prince George, British Columbia.  Canada. – The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council (CSTC) representative Vice Tribal Chief Terry Teegee, RPF will be in Russia from July 6 to 7, 2011 speaking to Russian forestry experts, government and Russian indigenous groups.  As the British Columbia Representative on the National Aboriginal Forestry Association (NAFA), Vice Chief Teegee will provide some insight into the challenges and opportunities First Nations have had in north central British Columbia, Canada.

First Nations stand ground

In case their unequivocal message hasn’t been received, British Columbia’s First Nations are in Calgary this week to make it clear to the board of directors of Enbridge Inc., Enbridge’s annual meeting of shareholders and members of the broader oil community that the proposed $5.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline is not going forward.

It will be a difficult message to accept. The pipeline between the oil sands in Alberta and Kitimat on the northern coast of B.C. is a big plank in the oil-and-gas industry’s strategy to develop a new market for its products in Asia, a major part of Enbridge’s growth strategy, a key piece of strategic infrastructure for all of Canada, and a major job creator for Western Canada.

But it’s a message that requires full consideration.

The cost of moving against a united and powerful aboriginal front that is getting angrier by the day is considerable: lengthy litigation regardless of whether the project receives regulatory approval (there are no treaties in much of B.C., opening a decision to a legal challenge), damage to the corporate reputation from disrespecting the wishes of B.C.’s matriarchal communities, vulnerability to sabotage during and after construction, and continuing demonstrations.

It also threatens to erode the goodwill earned by the sector from First Nations in other parts of the country where it operates.

With oil spills continuing — the latest coming only a week ago, when 28,000 barrels spilled from a Plains Midstream Canada pipeline near the Lubicon First Nations village of Little Buffalo in Alberta — B.C. aboriginals’ fears of oil contamination of water, wildlife and way of life, is hardly unfounded.

The pipeline would cross hundreds of streams and lakes in the province’s interior, then oil would be carried on tankers in the Pacific ocean, where memories of the Exxon Valdez disaster loom large.

To be sure, Enbridge’s 12-member board of directors, chaired by David Arledge, a former U.S. energy executive from Florida, and its top executive group, deserve full credit for meeting directly Tuesday with a delegation headed by Jackie Thomas, Chief of the Saik’uz, to hear its unvarnished views.

And Enbridge, Canada’s largest pipeline company, deserves recognition for going above and beyond corporate norms to garner First Nations support.

In February, it announced an offer to B.C. First Nations affected by the project worth $1.5-billion in cash, jobs, business opportunities during the next 30 years as well as a 10% stake in one of Canada’s most strategic infrastructure projects.

But what it has failed to recognize is that this group, led by many female chiefs, has different values.

In an interview with the Financial Post ahead of the board meeting, the delegation said money isn’t what they are after.

In fact, monetary benefits have been counterproductive. The more money is offered, the more the opposition hardened. Opposition to the pipeline has spread to all of B.C.’s aboriginal community and is spreading within Alberta’s, chief Thomas said.

“There is a cultural divide that they don’t seem to get,” said Geraldine Thomas-Flurer, coordinator of the Yinka Dene Alliance.

“We are taught at a very young age that we have to respect the land, that you don’t take anything out of greed, you take out of need, and if you take something you give something back.

“They have to learn that at the end of the day, when everything is gone, what are they going to spend their money on, when they don’t have clean drinking water?”

Peter Erickson, a councilor with the Nak’azdli band, said B.C. First Nations are poverty-stricken, but still value preserving their way of life more than having a pipeline through their lands.

“We are not in a negotiation. We are not here to get a better bargaining position. We are telling them that the project is not going to proceed within our territory,” he said.

On Wednesday, busloads of First Nations representatives, including elders and children, from B.C., Alberta and elsewhere, are expected to bring their message directly to shareholders, inside and outside the annual meeting, through formal speeches and demonstrations.

Ta’kaiya Blaney, a 10-year-old girl from the Sliammon First Nation on the B.C. coast, is scheduled to sing a song she composed for Enbridge, called Shallow Waters, reflecting First Nations’ dread of oil spills.

“We plan to shake Enbridge to its core, I hope, and hopefully they will reconsider what they are trying to do to us,” Ms. Thomas-Flurer said.

Alberta’s Lubicons are also expected to attend.
 

Nak’azdli Band Members are returning to their fishing grounds for the first time in over twenty year

NAK’AZDLI BAND COUNCIL
P.O. Box 1329, Fort St. James, B.C.  V0J 1P0 Telephone (250) 996 – 7171 Fax (250) 996 – 8010

April 28, 2011

Nak’azdli Band Members are returning to their fishing grounds for the first time in over twenty years 

The absence was initiated after trying to work with DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) to maintain our salmon runs that we have fished since time immemorial.

We have cut our salmon harvest to fewer than 1000 fish, which is less than two fish per person per year.  In the same time DFO has not restricted the commercial harvest to a point that helps rebuild the runs in our area.

We have voiced our concerns time and time again, and still the runs dwindle, the runs can support our harvest which takes precedence over commercial use.
But we stayed out of the water to try to save our fish population.

Our community has suffered severe loss in a number of areas including our cultural heritage; we can no longer wait for DFO to listen. The young and the Elders of our community have experienced the loss of the traditional cultural ways of fishing.

We are returning to the water in the summer of 2011 and hope to catch 55-88,000 salmon this year, which we will target our late runs, as again the early Stuarts are dangerously low. Within 5 years we hope to catch a
sufficient number of salmon per year, this would allow our community members supply for the winter months; which will bring us to our minimal traditional numbers.    

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For more information please contact:
Peter Erickson (250) 996-7171

Collaborative Project Help First Nations Take Part in Carbon Markets

The International Institute for Sustainable Development has issued two reports as part of the First Nations Carbon Collaborative to help build the capacity of First Nations to take part in existing and emerging carbon markets.

The collaborative is a community-driven initiative spearheaded by IISD, the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources and three First Nations living within Canada’s frontier forests.

Undefined carbon rights and a lack of experience prevent First Nations from accessing carbon markets, even though many of them live within and around the boreal forest region that stores 30 per cent of the world’s carbon, according to 2007 research by Woods Hole Research Center.

The literature review indicates there is little information about First Nations in Canada and carbon markets and that this void will need to be filled before First Nations can become active carbon market participants.

The best practices review found that local ownership enhances potential carbon market benefits, well beyond job creation. The review highlights the need to establish realistic timeframes, as capacity building can take considerable resources and time to deal with such issues as governance, transmitting local and traditional knowledge, operational training, youth development and succession planning.

As an initial capacity-building activity, the University of Toronto’s Centre for Environment in cooperation with the First Nations Carbon Collaborative will be hosting a free First Nations and carbon webinar series every Wednesday from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. (EST) beginning April 20 and ending May 25, 2011.

Webinar topics will include carbon 101, indigenous rights to carbon, emissions trading policies/legislation in Canada, carbon financing, offset projects and First Nations case study carbon projects. Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Shawn Atleo will open the webinar series. Grand Chief Edward John, the North American representative to the United Nations Permanent Forum, will also be a guest speaker.

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For more information please contact IISD project manager Vivek Voora (204) 958-7797 or IISD media and communications officer Nona Pelletier (204) 958-7740.

http://www.iisd.org/climate/land_use/fncc.aspx

CSTC Supports a Full Transparent Inquiry into the Pickton Murder Cases

DAKELH TRADITIONAL TERRITORY/PRINCE GEORGE, BC – The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council (CSTC) is pleased to hear that there will be a public inquiry into how the Vancouver Police Department and RCMP and other agencies managed the disappearances of women from the downtown eastside (DTES).

Vice Tribal Chief Terry Teegee stated, “it’s good to hear the Attorney General made the right decision to hold a public inquiry, however, it must be transparent and must seek to resolve the root problem of the matter which includes the relations between the police force and aboriginal people.” Teegee adds, ” there is a systemic issue in how the police force engaged the DTES women, which relates to not only the life style of the women, but also their class in society, which I believe was one of the reasons none of the tips were followed up or why there were no resources provided to solve these cases.”

Tribal Chief David Luggi stated, “We hope that this inquiry can provide answers and some sort of closure for the families of the women from the DTES.” We must also never forget that there are well over 500 women who are murdered or missing in all of Canada.” Luggi concluded, “the CSTC are also advocating for an inquiry into the Highway of Tears Murders and why none of them have been solved.”

Many of the women murdered by Robert Pickton were of aboriginal ancestry, one in particular, is from the Carrier Sekani community of Takla Lake, her name is Jacqueline Murdock. Jackie, as she was commonly known as, had her DNA remains found on the Pickton farm, however, Pickton has never been charged with her murder. A memorial service for Jackie will be held in Prince George on Friday September 24 at 10 am at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Prince George, BC.

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For more information, contact:
Vice Tribal Chief Terry Teegee at 250-562-6279