B.C. bands win inquiry into unfair treatment

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Decades of alleged mistreatment at the hands of governments and police will be the subject of a soon-to-be announced public inquiry in British Columbia.

Final arrangements are being hammered out between the provincial government and three interior bands, who say they have received rough and unequal treatment for the last 20 years.

"This is the first overall investigation," said Francis Lacesse, chief of the Chilcotin Toosey band.

"Our people want to get this out of the way once and for all."

Among the concerns raised by members of the Chilcotin, Shuswap and South Carrier tribal groups are allegations of excessive force used by RCMP officers.

There are also lingering concerns over the investigation of several deaths in the area that some people believe were treated lightly because the victims were Native.

In one case a Chilcotin woman died from a gunshot wound that went unnoticed

by medical professionals and an RCMP officer.

Another case concerns the death of six people, including one man who suffered only a broken leg, after their car ran off an embankment and was not found for more than 20 hours.

Police have also been accused of dragging their heels until pressured by non-Native individuals in the 1979 death of Grace Haines.

Haines, a Chilcotin woman, was raped and then thrown over a bridge. Two men were eventually charged and convicted of manslaughter.

Differences remain between government and Native officials on the final form the inquiry will take, including issues such as the appointment of a commissioner.

The government wants to name a retired Vancouver Island judge while the bands prefer a high profile individual like Ted Hughes, the man who is currently heading the inquiry into the shooting of Cree trapper Leo LaChance in Saskatchewan.