Delgamuukw: Nobody seems to get it

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Governments are resisting the new reality of Aboriginal title and they're getting away with it because Aboriginal people aren't being aggressive enough, a British Columbia chief says.

Chief Ray Hance, a Tsilhot'in National Government co-ordinator, believes it's make-it-or-break-it time for First Nations. His tribal group of six British Columbia Interior First Nation communities, with offices in Williams Lake, B.C., is making plans to turn up the heat on the provincial and federal governments.

#"All my life, I've been fighting for the recognition of Aboriginal title," said Hance. "Now, I don't have to. Now, I have to fight for proper implementation of Aboriginal title."

It's a fight that has been waged in a fragmented, disorganized way all over the country in recent months. Confrontations between First Nations and resource sector companies have become a regular occurrence in various parts of the country despite the fact that most companies have made great efforts to avoid costly mill closures, roadblocks, demonstrations or court fights. All summer long, newspaper headlines reported disputes in New Brunswick, then Quebec, then British Columbia. Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta, as well as the northern territories, all have situations that could easily boil over.

Aboriginal leaders say these confrontations can be traced back to one thing: Governments are unwilling to face limits on their control of the land within their jurisdiction, even when the highest court in the land has ruled the law says they must.

On the surface, it appears that the companies are the problem, Hance said, because every confrontation pits a company against at least one First Nation. Hance said you have to look more closely to see what's really going on.

"That's the way governments do it. They shove somebody between themselves and the problem," Hance said. "It's a classic, classic war tactic that's been used for thousands of years - divide and conquer. Well, we're prepared to reverse that divide and conquer. Instead of the government pitting the companies against the Indians, we're going to pit the companies against the government."

The Tsilhot'in tribal chief said his organization is working as part of the recently established Interior Nations Alliance. The 83 communities represented by the alliance are formulating a strategy they think will force the government to pay more attention to the Supreme Court of Canada ruling. Hance would not disclose the details of that strategy, but he provided a hint with his later remarks.

"We've told the government they've got to get serious about jurisdiction or everything's going to stop in our territory," he said. "We've told the companies that regardless of what permits they receive from the provincial government, if they don't make agreements with us directly, they're not going to work in our territory."

#He said Aboriginal people haven't yet fully grasped the extent of their rights under Delgamuukw and it will be an important part of the leadership's job to make the people more aware.

"It's a really frustrating time, but a really exciting time," he said. "At one time with Aboriginal title, you could just barely see the sails over the horizon. Now it's at the dock. Now we got to make something of it. And we've got to inform, teach, convince people that what we're doing is right."

Others have made a similar observation. Chris McCormick, an anti-tax specialist with Ontario's Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians, told Windspeaker of a situation that occurred during a border crossing at Sault Ste. Marie in early September.

An Aboriginal man who crossed into Michigan from Ontario and then purchased a set of tires before joining the procession back into Canada, a demonstration against Canada's failure to recognize the Jay Treaty, asked McCormick if he should throw a tarp over the tires so the Customs officers wouldn't ask him to declare them.

"I told him, 'No!' That's the wole point of us doing this," he said, laughing.

Convincing Aboriginal people that they have these legal rights and convincing them to be aggressive about enjoying and utilizing their rights isn't going to come easy, Hance and McCormick said, but it needs to be done.

Hance said he and his fellow chiefs will take on the government but they need the help of all First Nations chiefs and grassroots members to make any progress.

"People who are willing to co-operate are treated differently," he said, adding that he believes the public governments use preferential treatment to divide the Aboriginal community and the only smart move is to reject such offers.

In order to force the province to recognize how much the court decision has changed the rules or convince the federal government to honor the spirit and intent of treaties, Aboriginal people need a united front, Hance said.

"Even though Delgamuukw told the province it doesn't have the constitutional authority to limit Aboriginal title, the province is still doing it through their agency staff," he said. "I believe they're coaching the line agency staff to freeze out Aboriginal people."

By sticking together and stubbornly insisting that governments honor their legal obligations, Hance believes victory is possible.

"I've been chief since 1973," he said. "The government used to refuse to even consider Aboriginal title. They said they did everything out of the goodness of their heart. Now we know we have Aboriginal title and we have to implement it to its fullest capacity."