Indian land put on auction block

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The provincial government has put up for sale the land of four Indian communities near the west-central town of Grand Cache to collect on outstanding property taxes.

On Aug. 11, members of four Native co-operative housing projects on the outskirts of Grande Cache, located 450 km west of Edmonton received notice their land would be put up

for auction on Sept. 15.

As of Aug. 23, that was the scenario still facing over 300 members who live in the housing projects.

Residents apparently owe between $15,000 and $20,000 in back taxes to the provincial government.

The communities affected by the move include the housing co-operatives of Susa Creek, Muskeg Sepee, Grande Cache Lake Enterprises and Joachim Enterprises. There are six

communities altogether.

Dave MacPhee, a spokesman for the Indian communities, say residents are quite upset over the decision by the province.

"They're very angry," said MacPhee, whose community has applied for treaty status with the federal government.

MacPhee says jus last week, provincial government officials were in the Native communities encouraging people to become involved in economic redevelopment opportunities

around Grande Cache.

"It's all bloody obvious what they're doing," declared MacPhee, who believes the provincial government was trying to interfere in the community's plans to be recognized as treaty

Indians.

"First, they come in and say: here's some area redevelopment for you and then when we don't say yes or no, they give us tax notices," he said.

Government officials couldn't be reached for comment last wee but MacPhee says it would be impossible for members of the communities to raise the $20,000 needed to pay the

debt before the Sept. 15 deadline since most members are on welfare.

In addition, MacPhee says an agreement signed between his group and the government in 1972 when 4,150 acres of land was set aside for the Native communitas prevents any

sale of the land.

MacPhee says while the province has first option to acquire the lands should the communities want to sell it, the government must hold the land in trust for the Grande Cache

people, it the co-operatives ever fail.

"No matter what happens, they must hold the land in lieu. Whether they live up to that is something else," he said.

MacPhee also says in 1972 when the agreement to give land to his people was made, community members did not expect to be taxed, partly because they claim aboriginal title to

the land.

Since 1985, Natives in the area have been seeking to be recognized as part of Treaty 8, signed in 1899.

The community believes it was left out of those negotiations and its goal is to gain status as a band and to negotiate a land claim settlement with the federal government.

Their position is backed by a genealogical study indicating that many, if not a majority of the community is Indian, descended from the Iroquois tribe from Eastern Canada which

followed fur traders west more than 170 years ago and remained to settle in the area.

Descendants of the Grand Cache communities inhabited the Jasper area before being forced to leave when it was made a national park in 1911.

Many of those who left the park moved to Grand Cache and apparently, according to survivors, were promised by government official the right to settle permanently outside the park

like other Indians.

MacPhee says residents will move back to Jasper as a last resort.

"We'll take back what was originally ours. That's the feeling of the community. We'll see how far they push and they'll see how hard we push," he warned.

"They're trying to phase us out and become active non-Natives. But that's not our language."