Lonefighter leader's appeal allowed

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The Alberta Court of Appeal will let Milton Born With A Tooth appeal his weapons offence convictions even though the militant leader has missed legal deadlines for filing court documents.

At a hearing in Calgary, Appeal Court Justice Roger Kerans accepted arguments that delays in the process were caused by Born With A Tooth's inability to raise money.

Kerans commended the leader of the Peigan Lonefighter Society for trying to pay his own legal bills and suggested that legal aid might help make up the costs.

"It is unfortunate that his friends and supporters have financially let him down," Kerans said.

Outside the Calgary courthouse, a group of about 30 placard-waving demonstrators celebrated the decisions to sounds of traditional drummers. If the appeal had been denied, Born With A Tooth would have had to begin his 18-month jail sentence.

Born With A Tooth was convicted on seven weapons-related chagtes stemming from a 1990 attempt by Peigan Lonefights to divert the Oldman River in protest of a $350-million dam project.

At one point during the weeks-long protest, shots were fired when Alberta Environment, with RCMP escorts, attempted to inspect damage to an irrigation dike caused by the Lonefighters. Born With A Tooth was charged with eight counts of pointing a firearm following the incident.

His appeal of the charges has come under question because no additional documents have been filed with the court since his original application more than a year ago. Under Canadian law, a document called a factum must be filed within four months

of the appeal application.

Born With A Tooth has yet to file his factum. But a tentative date with the appeal court has been scheduled for June 18.

In an interview with Windspeaker, the day before his court appearance, Born With A Tooth said Lonefighter vows to disrupt dam operations would not be affected if he were sent to jail.

"It's not going to affect anything," he said. "Our plans are stronger than ever before...That dam is going to come down."

Along with allowing the appeal to proceed, Kerans upheld a new set of bail conditons that require Born With A Tooth to live in Calgary and not to go within a mile of the Oldman dam.

Karen Gainer, Born With A Tooth's lawyer, said the new conditions are the result of recent statements he made about plans to prevent the dam from filling during the spring runoff.

The new conditions were first passed on Born With A Tooth more than two weeks ago with his knowledge. RCMP in Pincher Creek, near southern Alberta's Peigan reserve, confirmed that an arrest warrant had been issued for Born With A Tooth for violating the new conditions. But they said they were not acting on the warrant because it was being appealed.

In supporting the new bail conditions for Born With A Tooth, Kerans commended the militant leader for behaving in accordance with his original conditions.

Peigan Lonefighters have been fighting the Oldman River dam development because they fear it will destroy sacred grounds and ruin their traditional lifestyles.