Native leaders tour

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OTTAWA - A 21-member delegation headed by George Erasmus, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, are on a second European trip to present a balanced viewpoint concerning Aboriginal people's rights and economies versus a proposed ban on importation of fur products.

The group, members of the three-country Indigenous Survival International organization, will visit West Germany, Belgium and Switzerland to speak to European parliamentarians, the media, university students and members of Greenpeace in an effort to build on the success of a similar trip last fall.

The trip, also led by Erasmus, included a swing through England where Greenpeace Great Britain decided to withdraw from the European anti-trapping, anti-fur campaign citing the economic and cultural concerns of northern hemisphere aboriginal people.

This time around the ISI members will meet with Greenpeace officials in what is called a "continuation of dialogue." ISI organizers notes that a Greenpeace committee consisting of members from Australia, Canada, Denmark and Sweden is being established to address Aboriginal renewable resources issues.

The European trip began just after the First Annual ISI-sponsored Aboriginal Peoples' Conference on Harvesting and Renewable Resources in Chisasibi, Quebec. Some 150 delegates from the three founding countries discussed a variety of issues related to the harvesting of fur-bearing animals. The conference wound up with the signing of a "protocol" by leaders of aboriginal groups attending.

"The animal rights movement is very, very clear in where it's going. They want to radically change man's basic relationship with other living animals and we're on the cutting edge because they perceive us to be weak," said Chief Erasmus. "We are actually part of the majority in the world that, one way or another, is involved in harvesting animals."

The group plans to meet parliamentarians of all political strips, including members of the environmental conscious Green Party of West Germany. The trip was to culminate in Geneva with a meeting March 6 and 7 with non-governmental organizations and U.N. specialized agencies. At this last meeting the World Conservation Strategy, developed by a number of worldwide agencies, was to be discussed in the context of Aboriginal concerns.