Natives in Olympics: Frank King - "OCO is not a funding agency"

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People must stop thinking the $250,000 OCO (Olympiques Canada Olympics) will be contributing toward a $1.25 million plan to involve Natives in the upcoming winter Olympics as funding, says chairman and president Frank King.

In an interview from his Calgary office recently, King pointed out that OCO is not a funding agency, but an organization formed purely to organize the Olympics games scheduled to begin February 13, 1988.

"Our responsibility is firstly to put on the Olympics. Secondly to try to raise enough money so that Alberta citizens won't be taxed to cover the expenses of the Games," says King. "We are providing a platform for cultural activities."

King was defending the newly unveiled plan by OCO to involve Native people in a variety of areas, including a national Native youth conference organized by Willy Littlechild and George Calliou, a Native fashion show organized by Carol Wildcat and a trade exhibition organized by Sarcee band member Bruce Starlight.

"This project has been developed by Native people. It is important we have a Native element, not a token. That old statement, 'let's do something for Indians,' really bothers me, it is tokenism. This exhibition is not."

A Treaty 7 committee which includes President Norman Grier from the Peigan reserve; Jim Munro a councillor from the Blackfoot band; treasurer, and band member Myrna Koutenay, has also come under scrutiny as Grier is currently under investigation by the RCMP for his part in alleged mismanagement of $750,000 allocated by the province for a study of the Oldman River Dam on the Peigan nation.

However, King points out that the selection of the committee was made by the Treaty 7 chiefs, not by OCO.

"As far as we are concerned the allegations against Mr. Grier have not been proven. He is innocent until proven otherwise, he adds.

Native Liaison Coordinator Sykes Powderface points out that the committee has recently been incorporated and that it could become a permanent structure to help promote economic development on the five Treaty 7 bands.

King points out that, in fact, the trade show has proven to be very popular. The Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Shell and Imperial Oil are contributing toward the event which is scheduled to open later this month.

King adds that allegations made by Chief Bernard Ominiyak, of the Lubicon Lake band, that many of the organizers are related and that the festival will be controlled by one large family are exaggerated.

The large powwow scheduled to take place in the Lindsay arena is being organized by Chief Leo Youngman who is the father-in-law of Bruce Starlight, organizer of the trade show. Starlight's sisters-in-law, owners of Starlight Fashions are also involved in the scheduled fashion show.

Like King, Powderface concedes the biggest criticism against the organizing committee has been the so called 'secretiveness' of the organization. However, he is quick to point out that OCO's silence has been at the request of the Treaty 7 bands.

"Many chiefs and councils were concerned that Chief Ominiyak would challenge the Treaty 7 bands on why they did not support them. They wanted to wait until everything was concrete. AS a result we have been playing a low profile," says Powderface.

However, Powderface adds that there will be many offshoots in terms of economic development from the upcoming winter olympic games for the Native people of the Treaty 7 area. Already one Blackfoot arts and crafts company has won the right to use the Olympic logo on its moccasins. And the torch relay race scheduled to run through 42 bands right across the country has had "good response."

The relay will run through the Peigan reserve and the four bands of Hobbema; all runners have now been designated.

OCO recently announced a $1.25 million Native involvement package. $250,000 would be allocated from the Olympic committee, $800,000 would be transferred from the federal and provincial governments and $400,000 would be transferred rom Indian nation governments.

This allocation recently came under fire from the Indian Association of Alberta when delegates pointed out that Indian nations were experiencing cutbacks in all areas, yet the federal government had enough money to transfer to the Olympic organization.

The Lubicon Lake band has called for a boycott against the 1988 Calgary Olympics in support of their outstanding land claim. The land claim has been in negotiation for almost 50 years.