Ominayak plans to continue land claim fight after Olympics

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The Lubicon Lake band says the fight for their land will continue after the Olympic Games are over.

During an interview Dec. 17, Chief Bernard Ominayak said because many of the band's problems have been "inflicted upon us by the deliberate destruction of our traditional economy and way of life" the band will "simply assert our jurisdiction on the ground (land) and defend ourselves as best we can.

"They (the government) think that if they can get over this next little while, and when the Games have come and gone, then we'll just go away," said Ominayak. "But they are wrong."

Although Ominayak will not divulge the details of his declared jurisdiction, he did say that many oil companies are active in the Lubicon Lake area and he and his band members must protect their territory.

"We have to start asserting our own jurisdiction."

Last year several confrontations occurred between Native people and oil rig crew members round the Lubicon Lake area. However, Ominayak will not confirm or deny that such tactics are planned.

The band has called for a boycott of the Calgary Olympics to draw attention to their land claim. The band claims the Games are being supported by the large oil companies that are destroying their land.

Companies such as Petro-Canada, which fund the Olympic torch relay and Shell Oil which funds the Glenbow museum's The Spirit Sings exhibition, have been singled out by the band.