Ominiyak in Europe: Lubicon support groups decide on action

Page 1

European groups will hold demonstrations and sit-ins at Canadian embassies across Europe as part of their support strategy for North American Indian causes, on Thanksgiving Day, October 12, 1987.

This is a support strategy that was decided by European support groups meeting at the third European meeting of North American Indian support groups, on May 7 through 12, at Vienna, Austria.

Aboriginal representatives, including Chief Bernard Ominayak of the Lubicon Lake band attended the four day conference while on his European tour.

Also in attendance were Gordon Peters, representing the Assembly of First Nations, Jim Sinclair, president of the Association of Metis and Non-Status Indians of Saskatchewan; Christopher McCormick, representative of the Native Council of Canada and Bill Daniels of the Lac La Hache community in northern Saskatchewan.

Conference organizer Peter Schwarzbauer reported that 130 delegates of 30 support groups from 12 European countries participated in the meeting to coordinate support action for North American Aboriginal causes.

The case of the Lubicon Lake band's 47 year old land claim struggle was a major item at the meeting, said Schwarzbauer.

"The Lubicon Lake case received support for a clear action plan, because their case was very well presented with statements by Chief Ominayak, a CBC video on Lubicon Lake, produced in Canada and a slide tape production, taken at Lubicon Lake and produced in Austria," said Schwarzbauer.

"Sports and politics have gone together since the games were held in ancient Greece, right up to the 1980 boycott of the Moscow Olympic Games," said Schwarzbauer.

Support action chosen for the Lubicon Lake includes protest rallies at Canadian embassies in Europe on Thanksgiving Day and Columbus Day.

"If support groups from some of the European countries are unable to organize rallies, then they were asked to present Canadian embassadors with information related to the Lubicon case on October 12," said Schwarzbauer.

Schwarzbauer also asked support groups to identify museums in their countries that have been asked to donate Indian artefacts to the Calgary Glenbow museum's Olympic showcase and to make those European museums aware of the Lubicon Lake boycott of the Calgary 1988 Olympics.

Schwarzbauer reported that other action plans are: a letter writing campaign to the Vatican to persuade the Vatican not to lend artifacts to the Calgary Olympic museum showcase; that Olympic teams, sports organizations, related agencies and European sports journalists, be contacted and given information to support the Lubicon Lake boycott and urge athletes to boycott the opening Olympic ceremonies and that support groups lobby members of the European Parliament.

European support groups of North American Aboriginal causes sprang up all over Europe after the United Nations Conference on Human Rights in 1977, which had participation North American Indians, said Schwarzbauer.

"Since that meeting, Indians have realized how important it is to gain European support through an increased awareness campaign," said Schwarzbauer.

"The tour is going okay. We are gaining more support and response from European groups," said Ominayak when contacted by Windspeaker.

The Lubcon Lake tour of Europe on May 7 through 16, to promote awareness of their land claim struggle, began at Stockholm, Sweden ? had a stopover at Vienna, Austria, to attend the conference of European support groups, then moved on to Munich, Germany and ended at Lorenzn, Switzerland.

Negotiations with the federal government, on the band's 47 year old land claim broke down last summer.