Raid!

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A pre-dawn raid outside of Kamloops saw provincial Ministry of Transportation and Highways workers dismantle a camp set up by First Nations people as a base of operations for protests of the expansion of the Sun Peaks ski resort

Two RCMP officers stood by during the raid at 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 28, which provincial officials say was prompted by safety concerns. There were no incidents and no arrests, although the occupants of the protest camp were not allowed to remove their personal property, said Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs president Stewart Phillip.

The dismantling of the camp prompted Native Youth Movement activists to occupy the Ministry of Transportation and Highways office in Kamloops later that day to make it clear "this is unceded, unsurrend-ered traditional territory. Therefore, government, the RCMP and Sun Peaks have no authority on our lands."

The claim that safety concerns were the reason for the removal of the camp doesn't ring true with Phillip. He said the area in question was the site of the original protest camp, begun on Thanksgiving Day last year, and during that time no safety concerns were raised. He said several weeks after the site was first established the resort management asked the protesters to move to another location because they objected to its high visibility. The protesters agreed.

"The resort had another piece of land which they referred this group to, slightly up the road," he said. "It was a much less visible site."

The protest camp remained at that second site until early July of this year. At that time, four people were arrested when police carried out a court order to remove the protesters.

"What precipitated those four highly publicized arrests was the ski resort had very quietly, unbeknownst to the First Nations communities in the area and contrary to the Delgamuukw requirements, the ski resort had acquired a licence of occupation for that particular spot of land. Previous to that that location was Crown land," he said. "So the ski resort acquired a sort of tenure over that land and then indicated they needed that property to install some sewage and water works and started, by correspondence, to ask the people in the camp to move. Of course, there was some resistance to that."

After the arrests, the camp was moved back to the original site.

"The provincial government and the ski resort operators were aware the camp was going back to the original site but they never expressed any safety concerns at that time," Phillip said.

But after just over a month, the province decided the camp was in a location that threatened public safety.

Phillip said the ski resort owners have been pressuring the province in recent weeks to end the protest.

"So within the last week," he said on Aug. 28, "the Ministry of Transportation and Highways has written to the Neskonlith band and indicated a safety hazard due to its proximity to the road and they were requesting its removal."

Phillip attended a meeting at the camp on Aug. 20 where protesters and provincial officials discussed the matter. He said the discussion led to an agreement that signs would be posted near the site to warn drivers to slow down and the protesters would move the structures on the site back from the road side.

"Also, there was a general understanding and agreement that there would be a further meeting to nail down the details of exactly how far back they had to move from the road," he said.

But when the Native Youth Movement decided to block a highway leading to the resort on Aug. 27, slowing traffic and angering local residents, the situation changed, Phillip said. Having been tipped off the night before that the roadblock would occur, Phillip drove from Penticton to Kamloops and arrived just before the demonstration began.

"There was a great deal of tension and hostility. The RCMP arrived about an hour after it started. Eventually the protesters took down the barricade . . it was probably three-anda-half, four hours in duration," he said.

Local residents met with the RCMP to show their displeasure with the roadblock.

"The RCMP got thoroughly roasted for not moving more quickly to bring it down," Phillip said.

Phillip believes the pressure from the resort owners and the public played a role in the decision to dismantle the camp.

"Up until this point there was dialogue and correspondence. The general feeling is it's a pretty provocative move to move in in that manner," he said. "The general approach in these matters is there's a court order issued and an enforcement order and the RCMP move based on the instructions in the court order and enforcement order. There's time for discussion and dialogue in the interim."

He said recent police actions had been done without a court order.

"It's not only provocative, it could prove to be dangerous," he added. And it may prove to be a rallying cry to other First Nations people.

Many Native people in the British Columbia Interior who had previously chosen not to join the 11-month-old protest at the Sun Peaks ski resort are now thinking of participating.

"That's what I've heard," said Phillip. "I've heard that it's going to be re-established."