RCMP storm blockade, arrest elders

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Thirty people blockading a northern Saskatchewan highway to protest clear-cut logging were arrested in a late-night RCMP raid involving 80 officers in riot gear.

Organizer Brian Ratt said the protesters, including some Native elders, were "aghast" at the show of force by the RCMP.

According to RCMP press statements, the arrests were peaceful and calm prevailed throughout the next day.

"Things have been quiet today...Nobody has been hurt and that's the important thing," said Meadow Lake RCMP Sgt. Doug Urquhart.

Urquhart said the 30 people arrested were charged with illegally blocking a highway. He said they were all released the following morning.

According to Milton Born With A Tooth, leader of the militant Peigan Lonefighter's Society, more than 40 people were still manning the blockade of Highway 903 and they planned to hold their ground. The 30 who were earlier released by the RCMP and told not to return to the blockade were also making their way back.

About 80 RCMP officers, including dogs and a tactical team, remained on the

edge of the blockade, which was left standing.

The Lonefighters, who gained national prominence for their protests of southern Alberta's Oldman River dam mega-project, are working to co-ordinate support for the remaining protesters.

The blockade, about 70 km north of Meadow Lake has been up for almost two months. Members of three bands from the region are protesting mechanical timber-harvesting practices by Mistik Management, which they say doesn't respect traditional forest users and limits local job opportunities.

In an unusual twist, Mistik Management is owned in part by the Meadow Lake Tribal Council - a political organization representing the protesters' bands.

Despite earlier attempts, the tribal council and elders at the blockade have been unable to reach an agreement that would end the dispute.

The protesters are demanding local control of timber harvesting methods and guaranteed job opportunites. The tribal council has agreed to many of the demands,

but what has been agreed to in words has fallen apart on paper.

In an interview last month with Windspeaker, tribal council vice-chief Oneill Gladue blamed the dispute on a lack of communications.