Rock group supports Lubicon

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The audience at the Austrian Olympic Club got quite a surprise here when world famous rock group, Opus, announced they support the Lubicon Lake Indian band and dedicated a song to the Lubicons.

In a Feb. 13 press conference with the Native media shortly before the show, the all-Austrian band told Windspeaker that they had heard about the Lubicon band's land claim in Austria and wanted to show support for the Lubicons during their concert on the opening day of the Olympics.

"We have to help the earth and the Native people," said Kurt Plisnier, a member of Opus. "There is too much business involvement in the land, they are selling everything, we have to learn a lesson from the Naive people."

Members of the band read about the Hopi Indians of Arizona and their philosophy and decided to make a stand for the Lubicon band to call attention to the band's land claim and the recent news that the government had leased traditional Lubicon land to a Japanese logging company.

"I think the Hopi Indians have a wonderful philosophy. They know how to be able to live on this earth without killing all the resources. Too many white people live only for profit and the Hopi are the slaves of these people."

"We have to learn to live like the Native people did in the ancient times," said band member Herwig Rudisser.

Opus are well-known for their international hit record Life if Life and dedicated the song Can You Hear Me to the Lubicons.

"We didn't write the song for the band but we thought it was appropriate," said Plisnier.

The rock group say they are empathetic with the controversy over the Glenbow Museum's acquisitions of sacred Native artefacts. They explain that their country is in a similar dilemma over sacred Mexican artefacts brought to Austria by Joseph Bonaparte, former king of Mexico. The artefacts still remain in Austrian museums.

"There is a lot of discussion over these objects," said Plisnier. "Most of us think they should be returned to their true owners."

The rock band will return to Austria later this week but say they will continue to inform their countrymen of the Lubicon's plight and will continue to wear Lubicon support buttons. The band consists of: Niki Gruber, Ewald Pfleger, Kurt Plisnier, Herwig Rudisser and Gunter Gresmuch.