Who really speaks for the Papaschase descendants?

Page 13

Papaschase band descendants who want to pursue recognition by the federal government and who may be interested in going after compensation for land given up or coerced from them in the last century will want to take a hard look at any group claiming to represent their interests. At least two groups hold themselves out as bone fide in Edmonton.

Audrey V. Gladue identifies herself as the president of the Papaschase First Nation Band #136 Association (also called Papaschase Indian Band Association), a position she has held since June 26.

The non-profit group was registered in 1995, to find all the descendants of the original Papaschase Band, according to their mission statement. The group is conducting genealogical research from their Edmonton office to complete the membership list, which stands now at 2,005; when they "have structure, policy and procedures in place," Audrey said, they will attempt to get the federal government to address their issues.

The association's aims, Audrey says, are to get the government to deal with them and compensate them for land comprising the present day City of Edmonton, which Papaschase ancestors once occupied.

"We're working on getting some land base, but we're not trying to make a reserve," the president said. She explained they may want land to create an historical society and annual gathering place, and they may want money, health or social benefits, as yet undetermined. The group is opposed to the idea of forming a chief and council to represent treaty people, since they want a structure that includes all Aboriginal descendants of Papaschase, regardless of status.

Another Edmonton-based group, Papaschase Indian Reserve 136 First Nation (formerly known as the Papaschase Descendants Council), has Shirley Gladu as its most vocal spokesperson and recent interim co-ordinator, along with Margaret McGilvery, who became chief in a controversial Aug. 21 election. This group sees having a chief and council as the only way to get Indian Affairs to negotiate with them seriously. On the other hand, the member-created election code under which they determined their election result does not conform to the dictates of the Indian Act, according to their former legal counsel, Ron Maurice.

Bitter arguments took place between the two organizations regarding the propriety of holding the election for chief and council, which Audrey says her group's 60 Elders opposed. Shirley disputes there are 60 Elders; her own group consults different ones.

Both groups alluded to having received a measure of encouragement from Indian Affairs and the Indian Claims Commission, along the road to being recognized by the federal government as a band.

An Aug. 31 letter from Claims Commission lawyer David Osborn to Shirley Gladu and Margaret McGilvery, however, states "it is premature for the Commission to become involved. It remains available, of course, to assist in any activities which the Papaschase descendants and Canada may jointly request it to do." Gladu says she's never seen the letter; McGilvery declined to talk to the press at all.

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada's director of communications in Alberta, Glenn Luff, in recounting Papaschase history said most of them accepted scrip and surrendered land in 1887-88, following which a number of Papaschase people were admitted to the Enoch band, located west of Edmonton, which received money from the sale of the lands. Papaschase descendants filed a claim in 1995, Luff said, which was rejected as "the group is not a band." Enoch First Nation submitted a specific claim in 1973 in regards to the Papaschase surrender, but the government closed the file in 1992.

Luff said that currently none of the Papaschase groups of which he is aware meet the federal requirements for the formation of a new band.

Audrey says one of her problems with the opposing Papaschase Descendants Council is that "people have been promised treaty status," which she doesn't believe all will be etitled to get.

The issue of treaty status, tied to the right to run for the office of chief, has fragmented Shirley Gladu's group. Shirley, who says their established membership is about 700 people, with "thousands" more as yet unidentified descendants, told Windspeaker the August election resulted in them acquiring nine councillors and two chiefs - one, McGilvery; the other Rose Lameman. In the end, McGilvery got the nod.

Shirley's explanation for the initial election result is that one candidate for chief "was running on band code and the other was running on the lawyer's code. There was a misunderstanding between the legal counsel (Maurice) and the descendants. The descendants had worked on their own election codes and at the mean time our legal counsel had his own election codes." She would not state definitely whether the lawyer still worked for them or would in the future; she said a different lawyer would attend a Sept. 11 meeting to resolve the issue of who was chief.

Lameman indicated the real problem was that some of the group is prejudiced against C-31 Indians. Shirley Gladu says Lameman is a "Bill C-31." Lameman says she's treaty. Shirley's group's election code prohibits a Bill C-31 Indian from becoming chief. The Indian Act, however, "does not prohibit Bill C-31 registered Indians from running for chief or council," a Sept. 2 letter from Maurice to the Papaschase Descendants Council states.

Shirley said the Sept. 11 meeting would be "public;" urged Windspeaker to attend and complained that the press had overlooked their meetings in the past. On Sept. 11, neither Shirley nor McGilvery showed up. More than an hour into an acrimonious assembly, Lameman had our reporter ejected from the meeting.

The day before, Lameman had been more civil. From Calgary, she gave Windspeaker her version of the election proceedings. She said on Aug. 21 she won with 51 votes to McGilvery's 49 for the position of chief. McGilvery, however, also ran for councillor, which Lamemn said she was not aware she could do, therefore did not. McGilvery's votes for councillor, said Lameman, were added to the votes she received for chief, therefore she was declared as chief.

Lameman read portions of an Aug. 23 letter, allegedly from Maurice, which explained the basis on which he had prepared an election code at the request of the descendants' council. Maurice apparently stated he had drafted an election code based on instructions from the council's Elders received May 28.

Windspeaker obtained a copy of Maurice's Sept. 2 letter to the Papaschase Descendants Council, in which he withdrew as their legal counsel. On Sept. 14, we also obtained a copy of a band resolution, dated Sept. 10 - the day before the meeting which was supposed to decide who was chief - that did the following:

·stated they did not recognize Ron Maurice's election code and that it did not reflect their collective wishes;

·stated Karen (aka Rose) Lameman was prematurely announced Papaschase chief;

·stated Rose Lameman breached several terms of the descendants' election code and was disqualified for the office of chief or interim chief;

· stated Margaret McGilvery was declared Papaschase chief on Aug. 21 under the Descendant's Customary Council Election Code.

The tone of the Sept. 11 meeting was summed up by Rose Bartolon, who telephoned Windspeaker from her home in Prince George, B.C. to express displeasure.

Bartolon and others who had travelled to the meeting from British Columbia at their own expense, were also asked to leave before the end. She said they were told that only Elders, chief and council would decide the chief issue. She also described the rudeness accorded Windspeaker's reporter before and during being ousted from the meeting.

Bartolon added, the meeting room was so small that "four or five car loads of people" from Prince George never got inside at all.

"We were told (before Sept. 11) we were going down to get our status cards, but we couldn't use them until Decembe, and when the funding is coming in," Bartolon said. "I thought that was very strange."

She said there was a lot of "yelling and screaming" and accusations, a complete lack of organization and no consideration for those who had come to investigate how Papaschase people could work together.

"I wanted to ask a bunch of questions," Bartolon continued, "but it seemed like they didn't pay attention . . . . Who do I get the information from and how do I know if it is legitimate or not?" And I'm very curious about the different Elders' council that was there (made up of various Alberta band members); and I was wondering, there was a lot of Elders in their own band-to-be; why not utilize what they had?

"I didn't leave any information about my geneology . . . 'cause I didn't have good trust in either of the sides, because they were so busy knocking each other down. There was no real issues except who was the chief. What about the people there?" Bartolon asked.