By Ricci Grafton
Revitalizing the Provincial Approach to Treaty Negotiations:
Recommendations for a Referendum or Treaty Negotiating Principles.
Well, this shameful act of discrimination has reached its
destination, 2 million ballots have been sent and 760,000 returned by the those on the
registered voters list, and Campbell the Cannibal has just officially let the First
Nations of this province know that he fully expects to have the last word on this matter.
I don’t think so!
The results, apparently, are overwhelmingly in favor of all the principles that were
presented for approval. By whom? By the colonialist population.The Voting results on
the eight principles were as follows:
Question #1: Private Property should not be expropriated for treaty settlements. Yes or no?
85 per cent felt private property should not be expropriated for treaty settlements.
Whose private property? The land that the explorers invaded and sold off for
future development? The land that they sold under the feet of the families of the
warriors (now veterans) they conveniently sent overseas to win their war for them
while they let white settlers expropriate land under the 'Homestead Act'?
The land
they forced us onto and then forced us to surrender in a treaty for the rich resources
and minerals it took them a while to discover. We knew it was there all along,
which is why we've protected it so fiercely
from future development, as well. Now in the past decade or so, they've invaded
the reserved lands with casinos, golf courses and ski resorts.
Question #2: The terms and conditions of leases and licenses should be
respected; fair compensation for unavoidable disruption of commercial
interests should be ensured. Yes or No?
92 per cent felt that terms and conditions of leases and licenses should be respected;
fair compensation for unavoidable disruption of commercial interests should be
ensured.
What the greedy gophers would like from this question is to be able to build more
casinos, golf courses and ski resorts. "We have a license to use your ancestral territory
as our playground Our smaller societies are not immune to the progressive
thievery by the elected leaders who mask the thefts by convincing the First Nations
that they've issued a license or lease for compensation and use; while the elitists
are happily rubbing elbows and robbing us blind.
Question #3: Hunting, fishing and recreational opportunities on Crown
land should be ensured for all British Columbians. Yes or No?
93 per cent felt hunting, fishing and recreational opportunities on Crown land should
be ensured for all British Columbians.
Does this mean that the Crown will commit itself to ensuring that all Aboriginal
peoples can hunt and fish on their own land, as well, as a result of the revitalized
treaties? Will the DFO continue to harass Native commercial fishermen on their own
shorelines? Recreational opportunities, meaning more golf courses, casinos and
ski resorts? How many more traditional burial sites can they desecrate for recreational
opportunities?"
Question #4: Parks and protected areas should be maintained for the use and
benefit of all British Columbians. Yes or No?
95 per cent believe parks and protected areas should be maintained for the use
and benefit of all British Columbians.
The original people who occupied them have forever maintained the parks and
protected areas. Just because some white explorer comes and puts borders around
these "provincial parks" that does not give him the right to control what our Mother
Earth created, "To all their British Columbians they bestow these vast lands
as public parks, dedicated in honor of the original owners that they stole them from,
the First Nations."
Question #5: Province-wide standards of resource management and environmental
protection should continue to apply. Yes or No?
94 per cent felt province wide standards
of resource management and environmental protection should continue to apply.
The descendents of the original thieves of our resources and land who created an
organized form of control over the minerals and waters wish to continue to be the
lords of the land. They established a set of standards dictated by British rule to discover
and claim the opportunities created by Mother Earth. "In the name of British
sovereignty, they are raping the Earth and impregnating the economy for future
embezzlement."
Question #6: Aboriginal self-government should have the characteristics of local
government, with powers delegated from Canada and British Columbia. Yes or no?
87 per cent said native self-government should have the characteristics of local
government, with powers delegated from Canada and British Columbia.
Since they seemingly gave us the right to vote, the right to seek a better life through
education and employment among the white society and the right to set up our
own Chief and Councils, they have introduced underhanded control tactics in
order to continue to establish British rule over Indian Nations. Now they are using
the new Aboriginal self-governance as another gift they are supposedly handing
to us after hundreds of years on layaway. But as any gift giver they hang onto the
receipt and to the power to rescind any negotiations made as a result of treaties.
Question #7: Treaties should include mechanisms for harmonizing land use
planning between Aboriginal governments and neighboring local governments.
Yes or No?
92 per cent believed treaties should include mechanisms for harmonizing land
use planning between aboriginal governments and neighboring local governments.
They pretend to be using this as a way for taxpayers to participate in the treaty
process and have a say as to where their taxes are going, and how the land will be
used in the future. They don't want to harmonize relations with the First
Nations
peoples, they want the cooperation of the people to rape the earth; to have everyone
sit at a giant conference table and plan forthe destruction of our ancestral territories.
The Mohawk prophesies say that once the final tree is cut down the world as we
know it will come to an end, so why would we sit down and give consultation and
permission to bring our world to an end?
Question #8: The existing tax exemptions for Aboriginal Peoples should be phased out.
Yes or No?
91 per cent felt existing tax exemptions for Aboriginal Peoples should be phased out.
Well, of course the people will answer yes to this question; there is no doubt in
my mind that all the voters feel confident that the outcome of this question will
erase the tax exemptions for First Nations peoples and they will benefit from
lower taxation. I would like to see the faces of the greedy when they learn that
no matter how they vote for this question, their taxes will still remain the same and
Campbell will be the only one who benefits from a yes answer. He is not concerned
about the little people who are getting screwed out of what little money they
have in their pockets, because he has all the big businesses in his pocket.
The West Coast wasn’t officially crown land until they made their way here in
1778; when Captain Cook came to the West Coast. He showed a great interest in
sea otter pelts which were in high demand in Europe. Many ships came to the West
Coast to trade with the natives and a booming trade between white man and
native evolved. In 1846, Britain declared the West Coast as part of its empire and it
became known as British Columbia. The Gold Rush began in 1849 and brought
more disease and pestilence with it. In 1872, BC joined Canada and in 1876, the
Indian Act combined all laws affecting the native people of Canada. This act would
provide for the uniform treatment of Indians everywhere in Canada. Any
reserve land was held in trust by the Canadian government. The land could not
be taxed, mortgaged, or seized for defaulted debts, and it could only be sold with
the approval of the majority of adult band members and the superintendent-general
of Indian Affairs. Only the Crown could purchase the land, and the proceeds from
the sale would be held in trust although ten per cent could be paid directly to the
band members. Any resources on the land such as timber and minerals could not be
harvested or removed unless the same procedures for obtaining consent, with
regards to land sales, had been followed.
So, with a little bit of history in your minds, you can understand why the this
referendum process has been degrading to the First Nations. Would they hold a referendum
on the Japanese, the Jewish, the Chinese, the Italians, the Australians, and
all those who came to this country to escape religious persecution? The First
Nations of this country have been living in religious persecution everyday since the
Europeans first showed their white faces. And the results of this referendum just go
to show that not one thing has changed since the first days of the settlers.
We have been forced to protect Our land, Our resources, Our rights, Our people and
Our lives. This referendum is just another way of forcing our people to put up their
defenses and fight for our rights; the impact of this will be further division and
will serve only to escalate the differences of the two sides at the negotiating table. I
can see no good coming of this, in the end the First Nations peoples will be made to
look the enemy. The government will use these results any way they choose, they
designed the questions in such a way that they would easily receive a yes answer to
all of the questions. They manipulated the public opinion. So let me ask you, did you
participate in this mass racist action against our people? Did you vote accordingly?
Did you spoil or burn your ballot? Or did you simply choose to toss it straight
into the garbage where it belongs? Either way, the First Nations Peoples will be
screwed in the end.
Sovereignty and self-sufficiency are the two key components in progressive
Aboriginal self-governance. Until those are on the table, the treaty negotiations are at
an impasse; the unavoidable disruption of commercial interests for First Nations has
already been ensured. The waiting game continues.
Ricci
www.redwiremag.com
