_ Nisga’ a not Clark © The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 29, 1998 - AS CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The ledway Mail Bag Perseverance won treaty. Dear Sir: Several generations of Nisga’a are beholden with _./.0Ur_praise for their unflagging masterworks. to repatriate their homelands and heritage into the in- Itialied settlement July 15th. Premicr Clark and his government of today, try to take all the full marks for bringing about this treaty, “but the jist of it was laid out and forged in the ‘agreement in principle back in 1996 through the stamina, tolerance and patience of Nisga’a. Clark is wrong to exploit this agreement with a . leap of illogic staling that it carves an casy path for resolving some 51 other on-going land claims in BC, The Nisga’a were very advanced in their vision for a resolution, have a very distinct history of ac- . Cupation of the Nass River Valley and the guts of ‘(heir cmpathetic petitions were pre-Delgamuukw and unaltered by its implications. The Gitxsan First Nation of Gitanyow have a 70 : per cent land base territorial overlap to the east still -- lo be reconciled and T.N.A.C, advises they were -» never kept informed during critical hush bush final Stages of negotiations. Clark and Lovick are naive to have us believe that there’s some formulaic template to accelerate this -..Whole treaty process and that the Nisga’a Treaty has set the stage for this. Such folly isn’t ‘historic’ its histrionics. Each First Nation, their language, culture, tradi- tional: lands and resources usages are patently unique and diverse as the peoples’ personas in- herently themselves, This very majesty creates 4 inultifold of complexities when solving interwoven Claims against a backdrop canvas of province-wide - CONceris. ‘ Glen Clark is out to make political points at all costs for a government in dire straits as these NDP ’ poseurs position their hides for the next election. There’s no simpte quick fix panacea answers to the treaty talks but for the presumptuous postulations of -. a populist Premier. . Ceremonial hats ‘on to the Nisga’a for taking us all down a long corridor of light and cooperation, ; furthering humanity. Gerry Bloomer | Lakelse Lake, B.C. Everyone protected but the Nass residents Dear Sir: I have been fighting for.a no logging plan in Irene Meadows watershed since all Of our wells dried up: ‘for ‘a period of 12 years after the 1975 logging in’ the watershed. But we were told by the Provincial Negotiators that because the request was not presented prior to the signing of the Nisga’a A.LP. it was now too late to get it entrenched into the final agreement. . I didn’t believe this to be true and wrote to every politician and pertinent government office in B.C, including the office of the Premier. The forests ministry says it was the weather con- ditions that dried up ihe wells, We have a govern- “ment weather station at the base of this watershed ‘mountain and those reports show the exact oppo- .. site. There is another weather station North of Nass - Camp but it could vary some as it’s:several kilo- metres away. ..-The only proof I have that the wells did dry up in the 70s and 80s are myself and 3 or 4 people who still live here and were here at that time. ~ As [ understand it, the Nisga’a and the province have turned down our request for a no logging plan ~- on the grounds that the Forest Practices Code is suf- ficient protection. I would like to ask them by what evidence do they base their opinion on? ‘ The province has an obligation to look after third party interests in land claim negotiations but the ne- -gotiators are saying that they have no mandate for ’- such a request as watershed protection. . They are saying that. we now have an arbitration | _ process in place to settle any disputes. we thight . “have with the Nisga’a. Being-a reasonable person, I will now agree that if they can arbitrate water back into the wells then they have my permission to clear cut the entire . watershed, I have suggested to the provincial negotiators that they offer something of agreed upon value to the Nisga’a in exchange for full watershed protection. “Unlike the previous Nisga’a government, this one .seems to be more interested in financial gain than PREMIER GLEN CLARK signed autographs for out with a deal, Clark said he wanted to be here to witness the historic moment. i TEAM NISGA’A: Harry Nyce, Ed Wright and Joe Gosnell were among the Nisga'a negotiators who came out of the negotiating room at the Terrace Inn with a completed treaty July 15, human relations. But, after 25 years of negotiating in so-called good faith the baby was thrown out with the bath water in the final hour. The word came down from the Premier’s Office to wrap up the deal in two weeks regardless of the cast. Suddenly the vault doors were flung wide open and there was no limit on available funds, Two new highways were promised, improved Aelephone & tv service and the forgiveness of 30 ‘million dollars that was incurred by the Nisga’a ‘during the negotiations process and was to be deducted from the final settlement and I don’t know ‘what all else. All sorts of last minute deals and changes to the ‘A.LP. were made but did we get a place to to cut fire- -wood or watershed protection? ‘No.we did not and Pm not sure-if it was cven- +, Meitioned, | This will no doubt cause much hardship to this area and will force some people to move, The land would be worthless without water and no one would want to buy it. This presents another prob- lem, how do you move without money? To the rest of the small communities throughout British Columbia ’tl have to say I’m truly sorry. I did all that I knew how to do to prevent this from becoming a precedent-setting case but I failed. And now your tum is next. Lloyd Brinson Nass Camp, B.C. Treaty completion is. a tragic day for B.C. Dear Sir This morning it was announced on the news that . the first treaty has been settled between the natives and government, a tragic, tragic day for the pro- vince of British Columbia and the people of Canz- da. In settling with the natives by giving them mas- sive amounts of money and exclusive title to land, this government has constructed an éthnic divisive line between natives and natural bom Canadians that [ believe can only end with tragic repercus- sions, There was of course an ethnic problem but it was created by ithe governments not the people. The na- tives had the same rights as all Canadians plus aboriginal rights. Any native who wanted to Icave a reserve and integrate with society as a whole was free todo so. . AS a native these people are free to travel North America at will, this meaning that there is mo Canada-U.S. border for them, they have the right to kill as much game as they sce fit when they claim il Nisga’a children July 15 aftar nagotiators came is for their family, not just spouse and children but all relatives. A native does not pay income tax while working on reserve land nor provincial sales tax as is appar- ett when you go to the gas pumps on reserve land. Natives are given Crown property to live on and federally funded homes to live in, still this was not enough — the Government had to add injury to in- sult on other Canadians by giving these people massive amount of tax-paid money and fands. I was born in Prince George in 1952, ] grew up with and went to school with native children, my first fisticuffs were with children of some of the more well known native families in that arca. I doubt anybody in this NDP government has had any closer contact with natives then I have and yet this government has done another unthinkable act that will: forever affect relations between natural © -born Canadians and natives.; ttt I have five children, three of who have’ teached adulthood and know or have native friends'and or acquaintances, indeed their friends have stayed with us in our home and shared our meals many times over the years. These people know that there has al- ways been inequality but in favor of the nalives, Now this Government has once again done Brit- ish Columbians wrong by widening the gap of op- portunity between our children and children of na- tive descent. Our children who can not acquire a decent paying job or a piece of land to start a home and family with some expectation for success are . ‘ watching while the government plays with monies that were taken from us through excessive taxes, Look around at the millions of acres of Crown land that sit idle and unproductive and not us nor our children are permitted.to have a piece of it, un- less of course we have the kind of money it takes to go through the bureaucracies to acquire it. Meanwhile this government is taking massive ‘tracts of this land and giving it to native people along with massive cash to develop with. I€ this government doesn’t realize it is responsible for spreading and creating ethnic division then they have no right to be governing this fair province. I believe that as of July 15, 1998 the New Demo- cratic Party of British Columbia has opened a wound that will fester and grow. I do not think it takes a prophet or genius to see that an ethnic divi- sion has been created by this government that could one day lead to situations not unlike that between Israel and Palestine. Premier Clark and MLAs such as Helmut Gies- brecht must assume the responsibility for creating two distinct societics, one financed by and blessed by the government the other suffering massive un- employment, high taxation, and growing poverty, and when there is conflict betwecn whites and na- lives it is not racism but desperation created by this government that will pit these races against one an- other. , A. Grier Terrace, B.C. Transition staff backed Dear Sir: There is an essential service in Terrace, operated by women motivated by compassion and dedica- tion. Because of the dedication of these amazing workers, women who've been raped, assaulted, beaten or abused in myriad of other ways have a safe home ia which to recover and piece their lives back together. The Terrace Transition House is presently threatened, The management of the socicty which oversees the Transition House refuses to negotiate with the unionized staff because the staff won’t ac- cept rolibacks to their hard-won contract. Monies provided for the operation from the pro- vince bave not decreased, Given this, why are §| workers facing cuts? Let’s hope it’s not because management and administration want more. money saved from cutting to the workers. © The unionized workers work night shifis, are creative with all the demanding jobs they face, pro- vide' excellent service to women in need, and al- 2“) ways, always do an amazing jab, Staff at the Transition House and the other service . resource centres operated by the K’san Society tour, . ee | have offered to come up with innovative ways to cut the society's expenses. They’ve volunteered to take all their requests off the bargaining table just so they can sign the con- “tract they’ve already been working under, They “want to make concessions. They want to be rea- -sonable, Management doesn’t seem to think this is enough, To. all the amazing women who work at the Transition House and want a fair contract without rollbacks, keep up the fantastic work. You have _ Support in the community. To the management, please listen to your - workers, include them in the financial planning so “they can give creative and experienced feedback. Don’t roll back a contract to workers who provide invaluable services to Terrace. Sarah de Leeuw Terrace, B.C. Garden tour is grand | Dear Sir: ‘ I recently had the pleasure of enjoying the Peren- nial Garden Tour and High Tea, hosted by the Ter- race Women in Development. What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon! The tO gardens on display were all dif: ferent, all beautiful and all inspiring, ' The owners of the gardens were so gracious and generous of their time, chatting with all the visitors and answering unending questions. ‘ The sharing of your knowledge and advise was greatly appreciated, 1 came away from the tour loaded with new ideas, inspiration and a list of plants that are now must-haves for my own garden,’ Thank you to all the organizers for a great time, to all the garden owners for your kindness in opening ‘your gardens to the curious, and to the hosts of the really fine high tea. Can’t wait until next year’s Mary Anne Skill Terrace, B.C: Vikings and Micmacs ° Dear Sir: Apparently Canadians don’t know their history, despite all the money spent in postage stamp ads. , And so to help those who need Jessons in Cand- diana here’s my latest account of missionary ac- tivity off the old merry time coast. Why the Vikings were killed off in Newfound- land: many centuries ago the Viking Full Gospel Businessmen’s Association was having a rough time at home holdiig revival meetings. Their kinsmen had already rewritien the Lyrics to the Lord’s Prayer into a mead drinking song. Something about, “Our Father who lives in Val- halta’’ didn’t go over too well the moming after. So missionaries were sent abroad to the new world to establish a mission base. As gospel war- riors they used the great Viking ships for moving their supplies including calves and heifers, And they got to Newfoundland where they produced a thriving community. One day the local Micmac Natives sent a delega- tlon on a friendly visit to the Viking colonists, who greeted their visitors with evangelical enthusiasm. “ithey ‘inilked ‘tie cow and’ passed the white froth around ‘arid ‘soon they were alf ‘crooning like Pat Boone. Later when the Micmac went home they got real- ly, really sick. They got so sick they thought the Viking missionaries had poisoned them. Their feel- ings were hurt so when they recovered they went . back and killed all the Vikings in the settlement. The truth is the natives were lactose intolerant to Viking dairy products and this is what made them sick, And that’s why I always say that people show me the milk of human kindness but I’m lactose in- tolerant! Brian Gregg Terrace, B.C. Staying far from farm - | Dear Sir: Reading different stories every month in the mag- azines and newspaper, I couldn’t resist sending in my version of ‘Privacy of the Farm.’’ I am a war bride from London, England. I married a Canadian soldier and came to Canada in 1946. Due to certain circumstances, I had to stay with my mother-in-law and family on a farm. I had never been near farm animals; all ] knew about and had seen were cats and dogs. I used to live about 15 | miles from Buckingham Palace, and I was very ' naive regarding many things. IF I went anywhere near the ficids or the horses, cows, and pigs, itscared the hell out of me, : ] wanted to be liked and did my best to help, but even when I offered to collect the eggs and went into the bara, the chickens all flew at me and I dropped the eggs and ran out screaming. : So I tried helping in the house. One day near supper time I] asked my in-law if i conld help with supper. “‘Yes,’’ she said. “Go out and get some potatoes for supper.”” ‘ So J went out, looked around, and came back in. “‘Well,’? my mother-in-law asked, ‘‘where’s the potatoes?”’ “There were no men out there,”’ T answered, ‘What's the men to do with the potatoes?” she asked. . “T don’t drive,’’ I answered, She grabbed me by the arm and said, “How stupid can you get? Come with me.’’ Once we were out in the garden, I watched as she dug up some potatoes, “‘Oh,’’ I said, ‘‘is that where potatoes come from?’’ EF never did get used to the farmlands. Hubby got work at the Cominco smelter in Trail, B.C., and we moved soon after the potato incident, I've learned a lot since then — even how to can _(Ho-Ho). Ruby E, MeCreight Terrace B.C. About the Mail Bag Letters to the editor can be malted to the Terrace Standard at 3210 Clinton St, Ter- race, B.C., V8G SR2. You can also fax let- _ ters to us at 250-658-8432, Or you can emall your letter to us at siandard@kermode.net' Name, address and phone number is re- quired for verification.