8 ~ Friday, November 1, 1991 - North Shore News Armed with only flashlights, portable radios and a determina- tion to rid the band’s two North Shore reserves -—~ Mission and Capilano — of drug and alcoho!l- related violence, the peacekeepers are beginning to play a more ac- tive and visible role on the two reserves on the three nights that they can expect the most trouble: the weekends and ‘‘welfare Wed- 12-member peacekeeping force was set up 18 months ago by three tand members. The peacekeepers are all volunteers . and patrol the two reserves in their own vehicles, their mission being. to curb drug and alcohol- related violence ceming from the reserves. © . And that violence, the peacekeepers. admit, is on the in- cresse. The Squamish Indian Band supplies the peacekeepers with uniforms and portable radios and also. pays for the gas they use 44 My house has been shot ~ at and I’ve been told things like “you re dead. We have a bullet for you yy - Sam George, peacekeeper and Squamish Tribal Council acting chairman patrolling the reserves. They are on-call 24 hours a day; an emergency band hot-line has been set up for people to call when there is trouble. But while most of the people who live on the two Squamish reserves welcome the job the peacekeepers are doing, others have not put out the welcome mat. “ly house has been shot at and Ive been told things like ‘you’re dead. We have a bullet for you,’’’ peacekeeper and Squamish Tribal Council acting chairman Sam George says. Other peacekeepers have also had death threats issued against them and damage done to their personal property. George says there is a big drug and alcohol problem with the youths who live on the reserves; that problem has in turn resulted in increased reserve violence. Ted Seward, another peacekeeper on patrol this night and a former North Vancouver RCMP constable, says there is a good working relationship - be- tween the peacekeepers and the RCMP and the West Vancouver Police Department. Keeping the peace On patrol in North Shore native reserves IT’S 9:30 on a recent Friday night and the Squamish In- dian Band peacekeepers are about to hit the streets. By Surj Rattan News Reporter When there is serious trouble on the reserve, Seward says the peacekeepers call in the police and let them take over. Accompanying the peacekeepers on patrol this night is North Van- couver RCMP Const. Marty Blais, who works as 2 liaison between the RCMP and the Squamish In- dian Band. Dressed in street clothes, but carrying a portable radio to stay in touch with 4n RCMP dispatcher, Blais is here only to observe. . “We've been trying to assist them as'much as we can,”’ says Blais. ‘‘Once a week I will go down and meet with them. I think the peacekeepers do an excellent job, but they don’t always call us when there is trouble.”’ On this night, the peacekeepers are expecting to be kept busy: there is a full moon. “They'll be a few parties to- night. All the bad guys come out at about 2 a.m. or 2:30 when the bars have ciosed,”’ says George. “That’s when things get jump- ing.”” He adds that the band has the power to expel people from the teserves. “With the undesirables, we'll send them a letter telling them that we don’t want them on the reserves and that if they are found on the reserve, they'll be charged with trespassing.’’ At around 11:30 p.m. Seward and George notice a small group _ Of youths sitting in front of a “flop house’? drinking. Seward turns his van around and pulls up to the curb. The pair then walk up to the youths and talk to them. After a small discussion, the alcohol is poured out and the youths leave. ‘*‘When we see minors on the . ‘street drinking, they usually run away from us so there’s not really much we can do,’’ says George. ‘When we do catch them, we dump their alcohol.’’ George says the peacekeepers do not have any specialized training but that they would like to get some. When the peacekeepers face a situation where they know weapons are involved, George says the police are called. Shortly after midnight, as George and Seward patrol the Capilano reserve, they receive a call of a disturbance coming from a house on the Mission reserve. Other peacekeepers are already at the scene when Seward and George arrive. Some women who are standing across the street from the house where the disturbance has been reported say that youths are in the house. They have been fighting; a young girl has overdosed :n valium. The women are the mothers of the youths in question. The girl, it is later learned, had not overdosed but was drunk. Blais and the peacekeepers in- vestigate: the house is quiet but there are signs of a party having taken place. There is only one youth in the house; he’s passed out on a sofa. Then comes a call of several youths brawling a few blocks away at Waterfront Park. The peacekeepers head for the scene, as do several RCMP officers. The photo Paul McGrath KEEPING THE peace on the Squamish Indian reserve are (left to right) band peacekeepers Lorna Joseph, Sam George and Jeckie Seward. The trio are members of the band’s 12-member volunteer peacekeeping police force. youths break up and leave the area when they see the police and peacekeepers. Dennis Alexander is the priest for the Squamish Indian Band; he’s also one of the peacekeepers out on patrol this Friday night. Being the priest, he says, has advantages to helping the peacekeepers curb some of the problems they face. “‘When I go inio a situation as a peacekeeper and they see me and recognize me as the priest, it kind of subdues them a bit,’ says Alexander, ‘‘We somctimes get involved with domestic problems. In those cases, sometimes we just talk to them and get them to sep- arate for a while until they settle down or sober up.”’ The peacekeeping force has of Lonsdale Housewares Plus. A large selection of Housewares, Hardware, Stationery, Gifts, Toys, Tools and more. IGARBAGE CANS oy GLASS SET [BEVERAGE SET ! DELUXE 4 piece beverage Aurora Crystal 18 pieces UMBRELLAS S259? 2" 1'/ Ib. 2°42 Ib. |AXES LONSDALE HOUSEWARES-PLUS 1760 LONSDALE AVE. N.VAN. 984-2335 $99 $ge9 SPLITTING 1, MAULS 15 aib. 17% come a long way from the time it was first sct up, says Alexander. “We started as a committee of concerned citizens. Then the band backed us up and we started to get support from the public,’ he says. Adds George: ‘‘When we first started out, we only had CBs ard everyone picked us up on their TVs and stereos.” : é 99 EA 49 EA $4 49: $qo8 _£ "9° TORCHIERE | Dimmer switch. Tempered glass lens protects 300- watt bulb (incl.) Compares at $73.99 39° ™ SENIORS’ DISCOUNT Sale Ends Dec. 24/91 5% 1