6 - North Shore News - Wednesday, June 7 . 2000 VIEW POINT- Treaty travesty ORE than the provincial gov- ernment should be disap- inted with the Sechelt Indian band’s rejection of its proposed treaty. Every British Columbian who had any faith in this province’s treaty process should also be disappointed. Better still they should feel out- raged, upset, fed-up and betrayed. On the occasion of the band’s reach- ing agreement-in-principie on its treaty back in early 1999, then-premier Glen Clark was quoted as saying, “I think the Sechelt got it right. The Sechelt have proven it can be done.” _ Clark, mired in the controversy sur- rounding the Nisga’a treaty, which had likewise ‘reached the agreement-in- principle stage, was comparing the two treaties and their attendant controver- sy. ~The Sechelt’s had arrived at its stage with virtually none of the acrimony that had surrounded the Nisga’a deal. Sechelt Chief Garry Feschuk said at the time that “we've given up a lot, but we've negotiated a lot, too. I believe this treaty is necessary to move us clos- er to a goal of being a fully self-suffi- cient community.” No longer apparently. Chief Feschuk now reports that the treaty is not enough. When will it ever be? The millions invested in che provinice’s treaty process since the B.C. Treaty Commission was established in 1992 have yielded virtually nothing. The Sechelt deal was its one success. Now that’s lost. It’s obvious that the treaty process exists only for those who are milking the treaty process industry. Disappointment is far too weak a word to describe the Sechelt’s decision. peas and have: marvelled how a country can gether’ as one. Nevertheless, 1 wonder why now nd why this nian?:For m eas pau (18 and 24 years old) the ker. has laps was Gu -Lafietr. Suill 100,000- offthe his ‘coffin’ 5 cided black nd white ‘TV, off channel radio broadcasts Before days of, soulti-million. » wi ms fn a ven |. +>. commercial fishing licences and one of ‘. the biggest gravel pits in North Amicrica, paunehy gray-haired old man.. n the Rocket was'a great player . a .Sersion, ‘and ‘the closest:I-can come to =n SS 107 UDO LET PPSTV,S erro “Tee SUN AM BUC BITC) FPL LAN Court spawned treaties crisis NISGA’A treaty chickens are coming home to roost much faster than expect- ed. ~ That’s the message - from the Sechelt Band, which last week abruptly reneged on an agrec- ment in principle it had already signed. The agreement would have: led to the successful conclusion of the first of. ’ 42 aboriginal treaties currently being negoti- “ated by the B.C. Treaty . ‘Commission (the Nisga’a Treaty was a stand-alone deal outside the commission’ Ss. Cy : Y general mandate). he is the end of more’ simple. era that - . Sechele Chief Garry Feschuk says his Now, after a 90-day notice period, band will quit the treaty process and head for the courts... ; The agreement gave the 900- member band $52 million in cash (nearly $58,000 . per member), 1,000 hectares of land, 14. 0 phi self-government clected by a race-: ased voting system. Feschuk signed last year and was re-elected on the strength of — it. His simple explanation for the sudden ©. about-face: fundamental parts of the offer ‘that took five years to negotiate are “now” unacceptabie to him and his peo- “$0 bluntly, the first part “of the mes: .-_,, Sage Means we can’t trust Indians to “negotiate in good faith.:Their word and signature alike are worthless if they subse- : tea. ‘sniff the Possbiie of a better. a eeseescceeescvscocsssoes® -— and who — led them to fect justified | in breaking a written promise out of sim- ple greed. The “what” is the. onc-of-a- kind Nisga’a Treaty passed into law in April, with its overly generous land and cash awards __ together with a race- based Third Order of government that should have been preceded (but wasn’t) by an amend- °. ment to the |. : we Constitution. Especially od since its jurisdiction in a: *: : and yon. number of areas super : sedes that of both Ottawa and Victoria. ~ That the Nisga’a were a one-time ¢ case... outside the treaty negotiation process undertaken by the BC Treaty Commission for all other bands in the province is technically correct. But that argument cuts no ice with the latter. In.’ _ land, cash-in-lieu and other perks they - want no less than the Nis; spa 'a got, and recently this demand has a growing militancy on the part of younger Indians. : Noting how the wind is now blowing the Sechelt Band belatedly decided it did- . n’t, after all, want to be the first to settle for a deal that might still be sweetened © -, considerably by tough talk-and the threat to. transfer its claim to the, courts. Which brings us to the “who” componeni in the: . Sechelt message... : ~ The “who” being the nine ermini robed judges of the Supreme, Court in ‘ distant Ottawa.with their ridiculously - . Jand ‘without ‘specifying which land, it ‘also 3 allowed Indians to use purely ocal tra LETTERS T8 THE EDITOR must include your : name, full address and telephone number. Sebnit via e-mail to: tronshaw@ninexs.cam ‘donk en backed by o pi °° students are invited to the “Capilano tions to substantiate land claims. oS : One immediate result was the appear- : ance.of B.C. maps showing overlapping band claims to 110% of the province’ Jandmass by the aboriginal 2.5% of its : population. Recommeriding treaty nego- tiations as preferable ro further Jisigation, ~« the Court then for the time being its hands of the matter. : .. Given the 90 days termination. noti ; there are still nearly three months in-: which to try to persuade the Sechelt back wataney too ing — looks grim. And not only for a “Sechelt pact. -Will Nisga’a chickens, _ now devour the whole’ date treaty process a to 0 years of costly li ‘wi esults? Thanks a lot, Supreme, Co a Q Q Heritage Group’s regular mont rr Weta » b to 3:30 p.m. ofeach month in