on
lugsage

PAGE 46

Book chronicles injustices
to the Stl’ati’imx’s people

“WE ARE aware the B.C. government claims our country, like all other
Indian territories in B.C.; but we deny their right to it, We never gave it
or sold it to them....We expected they would lay claim to what belonged
to themselves only. In these considerations we have ben mistaken, and

gradually have learned how cunning, cruel, untruthfal, and thieving some

of them can be.”’

— From the Declaration of the Lillooet Tribe, May 10, 1911.

FOR MORE than 100 years
the Lillooet Tribe, or
StPatl’imx, have been em-
broiled in a bitter dispute
with the B.C. government
over land title.

By EVELYN JACOB
News Reporter

In the absence of any historical
documents (other than those writ-
ten by white men), the Stl’atl’imx
were in effect silenced about the
economic, social and cultural in-
justices dealt to them by 100 years
of white government.

struggle . .

North Vancouver author Joanne
Drake-Terry’s The Same As
Yesterday, a detailed account of
the Lillooet people and their histo-
ry, is the first book to document
the confiscation of the Stl’atlimx’s
Jand and resources.

Drake-Terry believes her book
wili lend credibility to the nation’s
stand against the government.
“The Lillooet people will now be
able to take it (The Same As
Yesterday) into a court of law,’
she said.

Drake-Terry, a non-native who
holds a degree in B.C. history
from Simon Fraser University,
worked for the Lillooet Tribal

For more than five years she
gathered documents from archives
across the country which were in-
terpreted in light of the Lillooet
stories, a collection of ancient ora!
histories passed down by the
Stlathimx elders.

“The Declaration of the Lillooet
Tribe, signed by 17 chiefs in 1911,
was the only written document the
Council possessed about their his-
tory,’’ she said. “We were
astonished at how much material
we collected.’’

Drake-Terry quickly discovered
that there was one kind of justice
for whites and another kind for
Indians.

“In 1763 the British King ruled
that settlers were not allowed on
native soil until they settled treaties
with bands. Those rules were ig-
nored in B.C. but obeyed in every
other province.”’

In B.C. most of the prime land
was seized by whites and ‘‘useless’’
land — land with no water — was

But as of two months ago, the Council as a researcher and in 1983 _ left for the natives.
nation has been given a neW was commissioned to write The See Injustices
weapon in their long-standing Same As Yesterday. Page 44

Allthe shrin
you.can eat.

(Andaside of beef.)

NEWS photo Terry Peiers

NORTH VANCOUVER author Joanne Drake-Terry’s book The Same
As Yesterday chronicles the history of the Lillooet nation and the con-
fiseation of their tand.

on mfg. sugg.
retail price

EXAMPLE OF
SAVINGS:

36x36"
pleated shade
reg. from $102

We are stretching it
a bit. It's not a side of
beef. It's actually a steak
on the side. Tender and juicy
and broiled to order. The perfect
complement to all the crispy, golden
shrimp you can eat. And though that may sound
too good to be true, it’s no exaggeration.
And if that’s not enough, you also get your
choice of baked potato or rice. So bring your family

and friends along with your
Steak & All-You-Can-Eat

appetite. Because this is

one All-You-Can-Eat Shrimp Shrimp $ 9
8.9

SiZZ1

offer with a lot of meat to it.
A fresh experience.

Sale ends
Feb. 28/90

Open Elan Daily Licensed
Harry—Offer ends Fe’ PL, 19980

Westview Shopping Centre
Upper Levels Highway at Westview Drive, North Vancouver

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