metis_cougar

Mass Graves of Residential School Children

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 08:43:44 GMT

We estimate that there are hundreds, and

possibly thousands, of children buried in these

grave sites alone.

The Catholic, Anglican and United Church , and

the government of Canada , operated the schools

and hospitals where these mass graves are

located. We therefore hold these institutions and

their officers legally responsible and liable for the

deaths of these children.

We have no confidence that the very institutions

of church and state that are responsible for these

deaths can conduct any kind of impartial or real

inquiry into them. Accordingly, as of April 15, 2008,

we are establishing an independent, non-

governmental inquiry into the death and

disappearance of Indian residential school children

across Canada .

This inquiry shall be known as The International

Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada

(IHRTGC), and is established under the authority

of the following hereditary chiefs, who shall serve

as presiding judges of the Tribunal:

Hereditary Chief Kiapilano of the Squamish Nation

Chief Louis Daniels (Whispers Wind), Anishinabe

Nation Chief Svnoyi Wohali (Night Eagle),

Cherokee Nation

Lillian Shirt, Clan Mother, Cree Nation

Elder Ernie Sandy, Anishinabe (Ojibway) Nation

Hereditary Chief Steve Sampson, Chemainus Nation
Ambassador Chief Red Jacket of Turtle Island

Today, we are releasing to this Tribunal and to

the people of the world the enclosed information

on the location of mass graves connected to

Indian residential schools and hospitals in order

to prevent the destruction of this crucial evidence

by the Canadian government, the RCMP and the

Anglican, Catholic and United Church of Canada.

We call upon indigenous people on the land where

these graves are located to monitor and protect

these sites vigilantly, and prevent their destruction

by occupational forces such as the RCMP and other

government agencies.

Our Tribunal will commence on April 15 by

gathering all of the evidence, including forensic

remains, that is necessary to charge and indict

those responsible for the deaths of the children

buried therein.

Once these persons have been identified and

detained, they will be tried and sentenced in

indigenous courts of justice established by our

Tribunal and under the authority of hereditary

chiefs.

As a first step in this process, the IHRTGC will

present this list of mass graves along with a

statement to the United Nations in New York City

on April 19, 2008. The IHRTGC will be asking the

United Nations to declare these mass graves to

be protected heritage sites, and will invite

international human rights observers to monitor

and assist its work.

Issued by the Elders and Judges of the IHRTGC

Interim Spokesperson: Eagle Strong Voice

Email: genocidetribunal@yahoo.ca pager:

1-888-265-1007

IHRTGC Sponsors include The Friends and

Relatives of the Disappeared, The Truth

Commission into Genocide in Canada, the

Defensoria Indigenia of Guatemala, Canadians

for the Separation of Church and State, and a

confederation of indigenous elders across

Canada and Turtle Island.

..................................................................................................

Mass Graves at former Indian Residential

Schools and Hospitals across Canada

A. British Columbia

1. Port Alberni: Presbyterian-United Church

school (1895-1973), now occupied by the

Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council (NTC) office,

Kitskuksis Road . Grave site is a series of

sinkhole rows in hills 100 metres due west of

the NTC building, in thick foliage, past an unused

water pipeline. Children also interred at

Tseshaht reserve cemetery, and in wooded

gully east of Catholic cemetery on River Road .

2. Alert Bay : St. Michaels Anglican school

(1878-1975), situated on Cormorant Island

offshore from Port McNeill. Presently building

is used by Namgis First Nation. Site is an

overgrown field adjacent to the building, and

also under the foundations of the present new

building, constructed during the 1960s.

Skeletons seen between the walls.

3. Kuper Island: Catholic school (1890-1975),

offshore from Chemainus. Land occupied by

Penelakut Band. Former building is destroyed

except for a staircase. Two grave sites: one

immediately south of the former building, in a

field containing a conventional cemetery;

another at the west shoreline in a lagoon near

the main dock.

4. Nanaimo Indian Hospital: Indian Affairs

and United Church experimental facility

(1942-1970) on Department of National

Defense land. Buildings now destroyed. Grave

sites are immediately east of former buildings

on Fifth avenue , adjacent to and south of

Malaspina College .

5. Mission: St. Marys Catholic school

(1861-1984), adjacent to and north of

Lougheed Highway and Fraser River Heritage

Park . Original school buildings are destroyed,

but many foundations are visible on the

grounds of the Park.

In this area there are two grave sites:

a) immediately adjacent to former girls

dormitory and present cemetery for priests,

and a larger mass grave in an artificial

earthen mound, north of the cemetery among

overgrown foliage and blackberry bushes, and

b) east of the old school grounds, on the hilly

slopes next to the field leading to the newer

school building which is presently used by the

Sto:lo First Nation. Hill site is 150 metres west

of building.

6. North Vancouver: Squamish (1898-1959)

and Sechelt (1912-1975) Catholic schools,

buildings destroyed. Graves of children who

died in these schools interred in the Squamish

Band Cemetery , North Vancouver .

7. Sardis: Coqualeetza Methodist-United

Church school (1889-1940), then experimental

hospital run by federal government (1940-1969).

Native burial site next to Sto:lo reserve and Little

Mountain school, also possibly adjacent to former

school-hospital building.

8. Cranbrook: St. Eugene Catholic school

(1898-1970), recently converted into a tourist

resort with federal funding, resulting in the

covering-over of a mass burial site by a golf

course in front of the building. Numerous grave

sites are around and under this golf course.

9. Williams Lake : Catholic school

(1890-1981), buildings destroyed but

foundations intact, five miles south of city.

Grave sites reported north of school grounds

and under foundations of tunnel-like structure.

10. Meares Island (Tofino): Kakawis-Christie

Catholic school (1898-1974). Buildings

incorporated into Kakawis Healing Centre.

Body storage room reported in basement,

adjacent to burial grounds south of school.

11. Kamloops : Catholic school (1890-1978).

Buildings intact. Mass grave south of school,

adjacent to and amidst orchard. Numerous

burials witnessed there.

12. Lytton: St. Georges Anglican school

(1901-1979). Graves of students flogged

to death, and others, reported under

floorboards and next to playground.

13. Fraser Lake : Lejac Catholic school

(1910-1976), buildings destroyed. Graves

reported under old foundations and

between the walls.

Alberta:

1. Edmonton : United Church school

(1919-1960), presently site of the

Poundmaker Lodge in St. Albert . Graves

of children reported south of former

school site, under thick hedge that runs

north-south, adjacent to memorial marker.

2. Edmonton : Charles Camsell Hospital

(1945-1967), building intact, experimental

hospital run by Indian Affairs and United

Church . Mass graves of children from

hospital reported south of building, near

staff garden.

3. Saddle Lake : Bluequills Catholic school

(1898-1970), building intact, skeletons

and skulls observed in basement furnace.

Mass grave reported adjacent to school.

4. Hobbema: Ermineskin Catholic school

(1916-1973), five intact skeletons

observed in school furnace. Graves under

former building foundations.

Manitoba:

1. Brandon : Methodist-United Church

school (1895-1972). Building intact.

Burials reported west of school building.

2. Portage La Prairie: Presbyterian-

United Church school (1895-1950).

Children buried at nearby Hillside

Cemetery .

3. Norway House: Methodist-United

Church school (1900-1974). Very old

grave site next to former school building,

demolished by United Church in 2004.

Ontario:

1. Thunder Bay : Lakehead Psychiatric

Hospital , still in operation. Experimental

centre. Women and children reported

buried adjacent to hospital grounds.

2. Sioux Lookout: Pelican Lake Catholic

school (1911-1973). Burials of children in

mound near to school.

3. Kenora: Cecilia Jeffrey school,

Presbyterian-United Church (1900-1966).

Large burial mound east of former school.

4. Fort Albany : St. Annes Catholic school

(1936-1964). Children killed in electric chair

buried next to school.

5. Spanish: Catholic school (1883-1965).

Numerous graves.

6. Brantford : Mohawk Institute, Anglican

church (1850-1969), building intact. Series

of graves in orchard behind school building,

under rows of trees.

7. Sault Ste. Marie: Shingwauk Anglican

school (1873-1969), some intact buildings.

Several graves of children reported on

grounds of old school.

Quebec:

1. Montreal : Allan Memorial Institute, McGill

University , still in operation since opening in

1940. MKULTRA experimental centre. Mass

grave of children killed there north of building,

on southern slopes of Mount Royal behind

stone wall.

Sources:

- Eyewitness accounts from survivors of

these institutions, catalogued in Hidden from

History: The Canadian Holocaust

(2^nd ed., 2005) by Kevin Annett. Other

accounts are from local residents. See

www.hiddenfromhistory.org .

- Documents and other material from the

Department of Indian Affairs RG 10 microfilm

series on Indian Residential Schools in

Koerner Library, University of B.C.

- Survey data and physical evidence obtained

from grave sites in Port Alberni , Mission , and

other locations.

This is a partial list and does not include all of

the grave sites connected to Indian

residential Schools and hospitals across

Canada . In many cases, children who were

dying of diseases were sent home to die by

school and church officials, and the remains

of other children who died at the school were

incinerated in the residential school furnaces.

This information is submitted by The Friends

and Relatives of the Disappeared (FRD) to the

world media, the United Nations, and to the

International Human Rights Tribunal into

Genocide in Canada (IHRTGC). The IHRTGC

will commence its investigations on April 15,

2008 on Squamish Nation territory.

For more information on the independent

inquiry into genocide in Canada being

conducted by the IHRTGC, write to:

genocidetribunal@yahoo.ca

10 April, 2008

Squamish Nation Territory ( Vancouver ,

Canada )

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 08:16:29 GMT

Conservatives turn people into cargo with “just-in-time” immigration reforms

March 20, 2008
Posted by Stuart Trew

There are people in our country doing work that Americans will not do, and those people ought to be given a chance to have a tamper-proof card that enables them to work in our country legally for a period of time.

~ U.S. President George W. Bush speaking to the media during the second SPP leaders summit in Cancun, Mexico.

The Government also introduced [in Budget 2007] the new Canadian Experience Class to expedite the process for skilled temporary foreign workers and foreign students with Canadian credentials and work experience to remain in Canada as permanent residents, under certain conditions.

~ From the 2008 Conservative federal budget.

“Under certain conditions” and “for a period of time” are becoming trademark footnotes on an increasing number of migration applications to North America under the (public-private) Security and Prosperity Partnership. Now the Conservatives appear to be expanding their powers to accept more new immigrants with fewer rights through a budget implementation bill that is almost sure to pass.

“The federal Conservatives are moving to give the Immigration Minister more power to control the number and type of people allowed into the country – and the speed with which they are welcomed here,” wrote the Globe and Mail on March 15.

On Friday, the Conservatives introduced an amended budget implementation bill that would give Citizenship Immigration Minister Diane Finlay “sweeping powers to pick and choose types of immigrants, to cap the number of applicants ‘by category or otherwise,’ and to reject any applicant already approved for admission by immigration officers,” wrote a Toronto Star editorial on Monday.

But the move, “raises questions about whether the government plans to use the new powers as a way to favour certain groups, such as ‘economic class’ immigrants, at the expense of others, or to discriminate on the basis of country of origin,” the Star continued.

Canada, the United States and Mexico have been working on revising temporary foreign worker programs through the Security and Prosperity Partnership. In Canada, the emphasis is apparently on getting as much foreign labour to the tar sands as possible, but as in the United States, large agricultural companies in Canada also rely on guest worker programs that are currently not monitored for abuse, and that put a person’s chances of remaining in Canada into their employer’s hands.

As the Canadian Labour Congress reported this past December:

…tying access to permanent residency to employer support risks yet further abuse of temporary migrant workers by employers. This is because despite the calls of advocates of migrant workers, the [Canadian government’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program] (including the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program, the Live-in Caregiver Program, the Low Skilled Pilot Project, Regional Occupations under Pressure, and Expedited Labour Market Opinion Pilot) continues to expand without the incorporation of a comprehensive monitoring and enforcement framework. If temporary migrant workers are given the carrot of potential permanent Canadian residency pending the approval of their employers, these workers will be made yet more vulnerable to the stick of Canadian employers not being held accountable to Canadian labour and human rights laws by Canadian officials.

According to the Star editorial on Monday, 2007 saw a 12 per cent jump in the number of temporary foreign workers admitted to Canada (112,000 in 2006). Meanwhile, according to the CLC report, the number of permanent resident applicants (skilled worker and self-employed category) actually dropped by 8,000 between 2005 and 2006), and represents less than half of the number of temporary employees admitted.

Responding to the Conservative attempt to concentrate more power into the hands of the Immigration Minister, the NDP Immigration Critic Olivia Chow said that, “The Conservatives’ answer [to a backlog in immigration applications] is to import massive numbers of temporary foreign workers who are vulnerable to mistreatment and abuse.

“Why is this government interested only in providing cheap labour to big corporations and not letting ordinary family members bring their loved ones into Canada?” she asked.

The answer, or what the Conservatives think passes for an answer, can be found in Harper’s 2008 budget:

Canada must maintain the ability to compete globally for the best and the brightest by creating the optimal conditions to attract immigrants who can contribute fully to Canada’s prosperity. A well-managed and efficient immigration system is critical to achieving this objective… The proposed legislative changes will provide flexibility for concrete measures, as required, to more effectively manage the future growth in the inventory, such as addressing the number of applications accepted and processed in a year… These changes will allow Canada to take the first steps towards establishing a “just-in-time” competitive immigration system which will quickly process skilled immigrants who can make an immediate contribution to the economy.

New immigrants are now “inventory” that are to be managed through a “just-in-time” process that moves labour to where the market (read large corporations) needs it, and where permanent residency (let alone full citizenship with full rights) depends on a new worker’s job performance, based on untested employee recommendations.

The new Conservative policy represents a wholesale adoption of corporate notions of competitiveness into immigration processes, and it is a good example of whose prosperity is being addressed through the SPP.

Please comment on this, give me your ideas.

Cougar

CANADIAN IMMIGRATION

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 03:32:20 GMT

Conservatives turn people into cargo with “just-in-time” immigration reforms

March 20, 2008
Posted by Stuart Trew

~ U.S. President George W. Bush speaking to the media during the second SPP leaders summit in Cancun, Mexico.

~ From the 2008 Conservative federal budget.

As the Canadian Labour Congress reported this past December:

“Why is this government interested only in providing cheap labour to big corporations and not letting ordinary family members bring their loved ones into Canada?” she asked.

The answer, or what the Conservatives think passes for an answer, can be found in Harper’s 2008 budget:

Please comment on this, give me your ideas.

Cougar

Before the white man arrived

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:54:02 GMT

Before the White Man arrived: Before our white brothers arrived to make us civilized men, we did not have any kind of prison. Because of this, we had no delinquents. Without a prison, there can be no delinquents. We had neither locks nor keys and therefore among us there were no thieves. When someone was so poor that he could not afford a horse, a tent, or a blanket, he would, in that case, receive it all as a gift. We were too uncivilized to give great importance to private property. We did not know any kind of money and consequently, the value of a human being was not determined by his wealth. We had no written laws laid down, no lawyers, and no politicians, therefore we were not able to cheat and swindle one another. We were really in bad shape before the white men arrived and I do not know how to explain how we were able to manage without these fundamental things that (so they tell us) are so necessary for a civilized society. John (Fire) Lame Deer Sioux Lakota - 1903-1976

Algonquin Territory and the Algonquin People within the Province of Ontario, Canada

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 22:53:53 GMT

January 3, 2008

Hon. Dalton McGuinty
Premier of Ontario
Rm 281, Main Legislative Building
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A4
Canada

“WITHOUT PREJUDICE”

Dear Sir,

Re: Algonquin Territory and the Algonquin People within the Province of Ontario, Canada

Sir, this letter is to inform you that it is the belief of the Canadians for Organizational and Personal Accountability, that your government is allowing the illegal use and destruction of lands outside of your jurisdiction.

We say this, because the lands in question, although within the country called Canada, are within the un-ceded Territory of the Algonquin Nation, an enclave within the meaning of the word.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Enclave

Main Entry: en·clave

Pronunciation:\en-klāv, än-klāv\

Function: noun

Etymology: French, from Middle French, from enclaver to enclose, from Vulgar Latin *inclavare to lock up, from Latin in- + clavis

Date: 1868

: a distinct territorial, cultural, or social unit enclosed within or as if within foreign territory <ethnic enclaves>

As per the last words of this definition, a distinct territorial, cultural, or social unit enclosed within or as if within foreign territory

The Algonquin Nation is distinct, as it is indigenous to the land, and has a very different cultural and social attachment to the lands in question.

Any actions taken by your government or the Courts within your jurisdiction would be in direct violation of International Law.

This would also have a direct effect upon their “Indianness” contrary to the Indian Act. Moreover, the Constitution Act. 1867 s. 91(24), and Constitution Act. 1982 s. 35(1).

Even though Sec. 88 of the Indian Act gives Provincial Authority, in Delgamuukw v. British Columbia the Supreme Court of Canada held that provincial laws, either on their own, or through s. 88, could not legislate in relation to Aboriginal rights.

Legal Rights

S.88, page 201 of the Indian Act, the 2007 Annotated Indian Act and Aboriginal Constitutional Provisions.

Lands

Note: that this section does not explicitly permit application of provincial laws to lands reserved for Indians.

Provincial laws of general application may apply to Indians through s.88 of the Indian Act. However, such provincial laws cannot extinguish Aboriginal rights because s. 88 was not enacted with extinguishment in mind.

Any such action brought forth by any person(s), corporation, or government agency acting under provincial legislation or bringing forth an action against an Aboriginal person or First Nation would be in contravention of the Constitution of Canada.

Further to what we are stating, the Province of Ontario is also infringing upon the rights of the Algonquin Nation, under the United Nations Human Rights of Aboriginal People.

Going further with this, we feel that the Ontario Provincial Police have no jurisdiction on First Nations land and that all Aboriginal rights are under exclusive federal authority and only the federal government can extinguish those rights.

The Ontario Provincial Police Force being a Provincial Police Force, and having no federal jurisdictional powers, have no right policing areas under federal jurisdiction, if this was the case they would be policing Parliament Hill or the Canadian Armed Forces Bases within the province of Ontario. In fact, the Ontario Provincial Police only enforce federal acts under agreement, as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police holds jurisdiction over federal acts.

If there is some agreement between Ottawa and Ontario for these policing duties, then these would be sub-contracts of a Municipal nature, whereas First Nations are not considered Municipalities then any such contracts would be null and void.

However, non-status areas such as Ardoch Algonquin First Nation would be considered a municipality and a municipality has the right to hire or establish their own police force, and would require a contract between them and the Ontario Provincial Police.

Nonetheless, there is nothing that states a municipality must hire the Ontario Provincial Police, any accreted police force can be hired.

Before leaving the subject of Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, we see another problem in that of Randy Cota, Co-Chief of Ardoch Algonquin First Nation. Randy Cota is also a member of the Ontario Provincial Police; this places him in contravention of the Police Services Act of Ontario.

Police Services Act of Ontario

46. No municipal police officer shall engage in political activity, except as the regulations permit. R.S.O. 1990, c. P.15, s. 46.

Even though Mr. Cota has been stationed away from the area to another municipality and ordered to stay away from the activists he has taken part in the canoe paddle along the Mississippi and Ottawa rivers with Harold Perry and other alleged activists, thus placing him in a conflict of interest, as well as disobeying orders.

One other area of great concern we see is cost, the Ontario Provincial Police do not police free, so why are the Canadian Citizens paying your provincial force to police First Nations, federal lands, when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police being a federal police force created for just this purpose, not fulfilling these duties.

There are Royal Canadian Mounted Police stationed within Ontario and all major centers, I am sure they would police the First Nations at a cost far less than the Ontario Provincial Police.

The average Canadian does not know that the community they are in, unless they are designated as a rural member, pays for every man, car, radio, uniforms, and all the other equipment required to police an area. This adds up to a considerable amount per municipal member, even though those members police rural areas as well as the municipalities that are paying for them.

Mr. McGuinty, costs are only one problem we see, there are also the abuse of authority, excessive use of force by members of the Ontario Provincial Police against the Aboriginal People in Ontario.

I am proud to state that in all my years’ dealing with the public, Aboriginal or otherwise, as a peace officer, R.C.M.P., I never raised a fist, struck, or abused anyone. The thought never crossed my mind, no matter the situation. A good police officer does not have to use violence to achieve a required goal, only individuals full of malice, bigotry, bias, and no self-control or common sense use the kind of actions seen by the members of the Ontario Provincial Police towards the Aboriginal People of Ontario.

In my opinion, criminal charges should be laid against every member of any police force that uses excessive use of force against any member of the public, no matter the circumstances or alleged crime perpetrated by the individual. Nevertheless, as I stated this in only my opinion.

With this said, we can only pray that you will take some of what we have said to heart, look into these issues, as they are important, and should be considered with care. As an elected official, you have a duty to the people of Ontario, including the Aboriginal people as we are sure some of them voted for you to.

Thank you,

CANADIANS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL AND PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY

EDWARD OMAHKATAAYO, ESQ.
CHAIRMAN/CEO

Cc: Right Hon. Stephen J. Harper
Prime Minister of Canada

            Hon. Chuck Strahl
            Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal
            Interlocutor for Metis and Non-Status Indians.

Hon. Stephane Dion
Liberal Caucus

Hon. Anita Neville
Liberal Caucus

Commissioner Julian Fantino C.O.M, O. Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 22:43:06 GMT

January 3, 2008

Hon. Dalton McGuinty
Premier of Ontario
Rm 281, Main Legislative Building
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A4
Canada

“WITHOUT PREJUDICE”

Dear Sir,

Re: Algonquin Territory and the Algonquin People within the Province of Ontario, Canada

We say this, because the lands in question, although within the country called Canada, are within the un-ceded Territory of the Algonquin Nation, an enclave within the meaning of the word.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Enclave

Main Entry: en·clave

Pronunciation:\en-klāv, än-klāv\

Function: noun

Etymology: French, from Middle French, from enclaver to enclose, from Vulgar Latin *inclavare to lock up, from Latin in- + clavis

Date: 1868

: a distinct territorial, cultural, or social unit enclosed within or as if within foreign territory <ethnic enclaves>

As per the last words of this definition, a distinct territorial, cultural, or social unit enclosed within or as if within foreign territory

The Algonquin Nation is distinct, as it is indigenous to the land, and has a very different cultural and social attachment to the lands in question.

Any actions taken by your government or the Courts within your jurisdiction would be in direct violation of International Law.

This would also have a direct effect upon their “Indianness” contrary to the Indian Act. Moreover, the Constitution Act. 1867 s. 91(24), and Constitution Act. 1982 s. 35(1).

Legal Rights

S.88, page 201 of the Indian Act, the 2007 Annotated Indian Act and Aboriginal Constitutional Provisions.

Lands

Note: that this section does not explicitly permit application of provincial laws to lands reserved for Indians.

Further to what we are stating, the Province of Ontario is also infringing upon the rights of the Algonquin Nation, under the United Nations Human Rights of Aboriginal People.

Nonetheless, there is nothing that states a municipality must hire the Ontario Provincial Police, any accreted police force can be hired.

Police Services Act of Ontario

46. No municipal police officer shall engage in political activity, except as the regulations permit. R.S.O. 1990, c. P.15, s. 46.

There are Royal Canadian Mounted Police stationed within Ontario and all major centers, I am sure they would police the First Nations at a cost far less than the Ontario Provincial Police.

Mr. McGuinty, costs are only one problem we see, there are also the abuse of authority, excessive use of force by members of the Ontario Provincial Police against the Aboriginal People in Ontario.

Thank you,

CANADIANS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL AND PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY

EDWARD OMAHKATAAYO, ESQ.
CHAIRMAN/CEO

Cc: Right Hon. Stephen J. Harper
Prime Minister of Canada

            Hon. Chuck Strahl
            Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal
            Interlocutor for Metis and Non-Status Indians.

Hon. Stephane Dion
Liberal Caucus

Hon. Anita Neville
Liberal Caucus

Commissioner Julian Fantino C.O.M, O. Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police

Final Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. December 2007

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 06:09:08 GMT

The Senate of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
KIA 0A4

Attn: Senator Anne C. Cools

Dear Anne,

Re: Taking Section 35 Rights Seriously: Non-derogation Clauses relating to Aboriginal and treaty rights.

Final Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. December 2007

I have gone over the above said document, and while I agree with all of the recommendations of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, I cannot but wonder if these recommendations will come about with the current Federal Government now in place or any future government for that matter?

Another concern that I have as well as many others is the individuals heard from before the Committee. As you are probably aware, while the Assembly of First Nations claims to represent all of the First Nations in Canada, this just is not so, as well the Congress of Aboriginal People does not have that many members.

I did not see any representation at all from the Metis of Canada of which there are Metis Nations within each Province as well as National Organizations.

Your Committee states that there is a need for increased awareness, both cultural and legal, about how federal, provincial, and territorial laws should be implemented to respect 35 rights. This is fine, however most law enforcement agencies have cross-cultural training, but I am sad to say that the majority of the time it is very little to late, as it does not address the true cultures of the individual tribes.

I will give you an example of what I mean, as a Member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, S/Cst. I.S.P. Native Special Constable; I was stationed in Cold Lake, Alberta. Within my area of patrol was the Cold Lake First Nations which is broken into 4 parts now, but at that time was three parts. Two parts were on Cold Lake, the lake.

The Fish and Wildlife Officers charged the Chief of Cold Lake First Nations for fishing on a portion of the Cold Lake where there was an agreement with First Nations of Alberta and Fish and Wildlife, which they would not fish on that part of the lake. They seized his boat, nets, fish, and issued him with a summons to appear in court.

I happened to be in court the day the Chief was to appear, and asked the Fish and Wildlife Officers what he was charged with. They showed me the file in the presence of the Crown Prosecutor, and I advised them they had a problem with their charges. Cold Lake First Nations is not part of the First Nations of Alberta, it is a Chipewyan Reserve and part of the Dene Nation and therefore they had no agreement with Cold Lake First Nations, the Crown threw their file in the garbage.

While it is fine to address the issues of the Constitution and they should be, the reality is that the Aboriginal People of Canada are dealt with at the Provincial level, the majority of the time where the Police, Crown Prosecutors and Judges or Justices do not want to hear about Native Laws that govern the different tribes. As far as they are concerned, there is the Criminal Code of Canada, Indian Act, and the Provincial Statutes and that is it.

In your report, Professor Morse also addressed the Matter of Aboriginal or Indigenous law as a third source of Canadian Law:

We have had our highest court in the land saying clearly that traditional Aboriginal Law is part of the Canadian Law. We are a tri-juridical country, not merely a bi-juridical one. As the federal government is attempting to reflect both the common law and the “droit” civil, it must also pay attention, seek to respect, and reflect the law of indigenous nations. That presents a huge challenge in a country such as ours but that does not mean we should not try at all. Not trying is effectively saying that while we know there is a third legal system in the country, and it is part of our law, we will not pay attention to it; that clearly seems to me to be an unacceptable approach.

If this in fact the case, then the Guswenta (Kaswentha):, should apply to this day. Two Row Wampum of The Haudenosaunee, known as the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy, still hold many international treaties with Netherlands, France, Great Britain, and other countries that colonized North America. The first such treaty in 1692, called the Covenant Chain, is recorded in the Two Row wampum belt called the Guswenta. It is about four feet long and has the two dark rows of beads to show the two governments as separate but equal. One row represented the white man's ship that contained all of his culture, religion ad laws. The other row represented the Iroquois in their canoe, with all of their traditions, beliefs, and laws. It was called the Covenant Chain because the metaphor for that relationship was a silver chain that tied the white man's ship and the Iroquois canoe to the Tree of Peace.

An actual silver chain was made to symbolize their agreement. The three links of that chain were said to represent peace, friendship, forever, the basic themes of all Iroquois treaties. This is also the first written treaty to use the famous phrases: "as long as the sun shines upon the earth; as long as the waters flow; as long as the grass grows green, peace will last."

You say that you are our Father and I am your son.

We say, We will not be like Father and Son, but like Brothers.

This wampum belt confirms our words. These two rows will symbolize two paths or two vessels, traveling down the same river together.

One, a birch bark canoe, will be for the Indian People, their laws, their customs and their ways.

The other, a ship, will be for the white people and their laws, their customs and their ways.

We shall each travel the river together, side by side, but in our boat. Neither of us will make compulsory laws or interfere in the internal affairs of the other. Neither of us will try to steer the other's vessel.

The agreement has been kept by the Iroquois to this date.

At present all that was said above means nothing in the realities of today and the in the judgment of the governments and courts within Canada.

It appears that even though this is a true treaty of peace, an International Treaty as it were, the only recourse for the Aboriginal Peoples or Indigenous Peoples of Canada is to take their respective grievances to the International Courts, however given the reality of the costs and time restraints this is no recourse at all.

A point of fact is that neither the Courts other than the Supreme Court of Canada, nor the Government of Canada has any intention in recognizing any Aboriginal Laws, other then the laws they create for the betterment of Canada and not the Aboriginal People.

One good example is the Indian Act, this instrument has been around under different names for some time and continues to be a mill-stone around the necks of the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada. While a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police I had problems with enforcing this Act., as on the inside of the first page it stated that this Act was not a ratified Legal Instrument, that being the case in my mind not enforceable however I had no recourse but to follow the orders of my superiors.

To this day, I still believe that this Act is not ratified and therefore should not be enforced. The Indian Act has been used by the Federal Government to slowly erode the rights and freedoms of the First Nation people, giving over jurisdiction to the provinces in some areas, such as the enforcement of provincial statutes on first nation’s lands.

As you may have guessed I was a bit of the thorn in the side of my superiors in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, however my being a Native Special Constable, I felt it was my duty to while upholding laws that would legally apply to the indigenous peoples of Canada, but correct the in-justices inflected upon them.

While setting at my deck one day, my S/Sgt. Walked up behind me and was reading a paper I had just written about the Indian Act, Native Law and the Provincial Statutes as they pertain towards the First Nations people on the First Nations Land. Within the Indian Act it gave the right to the provinces to enforce provincial legislation on the first nations lands, however no where within the Indian Act did it give the provinces the right to apply the penalty sections of the provincial legislations on the first nations lands.

After he finished reading my paper he told my I was not to forward my paper directly to “K” Div., but to give it to him first, I never did see anything about my paper again.

Ultimately, the recommendations, made by the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs are well thought out and should be implemented and entrenched in law, however realistically, throughout the history of Canada, as we know it no treaty has truly been honored by the respective governments of this country. So why would they rush to make laws contrary to their internal policies and agendas. To the contrary, the governments of Canada have done everything they can think of to destroy or abolish said treaties.

I myself have never seen an actual true treaty and from speaking to many chiefs from across Canada, neither have they. I have seen the paper back copies of these treaties, however, I have a problem with the wording as at the time they were written the indigenous people would have no understanding of the documents as they are worded and the interpreter’s would have no understanding of the words either.

In consultations with the Hereditary Chiefs and Headmen of the Blackfoot Confederacy, I was advised that some the signatories to Treaty No. 7 at the time of signing where children and known by some of the Elders.

In looking at the first page of Treaty No.7, it appears to have been written by at least 19 different individuals, thus giving the impression that it was written at different times other then at the signing date.

There are so many different agendas held by the different political parties, when it comes to their respective dealings with aboriginal peoples of Canada that I fear that their may never be a solution to the problems you addressed within this Report, time restraints, changes in political leadership, are just a few.

I pray that I am wrong and that some how your recommendations come to fruition in my lifetime.

Thank you,

CANADIANS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL AND PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY

EDWARD OMAHKATAAYO, ESQ.

CHAIRMAN/CEO