[antiwar-van] Sutikalh: May 1 Convergence

[No One is Illegal-Vancouver]

* please post *

The five year anniversary of the Sutikalh camp is on April 30th and May
1st at Sutikalh. According to Rosalin Sam, St'at'imc organizer, supporting
the camp during the summer is particularly important because the resort
developers (NGR) permit is valid only till August 2005. If pressure to
stop development is maintained till then, Al Raine will have to apply for
an extension on the permit, which will require a full reassessment of the
project.

No One is Illegal is organizing to travel to Sutikalh on Sunday May 1.
There might be the possibiity of extra spaces if others are interested. 
We will be leaving for Sutikah at 7:30 am and arrive back to Vancouver
late Sunday night. Also, for those interesting in renting a vehicle for
the day, we are renting vehicles through Budget. For a 4-5 person car it
is a total of about $30 per day, not including insurance but unlimited
kms.

For supporters interested in coordinating travel, please contact
No One is Illegal Vancouver at noii-van at resist.ca or call 778-552-2099
More information on Sutikalh is at http://sutikalh.resist.ca

Ways to support the camp: Bring any food donations (rice, pasta,
vegetables etc.) and/or supplies (AA, C and D batteries, candles, tarps,
toilet paper etc.) directly to camp. Cash donations are also welcome.

Directioins: Camp is located off Hwy. 99, half-way between Mt. Currie and
Lillooet. Look for old logging road bridge over Cayoosh Creek. There is a
banner in trees approximately 100 m. north of bridge. Cross bridge and
camp is down logging road on right, 100 m.


=====================================

To all supporters;

This is a notice to inform you that our anniversary for this year is on
April 30th and May 1st, at Sutikalh.

On April 30th, 2005 is a drop in day for all to come and enjoy the fresh
air. On May 1st, 2005 is a planned day with a ceremony at 10:00 am, and at
noon will be lunch followed by speeches of attending elders, chiefs, and
open to supporters who would like to share with us, and Drumming and
singing.

So mark these dates on your calendar and we will see you there. For
further information you can email me or contact Ramona Joe, 604-894-2462;
Chief Garry John, 580-259-8227; Gina, 250-256-7523, or myself at
604-894-2400. Any donation is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Rosalin Sam,
Lil'watool of the St'at'imc territory



:::: BACKGROUND (from sutikalh.resist.ca) :::::


On May 2, 2000, members of the St'at'imc nation and their allies
established a permanent camp near Melvin Creek, located off Highway 99
between Mt. Currie/Pemberton and Lillooet, in the southern Interior region
of BC.

Known as Sutikalh, the St'at'imc winter spirit of the area, the camp was
set up to stop government and corporate plans to build a $500 million
all-season ski and recreation resort in an untouched Alpine mountain area.

Part of the Cayoosh Moutain Range, the region is a transition zone from
the coast to the Interior. It is habitat to Grizzly bears, cougar, bobcat,
wolverine, deer, hawks, owls and many other small animals. It also
contains one of the largest herds of Mountain Goats now remaining in North
America.

The area has been occupied and used by the St'at'imc for as long as 10,000
years, following the retreat of the last glacial period which carved out
the steep-sided valleys and jagged mountain tops.

Along with food gathering, the area was also used by shamans, who went to
the mountains for purification, spiritual renewal and training. These
traditions continue to be practised today at Sutikalh, where people come
to gather foods, medicines, pure fresh water, and to participate in
cultural and spiritual activities.

To this day the area remains unceded, unsurrendered St'at'imc territory,
in which neither Canada nor BC have legal or moral authority to govern,
claim territory or even carry out business.

That both levels of government continue to impose their authority is a
violation of Canada's own laws and its highest courts (i.e., the 1763
Royal Proclamation and, to a lesser extent, the 1997 Delgamuukw Supreme
Court Decision).


150 YEARS ON STOLEN LAND

For over 150 years, the St'at'imc - like other First Nations - have seen
their way of life nearly destroyed, their ancestral territories claimed by
European settlers and colonial authorities. Beginning in 1858 with the
discovery of gold, tens of thousands of prospectors invaded the southern
Interior. They brought diseases which decimated the St'at'imc and other
Interior nations (as occurred on the coast); in some cases, villages saw
90% of their populations die.

By the 1920s railway lines had been punched through, increasing European
settlement and resource extraction (logging and mining). In the meantime,
First Nations were forced onto small reserves and generations of
Indigenous children placed in Residential Schools. In the 1950s and '60s,
hydro-electric dams and power plants were established, destroying or
reducing entire salmon runs in the Bridge and Seton Rivers. By the 1970s,
clearcut logging and road building scarred many valleys and mountain-
sides.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

In 1990, the BC government began an expansion of Highway 99, upgrading a
logging road that cut through the Melvin Creek watershed. In order to
connect this road to Hwy. 99, the provincial government expropriated a
portion of the Mt. Currie reserve, using a section of the Indian Act. This
created a groundswell of opposition among the Lil'wat of Mt. Currie, who
blockaded the Duffy Lake road. A large RCMP operation resulted in 63
arrests in the fall of 1990. Those arrested were held one month, refusing
to give their names or co-operate. The next year, as highway construction
proceeded, the government announced it was seeking proposals for a ski
resort development in the Melvin Creek area - a project only possible with
the forced expansion of Hwy. 99.

NOT ANOTHER SKI RESORT

In 1991, in response to the government's proposal, Nancy Greene-Raine
resort consultants Inc. (NGR), submitted plans for the Cayoosh Ski Resort,
a $500-million all-season ski and recreation resort, with an upper and
lower village, a 12 km access road to the upper village, 14 lifts, a
conference centre, skiing, hiking, horseback riding, and as many as 12,000
daily visitors with accommodation for 14,000 (2,000 for staff).

NGR Inc. is owned by Nancy Greene, a former Olympic gold medallist, and
her husband Al Raine. NGR has also been involved in a bitter struggle for
the past 3 years with the Secwepemc nation over a $70 million expansion to
the Sun Peaks ski resort, located 1 hours drive north of Kamloops.

Initially, the government's own Environment Ministry, Kamloops region,
advised against any development in the Cayoosh and Melvin Creek
watersheds, citing high wildlife values, especially Grizzly Bear and
Mountain Goat habitat.

In 1993, NGR withdrew their proposal. Intervention by high-ranking
government officials, however, renewed the Cayoosh proposal and created
political pressure to force it through. in 1994, Employment minister Glen
Clark met with Al Raine. Following this, Raine stated he was "very
encouraged by the new attitude of cooperation." The following year, the BC
cabinet overruled the Kamloops office's original decision, and in 1996 NGR
applied fore project approval certification through the BC government's
Environmental Assessment Office (EAO).

Over the years, reports and studies submitted to the EAO have failed to
mention, or downplayed, both Grizzly and Mountain Goat habitat and
negative environmental impact. Finally, on August 14, 2000, the EAO gave
its approval for the Cayoosh ski resort. The EAO is considered the most
'difficult' phase for a project of this size and nature to pass. Now, all
that remains is for NGR to receive a master development agreement as
required under the Commercial Alpine Ski Policy (CASP).

The CASP is a responsibility of Land and Water, BC, Inc. (formerly BC
Assets and Lands Corporation), a government agency created to sell, lease
and 'develop' Crown lands. This final stage is a technicality and it is
expected that by 2003-04, the final go-ahead will be given. As of Spring
2003, Sutikalh still remains and no construction or logging has occurred.

ST'AT'IMC MAKE THEIR STAND AT SUTIKALH

Just as the EAO process neared completion in 2000, the alarm was sounded.
On May 2/00, the Sutikalh camp was established, and before the month ended
it was decided to make it a permanent camp. From the beginning, Sutikalh
has served as a rallying point for the St'at'imc. On June 11/00, over 120
people gathered at Sutikalh, including members from all 11 St'at'imc
communities. The meeting overwhelmingly rejected the ski resort.

Throughout June and July, more permanent structures were built, including
construction of an Estken (a traditional pit-house). From July 27 to
August 4/00, some 40 children and youth attended the camp, gathering food
and medicines and participating in cultural activities.

They also helped distribute 1500 pamphlets and collect hundreds of
signatures on a petition opposed to the ski resort. On August 14/00, when
the EAO gave its approval to NGR, the St'at'imc set up an information
checkpoint at Sutikalh on Hwy. 99 for 17 hours.

In Vancouver, St'at'imc representatives and several Aboriginal political
organizations, along with environmentalists, protested outside the
Vancouver Stock Exchange (to deter potential investors).

This grassroots organizing helped put pressure on all 11 St'at'imc band
councils to come out in opposition to the ski resort, event through some
chiefs and councilors actually support development. On August 17/00, the
Lillooet Tribal Council issued a letter to NGR, signed by all 11 chiefs,
rejecting the ski resort.

On October 2/00, a referendum on the ski resort was held in Mt. Currie,
the closest and largest St'at'imc community to the Melvin Creek area. Of
3324 votes cast, 276 voted No, with 46 voting Yes.

The St'at'imc have also received public support from various Aboriginal
groups, including the Interior Alliance (band councils of the Southern
Carrier, St'at'imc, Secwepemc, Nlaka'pamux and Okanagain), the Union of BC
Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), the Native Youth Movement (NYM), and the Cheam
First Nation.

Several environmental groups are also opposed to the Cayoosh ski resort,
including the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC), the
Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC), Sierra Club and even former
government biologists.

BIG $ FOR BC GOVERNMENT

Despite government and corporate claims that there will be no
environmental impact, it is obvious to anyone that a $500 million ski
resort, with accommodations for 14,000 people, will have a major impact on
wildlife habitat and ecosysterms. According to a financial analysis and
market assessment by the EAO, the BC government stands to gain the most
with an estimated $1.1 billion in revenue upon project completion.

"[The] province of BC and its residents have the most to gain economically
from a project of this nature compared to possible returns to the
applicant (NGR) and associated investors. This point of view ignores any
environmental impacts..."

Executive Summary - Review of the Market Assessment and Financial
Analysis, EAO.

After 2 and 1/2 years, Sutikalh continues to represent the will of the
St'at'imc to protect one of the last, untouched mountain areas in their
ancestral territory. It is also a model for other First Nations seeking to
reoccupy traditional land and/or stop further destruction of territory by
government and corporations.

STAND STRONG WITH SUTIKALH - HELP STOP THE CAYOOSH SKI RESORT!