[IPSM] Tahltan Central Council: statement

[Macdonald Stainsby]

Attached is a statement provided by Gordon Loverin, speaking on behalf of
the Tahltan Central Council when he was speaking as part of the Internet
Speaker Series for the University of British Columbia First Nations Studies
Program.

If you have questions or want more information, please don't hesitate to
call me on my cell phone 780-903-8577.

Celia Sollows

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



Tahltan Central Council

Statement by Gordon Loverin, Tahltan Central Council
University of British Columbia, First Nations Studies
Internet Speaker Series
March 15, 2005

Before contact with Europeans we had a system in place that provided we
followed our mother in determining our clan designation. This system was put
in place to help prevent relationships developing between blood relatives.
Our concept of following our mother is still used to determine which clan,
Wolf or Crow, our children would fall under through unions outside of our
bloodline. In modern times we have interacted and procreated children from
many other races. However, Tahltan genealogy links us to our ancestors who
lived on the land prior to contact. We have Euro-Tahltans, Tlingit-Tahltans,
other First Nation-Tahltans, Asian-Tahltans, and African-Tahltans. Today we
have established that as long as you have Tahltan blood you are Tahltan and
therefore subject to all the rights and privileges being a Tahltan person
provides. These rights extend beyond the reserve boundaries and the
recognized traditional territory of the Tahltan people. In other words, if
you are Tahltan and living in Vancouver you have every right of say about
what goes on in your traditional territory. The concept of those living on
reserve having more say than those who do not has already been fully dealt
with by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Corbiere decision. And, what the
Court decided was that band council decisions impact all members and
non-residence on reserve is a ground for potential discrimination under s.15
of the Charter. The Court found that members left the reserve for a number
of reasons including social and economic reasons; lack of housing; limited
opportunities for education; and history of the Indian Act discrimination
against women (Bill C-31 addressed this discrimination to some extent).

We recognize and agree that aboriginal people have been marginalized and
discriminated against by Europeans in their drive to colonize and develop
this country we now call Canada. However, that is a larger issue which will
only be resolved by the collective effort of all aboriginal people and the
governments of Canada and British Columbia to reconcile Aboriginal title and
rights with assumed sovereignty by the Crown. Developing a mutually
beneficial relationship with government and industry is our Tahltan effort
to stop the continued cycle of marginalization and we do feel strongly that
any development with our territory must adhere to some basic principles that
the Tahltan Central Council has developed. Decisions about development can
only be made through informed decision making by all members of our nation
on a case-by-case basis. Our nation has not decided to place a political
moratorium on development

In 1910, the Declaration of the Tahltan Tribe was very clear, we are the
sovereign owners of our traditional territory, that has not changed. But the
declaration also directed that successive Tahltan authorities be charged
with developing a co-management relationship with the BC government. (The
Following is taken from the Declaration: We desire that a part of our
country, consisting of one or more large areas (to be erected by us), be
retained for us for our own use, said lands and all thereon to be
acknowledged by the government as our absolute property. The rest of our
tribal land we are willing to relinquish to the British Columbia government
for adequate compensation.) This means working with and attempting to
develop a land and resources process that benefits both the Tahltan people
and the provincial government. Our Chief is simply observing and following
the direction that has been given to all chiefs since 1910 by Chief Nannock
and 80 other Tahltan elders.

As aboriginal people we hold a different opinion about who really owns our
land and our position is that since there has been no treaty with us we are
still the legal owners. The Chief of the Tahltan Band has not entered into
any agreements that involve any sale of any part of our land.

Existing projects cannot and do not contribute to loss of land because the
Supreme Court of Canada in Delgamuukw decided that lands cannot be used in a
manner that is irreconcilable with the nature of the Tahltans' attachment to
the lands. This is important in respect to the non-economic or cultural
aspect of aboriginal title. And, the court decided that lands cannot be
alienated. Aboriginal title lands can only be surrendered to the federal
Crown and converted to non-title lands. Tahltans are not participating in
the BC Treaty process.

The claim that we will have 6 operating mines within our traditional
territory by next year simply cannot happen as none of the proposed mining
projects have completed the EA process nor has the province consulted and
accommodated Tahltan title and rights with respect. The Special Assembly
held by the Tahltan Central Council in January was not consultation by the
province. It was an information session sponsored by one of the proponents
of a project. It provided Tahltans an opportunity to not only receive the
proponents plans but also an opportunity to hear from other Tahltans
generally about issues including the law concerning Aboriginal title and
rights; mining methods; environmental issues; and social impact issues. In
any case, even if the projects were approved, commercial operation and
production is at least 3 to 5 years after each approval. So we are not under
the pressure to agree to less than perfect deals and we cannot agree to any
deal without consulting all Tahltan members.

Our Chief will never have the authority to make land sales or deals in our
traditional territory. That authority can only come from the whole
membership of the Tahltan Nation. He does have the authority as has been
noted in the Tahltan Declaration of 1910, to help our people through
co-operation with government and industry to find the best basis for
satisfying our ongoing social and economic needs.

That responsibility is the Tahltan Central Council's because the TCC's
governance structure is a traditional government made up of family
representatives forming a council. We feel they will have the clearest voice
in deciding Tahltan issues concerning Tahltan title and rights and needs as
a whole. The TCC will ensure that development projects on our land meet our
environmental standards, among other principles. That governance development
process has not been completed therefore Tahltans have not given 100 percent
approval to any proposed project within our territory.

As a nation our interests and pre-conditions over development projects state
no environmental impacts that are beyond management, a direct say in the
decision making process surrounding development projects, resource revenue
sharing and social infrastructure development paid for by developers. Our
Chief recognizes that Tahltan involvement in projects go way beyond simple
jobs. However, we do have families that are making a good livelihood by
Canadian standards from development in our territory.

Tahltan people have been hunter gatherers before contact with Europeans. We
deliberately took the lives of our brothers and sisters in the animal world
but we did so with respect. We continue to co-exist with the animals in our
traditional territory. However, we recognize that we have moved from a
hunter-gatherer society to a different one and we must ensure the continued
protection of our brothers and sisters. Our principle of respect still
exists today and we will not allow development projects to suspend that
which has allowed us to live in this land for as long as we can remember.
Therefore the Tahltan Central Council works to ensure this principle of
respect remains at the heart of development discussions.
Some members of the Tahltan Nation believe we don't need any more
development as the Eskay Mine is already taking care of our employment
needs. But just yesterday a Barrick representative stated that the Eskay
Mine is slated to close in 2007. This means as early as June the mine will
start downsizing and will be decommissioned over the next 2 to 3 years. So
the issue of ensuring continued, uninterrupted employment for the 117
families in our territory is of vital importance.

During the ongoing development of Tahltan governing structures we must work
together to affect those changes. The Tahltan Central Council support will
include assistance arranging for a venue, providing transportation, locating
an impartial facilitator or other activities the Elders request. Tahltan
Elders will determine what form their discussions will take and it is
anticipated that they will offer direction to the Nation after their
meetings that will begin to bring issues to resolution.  Political
representatives and administrative staff will not attend the meeting.

The Tahltan Central Council is comprised of family representatives that form
the basis for traditional government.  The Tahltan Board of Directors met
earlier in the week and agreed to support the Elder's efforts.  The
traditional territory of the Tahltan Nation covers approximately 150,000
square kilometres in north western B.C. and the Yukon.   Tahltan Territory
is rich in resources and its leaders seek to build a self-sufficient and
self-determining nation.
-- 

Macdonald Stainsby
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green
In the contradiction lies the hope
	--Bertholt Brecht.