Bottom of File PageNews posted mostly by Ernie Yacoub. Archives were posted in illegible form by Settlers in Support of Indigenous Sovereignty; unedited except for removal of many "Urgent action -- call these people now!" -- notices. Accuracy of facts, quotes, etc. not verified.
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Bruce Clark, LL.B., M.A., Ph.D. (Law) Barrister and Solicitor 92 Stanley Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1M 1P4 Phone (613) 741-7065 Fax (613) 741-7077 Date: 25 August 1995 MESSAGE: The police have informed the media, members of which have informed me, that the police intend to overcome resistance with force against my clients at Gustafson Lake commencing tomorrow morning, unless prior to then the clients capitulate unconditionally. The police have cut telephone communications to my clients. The police have refused to allow my agents to deliver written lawyer-client communications from me to my clients. My advice remains as expressed in the fax sent earlier today to my agent for communication to my clients. Sincerely, Bruce Clark
Subject: TWO DAY DEADLINE FOR INVASION AFN CHIEF OVIDE MERCREDI, RCMP ANNOUNCE IMPENDING INVASION OF SACRED SHUSWAP SUNDANCE GROUNDS AT GUSTAFSON LAKE August 25, 1995 The world is watching the brutal racist reality of Canadian colonialism as the RCMP yesterday rejected Shuswap Sundance Defenders' terms for a peaceful resolution of the Gustafson Lake rebellion in support of indigenous sovereignty and land rights. A communique from the Shuswap traditionalists Faithkeeper and Pipe Carrier Percy Rosette, dated August 24, 1995, reads as follows: -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. TO ALL MEDIA: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS RELEASE BIG LAKE, AUGUST 24, 1995 SHUSWAP AGREE TO PEACEFUL SOLUTION The Shuswap people, who remain true to the Creator and the Land of our Ancestors, seek a peaceful resolution to a crisis which has been going on for 139 years. Domestic laws, which we have had no hand in signing, do not apply here. Tribal councils of so-called "chiefs" paid by the Government of Canada do not speak for us. We have never ceded or sold our territory. Anyone claiming title to our stolen lands should be compensated by the government of British Columbia and our lands returned to us. The legal precedence protecting our rights as Indigenous Peoples have never been heard. We agree to lay down our arms after receiving a guarantee of diplomatic immunity from prosecution for all members of this camp, and audiences with our representative Bruce Clark and the Queen's Privy Council and Governor General of Canada. The purpose of these hearings must be a formal ruling of the legitimacy of claim. We believe that when the true Canadian law is applied it will be clear who are the true caretakers of this land. Signed Percy Rosette Faithkeeper -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. Canadian Press subsequently misstated the peace terms as "police reject rebels' offer to give up". Vancouver RCMP spokesperson Peter Montague peremptorily dismissed the offer with the statement that surrender must be "swift, decisive and unconditional." The natives' due process right to the Queen's Privy Council as an independent and impartial court of original jurisdiction was denied. "People at the level of the Governor General and the Privy Council do not involve themselves with a gang of thugs," said Montague. Indigenous and popular resistance elements continued to swell the ranks of Defenders as a major constitutional crisis emerges. Dr. Bruce Clark presented a petition to the Governor General signed by hereditary and spiritual representatives of the Feast of the Dead (eastern) tradition, the Sundance (central) tradition and the Potlatch (western) tradition. Helicopters buzzed the camp yesterday and today but left the scene when Defenders directed automatic weapons fire in warning. The clock runs out on Sunday, after which the invasion will occur. Unconfirmed reports suggest military personnel are checking into motel rooms in 100 Mile House, 35 km west of the liberated zone. Ovide Mercredi, head of the government-sponsored Assembly of First Nations (AFN), made the outrageous statement that the actions of the traditionals were "deemed illegal by Canadian law" and attacked the "bad legal advice" of constitutional law expert Dr. Bruce Clark. The compelling silver-haired traditionalist warrior "Wolverine" responded that if Mercredi was any kind of leader he would "get his ass on our side". According to Wolverine, "This country will never be the same either way. For every one of us that goes down ten more will stand up." A young woman defiantly challenged the Canadian Public to stop the 'Waco' execution and total trashing of the rule of law. The demonization campaign turned vicious as the government's Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, at 12:10 pm WST, presented a forensic psychologist to examine the pathology of the Defenders and their situation. Ominously, communications between the Defenders and their counsel have now been cut off - a courier carrying legal documents from Dr. Clark was denied entry to the Defenders' camp - further plunging Canada into a constitutional crisis and a blatantly and demonstrably criminal invasion of sovereign unceded sacred Shuswap territory. RCMP intercepted the following document and prevented it from reaching the Defenders' camp. -.-.-.-.-.-. Bruce Clark, LL.B., M.A., Ph.D. (Law) Barrister and Solicitor 92 Stanley Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1M 1P4 Telephone: (613) 741-7065 Fax Line: (613) 741-7077 FAX COVER SHEET Date: 25 August 1995 Attention: Clients To: c/o 403-865-7549 Number of pages: 1 (This page) MESSAGE: The Sundancers at Gustafson Lake have one demand: THAT THE PETITION DATED JANUARY 3, 1995 BE ADDRESSED PUBLICLY BY AN INDEPENDENT AND IMPARTIAL THIRD PARTY TRIBUNAL, ONE THAT IS NEITHER CANADIAN NOR INDIAN, SUCH AS THE SPECIAL CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ESTABLISHED BY QUEEN ANN AT THE REQUEST OF THE MOHEGAN INDIANS TO WHICH COURT THE PETITION IS ADDRESSED: (a) Is the popular assumption that the Canadian courts and police have jurisdiction legal? (b) *OR* IS THAT ASSUMPTION CRIMINALLY TREASONABLE, FRAUDULENT AND COMPLICITOUS IN THE GENOCIDE OF THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLES OF CANADA AS ALLEGED IN THE PETITION? Sincerely, Bruce Clark Signed by the people at Gustafson Lake: (no signatures obtained due to RCMP barrier) I, Ovide Mercredi, both a lawyer and as an aboriginal person supporting this request. The jurisdictional question must be addressed and resolved according to the rule of law. (no signature obtained) -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- posted by S.I.S.I.S Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty
August 26, 1995 I am trying to help disseminate information about the standoff between the RCMP and First Nations people at Gustafson Lake in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. I have just received a very large email list that i do not have time to sort through for duplications, or suitability. Please let me know if this information is not useful to you. This post contains a number of statements which come from the people at the camp and their attorney. The situation is critical! The police have extended the deadline another day. The BC government is taking a hard, hard line. There is no reason for the police to act quickly and endanger the lives of the people at the camp or their own front line grunts. A Canadian Wounded Knee is imminent. The media reports you are getting are most likely very distorted. Even CBC As it Happens, usually an exemplary news show, only interviewed the American owner of the 18,000 acre ranch, Lyle James, and the BC Attorney General. There was NO other view expressed. The attorney for the Sundance Defenders, Bruce Clark, was not asked for comment. According to the Toronto Globe and Mail, only two firearms have been seen at the camp, and "knives and machetes." How many firearms would there be at a picnic held anywhere in the the interior of British Columbia? Knives and machetes? Give me a break. There has been NO reference made in the media, that i know of, about the sons of Lyle James shooting at the encampment several days ago. This morning, a CBC radio news report announced the extended deadline by one day. Following is a synopsis of that 9am report: AFN chief Ovide Mercredi not yet successful in getting the people to agree to an unconditional surrender. He agreed with their position that the land is sacred but said that violence is not the indian (?) way - Wolverine brief interview clip saying OM could be a great leader or a disgrace" if he fails them. The cbc report ended the piece with "a shot was heard near by". It does not say who fired the shot. The implication of course is that someone from the camp did. This is disgraceful reporting. Let the CBC know that this is not acceptable. Audience Relations COMMENT-ONLY address,; As It Happens: aih@toronto.cbc.ca. You can also reach CBC at: Audience Relations, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, P.O. Box 500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario, M5W 1E6, Canada, (416)-205-3700. For more CBC email addresses, try http://www.cbc.ca. There is a peaceful way out of the standoff. Get the cops out of there and send lots of people in to the camp with supplies to talk. Email, phone, fax the numbers at the end of the post. ernie yacub yacinfo@mars.ark.com
Attorney for Sundancers calls their actions heroism, not terrorism It looks like the talks aimed at ending the siege of the Sundancers at Gustafsen Lake will continue despite previous hardline statements by BC Premier Mike Harcourt, BC Attorney General Ujal Dosanj, and the RCMP. The police threatened an armed assault by Saturday night if the Indians, Defenders of the Shuswap Nation, refused to unconditionally surrender. A heavily armed Emergency Response Team of 24 members, with dogs and helicopters, have surrounded the camp in the Shuswap territory of British Columbia. After 2 days of talks with the Sundance Camp defenders and local tribal chiefs, Assembly of First Nations Chief, Ovide Mercredi, announced "another disappointing day." He said that "the trust was absent today. There is danger to the public peace. The RCMP have cut of communications to the camp. The individuals at the camp are not terrorists. They are people with strong convictions - they are not criminals. However, they are determined that the sacred sundance site will be forever protected." "If they (police) do raid the camp, there will be violence," said Mercredi. Wolverine, one of the Sundancers, said that he would leave in a body bag if necessary. When Mercredi asked him what the result would be if the RCMP raid the camp, Wolverine said, "The result is we are not moving." Mercredi told the RCMP that they must restrain themselves and be patient. "They must pay attention to the coroner's report on the Oka crisis." When he was asked the question that every reporter usually asks first, do they have guns, he said, "they say they do. They say they are not as well armed as the police and media are reporting. We must resolve this conflict with peace. We must learn from the bad experience at Oka." There was speculation that the police may have caused the mediation efforts to fail through their military style manoeuvres started two days ago. According to the Toronto Globe and Mail, the Indian arsenal consists of two guns, machetes, and knives.. Staff Sergeant Peter Montague, who earlier called the Sundance people "thugs,terrorists, and criminals", claims that it is the Indians who threaten the peace. This is while surrounding the camp with a camouflaged, heavily armed SWAT (ERT) squad, and harassing the camp with low level helicopter flights, provoking the expected rifle fire, which they then use to further demonize the Sundancers. They have also cut the communications to the camp. One wonders how a peaceful settlement is possible when the police are demanding an unconditional surrender, have cut off the communications, and are preparing to mount an assault on the camp whenever they deem necessary. Where are their mediators and conflict resolution experts? Mercredi says that the Sundancers are determined. They will not surrender, but they will talk. William Johnson in his column in the August 26 Edmonton Journal wrote: "The Mounties say they will move in today and remove the occupiers by force. That would be worse than the blunder Quebec police committed in 1990 by assaulting the Mohawks' barricade at Oka." Bruce Clark, attorney for the Sundancers argues that "the Canadian courts and the police of Canada have no jurisdiction on unsurrendered Indian lands, except to apprehend non-Indians guilty of crimes who may have taken refuge there." On August 20, Bruce Clark wrote to Mike Crawley of the Vancouver Sun and Barb McLintock of the Province: "Mr. Crawleys question was: what if lives are lost? My clients' answer is that thousands upon thousands of Indian lives have been, and are being lost." He argues that these lives have been lost precisely because they have been "invaded and terrorized treasonably, fraudulently, and genocidally. The high mortality rates of natives in our country are a consequence of the legal establishment's crimes. My clients' intent at Gustafsen Lake is to save many lives at the risk of their own. That is heroism not terrorism." - 30 - A freedom camp to witness the siege and provide support for the Sundancers has been organized outside the police lines. People who come must be self sufficient. Organizers advise against bringing alcohol, drugs, or weapons since the police are searching every vehicle. Go to the Red Coach Inn or the RCMP office in 100 Mile House to get directions to the camp. If you cannot come, show your support in the many usual ways (numbers at end of post). But please do some little (or big) thing. Even an acknowledgement of receipt would be useful. You could also let us know what action you are taking, so that we can all learn. The Sundancers are preparing themselves tonight to make the supreme sacrifice for their belief in a higher principle. They deserve our unflagging support. Let us hope, work and pray for a just and peaceful resolution. If events overtake this notice, please stay tuned and get involved. We would love to get copies of media reports from your area. Feedback is essential for us to do a better job the next time, and the next, and the next, etc.
27 Aug 1995 Police claim that a police vehicle and RCMP members were fired at when they tried to remove a fallen tree on the road to Gustafsen Lake where Shuswap Nation Sovereigntists are defying a BC government and police order to unconditionally surrender. Video footage of the two police men allegedly shot in the back and saved by their flack jackets, show no marks on the jackets. The mother of a young woman still at the camp said, "We have to wonder if this is a set up." Assembly of First Nations chief, Ovide Mercredi, condemned the shooting of the police as a criminal act. However, he also said that the police siege strategy has escalated the conflict and inflamed the defenders. "They continue to tighten the noose on the camp," he said. "This can only lead to more tension, not peace." Communication to the camp was cut off yesterday by the police. It is abundantly clear that the government and the police do not want a peaceful resolution of the conflict, contrary to the claim of the BC Attorney General, Ujjal Dosanjh, who said, "We have done everything possible to seek a peaceful solution." Talks have ceased since Mercredi left the camp yesterday. Conspicuously absent from the scene is Aboriginal Affairs Minister, John Cashore. He would appear to be in hiding. "I think Mr. Cashore should be at the camp right now, talking to the people, trying to negotiate a peaceful end to this police action," said Ernie Yacub in his media release. "The police, who have been intransigent and provocative throughout the hostilities, should be moved out of the area and Cashore, Ovide Mercredi, the Shuswap hereditary chiefs, and a professional mediator should go to the camp and talk until they reach consensus." The First Nations Environmental Network (FNEN) has offered to help mediate. "Commitment to a mediation process must be undertaken immediately," says their August 27 news release. "What we need now," says Milton Born With a Tooth, who initiated the FNEN in 1991, "in front line dialogue to concentrate on the root of the issue which is about jurisdiction and respect for the land." There is much more to the stand-off than the government, the police, and the media acknowledge. The Gustafsen Lake Traditional Sundance site, (and most of BC) is beyond the treaty frontier. Therefore, jurisdiction and determination of these lands inherently belongs to the Shuswap Nation and must be respected according to constitutional law. The Sundance Support Coalition issued a statement: "The Shuswap defenders are not criminals, they are SOVEREIGNTISTS. They have the legal right to defend their land until such lands have been treatied." The BC Attorney General wants the public to believe that this confrontation is not about land claims, self government and sovereignty. He says it is about law and order. He may be right, if he is talking about the law and order of the colonial regime which First Nations people all over the world know only too well.
August 30, 1995 The tide is turning at the Sacred Sundance Ceremonial Grounds in Shuswap (Secwepemc) territory. The siege at Gustafsen Lake, now into its 6th day, is beginning to crack. At the beginning, there was every indication that the police were going to invade the camp as soon as the 24 members of the ERT (or SWAT team), replete with killing machines, were deployed around the camp. It was isolated, difficult for media to cover, and the police could control the flow of information just like the US Army did in the Gulf. Only two days ago, the police assault squad was ready, as was the police force and the government. There would be no olive branch, no suggestion that even one casualty on either side was unacceptable. The men and women at the Sundance camp heard the same words that the Japanese heard before Hiroshima and Nagasaki: unconditional surrender. Suddenly, Sunday evening, media reported an RCMP announcement that two members had been shot in the back, saved from serious injury by their flack jackets. The media feeding frenzy erupted in vivid accounts of the ambush of police officers and forestry workers brought in to cut a fallen tree out of the way of the impending invasion. Even though no reporters were anywhere near enough to even hear the shooting, the Canadian Press reported that "Indian rebels ambushed an RCMP team yesterday with a hail of bullets that hit two officers near an armed camp on private land." The story, authored by the RCMP, died just as quickly as it took off. Thousands of people saw on their televisions the retreating backs of the police without even a mark on their flack jackets. No more was said about the incident by the RCMP. Ujjal Dosanjh, the BC Attorney General, said, "There is no point in more meetings (there had been none). I will not negotiate with renegades. There is only one issue here: law and order. There will be no deals, no talk about land ownership. It is not about land. They can give themselves up to the police for protection or face the consequences. The police will use whatever force is necessary to dislodge them." The assault was imminent. Communications had been cut off by the police long ago. The B.C. Premier, the Attorney General, and the RCMP were prepared to reenact the bloody, genocidal history of the first invasion. The Colonial power was not about to let a bunch of uppity indians defy its law. Only one slight problem. The indians were prepared to stand and fight. Dr. Bruce Clark, counsel for the defenders, explained the situation. "Both constitutionally and at common law, and under the Criminal Code, a person is entitled in self-defence to resist force with force." Today, Tuesday August 29, the tension has eased considerably, due to the resolve of the defenders, and the sudden focussing of attention of the world on this tiny little lake in the middle of an 18000 acre ranch owned by an American, Lyle James. It looks like Dr. Bruce Clark, counsel for the defenders, will meet with the defenders at their camp on Wednesday. Until today, he had been prevented from communicating with his clients. The defenders want justice. The First Nations land, now known as British Columbia, was never surrendered. Dr. Clark asserts that "the natural international and constitutional law is the same throughout the Americas: the jurisdiction of the native peoples must be respected until such time as they have surrendered it by voluntary deed of sale." Keep the letters, faxes, phone calls, emails, and media stories coming. Now is the time to push even harder. The issue is Sovereignty for all. We are all in this together, and there is no time to lose. All creatures, great and small, require our most immediate attention. ernie yacub august 29, 1995
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Last updated: Sunday, January 28, 1996 - 10:36:48 AM