( N A T I V E A M E R I C A N N E W S )
This issue contains articles from FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference,
UseNet newsgroups alt.native & soc.culture.native,
NATIVE-L & NATCHAT Mailing Lists, Genie (General Electric) & UUCP e-mail.
<----<<<< >>>>---->
This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our
spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the
Red Road.
It is archived at the Native American FTP site ftp.cit.cornell.edu
in the directory /pub/special/NativeProfs/newsletters; and is being
sent to gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us (Gary S. Trujillo) should he wish to
include it in his NATIVE-L or NATCHAT lists.
"Friends, with all manner of difficulties I have been pursued.
These I fear not. Still alive I am."
__ Dakota Council Song
+- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+
| Indian Pledge of Allegiance | The Indian Pledge of Alleg-
| | iance was first presented
| I pledge allegiance to my Tribe,| on 2 December '93 during the
| to the democratic principles | opening address of the Nat-
| of the Republic | ional Congress of American
| and to the individual freedoms | Indian Tribal-States Relat-
| borrowed from the Iroquois and | ions Panel in Reno, NV. NCAI
| Choctaw Confederacies, | plans distribution of the
| as incorporated in the United | Indian Pledge to all Indian
| States Constitution, | Nations.
| so that my forefathers |
| shall not have died in vain | Walk in Beauty! Nig
ht Owl
+- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+
O'siyo Brothers and Sisters!
This is a time to remember that the last moon of Summer signals
the coming of cold days. Do you know a grandmother or grandfather
who could use help finding a way to keep warm? A bit of fire wood
or a blanket might make a greater difference than you can know.
Dohiyi Oginalii Night Owl
, ,
(*,*) Gary Night Owl gars@genie.geis.com
(`-') P. O. Box 672168 gars@netcom.com
===w=w=== Marietta, GA 30067, U.S.A. gars@igc.apc.org
----------- News of the people featured in this issue ----------
Part A: Usenet and e-mail Part B: NATCHAT and NATIVE-L lists
- The James Bay Crees - Conferences and Powwows - online
and Quebec Secession - Innu to Boycott Environmental
- Legend: How Grandmother Spider Assessment Hearings
Brought Fire to the People - Lakota Declaration
- Indian Claims Commission - Mary Brave Bird Interview
- Poem: Moon Dreaming Thunder
- Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days
- Conferences and Powwows - offline
------------------ clip here for news feature -- 8< ------------
--------- "RE: The James Bay Crees and Quebec Secession" ---------
Date: Tue Sep 20 19:31:28 1994
From: Stewartshp@aol.com
Subj: The James Bay Crees and Quebec Secession
UUCP email
"The status and rights of the James Bay Crees in the context of Quebec
secession from Canada"
Speech by Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies, Washington DC, September 19, 1994
A week ago today, a secessionist government, the Parti Quebecois, was
elected to rule in the Province of Quebec. Another secessionist party, the
Bloc Quebecois, already sits in the Canadian federal Parliament as the
Official Opposition. The leader of the Bloc Quebecois, Mr. Lucien Bouchard,
spoke here in this Center in March. It is no secret that the elected
government in Quebec now intends to make every effort to take Quebec out of
Canada. The issue of Quebec's secession from Canada has moved from the
hypothetical to the distinctly possible. I believe that America's interests
will be challenged by the events now taking place in the Province of Quebec.
I believe that Americans in particular, with their persistent and heartfelt
sense of justice and fairness, and their concern for fundamental human
rights, cannot turn their backs on threatened abuses or injustice.
I am here because something wrong could soon take place in my country. I am
here because the Aboriginal peoples, who have been the historical victims
on this continent for five hundred years, are in danger once again of being
dispossessed and shoved aside. This time it is proposed that we simply be
handed from our country to a foreign country against our will and without
our consent.
I am a Cree Indian--an elected leader of my people. The Crees have lived,
since the end of the last Ice Age, in the territory surrounding James Bay at
the southern end of Hudson's Bay. The Inuit people live to the north of us,
and together we occupy a territory about twice the size of California. We
are indigenous, that is, Aboriginal peoples, and to this day are the only
peoples to live permanently in this territory.
Long before there was a Canada or a United States, our territory was given
its name, Eenou Astchee, the people's land. We Crees number about 12,000; we
continue to hunt, fish, and trap as a major economic pursuit; and we live in
nine different communities that are spread out over hundreds of miles. It is
a beautiful, and for the most part, pristine land that has only come under
development pressure during the past twenty years.
We have always been the majority inhabitants of our territory, which we have
never left. We have never been involved in an armed conflict or uprising
with Canada or any colonial power. We have never, until recently, faced any
political threat to our territory or our existence as a people. We have our
own language, culture, history, legal system, social structure, traditions,
and beliefs. We have always conceived of ourselves as one people, tied
together by the land we share and care for, and upon which our survival has
always depended. We Crees are not "nationalists." That concept does not
exist in the Cree language. Our tie to the land is not just political, it is
also physical. We are part of our lands.
Our connection to the land is, to this day, barely understood by others. Few
who have claimed over the centuries to own and govern our lands have even
been there. On the 2nd of May 1670, King Charles II of England "granted" the
entire Hudson Bay drainage system to the "Company of Gentleman Adventurers
Trading into Hudson's Bay," also known as the Hudson's Bay Company. He named
this vast area of land "Rupert's Land" in honor of his cousin Prince Rupert.
This grant lasted until 1870, when Rupert's Land was annexed to Canada by
Queen Victoria at Windsor. The colony of Canada at that time was just three
years old. Thirty or so years later in 1898 and 1912, Rupert's Land was
broken up and given to the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Ontario, and
Quebec.
Thus it was not until 1912 that the largest part of Eenou Astchee, the Cree
Territory, somehow became part of the Province of Quebec. The Cree Territory
was never part of the historical entity known as Quebec. In colonial terms,
it was a territory under exclusive Canadian federal jurisdiction until 1912.
During all of these years of Royal and colonial gifts, transfers, and
jurisdictional changes, we Crees were never consulted, or even informed.
This was all done without our consent, and without our knowledge. Based on
the racist beliefs and practices of those days, we were described in
colonial documents as wild creatures and squatters.
However, certain conditions on the settlement of Native rights and interests
were attached to the 1912 Act of Parliament that granted our lands to
Quebec. But nothing was done, and still no one spoke to us for a further 60
years. Then in 1971, again without so much as notifying the Crees, Quebec and
its provincially owned electric utility Hydro-Quebec, started construction
of the massive James Bay hydroelectric project that would flood and destroy
several sensitive regions in the Cree territory.
We went to court, and won a landmark case on our rights. But Quebec's
highest court summarily overturned our plea for relief, which we based on
the requirements of the 1912 Act transferring a portion of Rupert's Land to
the Province of Quebec. Quebec argued that we Crees had the legal status of
"squatters," living on, but not in possession of our traditional land.
Unabashed, the Court ruled that our rights to our lands had been
extinguished by King Charles II's distant gift to Prince Rupert, way back in
the 1600's!
Ironically, the Supreme Court of Canada stated in 1990 that the James Bay
hydroelectric project was "initiated without regard to the rights of the
Indians who lived there, even though these were expressly protected by a
constitutional instrument."
But this statement came too late for the Crees. We had already entered into
the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement back in 1975. This Agreement,
which was entered into under conditions of duress and real oppression, is
now purported to have "remedied" the previous 400 years of colonial
manipulation.
Such as it is, the Agreement is a treaty that was negotiated within a
federalist context, between the Crees, the Government of Canada and the
Government of Quebec, as a Canadian province. This is critical in the
current context. This treaty established and confirms rights and obligations
emanating from two levels of government, with intentional and inherent
checks and balances which were fundamental to us. In particular, it is
specifically recognized that the Parliament and the Government of Canada
have a "special responsibility" to the Crees. The rights we have in this
treaty with the governments of Canada and Quebec are specifically enshrined
within the Canadian Constitution.
In confirming this Agreement by law in 1977, the Parliament of Canada
simultaneously enshrined permanent Cree rights as citizens of Canada and
residents in the Province of Quebec, as well as the other rights contained
in the treaty. These terms and conditions may only be amended with the
consent of the original signatories. Our relationship in perpetuity with the
federal Crown and Parliament are, in law at least, not subject to unilateral
abrogation or transfer.
I will complete this short history by jumping back to the 18th century,
recalling that France surrendered its part of what later became the Province
of Quebec in 1763, in the Treaty of Paris. That surrender and extinguishment
followed the conquest of the French by the British on the Plains of Abraham
in Quebec City in 1759. Importantly, the borders of the Province of Quebec
were intentionally drawn in 1763 to exclude the lands of the Hudson's Bay
Company, which included the Cree Territory far to the north.
Throughout this time, the Crees' way of life went largely unchanged, because
there was little or no contact with government authorities; and although our
rights were purportedly affected, we remained unaware of all of these
jurisdictional implications. Our elders tell us the stories about the French
soldiers coming down the frozen rivers to attack the Hudson's Bay posts in
James Bay, but the Hudson's Bay Company remained, and English became the
second language of the Crees.
It was not until 1963 that the Province of Quebec sent the first government
officials into the Cree Territory, but no services were provided then by
Quebec, and little happened until the James Bay project in 1973. Last year
the Government of Quebec held formal ceremonies commemorating its presence,
"Thirty Years in Northern Quebec."
In his study on secession, American scholar Allan Buchanan questions the
legitimacy of secession in contexts where the secessionist group acquired
all or some of its territory through unjust or nefarious means. Buchanan
states: "This may be an accurate description of the situation in Quebec...
For one thing, the French acquired at least some of the territory in unjust
ways from the various Indian tribes (some now extinct, some virtually so,
and others readily identifiable) who originally occupied the land. For
another, some portions of present-day Quebec were ceded to the province by
the English after unification."
Even Quebec government officials do not really know Cree history. I remember
that the Crees were rebuked in 1977 by Quebec officials for not speaking and
using the French language. A law passed at that time prohibiting the public
use of languages other than French in Quebec, was imposed in the Cree and
Inuit Territory. After strong protests and demonstrations of civil
disobedience by the Crees and Inuit, the French Language Law was imposed in
the rest of Quebec outside of our Territory, but the Crees and Inuit won an
exception substantiated upon our treaty rights.
It is because our rights as Aboriginal peoples of Canada could forever and
irrevocably be altered and diminished in this conflict, that I must speak to
you. I wish to emphasize that I am not here today to express our fears about
whether our human rights will be respected in an independent Quebec. We are
promised daily by the secessionists that we will be well treated. But the
Crees are not seeking such assurances concerning their rights in some future
independent Quebec--that is not the point at this time. No, I am here
because the process of secession itself, as proposed by the government of
Quebec, involves imminent denials of fundamental human rights.
The Parti Quebecois, now the Government of Quebec, proclaims the
Quebecois--that is, anyone who may presently reside in the province--a
people. The Parti Quebecois then claims for that Quebec people the
fundamental right of self-determination, while in the same breath denying
the Crees and other Aboriginal peoples this self-same right. The Parti
Quebecois, now the Government of Quebec, states that we have no rights in
our land, that these have all been extinguished through centuries of
colonial acts. It always fails to mention, however, the extinguishments and
surrenders of the territorial rights of Quebecers at the Treaty of Paris and
again when Quebec joined Canada in 1867.
The leader of the Parti Quebecois, now the Premier of Quebec, has stated
that the Cree people have no valid claim on its territory because, he says,
our rights were all extinguished when the James Bay and Northern Quebec
Agreement came into force in 1977. He neglects to mention the many
federalist aspects of the Agreement that bind his province and the federal
government to the Crees.
All these statements constitute a profound double standard, a discrimination
we can only conclude is based on race, in breach of all international
standards. An observer of this situation noted recently in the Cornell
Journal of International Law: "A self-respecting international law cannot
apply as lofty a principle as self-determination in a racially
discriminatory manner: 'yes' for whites in Quebec, 'no' for indigenous
peoples throughout Canada." All of these assertions of the Parti Quebecois,
now the government of Quebec, involve breaches of domestic and international
law and of our human rights.
Fundamentally, there is no right for a portion of a State to secede, either
in international or in Canadian Constitutional law. To accomplish its stated
goal, the Government of Quebec will either have to persuade the Canadian
State to amend its Constitution to dismember itself, or Quebec will have to
secede unilaterally. In either case, we intend to ensure that the
constitutional and human rights of the Aboriginal peoples are not violated.
There are many injustices in the Americas that bring all of us to this point
in history--wars waged, battles lost, the powerful against the weak, the
caprice of monarchs, the treachery of tyrants. None of this is fair, but
here we are, anyway, those of us who have survived. The Aboriginal peoples
of the Americas have without doubt been the most tragic victims of European
migration to the "New World." Yes, we fight against injustice, we file land
claims in the courts, we demonstrate to defend our rights, we seek the
further recognition of our status and rights in international fora. But this
does not constitute an effort to turn back the clock on history itself, and
to demand total independence and absolute sovereignty over our peoples and
their territory. Much as some of us might like to, we recognize that the
best we can do is defend and enhance the rights that belong to us as peoples
and nations.
As a result, we live in relatively stable societies, governed by known laws
and procedures (though mostly not of our own making), which although
frustrating and often unfair or unjust, are evolving to provide some means
for us to pursue the interests of our people. Over time we will redress the
wrongs we have suffered, within the framework of law and international human
rights standards. We spend a great deal of time and money in the law courts
and even at the United Nations. But, and I say this again, we have not tried
to change history.
In Quebec, something else is happening. In Quebec, a group representing less
than half of the population of the province, wants to "correct" history.
Automobile license plates in Quebec carry the motto, "Je me souviens," which
means, "I remember." What is it that I, as a Cree Indian, am supposed to
remember?
Quebec was never independent. It was a French colony, surrendered by France
in war--a strip of land along the upper St. Lawrence River where two
European powers fought for control of Aboriginal land. From an Aboriginal
point of view, both the French and the English are recent arrivals. Whatever
upsetting defeat may have occurred on the Plains of Abraham in 1759, it does
not begin to compare with the dispossession and oppression that has been
practiced against the Aboriginal peoples.
Now, the political leaders of the Official Opposition in the federal
parliament and a provincial government in power, are demanding total
independence and sovereignty for Quebec so that it can, as Mr. Bouchard
claims, reach its full economic potential. Quebecers want to become a
"normal people," Premier Parizeau stated last week. These are the reasons
being put forward as the justification for the dismemberment of Canada.
Under international law, the right of self-determination may not be
exercised so as to affect the territorial integrity of a recognized State,
unless that State violates the basic human rights and fundamental freedoms
of peoples within its borders, which is when secession may become the only
practical remedy.
The Province of Quebec can hardly claim that the rights of its citizens are
now being abused. The Prime Ministers of Canada have come from Quebec
repeatedly through the history of Canada, including for 25 of the past 26
years. The leader of the Official Opposition in the House of Commons is a
Quebecois; the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, which formed
the previous federal government is a Quebecois; the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court is a Quebecois, the Canadian Ambassador to the United States
is a Quebecois. And as Mr. Bouchard told you, his secessionist party has
been treated fairly in Parliament even though it openly avows the
dismemberment of Canada itself. Quebec holds 75 of 211 seats in the House of
Commons. One third of the seats in the Supreme Court of Canada are
guaranteed to Quebec.
Nevertheless, the secessionist government in Quebec has made public its
program to separate from Canada, which will formally place Quebec on the
course of secession. Within one year, Premier Parizeau has promised to hold
a referendum on separation from Canada. If there is a yes vote on the
referendum--even a fifty percent plus one yes vote--Quebec promises to
separate. If Canada refuses, then Quebec will make a unilateral declaration
of independence, and attempt to impose its own laws on an exclusive basis,
throughout the territory of the existing province.
As an Indian, I am terribly disturbed by this scenario, which makes no
allowance for the rights of my people.
In May, Mr. Bouchard stated publicly that the Aboriginal peoples in Quebec
do not have the right to self-determination--in his words, "it does not
belong to them." Yet Mr. Bouchard's chief legal advisor, Professor Daniel
Turp of the University of Montreal, wrote in 1992:"The fact that [Aboriginal
peoples] constitute peoples who are self-identified as peoples confers on
them a right of self-determination at the same level as Quebec. Aboriginal
nations and Quebecois both... have a right to self-determination. In terms
of legitimacy, the Aboriginal peoples, the Aboriginal nations on their
territory, are quite ahead of the francophones of Quebec, the anglophones of
Quebec, all the Europeans and other nationalities on this territory."
The secessionists are simply saying that we Crees may not choose to stay in
Canada. They are saying that whether we like it or not, and with or without
our consent, we are aboard the canoe of independence, and may not stay where
we are on the dry land of Canada. We are being told that we must join with
the secessionists to redress their historic wrongs. And if the Crees refuse
to go with Quebec, what then? What will Quebec do if the Crees invoke their
treaty rights as citizens of Canada, protected by the Canadian Constitution?
What will Quebec do if we ask the governments to respect their own laws and
respect our constitutional and treaty rights--the right to live on our lands
in Canada and to benefit from all of the rights of Aboriginal peoples in
Canada?
Mr. Jacques Brassard, now a prominent member of the new government in Quebec
City, stated in May that an independent Quebec would ensure that its laws
are respected by those who may resist separation from Canada. He was
referring primarily to the Crees. Mr. Brassard warned, "We would have to
maintain order with the means of a modern state; that means laws, courts,
and police forces, which are also institutions and instruments of a state."
We Crees are not nationalists, and we are not contemplating secession or
insurrection. We have never and will never use violence. We ask ourselves
however, in the face of the potential breakup of Canada: Who is it that is
really threatening these things? This is the situation we face. If the
Crees want to remain in Canada, we will have to face the police forces and
army of a State that is itself acting in defiance of Canadian and
international law. Mr. Bouchard was careful to avoid this question when he
spoke here in March. He attempted to soothe the American people, to make it
all look easy.
My people are worried. At our Cree Nation Assembly in August, they gave the
mandate to hold a Cree referendum if Quebec holds its promised referendum on
secession. We Crees do indeed intend to make our own choice, to assert a
right of self-determination at least equal to that claimed by Quebec.
Of course, the new government of Quebec promises that it will adequately
define and then respect the rights of the Aboriginal peoples in an
independent Quebec, and they ask us to be content with that. But they ignore
the fact that the very establishment of an independent Quebec through the
process they describe will entail violations of our basic human rights and
fundamental freedoms. Among these violations are denial of our nationality,
denial of our right of self-determination as a people, unilateral abrogation
of our treaty rights, and the imposition of a new international border
between us and our brethren in the rest of Canada.
Mr. Parizeau reacted immediately and heatedly to the Cree decision to hold
our own referendum. He declared that the Crees would have to respect the
wishes of Quebec in its own referendum. He stated that Quebec's borders were
inviolable, that the territorial integrity of Quebec with its present
borders could not be questioned. He stated again that the Crees, as an
Aboriginal people, do not have a right of self-determination.
These double standards are deeply disturbing, and make us fear for the future
of our people. Premier Parizeau claims territorial integrity for Quebec, but
not for Canada, a recognized State. He objects to the idea of a nation-wide
Canadian referendum on Quebec secession, stating that Quebecers have the
right to decide for themselves. However, when my people take a similar
position and explain that the future of the Crees can only be determined by
the Crees themselves, and that the Crees will not permit themselves to be
forcefully integrated into the entire Quebec population, Mr. Parizeau demurs.
The secessionists are now accusing the Government of Canada of engaging in a
conspiracy with the Aboriginal peoples to use the Aboriginal issue to block
separation. This is both paternalistic to us, and untrue.
The Crees saw all of this coming several years ago. We began to research our
rights under Canadian and international law. We sought to further delineate
our rights, and to inform the international community of the threatened
violation of our human rights. Our basic study on Cree rights in the context
of Quebec secession was tabled before the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights in 1992, and published subsequently in the New York International Law
Review.
The Aboriginal peoples, and the Crees in particular, have indeed now been
recognized as crucial elements that could prevent the secession of Quebec.
But it was not until May of this year that the Canadian federal Minister of
Indian Affairs, Ron Irwin, finally stated the obvious, and confirmed the
right of the Aboriginal peoples and their territory to choose to remain in
Canada. The hostility and outrage of the secessionists was deafening, but in
the end, they had to admit that he might have a point.
After all, Mr. Irwin explained, the Crees have been on their lands for 5,000
years. The Canadian Prime Minister stated that Mr. Irwin was doing his job,
and that as long as there was a Canadian Constitution, the federal government
would have a special relationship with Aboriginal peoples. He also observed
that while Quebec's borders as a province are guaranteed in the Canadian
Constitution, there was no guarantee that an independent Quebec would have
the same borders as the present Province of Quebec.
We are confident that our position in law is clear. The Canadian Constitution
recognizes us as a people. As a people, the Crees are entitled to enjoy the
right of self-determination described in the two International Covenants and
other United Nations instruments. International law experts consider that
Quebec, as an administrative entity within Canada made up of diverse
populations, is not a self-determination unit. An act of secession by Quebec
would constitute a sufficient violation of the Crees' fundamental rights for
us to invoke an external right of self-determination, and give the Crees, at
the very least, the choice to remain in Canada.
As for the purported extinguishment of Cree rights, legal experts note that
the concept, like discovery, is increasingly being rejected as racist against
Aboriginal peoples and incompatible with modern concepts of human rights. In
any case, it must be noted that extinguishments of Cree rights, if they
occurred at all, did so in a federalist context in which our rights to remain
in Canada were enshrined. And if extinguishment is an issue to be used
against the Crees, let us not forget that Quebec's sovereign rights were also
extinguished and surrendered in 1763 and again in 1867.
I have already referred to the conclusions of secessionist advisor Professor
Daniel Turp, who has stated the view that the Crees would have the right to
choose--Canada, Quebec, or even independence. Likewise, Gordon Robertson,
former Clerk to the Privy Counsel, and once Canada's most senior civil
servant, predicts that there may be dire consequences if Aboriginal
constitutional rights are ignored.
The secessionists like to say that it would be absurd for 12,000 Crees and
10,000 Inuit to determine the status of such a large area of land. This is of
course, a political and not a legal argument. So is Mr. Bouchard's argument
that Quebec is the only "nation" of 7 million people in the Western world who
do not have their own State. New York City could make the same claim. Many
Europeans comment on the fact that Canada is too large a country to have a
population of only 28 million people.
However, in the context of Quebec secession, the political arguments are
likely to be just as important as the legal ones. The big questions are: What
would Canada do? Would certain countries recognize Quebec? Would human rights
be a factor in the decision to recognize the new State? And most critical for
us: Would force be used against the Crees if we asserted our right to
choose? The secessionists predict that all will be peaceful and reasonable.
Nevertheless, they now state that they will assemble an army. Asked who
threatens them, they reply that they need an army "just as any modern State."
When I think of Mr. Jacques Brassard's comments about the instruments of a
modern state, I can only think that one purpose of the Quebec Army will be to
deal with the Aboriginal people who may reject being taken from Canada.
The secessionists also raise the specter of an Indian uprising in Canada. If
the right of self-determination of the Crees in Quebec is recognized, they
claim, then all the Indians in Canada and the United States will have the
right to set up their own countries and the situation would be intolerable.
This line of argument is absurd. Please recall, it is not the Aboriginal
peoples who are attempting to upset the political makeup of North America. I
must repeat: the Crees are not secessionists and we are not nationalists. If
Quebec makes no attempt to unilaterally change a constitutional landscape in
which we are an explicit stakeholder, then the issue of our right to external
self-determination remains moot. Our right of self-determination would arise
from the fundamental denial of our rights in the process I have just
explained. Self-determination conveys no right of secession in States where
human rights are respected.
The big question, as always, is: What would the United States do? Mr.
Bouchard came here to Washington to tell the American people that he did not
plan to take the campaign for Quebec sovereignty beyond Canada's borders. But
he had just come from a meeting with the United Nations Secretary General;
and he subsequently went to Europe to meet with the most senior members of
the French government to discuss the secessionist cause. Here in Washington
he told you that he was simply providing information on an internal Canadian
issue. He said this, despite the fact that the secessionists have said over
and over again that the success of their venture will depend on a favorable
reception from the United States, and they have lobbied here to achieve this
end.
I will not pretend that I am not interested in your support. We Crees and the
other Aboriginal peoples in Quebec need the support of the American people.
We believe that the interests of the Aboriginal peoples are at stake, but
also that the honor of Canada and the community of North American nations is
also at stake. For this reason, we want you to ask tough, vigilant questions
of Quebec now, and also if and when it requests membership in the club of
nations. This membership should not be granted if its achievement can only be
accomplished through the breach and denial of our fundamental human rights.
So I ask: Where will the United States stand on this issue? Is it hands-off
no matter what happens?
Quebec secession is essentially an ethnic nationalism that is supported by
barely half of the Quebecers of French descent (a majority of whom, by the
way, agree that the Aboriginal peoples have the right to make their own
choice). Mr. Bouchard told you in March that Quebec nationalism is
"territorial nationalism." There is no such thing--and it is hard to imagine
a territorial nationalism where two-thirds of the "national" territory only
came into the province in 1912. No, these arguments were given only to quiet
American concerns.
It should be obvious that others may have a great interest in what happens in
Canada. We have heard first-hand reports in Geneva that the secessionists
have prior agreements with Belgium and France to quickly recognize an
independent Quebec. It is impossible to predict the outcome of any new
arrangements on the political make-up of North America, or on the changes in
trade relations that could occur in the North American trading bloc if
European interests secure political affinities in an independent Quebec.
A New York Times editorial late last week stated, "The United States has
political, economic and neighborly interests in keeping Canada whole, as well
as a desire to avoid the chaotic unknown. As a global superpower, America
wants stability on its borders, not neighbors engaged in a testy
divorce....In power, the Parti Quebecois may yet convince the majority of
Quebecers they would be better off as a nation apart. That would be
unfortunate for all concerned."
We Crees also have strong political, economic and neighborly interests in
avoiding the chaotic unknown. But there is an important connection between
Cree and US interests. The US is correctly reticent about interfering in
Canada's internal affairs. But it is beyond dispute that human rights issues
are always a matter for international discussion and comment. It is also
beyond dispute that the human rights of Aboriginal peoples, including in
Canada, are not fully respected. It would be particularly unfortunate if
Americans were to accept the position advanced by Michael Lind in his article
in Foreign Affairs in May, where he implicitly condones the oppression of
small groups as an acceptable cost of Quebec secession. "Quebecers, if
independent, might be more inclined to oppress American Indians in Quebec,"
he observes just prior to an explanation that he is, of course, "not
condoning any injustice."
Full respect for the fundamental human rights of the Crees and the other
Aboriginal peoples in Quebec would include our right to choose whether we
wish to remain in Canada in the event of Quebec secession. The guarantee of
Cree rights and full respect of our treaty with Canada and Quebec could
seriously affect the Quebec secession option.
Economically speaking, about 50% of the electricity generated in Quebec is
produced in the Cree Territory, 50,000 megawatt-hours per year with a value
of some $CDN2 billion per year. Half to all of the electricity exported to
the US from Quebec is generated on Cree lands. $CDN 3 billion dollars' worth
of timber and pulp is taken from the Cree Territory every year, and many
millions of dollars more of copper, gold, silver, and other minerals. Much of
this is imported into the United States. If Cree Territory remains in Canada,
an independent Quebec would be a smaller, poorer country than it is as a
Canadian province.
Politically, if Quebec secedes with its borders intact, Canada would be split
into two parts, east and west of Quebec. If however Cree Territory remained
in Canada, Canada would remain continuous from coast to coast.
I want to conclude with a frank explanation of our interest in this entire
issue. The Crees do not oppose the aspirations and legitimate expression of
self-determination by any people; and we certainly will do nothing to prevent
an expression of self-determination by any populations in Quebec, so long as
there is full and equal respect for the rule of law and our human rights.
Quebec may well have legitimate claims; but it may make no valid claims to
the Cree people or Cree Territory that would deny the Cree people's right to
choose how we would be governed.
What do the Crees want? Let me end by telling you what I want for my people,
and what we want for all Aboriginal peoples. We want to become legitimate and
genuine participants in our society and its government. We want the
Aboriginal peoples, who today are the most marginalized peoples in our
country, to have a fair share of the wealth of the nation. We want our people
to be treated with respect. We want our opinions and our beliefs to be taken
seriously. We want our lands and our environment protected from irresponsible
and destructive development; and we want our people, who have cared for those
lands and resources for thousands of years, to have a real say and stake in
their future use. We want our people to benefit from the best educational and
health services that we can provide. We want our people to have decent
housing, sanitation, and clean water to drink, and meaningful economic
choices. We want an end to tuberculosis, and whooping cough, and
gastroenteritis and other endemic diseases that were eliminated in non-native
communities in Canada decades ago. This is what we want for our people and I
want for my children. So when and if that day comes, and my people have made
their choice, and I am asked, you can hold me to my word--this is what I will
ask. In the meantime, we ask to be treated equally and with respect for our
fundamental rights, particularly in the context of the possible secession of
Quebec from Canada.
President Woodrow Wilson stated, "No right exists to hand peoples about from
sovereignty to sovereignty as if they were property." We feel that these
words are as applicable to the situation facing Aboriginal peoples in Quebec
as they were when they were spoken. Thank you.
--------- "RE: How Grandmother Spider Brought Fire to the People" ---------
Date: 94/09/18 18:56
From: William R Lehr (w.lehr@genie.geis.com)
Subj: How Grandmother Spider Brought Fire to the People
GE Electronic Mail
The First Fire
In the beginning there was no fire, and the world was cold, until the
Thunders, who lived up in Galun lati (Gah-lun-lah-tee), sent their
lightening and put fire into the bottom of a hollow sycamore tree which grew
on an island. The animals knew it was there, because they could see the
smoke coming out at the top, but they could not get to it on account of the
water, so they held a council to decide what to do. This was in the long
ago time, when the animals could talk one to the other.
Every animal that could fly or swim was anxious to go after the fire.
The Raven offered, and because he was so large and strong they thought he
could surely do the work, so he was sent first. He flew high and far across
the water and alighted on the sycamore tree, but while he was wondering what
to do next, the heat had scorched all his feathers black, and he was
frightened and came back without the fire. The little Screech Owl (wa'huhu
[wah-hoo-hoo]) volunteered to go, and reached the place safely, but while he
was looking down into the hollow tree a blast of hot air came up and nearly
burned out his eyes. He managed to fly home as best he could, but it was a
long time before he could see well, and his eyes are red to this day. The
the Hooting Owl (Uguku [OO-goo-koo]) and the Horned Owl (Tskili [Skee-lee])
went, but by the time they got to the hollow tree, the fire was burning so
fiercely the the smoke nearly blinded them, and the ashes carried up by the
wind made white rings about their eyes. They had come home again without
the fire, but with all the rubbing they were never able to get rid of the
white rings.
Now no more of the birds would venture, and so the little Uksuhi (Ook-
soo-hee)snake, the black racer, said he would go through the water and bring
back some fire. He swam across to the island and crawled through the grass
to the tree, and went in by a small hole at the bottom. The smoke and heat
were too much for him, too, and after dodging about blindly over the hot
ashes until he was almost on fire himself he managed by good luck get out
again at the same hole, but his body had been scorched black, and he has
ever since had the habit of darting and doubling back on his track as if
trying to escape from close quarters. He came back, and the great black
snake, Gule'gi (Goo-lay-kee), "The Climber," offered to go for fire. He
swam over to the island and climbed up the tree on the outside, as the
blacksnake always does, but when he put his head down into the hole the
smoke choked him so that he fell into the burning stump, and before he could
climb out again he was as black as the Uksu'hi.
Now they held another council, for still there was no fire, and the world
was cold, but birds, snakes, and four footed animals, all had some excuse
for not going, because they were all afraid to venture near the burning
sycamore, until at last Kanane'ski Amai'yehi (Kah-nah-nay Ah-eye-yay-hee
[the Water Spider]) said she would go. This is not the water spider that
looks like a mosquito, but other one, with black downy hair and red stripes
on her body. She can run on top of the water or dive to the bottom, so there
would be no trouble to get over to the island, but the question was, How
could she bring back the fire? "I'll manage that," said the Water Spider;
so she spun a thread from her body and wove it into a tusti (toos-tee) bowl,
which she fastened on her back. Then she crossed over to the island and
through the grass to where the fire was still burning. She put one little
coal of fire into her bowl, and came back with it, and ever since we have
had fire, and the Water Spider still keeps her tusti bowl.
That is how fire came to the People. Hope you all enjoyed the story.
Aho! We are All Related!
-=Standing Bear=-
--------- "RE: Indian Claims Commission" ---------
From: Frosty Deere (frosty.deere@f502.n167.z1.fidonet.org)
Date: Sep-13-94 10:52:00
Subj: Indian Claims Commission
FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference
Flying Dust First Nations Community Session To Get Underway.
========================================================================
Press Release
Ottawa, August 29th, 1994. The Indian Claims Commission is conducting
an inquiry into the Flying Dust Nation's specific claim which was rejected by
the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs. The community sessions will be
held August 29 and 30 at the First Nation's Administration Complex building.
The Flying Dust Nation is located near Meadow Lake Saskatchewan.
Commission Co-Chairs Dan Bellgrade, Jim Prentice and Commissioner Roger
Augustine are conducting the inquiry. They will be in the community to hear
oral histories relating to the loss of traditional hunting and trapping lands
due to the establishment of the Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range during the
1950s.
The Commission has already conducted inquires into five other First
Nations claim relating to the Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range, and last year
submitted a report regarding Cold Lake First Nations and Canoe Lake Cree
Nation. The federal government has not yet formally responded to the
Commission's recommendations.
"We are interested in hearing presentation from Elders and members of
the Flying Dust Nation on the impact the Weapons range has had on the
community," said Co-Chair Dean Bellegarde.
The Indian Claims Commission is a Royal Commission established under
Part I of the Inquires Act by Government of Canada, in consultation with
First Nations Chiefs across the country. The Commission's mandate, in part
is to inquire into and report upon the government's rejection of the specific
land claims.
For further information contact Cathy Compton, Director of
Communications at ( 613 ) 943-1607.
ronald.deere@igloo.magicnet.com
FIDO 1:167/502
NativeNet 90:167/502
--- SLMAIL v4.0 (#1349)
Origin: Igloo Station (514) 632-5556 (1:167/502)
--------- "RE: Poem: Moon Dreaming Thunder" ---------
Date: 14 Sep 1994 22:09:36 -0500
From: turtle@aicap.s21.com (Turtle Heart)
Subj: Moon Dreaming Thunder
Newsgroup: alt.native
You can't play with people
people on their ponies
you can't play with rivers
rivers running in the sun
they have reasons all their own
there are drums
drums and dreams on both sides of the mountain
singing in a place you know
singing in a place you have never been
my heart is wrapped in
skin
Tobacco Indian
______________________________________________________
Turtle Heart turtle@soft21.s21.com (Ahnishinabeg)
American Indian Computer Art Project BBS 619-374-2100
PO Box 111 Johannesburg CA 93528-0111
Land of Kaw-ii-su ancestor: Land of Light
Land of Kaw-ii-su ancestor: Land of Light
--------- "RE: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days" ---------
Date: 94/09/16 23:38
From: Kepola (dfsanders@genie.geis.com)
Subj: A HAWAI'IAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of September 18-24
GE Electronic Mail
A HAWAI'IAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of September 25-October 1
KEPEKEMAPA
(September)
(Mahoe-hope)
25
I have known you before in another life, in another dream of reality.
26
A symphony of birds sings together in the trees just before sunset.
27
Conquer fear; do not let fear conquer you.
28
If you never try, ... you will never succeed.
29
Creativity is the key to success in every endeavor.
30
We are only blind if we will not see; only deaf if we will not hear.
OKAKOPA
(October)
(Ikuwa)
October was the last month of the Kau season, which ran from May through
October. The most important holiday of the Hawaiian year was the Makahiki,
which began in late October or early November, when the Pleiades or Makali'i
stars first appeared in the night sky, and lasted for four months.
During this time there was no fighting, for the Makahiki was a festival
honoring Lono, who was, among other things, a god of peace and of the
harvest. It was celebrated by prayers and offerings to the gods, followed
by feasting, games, songs and dancing.
1
Lono, grant us the rains to make our crops grow, the sunlight to make them
ripen, and the strength for us to harvest your bounty.
(c) Copyright 1991 by D. F. Sanders
Me ke aloha i ka nani, ... Moe'uhanekeanuenue
(With love and beauty, ... Rainbow Dream)
--------- "RE: Conferences and Powwows - offline" ---------
Date: Thu, 22 September 94 08:00 -0500
From: Janet Smith (Evening Star) (jans@genie.geis.com)
Subj: Upcoming conferences and powwows not previously posted
to Mailing Lists NATCHAT or NATIVE-L
GE Electronic Mail
=POWWOWS=
From: G.ASHMAN@genie.geis.com [Judge]-[Glen]
Oct. 14-16 Soquee Indian Cultural Festival & Powwow Rain or shine
Clarkesville, Georgia at the Habersham County Fairgrounds
INFO: 706-754-8326.
Native Americans from across America will demonstrate crafts, dance and
share stories and legends. This is the second year of this event.
Games Blowguns Rivercane Baskets
Shell Carving Stone Carving Flint Knapping
Pottery Masks Oak/honeysuckle baskets
Arrow making Encampment Patchwork
Gourd Crafts Hide Tanning Dancing
Flute music
There is a sheltered area at the fairgrounds in case of rain.
=======================================================================
From: Terry King
Subject: Logo Contest
Meegwetch1 Logo Contest
The Chippewas of Nawash First Nations Literacy Program are seeking
submissions for the creation of a unique Logo that will create more
visibility to our program.
REQUIREMENTS
The winning logo will be in four colours
The winning logo will include the theme of Ken-Dass-Win Communications
which is:
KTAAMGWENDAAGWAD KENDASSWIN
&
WENAAMJIGEDAA WAAZHI KENDAASYING
Translation: Knowledge is Power and Knowledge is choices.
All submissions will be reviewed by the Literacy Committee and the
winning Logo will be awarded $650.00. Please send your submissions to
Terry King
Ken-Dass-Win Communications
Chippewas of Nawash First Nations
R. R. # 5,
Wiarton, Ontario Canada
N0H 2T0
For more information, please contact Terry King- Program Co-ordinator
at (519)534-5092
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: NOVEMBER 19, 1994 4:00 P.M.
=======================================================================
From: K.NEWMAN9@genie.geis.com
October 1 & 2 Indian Summer Festival
10:00a.m.-5:00p.m. each day
Iroquois Dancers
Iroquois Smoke Dance Competition
Traditional Pow Wow Dancers
Native American Foods & Crafts
Children's Activities
Guided Trail Walks
Storytelling
Ganondagan State Historic Site
1488 Victor-Holcomb Rd.
Victor, New York
Admission: $ 4.00 Adults
$ 2.00 Children and Senior Citizens
(716) 742-1690
==========================================================================
From: Jon Tukman <jtukman@csn.org>
1994 Native American Writers Forum Oct. 3-9
The fourth annual Native American Writers Forum will take
place in Telluride October 3-9. As it was last year, the
Forum will be split between educational workshops for Native
High School students, and a literary conference.
Attending writers to date are:
Barney Bush (Shawnee), Lance Henson (S. Cheyenne), Jeanetta
Calhoun (Delaware), Mark Trahant, Simon Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo),
Fred Bigjim (Inupiat Eskimo), Rex Lee Jim (Navajo), Elizabeth
Woody (Warm Springs/Wasco/Navajo - tentative), Luci Tapahonso
(Navajo - tentative), and Roberta Hill Whiteman (Wisconsin
Oneida).
The format of the Forum is as follows:
The writers arrive Sunday, Oct. 2. Monday the 3rd and
Tuesday the 4th are private sessions for writers only.
Fifty Native high school students from throughout the
Southwest arrive Tues. eve. the 4th and the students will be
participating in intensive workshops with the writers all day
Wed., Thurs., and Fri. AM. The Telluride Institute is
sponsoring student participation by funding food, lodging and
travel, and all of the student slots are currently filled.
These workshops are a unique opportunity for Native students
to interact closely with accomplished Native writers outside
of a school setting.
Fri. eve Oct. 7 through Sun. AM Oct. 9 is a literary
conference, which is open to the public. The weekend
consists of a series of high energy readings and stimulating
panel discussions on some of the pivotal issues facing
Native authors and Native literature. Panels in the past
have included Native Literature's place in American
education, Native American Literature and the environment,
and Native authors' and artists' roles in the battle against
cultural appropriation.
This year for the first time, we plan to provide an on-line
component to this conference. We will be hosting on-line
sessions among writers and students in remote locations, and
also will be posting summaries of the panel discussions on
this mailing list.
Registration includes all Forum events Fri.-Sun. and includes
supper Friday and Saturday nights as well. For more
information, or if anyone out there has input on how they
would like to see the on-line sessions structured, please
call Mary Beth Mueller or me at (303) 728-4402, or respond to
jtukman@csn.org.
Sincerely,
Jon Tukman
===================================================================
From _News from Indian Country_
Sept 29-Oct 2 Shiprock Navajo Fair, Shiprock, NM
Info: 505-368-5106
Sept 30-Oct 2 2nd Iwasil Celebration. Seattle, WA
Info: 206-343-3111
Sept 30-Oct 2 Indian Trail, Indian Trail, NC
Info: 704-331-4818
Sept 30-Oct 2 4th Intertribal Powwow, Louisville, KY
Info: 502-955-7965
Sept 30-Oct 2 Wolf Moon, Lucerne Valley, CA
Info: 619-248-7818 (evenings)
Oct 1-2 Wind, Rain and Fire, Monterey, IN
Info: 219-542-4780
Oct 1-2 Coastal Bend Council Intertribal, Corpus Christi, TX
Info: 512-883-9980
Oct 1-2 Dighton Intertribal, Dighton, MA
Info: 401-941-5889 or 508-669-5008
==================================================================
From _The Spike_
Oct 1-November 27 Iroquois and Algonquian Contribution to United
States Culture, at the Museum of the Hudson,
Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY. Storytellers and
artists from various New York tribes.
Info: 914-534-7781
Oct 1-2 Powwow in the Park, Flushing, NY
Info: 718-459-5692
Sept 30-Oct 2 12th Annual Cherokee of Georgia Tribal Council
Fall Powwow, St. George, GA
Info: 904-275-2953
Sept 30-Oct 2 Sobriety Ride for Medically Fragile Children
Jasper, GA
Info: 404-735-6275
Oct 1-2 1st Annual Ball Ground Heritage Days Festival
Ball Ground, GA
Info: 404-735-4197
Oct 1-2 22nd Lumbee Powwow at the Pembroke, Pembroke NC
Info: 910-521-8602
Oct 1-2 13th Annual Middle Tennessee Powwow, Lebanon, TN
Info: 615-444-4899 (evenings)
Sept 30-Oct 1 Day of the Wolf, 4th Intertribal Powwow
Shepherdsville, KY
Info: 800-526-2068
==================================================================
Send notices of forthcoming powwows, conferences and gatherings to:
jans@genie.geis.com
gars@netcom.com
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ all items below this line have already been distributed by our
brother, Jay Brummett, via the NATIVE-L or NATCHAT mailing lists.