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September 7, 1995
Premier of Canada Jean Chretien
fax: (613)941-6900
The International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) has been recognized
since 1977, as a category II Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)
with consultative status by the United Nations. In this capacity,
the IITC is concerned with the observance of the human rights and
fundamental freedoms of Indigenous Peoples throughout the Americas
and Pacific Islands, including Canada.
We are informed by the En'owkin Centre and other Indigenous groups,
of a confrontation at Gustafsen Lake, British Columbia, between an
unarmed Shuswap elder attempting to keep cattle from defecating on
Sacred Traditional Shuswap Lands and fifteen armed cowboys sent to
forcibly remove him. The situation has now dangerously escalated
to a confrontation between group of Indigenous men intent on
protecting their Sacred Lands and both the provincial and federal
governments. The initial injection of governmental force, heavily
armed police swat teams, has now escalated to a siege of federal
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in armored personnel carriers.
The sound of shots was reported at the site on September 6 and 7,
1995. All communication with the besieged Indigenous People has
been cut off by the RCMP.
We are further informed by the Indigenous Environmental Network and
the Mohawk National News Service that on Wednesday, September 6,
1995, at about 9:30 pm, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) opened
fire on a group of unarmed Pottawatimi and Ojibway men, women and
children attempting to defend Sacred Burial Grounds located in
Ipperwash Provincial Park, Ontario. The OPP killed two people,
Nicholas Cotrell, a 15 year old boy, shot in the back with a 223
round, and Dudley George, shot twice in the chest.
These governmental actions, by their coincidence, disproportionate
force and unwarranted level of violence, can only be interpreted as
concerted and intentional.
The IITC is profoundly concerned about these Canadian provincial
and federal governments' armed and escalating sieges and attacks on
Indigenous Peoples in Canada. We are aware of the legitimate legal
basis of Indigenous Peoples' claims to self-determination over
their traditional lands in Canada, as well as the Canadian
government's refusal to live up to its Constitutional and legal, as
well as moral responsibility to fairly address these claims. The
Canadian government must be aware that recent history demonstrates
that it is not the recognition of the right to self-determination
that has led to violence; it is the denial of that basic right of
Peoples that has produced that lamentable result.
Even if the Canadian government chooses to ignore those documents
upon which it bases its own legitimacy as a state, such as its own
treaties and treaties to which it is successor, the Royal
Proclamation of 1763 as well as its own Constitution Act of 1982,
Canada has entered into internationally binding commitments to the
United Nations and to other governments, in multi-lateral treaties
and agreements that it cannot ignore if it is to maintain the image
of a democratic or civilized state.
The International Bill of Human Rights comprised of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic
Social and Cultural Rights (ICESC) and the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) includes the right to Self
Determination (Common Article 1, ICESC and ICCPR); the right to
Life (Universal Declaration, Art.3); and, the Right to Thought,
Conscience and Religion (Universal Declaration Art. 18, and ICCPR
Art. 27). Whether or not the government of Canada chooses to
respect and observe Indigenous Peoples' human rights and
fundamental freedoms as Peoples, the Human Rights Committee has
found that Canada is bound to observe the right of Indigenous
Peoples as individuals, "..in community with other members of their
group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their
own religion, [and] to use their own language." Lubicon Lake Band
of Canada, Case No. 167/1984.
The IITC would further remind the Canadian government that the
definition of Genocide in the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to which Canada is a party,
includes: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious
bodily or mental harm to members of the group; and (c) Deliberately
inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring
about its physical destruction. Art. II.
We remind the Canadian government that in December, 1994, the
United Nations declared the Decade of Indigenous Peoples, its goal
being "to strengthen international cooperation for the solution of
problems faced by indigenous people." General Assembly Resolution
49/214. We also remind the government of Canada of the Preamble to
the Universal Declaration, stating that recognition of the inherent
dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of
the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in
the world.
We urge the government of Canada to immediately de-escalate its
armed actions against the Indigenous Peoples in Gustafsen Lake,
British Columbia and Ipperwash Provincial Park, Ontario, and to
initiate a process of peaceful and mutually respectful dialogue
with the Indigenous Peoples concerned, to address in a serious and
meaningful manner the multitude of problems that have given rise to
these dangerous and tragic situations.
Because of the seriousness of these concerns, we must require your
immediate response addressing these critical matters.
Alberto Saldamando
General Counsel, IITC
cc: Assistant Secretary General Julian Berger, Indigenous
for Human Rights, UN Affairs, Centre for Human
M. Ibrahima Fall Rights, Geneva
fax: (41)22-917-0123 Fax:(41)22-917-0123
(With cover letter requesting an immediate inquiry)
M. Andre Ouelette, Ambassador to the United
Foreign Minister of Canada States Raymond Chretien
fax: (613)996-8924 fax: (202)682-7678
Governor General of Canada Aboriginal Affairs Minister
M. Romeo LeBlanc of Canada, M. Cashore
fax: (604)941-7536 fax: (604)356-1124
B.C. Premier Michael Harcourt Ontario Premier Mike Harris
fax: (604)387-0087 fax: (416)325-3745
Canadian Ambassador for Circumpolar
Affairs Mary Simon
fax: (613)992-6424
CFUV: Attn Community Affairs Canadian Indian Affairs
fax: (604)721-7112 Minister, M. Irwin,
fax: (819)997-0380