My Title #1: Ink was barely dry on deal and Natives already raising questions

My Title #2: More native land claimed in B.C. than there is land

Hard work, vision got treaty done

November 9, 2006
Prince George Citizen

It never fails. The ink was barely dry on the historic Lheidli T’enneh First Nation land settlement treaty when the sideline critics began to complain. First, the West Moberly Nation claimed the Lheidli T’enneh treaty was flawed due to a claim overlap. West Moberly Chief Roland Wilson said much of Lheidli T’enneh treaty settlement is on West Moberly land.

Wilson said the problem was in part due to a discrepancy over the placement of the height of land in the Rocky Mountains. The other issue in the land overlap dispute is the position of the government of Canada, which according to Wilson, sides with the West Moberly claim. This assertion is puzzling when one realizes Federal Minister of Indian Affairs Jim Prentice signed off in support of the Lheidli T’enneh treaty.

The fact of the matter is there is more native land claimed in B.C. than there is land. Overlaps exist at every land-claim boundary. Federal negotiator Tom Malloy says the West Moberly concern can be resolved. Failing that, I’d give the overlap decision to the Lheidli T’enneh. They claimed first, they settled first, it’s theirs. We’ll call this the you-snooze-you-lose principle and it should apply in all overlap disputes. Two benefits here; it gets everybody to the table, and it will offer a quick resolution to the huge issue of competing land claims.

Second, we have Grand Chief Stewart Philip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, opposing the Lheidli T’enneh treaty. Philip -- who is the elected chief of the Penticton Indian Band -- calls the current B.C. treaty process a shoddy divorce system. He slammed the agreement, saying, “Here’s some cash, here’s some stuff, get out of my face.”

Philip claims he represents 40 First Nations opposed to the B.C. Treaty process. Big deal. Within the B.C. treaty process there are currently 42 treaty tables at work involving 120 bands. There are 198 native bands in B.C. Included at the tables are the governments of Canada and British Columbia. Grand Chief Philip may think he’s a pretty important guy, but with neither senior government talking to him, and his organization in the minority, I think Philip and his chiefs have pretty well dealt themselves out of the land claim process.

Finally, let’s look at the treaty process as successfully pursued by the Lheidli T’enneh. The band was the first to sign on to the B.C. Treaty Commission process back in 1993. They had an agreement in principle in 1994. The band continued to work diligently at the B.C. Commission treaty table and with other organizations who had an impact on their way of life. As an example, in 2002 I did a provincewide project for the environment ministry involving fish and game management. During the course of our committee work, we found the Lheidli T’enneh had developed a game management strategy in conjunction with ministry officials and local game management associations. It was a well-thought-out model, it had all players buying in and it came as the result of hard work, accompanied by heads-up, best-practice negotiations. At the time, the Lheidli T’enneh game-management plan was the only native-developed strategy in the province.

Notice a theme here? A pattern of hard work, responsible leadership and aggressive negotiations focused on getting to yes.

And look what hard work and a treaty produces. The Lheidli T’Enneh have negotiated $27 million in one-time funding, $400,000 per year revenue sharing for 50 years and 9,000 to 10,000 sockeye salmon. The list goes on, but the measurable value of the treaty is estimated at $73 million.

And what do the critics have to show for their efforts? A couple of lines in last week’s newspaper, now sitting at the bottom of the birdcage getting the treatment it so richly deserves. Has the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs negotiated any settlements of any value to any one? No. Will it ever? No, at least not with its current collective head stuck in the no-negotiation sand.

When Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dominic Frederick took the stage at the treaty-signing ceremony, he said, “We have come here to today to turn the page and open a new chapter for the next generation and generations to come.” How true. Chief Frederick has also written a new chapter on aboriginal treaty making. He’s shown all of B.C. – including the dissident Indian chiefs -- that true leadership isn’t hiding behind an anti-everything position; rather it’s stepping to the front and getting results.