And now:LISN <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: The Ottawa Citizen Online: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/national/991005/2953067.html Native Fishermen Want RCMP Protection: Two Sides Seek to Ease Tensions Rick Mofina The Ottawa Citizen BURNT CHURCH, N.B. -- Native warriors in combat fatigues patrolled the local wharf in shifts yesterday as the drama over the backlash to a Supreme Court ruling upholding ancient aboriginal fishing rights continued to heighten. The tension was palpable as stakeholders prepared to meet today to struggle to find a solution in the wake of a weekend of violence that saw non-native fishermen destroy the lobster traps of native fishermen in northeastern New Brunswick. The natives of the Burnt Church reserve, who were hit by Sunday's attacks, appeared set to defy any attempt by the federal government to close the fishery or get a suspension of last month's Supreme Court ruling, which gave some of them the right to fish in the off-season without licences. Late last night, there were reports that a non-native residence near the reserve had gone up in flames, but it was not immediately clear whether the incident was related to the fishing controversy. Warriors patrolled the wharf area in pickup trucks while others warmed themselves by an outdoor fire. While RCMP officers came and went, fires were also being tended in a handful of teepees near the water, which glowed like lanterns in the dark. If the Chretien government follows through on such talk, "I think most of our people will go fishing anyway," said Alex Dedam, controller of the Burnt Church reserve." They would do so on the basis of their treaty rights, which the Supreme Court upheld, and "we'll see what happens," Mr. Dedam added. Despite fears of more clashes with non-natives, native fishermen continued to fish yesterday, asking the RCMP for protection in the event of any conflicts. The native warriors who guarded fishing boats were unarmed and have been called upon to act as peacekeepers. "This is not Oka," said Mr. Dedam. "The chief asked them to play a peacekeeping role to ensure the safety of people exercising their rights under the treaty." Mr. Dedam said Mohawks from Quebec offered to help provide additional security to the band, but the Mohawks were told they weren't needed at this time. Federal Fisheries Minister Herb Dhaliwal is expected to meet today with native and non-native fishermen and provincial ministers with the aim of finding a solution to the crisis. Yesterday, he threatened to shut the East Coast lobster fishery if a compromise is not reached "in the next few days" to end the violence between natives and non-native fishermen. On Sunday, non-native fishermen vandalized native lobster traps and freed their catches. Three natives were also injured in confrontations with non-natives and on the reserve there were threats that if charges weren't laid natives would take it upon themselves to get even. Mr. Dhaliwal warned yesterday that the Supreme Court ruling recognizing the right of native people to fish and hunt during the off-season does not mean that they can now flout all fisheries laws. But the government's apparent failure to prepare for the fallout from the court ruling has created a credibility problem for Mr. Dhaliwal, who is jokingly referred to be some in the region as "Dilly-dallywall." "I don't think Dhaliwal knows what he's doing," said Mr. Dedam, who added the government has been sending "mixed messages." Prime Minister Jean Chretien suggested yesterday that his government may ask the Supreme Court of Canada to stay its Sept. 19 ruling, which upheld a 1760 treaty and allowed some Maritime natives to fish year-round, until the issues can be worked out. "It was disturbing," said Mr. Dedam. "Most of the people were shocked to hear what the prime minister said." Any move to use legal or parliamentary avenues to suspend the ruling would send a dark message, said Chief Lawrence Paul, co-chair of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations chiefs. "It would show a further injustice," Mr. Paul said yesterday in advance of today's emergency meeting of the congress chiefs in Halifax to find a consensus on how best to calm tensions in the Atlantic fishery following the court ruling. "The eyes of the world are watching what Canada does now," Mr. Paul said from Truro, N.S. He suggested that if the chiefs do not agree on a unified strategy before meeting with Mr. Dhaliwal, the federal government may go ahead and get the ruling suspended and order all boats off the water. "We would have to respect that," Mr. Paul said bitterly. "We don't have the Russian army backing us. But it would be a dismal day for Canada." Mr. Dedam said a self-imposed fishing moratorium was discussed among the Burnt Church band, which lives in an economically depressed area, but that such a measure was ruled out. "They felt they had waited too long for this ruling," Mr. Dedam said. In Moncton, N.B, non-native fishing groups met with federal fisheries officials Monday in a bid to find a workable solution, said Ken Clark, a lobster fisherman and city councillor for Miramichi, N.B. He decried Sunday's violence near Burnt Church, some two hours northeast of Moncton. But he said the aim of the violence was to underscore Ottawa's failure "to look closer at the situation. To that end, as terrible as it was, it succeeded." Clark, who spoke as an independent non-native fisherman at Monday's meetings in Moncton, said the discussions were aimed at "negotiating an agreement with native fishers to get the traps out of the water and subject them to similar restraints faced by commercial fishers." ---------------------------------------------------------------- League of Indigenous Sovereign Nations of the Western Hemisphere mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] LISN Web Site: http://www.lisn.net To subscribe to the LISN mailing list please send an email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the content: subscribe league ---------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: This material is distributed in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107. All copyrights belong to original publisher. LISN has not verified the accuracy of the forwarded message. Forwarding this message does not necessarily imply agreement with the positions stated there-in.
