And now:LISN <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Friday, October 08, 1999 National Post Online: http://www.nationalpost.com/news.asp?s2=national&f=991008/97495.html Mi'kmaq band rejects 30-day moratorium on fishing lobster Burnt church breaks rank Graeme Hamilton National Post BURNT CHURCH, N.B. - The Mi'kmaq community at the heart of the native dispute in the Maritimes rejected an appeal from their grand chief yesterday and decided to continue fishing. "The decision has been made here that they are not going to come out of the water," Alex Dedam, a band spokesman, said as a hastily convened community meeting ended. "They intend to continue to exercise their aboriginal right, which has been confirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada and is protected by the Constitution Act of Canada, and they feel to do anything else would be criminal." The decision, made behind closed doors and described as unanimous, came a day after chiefs from all 35 Atlantic Canada reserves agreed to ask fishermen to stop fishing for 30 days in an effort to calm tensions. The chiefs were heeding the advice of Ben Sylliboy, grand chief of the Mi'kmaq nation, who said restraint was needed for the safety of his people. Non-native fishermen in the Miramichi Bay area, who maintain that the off-season native fishery threatens lobster stocks, were stunned to learn Burnt Church had broken ranks. Mike Belliveau, executive secretary of the Maritime Fishermen's Union, said Ottawa will now have to intervene to defuse the crisis. "There's a basic issue of peace, order and good government, and that's something that's beyond us. No Canadians can afford to live in the atmosphere that's here," he said. Herb Dhaliwal, the Fisheries Minister, was scheduled to announce what action he will take to regulate the native fishery but postponed the announcement to wait for tomorrow's deadline imposed by the chiefs. "All parties should stay calm and play it day by day," Mr. Dhaliwal said. "We should not jump to conclusions but should give co-operation a chance." But on the impoverished Burnt Church reserve, home to 1,200 people, defiant fishermen said they will ignore any orders from the federal government. "We're not going to stay home and live off welfare. We need lobsters to survive," Clarence Dedam said. "We're going to keep going back no matter what." He accused the grand chief of cowardice for proposing the moratorium and said he is not worried about confrontations on the water. "If we have to fight, we will fight, that's all I can say," he said. In a Sept. 17 ruling that acquitted Donald Marshall Jr. of illegally selling eels, the Supreme Court ruled that a 1760 treaty gives natives in the Maritimes the right to earn a "moderate livelihood" from fishing, hunting and gathering. The band council has ordered 1,000 new lobster traps after a flotilla of non-native fishing boats cleared the waters of an estimated 3,500 native-owned traps on Sunday. The sabotage has provoked a number of acts of violence. Three native youths were hospitalized after their pickup truck was rammed by a van driven by a non-native. Arson has destroyed a ceremonial arbour as well as two trucks and a cottage belonging to non-natives. And non-native fishermen vandalized three fish plants suspected of buying native-caught lobster. The RCMP is continuing to investigate all of the incidents. Chris Bonnell, a band councillor and fisherman, said that suspending the fishery now would have sent the wrong message. "The people are saying, 'Why should we bow down to the vigilantes who have cut our traps? If we do stop, they have won.'" But another councillor, Vernon Mitchell, said he shares the grand chief's concern for his people's safety. He said about a dozen fishermen from the reserve pulled their traps yesterday as a display of goodwill but about 50 continue to fish. "I'm worried, of course I am," he said, adding that he will try to persuade others that they won't be abandoning their treaty rights if they agree to a shut down. The Big Cove, N.B., reserve, which has several fishing boats operating out of Burnt Church, is expected to decide today whether to stop fishing. -- ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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.
