PSEt SA Racsi a! Fire a _ a esse speaker BY KEITH MATTHEW attributed o the classifica- who were .ut up at the INAC and settlement will Windspeaker Staff Writer ' tion. al mot: s and hotels. be negotiated between the Emergency Preparedness They a so d the evacuees two parties over the next ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE June 10, 1988 Officer for INAC Jerry at the local ice rink using couple of weeks. Negotiating Negotiations between Tighe said, "The bills are volunteers from the town. on behalf of INAC will be Indian and Northern Affairs starting to come in from On the issue of payment acting director of Indian Vol me 6 Mo. 14 (INAC) and the Sunchild motels and hotels. The for the land that was Services Jim Fleury. and O'Chiese bands for town of Rocky Mountain destroyed by the fire Tighe retribution for the amount House will start sending in said, "INAC pays forestry a A representative for the of reserve lands burnt bills soon." Rocky Mountain flat rate per acre to fight O'Chiese band would not during a fire which raged House took over the forest fires on reserve - it comment on their upcoming through the Rocky Mountain emergency operations for is an agreement which is negotiations with INAC. House area and destroyed the stranded residents of negotiated between the 8,300 hectares of land has Sunchild and O'Chiese federal and provincial The fire started on the started. reserves. The town looked governments." reserve but according to MAA assembly According to Sunchild after the housing needs of An assessment of the the local RCMP detachment band administrator Gerry the Natives and negotiated damages of the fires will be the cause of the fire is still Laslo "whatever assets the a flat rate for the Natives done by the bands and under investigation. set for band lost or were reduced in value, such as roads, fencing, pump house" will be included on a damage assessment done by the early July Sunchild band. "There was smoke damage to few of the houses which had open BY TERRY LUSTY Culturally, the assembly windows. Because of Windspeaker Correspondent will host fiddle and jigging, power outages food was Mr. and Mrs. Metis contest, contaminated and people EDMONTON the annual Miss Metis of lost amounts of food." This year the Metis Alberta pageant, and Laslo also said the Association of Alberta square dance demonstra- meeting to discuss damages (MAA) has scheduled its tions. The Fourth Genera- to band property would be annual assembly a month tion band from Edmonton taking place on June 14. earlier than usual, the date will be the house band. Representing the Sunchild coinciding with two cultural The Cultural Rendezvous band will be chief and events at Lac La Biche. and Friends in Sports council, Laslo and a The earlier dates, July 6- "recognize youth and consultant who will be 9, are something of an encourage participation," writing up their damage experiment according to Buehler adds. The first day assessment. Clint Buehler, executive or two of the assembly will According to forestry assistant to MAA President involve workshops which spokesman Rick Stewart, Larry Desmeules. Generally, will provide information "Roughly 40 per cent of the the weather is better and and give MAA delegates fire was on the reserves there is not as much the opportunity to find out (Sunchild and O'Chiese)." conflict with people on what the organization is He added the cause of the holidays, comments doing. fire was "classed as man - FEELING AT HOME...A LONG WAY FROM HOME Buehler. In addition, Camping for delegates is caused." However, he Waseskuan Bellerose, 3, gets to sit on the lap of famous movie star Audrey organizers of the annual Lac La Biche at the mission noted the term "man - Heburn while exchanging greetings with Turkish Prime Minister Uzal. The little Friends in Sports athletic grounds and there will be caused" could be something grass dancer from the Driftpile reserve in Alberta is a member of the White Braid competitions, the as well as beer bashes and bingo to like a tree falling over a Society, a dance troupe which toured Turkey last month during an International 200th anniversary of the occupy peoples' spare power line and that no Childrens Festival. -Photo Courtesy of Canadian Embassy, ankao, Turkey Lac La Biche mission have time. significance should be all sorts of cultural activities scheduled. The anniversary events are slated to run July 1 -3. The cultural aspect of Peigans to sue province over dan1 previous assemblies was not a truly dominant factor. "There is nothing to BY JACKIE RED CROW The band also wants the province, said Chief minated in a temporary project. He said the Oldman counter- balance that in the Windspeaker Correspondent government to recognize Yellowhorn, has even settlement. The provincial River sustains the spiritual past," explains Beuhler. Peigan Indian Bylaw No. 1 developed irrigation expan- government agreed to pay practices of the Peigan PEIGAN RESERVE - as legitimate and binding sion priorities in the $435,000 for two years of Nation and that the river The Peigans are expected legislation paramount to Oldman River "while failing reserve access to LNID. provides habitat and water to be in court soon to settle any provincial laws relating to consider the water rights Prior to that, LNID never for domestic purposes, and a landmark Indian water to the use of that water. and title of the Peigan obtained a permit from supports the fish and wildlife rights case between the Further, the band does not Nation." band officials for access to resources and the agricul- band and the Alberta want the province to The contentious issue the headgates, nor were tural and husbandry government over the "interfere with or prevent came to a head when the fees levied by the Peigans practices upon which the aboriginal title and rights of the flow of the Oldman Peigans blockaded the for use of the headgates. Peigan Nation relies for the controversial Oldman River in such a manner as headgates of a diversion Although the Peigan in food and clothing. River, says Chief Peter to impair the bed of the weir and canal running 1981 had entered into an Yellowhorn. river and present through the reserve in May, agreement with the province water Peigan councillor, Albert A copy of the claim quality and flow characteris- to allow LNID to improve, ro 1978. The Lethbridge Yellowhorn has been obtained by Windspeaker tics of the river passing Northern Irrigation District enlarge, relocate, replace C researching the Oldman states the Peigan Nation is through the reserve. (LNID) argued the weir was and reconstruct its water U the River claim for years with suing province, arguing First In Canada: The eight -page on crown land while the diversion and conveyancing his assistant Dale Smith. they have aboriginal title claim, filed a year ago in the Peigans claimed it (the system located upon the They were successful in and rights of the river bed of Court of Queen's Bench in weir) was on reserve land reserve, it did not settle the reaching a settlement with the Oldman River which Calgary, is a landmark which they had not ceded issue of water rights and the LNID in 1981 and most flows through their reserve. Indian water rights case. title of the Oldman River. their aboriginal rights and recently last year when the As well, the Peigans want American Indian tribes, title the Chief Yellowhorn said of Oldman River. Peigans received $11 the courts to order an including the Blackfeet in their claim is different from The action affected million in a 1909 land claim v injunction to halt construc- Montana, have won court 113,000 acres of land, and various environmental . from the federal govern- tion of the Three Rivers - in groups who have battles water rights domestic water for about gone to ment. Dam approved by the cases; however, there have 900 farm families and the court to stop construction government a year ago. z been no Canadian Indian towns of Picture Butte, of the Three Rivers Dam, The claim further states tribes who have filed a Barons, Nobleford, Iron located three miles upstream The Peigans are now that if the Three Rivers water rights case yet. Springs and Turin. from the western boundary represented by well -known is Dam constructed, it will Chief Yellowhorn, in an Temporary settlement: After talks of the reserve. activist lawyer Thomas violate the property interests intérview, said the band failed in result in an Spirituel source: But he did say Berger and Native lawyer, of the Peigans in their water had no choice but to file a agreement with then chief they are just as concerned Louise Mandell - of the rights claims and will lawsuit despite years of Nelson Small Legs Sr., the about the environmental, law firm, Mandell, Pinder, "cause irreparable damage trying to reach an agreement blockade continued for social and cultural impact and Ostrove in Van- to the reserve." with the province. The several months and cul- of the Three River's Dam couver. Courtesy of Canadian Embassy. Ankara. Turkey PAGE 2, June 10, 1988, WINDSPEAKER ACROSS OUR LAND National language institute rejected in favor of community programs BY LESLEY CROSSINGHAM "Right here in Alberta, assembly held a language Windspeaker Correspondent the Native Perspective conference in Ottawa last in Cree and a study EDMONTON broadcasts January and English every day. In committee was formed to The retention of aboriginal Ontario, Sioux Lookout look into the possibility of a ianguages in the community broadcasts in the Ojibway national language institution.