In a message on Wed, 13 Nov 1991 Jim_May@msmailgw.csuchico.edu (Dr. James May)
writes 


>I was being kind to the writer in my response.  Actually, he was also
>implying that the Navajo have an inherent right to the land "the creator gave
>them". That, frankly, is reinventing history, since the Navajo came down from
>Alaska or NW Canada only a few hundred years ago. 
> 
>I'm not siding with either tribe.  It's just like the Lubicon/Woodland Cree
>situation.  I get awfully suspicious when I get only one side of an argument
>from supporters of the much larger, more politically active tribe. 


As one of the supporters of the Lubicons Dr. James May makes reference to in
his postings I feel compelled to clear up any possible misunderstandings that
may have been created by the last paragraph in Dr. May's quote.

The comparison between Hopi/Navaho and Lubicon Cree/Woodland Cree is on very
shaky grounds. While the Hopi/Navaho are, as Dr. May says in a previous
message, two linguistically and culturally distinct tribes, this is not the
case between the Lubicons and Woodlands.

The impression given by Dr. May is that the Lubicon struggle is actually a
struggle between two native groups, the Lubicons and the Woodland Cree.
Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Lubicon struggle is, in the words of Ethel Blondin, Member of Parliament
for the Western Arctic, "the story of one of the longest and oldest human
rights violations in Canadian history. It is a story that underscores the
pervasive injustice and discrimination which confronts aboriginal people
across this country." This pervasive injustice and discrimination is not
perpetrated against the Lubicons by the Woodland Cree, but by the Federal
Government of Canada and the Province of Alberta. 

This struggle, which has been going on for about 50 years now, has been called
"the best-documented aboriginal rights case in the world" by one member of the
United Nations Humans Rights Committee, which eventually found Canada in
violation of Article 27 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political
Rights.

It is within this historical timeframe and within this political setting that
one must view the emergence of the Woodland Cree band. This band came into
existence in 1989 under Section 17 of the INDIAN ACT which gives the Federal
government power to divide or amalgamate bands virtually at will.

"The minister may, WHENEVER HE CONSIDERS IT DESIRABLE, constitute new Bands
and establish new Band Lists with respect thereto from existing Bands Lists,
or from the Indian Register, if requested to do so by persons proposing to
form the new Bands". The clause also states that "NO PROTEST CAN BE MADE".
(To enable all interested parties to form their own opinion on the creation of
the Woodland Cree Band and their role in the Lubicon struggle I will upload
relevant postings originally uploaded in 89 and 90).

The emergence and role of the Woodland Cree band has been a tremendous setback
for the Lubicon struggle. However, there is no doubt that while being used to
thwart the struggle of the Lubicons, the members of the Woodland Cree band are
victims of the same government that is using them so skilfully for their own
ends. 

It simply is not enough to provide housing and a small reserve after your
economic base has been destroyed (hunting, trapping, gathering), after your
social structure has been torn to shreds, and after your self-sufficiency has
been replaced with a welfare system. And this goes for the Lubicons, the
Woodland Cree and every other (newly) colonialized aboriginal society.

The difference is the Lubicons are very aware that without economic self-
sufficiency provided in a fair and equitable settlement of their land rights
there is no way to once again be self-sufficient.

I feel very strongly, like Dr. James May does, in his words, to be suspicious
about information being presented by any group vying for support. I prefer to
call it being critical of the material that is being presented. But to be
suspicious or critical simply cannot be enough, the next step has to be
analysis based on existing factual information. As an active supporter of
Native Rights this step is crucial lest we end up READING a lot about the
misery of Aboriginal societies, but do NOTHING.

I hope I was able to clarify somewhat the wrongful impression that Dr. May's
posting could have given to some subscribers of NativeNet, especially the
people who have joined over the last several months and are not privy to
previous postings of topics on the Lubicon struggle.

Roland


PS: I have just finished reading the book "Last Stand of the Lubicon Cree" by
John Goddard, Publisher Douglas & McIntyre, ISBN 0-88894-716-X.
This book is great, cuts through all the complexities of this struggle, and I
believe it is still available from the Lubicon Edmonton office. Bookstores who
have tried to order it from the publisher were supposedly told it was already
sold out. So unless you order it from the Lubicons you won't be getting it
until the first reprint.