inoian recoro - Algoma University Archives

INOIAN RECORO
Published by the OBLATE FAT HERS
Second Class Mail Registration No. 0062
Vol. 36, No. 3 - 4
1301 Wellington Cres., Winnipeg, Man. R3N OA9
Si·ngle Cop ies: 35c
March - April 1973
Quebec base
handed to NNSI
by Guy Demar ino
OTTAWA - The bose where nuclear missi les once
stood poised at enemy aircraft has been turned over
to the Indi ans of Canada , to be used for peaceful culture I purposes.
The La Mocaza base, about 100 miles N.W. of
Montreal, was built 11 years ago, together with the
one at North Bay, Ont., to house Bomarc su rface-toa ir missiles.
It co~t about $60 million . For nine years, it was
armed w1th nuclear warheads, which precipitated a
political crisis in the early 60's, and then was closed
by government decision in 1972 .
The . Indian and Northern Affairs department
bought 1t for $500,000 from the Crown Assets Disposal Corporation . In a brief ceremony held at the
base in mid-January, it turned it over to the Montreal based Native North America n Studies Institute. The
Crown will reta in ownership of the land . The transfer
of the base is expected to lead to the creation of an
(concluded on page 1 5 )
Indian singer Maurice MacArthur from Carlyle is rebuilding his
musical career after a bout with cancer. Friends, like the one
who gave him his guitar, are helping him on the long road back.
(Leader- Post Photo )
(see story on page 11 )
Un,gava District belongs to natives
MONTREAL - An official of the department of Indian affairs and northern development said recently
the Indians and Eskimos of the Ungava Peninsula in
Northern Quebec have a firm legal right to more than
half the province .
W illiam McKim , director of the department's pol icy division , said no land cessation treaty has ever
been signed between the District of Ungava 's 6 ,000
Cree Indians and Inuit, and any government , with one
exception .
He was speaking during a resumed Superior Court
hearing on a bid by James Bay Indians and Eskimos
for an interlocutory injunction to halt the $6 -billion
hydro-electric pro ject planned by the James Bay De velopment Corp .
"To the best of my knowledge, the only land cessation treaty signed by Ind ions in the province of
Quebec was between the Dominion Abitibi band and
the government of Quebec," Mr . McKim said.
His department would be the only place besides
the Dominion Archives where such a treaty would be
registered .
The Indians and Eskimos of the Ungava Peninsula
reg io n say the proposed flooding of 3,100 square miles
and damming of three rivers for the power project
would cause irreparable ecological damage .
Cyril Fairholm, director of the treaties and claims
di vi sion of the federal department, said extensive re sea rc h revealed nothing to suggest that a treaty, giving up the rights to the land they sti II Iive on, had ever
been signed by the Indians and Eskimos .
Documents introduced in p r e v i o u s testimony
showed that ever si nee the vast a rea of Northern
Canada once known as Rupert 's Land was granted,
tog ether with "proprietary rights," to the Company of
Gentlemen Adventurers trading into Hudson's Bay in
1670, no succeeding holder of these rights has refused
to respect the rights of the original inhabitants .
•
Page 2
Turnout depends on $5.00
by Leo Fox
The just-completed tribal e~lections, on · Alberta 's
Blood Reserve, recorded a 64 per cent turnout of e ligible voters. According to officials, this was very good .
Yet , in the federal elections almost a mon th previous
to t his only about l 0 per cent turned out to vote t hen .
W hy th e difference ?
It is natura l to e xpec t that there wou ld be a grea t er t u rno ut fo r t he local tribal e lections ra t her t ha n in
th e na tional on e because the former is closer to th e
heart; issues were c loser to the voter's comprehension
and sympathy. But does that mean there s hould be a
48 per cent difference between the two?
There are the t raditionalists who, if t hey are read - .
ing th is would p robabl y wish I was sitt ing in front of
them so t hat they could poke their fingers in my eyes
for advocating for more national concern by voting
in federal elect ions. They would probably say that
once we vote in the federal elections, we will have lost
one of our sacred treaty rights. (Which one that is,
I would not know. ) They would p robab ly say, as I
have heard some say, that once you vote , you a re one
step c loser to being a white man . They do not rea lize
that when the Indians of Canada were gi ven the right
to vote a few yea rs ago, they were given th is right
freely, without them asking fo r it , and many national
Indian leade rs today are a dvoca ti ng more federal in terest in elections by India ns so t hat the Ind ian 's vo ice
could be heard loude r and clearer by the rest of Canadian society.
Then there are the apathet ic Indians who say,
why should I vote in t he white man's elect ions because
I am not one of them and my on e vote will not change
th_is or anything else? The re is some truth to this
s_totement, but it is one based on accepting facts without attempting at all to bring about chanqe . This
T<ind of Indian it seems, has accepted a ve ry menial
and caste role in Canadian society. He is like the
beggar on t he street who lives on the scraps of ot hers .
He has g ive n up .
W ithout doubt, there is a lso the real India n who
ha s refused confo rmi ty with th e rest of society. He
is proud a nd regal in ma nne r and speech. He spea ks
h is lang uage fluently and still , has an e xtensive voca bulary of hig h Blackfoot words . He accepts the phys ic al aspects of mod e rn society, but he has not yet give n
his mind a nd his thoughts . He is proud. Some may
say he is stup id a nd ignorant for do ing th is, but t his
is one type of Indi an whom I adm ire even though they
will not accept mod e rn ideas . This is one type of per son whom you wi ll not see in the welfare lines. T his
is one type of person who you will not see drunken
in the streets . T h is is one type of Ind ia n whom I
a d m ire for refusing because he is sincere in his bel iefs.
T h is is one type of Indian whom I wish there were
mo re of .
Then there are the Indians who are petty opportun ists. They will do anything fo r a little bi t of money .
Wou ld there ha ve been a 64 per cent turnout if f ive
do llars o ut of our tribal funds had not been given out
in our ch ief a nd council elections? Everyone of t he
6 4 per cent would cry an indignant, "Yes !" But, we
will never know for sure, will we? Maybe, it is the fault
of Indian Affa irs and our elected officials who started
this practice of giving out money in order to attract
vote rs . It a lmost see ms like a bribe! One of these years
when a ga in we have elect ions, it would be interesting
to see if cand idates cou ld ever get voters interested
enough to make them come out in droves to vote .
Then turnouts would not be dependent on ... $5 .00.
( Koinai News )
by W. E. S. Folsom-Dickerson
have just had the pleasure of writing a series of
articles for a national publisher, each one dealing
with some phase of cultural history of several Indian
groups . As always, I was greatly stimulated by the
wealth of detail and the beauty of imagery of their
cultures .
I challenge you, therefore, especially if you are
an Indian, to take renewed interest in your own tribal
history, its past and present culture, and to lose your self in the emotional thrill of just belonging . It is a
wholesome experience based on the realism of things
past, presen·t and to come .
Once again, as I studied these people, I shed
inner tears over the fate of the Southwest Anasazi as
they were forced from their magnificent cliff dwellings to become wanderers over the desert . I suffered
with the Choctaw and the Cherokee over their Trail
of Tears . I marveled in the majestic beauty of the
Northwest Coast canoes as they made their stately
way from potlatch to potlatch . I marveled at the
Eskimos as they adapted to the harsh realit ies of snow
and ice .
So if you are becoming disillusioned with the present day, I urge you to study the history and culture
of your people . You will find elements of goodness
and greatness which will reward you in a true euphoria
of pleasure and of pride .
W. E. S. Folsom-Dickerson
(Choctaw)
is a teacher and author.
(AMERINDIANl
Page 3
Fact or Fancy .
Janvier I. B.
slandered
'Janvier' was a na me unknown to ;,e, before seeing the CBC Progra m 'Newsweek' on Dec . lOth. T hat
evening, one segment of the prog ram was devoted to
a documentary on the Janvier Ind ia n Rese rve in
Northern Al berta . It feature d interviews wit h a n Iri sh
Doctor, who had fo rme rly provided medical services
to the Rese rve, and with seve ra l Indi a n residents, as
well a s pictures, ta ken on t he Rese rve, with com men tary.
Pe rha ps you saw that pa rtic ul ar documenta ry too.
And, pe rhaps it affec ted you the same as me . The
effect on me wa s one of depress ion and confus ion.
De press ion - beca use the overa ll impression given
was of Ind ians, Iiv ing in degradation , neglecti ng themselves and their c h ildren, victims of disease a nd excessi ve a lcoho lism and what was worse no one, Govern ment included , doing anything about it. There were
promises -yes; but deeds - no . Confus ion - because, as far as I could judge, no responsible off icials
were interviewed; not the Band Chief or a member of.
Council; no Indian Affairs Official; and what surpr ised me - no Missionary. On most Reserves, the
Church has been present for years trying to serve and
assist and build up Christian Community. What is
more - the Indians interviewed, while cautious and
seeming to resent the intrusion of their privacy, spoke
intelligently and well -not like the drunken, illiterate lot you would expect them to be in the light of
what had been said about condit ions on the Reserve .
However, having no first-hand knowledge of the
Reserve, I thought nothing more about Janvier until
a few days later when reading the September-October
issue of "Aux Glaces Polai res" (Among the Polar Ice)
- the newsletter of the Misisonaries in the Diocese
of Mackenzie - Fort Smith NWT. Janvier is located in
that diocese with Bishop 'Paul Piche, OM I, as bishop.
Father Andre Brault, OMI, in front of the old house he bought
on Janvier Reserve and where he offers M·ass to accommodate the
people.
Young parishioners of Father Brault.
In t he section devoted to " News of t he Mi ssions,"
recogn ized the name 'Janvier'. The a rticle was in
French, so he re is my unofficia l translation. I t hought
you might be interested in knowing more about the
situa tion and, in particular, learning what Father
Andre Brault, OMI, the pastor, thinks about it. Here
, is the article :
"CHARD- For those who do not know, Chard is
only a train-stop on the railroad between Edmonton
and Waterways-Fort McMurray. What we refer to as
"The Mission of Chard" is, in fact, located a dozen
miles from there, in the forest or bush, and is more
properly identifie.d as 'Janvier' Uanvier Indian Re serve) . On this Reserve, there are approximately 150
Montagnais Indians and almost as many Metis.
Janvier Reserve has recently been in the news. It
began with two articles, by Rossi Cameron, in the
Edmonton Journal of August 18th. In one article, entitled : "Flying Medical Service Abandoned in Despair," Doctor Des Dwyer, a young Irishman , stated
that he had resigned "in despair and disgust" as the
med ical doctor res ponsible for this Reserve because of
the futi Iity of his efforts under the circumstances : the
people were totally forgotten; the indifference of the
responsible civil authorities; the unhealthiness of the
area and of the houses; the ignorance of the people
in matters of hygiene and infant care; the lack of
employment, t he poverty and insecurity leading to excessive alcohol ism . . . "I saw l 0 - and 12-year-old
ch ildren, . . . running around with bottles of wine in
the ir hands . To the above, add an infant mortality rate
almost l 0 times greater than the rest of the Province
and infectious diseases of almost epidemic propor tions . Having said all this , the Doctor showed a photograph ' taken haphazardly' of a mother with 13 chil dren sitting on a bed in a one -roomed house. In brief,
the picture, more or less true, is a very bleak one ."
" In another column, on the front page, headlined :
" Hungry Kids, Violence Follows Reserve Binges," and
illustrated with photos, the reporter interviews persons,
among them Father A. Brault, and has described an
even wo rse picture .
(turn to page 10)
INDIAN RECORD
Page 4
Paleface study would be helpful
Although reports indicate there will be some small representation of Canadian Indians at the conference
of the American Anthropological Associat ion in
Toronto this we e k, I don't think they've really gone
far enough . What I would like to see would be a whole
squad of keen young Indian anthropologists on hand
to study the paleface anthropologists .
You might call it a case of receiving equal time,
as is sometimes done in television. At every cocktail
party during the conference, for instance, I would like
to see at least one sharp-eyed young Indian anthropologist lurking there behind the potted palms, notebook and pencil in hand, tape recorder at the ready .
His reports and those of his colleaques on the
strange tribal customs of white anthropoloqists when
they're out of town, for instance, would probably provide fascinating reading for many a long winter's
evening on the old reserve.
These Indian anthropologists of the kind I have
in mind should, of course, receive full co-operation
from their subjects, as Indians are expected to do
when the paleface anthropologists set out to study
them.
They should be allowed to sit there in the bathroom observing whether the palefaces perform their
ablutions in the tub or the shower. If some of them
wear beards , as some of them undoubtedly do, the
Indian scientists should be allowed to remain there at
their bedsides to ascertain whether they sleep with
their whiskers under or over the covers and, · where
possible, measure the decibels of their snores.
If this trial run in reverse anthropological studies
came ott well and surely' professional courtesy
would demand that the paleface anthropologists help
in every possible way-the project could be expanded.
This group of Indian students could then be turned
loose on, say, the entire population of Toronto . All
suburban, split-level, two-car-garage paleface wig wams in the Metro area would be thrown open to
them .
They should be allowed to witness the passionate
pow-wows which go on between the elders of the tribe
and the young braves about who get the keys of the
cars on Saturday nights .
They should also be permitted to ask searching
questions about why the squaws have all the department store credit cards and the chiefs are only allowed
to pay the bi lis at the end of the month .
An ambitious Indian student could undoubtedly
prepare a whole separate paper on the single subject
of the fast-frozen TV dinner and its place in the
white man's culture . Such discourses would, of course,
be illustrated by rough drawings of such strange implements as the electric canopener, the electric carving knife, the electric hair brush, the electric tooth
brush and those many other items which leave the
curious paleface dirty, cold and virtually helpless the
moment the power goes off.
The net result of all these scientific studies would
probably reveal that it is not really the Indian who is
on a reserve, but us . Once the word of this got around,
Toronto might become full of chartered buses carrying loads of sympathetic Indian sightseers .
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Women must retain united front
OTTAWA Indian women need to achieve unity
among themselves before they can battle the government over the Indian Act, former senator Therese
Casgrain said December 7.
The 76-year-old French-Canadian social reformer
was commenting at a conference of about 100 Indian
women meeting h-ere for a three-day discussion on
rights for Indian women.
"When I realized how divided these women are
within themselves," she confessed just before a speech
to the conference, "I started to get cold feet ." She
~aint?ined the biggest role white Canadians can play
m soc1al reform for Indians is'to let them decide what
they want for themselves .
"The important thing is that we discuss the problem in human terms - not as white to Indian but
woman to woman - as a citizen ."
Mme Casgrain, credited with almost singlehandedly winning the vote for wo'!"en in Quebec,
quoted from·-a United Nations document on discrimination against women .
"Look here, it says 'Women should have the same
rights as men to acquire, change or retain their nationality ... marriage to an alien shall not affect the
n·ationality of the wife . . . by forcing on her the
nationality from her husband.'"
The Indian Act deprives Indian women who marry
non-Indians- and their children - o f treaty rights.
The act, however, grants full treaty rights to a
white woman who marries an Indian and continues
tho~e rights to her children.
"Indian women hcve to stop being so emotional
. they have to decide among themselves what they
want ."
Native women must discuss the matter of status
among themselves, choose leaders and retain a united
front on the matter, she said .
•
'•
March- Apri I
Page 5
Adult educatio·n
said first need
Brot her Etienne Aubry: "The
fi rst 17 years of my mission ary experience has been the
most valuable . . . "
by Annette Westley
In the histo ric Ind ian m1ss1on area centered at
Leb ret on t he beaut iful Lake Qu'Appelle, the key
word for m iss iona ries today is " wait and see."
T he former type of miss ion work is phasing out
a nd the new ways are just tak ing root .
" At the moment, t he stress is on a du lt educat ion, "
says Father Lionel Dumont, "to make the Ind ians
aware of the ir own respon si bilities, not only in the
governmen t and schoo l but in the Church . Unti I then,
t he priest cannot do ve ry m uc h."
Pastor of Ba lcar res in the midst of fou r reserves
40 mi les nort heast of Reg ina, the Oblate haste ns t~
po in t out that the "old wa ys" wi II not be deliberately
abandoned by t he missionary. " We have to be there
when they call us," he sa ys . "I f it 's for t he funeral,
we make the funeral the way t hey want. In many in stances, it will be in the old way."
In the same sp ir it he cont in ues to visit m iss ions
twice a month for Sunday Mass regardless of t he
attenda nce. The t rips may not bring great results but
it shows the pr iest wants to help them.
The 50-year-old m issiona ry feels tha t t he churc h
services will change as Indian ways a nd menta lity a re
better appreciated tha n t hey were in the past and t heir
cu ltu re medias will be used for t he liturgy.
But he will concentrate more on wha t he coils
"picking peop le " who will , wit h t he gu ida nce of qual -·
ified catech ists, ta ke over rei ig io us teach ing formerly
done by a priest or nuns . In orde r to estab lish a school
of reli g ion, he hopes to fin d 20 to 25 natives on each
rese rve to teach pa rents who will then teach the ir own
c hild ren .
" With their own people teac hi ng their own re li gion , t here is no doubt that they will not teach the wa y
we would," he explains, "a nd they will give a lot less
t han we wo uld, but I th in k what they give, wi II be
Father Lionel Dumont, OMI,
refuses to be pessimistic.
mo re practical and it may be acce pted bette r."
From this "go ahead " in a dult education, the
Christ ian community, he fe e ls, will be stronge r be cause, even though many may not answer the call ,
they will no longer "pass the buck" to schools which
used to give all the instructions.
During this period of prepa ration for the future ,
the pr iest can, in addition to being present, he lp the
nat ive people pull together since they are ' 'incl ined
to divi sions among th emselves."
" I think one of the priest's interest should be to
promote unity of the Church within the Indian com munity," he says.
One of the missionary's colleagues in the Lebret
mission area, Brother Etienne Aubry agrees tha t t he
last t hree years have been a time of great change and
"f rustration."
" T he native people," he sa ys, "w ill have to ta ke
the in iti ative but how they a re go ing to do it, I don 't
know. Duri ng th is time of sea rching, we a re not t here
to te ll them how to do it . .. we can be there but
that's it."
'
Na t ive of Ste. Agathe, Ma n., Brother Au bry made
h is rei igious vows a s a n Oblate in 19 50 . " The first 17
yea rs of my missionary expe rie nce ," he says, "ha s
been the most va lua b le ti me of my life ."
Fa t her Dumont, a na t ive of Gra ve lbourg diocese
and a priest si nce 1949, has wo rked in the Ind ian m is s ions in both Man itoba and Saska tc hewa n, coming to
Lebret a yea r a go.
Refus ing to be pess imi st ic, he says, "Su re we have
to wo rry, but I think the com muni ty itse lf will become
mo re aware and f ind ways and mea ns to go ahead. "
To hel p t he commu ni t ies in Le bret miss ions qo
ahead, Extens ion has donated $4, 700 plus $10,050
to other missions in Regina Archdiocese.
•
An Answer to Abortion
SASKATOON -Since Birthright opened its doors not
quite a year ago, 50 girls faced with unwanted pregnancies have accepted assistance in coping with the
experience. More and more are coming, referred by
doctors, friends or pub Iic health nurses or encouraged
by advertisements in the newspapers. The biggest age
group is 15 to 18 years . Birthright provides an alternative to abortion.
Over 60 volunteers provide accommodation when
needed, give moral support and take the girls by the
hand to get financial assistance, tutoring, legal or
medical services, continuing education or prenatal information . Birthright, financed by private donations,
is a non-sectarian organization "with no axe to grind
of a -pol itica I, rei igious or other nature ." Services are
free .
•
Page 6
INDIAN RECORD
Equality, dignity are essential
When the white men came to Canada, they took
possession of much of the land by signing treaties with
the resident Indian bands . While the terms were often
unfa ir - a few dollars and trade goods for thousands
of acres - the deals were at least legal acknowledgment that the Indians had rights. But what is the position in the vast areas in which treaties were never
signed? If the Indians occupied the land originally
and never yielded title, are they still the rightful
owners?
The United States government has recognized
such natural or aboriginal rights . Only 14 months ago,
the Congress agreed to pay 60,000 native people in
Alaska almost a billion dollars to surrender their aboriginal c laim to all the land in the state. The Canadian government, by cont"rast, honors treaties but refuses to recognize native claims where no treaties
exist. As Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau explained last
year : " We can ' t undo the past and we can ' t wish that
our ancestors had not perhaps slaughtered Indians and
in some cases been slaughtered by them, and had not
pushed you o ut without signing the proper kind of
treaties and so on . We ' re sorry it happened, but some
of us are also sorry about the Plains of Abraham but
we don ' t a s k fo r compensation about that - and I
don't say this in a frivolous sense. You know if we
were to try in any government, try to undo the errors
of the pa st and buy back the past, we wouldn't have
a nation, we wouldn 't have a country."
The argument does not appeal to the 115,000
Indians - about half the total - who do not have
treaty arrangements . They probably don't feel they
have much of a stake in the Canadian nation , anyway,
an d t hey a re bec o mi ( · ~ m o re vigorous in asserting that
t hey ha ve in fact been ro bbed by the white men and
t hat they do inde ed ha ve a cla im to their ancestral
lands . The Nishga Indians of northern British Colum b ia ha ve been pressina their c laim to 1..0 00 sauare
( Toronto Star l
miles through the provincial courts and right up to the
Supreme Court of Canada . The case has been watched
with great interest in the hope that it might clarify
the general issue of aboriginal claims .
Unfortunately , the Supreme Court has divided so
sharply that nothing is settled . Three judges supported
the Indian claim and three rejected it; the seventh
decided against the Indians on technical grounds
which did not go to the hea rt of the matter .
There is probably little to gain , however, in going
back to the courts for another and more decisive opi nion on aboriginal rights, for the truth of the matter
is that the bitter sense of injustice felt by many Indians cannot be answered in legal language. There
has to be a political and financial settlement .
Indians a re among the most underprivileged
groups in Canada . Many live in appalling conditions,
suffering every sort of hardship and humiliation .
Whatever legal claims they may or may not have, they
certainly have an unanswerable moral claim to aid
and assistance on a substantial scale . Federal spend ing on services to Indians has been rising sharply in
recent years and it should and wi II continue to in crease .
One way to transfer resources to the Ind ion s
would be to accept their claims and then pay com pensation . That would gratify the Indians who attach
great importance to their claims and it would prob ably cost no more, perhaps less, than parcel! ing out
money in grants and subsidies and development programs .
But the essentia I truth is that Indians must be
helped to acquire equality of opportunity and a sense
of dignity as full member s of the Canadian nation.
Un t il they ha ve equality, they will never be satisf ied
wit h legal arguments and court decisions even in their
favo r; when they have it, they will be far less con cerned abo ut doubtful ancestral riahts .
•
First all-Indian Credit Union
WINNIPEG - The f irst credit union in Canada operated by Indians , for Indians - has been established in Winnipeg .
Begun by 10 nat ive people in June 1972, the credit
union - named Unida - will serve only people of
Indian ancestry in W innipeg- about 5,000 families .
Unida will attempt to overcome the difficulties
which native people especially treaty Indians now find in borrowing money . According to the fed eral Indian Act, treaty Indians cannot be forced to
repay loans as long as they are on a reservation . For
this reason financial institutions have been reluctant
to lend money to them .
Issuing small loans will be part of Unida's busi ness but executive director Bob Major (olso director
of the lndian-Metis Friendship Centre) says Un ida's
p rogram is much more extensive . He plans to offer
financial counselling to native families, to assist highly qualified Indians find good jobs, and to promote
development of Indian-owned businesses .
He said Unida will seek out the most qualified Indians in the community and make them available to
employers who want them. He has talked to provin cial government officials wh o want to hire Indians for
some of their top jobs, but ca n 't because Canada
Manpower doesn't categorize persons according to
race .
Soon after Unida opened last June, another Indian-operated credit union was established in British
Columbia. Mr . Major foresees rapid development of
the concept across Canada as native people begin
demanding more participation in the life of Canada.
March - Apri I
HQ & shopping
Page 7
plaza for Standoff
CARDSTON , ALTA. The largest reservation in
Canada, the Blood Reserve, is the first Canadian tribe
to receive a big loan from the Bank of Nova Scotia to
help build their new administration com pl ex, it was
announced by the Economic Development Department
of the reserve .
"The $350,000 loan is more than half the cost of
the building," said Geraldine Holland, the acting
Economic Development Co-ord inator. A $120,000
grant from the Deportment of Indian Affairs, to assi st
in the construction of the building including legal
costs, art and project direction, and additi onal
$1 5,000 cultural gra nt to pay for a mosaic statue in
front of the building, plus $170,000 provided out of
Ba nd funds, will make up the total $655,000 for their
administration shopping plaza.
The contractors have assured the tr ibe that completion of the building will be on June 1, 1973 .
Interest-Free Loans Urged
OTTAWA- The Canadian Council of Churches has
presented a resolution urging the federal government
to provide interest -free loans to Canadians living at
the poverty level, especially Metis and Indians . Rev .
Charles Cotto stated .that "For years Canada has made
non-interest loans, totaling hundreds of millions to
countries such as India , Pakistan and Israel . Su~ely
we can do the same for the original citizens in our
own nation, so that they may at least get the decent
homes promi sed them in our Canadian Bill of Rights ."
The building will conta in the offices of the Blood
Tribe Administ rat ion, and its departments, Indian
Affai rs, Public Heal th, t he Bank of Nova Scotia, the
Superette, a post office, a restaurant, a clinic, a den tist office and a drug store .
Mrs. Ho lland explained that each tenant must pay
rent for the office space they will be occupying . "Providing tenants meet their contracts we expect that
payment of the loan will onl y take 15 years," she said .
The Publ ic Service Commission of Canada has designed a
program through which it is hoped we can provide a service in
promoting employment and in developing careers within the public
servi ce for the Indian, Eski mo and Metis people. Its directors work
close ly with both national and provincial Native organizat ions
and with federal government departments and agenc ies . The
program has three major ob!"ctives :
to provide more information about the variety of public services,
JObs and career patterns available;
to interest more university and community college students in
such careers;
to develop special departmental and agency recruitment programs
such as Customs Officers, (D.O. T . J Radio Operators, Station
Managers (for the Dept . of Energy, M ines and Resources ) and
Assistant Parole Officers.
For more information write to :
Native Employment Program,
Room 2004, Tower 'A',
Place de Ville, Ottawa, Ont. KlA OM7.
Page 8
INDIAN RECORD
Reserves best yet for Indians?
WINNIPEG- "For the time being," the American
Indian probably is better off living on a reservation
than with white society, a Pulitzer Prize-winning
writer told students Tuesday at the University of
Manitoba .
In the city, the Indian is victimized "by those
things which define urban living , and more than 50
per cent of the Indians whom the government has
tried to relocate return disenchanted to the reservations, Professor N . Scott Momaday said .
Prof . Momaday, an American Indian and a pro fessor at Stanford Un iversity, was awarded the Pu litzer Prize in 1969 fo r his novel , House Made of Dawn .
His recent visit to the un iversity was sponsored by the
English and religion departments .
He said the reason re location of the American
Indian has fa iled is the premise on which it is basedthat is the Indian becomes a white man by living in
white society . In the city , the Indian faces problems
s uch as language, sub-standard housing and dea ling
with an alien culture .
The treatment of Indians by white man in the
United States is "a:-1 inglorious . . . journal of abuse
and shame," a history of white men trying to debase
the Indians, Prof . Momaday said .
The French and Spanish explorers realized they
would have to co-operate with the Indians, he said .
But to the English, with their agarian economy, "the
Indian was worse than useless, an impediment, somethinq that stood in the way of progress ."
However, the "contemporary white American is
willing to take on the burden of the Indian ."
Prof . Momaday said the US government "has compiled a poor record of preserving Indian lands ." The
theory for the allotment system was that land owner ship would help the Indian preserve a sense of identity
and culture, but the actual workin~ of the syste m
meant the Ind ions often had to sell the land and t he
only buyers were white men .
He said the contemporary American Indian "i s a
man who will not beat indifference easily" and who
has always had a deep ethical regard for the natural
wor ld .
•
IJnaved .nothers and the Laav
WHEN A CHILD is born out of wedlock, society
brands him or her illegitimate. The law reinforces the
belief that child is somewhat inferior to other children .
A child born out of wedlock cannot inherit from
his or her parents and has no legal rights or recognition throughout life .
If you are the unwed mother of a child and your
child dies through someone else's negligence, you cannot claim damages . The supreme Court of Canada
has ruled in two specific cases, one in 1913 and the
.other in 1967 that "the natural parent has no right
to claim damages arising out of the death of an
illegitimate child ."
If you have a child wh il e you are single and later
marry the father the birth registration is actually
changed to state that you were marr ied at the time
of birth . The child is then cons id ered to have all the
civil rights of a child born in wedlock.
How do I get SUPPo rt for my ch il d?
If you are an unwed moth e r who wants to get s upport before and a fte r your ch ild is born , you have to
go to Family Court to nam e th e putat ive (suppose d )
father . He can be s umm o ned to appear in court. If t he
mag istrate dec id e s th e ~ ~ hi s m a n is the real fath e r he
c; a n o rder him to pa y up to $ 100 to cover medical
ex pe nses three m o nt hs befo re birth a s well as dur ing
and after . The fath e r may hove to post a bond of at
least $ 1000 to g uarantee t hat he will come back to
court after the child is born . He must pay funeral expenses if the mother and/or child dies. If he refuses
to pay expenses or post the bond he could spend up
to a year in jail . After the child is born the judge may
order the father to maintain both you and the child
until he or she reaches 18 or is legally adopted . Instead of regular payments, he can pay a lump sum of
$750-$2,000.
If a man and woman have been Iiving common
law, the woman may lay such a paternity and support
charge against him within two years after they break
up .
Even if a man has given information about his activities to a social worker (from the Department of
Public Welfare or the Children's A id Society) they
cannot admit this evidence against him in court .
In some other countries unwed mothers don't have
to go through the humiliation of naming a father in
court. Under the social security system in France,
maternity insurance is provided for insured women
when they become pregnant. They don't have to mention whether they are married o r not . A maternity
allowance is paid for the birth of a child of French
nati o na Iity .
In Swed~n when a woman beco mes pregnant she
no t if ies a local child welfare committee . A guard ian
is then chosen who becom es respons ib le for the interest and financial support of the child until he o r she
is 18 . The c hild welfare c omm ittee also looks after
the m other on pre and post notal stages .
Most unmarried mothers find the stigma of ille gitimacy is very strong . It especially affects a ch ild,
who may be questioned or teased at school about his
or her family . Sometimes a woman marries just to
avoid such situations . The law should recognize all
children as full citizens under the law, whatever the
circumstances of their birth .
•
Page 9
March - April
Filnt depicts
Fr. Lacontbe ~s
help to Metis
Western Catholic Reporter
EDMONTON A half-hour color television documentary on Father Albert Lacombe, the French-Canadian Oblate missionary who served the native people
of the area destined to become Alberta will be shown
on CBC's Alberta network, Jan . 22 ~s port of the
school broadcasts schedule.
The film is the latest in the Heritage and Horizons
se ri es produced for Alberta School Broadcasts of the
Department of Education, and intended to introduce
more Western Canadian history into the curriculum
of upper elementary and junior high school students .
The theme of the story, researched and . written by
Warren Graves of Edmonton, is Father Lacombe's
efforts to help the Metis in their land ownership difficulties during the arrival of the CPR in the West.
Mr. Graves, who did much of his research from
written material about Fathe r Lacombe, said it is always difficult to establish the amount of truth surrounding historic figures.
"What we are trying to latch onto is that history
depends upon the character of the people involved.
We've got 30 minutes to put something in front of the
kids in our schools, and if we can whet their appetite
to know more, that's all we can hope to achieve," he
said .
Actors for "Father Lacombe" were chosen in an
open audition. The role of Father Lacombe is played
by Bernard Engel, who has appeared at the Stratford
Theatre for CBC nationol productions, and is currently with the University of Alberta Drama Department.
CPR President George Stephen is portrayed by Jay.
Smith, with Isabelle Foard as the Sister Superior of the
Grey Nuns, Sister Emery. The role of Sir David Mac-
In a scene · filmed at Heritage Park in Calgary, Father Lacombe
boards a train for Ottawa to settl e land deeds for his mission at
St. Albert.
Tantoo Martin as the Sarcee girl.
Pherson, Minister of the . Interior, was taken by Warren
Graves .
Harry Daniels is Alexis , Father Lacombe's Metis
guide and interpreter. He appeared for auditions with
the help of the Alberta Native Communications
Society.
Other actors include Tantoo Martin, an attractive
Ind ia n girl who appears as a Sarcee in a costume
loaned by Vicky Crowchild of Edmonton, and Jim
Dougall as Frederick Paxton, Si r Dav id's secretary.
Scenes were filmed at various Alberta locations
inc luding Big Lake, west of St . Albert, Heritage Park
in Calgary and the Edmonton offices of Lt.-Gov . Grant
MacEwan for scenes in Ottawa when Father Lacombe
met with Sir David on the land ownership issue.
The robes worn by Father Lacombe, and his small
traveling altar, were supplied by the Oblates of Mary
Immaculate, with Brother Andy Boyer of St . Albert
he lping to set up the altar for an outdoor scene.
The Grey Nuns of Edmonton sewed costumes for
the actresses appearing as early members of that order, and also coached the actresses in general deportm e nt .
On on e occasion, those appearing as the blackrobed Father Lacombe, Sister Emery and the Sarcee
girl , created general astonishment and curiosity as
th e y trooped in costume into a hotel restaurant at
Spruce Grove, west of Edmonton, during a meal break.
The Indian tipis used in the film were set up by
the Saddleback family of Hobbema who also dressed
in typical costu me for the ir roles as the Cree to whom
Fathe r Lacombe wa s preach ing .
•
Page 10
INDIAN RECORD
Archbishop Routhier
Archbishop Routh ier is a man of great faith,
energy and self -discipline ; such virtues hove stood
him in good stead during his 28 years in Grouard ;
writes Fr. Robert B. Clune, President of the Catholic
Church Extension Society of Canada. He odds: "He
has not spored himself in visiting his diocese . In
the early days, especially before roods were con structed and improved, this could only be done at the
cost of much persona l hardship and even danger.
Completely committed to Cothol ic education, 10 new
Separate Schools hove been built since 1945 and the
quality of education continually upgraded ."
"We need to stress the quality of our schools and
the Cothol ic atmosphe re, " says the Archbis hop.
"These ore the only reasons for the existence of the
Separate Schools ." Churches hove been bui It to per- .
mi t the communities to wors hi p in a dignif ied a nd
f itt ing place. If I re me mber correc t ly, 64 ch urc hes
hove been bu i It in t he lost 27 years.
Janvier Reserve .. .
( from page 3 )
It is nec essary to mistrust repo rters and their ten-dency to so easily exaggerate. All would hove been·
well, if Mrs. Cameron hod not a dded to what she was
told and especially if she hod not given the wrong
interpretation .
"Father Brault felt it necessary to make corrections which appeared in the newspaper of Aug . 28th .
He criticized the improp riety of the photographs, a nd
in particular, one, for whic h t he interpretation given,
wa s enti rely false. He reasse rted tha t Mrs. Cameron
was too inclined to show only the bad forgetting tha t
t here were good points too in favour of Janvier and
its people. He went on to note t he need of money fo r
the village; of a local, stable industry to provide employment and regular income for families; the
improvement of pub Iic services, telephones, roods,
drinking wate r, etc. He rebuked the reporter for not
insisting enough that: "Far too Iittle is said of the
urgent need for local industry, for steady work opportunity, for steady income, for a phone, for a rood,
etc."
Father Brault continues: " I come here three and
a half years ago of my own f ree will, sent by my
Bishop. I love t hese people. Whe never I need a hand,
they are rea dy to he lp me. They have t reated me with
respect. I want noth ing more than to see them ha ppy,
serve them as their priest, doing whatever I con fo r
them , even if at times this is very Iittle ."
And he cone Iudes : " I do hope that, out of t hat
terrible newspaper article, something good will come
for the people of the Janvier Community."
I om much impressed by Father Brault's " Dec lara t ion of Priestly Purpose ." He loves hi s people a nd
wants to serve them . Such ded ication is truly in keeping wi t h the " Sp irit of t he Lord" and see ms to be so
much a part of t hose who o re spend ing themsel ves,
withou t count ing t he cost, in our Home Mi ssions.
Please let us not fo rget them in our prayers and a lms giv ing and in tryi ng to fo ll ow t heir example .
•
l
For two terms, Archbishop Routhier was Provincial
Super ior of the Alto .-Sask. Oblates . Then in 1944, he
was appointed to assist .the aging Bishop Ubold Lan glois, OM I, Vicar Apostolic of Grouord ( 1938-53) .
This diocese named after Bishop Emile Grouord,
OMI, who died in 1931, and become an archdiocese
in 1967 in the northwest corner of Alberto, covers·
on area of almost 120,000 square miles (roughly 300
by 400 miles ) and is served by 75 priests, 15 brot hers
and 159 s isters. It has 38 churche~ with priests; 47
churches without resident priest and 33 missions with out a church or resident priest.
Out of a total population of 95,000 there ore
35,000 Catholics, of whom 11 ,000 ore Indians, 9 2
per cent of the Indians and Metis are Catholic .
A rc hbishop Routh ier is now retired in Edmonton
where he says, he "wou ld love to carry on with study
groups o r som e othe r area of work with people ."
t
t
~---~, ..
-
Archbishop Henri ROUTHIER, OMI
~~88~~~~~88~~~~
~~
Urgently Needed
We will refund postage for all back copies of INDIAN RECORD
' from 1950 to 1970 inclusive. Mark your parcel PR INTED MATTER
(you need only to pay 3 rd class postage ) .
March - Apri I
Assiniboine singer gains fame
by Norma Ramage, The Leader-Post
REGINA Maurice MacArthur is an Indian singer
from Carlyle . He was also a man on his way up until
he found out he had cancer .
A versatile performer of every type of music from
ac id rock to pure country, Mr. MacArthur was making
a good I iv ing fr eelancing w ith groups in Winnipeg
until he began having health problems . He went to a
doctor and they told him he had a malignant tumor
growing in his stomach that had to be removed if he
wanted to live .
He went into Winnipeg General Hospital in 1970
to have the tumor removed . The operation was successful, but Maurice MacArthur was lef to pick up the
pieces of his life and career.
"After that operation I was no good to anyone, I
would not talk to anyone . I practically turned into a
vegetable."
Short, stocky and intense, Mr. MacArthur stares
out of the window as he talks about those long, lonely
days w hen he tried to rebuild his I ife.
"For awhile bef ore the operation I played clubs
in Cal ifornia and my f r iends told me I could make
some coin w ith my voice," he explains .
"Then I came back to Canada because singers are
a dime a dozen in the States and I think I was starting on my way up. After the operation I figured it was
curtains as far as my music career was concerned ."
He credits his w ife with seeing him through a
period of menta l hibernation and encouraging him to
take up music again .
The year of rethink ing his life gave him a new
outlook and a new rel igious feeling . Always religious,
brough t up in a staunch Roman Catholic f amily, Mr .
MacArthu r found that h is brush w ith death had
strengthened his faith in God .
_
" As f ar as God is concerned, he is the one who
pulled me out and is still pulling me out."
Now he is trying to put some of his new feelings
Few Attend University
- SASKATOON When fi ve I nd ions enro lled in the
Un iversity of Saskatch ewan here last fa II, they represented 30 percent of all reg istered Indians attending
univers ity in the province . Dr . Andre Renaud , chairman of the Indian educat ion program in the college
of education, said total enrolment of Metis, non registered and registered I nd ions at the Saskatoon
campus is about 40 students .
One reason for this low attendance is lack of sig nificance or relevance of the school system to the
native people, Dr. Renaud said . Models of professional people in the north are restricted mainly to
teachers and medical personnel, so native people are
not exposed to other professional fields and have little
idea what is available at the university.
•
into his music, to tell people about his faith in the
way he knows best . Before the operation, Mr. MacArthur wrote what he casually dismisses as "bubble
gum" music, but now most of his songs are about his
faith and his religion .
Things are going much better for him now. His
health has improved to the point where he is "putting
on weight I should not, " and he is a musician again .
Mr. MacArthur fingers the guitar on his lap lightly
as he talks about his plans to start a new group . The
gu itar, beautiful and highly -polished, is not his . It
was loaned him by a friend from the Marian Centre .
His own guitar, plain wood, battered and the worse
for long, hard wear, sits over on a chair . He got it for
nothing from a friend and it is the only one he has .
" I want to get a group again because I feel more
confident that way, but first of all I need money for a
proper gu itar and equipment."
Now, in Regina to do a program for CBC radio,
Mr. MacArthur has appeared on several radio and
television stations around the province ~uring the last
year . If his success continues, he hopes he will have
a gro up by the end of the year . At first, he said, the
group will play popuiar music , but bit by bit he hopes
to include some of his own music in the group' s reper toire .
"I think my kind of music will be successful . Now adays people are looking for songs with a meanin g,
songs with some real words ."
For Mr . MacArthur, music is an intensely personal
thing and he struggles for words as he tries to exp ress
h is new feelings about God and about his work .
" A lot of people want to go out and be famous
but I don't care about that anymore. I've got some thing I want people to hear and I ' m not very good at
talking so I can only say what I mean when I sing
it
II
•
Boola
THE STORY OF THE SIOUX. Marion E. Gridley. G. P.
Putnam's, 1972, ju,ior, $4.97.
According to one critic: "The book is ,so tenderly
and perceptively written and reflects a great love and
understanding of the Sioux . What a wonderful introduct ion to these people for children ."
THE SIOUX TODAY. Frank LaPointe. Houghton Mifflin, 1972, illus., $4.95.
The author, a Sioux, presents 24 vignettes, both
happy and sad, about reservation people .
PEYOTE. Marriott- Rachlin. Crowell, 1971, 111 pp.,
index, $5.95.
An account of the origins and growth of the peyote
rei igion by two experts on Indian cultures .
•
Page 12
INDIAN RECORD
Northerners to ·share profits?
by Walter 'Kre_venchuk
INUVI K, NWT People living in the North
must be taken into consideration in the building of
an all-weather highway and a natural gas pipeline to
the Arctic, says Fr. Joseph Adam, Oblate priest who
has worked in the North for 36 years.
"The North isn't a colony any more," he said in
an interv iew in a cluttered office in a church rectory
in this northern community. The people would no
longer accept being left out of sharing in the benefits
of resource development in the North.
"A few of the people are starting to become restless."
Adam said the pipeline, on which construct ion is
expected to start in the winter of 1975-76 would be
too vulnerable.
'
"They haven't a chance to push it through unless
they have the co -operation of the native people, of t he
people living in the North . The people will say no
unless they have a share in t he pipeline. They won't
ask much at first, only 7 per cent, but later on they're
going to ask for more ."
If the people had a sha re in it, he said, then they
would see that it went through .
If the native people are just pushed aside, Adam
said, violence might be the res ult . . . the pipeline
might be b lown up.
"I heard one native, an India n from Fort Smi th,
say that 'i f they don't blow it up in the North then
we'll do it farther south' ."
He said there won't be any organized violence but
" you never know what will happen .. . One guy will
be offered a bottle of whiskey to blow it up and he'll
do it."
Fr. Adam , a native of Belgium, said something has
to be done about the situation where an Eskimo cannot say he owns even one square inch of land "where
he was born and has been for 1,200 years."
"Ottawa has no business giving hunting and fishing Iicenses to white people coming north .. . This
should be the Indians' prerogative.
"If an Indian girl marries a white man you make
a mirac le, you make an Indian girl a white girl so
she has no right to trap and fish .. . The white people
made t hese laws themsel ves, not in consultation with
the Indians."
Fr. Adam added that welfare is good, but humiliating, and the native ~eople will be smart enough to
find out that the welfare money they get is taken
from the liquor stores and the royalty from oil.
"They won't take that kind of Iife . .. these people
a re not any more the timorous people that we've
known . The old people won't do anythinq, but t he
young generation- with a varnish of civilizationare qoing to do something."
Fr. Adam said the qovernment has to talk to the
native peop le, to the Indian Brotherhood of the Northwest Territo ries and to the Committee for Original
Peoples Entitle ment. He suggested at least a partial
financial sett lement for the native people who will be
affected by the proposed pipeline which would run
from Alberta down the Mackenzie River valley and
across the Yukon to Alaska.
(Toronto Star )
The Violated Vision, by James Woodford; MeC:IeUand
and Stewart Ltd. 25 Hol'linger Rd., Toron.t o 374;
136 pages; $5 .95.
It wo uld appear from the intent of the Canadian
and US governments' pending leg islation that " the
. rape of Canada's North " will become a rea lity.
The Mackenz ie Va ll ey Pipeline is on the books for
discussion, and too soon man and mac hines will be .
moving into Canada's Northland at an ever accelerating rate threatening to destroy the ecosystem before
anyone understands how the ecosystem really functions and what part it plays in the overall operation
of the world's life-support system.
The Arctic has a peculiar ecological balance
mechanism: its little understood permafrost epidermis,
which thermal erosion can destroy within a very few
years if governments don't follow Northern Engineers'
dictum: keep it frozen!
Will the Trudeau doctrine that "ecology must take
precedence over economics" prevail, asks Toronto
naturalist Woodford? Or will "greed not need, the
d~iving force behind the black-gold rush" take the
day? And ·what of the rights of Canada's northern
aboriginals, the Eskimo? Will what happened at Sachs
Harbor happen to all of Ca nada 's northern people?
Conservationist Woodford is more than a little
concerned that governments wi II plow ahead with
plans to rape our Northland, destroy it beyond hopes
of recovery for decades or maybe a century to come.
Exploitarctic will become a reality unless people like
'W oodford gain enough of a following to save the
Arctic ecosystem's youthfulness.
•
46°/o UNEMPLOYED
VANCOUVER, BC - The unemployment rate of
status Indians no longer living on reserves in British
Columbia was 46% last summer, according to the
Canada Manpower Department's Pacific Manpower
Review publication. The total population of BC has
on unemployment rate of about 6% during the summer months.
•
March - April
Page 13
Reserves are
here to stay
- Chief Foster
by Annette Westley
in T he Cath oli c Registe r
MRS . JEAN FOLSTER, a widowed mother of nine children, and the only woman chief in Manitoba, thinks
that reserves are here to stay.
The younger generation, she says, may go away
but they almost always come back. She herself, on
occasional trips to Winnipeg for council affairs and to
visit her children, finds the big city "suffocating" and
is anxious to return to the wide open spaces.
"My people," says the Chief of Norway House
Band, "don't want to lose their reserve, they don't
want to let their land go."
Before being elected chief last June, she had been
the welfare administrator and served as a social worker. This past experience makes her understanding and
sympathetic to the problems and desires of her people.
The fear of giving up their land and having no
place to go is forcing.) the native people to stay on
the reserve even if it means accepting government
'hand-outs' .
"A lot of people don't want welfare but they don't
have much choice," she says . "Whenever there is a
job, they wi II always work."
She herself, out of the 18 years as a widow with
nine children to support, was only four years on welfare . "My sons and daughters have been working and
helping out ."
Mrs. Foister, a stocky woman with a broad smile,
has always given her children the freedom to move
away as long as they could make a living . "They have
their lives to live so I wouldn't mind as long as they
have jobs."
The woman "mayor" who was chosen without
having had to campaign is interested not only in the
~nuts and bolts' of the administration but also in beau-
Mrs. Jean Foister, chief and "big-hearted mother" at Norway
House, Man., with luncheon guests.
tifying the reserve. "It's not a very big plan ," she says,
"but I am hoping to fix homes that are run down and
repair the broken windows. We ordered some mate rial and the people wi II do the job themselves ."
Last August, Mrs. Foister received me at her small
home where some six kiddies were seated at a table
munching at pork chops . Every child that came to the
door during the interview automatically became a
luncheon guest . They don't have to ask because the
chief is regarded as a big-hearted mother of the re serve .
During the week she puts in a full day at her
office receiving people and helping them to find solutions to their problems . She meets with her six coun cillors, four women and two men every Tuesday
evening for three hours to discuss housing, welfare,
unemployment and bylaws. She occupies the former
Ag ency office, replacing the non-1 ndian government
official, and receives the salary of $5,000, now paid
for the first time.
Having a woman as chief causes no problems .
"I'm responsible for everything," she says, "but
once the councillors say they will do something, they
then go on from there and do it."
•
Boola
"JAMES BAY"-The p 1ot to drown the North Woods,
by Boyce Richardson. (A Sierra C·lub Batt'lebook )
Clarke, Irwin & Co. Ltd., Toronto. $2.75
1
"JAMES BAY" is a merciless indictment of the Quebec government for its political decision to develop
the vast James Bay watershed for hydroelectric power
before ecological studies were carried out.
Richardson takes a thorough look at the dangers
of changing such a vo6t drainage pattern and studies
how it will affect the animal and plant life the soil
the food chain and the wider environment of 'the whol~
eastern North America.
Throughout, Richardson eloquently pleads the
the cause of the Cree Indian and condemns the Quebec government for its callous disregard for the rights
of an entire people.
The author was, until recently, an associate editor
of The Mont rea I Star.
Page 14
Educational TV aids Cre·e s
and adults, acting roles which are real to them.
Jeff Howard, producer and narrator, uses authe ntic Indian music which has been taped by native
tec hn ic ian s at pow-wows .
Heathe r Pritchard , as executive producer, has
over -all res pon sib ility for th e produc tion .
Although th e characters are fictitious, they are in volved in real experiences and meet rea l people . Many
im portant issues are dealt with in simple terms so
that child re n can learn how India ns an d Metis feel
regarding discrimination, housing and school problems, making new friends, and understanding cultural
differences .
·
The broadcasts a nd tapes used in schools through-·
out t he province, are also being used by some India n
an d Met is adult groups fo r discussion purposes.
The programs have created enthusiasm among
Indians and M et is of Northern Albe rta to produc e
their own programs in the f uture .
(W .C.R.) •
~~-
.· .c ;¥g..1
Harry Daniels (left ) and Donny Stifle in KisKe YemSo series.
EDMONTON Alberta Indian and Metis people
working through Alberta School Broadcasts of th~
Department of Education, and the Alberta Native
Communications Society, are producin g their own
educational radio broadcasts for Alberta classrooms.
Writers, actors and producers of a new radio
ser ies for Grades 4 to 6 are Indian and Metis
The series, called " Kis-Ke -Yem -So" (C~ee for
" know yourself"), began on Oct. 17, and is being
broadcast every Tuesday until May 8 .
The programs are carried on Edmonton station
CKUA at 10:45 a .m. and Lethbridge station CHECFM at 10 :30 a .m . just before the regular provincial
sc hool broadcast.
The feeling of the native philosophy is maintained
in the scripts by June Stifle and Jeff Howard, and
evident in the voices and inflections of the children
Attends Ca-t tle-Ranching Course
AMARANTH, Man .-Sandy Bay Indian Reserve chief
Howard Starr attended, in Jan ua ry, a five-day course
in cattle ranching in Phoenix, Arizona. Chief Starr
was selected by the department of Indian affairs as a
representative of all Manitoba Indian reserves. He
was accompanied by DIA Agricultural consultant Art
Devlin .
Chief Starr will observe cattle operat ions in Ari·zona and New Mex ico after the completion of the
course and will also visit the Navajo and Hopi reserves .
The chief is president of Sandy Bay Farms, a sixyear-old operation that is the biggest farming operation on any Manitoba reserve . After his official duties
Chief Starr will take a one week holiday in Mexico,
the first for the chief since he assumed office three
years ago .
•
Calder to BC
.cabinet post
VANCOUVER, BC - Veteran member of the British
Columbia Legislature, Frank Calder ( Nishga) has become the f irst Indian to win appointment to a cabinet
post in any Canadian federal or provincial government. He has been named Minister Without Portfo li o.
He has been assigned to the immediate investigation of welfare services and to recommend without
delay the means of guaranteeing that all Indians are
included under such services. He will also prepare,
over the next 12 months, a report on all matters pertaining to Native Indians in British Columbia .
Calder was first elected to the BC Legislature as
a member for the far-flung At Iin constituency in
1949, only a few months after BC Indians were
granted the prov inci al vote.
He won his first election by a scant half-dozen
votes but this year's election was one of his most resounding victories in spite of an array of opponents.
The son of a councillor from the Nass River village, Calder made part of his maiden speech in the
Legisl ature in his Nishga tong ue . He has fought for
and supported many causes on behalf of his people,
seeking measures that would give them more policy
making power, specifically in seeking m unicipal status
for Ind ian villages .
Calder, who attended the ·University of Br itish _
Columbia, worked in the fishing industry for many
years and early became involved in the affairs of his
people .
His most significant activities have concerned the
affairs of the Nishga Tribal Council of which he is
president. Aside from important advances in their living standards and cultural life, the big issue has been
the Land Claims case. The Nass Indians claim title
to 4 ,000 square miles of the Nass River Valley . The
case is now before the Supreme Court of Canada. •
Page IS
Deacons trained
for ministry
Early this year Indians will be giving Benediction
with the Blessed Sacrament in Northern Ontario
missions .
About a dozen natives are expected to exerci:.e in
this way their many new · roles as commun ity lay
deacons .
" They wi II serve the people," says Father James
Farrell, "when the priest is away and help even when
he is present."
The Jesuit Provincial gave the example, "Benediction in January," as one feature of the pioneering
project. The "hand -picked " candidates will qet together five or six times a year for tra.ining and, .after
each period, they will go back to the1r cor:nmun1ty to
do something new they have learned. Th1s could be
Benediction or bringing Communion to the sick or
officiating at marriage, conducting funera~ se.r vices
and other duties delegated to them by the1r b1shop.
"Learn and do," a step at a time is how Father
Farrell describes the schedule for transforming candidates into deacons.
By "hand-picked" he means tha.t each ":'an is
se lected by his own church commun1ty, who IS self
supporting, married and a good Iiving C~ristian as
well as wi II ing to accept the role of serv1ce to the
people.
. . ,
"When you travel around the commun1t1es, says
Father Farrell, "you hear a name mentioned here and
there and somehow you know that the people are
going to select the right man, one who is ?eepl y
rooted in his community with three or four children,
and who has perhaps shown his worth at Cursillos o r
in AA groups."
.
.
The deacons, he feels, will renew the lnd1an tradition of the "prayer man," the spiritual leader, so
much part of the ancient villa~e. .
.
The average missionary pnest, IS obl1ged to serve
full time and therefore must move from mission to
mission whereas a deacon can serve his small community' part time while supporting his family at a
secular job.
.
.
.
The change is due to a combmat1?n of pn~st
shortage and to the Vatican II emphasis on n?t1ve
clergy. "Indians are running the1r own busmess
affairs" says Father Farrell while their local church
is still,being led by someon~ from outsiqe."
.
"Ordination to the diaconate opens the possibi Iity
of the next step," says Father Farrell. "There are cases
in the world where married men are being ordained
for the priesthood because of the local situation . A
permission could and would be granted, we hope ."
Canada's first married men to be elevated to the
priesthood in the Latin Rite could be Indians!
But that is a long way ahead since the project only
begun last May. At that time a provincial team of
m issionaries nuns as well as theologians from the
Regis Colleg'e, brought in Father Charles Peterson to
Father James Farrell, SJ: "Deacons will be known by their fruits."
help organize a program s'l"milar to the one he started
in Alaska . One of the training centres will be at Little
Current, on Manitoulin Island, with Father M . Murray
as director.
·
The project has the support of the bishops of the
three dioceses, Hearst, Sault Ste . Marie and Thunder
Bay. "They blessed our efforts and even our mistakes," says Father Farrell. " Each deacon will be man dated by his bishop and perhaps, later, given the
grac e of the Sacrament by ordination ."
Wives, consulted before the candidates are ac cepted, show equal interest and they will be invited
to attend some of the training sessions.
Extension has been asked to contribute towards
the $11,000 estimated cost of the training program
which covers reimbursement of candidates for lost
salary travelling expenses of staff, etc. The deacons
will also attend all meetings of Jesuit missionaries .
Alaska deacons have chosen a distinctive garb
cons ist ing of vestment and a ring. Father Farrell feels
Ontari o deacons may do likewise in due course but in
the meantime, they will be best known in their own
community "by · their fruits."
Annette Westley
Quebec base . . .
(concluded from page 1 )
institution of higher learning, not only for Quebec
Indians but for every North American native.
_
_
His department has made a $250,000 contrib~ tion to the La Macaza project, as part of a $1 .3 md1ion program for the establishment and operation of
-native cultural education centres.
After its full first year of operation, the La
Macaza centre is to submit its budget for further
operations to the department, which wi II evaluate it
and decide on further funding .
The Native North American Studies Institute is a
joint venture of the Quebec Indian Association , th~t
province's universities , and their native stude~ts . I~ IS
designed to provide complementary academ1c training to native students, encouraging the~ to . purs~e
academic goals without losing their lnd1an 1dent1ty
while gaining their education.
While the Indians of Canada have taken over,
quickly and peacefully, the La Macaza m il itary bas~,
there is another such base in Southwestern Ontar1o
that an Indian tribe has been unable to get back . •
Page 16
March - Apri I
INDIAN RECORD
Listen to Tom Jackson
WINNIPEG- For a long time, CBW has wanted to
launch a program for the Native People of Manitoba
and Northwestern Ontario, which would be different
from the news magazine shows and calendars of Indian activities that have been such a large part of th~;
programs the CBC has broadcast to Indian and Metis
groups before .
Not that news of themselves and of events that
will affect them is not necessary to a service for
Native People, but there has never been time enough
for Manitoba Indians and Metis just to relax and be
themselves, on the air.
Now CBW has the time - at least, enough to
start with - and Tom Jackson to begin a program
for Indians and Metis of Manitoba and Northwest
Ontario.
The Tom Jackson show is not going to be heavy
with the politics of Indian-White confrontations, or
the problems of getting funding for Indian groups
from White governments, or the ups and downs and
ins and outs of the Indian organizations themselves .
Tom Jackson will be around everywhere Native
people gather, talking to people for t he program,
about themselves and their every day life, in the cities
and in th e rural areas of Manitoba and Northwest
Onta ri o.
The Tom Jackson show is going to be a place
where youn g Native People can enjoy the music they
want to li sten to, and simply be themselves .. . Saturdays at 1 :03- right after Our Nat ive Land, on CBW .
That's CBC Radio in Man itoba . .. 990 in W inn ipeg ,
and on repeater stat ion s t hroughout Man itoba and
Northwestern Ontario. The first program was b road cast January 20.
•
Hostile to RCMP?
PRINCE ALBERT Jim Sinclair, president of the
Saskatchewan Indian and Metis Society has alleged
some members of the RCMP are harassing his people
and committing sex offences against young native
women . He said the situation in northern Saskatchewan between Indian and Metis and the RCMP is
"tense ."
He recently toured remote northero communities
and heard some native people threaten to shoot an
RCMP officer if he appears at the door of their homes .
Attorney-General Roy Romanow said _there are some
"serious problems and concerns" with respect to lndian-Metis and pol ice relationships but his department
is tryino· to correct them .
•
"How many times must I tell you to put
anti-freeze 1n the waterbed?"
$27 Million Project lor Quebec I.R.
OTTAWA-An agreement has been reached between
the Band Council of Sept-lies Indian Reserve 350
miles northwest of Quebec C ity and a Quebec commercial development corporat ion which will provide
continu ing e mployment and assured annual income
for the Indian band concerned .
•
ANOTHER DIMENSION that we have to become
more and more conscious of is that of the Native
peoples in Canada . . . thus it is in place to offer
1
some read in g along th is line. 11 The Indian Record/
ed ited by Fr . G: Lav iolette since 1938 is a small b ut
valuable journal appearing 6 times a year . It qleans
from Native and White pub Iications and offers a
variety of short but important reading materials. It
can be good for expanding our consciousness.
(Winnipeg Diocesan Communications Office)
Than/a You!
Msgr. Paul Piche, OMI, Bishop of Mackenzie - Fort Smith,
N.W.T., for your generous donation;
Father Arthur Parent for your bouquet: "the Indian
Record is· very interesting for its variety of topics, missionaries'
past and current history, general presentation and choice of
photos, etc. It is a top magazine in its field."
INDIAN RECORD
Editor and Manager: Rev. G. LAVIOLETTE, OMI
1301 Wellington Cres., Winnipeg, Man.
R3N OA9
Phone (204) 489-9593
Subscription rate: $2.00 a year ( 6 issues)