Sun Peaks aboriginal land dispute
Land, Freedom and Decolonization
By Harold Lavendar
The long simmering dispute between the indigenous Secwepemc people of British Columbia’s (BC) southern interior and the Sun Peaks mega ski resort development northeast of Kamloops boiled over in August and September 2004.
On August 29, approximately 200 supporters (including two busloads from Vancouver) rallied in support of the Skwelkwek’welt Protection Centre against the expansion of Sun Peaks. We joined in as Aboriginal elders, youth and land users exercised their rights to their unceded traditional territory. Work began on constructing a camp between a golf course expansion and adjacent condominiums.
The reaction was predictable. The fundamental issue of who owns the land was brushed aside. On September 3, the BC Supreme Court granted Sun Peaks (supported by the BC government) an injunction excluding Aboriginal people from using 846 hectares of their traditional territory. On September 21, the RCMP moved in to dismantle the camp. Three people, Henry Sauls, George Manuel Jr. and Arnie Jack, were arrested.
Direct action at the site, which successfully shone a spotlight on injustice, is over. But the campaign to win Aboriginal rights is proceeding, including legal defence battles against current charges and to force both governments and corporations to comply with Aboriginal title. This campaign has involved work on fundraising as well as a focus on building the growing solidarity movement.
The work took a step forward with the formation of Land, Freedom and Decolonization in Vancouver in May, 2004. It is now targetting the corporate intersts through a campaign to boycott Delta Hotels and through building new alliances to connect the issue to resisting the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver with the theme “No Games on Stolen Native Land”.
Where is Your Deed?
In BC, the vast majority of land remains unceded by treaty.
Sun Peaks Resort is built in Secwepemc territories, land that has never been ceded, released nor surrendered. Defenders of the land and their supporters say the BC government and Sun Peaks have no authority over the Secwepemc people or their lands.
The federal government has completely shirked its responsibility to uphold Aboriginal rights. Canada’s constitution, following the Royal Proclamation of 1763, recognizes Aboriginal and treaty rights and the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed Aboriginal title in several recent decisions. In most parts of Canada, at least lip service is accorded to the treaty process. However, post-Confederation BC government saw no need.
In 1862, Chief Neskonlith reached an agreement for a reserve with Governor James Douglas, including the site where Sun Peaks Resort is located. However, the British colonial office did not fund the treaty and the land was never ceded. In 1873, the BC Land Act unilaterally annexed much of BC as Crown land.
Today, Sun Peaks has a lease from the BC government and some land has been sold as high priced real estate. But people like Arnie Jack are asking, “Where is your deed granting jurisdiction over the land?”
The federal and provincial governments are trying to close this gaping hole via the BC Treaty Process, which aims to extinguish Aboriginal title. But the process is bogged down and discredited and has not concluded any treaties. Many areas of BC, including Sun Peaks, are not covered under this process.
Mega-development for whom?
Modest initial development at Sun Peaks in 1961 turned into mega-capitalism when it was purchased by Nippon Cable Company Ltd. in 1992. Accommodation expanded from 100 to 4000 beds. In 1997, the BC government approved a $70 million expansion to 20,000 units with ski runs on previously undisturbed Mt Morrissey. Today, Sun Peaks has become B.C.’s second largest complex, behind Whistler. Its expansion plans are now $285 million.
The rapid development of Sun Peaks Resort has occurred without the consent of those with title to the land. The government disregarded environmental and cultural impact studies and meaningful discussions with the Neskonlith and Adams Lake bands about the development. The Secwepemc attended stakeholders meetings and gave an emphatic “No.” to expansion. But Sun Peaks and the BC government ignored their concerns.
The environmental consequences have been devastating. Cutting has destroyed the ecosystems of Mount Morrissey, Todd and Sundance mountains. Animal habitat for deer, moose, bears, lynx, bobcat, cougars and wolverines has been destroyed, as have plant systems that provide berries and medicine for the Secwepemc. Sun Peaks has polluted the water with herbicides for a golf course and with chemical and bacterial additives to make artificial snow (which also grossly over-consumes water).
The Skwelkwek’welt Protection Centre was established in October 2000. Since then, five protection centers have been burnt to the ground (arson) or bulldozed. Sun Peaks demolished two sacred sweat lodges, a crime against traditional Aboriginal culture. Sun Peaks’ action caused the RCMP to arrest 54 elders, youth and land users, resulting in jailing of single mothers, grandmothers, berry-pickers and hunters. Court injunctions even banned a dozen Secwepemc land users from going within a two to 10 km radius of Sun Peaks.
Solidarity
The Protection Centre has relied on both its own direct action and on building a wider network of alliances and support. They have worked with groups such as the Indigenous Network on Economics and Trade (INET) and drawn international attention to their situation. Rodolfo Stavenhagen, UN Special Raporteur for Human Rights, recently visited the center as a guest.
The cause has won considerable support in the Canadian state, ranging from the Native Youth Movement to the radical activist left to well beyond. After visiting the area and experiencing the destruction first hand, author Naomi Klein wrote:
“Let’s be clear, this is not about a ski hill. It is about a plan to build a small city in the mountains, a place for urbanites to have a weekend getaway and for developers to make a killing on real estate. Let’s be clear on something else: the massive expansion of the Sun Peak is an act of violence. British Columbia’s First Nations peoples have already been robbed of so much. It is the duty of all Canadians living on stolen land to join the struggle to defend what is left.”
Faced with mounting opposition, Sun Peaks has resorted to divide and conquer tactics, working closely with Aboriginal groups like the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council (SNTC) to isolate others. For example, just prior to the protests planned on August 29, 2003, the SNTC, comprised of band councils under the Indian Act, issued a press release saying the planned presence of groups like the Council of Canadians and Union of BC Indian Chiefs was unwelcome. The BC Supreme Court cited this letter in granting an injunction.
In recent years, the SNTC has focused on short-term economic development, and some bands have investments in Sun Peaks. (A parallel process has occurred with the 2010 Olympics.)
However, grassroots people oppose their actions. Janice Billy said the Shuswap “need to listen to the people.” Art Manuel, former chief of the Neskonlith Band and former head of the SNTC, has supported the efforts of the Skwelkwek’welt Protection Council.
Groups such as No One Is Illegal in a number of cities have been prominent in linking the struggles of immigrants and refugees to indigenous issues. Harsha Walia, of No One is Illegal Vancouver and a spokesperson for Land, Freedom and Decolonization, worked to build the August 29 convergence.
Harsha emphasizes the link between immigrant and Aboriginal issues. Many immigrants have fled the colonial histories imposed from the North by imperialism, she says, while indigenous peoples in BC were subject to the same colonialism. Aboriginal people living off-reserve face issues of status and citizenship comparable to migrant workers. She said both communities “face obvious racism in terms of access to services, incarceration and representation.”
Land, Freedom and Decolonization, formed in May, brings together Aboriginal, immigrant and anti-poverty groups. Harsha points out it attempts to create “strength and unity versus divide and rule, which is how the system usually works.” It also hopes to overcome tensions between Aboriginal people, anti-poverty groups in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and the Chinese community. It was involved in actions on Canada Day at Sun Peaks and against Delta Hotels, as well as anti-Olympics organizing.
She says the fundamental issue is “unceded territory and how land is developed.” Under corporate globalization, issues of sport, resort and tourism dominate struggles for indigenous rights and the environment.
“Piles of money are involved,” she says. That’s why it important to work on all fronts, including direct action, media and boycotts, to challenge the economic base of the development. Tourism and real estate developers and investors fear negative publicity, which could challenge profits. That’s why the boycott is focusing on Delta Hotels. She says supporters of Aboriginal sovereignty need to seek out support ranging from ethical purchasing funds to unions to the Council of Canadians.
Resisting the 2010 Olympics
Meanwhile, new grassroots alliances are being formed in response to the 2010 Olympics. The BC government plans to fast-track the development of nine new ski resorts, but some, such as Jumbo Creek, face strong community and environmentalist opposition, as well as Aboriginal title issues.
In Vancouver, the Olympics raise multiple issues ranging from gentrification, housing, anti-poverty, transportation, health care and education, child labour and union rights, and repression in the name of security.
On February 12, five years before the start of the 2010 Olympics, an action will be held in Vancouver. One of its primary targets will be Delta Hotels. Activists will be working to make sure Aboriginal self-determination and sovereignty are not swept under the carpet when Vancouver welcomes the world.
Harold Lavender is an editor of New Socialist.