Update March 7, 2007: Current and archived photo links are not yet back up, but should be in a few days. My apologies. If you are/were looking for something specific, email me brokenvultureart@gmail.com and I will post it for you.
:Eric
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US 'Lost Tribe' in Canada seeks the money owed to it by the American government.
"Driven from their traditional territories in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana, most Pottawatomi - pressured to relocate at gunpoint by the U.S. army under the infamous "Indian Removal" policies of president Andrew Jackson - resettled west of the Mississippi River... A 1908 report to Congress concluded that if the claims from Canada were judged "solely on the basis of descent, then it would seem that these Canadian Indians would be entitled to the same share in any fund arising from the claim" as U.S. Pottawatomi."
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Two First Nations buildng a cultural centre in Whistler, BC.
"...joined forces to build the large $30-million cultural centre in Whistler's Upper Village. The shared initiative resulted directly from the historic Squamish Lil'wat Protocol Agreement signed in March, 2001 which heralded a new era of mutual cooperation and the resolution of centuries-old territorial overlaps.
Now three-quarters through the construction phase, the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre (Skwxwu7mesh Lil'wat7ul) will showcase the rich history, arts, culture and cosmology of the two neighbouring Nations. Standing as a real-world symbol of a new friendship, it will open in spring 2008."
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The province of Ontario is in the process of "devolving powers" to its First Nations. I am not entirely clear what that will mean, eventually, but I hope that somebody is on top of it.
"Canada's New Government is committed to working with First Nations to support stronger First Nation governments as a key step in improving the lives of First Nation people," said Minister Prentice. "This important agreement sets the groundwork for participating First Nations to adopt new governance institutions and structures that are more responsive and more accountable to their communities."
"The AIP on Governance is one step toward eliminating the Indian Act, re-asserting our jurisdiction, and re-establishing our own Anishinaabe forms of government," said Grand Council Chief Beaucage, who represents the forty-plus member First Nations of the Anishinabek Nation. "We look forward to completing these negotiations and forging new relationships with Canada that provide practical and effective ways to implement our inherent right to self-government and improve living conditions for our people."
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The Kwakiutl are restless. It seems that the province of BC has just given away some land that was under land claim. Sound familiar? That's kind of the situation that has lead to the ongoing Caledonia/Six Nations standoff, near Hamilton, Ontario.
" In the 1850’s, the Douglas Treaties secured aboriginal rights for First Nations on Vancouver Island. The treaty declared First Nations could continue hunting, fishing, and gathering plants on their traditional territory, and that village sites would be respected.
But the Crown breached the treaty when it made land grants to private individuals, the natives say. Until now, some of the private lands claimed by Western Forest Products, a giant logging company, were managed under a provincial Tree Farm Licence. Western Forest Products has applied to take the land back in order to log it and sell it off to developers. The province has quietly agreed to transfer 28,000 hectares (70,000 acres.) "
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What's up at Grassy Narrows?
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Okay... Here's a litlle story from the "my god are we that desperate" department.
Alberta First Nation seeking status as an online gambling haven.
" Just as other aboriginal groups have established constitutional self-governing rights to logging, fishing and hunting, the Alexander band could get a legal imprimatur to host offshore Internet gambling firms.... if it can prove that wagering was a major part of the band's ancestral heritage, gaming-industry lawyer Michael Lipton said...
If the facts exist to demonstrate that a rudimentary - very rudimentary - form of gambling exists, be it in the form of stones and sticks or beads or whatever the case may be, the law says that if they've got the facts, this is the law, they have to follow it," said Lipton, head of an international association of gaming lawyers... The Alexander band has remained silent on the issue, but apparently wants to charge up to $40 000 annually, plus startup fees, to offshore companies which set up computer servers in the Alexander reserve's new data centre. "
"be it in the form of stones and sticks or beads or whatever"
Well... Doesnt the gambling industry lawyer sound like he's all about the culture.
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