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A week of. Native Awareness | Meech Lake called a % slap in face to Indians Traditional dress This young native girl was all dressed up for the occasion at the pow-wow Satur- day afternoon, part of the first annual Traditional garb was the rule of the day at the pow-wow, held at the Huronia In- dian Village, Huronia Museum. Native Awareness Week in Midland. oe &) | | } KING MIDLAND S® Affordable retirement living - @& Fine dining S% Private furnished or unfurnished suites & Full schedule of social and recreational activities S 24 hour nursing supervision S Rental office open daily 7 days a week Mon.-Fri. 8:30-4:30 Sat. and Sun. 1-4 p.m. Other times by appointment Call (705) 526-8769 Page 12, Tuesday, September 1, 1987 The Meech Lake Accord was "'an insulting slap in the face to all Indians", ac- cording to an official with the Union of Ontario Indians. "To come along and do something to bring Quebec into the fold, and do nothing for the Indian peo- ple in the same breath was devastating,' said Allan Roy, membership facili- tator for the UOI. Roy spoke to about 15 band-members last Wed- nesday at a workshop on native rights and self- government, held at the Georgian Bay Native Friendship Centre on Midland Avenue. Roy supported the con- cept of "a third order of government" native self-government. Indians across the coun- try should stand up for their rights, said Roy and, if necessary, disregard Canadian laws which restrict their nationhood. "There is no reason why we can not act like a nation again,'"' Roy said during a discussion. on _ self- government. Many at the workshop were concerned about the effect a native self- government law might have on benefits they now receive from the federal government. But Roy pointed out that the current Indian Act (which regulates almost every aspect of their lives) is "no good" and has to be replaced by something. And the best solution, he said, would be self- government. However, he warned the sovernment would "'love to get rid of its trust respon- sibility" to the Indians. "The only thing we have that's different from other aboriginal peoples in the world - whether it's the Lapplanders in Scan- dinavia or the Aborigines in Australia - is they don't have treaties like we have in Canada," said Roy. "The government would love to get rid of those treaties tomorrow. Whether they sign a self- government law or not, they're gonna do it anyway," he remarked. Native rights are in con- stant danger of erosion, and must always be fought for, said Roy. He pointed to examples of Indian bands in the United States which simp- ly ignore laws restricting them from running bingos and otherwise controlling their own lives on the reservations. While he warned the group to stay away from bingos, he said a band in California flew straight in the face of a law when it ran its bingo games and became quite rich. "We are a nation inside the State of California," Roy quoted the band as declaring. '""As soon as you start do- ing that, you put a big X through legislation," he said. Roy added that there are still "millions of acres of land under land claims" yet to be resolved. Those Intertribal dance Indians from far and wide converged on the Huronia Museum in Midland last Fri- day and Saturday for two exciting pow- Roger Jackson of the wows. Here, claims should be resolved before Indian self- government is im- plemented, he noted, so the natives would have "a base to conduct our lives". Along the same lines, Roy said Indian bands right now should be stan- ding up to the government when it comes down te-- determining membership. There has been a lot of confusion since the Indian Act was amended to make it conform to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Bands are now ina state of limbo as to who is and who isn't a member, Roy pointed out. But in the end, the in- dividual bands should all draft their own rules of membership. Georgian Bay Native Friendship Centre helps lead the grand opening of the Satur- day afternoon pow-wow. Workshops reveal native life An Indian looks at a tree and says, "Hi brother". A white man looks at the same tree and _ says, "Hmmm... I can chop it down, sell it and get $1,500 for it." That symbolizes the dif- ference between the native people and the European settlers and their descen- dants, according to an In- dian elder who spoke at a workshop last week. plans for the area. plans. VICTORIA HARBOUR OPEN HOUSE The Council of the Village of Victoria Harbour cordially invites its ratepayers to a press con- ference to be held at the Village offices on Wednesday, the 2nd day of September, 1987 at 7:30 in the evening. The purpose of this public meeting and press conference is to inform all residents of the results of engineering studies done of the water requirements for Maple Street and ser- vice requirements of the John Dillingno study area, together with council's development Ratepayers will be given an opportunity to ask questions regarding the development Village of Victoria Harbour Donna Thatcher Clerk "Indians co-exist with the animals," said Fred Wheatley of the Parry Island Indian Reserve. They don't worry about money; they only worry about their fellow man. "That's why we'll never be millionaires,"' said Wheatley, who was in town to participate in the first annual Native Aware- ness Days. He held several workshops at the Georgian Bay Native Friendship Centre on Midland Avenue. 'His Friday workshop centred on the cycle of life and education, but strayed into other, general topics. For instance, he spoke about the Indian's use of humor as a healing agent. "When you go to visit an elder you are supposed to have something funny to say," he noted. "To the In- WA, oe Dad this coupon Regular Admission HWY. 92 EAST WASAGA BEACH dian, humor is healing, it is always in the home." "If there is no humor, something is wrong." The elder told the small group how, when he was younger, he went to the mountains to fast for four days with the elders. 'After I fasted for four days I found something," said Wheatley. "I found there was nothing in this world worth worrying about." He said he found much of what he was looking for when he fasted. "Why they (the Europeans) called us savage and pagan I'll never know. Why did they say we should drop our ways of life and take the white man's religion?" Fittingly, the group ond: ed the session by telling jokes: There was an Indian sell- ing arts and crafts at a show. A white man walk- ed up and looked at a piece of,art with a $50 price tag on it. He offered $25. "'No way," said the Indian. "$30," said the white man. "No, the price is marked,"" said the Indian. "I'll give you $40 - take it or leave it,"' said the white man. "Forget it,' said the In- dian. Another Indian lean- ed over and said, "We should have done the same thing with Manhattan." native