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Elected Councils ·unite against C-10 By Jim Windle SIX NATIONS - The Iro- quois Caucus has come out swinging against the Harper Government's "Contraband Tobbaco Act," otherwise known as Bill C-10. The Caucus, which represents elected band council leaders from Ak- wesasne, Kahnestatake, Kahnawa:ke, Oneida Nation of the Thames, Six Nations of the Grand River, Tyendinaga and Wahta, released a res- olution statement and media release Wednes- day March 12th showing their united distain for, and rejection of, the Bill, which directly interferes with the economy of all Iroquois member Na- tions. In the strongly word- ed resolution, the Caucus rejects the Bill in it's en- tirety, including all of its components and content. It goes on to demand that Canada immediate- ly cease any further de- velopment, passage or implementation of the. controversial, and uni- laterally conceived Act, calling it, "legislation that may affect economics and trade in Iroquois territo- ries including our right to govern, regulate, sell, manufacture and trade in tobacco and tobacco re- lated products." The Iroquois Caucus pledges to take "all ac- tions necessary" to rally other First Nations out- side of the Caucus' juris- diction to form a united front against the Bill. "The Iroquois Caucus recognizes that Bill C-10 was developed and is being implemented with- out consultation and ac- commodation with First Nations, as required by the Duty to Consult and Accommodate, and the Honour of the Crown," ac- cording to the resolution. But along with the strong warning, the re- lease also leaves the door open for Harper to begin meaningful consultation and accommodation be- fore implen:ienting this unilateral Bill, saying that the Caucus remains open to discuss these issues in order to find "mutually acceptable solutions to ensuring our res_pective systems co-exist in peace and harmony." The resolution was initially proposed by Chief Joel Abram, of the Onieda Nation of the Thames, and seconded by Six Nations' Elected Chief Ava Hill, who has been an outspoken opponent to the Bill. "We had representa- tives from the industry make presentations, and it was discussed that we should create our own to- bacco law for ourselves," said Hill. It outlines 18 specif- ic reasons why the Bill and its unilateral and heavy handed attack on Iroquois people's right to self-determination and economic development by the majority Conser- vative government is both offensive and illegal according to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as the Canadian Constitution itself. It also provides a his- torical accounting of the place tobacco has had and continues to have amongst Onkwehon:we people in general but Iro- quois people specifically, as both a trade item and for its cultural and cere- monial significance. "We need to be stand- ing together on this," says Hill. "I don't know what its going to take to get them to understand that. We are holding a commu- nity meeting March 26th, at 7 pm, at Six Nations Polytech and it would be very good if some of the Confederacy Chiefs at- tended that meeting." Joel Abram, Chief of the Oneida Nation, says: "Although we haven't yet had the chance to confer and agree on what ac- tions we may take, I'm not ruling anything out yet including direct ac- tion and/or legal actions to defend our rights. We estimate that for Oneida up to 20% of the pop- ulation is involved in a direct way with the to- bacco business, and the economic ramifications go much deeper than that because the money cycles around the com- m'unity through stores, restaurants, and other services and goods. That part is difficult to quan- tify but is most assuredly substantial. I definite- ly feel it is an attack on our people economically. People have been able to lift themselves out of pov- erty through the tobacco trade and now the gov- ernment wants to make them criminals when this particular product tobacco has been trad- ed amongst us since be- fore the Europeans came over here. This is pure colonialism at its worst. I can almost guarantee that if instead of tobacco we all made widgets that were cheaper and made us a good business, they would make our widgets illegal. It's all about pow- er and control through what I see as illegal mon- etary sanctions, and it's really another form of op- pression." Chief Abram con- cludes, "We have to con- tinue on our rights based agenda as Onkwehon:we people in this country. AANDC is spending 100 million dollars a year on legal fighting us now as it is and that's not sustain- able. If we keep pressure on, soon enough Cana- da will have to come to terms that it's time to take a new look at the re- lationship and by new I really mean old in terms of the Two Row and how that is supposed to work. This father/child false paradigm informed by the discriminatory Doc- trine of Discovery and Terra Nullius was always doomed to failure." As of Friday, Six Na- tions Elected Chief Hill has not received any word from the Confed- eracy Chiefs regarding their stance on the issue. However, is was resolved at the last Haudenos- aunee Confederacy Chiefs meeting at the first of the month, that there would be a position paper forth- coming on the issue. Six Nations will be hosting the next Iroquors Caucus in two weeks where more details will be discussed and options weighed. Association of Iro- quois and Allied Nations Grand Chief Gord Peters also spoke out against C-10, and stands in soli- darity with the Iroquois Caucus and its action plan. The AIAI are expect- ed to have a media re- lease sent out soon repre- senting Batchewana First Nation, Caldwell First Nation, Delaware Nation, Hiawatha First Nation, Oneida of the Thames, Mississaugas of the New Credit, Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte and Wahta Mohawks. Chief Greg Peters at Moraviantown of the Thames, has this to say about it. "We are opposed to any legislation with- out consultation and ac- commodation," he says. "This is nothing less than a trade and commerce sanction against our peo- ple. Anytime we start to move ahead, they (gov- ernment) step in with their power and con- trol and their 'we know what's best' attitude. To- bacco has always been a trade item with our peo- ple."