On February 10th, two weeks after the collapse of negotiations, agents of the Canadian Government started a series of meetings with aboriginal people in non-aboriginal communities surrounding our traditional area to try and organize the overthrow of the duly elected Lubicon Government. They apparently started with one Lubicon Band member who had earlier expressed interest in pursuing a seldom invoked clause in Treaty 8 which provides separate reserve land (land in severalty) "for such families or individual Indians as may prefer to live apart from Band reserves", and they then used this individual to help identify others potentially interested in making their own private deals. They told these individuals that the Federal Government was prepared to provide them with a variety of programs, benefits and services but couldn't do so unless the Lubicon people as a society accepted the Federal Government's final "take-it-or-leave-it" settlement offer. They told these individuals that the current leadership of the Lubicon people would never accept the Federal Government's "take-it-or-leave-it" settlement offer and would therefore have to be overthrown if these programs, benefits and services were to be provided. They told these individuals that current Lubicon leadership was up for re-election in the fall and offered to provide them with technical, legal, financial and other types of advice and assistance so that they could become registered as Lubicon Indians and "have their views represented" in the up-coming Lubicon election. And they told reporters, "if (these individuals) don't like the Chief they can always vote him out", and "if these guys follow through, they could have a tremendous impact on this community". We challenged the Federal Government to make public the list of supposed dissenters so that we could assess it and properly respond but they declined, saying that the names were "confidential". Such selective use of confidentiality--effectively undermining Lubicon leadership by talking publicly about a supposedly significant dissident group but refusing to provide names--is of course an old tactic used by people with no ethics, enabling them to suggest whatever they please without ever having to back it up. More specifically it's the kind of tactic which we've come to expect from the Government of Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Faced with a nameless, faceless challenge to the mandate of our elected leadership at a time when we're under seige and literally fighting for our very survival as a people, we responded in the only way available to us--by calling an early election. Responding to our early election call, professional Federal Government propagandist Colby told reporters "It really doesn't matter how the election turns out". "Even if the Chief is re-elected with a lot of support", he said, "the Federal Government still has an obligation to continue negotiating with any dissident group". Our electoral rules provide that there must be at least 20 clear days between the calling and holding of an election. We called our early election on May 1st and held it on May 31st. It was conducted at our request by a prominent Indian leader from outside of our area to ensure that all legitimate Lubicon people would be treated equally. It was covered by representatives of both the National and Provincial media who attended the election and observed the proceedings. The so-called dissident group neither ran candidates nor participated in the election. Current Lubicon leadership was unopposed and re-elected unanimously, including the four members of our negotiating team. Once their newly organized aboriginal society has served it's purpose Federal officials can of course simply let it fall apart, since it doesn't exist independently of meetings which are organized, financed and led by agents of the Federal Government. All of these various efforts by the Canadian Government to discredit our cause and subvert our duly elected Government have kept us largely on the defensive since the collapse of negotiations on January 24th. With the mandate of Lubicon leaders now clearly re-affirmed, however, we can't afford and don't intend to forever remain on the defensive. If we're not involved in serious negotiations by the winter development season of 1989-90, we'll be again left with no choice but to take action on the ground to protect our vital interests. The form that action will take is as yet not finally determined, but the objective will be the same as the objective of our actions last October--enforcement of our legitimate jurisdiction over our unceded traditional lands. In preparation for the struggle ahead we've started working with our aboriginal brothers and sisters across the country and around the world to develop an international system of mutual support and assistance. This international system of mutual support and assistance is based in the realization that we share a common plight with other aboriginal people, and that none of our relatively small-scale traditional societies have sufficient resources on our own to forever withstand the determined efforts of large and powerful industrial societies to destroy us so that they can steal our valuable aboriginal lands. We intend to pursue this effort even if we manage to successfully negotiate a settlement of our aboriginal land rights, since we've learned from our aboriginal brothers and sisters who've negotiated settlement agreements that getting non-aboriginal Governments to honour their obligations under such agreements is no easier than negotiating them in the first place. As a first step toward developing an international system of mutual support and assistance we've begun negotiating a Treaty Alliance of North American Aboriginal Nations. The Treaty Alliance of North American Aboriginal Nations has been called the "Native NATO", because it relies on the same international law concepts as the North Atlantic Treaty which created NATO. While affirming our "desire to live in peace with all peoples and governments", our Treaty Alliance also declares our determination to protect and preserve our peoples, lands, resources, heritage and culture". It provides that the signatories "will consult whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence, security or other fundamental rights of any of (them) is threatened". It provides that the signatories "agree that a threat against any one of them shall be considered a threat against them all; and consequently agree, if such threat occurs, each of them, in exercise of the internationally recognized right of individual or collective self-defense, will assist the party or parties so threatened by taking forthwith, individually and/or in concert with the other party or parties, such action as it deems necessary to restore and maintain the security of the involved party or parties". And most important of all, it establishes a "Defense Committee" to plan and recommend specific ways for the signatories "to join their efforts at self-help and self-defense through mutual aid and assistance". A number of key aboriginal nations across the country have already signed the Treaty Alliance; others have indicated their intention to do so. We hope that it will be possible to organize the first meeting of the signatories to the Treaty Alliance by the fall of 1989 and have Defense Committee recommendations ready for consideration shortly thereafter. Once considered Defense Committee recommendations have been approved and put in place, we hope to have the capability to give non- aboriginal Governments reason to take aboriginal people and our rights a little more seriously. ************************************************************************ This is, for now, the last part the written Lubicon History as seen by the Lubicon People themselves. It reflects the situation as of June 1989 and I hope that time will permit regular updating of this document. Please feel free to use this document in any way you see fit. The latest move by the Federal Government of Canada to take away millions of dollars from Native communications will make it even harder for native nations to tell their story of abuse and neglect. It will make it easier for the Government of Canada to distort and undermine the process of dealing with the First Nations of Canada. ************************************************************************ For more information contact web:car by e-mail or in writing Aboriginal Rights Support Group Committee Against Racism P.O. Box 3085, Station B Calgary, Alberta T2M 4L6