Lubicon Lake Indian Nation Little Buffalo Lake, AB 403-629-3945 FAX: 403-629-3939 Mailing address: 3536 - 106 Street Edmonton, AB T6J 1A4 403-436-5652 FAX: 403-437-0719 August 19, 1992 The 8th Annual Meeting of Native American Support Groups was held this year on July 22 through 25 in Genoa, Italy. The Lubicon people were represented at the meeting by Larry and Alphonse Ominayak supported by Lubicon advisor Fred Lennarson. Attached for your information is a copy of an action resolution passed unanimously by meeting participants representing thirteen European countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The resolution is interesting in that it tries to provide in the WHEREAS clauses the information required to take the actions called for in the THEREFORE clauses. * * * * * 8th European Meeting of Native American Support Groups July 22-25, 1992, Genova, Italy Resolution on the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation WHEREAS in 1899 the Government of Canada made a treaty purporting to extinguish aboriginal land rights with the aboriginal peoples in the area surrounding the traditional Lubicon territory; AND WHEREAS traditional Lubicon lands were isolated, inaccessible and geographically unknown to the Government of Canada at the time that the Government of Canada made treaty with the aboriginal peoples in the area surrounding the traditional Lubicon territory; AND WHEREAS the Lubicon people were consequently missed by the Canadian Government treaty-making party, have never signed a treaty with the Government of Canada even purporting to extinguish Lubicon ownership of traditional Lubicon lands and therefore retain unceded aboriginal title to traditional Lubicon lands; AND WHEREAS in 1930 the Government of Canada purported to transfer ownership of a large area which included the unceded traditional Lubicon territory to the Alberta Provincial Government; AND WHEREAS in 1978-79 the Alberta Provincial Government completed construction of an all-weather road into the unceded traditional Lubicon territory for the purpose of opening-up the unceded Lubicon territory for exploration and exploitation of gas and oil resources; AND WHEREAS the value of gas and oil resources being extracted from the unceded Lubicon territory since 1978-79 by oil companies working under leases and licenses granted to them by the Alberta Provincial Government amounts to an estimated $500 million Canadian annually; AND WHEREAS this massive exploitation of resources from unceded Lubicon territory without Lubicon permission and over the protest of the Lubicon people has destroyed the traditional Lubicon economy and way of life and threatens the very existence of the Lubicon society; AND WHEREAS the consequences of destroying the traditional Lubicon economy and way of life include 90% plus welfare rates, family break- down, a dramatic increase in still-born and prematurely born babies, a tuberculosis epidemic which infected over a third of the Lubicon people and all manner of unnatural, often alcohol-related violent death; AND WHEREAS after studying the worsening plight of the Lubicon people the World Council of Churches rightly charged that the Alberta Provincial Government and its oil company cronies are taking actions in the unceded Lubicon territory which could have genocidal consequences for the Lubicon people; AND WHEREAS after studying repeated Lubicon efforts to achieve redress for their plight working through normal Canadian legal and political institutions the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations rightly concluded that the Lubicon people could not achieve effective legal or political redress from normal Canadian legal or political institutions; AND WHEREAS in February of 1988 the Alberta Provincial Government sold the trees from a huge 45,000 sq. km. area which completely blankets the unceded 10,000 sq. km. traditional Lubicon territory to a Japanese forest industry giant called Daishowa; AND WHEREAS Daishowa has since indicated that it plans to turn Lubicon trees into dehydrated pulp at the rate of 1,000 metric tons per day requiring the clear-cutting of about 11,000 Lubicon trees per day; AND WHEREAS after a massive public outcry Daishowa agreed in March of 1988 to stay out of the unceded Lubicon territory at least until there is a settlement of outstanding Lubicon land rights and an agreement negotiated between Daishowa and the Lubicon people respecting Lubicon wildlife and environmental concerns; AND WHEREAS in the fall of 1990 Daishowa attempted to circumvent its agreement with the Lubicon people by sending sub-contractors and a wholly-owned subsidiary into the unceded Lubicon territory to clear- cut Lubicon trees; AND WHEREAS the Lubicon people have publicly made clear many times their firm conviction that they will be rendered extinct as a people if on top of everything else they allow the clear-cutting of the forest upon which they have historically depended for their survival; AND WHEREAS the logging camp of a Daishowa sub-contractor engaged in clear-cutting unceded Lubicon lands was raided and destroyed, effectively shutting down logging operations in the unceded Lubicon territory or the winter of 1990-91; AND WHEREAS thirteen Lubicons have been charged with destruction of the logging camp of the Daishowa sub-contractor and now face criminal charges which could send each of them to jail for terms of up to 50 years; AND WHEREAS in the spring of 1991 Daishowa publicly announced that it had stayed out of the unceded Lubicon territory for as long as possible and would have to start clear-cutting Lubicon trees in the fall of 1991 or face the shut-down of sub-contractors and its wholly- owned subsidiary who are reputedly obligated under Provincial law to supply the Daishowa bleached kraft pulp mill with trees from the unceded Lubicon territory; AND WHEREAS Lubicon supporters from across Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan responded to the re-newed Daishowa threat to clear-cut Lubicon trees with demonstrations, a letter writing campaign and an increasingly effective boycott of Daishowa paper products; AND WHEREAS a thereby besieged Daishowa reacted to the international STOP DAISHOWA campaign of Lubicon supporters by again temporarily cancelling plans to clear-cut unceded Lubicon territory and by publicly demanding the Canadian Government take action to resolve the question of outstanding Lubicon land rights; AND WHEREAS the Canadian Federal Minister of Indian Affairs subsequently contacted the Lubicons and proposed behind-closed-door negotiations which are in fact going nowhere but which both levels of Canadian Government and Daishowa are publicly citing as evidence that progress is being made and that therefore the STOP DAISHOWA campaign should be called off; AND WHEREAS the Leader of the Official Opposition in the Alberta Provincial Legislature has now formally convened an independent, non- partisan Lubicon Settlement Commission of Review consisting of prominent Canadians and charged with publicly assessing the positions of all parties to the Lubicon land dispute; AND WHEREAS to-date only the Lubicons have agreed to appear before the Lubicon Settlement Commission to publicly present their position on the involved issues and to answer questions; AND WHEREAS the Provincial Native Affairs Minister has refused to appear before the Lubicon Settlement Commission and publicly answer questions about the Provincial Government's position on Lubicon settlement issues claiming falsely that the Provincial Government's position on the issues is already a matter of public record; AND WHEREAS the Federal Indian Affairs Minister has refused to appear before the Lubicon Settlement Commission and publicly answer questions about the Federal Government's position on the involved issues claiming falsely that he has an agreement with the Lubicon people not to comment publicly on supposed Lubicon negotiations; NOW THEREFORE the participants of the 8th European Meeting of Native American Support Groups concerned with Recognition and Respect for the Rights of Aboriginal People, representing people from thirteen European countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom; DO HEREBY RESOLVE: 1.) to continue pressing in every imaginable way the Governments of Canada and Alberta to negotiate with the Lubicon people a fair and just settlement of Lubicon land rights, such efforts to include letter writing to Canadian political leaders and the making of representations to Canadian Consulates and Canadian politicians visiting European countries; 2.) to continue pressing European Governments and national and international political organizations to keep raising the issue of outstanding Lubicon land rights with Canadian politicians and representatives of the Canadian Government, such European political organizations to include the United Nations, the European Parliament, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), European political parties, aboriginal rights organizations, human rights organizations and environmental organizations; 3.) to continue the public education and information campaign on the plight of the Lubicon people through the European media and through on-going presentations in schools across Europe; 4.) to accelerate the international STOP DAISHOWA campaign until there is a settlement of Lubicon land rights and an agreement negotiated between the Lubicons and Daishowa respecting Lubicon wildlife and environmental concerns, such efforts to include letter writing to the Canadian Daishowa General Manager Tom Hamaoka an the making of representations to Japanese Government offices and major Japanese business interests across Europe; 5.) to write letters to Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Alberta Provincial Premier Don Getty demanding that they instruct their Indian Affairs and Native Affairs Ministers to appear before the Lubicon Settlement Commission and publicly answer questions about the positions of their respective Governments on Lubicon Settlement issues; 6.) to establish a Lubicon Monitoring Committee of concerned European organizations to enable a speedy and effective response to any changes in the evolving Lubicon situation, including the possibility of another effort by Daishowa this fall to clear-cut Lubicon trees. Moved by: Michael Austin/Association for Endangered Peoples (Austria) Seconded by: Sigrun Rottman/ BMAG-Frankfurt (Germany) Passed: Unanimously Date: July 25, 1992 Chairperson of the Meeting: Naila Clerici