Small Town News

Colvilles urge restraint in BC blockade busting

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The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Tuesday sent a letter to British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell, urging him not to use force to break up the Okanagan Nation's protest of clear-cut logging in its territory.

The Colvilles issued a press release on the matter Tuesday. . The Colville Tribes "strongly support the Okanagan Nation and the Okanagan Indian Band's courageous stand against clear-cut logging" in the Okanagans' aboriginal territory, Chairman Michael O. Finley stated in a letter to Campbell.

"We stand in unity and solidarity with our Okanagan relatives north of the 49th Parallel," Finley wrote. He noted that the ecosystem in the Brown's Creek watershed is very delicate and should not be disturbed by unsustainable logging practices, and that the Okanagan's efforts to stop logging there will help protect clean water supplies for all citizens of the region.

The Okanagans are currently in a standoff with the British Columbia government, which is attempting to allow logging in the Brown's Creek watershed area. The Nation has been in BC courts for five years on the matter.

While the court has yet to rule on the Okanagan's land claims in the area, it held last month that the Vernon, BC-based logging company, Tolko Industries, could begin harvesting timber in the Brown's Creek area, following an archeologi-cal investigation.

Tolko claims to have conducted an archeological investigation of the area, but the Nation's leaders believe it would be impossible to do so, given the depth of the snowpack there. A judge in BC, however, refused to hear their evidence about the lack of a meaningful archeological survey, opening the way for Tolko to begin logging operations.

The Okanagans decided to block-ade the logging site last month.

Most recently, Tolko has been successful in a court action to allow the BC government to use its police powers to break up the blockade.

"The situation is very, very serious for the Okanagan protesters," Finley said. "We have taken our request to the highest level of the Canadian government, asking Premier of the province not to use its police power to quell this protest."

The Colville's letter asks Prime Minister Campbell to avoid using police force to settle the matter, and allow the courts make a decision on the Okanagan's land claims first.



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© 2010 The Star Grand Coulee, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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