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iS9MBfe- ) »*£*r .».•^l'lt;’';;?-' ''.V rV; '■Vri'V- :*'■'j?.}iQ'S$^.♦•?V,.'t ’ .■*•- *-.-»■■ .-*!............Jlmpensl Government, and 'the Government of Canada.alienati the ret ■ “AnCounci of the and tin “Wlt;.gtpld; you;;sbPijvjy........good .many. Indians who \ can the;; ones /who-say thisalways cii tied a ‘H°n. Ml Smithe:.'And they told yot is, did they ds.baSedUDOn: the ;;-;;' We/ilcyime.V from^me im-;' • - H°ii,VMr;i Smithe: ..Well, I should like them to pro-r rightjjn vrespect.. of unsurrendered.; lands,.;t fact/that;^befor«:.the;white people came,. . . . .! membrial^.eash,vone;^of';^theu:’;vart6ui;^;tfibei . iJi*erciaed duce. the? bpok that , th^y .read this jn ;•*aovereignty.;,over,-' fw#ie»$ed,/occupied,’ flfcd used foxhunt* ■ ' bo“' rat;:-. •.-..: ••••••-:•:■■ • ■,:■**n8tlM*PJing£fi»hingM.vccjrtein',.w4tl.*dcfincd.; portion1 ofthetef ritorynowvincluded v^within; thet. Province ; of. British? Columbia./The: right • so vclaimedhasfrequentlybeencalledtheaboriginaTtitle, /andin.'thecaseofcIndiansof-theProvinceofOntario 5 has.been described by/theiry Lordships; of the Judicial ■ Committee of. the Privy/ Council:aa. “the Indian title.1 •' ’ Ia fra.sST ' ata fp , na m a* wl lt;• /1* .laa a V*, I have ' ne ver seentbat'-.boofcv^v^.^'i:;;^;/.^......' ;“Wesley: We cbuldnot tell you the book just now, but we can probably'find it for,, you if you really want to .see Jit, -yf-■“Horn /Mr/ Sniitheij'-There is.; no such law, either English' - or Dominion;.that- I- know; of. and the Indians or their friends have; bee« misled on.;thai point i . “Burton:- I understand: (translate*! to Wesley). As I■ '.With regard to the greater .dirt of Canada it has been said before, we., have come for nothing but to see-'about .universally; ahd^invariably : conceded that Indians hold the. land which we, know is ours, and we come before you,such^title, and until the'-yearV18?0'.'the claim- ao made- by ***** iot you ib settle it.the Indians of British Columbia was admitted by both “Burton (speaking i6r himself as a representative ofImperial ?arid/Colonial authorities; In /that; year, how- *he Naas1 Indians): Sjrs, I have/come?before you -now evtr. the Colonial Government receded from- its:'former 3P?ak;for.;iny poor people’s rights. and I wish to explainJ .’J' o .aJ . ' f/v trnit OnavtiaQV K/ian r caul ova .rkttlk ;.ina . urnttk ’ (net ioa fraposition.and denied their claim, ahd thus British Columbia jo you, as;has been:said.before,/that;we want Justice, to became;and since, has continued'jtoj.be an .exception to -. be/done to. us.tflsi ^r»rair#i' h!av C*fntvn' in fMSfino1- fkn. nffiua'the 'practice of. the- British Crown in.. treating; the. native. race: of;North -AipericavJ^'.v^..;/':;v;;.-.;;.-.:V .'-••••• v..'.'v-yy: .//vV Theijcpfrdspondehce. between . the Government of . Canada;and the Government of: the province during the five'.years immediately following Confederation, and the; reports / issued Vat ;Ottawav;by ihe ^ Department of Vthe Interior and the Department/of Justice during the years 1874 and 1875, contain abundant evidence that the position taken in 1870 by the Colonial Goyeniment was strongly contested”by The Indians, who even showed a willingness to figlit tor the rights which, they claimed. V .'. :.“Hon:,Mr/ Davie: . V //Any. reasonable request made with regard to the reserves or',in regard to any of those, fishing stations being nclinfecj in/the: reserves. it- is only necessary to mention; to obtain.V j .But if you go beyond tha* and speak about treaties, and think that this Govern^ mentilt;^.^tbe.'Po.mihipn;.Goye!m'mej«tii^ going to say..that all the /and oelbiigs to the Indiqris it is a very different thing. We cannot do that.-The interview of 1887, from the report of which I have quoted, is one among many proofs of the fact that.during the past iortv .years there has been in the hearts of ■ theThe sund taken by the Indians is: showr, by the following declaration adopted at a meeting held in the city ! of Vancouver in-.September, .1909:;V- -We, the undersigned Indism representing the follow-ing tHbes:-Songish, Saanich/.Cowlchatl, Nanaimo,. Laquil-to, Nimpldsh, • jtilt, Clayoquot, ICif«oniaht, Bella Bella,Bella Coola, Skidegate, Massett, Naas River, Port Simp- .tional. i son, . Kitmaat, Kitkahta. Squamish, Sechelt. .and several : and do .other tribes':, which. wererepresentedbyVletters as v they ./.into ou were not; able to be present, record oiirleonviction that as a sa the Indian - tribes/ of British Columbia ; are entitled to -an. sentativ.interest in / all the land of the province. excepting only ’ ■ “Issisome small. portions.; of.‘Vancouver;? Island . which were. elected. surrendered before,Confederation, and 'our determination 'Sig .:to maintain with moderation and firmness the independent damiks, stand which has been-taken n defence of these rights, Aiyansi The title which we are asserting was recognized arid Johnny guaranteed by the proclamation issued by King George “Daf she Third in 1763. and was subsequently recognised both -May, 1{ by the Parliament of Great Britain and by the Legislature of the colony of Vancouver Island, but has been gnored md denied by the Government of the province of British Columbia.• We express the earnest hope that, in pursuance of . the petition which has been ■ presented' 'to His Majesty the King and the Right Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, His Majesty, to whom we confidently look a* protector of the rights of his Indian subjects in this province, wili submit the issue thus raised directly ?o the* Judicial Committee of his Privy Council, sc- that the same'may be decided at the earliest possible date And we'.earnestly request His Excellency the Governor-General, the Right Honorable the Prime Minister of Canada/ and the Honorable the Minister of the interior to facilitate in every possible way the taking of the desired, action towards securing the early decision of .this important..issue.. . . V . /•?“We regard the progress already made towards securing the consideration oi the claims of our people by the highest tribunal of the Empire as most encouraging, and wr®n#s ---- i-i. and setThewtentiary he. cou crime fc walls, i that he which h The once his years th world w tions, 1 release.There bit of n evil-doerwe most earncsr| appeal to every tribe ,ofr Indians , throughout the orovince to avoid ill resort to force .md candor 3
Newspaper Details
Vancouver BC Saturday Sunset
Vancouver, British Columbia, CA
Sat, Apr 01, 1911
Page 40
Full Page
Clipped by
Richa B.
CA 27 Dec 2023
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