-Park proponents still hope to have dialogue with First Nations-
OSOYOOS TIMES-June 4, 2008-
By Paul EverestrnOsoyoos Times
The resounding message that came out of the National Day of Action gathering at Memorial Park in Keremeos on May 29 was that the proposal to create a national park in the South Okanagan and Similkameen valleys is not welcome.
Cathy Gottfriedsen was one of a number of people expressing that message to motorists on Hwy. 3 as they passed the gathering while members of local First Nations bands and communities that could be affected by the proposed park joined together to listen to aboriginal music and speeches from several band members.
Holding a sign reading No National Park, Gottfriedsen said she was against the park concept because it infringes on the land and title rights of First Nations communities in the area.
I am out here today to reinforce that we have a right and a responsibility to protect our lands and that we need to be in control of our lands, she said. We have not ceded, we have not sold any of our lands.
It's our land and it's up to us what we do with our land.rnA petition asking those in attendance to urge our leaders to act now against the proposed South Okanagan Grasslands National Park on the Sylix Unceded Territory was available during the gathering for people to sign.
Chief Joe Dennis of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band told the crowd”which numbered in the hundreds”that his band is opposing the park because of the lack of consultation from the federal government on the park concept.
The Crown had steamrolled parks while we've waited for a response, he said. The potential establishment of this national park would affect our collective rights.rnDennis later told reporters that federal officials had not discussed the park issue with local bands since December.
He said the bands are tired of talking to bureaucrats and had repeatedly asked the federal environment minister to come to the table.
Dennis also told the crowd that local bands recognized and respected the rich environment and vulnerable plant and animal populations that exist in the region where the park would be created. He said aboriginal communities, however, have served as ecological stewards for centuries.
We've been protecting this backyard for hundreds of years, he said, later saying that local First Nations communities are also a species at risk.rnThe Keremeos gathering was one of nine Day of Action events held throughout B.C.
Joan Phillip, who represented the Okanagan Nation Alliance at the gathering on behalf of her husband, Chief Stewart Phillip, said the provincial rallies were about bringing attention to a wide array of injustices towards First Nations peoples.
She said that as far as aboriginal communities go, the park concept is dead as long as Parks Canada neglects First Nations input.
Without consultation, nothing should go forward, she said.
Chief Fabian Alexis of the Okanagan Indian Band told the crowd he believed that the federal government had decided long ago that they would push the park idea forward regardless of First Nations opinions on the matter.
They had their minds clearly made up before we went to meet with these folks, he said, adding that the provincial government is just as complicit in ignoring local bands because they are slinking in the background.rnThey too have a say, he said.
Alexis also suggested the slogan What part of no don't you understand? as a motto for bands to adopt toward the park concept.
Parks Canada has been conducting a feasibility study on the park concept, which would cover a 65,000-hectare area west of Osoyoos and Oliver and south of Keremeos including portions of Kobau and Kilpoola to the east, Vaseux Lake to the north and Snowy Mountain to the west, for nearly five years.
The study is expected to be finished before the end of 2008.
Tom Hurd, Parks Canada's project manager for the study, said his organization is still committed to finding a way for the Okanagan bands to be involved with the study process despite the Day of Action rally.
Parks Canada and the province of B.C. have actively involved First Nations in the feasibility study, he said. Parks Canada is prepared to take the time with First Nations to address outstanding issues.
Parks Canada remains willing to meet with First Nations at any time.rn Doreen Olson, a co-ordinator for the South Okanagan Similkameen National Park Network, said her organization also respects First Nations concerns about their land rights and titles being neglected in the national park consultation process.
There's need for more discussion, she said.
The federal government needs to really come forward and speak to First Nations and make them a priority and our group supports them, First Nations, in that.
Olson added that the network also recognizes First Nations communities as the original custodians of the land.
But things are changing, she said.
With development booming, agricultural practices changing and more people moving into the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys, new methods of conservation need to be looked at, Olson said.
Despite the anti-park position of local bands, Olson said the push to create the park is not dead.
It's definitely slowed things down, she said. I don't think it's over.rn[email protected]rn
