Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 10, 1973, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free thursday. May 10, 1973 Indian treaties easily broken not so gentle Quebec up a cat is does t think so. He was furry soft gentle animal. How Ever one pizza delivery Man at tacked by a cat when he at tempted to make a delivery and choked it to death in the Emu ing struggle he was treated i Hospital for deep scratches. On feb. 27, Indian militants by Elied control of wounded knee s.d., a Hamlet on the Pine Ridge Indian Reserve. They vowed to remain until the United states Avreet to Honor treaties with the Oglala Sioux that Date Back More than 100 years. The question of How or whether Indian treaties should be honoured dates Back to the Day White settlers first came to Ameri Ca by Don Mcleod Washington a Indi an treaties arc easily broken. Once any treaty is ratified it becomes part of United states Law. Like any other Law it can he amended superseded or re pealed. So breaking an Indian treaty May not be honorable but it can be Legal. The question of Indian stand ing and therefore claim to the land on which they live has been ambiguous since the first White men came to America. Charles a King of Spain and grandson of Ferdinand and Isa Bella made the first attempt at defining Indian property rights and turned to Franciscus de Victoria professor at the University of Salamanca and one of the Foremost theologians his Day. Victoria said indians had title character to Indian relations. Indian nations had formed alliances with first one Power and then another in the Many wars among europeans in the Ameri can wilderness. Some joined the British against the americans in the revolution and the War of civil War 1812. In the american some tribes formed treaty Alli ances with the confederacy and then renegotiated with the unit Beaver Farmer tangle to their land and spaniards could not claim it by virtue of discovery. He suggested thai if europeans wanted Indian land they buy it. The aborigines in question were True Victoria told Charles before the spaniards came among Victoria s advice was not always taken literally As White explorers continued to claim new discoveries in the name of european monarchs although his ideas survived in an unwritten code which generally ascribed sovereignty to the White Kings but title to the Indi ans. The English colonizers Fol Lowed this Rule and individual colonies passed ordinances re Quiring acquisition of Indian land be by Purchase authorized by the colonial government. During the american revolution the Continental Congress continued to Deal with indians in the same Way and concluded the firs t treaty with the delawares sept. 17, 1778. But at the close of the War George Washington expounded the theory that Indian lands were conquered provinces As a result of the military Victory Over the British. In 1784, Congress appointed commissioners t o negotiate peace terms with indians along the Frontier and set up boundaries making it Clear that the territory belonged to the government although the indians could live on it. But the indians resented the governments approach and it became apparent that the United states which had no stand ing army once the revolution was Over was going to have to soften its stand or fight. Consequently the Secretary of War in 1788 recommended a new policy of purchasing land the government had been virtually confiscating in peace treaties. Treaties were renegotiated. On Jan. 3, 1783, treaties were signed with the six nations and the Wyandot Delaware Chipe a and Ottowa establishing a new official View of Indian lands rights. In these landmark treaties the United states gave up claim to designated territory to he held by the indians. As Early As the 1778 Delaware treaty the . Government guaranteed the integrity of Indi an territory. In some cases passports were required of . Citizens going Indian nations some trea ties provided extradition provi Sions. Treaties signed with Northern tribes in 1785 and 1786 provided that any . Citizen attempting to Settle on Indian land forfeited the Protection of the United states. The . Government obvious Ottawa up in Spring a Young Man s fancy turns to love. But if he is a Farmer he is also trying to figure out what to do about the Beaver dams blocking local ditches streams and culverts putting his Fields under water. Dave Jones a fish and wild life Deputy with the Ontario ministry of natural resources says the flooding problem has become More and More com Mon with an increase in the Beaver population. He. Says the population has gone from a serious decline in the 1930s to the Point of being a nuisance in some areas. Throughout most of South Ern and southwestern Ontario there has been an increase of he said in an inter View. I think it s like a lot of animals where you have a population explosion a or. Nicholas Novakowski a biologist with the Canadian wildlife service said the in crease in Beaver especially in Eastern Ontario is caused by a decline in trapping and changing agricultural p a t terns. Or. Novakowski says that More and More Farmers Are leaving the land and Beaver move in where there is water and food and they will be undisturbed. Beavers have a particular Affinity for Poplar Trees. Beaver Are always linked with the dams they build to collect water and it is these dams that present the prob Lem. Culverts ditches and streams Are particular tar gets and the dams often create flooding during Peak Runoff periods such As Spring time. The traditional tactic is to tear Down the obstruction and let the water flow through in its Normal Channel. It s also traditional for the Beaver to rebuild the dam. You tear it Down and he builds it up you tear it Down and he builds it said or. Jones. And if All else fails you can put in a Drain. The Drain is imbedded in the Wall of the dam extending six to eight feet on either . The ends Are raised to pre vent Beaver blocking them. The Drain can be set at the level wanted and excess will be sliced away. Or. Jones said the use of the Drain is not common and noted that while it will keep Levels Down it won t Drain away All the water. One drawback to the Drain is that it eventually becomes blocked and has to be cleaned. On All Beaver Ponds you get weeds and debris clogging the said or. Jones. Or. Novakowski said killing Beaver in the Spring just to remove dams is a waste. He recommended using the Bai Ley Drain and waiting until Winter when Beaver pelts Are in their prime. Top Price for Beaver pelts at the annual North Bay fur Sale in March was de states after the War. But time eroded whatever standing the indians had As Independent nations. Some treaty provisions became obsolete such As those requiring the government to provide grist Mills and blacksmiths to repair Hunting rifles. A Cherokee treaty still requires the government to hire mounted riders at a Day to guard the Reserve such anachronisms encourage a View of the treaties As quaintly out of Date and not to be taken seriously although some guarantees of goods and services Are still vitally important to the indians. These annuities though vital today were the first step made the indians dependent on the government at a time when the shrinking front i e r denied their traditional Huntsman s livelihood. Weakness on the part of indians invited Whites to take advantage. Defeated by . Forces in 1814, the creeks were forced to surrender 23 million acres half their ancestral Domain. As circumstances made indians More dependent and less unable to resist other tribes accepted the inevitable signing away what remained of their Independence. Congress eradicated the last illusion of Indian Independence by legislating in 1871 that hereafter no Indian nation Witny inc territory 01 me United slates shall be acknowledged or recognized As an in dependent nation tribe or Power with whom the United states May contract by in 1903 the supreme court said Congress could break old treaties and take Indian land As Long As it was justified by circumstances. Anything goes the court said As Long As it is consistent with perfect Good Faith towards the indians today claim the government has found it in their Best interest to allow their lands to be dried up or flood by dams ravaged by strip mining denuded of forests stripped of minerals and turned Over to real Estale fls9jl7x7 rooter Day or night clip this Coupon and save top liner Roto rooter Ltd. Jav m 24 hour service Polaroid ii registered trademark of Polaroid corporation. 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