The report from The Citizen's Arthur Williams in Saturday's paper on the internal conflict tearing apart the McLeod Lake Indian Band could be a sneak preview for similar kinds of battles among First Nations across central and northern B.C. in the coming years.
A small group of band members and elders blockaded the band office late last week, forbidding the chief and the band council from entering. They're angry with the chief and council for signing an economic development agreement with Terrane Metals for the Mt. Milligan copper-gold mine project and a royalty revenue sharing agreement with the
provincial government.
In a letter to band members, chief Derek Orr estimates the value of the deals between $60 million and $120 million, plus additional contract revenue for the band's businesses.
The stakes are massive.
As part of the agreement between the mining company and the band, a trust fund would be set up with proceeds from the mine to be used for cultural enhancement, social programming, language studies, summer camps, youth training, elders' programs, traditional health care programs and protection of the band's traditional territory through the funding of a land referral office.
In other words, the money could pay for true independence for the band and its members, allowing them to preserve their heritage, raise and educate their young people, look after their elders, treat their sick and take care of their lands and business interests on their own terms.
The ability to do so much good with that money also comes with risk to do great harm. With so much cash in play among such a small group of people, the opportunity for
corruption and theft will be high.
Yet the problems begin before a dollar comes in through the door.
First Nations across north and central B.C. are divided at every level over resource development. Mines, oil and gas projects, pipelines and the Site C hydroelectric dam could deliver incredible wealth and permanent economic benefits to impoverished and isolated bands. These same developments will come at a significant environmental cost, affecting water supplies, hunting grounds and even the location of homes.
The unintended consequences can be even worse and long lasting.
A child's pelvis and 27 other bones were found washed ashore last Tuesday at Cheslatta Lake, the remnants from the occupants of a graveyard for the Cheslatta Carrier Nation that was swept away in 1956, due to the development of the Ootsa Lake dam to generate hydroelectric power. With such considerable intended and unintended consequences, it's easy to understand the reluctance of First Nations and their peoples to partner with governments and corporations on resource development.
For some, the risks clearly outweigh the benefits.
The conflict among members of the McLeod Lake Indian Band is already being reflected among other area First Nations, as they are approached by various resource developers to condone their project. That conflict will only intensity in the months and years ahead, as the number of dollars on the table continue to rise.
And it will only get worse.
Internal squabbles will also become external battles between the First Nations that take the money and those that don't. For those that cut deals with developers and governments, the wealth of their bands and their people will rise considerably, creating further tensions with the groups that walk away from the table. Nothing creates division like money or the lack of it.
Look to the Okanagan Valley to see how that could play out in our region.
The Osoyoos Indian Band and the Westbank First Nation are open for business. Thanks to the booming Okanagan economy, both groups have prospered enormously.
Meanwhile, the Penticton Indian Band has taken a much slower (some would say antagonistic) approach to growth, which is why the lands to the west of the river channel linking Skaha and Okanagan Lake remain mostly barren, despite their enormous potential for development.
As a result, relations between the Penticton band and their neighbours to the north and south has fluctuated over the last two decades between frosty and hostile.
The choice facing the McLeod Lake Indian Band will have an impact for generations, one way or the other, setting the stage for conflict that will last just as long.
-- Managing editor Neil Godbout
