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Shuswap Chairman Says Much Music Guilty of Much Exaggeration and Questions Moses Znaimer’s Commitment to Human Rights.

Ottawa, Algonquin Territory/February 26, 2001 - The Chairman of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council, Chief Arthur Manuel, said today that in claiming it has the support of the majority of the First Nations in the region, Much Music “has started its – snow job – two weeks early.”

Chief Manuel was responding to an assertion made last Friday by Much Music’s David Kines that the majority of First Nations in the region supported Much Music’s Snow Job event. “It is completely false that Snow Job is supported by the majority of bands in the area, David Kines and Darcy Alexander are deliberately misleading the media and the public,” Chief Manuel said.

The Much Music event is scheduled to take place at the Sun Peaks Resort on March 6–11. For the past several months, Secwepemc (Shuswap) Elders, land-users and Native youth have been maintaining an information camp at Skwelkwek'welt (Sun Peaks) to protest the planned 70 million dollar ski resort expansion onto lands which were set aside in 1862 for exclusive Secwepemc use as a Reserve. The land where the Sun Peaks Resort is located is also part of the contemporary land use area of the Neskonlith and Adams Lake families, as well as, unceded Secwepemc Aboriginal title territory. On February 20th the Elders, land-users and Native youth and their supporters called on Much Music to cancel the Snow Job event because it is promoting the Sun Peaks Resort expansion.

Other Secwepemc Chiefs have also been quick to line up behind the Skwelkwek'welt Protection Centre because it supports the fundamental position of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council on Aboriginal title. "We are against the expansion of the ski resort", said North Thompson Chief Nathan Matthews. "We cannot support any development in this area until our land issues are settled." Both Chief Ron Ignace of Skeetchestn and Chief Ron Jules of the Adams Lake Band are also backing the Skwelkwek'welt Protection Centre at Sun Peaks. The leader of the Bonaparte band, Chief Mike Retasket, summed it up: "Clearly we support the people who are out on the land. We have to. They are fighting for our future. They are struggling for the environment and our Human Rights as Secwepemc Peoples."

Chief Manuel, who is also the Chief of the Neskonlith Indian Band, said that he was greatly impressed by his people’s willingness to take this courageous non-violent stand against the expansion of the ski resort onto their Aboriginal title lands. "It takes a lot of courage to voluntarily make such a principled stand", Manuel said, "and these people are far from a fringe group of individuals. They are basically hard working Secwepemc families that use the land and they are strongly supported by the majority of the Secwepemc peoples."

The Chairman of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council contrasted the Elders, land-users and Native youth at the Protection Centre to the Much Music leadership. "The Much Music publicity department locates a few statements that support them then they self-servingly claim to speak for our people. It is an old story for us."

"But what makes it surprising is that this cynical manipulative move is being made in the name of someone who prides himself as a champion of Human Rights", Manuel added, referring to Much Music President, Moses Znaimer, who is a winner of the Human Rights and Race Relations Centre Gold Medal for the promotion of tolerance and creative race relations. "Mr. Znaimer should live up to his reputation and support the Human Rights of the Secwepemc people and cancel the Much Music incursion onto our territory, otherwise he is proving that Much Music is just another greedy corporation intent on making a buck by trampling on the rights of Indigenous peoples. Chief Manuel added, "as far as we are concerned, Much Music and the Sun Peaks Resort Corporation are two peas in a pod, their coordinated public statements last week confirm what our people have said all along, which is that the 'Snow Job' event is to promote the Sun Peaks Resort expansion. Both of these corporations have teamed up to try and discredit our Secwepemc peoples and we will not stand for it. Make no mistake, the majority of our Secwepemc peoples and communities stand behind our Skwelkwek’welt Protection Centre."

For more information contact: Chief Arthur Manuel Cell: 250-314-7179 Neskonlith Indian Band, Chairman, Shuswap Nation Tribal Council, Chairman, Interior Alliance, Co-Chair, AFN-Delgamuukw Implementation Strategic Committee