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Kamloops, Secwepemc Territory/October 22, 2002 - Provincial Court Judge Sather sentenced three Secwepemc Women today at Kamloops Law Courts; Nicole Manuel, the spokesperson of the Secwepemc Chapter of the Native Youth Movement, was sentenced to 45 days real jail time with one-year probation. The women were found guilty last month on Intimidation and Mischief charges incurred as a result of a roadblock they participated in at Skwelkwek'welt (Sun Peaks) in August of last year. Sather stated that he based his sentencing on the fact that "these people and people like-minded" must be discouraged and deterred from participating in further roadblocks or similar actions. His suggestion that Indigenous Peoples should be deterred and discouraged from asserting our inherent and legal right to our land is not only blatantly racist, but shows the great injustice of systemic genocide we are up against.

Nicole Manuel was released late in the day after BC Court of Appeals judge, Justice Powers, granted a stay of her sentence until their appeal is heard. After her release, Manuel stated, "Despite Sather's racist decision and sentences, we will not be deterred from our duty to defend and protect our homeland: the land is our life and without it our future generations will become landless, leading the Secwepemc to cultural and spiritual extinction. We will not let our Nation die as a result of a little jail time. NYM will continue to promote and encourage our youth to defend our land by any means necessary, including effective direct-action. Incarcerating us won't stop us from fighting the oppression of our people, it will only make us fight our oppressors harder and more brutally."

Judge Sather sentenced Miranda Dick, mother of three children including a five month old baby, to a six month conditional sentence. However, he stated that her active participation in the roadblock requires real jail time, but because she is nursing her baby, he finds it "highly unjust to incarcerate her." Miranda also got sentenced one-year probation and conditions including one that bans her from 100-meter radius of the Sun Peaks administration office and the "entrance-way to the resort." Beverly Manuel was sentenced to a suspended sentence with the same conditions as Miranda. Beverly and Miranda will be seeking a stay on their sentences until their appeal of Judge Sather's decision is heard on March 3rd, 2002.

For more information call, Nicole Manuel, Spokesperson, phone: 250-679-3413.