The Gustafsen Lake standoff was a
land dispute
A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more political entities.
Context and definitions
Territorial disputes are often related to the possession of natural resources s ...
that led to a confrontation between the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
(RCMP) and the
Indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
occupiers (Ts'peten Defenders) in the interior of
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, at Gustafsen Lake (known as ''Ts'peten'' in the
Shuswap language
The Shuswap language (; shs, Secwepemctsín ) is the traditional language of the Shuswap people ( shs, Secwépemc ) of British Columbia. An endangered language, Shuswap is spoken mainly in the Central and Southern Interior of British Columbia b ...
).
The standoff began on August 18, 1995, and would last for 31 days, ending on September 17, 1995 when the few remaining occupiers left the site peacefully.
The RCMP operation during the standoff would end up being the most costly of its kind to date in modern Canadian history, having involved 400 police officers and support from the
Canadian Armed Forces
}
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force.
...
in the form of Operation Wallaby.
The Sun Dance and early occupation
The 1995
Sun Dance
The Sun Dance is a ceremony practiced by some Native Americans in the United States and Indigenous peoples in Canada, primarily those of the Plains cultures. It usually involves the community gathering together to pray for healing. Individuals ...
was the sixth Sun Dance to be performed at Gustafsen Lake. Sun Dances began at the site after Faith Keeper Percy Rosette and other Shuswap elders had a vision of the site. The site is located at the head of Dog Creek, near
100 Mile House, British Columbia. The specific location of the lands were in District Lot 114, Lillooet Land District,
at approximately .
[. Use "Find Location", "Place Name", "Gustafsen Lake".]
Rosette approached ranch owner Lyle James about conducting the ceremony at Gustafsen Lake. James agreed to allow the ceremony to take place for four years as long as no permanent structures were erected at the site. The Sun Dance continued in 1994 and James discovered that Rosette and his partner Mary Pena had taken up permanent residence at the site sometime late in 1994.
Rosette was in contact with veteran Indigenous rights lawyer and supporter of Indigenous sovereignty,
Bruce Allan Clark. On January 3, 1995, Clark submitted a petition to the Queen, signed by representatives of Indigenous religious communities from across Canada including Rosette and Alberta medicine man John Stevens. The petition sought an international inquiry into the subject of the occupation of unceded Indigenous territories by the Canadian government.
At this point, the RCMP operated as mediators between the James Cattle Company and the occupiers.
Growing tension
In June 1995, people from the
Secwepemc (Shuswap), other
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
, and non-Indigenous supporters joined Rosette and Pena at Gustafsen Lake in preparation for the Sun Dance to take place in July. The situation intensified when James presented occupiers with an eviction notice after they erected a fence to keep defecating cattle from the ceremonial area. James believed the occupiers were staking their territory.
The situation was complicated by allegedly armed and racist ranch hands who impaled the notice on a sacred spear. The occupiers believed their religion was under attack. Although guns were already present at the camp, the 1995 Sun Dance leader,
Splitting the Sky called for an armed defensive stance. The involvement of local elected Shuswap leadership further aggravated occupiers who saw elected leadership as a functionary of the Canadian state. Initial press releases from the occupiers in June and July called Sun Dancers to the site, claimed their right to practice their religion was being violated, and re-asserted the belief that the grounds were part of a larger tract of unceded Indigenous land.
Shots were allegedly fired toward forestry workers working in the area, at which point the RCMP attempted to secure the area.
Standoff
On August 18, 1995,
RCMP Emergency Response Team (ERT) members were discovered on the site's perimeter and shot at by occupiers who felt an RCMP invasion was imminent. The RCMP continued to negotiate with the occupiers through local elected leadership and, then, national
Assembly of First Nations
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is an assembly of Canadian First Nations (Indian bands) represented by their chiefs. Established in 1982 and modelled on the United Nations General Assembly, it emerged from the National Indian Brotherhood, wh ...
(AFN) Grand Chief
Ovide Mercredi
Ovide William Mercredi (born January 30, 1946) is a Canadian politician. He is Cree and a former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. He is also the former president of the Manitoba New Democratic Party.
Early life and career
A ...
without success.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police launched one of the largest police operations in Canadian history, including the deployment of four hundred tactical assault team members, five helicopters, two surveillance planes and nine
Bison
Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised.
Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...
Armoured Personnel Carriers
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world.
Acc ...
on loan from the
Canadian Army
The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...
.
The RCMP kept journalists well away from the site and some reporters became uneasy that the only side of the story being told was that preferred by the police. Under Canadian law, police forces have discretion to create "exclusion zones" to protect the public, and allow themselves clear space to carry out their duties, but these zones are usually measured in metres.
On September 11, RCMP detonated an explosive device buried in an access road to the camp, heavily damaging a supply truck being driven by occupiers. The incident resulted in a firefight that made use of the loaned
Bison
Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised.
Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...
Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs).
Non-Indigenous occupier Suniva Bronson was shot in the arm during the shootout and would be the only injury in the extensive exchange of bullets. On the following day, an unarmed man crossing a field designated as a no-shoot zone was shot at by police snipers. Police later admitted to this mistake.
The standoff ended peacefully on September 17 when the few remaining occupiers left the site under the guidance of medicine man, John Stevens.
By the end of the 31-day standoff, police had fired up to 77,000 rounds of ammunition, and killed a dog. One of the Indigenous leaders claimed that at least one of the shooting incidents blamed on them in fact occurred when two APCs fired on one another when their view was obscured. The operation was the largest paramilitary operation in British Columbia history and cost $5.5 million.
Resolution
Fourteen Indigenous and four non-Indigenous people were charged following the siege, fifteen of whom were found guilty and sentenced to jail terms ranging from six months to eight years. The leader of the occupation, William "Wolverine" Jones Ignace, was found guilty of mischief to property, mischief causing danger to life, possession of firearms and explosives, discharging a firearm at police, and using a firearm to assault police officers. Three of the defendants appealed the verdicts on the grounds that the Canadian courts have no jurisdiction over the lands where the Gustafsen Lake standoff took place, which they claimed remain unceded Indigenous land. The
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Supreme may refer to:
Entertainment
* Supreme (character), a comic book superhero
* ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film
* Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer
* "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams
* The Supremes, Motown-e ...
refused to hear the appeal.
One of those convicted was James Pitawanakwat, who was sentenced to three years in jail for endangering life. He left Canada for the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
nine days after being released on parole, and successfully fought
extradition
Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...
to Canada, becoming the only Indigenous person ever granted
political asylum
The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...
in the United States.
According to Magistrate Judge Janice M. Stewart of the
U.S District Court in Oregon, "The Gustafsen Lake incident involved an organized group of Indigenous people rising up in their homeland against an occupation by the government of Canada of their sacred and unceded tribal land." She also asserted that "the Canadian government engaged in a smear and disinformation campaign to prevent the media from learning and publicizing the true extent and political nature of these events".
See also
*
Burnt Church Crisis
The Burnt Church Crisis was a conflict in Canada between the Mi'kmaq people of the Burnt Church First Nations ( Esgenoôpetitj) and non-Aboriginal fisheries in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia between 1999 and 2002.
Supreme Court ruling
As Indigenous ...
*
Caledonia Land Dispute
The Grand River land dispute, also known as the Caledonia land dispute, is an ongoing dispute between the Six Nations of the Grand River and the Government of Canada. It is focussed on lands along the length of the Grand River in Ontario known a ...
*
Ipperwash Crisis
The Ipperwash Crisis was a dispute over Indigenous land that took place in Ipperwash Provincial Park, Ontario, in 1995. Several members of the Stoney Point Ojibway band occupied the park to assert claim to nearby land which had been expropriated ...
*
Oka Crisis
The Oka Crisis (french: links=no, Crise d'Oka), also known as the Kanehsatà:ke Resistance (), was a land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada, which began on July 11, 1990, and lasted 78 days until Septe ...
*
Seton Portage Incident
References
* Also found in
*
*
*
*
* Re-published in
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* {{cite web , title=Gustafsen Lake , date=2009 , website=IndigenousFoundations.Arts.UBC.ca , publisher=First Nations and Indigenous Studies,
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
, url=https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/gustafsen_lake/
External links
Everything2 Article
History of British Columbia
1995 in Canada
1995 protests
Indigenous conflicts in Canada
Secwepemc
Cariboo
British Columbia political scandals
Crime in British Columbia
Protests in Canada
Battles and conflicts without fatalities
August 1995 events in Canada
September 1995 events in Canada