by Carol Harrington
Canadian PressApril 30, 2002
G-8 activists have signed an agreement to rent land for a massive campsite near the meeting of world leaders, but the deal is stymied by aboriginal politics. The Stoney First Nation council will likely kibosh a $7,000 land deal between activists and Harold Simeon, a Stoney member who has previously rented family land to film western movies.
"If they are protesters then they aren't going to rent the land," said Homer Holloway, a Stoney councillor, who maintained the land 85 kilometres west of Calgary belongs to the band. "They need a band council resolution, and without that they will get into a lot of trouble," Holloway said. "They will probably be charged."
Although Simeon believes it's his right to rent the family land, about 25 kilometres north of the G-8 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., activists say the won't build their eight-day "Solidarity Village" on the 160 hectares unless they get approval from the tribal council.
"We are not going to utilize that site if the entire community is against it," said Mike Desautels of the Canadian Labour Congress.
Holloway said council fears violent clashes between police and protesters on Stoney land.
Village organizers said they have been unsuccessful in their efforts to talk to council about their rental agreement. "It's just been an exercise in frustration and futility to try to gain an audience with the chiefs," said Desautels. "Our timelines are getting very, very close. We need a response soon."
With only seven weeks until the G-8 summit in Kananaskis, a popular mountain recreation area, a quashed land deal will force activists to scramble for an alternative site for thousands of campers.
Organizers of the proposed eight-day village say they want to create a festival-like atmosphere where activists can build solidarity and resistance to G-8 policies.
For months, several labour unions, individual activists, environmentalists and social organizations have been planning the village. The groups include the Council of Canadians, the Alberta Federation of Labour and the Alberta Council for Global Co-operation.
"We're not a bunch of bad guys," said Don MacNeil of the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union. "It's to be a peaceful place for people to get together and learn from one another, some of it through art and music."
The Stoney band council is also hammering out a deal with the federal government to allow G-8 police security to use their land and facilities. They also want money to secure the borders of their sprawling land, and point out that Calgary is getting more than $40 million to protect the city during and before the June summit.
Simeon, a garbage disposal contractor for the band, said a councillor suggested if the land agreement is approved by the council, then the band should get a "tribal fee" for services, including electricity. "Everybody is so desperate for money right now," he said.
Village organizers have attached several conditions to their land rental agreement with Simeon, including a legal land description and a certificate stating who owns the land. Marika Schwandt, a G-8 activist organizer, said not all 3,500 members of the band are against having the village on native land.
"There's so many divisions within the Stoney people," she said. "There are individuals who are excited and invited us to come and be on their land, and there are others who are discussing deals with the government," she said. "It's tough."
Greg Twoyoungmen, a former Stoney councillor, said he has been approached by several groups to rent his campground, which includes teepees. "I don't do background checks," he said, adding that activists are welcome. "Money is money." Village organizers said they considered renting land from Twoyoungmen but it is too far from the G-8 meetings.
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