ISLANDS BULLETIN NO.1 March 19, 2005 To all Islands people, GWAII SGAANAWAAY SIIGAA IJAA ISLANDS SPIRIT RISING For many years the Haida Nation along with our neighbors, have been working toward a future that maintains respect for the land as the foundation of Islands cultural and economic well-being. We have worked hard to resolve our issues in an orderly way through negotiations, diplomacy, and through the Courts. The BC government has shown nothing but contempt for the Supreme Court ruling with continued attempts to run ‘roughshod’ over our interests, stalling, sharp dealing, trickery and deceit.   We have made alliances and partnerships and entered processes in good faith in attempts to balance the interests of the land and culture with an economy. We have also shown that the ‘Island Community’ is compatible with Haida Aboriginal Title during this time and have presented jointly-supported solutions for resolve.  In the past two years, the Province has taken the approach of getting out of the way of industry, and practically handed all management responsibility and accountability to the companies. Never in the history of the Province has a government been so weak in its ability to manage and regulate natural resource industries.  After an 18-month ‘Land Use Planning’ process and strong consensus amongst the Island people, the BC Ministry of Forests continues to compromise the outcome through approval of logging inside of areas cited for protection. Weyerhaeuser has shown no respect for the land, the culture, or the people who have worked for them. Weyerhaeuser has also shown no respect for its own word. In commitments made to the CHN, the communities and the people who work for them, five of the six commitments have been violated. Now the company is poised to sell its interests and in its final hours is attempting to strip all that it can from this land. The opportunity to design a future that maintains the land and culture while providing for a sustainable economy is in our hands. The next generation will not have the same chance if the forest industry is allowed to strip our lands in the next few years.    When law, diplomacy and negotiation fail, it is time to stand and accept our responsibilities. The BC government has indeed impoverished the honour of the Crown; let us help to restore that honour.