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Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 05:10:28 -0800
From: Protecting Knowledge <logoston@smartt.com>
Organization: UBCIC Research
Subject: Protecting Knowledge: Articles of Interest 021500

Hadih,

This email contains the following:

Agenda for the _Indigenous Wisdom: Stewardship of Culture, Environment &
Resources_ (May 5-7, 2000)
B.C. natives put stop to commercial use of ancient artwork
Crown land-use issues top adventure tourism agenda

Hope this helps.

Don

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dear Friends,

PPP/SPPF's 16th annual Pacific Networking Conference will take place on
May 5-7, 2000, on the territory of the Tsartlip First Nation near
Victoria, BC, Canada.  The theme for this year's conference is:

"Indigenous Wisdom: Stewardship of Culture, Environment & Resources"

We hope to see many of you there.  See below for further details and
registration information.

Regards,

Stuart Wulff                 Troy Hunter
Executive Director       Conference Coordinator
_______________________________________________________

PACIFIC PEOPLES' PARTNERSHIP
(formerly South Pacific Peoples Foundation)

2000 PACIFIC NETWORKING CONFERENCE
&
CELEBRATION OF PPP/SPPF's 25th ANNIVERSARY

THEME:  Indigenous Wisdom: Stewardship of Culture, Environment &
Resources

DATES:  May 5-7, 2000
                (Friday evening through Sunday)

LOCATION:       LAU,WELNEW Tribal School
                Tsartlip First Nation Territory
                Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

BACKGROUND:

Pacific Peoples' Partnership supports Indigenous Peoples in their
efforts to Contribute to sustainable development and environmental
stewardship.  Also, we Help to make linkages between the Indigenous
Peoples of Canada and of the Pacific.  There is a saying that the
decisions we make today will effect the next seven generations.  We
invite you to come and help us navigate a course for a better future by
sharing and learning about indigenous science and what it can contribute
to sustainable development and environmental and cultural stewardship.

The foundation of indigenous science is rooted deeply in the
preservation, conservation and sustainability of all natural resources
and the environment.  In a modern world that is struggling to find
effective ways to balance development and human needs with conservation
of the natural environment, we all have much to learn from the
traditional knowledge and practices of Indigenous Peoples.  By focusing
on some aspects of the indigenous science and traditional practices of
Indigenous Peoples in one part of the world, the Pacific Islands, this
conference will contribute to greater awareness of all such knowledge
and respect for its continued application to today’s challenges.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Pacific Peoples Partnership
(formerly South Pacific Peoples Foundation) as well as the 25th
anniversary of the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific (NFIP)
Movement.  We will be celebrating 25 years of involvement in South
Pacific issues with special events planned.  Such activities include
displays, workshops, slide shows, feasting, dancing, singing and
storytelling.

We invite you to come join us May 5th to 7th.  The Conference on
Indigenous Wisdom: Stewardship of Culture, Environment and Resources
will be held within the Tsartlip indigenous community and we thank and
acknowledge the Tsartlip First Nation for the use of their land and once
again welcoming us into their community.

REGISTRATION:

Contact PPP/SPPF for further information, brochures and registration
forms.

The early registration fee (covering all conference sessions, materials,
snacks & the Saturday night feast) is $120.  Registration rises to $140
after April 21.  Student rates are $60 ($80 after April 21).

Childcare will be available on a 50/50 cost share basis if requested
before
April 21 (ie, early registration).

AGENDA:

Friday, May 5
6:00 – 7:30 PM  Registration/buffet supper
7:30 – 10:00 PM         Opening ceremony & Introductory Programme

Saturday, May 6
8:30 – 9:00 AM  Registration/refreshments
9:00 – 10:15 AM         Introduction and Keynote Address
10:15 – 10:45 AM        Break and Refreshments
10:45 – 12:30 PM        Thematic Workshops
12:30 – 2:00 PM         Lunch and Break
2:00 – 3:45 PM  Workshops resume
3:45 – 4:15 PM  Break and Refreshments
4:15 – 5:30 PM  Plenary – Synthesis of workshop results
6:30 PM                 FEAST & SPPF 25th Anniversary Celebrations

Sunday, May 7
9:00 – 9:30 AM  Plenary – Update and review of workshops
9:30 – 12:00    Open Workshops and Meetings – TBA
12:00 – 1:00 PM         Plenary & Closing Session
1:00 – 2:00 PM  Lunch

FOR MORE INFORMATION & REGISTRATION, CONTACT:

Troy Hunter
Conference Coordinator
South Pacific Peoples Foundation
1921 Fernwood Road
Victoria, BC, V8T 2Y6
Canada

Tel:  250-381-4131
Fax:  250-388-5258
Email:  sppf@sppf.org
Website:  www.sppf.org

South Pacific Peoples Foundation
1921 Fernwood Road
Victoria, BC V8T 2Y6 Canada
Tel 250/381-4131
Fax 250/388-5258
Email:  sppf@sppf.org
http://www.sppf.org

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

B.C. natives put stop to commercial use of ancient artwork
Trademark petroglyphs
http://www.nationalpost.com/news.asp?f=000214/204215&s2=national&s3=coasttocoast

Adrienne Tanner
The Province
Monday, February 14, 2000

GABRIOLA ISLAND - British Columbia's Snuneymuxw First Nation is
enforcing its claim on all images based on Gabriola Island's ancient
petroglyphs, insisting they are sacred to its culture and forcing
merchants and marketers to stop using them.

The Snuneymuxw, angry that images drawn from the Island's ancient rock
carvings were being used for commercial gain, trademarked 10 of the
petroglyphs last year. The predominantly white islanders have been
instructed to stop using petroglyph icons.

And so Dancing Man, the petroglyph image on Kent Olinger's jewelry shop
sign, is now covered with a patch, as if a curtain had been dropped in
mid-performance. "By rights, these are now their property," says Mr.
Olinger, whose petroglyph pins, brooches, earrings and pendants were
popular sellers with summer tourists.

There is no recorded history to back the natives' claim that their
ancestors carved the petroglyphs, which could be 5,000 years old. Still,
the islanders, an amiable group of artists, small business owners and
retirees did not argue.

Relations with the aboriginal band in Nanaimo have always been cordial.
Nothing would be gained from upsetting the balance, especially now, with
the entire area up for grabs in land claim negotiations.

Carol Kowk, owner of Raspberries bookstore and coffee shop, is removing
the Kingfisher petroglyph symbol from her blend of dark roast coffee.

"I decided not to use it, mostly out of respect. It just doesn't feel
right. I don't want some big spirit in the sky mad at me," she says.

The annual chamber of commerce Dancing Man music festival kept its name,
but shed the forbidden figure. Island potters and jewellers stopped
incorporating the images in their art. Even the museum has stopped
selling carbon and cheesecloth kits to make rubbings of the cement
copies on display at the museum grounds.

The petroglyph controversy on Gabriola is a microcosm of the
international movement by aboriginal groups fighting for repatriation of
their traditional symbols and resources.

In Australia, a dispute over an aboriginal totem reproduced on a
commemorative banknote ended up in court. In the Amazon, proprietary
conflicts over native plants and traditional medicines are stewing
between aboriginal groups and pharmaceutical companies.

In British Columbia, the Tsimshian, a northwest coastal tribe, is
considering legal action to repatriate a collection of rare artifacts, a
$5-million, privately owned collection set to be auctioned off by
Sotheby's in London.

For the Snuneymuxw, halting the commercial exploitation of the Gabriola
petroglyphs is only the first step, says Murray Browne, the band's legal
counsel and treaty negotiator.

"What the Nation has told us in treaty negotiations is 'Protect those
sites. Get the property back.' "

The Snuneymuxw do not regard petroglyphs as a quaint curiosity of the
past. They are considered part of a living culture, a part so sacred and
so powerful that elders refuse to discuss their meanings with outsiders.

The volunteers, who give up their weekends to run the Gabriola museum,
had no idea they were treading on sensitive cultural ground when they
copied the petroglyphs, says Marijke Oudshoorn, president of Gabriola
Museum and Heritage Foundation.

"We did it to keep people away from the originals because they were
being damaged."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Monday, February 14, 2000
Updated weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings
http://www.southam.com/kamloopsdailynews/news.html

Crown land-use issues top adventure tourism agenda

By MARNIE DOUGLAS
Daily News Staff Reporter

Adventure tourism operators are increasingly frustrated with the lack of
access to B.C.’s vast backcountry and are blaming the provincial
government for their plight.

“(The adventure tourism industry) does face some real challenges, and
probably the No. 1 issue is land use,” said Neil Hartling, president of
the Wilderness Tourism Association of the Yukon and owner of Nahanni
River Adventures.

Hartling was one of a number of guest speakers and delegates at this
weekend’s national adventure tourism conference at the University
College of the Cariboo.

The issues of access to B.C. Crown land and the cumbersome permitting
and tenure process were discussed, as well as marketing techniques,
emergency response and risk management.

Hartling told delegates that as part of land access, land claims and the
issue of First Nations and Crown land are also playing an increasing
role in the industry.

“It’s not a very constructive or easy-to-work-with process.”

Operators are particularly frustrated with the B.C. Assets and Land
Corp. (BCAL), a spinoff of the Environment Ministry set up in 1998 to
speed up the permitting process. The BCAL is in charge of managing Crown
land.

Dave Bacon, BCAL’s commercial recreation project manager in the southern
Interior, said operators need to understand that there’s more to Crown
land than simple recreation.

While 93 per cent of B.C.’s land base is Crown land, that doesn’t mean
93 per cent is available for use, he added. Bacon agreed that the
industry needs certainty but there must be a balanced use of land and
resources.

“I don’t think (the government) should be driving our industry. They
have no expertise in the area of adventure or eco-tourism,” said Ross
Cloutier, chairman of UCC’s adventure tourism guide program.

Aside from the grinding government bureaucracy, Cloutier said he’s
optimistic adventure tourism will continue to be a growth industry.

He said adventure tourism is only now beginning to garner respect from
the public as a recognized user of natural resources, and money can
finally be made for those in the business.

But he warned that the industry may be getting too big, too fast.

With nothing to stop someone setting up their own business -- from river
rafting to mountain climbing to hunting guides -- the market can quickly
become saturated. Shoddy business plans, lack of a quality product and
poor customer service can quickly leave a bad taste for consumers, he
said.

“We need to learn control and restraint. So far, it’s been about
grabbing position and how to make more money. The future is not just
about volume,” Cloutier said.

He said the public could well turn against the industry if operators get
too carried away and careless with the resource, he added.
 

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