100 MILE HOUSE, B.C. – Lyle James sits in his living room beneath a small sign on the wall that silently reinforces his philosophy.
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, it states.
But this quiet rancher has recently been thrown into the centre of controversy as the owner of land where a heavily armed native group is up against the RCMP in B.C.’s interior.
The roots of the controversy go back five years when James was asked by natives for permission to use the site at Gustafson Lake, 35 kilometres west of 100 Mile House, for a sun dance ceremony. James agreed to let the group use his land for four years.
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Three years ago, there were reports that a fisherman’s tent was shot at and that a sign proclaiming No Whites Allowed was posted at his camp.
Then, James discovered the spiritual leader of the sun dance, Percy Rosette, had built a cabin on the property and had been living there for the past year, cutting down trees to fence out James’ cattle.
James served Rosette with an eviction notice this spring and tensions escalated. At one point, forestry workers told police their vehicle was fired upon as they drove past the site.
Sold illegally
Calling themselves the Defenders of the Shuswap Nation, the group from the lake issued a press release claiming the land was illegally sold to James years ago, because it was never ceded by natives.
“How do you evict someone when you yourself are a squatter?” said native spokesperson Splitting the Sky.
The natives refused to leave and vowed that “force would be met with resistant force.”
James felt the situation was out of control.
“We’ve just turned it over to the RCMP,” he said. “What else could we do?”
Since then, the arrest of two men from the camp, including so-called war chief Ernest Archie, and several incidents in which RCMP officers were shot at, have made headlines across Canada.
The group is demanding a meeting with the Privy Council, the British body that once oversaw Canadian law, and insists its members are not subject to Canadian law because they never signed treaties with Canada.
Charge of conspiracy
They say the government, the RCMP and native leaders are conspiring to destroy natives.
Local Indian bands and the Cariboo Tribal Council have publicly denounced the group.
Still, the standoff has become an issue for the British Columbia Cattlemen’s Association.
“Would the owner of a piece of land in Point Grey, Kelowna, Saanich, or anywhere else in the province for that matter, be comfortable with the fact that his property had been occupied overnight by an aggressive, taunting, armed group of militants? I think not,” said John Morrison, president of the association.
As well, the standoff has prompted many ranchers in the area to revisit the entire Indian land claims issue. Some say they think the standoff will have negative effects on current treaty negotiations.
“We are all concerned about Indian land claims to start with and this deal at Gustafson Lake is a big concern to all of us across B.C.,” said Marvin Monical, from Lac La Hache.
Roy Christopher, from the Cariboo Tribal Council, said while the council doesn’t support those at Gustafson Lake, the incident could give rise to an ugly backlash
“It has had an effect on the public perception of the whole process,” said Christopher. “It’s turning the general public against native people in general.”
Back at the ranch, James’ wife Mary said she only hopes nobody gets hurt.
That seems less likely each day after attempts by Shuswap leaders, RCMP and Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Ovide Mercredi have failed to bring the standoff to a peaceful end.
