"The law is like a gill net. It will only catch a certain size of
certain species of fish at certain times of the year. So don't just turn to
the colonial governments and their court systems to get justice. Our
sovereignty as aboriginal nations comes from you and I and Mother Earth--not
from federal constitutions or the Magna Carta."

This theme of inherent aboriginal rights was repeated many times by
participants at the 1998 Nawash Fisheries Conference held in Owen Sound,
Ontario (200 kilometres north of Toronto) Oct. 16-18.

The conference was hosted by the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation and was a
follow-up to an earlier fisheries conference in 1995. Over 80 persons attended
representing 10 different First Nations in the Great Lakes basin, Canadian and
Ontario governments, and local support groups.

At the 1995 conference, both natives and scientists had said, "Look out! We're
about to ruin the largest fresh water fishery in the world." So at this year's
conference, native fishers and elders, lawyers, scientists, and government
officials struggled in workshops to define "conservation" in a way that meets
native and western ways of knowing, and to devise a fisheries management
approach which incorporates what we know and what we still do not know about
the Great Lake fisheries.

Sports fishers did not attend this year's conference despite the serious
concerns about the environmental impact of their salmon- stocking program.
CPTers had visited Owen Sound last month during the "Salmon Derby" and
encountered a great lack of respect among the anglers for aboriginal people
and their rights.

Some natives did not attend the Fisheries Conference because it was held in
Owen Sound where there have been a number of racist incidents directed against
First Nations people. Aware of this, conference organizers asked CPT to be
part of their "security" group for the weekend.

A lawyer, perhaps surprisingly, urged the conference, "Don't use the law very
much." Instead, he urged delegates, "Go back to the 'peace, friendship, and
respect' on which the treaties between natives and Europeans were founded."

This conference was a good example of a peaceful intent, of growing
friendships, and of mutual respect among those who attended. However, the
challenge to natives and non-natives to establish the trust needed to work
together to conserve a viable inland fishery is still just as urgent.