Poster: Ts’Peten 1995

Graphic History Collective Poster Series

Poster and introduction by Gord Hill

The siege at Ts’Peten (Gustafsen Lake) occurred in Secwepemc territory (in the south-central interior of “British Columbia”) in the summer of 1995, after a white American rancher began harassing an elder and his family at a Secwepemc Sundance camp. Warriors responded to the elder’s call for help, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) began a large paramilitary operation to clear out the defenders, deploying some 450 officers, mostly heavily armed Emergency Response Teams. They also received assistance from the Canadian military, including nine Bison armoured personnel carriers (APCs).

Echoes of Oka: Trudeau minister says military involvement possible against oil pipeline resistance

Canadian soldier and warrior face off during 1990 Oka Crisis.

by Jorge Barrera, APTN National News, December 2, 2016

Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr suggested Thursday Canada is prepared to deploy the military against anti-pipeline actions deemed “not to be peaceful,” raising the possibility the country could face a scenario last seen during the Oka Crisis in 1990.

“Native 9/11” – Inquiry demanded into siege at Gustafsen Lake

Flora Samson, Ts’peten Defender, with granddaughter Kanahus. Photo: Vancouver Media Coop.

21 years later, Canada evades the legal, jurisdictional issues they tried to kill along with Secwepemc leaders.

by Kerry Coast, Vancouver Media Coop, September 15, 2016

Over a hundred people gathered during the afternoon of September 11, 2016, to remember what happened at Ts’peten (“Gustafsen Lake”) on that date in 1995. On that date, more than a dozen Secwepemc sovereigntists were trapped inside a barricade of 400 Royal Canadian Mounted Police – cut off from roads, radio and satellite phone – at the site of their recent Sundance. A formal inquiry has been demanded ever since.

Meet the Man Who Fled Canada and Was Granted Asylum in the US

James “OJ” Pitawanakwat

By Sarah Berman, Vice.com, April 17, 2016

James “OJ” Pitawanakwat hasn’t returned to the Anishinaabe community on Manitoulin Island where he grew up in nearly two decades. He can’t, because in Canada there’s an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

Over the phone from his home on Saginaw Chippewa reservation in Michigan, Pitawanakwat tells me he feels a swell of pride thinking about the actions he took in the summer of 1995—actions that led to his arrest and conviction on mischief and weapons charges.

Secwepemc Elder ‘Wolverine’ Ignace, 84, died Tuesday surrounded by family on home territory

Secwepemc elder Wolverine.

by Jorge Barrera, APTN National News, March 23, 2016

Secwepemc Elder William Jones “Wolverine” Ignace, who gained international recognition after the 1995 Gustafsen Lake standoff, died early Tuesday evening surrounded by family in his Adams Lake Indian Band home on Secwepemc territory.

He was 84, said his widow Flora Sampson.

Sampson said in an interview Wednesday that Jones, who is known as Wolverine, was suffering from cancer and had been seriously ill since December.

Secwepemc Elder and Warrior Wolverine Passes On

Secwepemc elder and warrior Wolverine (William Jones Ignace).

By Ts’Peten Defence Committee, March 22, 2016

Today, Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016 our Secwepemc War Hero and Elder Wolverine William Jones Ignace passed on to the Spirit World at his home in Secwepemc Territory. Wolverine earned his Battle Honours at Ts’Peten, Gustafsen Lake Siege in 1995, were he and other Warriors successfully survived a military attack launched by the Canadian government, in defence of his unsurrendered Secwepemc Lands. He leaves with us a great legacy of Indigenous Resistance, Struggle and Victory. He is widely respected and loved, not only by his family, community and Secwepemc Nation, but throughout the World as well. Wolverine lit the fires of Freedom in the hearts and spirits of countless Peoples fighting for Indigenous Lives, Lands and Rights. Wolverine will be greatly missed by Indigenous Warriors on the frontlines from Alaska to South America.

Vancouver police investigating warriors who dumped dirt in Justice Minister Wilson-Raybould’s office

An employee at Jody Wilson-Raybould’s office in Vancouver attempts to de-mask warriors, March 3, 2016.

by Jorge Barrera, APTN National News, March 8, 2016
The Vancouver police is trying to identify a group of masked warriors who dumped dirt inside the constituency office of Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould over her refusal to call a public inquiry into the 1995 Gustafson Lake armed standoff.

A spokesperson for the Vancouver police said an investigation is currently ongoing into the March 3 incident, but detectives have yet to identify the warriors who executed the protest.

RCMP Attend Secwepemc Elder’s Residence after his Public Opposition to the BC Treaty Process and Calls for Gustafsen Lake Inquiry

RCMP at the NStQ treaty vote in Williams Lake, Feb 11, 2016.

by Ts’Peten Defence Committee, March 2, 2016

On February 26th, 2016 at approximately 11am, 2 RCMP officers attended Wolverine’s residence in Secwepemculecw. Sergeant Frank Paul of the Southeast District Advisory NCO, Aboriginal Policing Services, located in Kelowna claimed his reason for attending was in response to the Notice of Dispute regarding the Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw (NStQ) Treaty/BC Treaty Process the Ts’Peten Defence Committee sent on February 10th, 2016 to the RCMP and various international bodies, including United Nations officials (see February 10th letter below this one).

Wolverine Speaks: Ts’Peten/Gustafsen Lake Inquiry, Genocide and Unceded Territories

Photo of Wolverine taken in the fall of 2014 at the Red Chris Mine road while it was being blockaded a second time after the Imperial Metals Mount Polley Disaster, August, 2014.

Published by: Ts’Peten Defence Committee, January 27, 2016
In her first public appearance as Federal Minister of Justice and Attorney General of
Canada, Jody Wilson-Raybould, Kwakwaka’wakw, publicly spoke to the letter I sent on
January 4th, 2016 to both her and the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau calling
for a National Inquiry into the Ts’Peten/Gustafsen Lake Standoff 1995. She was asked
three times by three women, to take action, to call this Inquiry and to address the
ongoing genocide that is taking place on our Territories. Her response, as the Federal
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada was disrespectful and dismissive.
You all need a history lesson. Here it is.

Minister of Justice responds to call for inquiry into Gustafsen Lake standoff

Federal justice minister and British Columbia MP Jody Wilson-Raybould speaks at SFU in Vancouver, BC Saturday, January 23, 2016. Photograph by: Jason Payne , Vancouver Sun

Says it’s not a priority

By Tiffany Crawford, Vancouver Sun, January 23, 2016

Federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould says she will look into a call for an inquiry into the 1995 Gustafsen Lake standoff, but the issue is not a top priority.

Wilson-Raybould, who is also the Liberal MP for Vancouver-Granville and Canada’s first aboriginal minister, delivered her first official speech since being appointed justice minister at Simon Fraser University’s Woodward campus on Saturday in downtown Vancouver.