HBC claims to lands in PNW

[David Lewis]

Mike-one of the issues which I have faced over the past few years is this
idea that the Europeans "discovered" everything. Europeans are not the
first to circumnavigate Vancouver Island or whatever the islands real name
is. Europeans were not the first to map ou the lands or at least survey.
All Indian peoples knew where their lands were and owned certain areas.
Ownership does not mean the same to Indians as to Europeans. There are
stories which tell us that every family knew where their fishing places
were along the rivers. They knew where their lands were and this
constitutes a native form of mapping or surveying, even if it is not in the
European fashion. The "accomplishments of the Europeans are so well known
because they have sociallized most of the world in their own histories.
These histories tell us a lot about them and something about our families,
but they have forced the Indian stereotypes down our throats for so long
that we even talk like them.

I believe that we still own the land, native titles were never truly
extinguished and someday we will be able to reclaim a good portion of our
homelands. The values of understanding how to prove that our families still
have legitimate claim to the lands are uncountable. This has been done in
Australia in the Mabo decision, and I hope to be able to bring the same
precident through International law to the US and see what happens. The
Aborigines in the Mabo case were able to prove they owned their land
because of the stories which were passed down. Afterwards, all Aboriginal
tribes in Australia have been able to reclaim their lands based on the
survival of their mythologies.