Other Press February 11, 1987 Page 3 ~ Canadian University Press VICTORIA -- Saanich Indians have claimed title to more than 1,500 square kilometers of land, possibly including the University _ of Victoria campus. In a news conference last month, four Saanich Nation chiefs de- clared “we will, from this day for- ward expect the governments of British Columbia and Canada to /~ respect the territorial title of the Saanich Indian people.” _ Despite the declaration, campus life should continue as normal. Native spokesperson Phillip Paul said, “We’re not intending to push anybody off their property in Saanich.” Legally, declarlation the was F only symbolic -- the Saanich In- dians are not presently making a formal land claim, as Indian bands have done in other areas of B.C. However, Paul said, “It’s definit- ely heading in that direction...but not under the present mecha- nism.” UVic may or may not be includ- ed in the territory, said Paul, depending on where the exact southern boundary is fixed. The once wealthy Saanich na- tion hunted and fished over the entire Saanich Peninsula and Gulf Islands, Paul said. Their land had never been taken from them by war, nor sold, nor signed away, he added. “We were the richest people in this land. We’ve become the poorest,” said Paul, who heads the Saanich Indian School Board. “We have the highest welfare rate...the highest prison rate...the highest suicide rate.” He said 90 per cent of the inhabitants of some reserves are on social assistance. Indian leaders also want more of a say in how Saanich Penninsula land is developed. They are bat- tling construction of a 500-berth Saanich Indians lay claim to land; could include UVic marina in Saanichton Bay, which they say will wreck the bay’s ecol- ogy and traditional fishing grounds. More controversy looms over possible housing developments on the slopes of Mount Newton in Central Saanich, which native leaders say is sacred land. The leaders hope reassertion of their title to Saanich lands will help them negotiate a “peaceful co- existence” with the federal and provincial government’s allowing them to “participate with dignity” in the area’s economy. They hope to build an_ internal economy for the Saanich bands, said Paul, possibly _ centered around fish farming and an Indian clothing business. “We are not in favour of con- frontation,” said Paul. But, he added, “if there are times that we have to get strong with them, then we’ll get strong.” UBC ignores apartheid boycott Canadian University Press VANCOUVER (CUP) -- While students on one Vancouver campus will soon be unable to buy South Affrican-linked cigarettes, those at the province’s largest uni- versity voted to continue stocking Rothmans and Carling O’Keefe products. At the Langara campus of Van- couver Community College, the delicatessen in the student union building will no longer carry apartheid-linked cigarettes, in- cluding Rothmans, Craven A and No. 7 brands. Delicatessen co- owner Andrew Markus said _ he decided to comply with a request by the student council executive. But at the University of British Columbia, a referendum to stop selling Rothmans and_ Carling O’Keefe products in the student union building was defeated. Quorom was not reached, and res- ults showed only 1,366 students supporting the boycott, compared to 1,951 rejecting it. Student senator Kirk Hancock, who has worked against the ban since 1979, said the results indicate that students realize the connec- tion between Carling O’Keefe products and South Africa is tenu- ous. He said the federal government should be lobbied to fight apart- heid instead. John Dafoe, a member of Stu- dents for a Free Southern Africa, said the referendum was _ confus- ing because it relied too heavily on the question of Carling O’Keefe and its ties with South Africa than with apartheid in general. “It (the referendum) turned out to be counting corporation direc- tors on the head of a pin,” he said. Other student-run bars, includ- ing those at nearby Simon Fraser University, and the universities of Victoria, Alberta and Ottawa, have decided to boycott South African- linked products, such as_ those produced by Carling O’Keefe TE La