Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Rae/Edzo (July 16/01) - The Yellowknives are being unreasonable and rewriting history, says the federal negotiator working on the Dogrib claim.

Jean Yves Assiniwi called a claim by Yellowknives chiefs that an old treaty between the two groups sets Boundary Creek as the dividing line between the two "a modern day fallacy."

"I find this re-writing of history a little strange and disturbing," said Assiniwi.

He said information he gathered from old documents and interviews with elders indicates the treaty brokered by chiefs Edzo and Akaitcho did not define a border.

The boundary between Dogrib Treaty 11 and Akaitcho Treaty 8 was one of the focuses of the Akaitcho annual general assembly earlier this month.

Leaders of the Yellowknives, which are part of Treaty 8, insisted Boundary Creek, which crosses Highway 3 between Yellowknife and Rae, is the historical boundary between the two.

Dene Nation grand chief Bill Erasmus agreed, saying all the documents he has seen support the Yellowknives' interpretation of the treaty. Erasmus said he felt the Yellowknives would win if the dispute went to court.

Assiniwi said Treaty 8 territory extends only as far as the southern shore of Great Slave Lake.

"It's not a boundary issue, it's an overlap issue," Assiniwi said.

He added no map has been drawn of lands within the Dogrib Settlement Area the Dogrib will be claiming exclusive rights to, something the Yellowknives Dene have requested.