Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Fort Smith (Apr 15/02) - A Fort Smith elder is recording his knowledge of bison to counter an anticipated push to eradicate the diseased herd in and around Wood Buffalo National Park.

Frank Laviolette: Offers advice on saving Wood Buffalo park's bison.

Frank Laviolette has put his thoughts on tape and it will be condensed into a written report to offer an aboriginal perspective on the issue.

The report, which may be ready this week, will be distributed to media, government and aboriginal leaders.

"There are people who don't know what happened to the buffalo," Laviolette says.

Some of his knowledge was gained as a heavy-equipment operator for the federal government in Wood Buffalo National Park, where he witnessed how his employer dealt with the herd.

And he also can relate the history of the herd as told to him by others going as far back as the 1920s, when the park was created.

Laviolette blames mistakes, incompetence and "cruelty" of government biologists in dealing with the herd, which is infected with tuberculosis, brucellosis and anthrax.

And he charges the biologists failed to listen to the advice of aboriginal people.

Laviolette notes there is growing pressure from Southern ranchers on Heritage Minister Sheila Copps, who is responsible for Parks Canada, to eradicate the herd.

The former Metis leader, who is now a member of the Salt River First Nation, says he has witnessed the problems with the bison herd over five decades: "I've been working on trying to save the buffalo for almost 30 years now."

The 76-year-old says it will be the third time he will have seen the idea of a mass slaughter promoted. "I'm going to fight it to the last breath."

Laviolette is working with Francois Paulette of the Smith's Landing First Nation and a retired biologist in Alberta to make the case for preserving the herd.

The last time there was a proposal to slaughter the bison was in the early 1990s. Laviolette's advice for the federal government is to leave the bison alone. The diseased animals will eventually die, he says.

"The good ones will survive."