SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A former chief of Ndilo is going on trial in a case that potentially pits aboriginal hunting rights versus the territorial government's insistence that it has the power to restrict caribou harvests when herd numbers are in decline.

Former Ndilo chief Ted Tsetta is scheduled to go on trial on Aug. 19 for illegal possession of wildlife. He was charged by ENR officers in 2014 for hunting caribou without a tag. Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus said his organization is helping Tsetta retain a lawyer. - NNSL file photo

Ted Tsetta goes on trial for illegal possession of wildlife on Aug. 19. Tsetta was charged in February of 2014 after wildlife officers with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) stopped his truck north of Yellowknife. According to court documents, officers seized a caribou and rifles from Tsetta's vehicle because he did not provide a caribou hunting tag.

Tsetta has made several court appearances on the charge, his latest coming on Feb. 24. He told the territorial court he has still not retained a lawyer but had set up a bank account and was soliciting donations for a legal defence fund.

Crown prosecutor Laura Jeffrey said she expects the two ENR officers involved in the case to be the only prosecution witnesses. But she said if Tsetta is going to use treaty rights and constitutional law as the basis for his defence, she would like to know that in advance. Jeffrey expects the trial by judge alone to last one day. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for June 16.

Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus said Tsetta approached the Dene Nation office looking for help. "We're in the process of getting him a lawyer," Erasmus said. "He needs to defend himself so we're looking at the best way to do that."

Erasmus could not say who he thinks will end up representing Tsetta. He said at the time of Tsetta's charge, the territorial government and the Yellowknives Dene were in discussions over how many caribou should be allowed to be taken and that Tsetta was under the belief he didn't need the tag.

"Because he (Tsetta) is a member of Treaty 8, the guarantee to our people is that they can maintain their way of life into the future and that includes harvesting," said Erasmus. "What comes into question is whether the territorial government has the authority to charge him in the first instance."

Earlier this year, two other Yellowknives Dene pleaded guilty to charges laid by ENR officers last year. Paul Ernest Betsina was fined $460 for shooting a caribou without a tag in the Gordon Lake checkpoint area. Meanwhile, another former Ndilo chief, Fred Sangris, was fined $230 for illegally harvesting wood in the Hay Lake area.

Yellowknifer asked Erasmus why those two men pleaded guilty when the same treaty issues as Tsetta's were apparently before the court.

"My understanding was that they pleaded guilty because they were under the impression that if they continued it would affect their land negotiations that are going on and they didn't want to do that," said Erasmus.

"I was quite concerned because it appeared that the Crown prosecutor's office was taking this position and actually bullying the people by telling them it would affect their negotiations."

Erasmus said the prosecutor was saying that people don't have Treaty 8 rights north of Great Slave Lake. He described that position as "ludicrous" and said it doesn't make sense.

In response, Roger Shepard, the prosecutor for the government of the NWT, stated that no such statement or suggestion concerning land claims was made in those cases.

He went on to state that both Betsina and Sangris were represented by counsel at the time they made their guilty pleas. Shepard also stated that the prosecution has no role to play and no involvement with land claim negotiations.

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