SHATTERING THE SILENCE

Standing outside his West 1st Street home in North Vancouver, Squamish
Nation elder Sam George surveys the damage inflicted on his vehicle
during the early hours of Aug. 23.

"That's probably what they used right there," says George, pointing to
a large, jagged rock lying beneath his pickup truck. "That's what they
used to smash the windshield."

Around 3 a.m. on Monday morning George woke to a loud crashing sound,
but thinking it was a passing train, he fell back asleep. It wasn't
until hours later that he discovered the caved-in windshield, which
he's convinced is a message from a clan of local drug users.

"I think they're trying to intimidate me," says George. "They're
trying to scare me into not talking."

For more than a year now, George says drug activity and violence at a
residence on the reserve has been spiraling out of control. The home,
says George, is a known haven for crack and heroin users, with as many
as 15 to 20 people staying there at a time.

Police are called to the home upwards of three to four times a week,
sometimes with guns drawn, says George. Yelling and screaming can be
heard from the house almost nightly, and on one occasion, George says
he witnessed a fight spill out of the residence and onto the street.

"One of the guys fighting was yelling for his friends to get his
machete," recalls George.

Last month, George finally decided that enough was enough. Sitting in
front of his family's computer, the Squamish elder drafted a scathing
letter detailing what he's personally witnessed, then distributed it
to every house on the reserve.

In the letter, George calls on members of the Squamish Nation to band
together and stand up to the small minority of drug users who are
disrupting peace in their community.

What's more, George says the majority of people he's seen coming and
going to the residence are not members of the Squamish Nation.

"I'd say 98 per cent of them are non-band members," says George.
"These people don't belong on the reserve."

But because the owner of the home is a band member, George says
evicting him or her is not an option.

In an email to The Outlook RCMP Cpl. Peter DeVries said police are
unable to confirm whether there is one particular problem house on the
North Vancouver reserve due to regulations in the Privacy Act.

However, DeVries did say that police "are aware of problems on the
Squamish reserve and are actively working with the leaders of the
Squamish Nation to root out those elements of the community that
disturb what is an otherwise peaceful community."

He then added that "some of those problems surround drugs and
violence."

Squamish Nation Chief Gibby Jacob was unavailable for comment on the
issue, but last week, during a press conference regarding a drive-by
shooting on the Capilano Reserve, Jacob made a plea to members of his
community to stop the spread of violence.

"To the very few in our community who are perpetuating this, I would
say stop. It is your family who you are hurting. Not the outside
world, but your own family," said Jacob.

Standing side-by-side, Jacob and DeVries pledged to work together to
restore law and order to the generally peaceful communities.

For Sam George, peace and quiet can't come soon enough to the
neighbourhood where he lives with his wife, Marlene, and
nine-month-old granddaughter.

And, despite the damage recently inflicted on his truck, George says
he still hopes those who are responsible seek the help they truly need.

"Every time we have a ceremony I pray they will go to treatment," he
says. "But they have to want to be helped, and I just don't think
they're at that place yet."