Shooter says he was protecting native lands
Last Updated: Saturday, November 7, 2009 | 10:50 AM CT
CBC News
A Saskatchewan man accused of shooting a gun at a boatload of recreational fishermen says he was only firing warning shots to discourage the boat from disturbing traditional First Nations areas.
Victor Nanatakapo was charged with careless use of a firearm in relation to the incident, which took place at Delaronde Lake, near the northern Saskatchewan community of Big River, in May 2008.
At his trial, which wrapped up Friday, Nanatakapo testified that he used a shotgun and the pellets could not have reached the people in the boat.
Nanatakapo lives on Crown land and said he is a guardian of traditional lands in the area, including an old graveyard.
Cabin owners frequently come to the area in the winter and run their snow machines near the graveyard, he said.
At other times of the year, Nanatakapo testified, boaters were disturbing and at times ruining his fishing nets.
Nanatakapo said he complained to RCMP and conservation officers, but nothing was done.
During the trial, one of the people in the boat, Chad Musich, testified that he was with his father and son doing some fishing on the lake.
He said that as they entered a narrow channel into another lake called Shallow Bay, he heard a sharp crack.
Musich said he saw a splash 10 metres away from the boat. Then he looked at the shore.
"I didn't believe anyone was actually shooting at us," Musich told CBC News. He said that he then heard someone shout at them, "Get the hell off my lake."
Nanatakapo told the court he fired a warning shot to scare the Musichs away.
'Type of firearm is irrelevant'
The Crown prosecutor on the case, Jennifer Claxton-Viczko, told CBC News the ammunition and firearm used were not important.
"The type of firearm is irrelevant," Claxton-Viczko said. "The fact that it was directed towards a group of people, and that was the reason for it being discharged, that's what makes it careless. That's not a proper use of it."
A friend of the accused, Kasak Pakota, told CBC News that Nanatakapo was acting because authorities would not.
"For time immemorial we occupied these lands, and suddenly, suddenly, these white people that came and migrated our lands, are taking over," Pakota said.
The judge hearing the case, Gerald Morin, said he would release his decision in January.
Big River, Sask., is about 130 kilometres northwest of Prince Albert.
