Gustafsen Lake Standoff - Pitawanakwat Extradition

Pitawanakwat Extradition

One of those convicted was James Pitawanakwat, who was sentenced to three years in jail for endangering life. He fled to the United States when he was released for parole, and successfully fought extradition to Canada to complete his sentence, becoming the only Native ever granted political asylum in the United States. According to Janice Stewart, a magistrate justice of the U.S District Court in Oregon, "The Gustafsen Lake incident involved an organized group of native people rising up in their homeland against an occupation by the government of Canada of their sacred and unceded tribal land." She also asserted that "the Canadian government engaged in a smear and disinformation campaign to prevent the media from learning and publicizing the true extent and political nature of these events".

Since the beginning of the standoff, the "Ts'Peten Defenders" and their supporters have called for an independent, impartial inquiry into the RCMP siege at Gustafsen Lake and the alleged ensuing cover-up.