Top News - June - 2004
Native leaders eye moves on rights
New era of respect proclaimed
Volunteers restore remote burial grounds
This is only a partial listing of the stories featured in the June 2004 issue of Birchbark. If you are not receiving your own copy of Birchbark, then you have missed out on a lot.Click here for Birchbark subscription information.
Native leaders eye moves on rights
Joan Taillon, Birchbark Writer , Thunder Bay
If the federal election candidates think an Aboriginal plank or two in their platforms are really going to ensure Indians' participation, either as federal election candidates or at the polling stations, they might ask why the Indian political organizations are not saying the latest, greatest federal party promises mean a lot to them.
Birchbark attempted to contact some Indian head honchos in the huge northern ridings in Treaty 3 and Treaty 9 and in southern Ontario. We wanted to ask them what they thought of the federal election process this time around, the candidates, whether there were any Indian candidates running in their riding and whether the numbers of Indians becoming involved or even interested in the federal election was increasing over previous elections, and so on. We wanted to ask them what they were hoping to hear from the campaigning politicians that might persuade them to vote. Mainly, we wanted to ask them about their communities' priorities: what specific issues should the candidates be addressing and how do they want the new regime in Ottawa to work with them?
We only got to talk to a representative of one organization. Some leaders were away or busy and their spokespeople said we'd get a call-back that didn't come by press time.
Six Nations of the Grand River Territory seems to be focused more on what isn't happening as a result of the election call, rather than on which party may form the new government. They put out a press release May 25 lauding the demise of Bill C-23 (financial institutions act), which died on the Order Paper following Bill C-7 (the governance act), which also fizzled.
The Six Nations government has been very vocal in its opposition to C-23's proposed four federal financial and statistical institutions, which it saw as infringing on their Aboriginal rights and interfering with their own government.
On their Web site, at this time, the only election they are concerned with is their own and their own newly minted election code.
At the Chiefs of Ontario, senior policy analyst Kimberley Whetung described concerns about federal legislation that sound about the same as Six Nations'. She also made it clear the Chiefs' priorities are "health, housing and social living conditions, infrastructure."
"There's been lots of talk; we've heard it all before; we're not seeing any movement on many of the issues."
Whetung added, "But paramount, in Ontario, is the treaty relationship and the settlement of land claims. It's a huge issue.
"We're not happy with the legislation that has passed in the House, but has yet to be proclaimed." She referred to Bill C-6 passed late in 2003, the Specific Claims Resolution Act. And she also took some shots at Bill C-23.
"The bureaucratic approach to policy and program delivery does not necessarily fulfill what we believe are our treaty rights that we continue to assert. And we are concerned that the legislative approach to institution-building which the federal government has embarked upon will be an abrogation of treaty right and fiduciary responsibility."
She explained, "By putting in place these institutions, there's a management board structure being proposed in that legislative approach and the management board then oversees those program areas that the institutions are covering up, including governance. The management board is by appointment-it's not the federal government, it's not the Crown-and we believe that will diminish or derogate the fiduciary responsibility of the Crown.
"The Chiefs of Ontario has not been supportive of the legislative approach. We're very rights-based. The leadership in this province will continue to advocate for the implementation of treaty rights."
Whetung said that although Bill C-23 (formerly C-19 and re-instituted this spring as C-23) died on the Order Paper last fall, "we aren't convinced that it's dead, because the institutions have been funded and they are up and running, at the expense of millions and millions of dollars.
There are four institutions, all up and running, and the legislation hasn't even passed yet."
The four, she said, are the statistical institution, the management board, the institute on governance and the taxation board.
Kimberley Whetung added that C-23 has had "very minimal support across the country from some First Nation leadership.
"Both regionally and nationally there have been resolutions opposing this legislation, but the government insists on moving ahead. Now that is something that First Nations in Ontario will be watching very closely, is the indication from federal candidates on where they intend to move around legislation as it impacts and pertains to First Nations."
Whetung was not aware of any Aboriginal candidates running in the current federal election. She said there may be some, but it's outside of the process she works within for the Chiefs of Ontario, "and it's not necessarily something that we try to co-ordinate or follow."
She added that "many (Aboriginal candidates) did make a run at nomination, but it's a pretty daunting process."
Birchbark Staff, Rainy River First Nations
Rainy River First Nations announced May 14 that it has reached an agreement with Canada and Ontario on the general terms of a proposed land title settlement after 10 years of negotiations.
If ratified, the agreement will make reparation for reserve land illegally surrendered and sold by the federal government in 1914 and 1915.
Chief Al Hunter called the negotiations "one of the most extensive public consultation processes in Ontario claims history," adding "today's announcement represents a significant step forward in meeting the continuing commitment of the Rainy River First Nations, Canada and Ontario to finalize and resolve this claim."
The announcement was made just before the 34th annual Manitou fish fry celebration at the Manitou Mounds.
Ontario was represented by the Minister Responsible for Native Affairs Michael Bryant, who also presented a $16,000 cultural grant in support of the Ojibway Creation Story exhibit at the five-year-old Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre at the Manitou Mounds ancient burial grounds site.
"I am pleased to host Minister Bryant in our community," the chief said. "All around him he can see examples of creativity and innovation, a community of prosperity and accomplishment. He can see that the settlement of the Rainy River land claim will benefit not only the people of the Rainy River First Nations but the local and regional community."
The agreement contains approximately $71 million for the First Nations as compensation for the loss of the use of their land for 90 years. The money will be paid equally by the federal and provincial governments. The agreement also spefies that more than 46,000 acres of new reserve land will be set aside, subject to the federal government's Additions to Reserves Policy. A third of the land will come from Crown land and the remainder (about 30,000 acres) will be purchased by Rainy River First Nations from private land holders on a willing seller/willing buyer basis over 40 years. The property is currently in the hands of about 350 people.
If the deal goes through, it will be the first time in Ontario that new reserve lands have been established in a populated area. Fort Frances is a major service centre for the entire Rainy River region.
The First Nations has more than 700 registered members and more than 400 Native and non-Native people live on the present 5,600-acre reserve at Manitou Rapids.
In 1873, seven bands now known as Rainy River First Nations, signed Treaty 3 with Canada. Seven reserves were surveyed for them in 1875, but Ontario said the land could not be set aside for reserves without its consent, and the court of the day supported the province's position.
Ontario further refused to enact legislation confirming all other Treaty 3 reserves unless Canada agreed to obtain surrenders for sale of six of the Rainy River reserves.
The land, 72 square miles, was taken and five bands were relocated to Manitou Rapids where the other two bands resided. The federal government made the amalgamation official in the 1960s.
In 1982, Rainy River First Nations filed a land claim on the basis the reserves were wrongfully taken and filed a claim for damages. In 1988, it began a lawsuit against both Canada and Ontario, but that was deferred when both governments accepted the claim for negotiation in 1997.
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Volunteers restore remote burial groundsJennifer Chung, Birchbark Writer, Timmins
Volunteers were in good spirits when they arrived in traditional Muskegowuk territory to take part in the restoration of the ancestral burial grounds at Moose River Crossing. From May 21 to 24, 75 eager participants from Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec gathered at the former village and railway settlement for the annual event, which pays homage to the people who once inhabited this area.
"This is the best way of remembering our ancestors...going directly to the grave where they're buried. It's an awesome feeling...it's a feeling you get inside of you I can't explain that makes me go back every year," said William Iserhoff, one of the organizers of the event.
"We get bad weather sometimes-like one time we went up and it snowed all that weekend and we didn't seem to mind it. People were talking already about next year, what they were going to bring when it was snowing and cold that weekend. That shows the importance of it, like they didn't care if it rained or snow or sleet, they still came...I'm very proud of (them)."
Volunteers arrived on Friday afternoon for four days of cleaning, camping, hunting, fishing and canoeing. Clean-up duties included raking leaves, brush-trimming and cutting trees.
"We don't really work them that hard...once they get there, they go on their own to the burial ground just to get a feel of it, see what their job is. Most of them, we don't have to tell them, once upon seeing it, they know what to do," said Iserhoff.
Iserhoff and his friends, most of whom are former residents of Moose River, began this project eight years ago. The neglect of the area after the last residents moved away prompted Iserhoff to call friends and relatives to help with the clean up. So far, the work that has been done has made a tremendous difference in the appearance of the burial grounds.
"It's all clear now. When we first started, it was just all grown in, you couldn't see it. There was dead trees falling all over the place and from the wind and stuff too...there was so many trees laying all over the place, so we had to remove all of that debris," said Iserhoff.
Although most of the volunteers have participated in previous years, newcomers are invited to cut one tree from the burial site as a ritual to mark their contribution to the project.
It is hoped that the clean-up will be complete by 2005 to celebrate the signing of the James Bay Treaty. Iserhoff said this is significant because some of the ancestors buried at Moose River were involved in that historic event.
"We're planning on having it done next year, the whole clean-up, and then after that, we're hoping that people will come back just to maintain the burial ground, just to go back and to visit the graves of our ancestors," said Iserhoff.
Not only does the project allow volunteers to visit the grounds, Iserhoff said, it is also a time to revel in the company of old friends.
"Some of us, we haven't seen each other for probably 20-30 years until we got together talking about this...it goes to show how, after a long absence like this, we're still friends and we can still do things together. It's really a great feeling to have," said Iserhoff.
