Chief demands apology from prime minister

An Open Letter to Prime Minister Paul Martin:

Samson Cree Nation has long been in the forefront of the struggle against the government of Canada to achieve respect for the principles and values of Treaty No. 6 and its place as the means by which Canada was extended to the Western Plains.

Our 15-year-old court challenge respecting the treaty and trust obligations of the Crown has taken 351 days of trial in the Federal Court. Final arguments in phases one and two of the case began Nov. 30.

The case has involved extensive evidence, particularly from our respected Elders about Plains Cree society, its spirituality, values, practices and traditions, the Cree account of Treaty No. 6 and the fundamental importance of Treaty No. 6 as a partnership between the Plains Cree and the Crown.

Consistent with our position in court that the Crown has not respected its treaty or trust obligations to us, we have asked that the Federal Crown be dismissed as trustee of Samson royalty monies.

A linchpin of the federal defense is the discriminatory, archaic, abominable and colonial Indian Act, to use worlds from the testimony in this case of three distinguished former ministers of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Your predecessor as prime minister also referred to the paternalism of the same Indian Act during his testimony in these proceedings.

A few days ago in the Haida Nation case, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed once again that the honor of the Crown is a real principle of substance that should drive the Crown's conduct. I am writing to you because of recent Crown conduct that I can only qualify as dishonorable.

I refer to the briefs submitted by counsel for the federal government to the court. These briefs contain disparaging and demeaning descriptions of the testimony of Plains Cree Elders and of many other witnesses who testified on behalf of our nation in court.

Several passages in the argument submitted on behalf of the government of Canada reflect disrespect, if not contempt, for our culture, protocol and traditions.

I have difficulty believing that you and your Justice minister could possibly endorse such aggressive and shameful conduct. Nor do I think that the majority of Canadians would support this unethical behavior.

It is one thing to disagree and put forward a case; it is another to disrespect our people and our culture.

A second dishonorable gesture that I wish to bring to your attention is a letter from the Crown's negotiator to me dated Nov. 5 (which I received 10 days later.) This letter, which I view as classic Indian Affairs intimidation, withdraws offers of settlement supposedly made in good faith. It is the additional patronizing position of the Crown towards Cree society reflected in this letter that concerns us and not the withdrawal of the offer as such.

In this regard, your government has not recognized that the treaty must be the framework for any resolution of the serious, historical and long-standing disputes between us. In addition, the parties are not close on the subject of suitable compensation.

The government has appropriated and borrowed our trust monies without our consent, has unilaterally and arbitrarily set a rate of interest currently at the lowest point in decades, has not managed our trust monies and is attempting to make us beg for the transfer of our own trust monies to a trust established by and for the benefit of the Samson Cree Nation.

As chief of the Samson Cree Nation I request an apology from you and the Justice minister for this dishonorable conduct.

Needless to say, no climate of confidence exists or can exist in these circumstances between your government and Samson Cree Nation and, I sincerely believe, many other First Nations.

-Chief Victor Buffalo