National chief candidates speak out

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On July 6 in Saskatoon, Sask. the 636 chiefs of the Assembly of First Naitns will gather to choose the leader who will gyide them through thenext three years.

With the possibility of Quebec's separation from Canada, the intention to dismantle Indian Affairs and work toward self-government, this is an important time in the history of the AFN.

There are five candidates vying for the position of national chief, all deeply concerned about the future and welfare of First Nations people.

Windspeaker takes this opportunity to introduce the nation to those five people and provide a glimpse into the direction they intend to take the AFN if elected. While

the following is but a brief overview of the candidates' election platforms, we hope it will provide some insight into what motivates these individuals in the race to become national chief.

Health, education are top priorities

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Name: Delia Opekokew

Origin: Member of the Canoe Lake First Nation, Saskatchewan

Previous related experience:

One of the first staff members of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations. Elected executive secretary of Federation of Saskatchewan Indians in Regina. Was legal council to FSIN from 1980 to 1985. Commissioner of the Lachance/Nerland Commission of Inquiry, 1991; negotiator for the Tallcree Tribal Government of Alberta for their land claim; negotiator for the Eel River Indian Band, N.B.; counsel for Canoe Lake Cree Nation, Sask.

The Role of National Chief:

The National Chief has no inherent power. The power rests in the First Nations. The powers of the Assembly of First Nations are only delegated. The powers of the National Chief are equal to those of any of the vice-chiefs' and the National Chief and the vice-chiefs have one vote each at the executive level. The power is in the chiefs of Canada, and I wish to work towards the efficient realization of that power.

The most important issues facing the AFN in the next three years:

Indian controlled institutions in all facets of Indian life, such as the justice and education systems, must be instituted on the reserves. Chiefs and councils must be given the tools to make, execute and enforce laws. The AFN can aid in the creation of Indian controlled institutions to ensure that those institutions reflect Indian values, customs and culture. There must be concern and action on the well being of Indian people on the reserves. Those institutions on health, such as the wellness circles, which are already in place on the reserves, must be given greater and national support. It is through health and healing that our people can gain the confidence to look after themselves and to attain a quality of life that is conducive to their happinenss and well being. The initiative, confidence and entrepreneurial spirit of many of our own Indian people must be welcomed in our communities. We need to revitalize the confidence of our ancestors before we can truly unload the bounds of our colonization.

AFN reflective, not directive

Name: Wally McKay

Origin: Sachigo Lake

Previous related experience:

Served as Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation in 1976, and as the Ontario Regional Chief and Vice-Chief of the AFN from 1982 to 1984. Is founding executive director of Ontario's first Child and Family Services Agency with geographic jurisdiction mandated by First Nations. Appointed to the Scott-McKay-Bain Health Panel investigating Aboriginal health care in northwestern Ontario.

The Role of National Chief:

The office of National Chief is facilitative not prescriptive and the AFN is reflective of its people, not directive. The First Nation leadership must respect the voice of the people. The leadership must begin to conduct the affairs and the business of First Nations in a new and more enlightened manner.

The most pressing and important issues facing the AFN in the next three years:

To recapture the momentum of rebuilding our nations on the basis of the inherent right to our own foms of government, its jurisdictional and institutions. To reconcile with each other, and to heal the dissension and division now evident. We must design and participate in our own agenda, reclaim and control our strategies. The inherent right to self-government will succeed only to the extent that our people are empowered to participate. It is clear we need to facilitate the people processes which enhance our distinct languages, customs and traditions, laws, approaches and time frames within our respective territories. Governance without jurisdiction is not empowerment.

Mohawk calls for aggressive economic development

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Name: Mike "Kanontakeron" Mitchell

Origin: Mohawk Citizen of the Iroquois Confederacy

Previous related experience:

Held the office of Grand Chief of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne since 1984.

Served as director of the North American Indian Travelling College for 10 years.

Worked as a producer/director of an all Indian film crew for six years.

Role of National Chief:

The National Chief must be a person with a broad spectrum of experience. This leader must have comprehensive knowledge of community issues if he/she is to be successful at the national level. A leader must recognize the power lies within the people, and the leader is only as strong as the people allow him to be. One of the keys to leadership is a re-unification of all of the elements which make up First Nations of Canada. The leader must help restore the independence of First Nations peoples through a combination of an aggressive economic development campaign and the development of a strong political voice through the AFN.

The role of AFN in self-determination:

We cannot rely on the government to dissolve the Department of Indian Affairs or abolish the Indian Act for we need to state what we need to see it replaced with. What guarantees will there be for our treaty and Aboriginal rights if we, as First Nations, simply take over from Indian Affairs and run it ourselves We cannot rely on the government to act on our behalf and to protect our treaty rights. The AFN must be an advocate which will promote the voice of the people. The AFN is not a government. It was never intended to be. Nationhood, as enshrined in the Two-Row Wampum and other treaties, were made in the spirit of nation-to-nation relations. We have never surrendered our sovereignty and this belief is considered to be a drawback in that some First Nation leaders consider it to be too aggressive and militant. I believe that standing up for our rights is neither aggressive or militant.

Recovery of land and resources

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Name: Ovide William Mercredi

- Given the traditional name of Kebeshkong by the Assembly of First Nations Council of Elders.

Origin: Manitoba Cree raised at Grand Rapids

Previous related experience:

Incumbent AFN National Chief, elected 1991. Elected AFN regional chief for Manitoba in 1989 and became a strategist for the Assembly during the Meech Lake Accord. Practised law on The Pas reserve in Manitoba and was legal adviser to Northern First Nation communities from 1979 to 1983. Served as a commissioner on the Manitoba Human Rights Commission.

The role of National Chief:

To impress upon the government to move more quickly in dealing with our grievances and our demands for reform. Responding to calls for assistance on issues such as family violence and suicide in First Nations communities. To put pressure on the government to honor treaties and give our people the respect they deserve in terms of our autonomy. Knowledge of the issues is critical. Communication is key in getting the message across.

The most pressing and important issues facing First Nations in the next three years:

The issues are the same as the first time I ran for National Chief. One of them is our relationship with the country as a whole. That means addressing some of our most basic grievances involving land and resources, self-determination and the right to a better quaity of life. The well-being of our communities, opportunities for our young people, providing a future for First nations and the recovery of land and resources are a priority. The First Nations agenda includes making sure our treaties are honored, that we have lands and resources, for self-sufficiency, that the inherent right to self-government is guaranteed so that we have the authority along with the resources to control our own affairs in a way that is consistent with the will of the people.

Succession biggest threat

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Name: Konrad "Haskan" Sioui

Origin: Hereditary Chief of the Bear Clan of the Huron-Wyandot Nation

Previous related experience:

Has been Chief and acted as Grand-Chief of the council of his Nation. Was elected three consecutive times Regional Chief of the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador. Regional representative of the Executive council of the Assembly of First Nations and acted on occasion as National Chief under the leadership of George Erasmus.

The most pressing and important issues facing First Nations in the next three years:

The potential secession of Quebec is the most threatening issue facing our Nations' rights in that Province and whose territories overlap Quebec and other provinces. The separation of Quebec would create precedent with respect to our nation-to-nation relationship with the Crown and its fiduciary duty which would affect all First Nations. In the meantime, racism, violence, imprisonment, denial of hunting and fishing rights, poverty and despair are daily realities of our peoples and the AFN must address these issues.

The AFN's role in self-government

Create a commission on self-determination and treaty rights to fully determine and document our legal and poltical rights according to Canadian and international law, with emphasis on territorial rights. Request that the United Nations Committee on Decolonization add Canada to the list of countries remaining to be decolonized. Advise the U.S. and Mexican