Ontario chiefs want to see the term Aboriginal abolished

A campaign has been launched by the 42 chiefs from Ontario's Anishinabek First Nation to eliminate the inappropriate usage of the word 'Aboriginal.'
The Chiefs endorsed the resolution, which deemed that the terminology has a homogenizing effect towards the issues facing First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples, during the annual Grand Council Assembly that was held on the Whitefish River First Nation from July 23 to 25.
"Our Chief decided that the use of the term 'Aboriginal' and that context is somewhat offensive in that we as First Nations have specific issues, and we know that the Métis Nation have specific issues and so do the Inuit," said Grand Council Chief John Beaucage in an interview after the meetings.
Noted in the resolution is that "there are not Aboriginal bands, Aboriginal reserves, or Aboriginal chiefs," and that the term "Aboriginal rights," which is referred in Section 35 of the Constitution Act of Canada of 1982, "was never meant to assimilate First Nations, Métis, and Inuit into one homogeneous group."
Chiefs have been given direction to inform governmental, educational, and media organizations of discontinuing the use of the term 'Aboriginal' when referring to the Anishinabek, according to Beaucage.
During the meetings, there was discussion about the pan-Aboriginal approach used by both the federal and provincial governments to assimilate First Nations, Métis, and Inuit into one homogeneous group when issues and budgets are brought forward.
"So many of the Chiefs thought it was high time that we should start really looking at ourselves and what we call ourselves," said Beaucage. "Being Anishinabek gives us a source of pride, and it's a name that we've given ourselves a millennia ago."
According to Beaucage, homogenizing the different groups into one creates a one-dimensional approach to the issues they are all working on even though each has their own separate ways.
"Well, it's fine to talk about Aboriginal rights as a conglomerate," said Beaucage. "But what we are doing is that we would like to move towards more specific aspects talked about as Nations and that we should be specific about Nations because it was our Nations that signed the treaties with the nation of Great Britain."
One of the challenges that is high on the list facing the Anishinabeks is the issue of citizenship.
Anishinabeks who live in urban areas should be provided for and advocated by their political groups and not by other urban Aboriginal organizations, according to Beaucage.
"Under Section 6 of the Indian Act, which is a membership section, some of our citizens are having their status of Indians being taken away. We have the right to declare who our citizens are ­ you can't take away their birthright as Anishinabek," Beaucage added.
One of the resolution's goals could lead to organizational name changes.
"The corporate arm of the Anishinabek First Nation, known as the Union of Ontario Indians since 1949, could experience a name change in the next little while because of the resolution. The union was incorporated before there was talk about nationhood, and so the name would be inappropriate now," said Beaucage.
Several organizations that have Aboriginal communications offices have already contacted Beaucage's office about planning to discontinue the term 'Aboriginal' and replacing it with the term First Nations instead.
"What it will do is spark a debate," said Beaucage about whether other First Nations across the country will follow the Anishinabek's lead and implement a similar term change.
Beaucage added that he knows some other organizations across Canada proudly declare themselves as Indians and have it in their title, and if that's their wish they certainly have the right to use that term.
"But I think one of the things we want to do is to look at the issue of pride amongst our young people. They weren't really born Aboriginal, they weren't born Indian, they were born Anishinabek," said Beaucage.
Through his travels to speak to high school and college students, Beaucage said he has discovered that there is a thirst amongst the youth to discover who they are, where they came from, and their history.
"Let us look at the pride aspect and then let us look at the names that we have given ourselves a millennia ago and be proud of who we are," Beaucage added.