Top News - August - 2002 Published August 19, 2002 Team Saskatchewan's Jonovan Kokan was aiming for gold at the 2002 North American Indigenous Games held in Winnipeg July 25 to Aug. 4. Kokan finished in top spot in the midget men's Bow Hunter Open competition in 3D Archery. Photo by Brad Crowfoot Veterans hope to negotiate better compensation package Feds begin discussions with Métis Powwow goes on despite foul weather This is only a partial listing of the stories featured in the August 2002 issue of Saskatchewan Sage. If you are not receiving your own copy of Sage, then you have missed out on a lot. Click here for Saskatchewan Sage subscription information. Veterans hope to negotiate better compensation package Cheryl Petten, Sage Writer, Toronto When First Nations veterans gather in Winnipeg in early September to consider the compensation package being offered them by Veterans Affairs, Grand Chief Howard Anderson hopes the offer in front of them is better than the one currently on the table. The proposed compensation package, announced June 21, would see a pay-out of a maximum of $20,000 for each veteran or surviving spouse. The compensation would also be payable to the estates of veterans or their spouses if their deaths occurred after Feb. 1, 2000, the date the National Round Table on First Nations Veterans Issues began its work. The compensation offer falls far short of the $425,000 per veteran or surviving spouse the veterans had been asking for. That figure is based on an estimate of how much a veteran could have expected to make by selling the land they were entitled to get on their return home after the war. Anderson, who is Grand Chief of the Saskatchewan First Nations Veterans Association and chair of the First Nations veterans round table committee, said the committee members were disappointed after a July 11 meeting with Veterans Affairs to discuss details of the compensation package. "We weren't happy," Anderson said, explaining that there was no one at the meeting from Veterans Affairs with the authority to begin negotiations on the package. There were also no negotiations before the compensation announcement was made. "There was no communication. All he (Veterans Affairs Minister Dr. Rey Pagtakham) did was phone me . . . on the 21st of June and said 'We're offering you $20,000, and we'll be doing it today. We'll be bringing it to Parliament.' So there was no negotiation about what we should be doing. It was a cut and dried thing before even we got into it," Anderson said. While there has been no indication from Veterans Affairs that the proposed compensation package is up for negotiation, Anderson hopes the department will be willing to take part in further discussions. Meanwhile, plans are being made to give the veterans and widows of veterans a chance to discuss the offer and decide how to proceed. "We're having another meeting in September to try and get all of the veterans together and say, 'Okay, what do you think?'" Anderson said. "The round table said we'll leave it to the veterans and the widows and the spouses, for them to say yes or no or otherwise. In the meantime, we'll keep plugging away and see what we can do." In addition to monetary compensation, the veterans are also hoping to get an apology from the government. "Not of being in the war, but of the treatment we got when we came back," Anderson explained. Although Veterans Affairs is offering First Nations veterans compensation, the department has not admitted any wrongdoing by the government against First Nations veterans. The press release issued by the Veterans Affairs on June 21 states that the compensation offer is "based on compassionate grounds, and not on the basis of any liability on the part of the government of Canada." Top Feds begin discussions with Métis Cheryl Petten, Sage Writer, Batoche Métis National Council (MNC) President Gerald Morin marked the opening of this year's Back to Batoche celebrations with an announcement that the federal government is ready to begin exploratory discussions with the Métis Nation to determine if there is any basis for future negotiations regarding recognition of Métis rights. Morin was joined by Ralph Goodale, Minister for Public Works and Government Services and the Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians in making the announcement. According to Morin, the road that led to this discussion process began back in 1998, when the federal government released its Gathering Strength document in response to the report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. "At that time, we were very disappointed because basically in the federal response there was nothing there for the Métis Nation, we were forgotten once again. It was essentially a deal between the AFN and the federal government, and that's basically what the federal response was, based on discussions that they had been having for some time. So we made our disappointment known at that time, and when the federal government did give its response, they made the commitment that they would enter into some sort of a Métis Nation agenda or a framework agreement by which we could establish a negotiating table with respect to Métis rights, so that we can negotiate the implementation of our rights in Canada. So that commitment is outstanding since that time," Morin said. "In terms of the historical context, Canada's policy has always been one of unrecognition of our people and our rights. And we've never had a negotiating table to negotiate the exercise of our rights -the proper recognition of our peoples, first of all, our governing structures and the implementation of our rights in Canada. So we've been having discussions, I guess, since then, and we've had some successes and some setbacks," he said. "The exploratory discussions that we unveiled in Batoche a couple of weeks ago, basically, was a result of those ongoing discussions. And now what we have are six month exploratory discussions to talk about a number of Métis rights issues including land and resources, self government and so on. And one of the things that we would be looking at very seriously is if there's a potential for future negotiations between the MNC and Canada, and a framework agreement by which we could sort of enter into those discussions. So that's what we're going to be looking at. "They're exploratory," Morin said of the discussion process. "I mean, we may have something at the end of it, or we may have nothing. They're purely exploratory discussions, but from our perspective, clearly what we want to do is establish a negotiating table and formal negotiations with regard to Métis rights and self-government and so on." Morin is optimistic that the federal government is entering into these discussions in good faith, despite the Canadian government's past history of not recognizing the Métis as a distinct people. "We're hopeful, and I'm assuming that the federal government is being sincere about entering into these discussions and being authentic in terms of seriously exploring the idea of entering into formal negotiations with the Métis nation as represented by the MNC. And if we're able to do that, that would be a tremendous breakthrough for us. Historically, we've never had anything. The policy from Ottawa has always been one of denial. So we're hopeful that they're sincere and that they'll enter into these discussions in earnest, with the idea of establishing a formal negotiation process. And I can only assume that that's what they're doing. "I know from my relationship with Ralph Goodale, the Federal Métis Interlocutor, that he has our best interest at heart, and I know that he's working hard and doing his best, knocking on doors, and trying to overcome the same barriers we've been dealing with for many years to try to get it to a point where we can enter into those negotiations. So I have no doubt with respect to his sincerity. I think he wants to do the right thing." The six months of discussions will take place on many organizational levels, Morin said. In addition to meetings between himself and Goodale, Tony Belcourt, president of the Métis Nation of Ontario will also be holding meetings with senior officials from the Privy Council office, and lower level officials from the MNC and federal government will also be taking part in the day to day discussions. Morin believes that part of the reason the federal government has chosen now to begin discussion with the Métis Nation is because of two cases that are expected to go before the Supreme Court of Canada early in the new year-the Powley case, which deals with whether Métis people have an Aboriginal right to hunt under Section 35 of the Constitution of Canada; and the Blais case, which deals with whether Métis people have the same protection of their harvesting rights in Manitoba as is afforded to First Nations people. "Those two cases will be heard together by no later than February of next year, and this will be the first time in our history that we as Métis will be before the Supreme Court of Canada. So there's no doubt that the federal government is very cognizant of this, and we've been pushing for proactive leadership on all sides, and hopefully we can negotiate agreements which promote the best interest of our people, allow us to exercise our rights, and which are done in good faith. I mean that would be our preference to court decisions. But because we've been shut out, and we haven't been taken too seriously in the past, we've had no alternative. So I think the federal government is very aware of those court actions, and I think it looks pretty good for us," Morin said. "I think they realize that, and it's not a question of if they have to deal with us, it's a question of when, and sooner or later they're going to have to establish those negotiating tables so we can negotiate proactive agreements based on good faith." Top Powwow goes on despite foul weather Pamela Sexsmith, Sage Writer, Onion Lake First Nation A warm welcome was given to Elders, veterans, dancers, drums, singers and visitors the evening of Sunday, July 21 during the spectacular grand entry of the 2002 Onion Lake International Powwow, with special prayers and thanks given for a whole day and night of perfect weather. It was a fairy tale ending for thousands who had braved three days of rain, lightning and a violent Saturday evening thunderstorm that blew down the huge parachute covering the arbor. The Wild Horse Drum from North Battleford opened with an honor song for the first round of intertribals. As the sun set, the stars came out and a full moon lit the open arbor. Powwow enthusiasts Wolfgang Mosler and his girlfriend Evelin Kopp, part of a German tour group attending the powwow, gave their take on the event, saying it was "the biggest and best they had seen in North America." "We have powwows in Germany but usually much smaller and taking only one day with two entries made mostly by the drum groups. Naturally we have no bands, no tribes, no Elders, no medicine men. That's a big problem. We try to make everything in an authentic way with much respect on it and try to do it in the right way, and I am glad to see that ours is quite similar to powwow in Canada and the U.S.A.," said Mosler. "The Germans are very interested to see the latest developments and how people in North America make their regalia. This is my second trip to Canada. My first powwow was at Waterhen. There have been many surprises here at Onion Lake. The first was that the roof had gone away. The second, that the powwow is so great, so big with so many drum groups, dancers and whistle blowers, the best we have ever seen. And the third, the unpredictable summer weather, first hot then very cold," added Mosler. Mosler and Kopp surprised newly made friends at the powwow by observing the ancient Cree tradition of gift giving by giving out copies of their Red Road Singers CD, recorded by their own drum group in Germany. The CD features honor songs, round dance, crow hop, sneak up, jingle dress and South American pipes, all played in southern style. They got the beat and it was difficult to tell from the real thing; clearly imitation is still the sincerest form of flattery . . . which brings us to the Sunday evening switch dance competition. The comic relief and crowd-pleasing antics showcased in the men's jingle dress switch dance special brought the huge crowd packed into the Onion Lake arbor to their knees with laughter. Things got very wild as more than twenty competitors, dressed up in borrowed finery, whirled, shimmied and tripped their way across the dance floor, shaking their beads, jingles, feathers and pop cans, hoping to catch the eye of a judge and screams of approval, rowdy applause and wolf whistles from the audience. Third place winner Colin Stonechild, gorgeous in yellow, silver and baby blue, was given a good ribbing for forgetting to wear a bra. Second place winner Nicky Hewson wasn't afraid to let it all hang out in a jelly belly jingle dance style that rocked the arbor, proving that things do go better with Coke and Pepsi and Sprite and Dr. Pepper. In the end, it was the daring red stockings, gold satin jingle dress and amazing rock star moves that brought down the house and gave Ben Cardinal, the grand championship, first prize money and a commemorative denim jacket. Interviewed with hilarious commentary by Master of Ceremonies, Charlie Tailfeathers, none of the 'very sweet but coy' jingle dance winners could be persuaded to give out the locations of their home reserves or their personal phone numbers. Charlie Tailfeathers, men's golden age traditional dancer, born on the Rocky Boy Reserve in Montana and currently living in Oregon, also presided over the Makahoo family special and the Dillon family memorial given in honor of veteran Eric Dillon. Making up for lost time due to bad weather, the Onion Lake Powwow continued deep into the wee hours of the morning, ending on a dramatic note in a beautiful moonlit setting for the grand championship dance finals. Top