Trust. Integrity. Reputation.
Trust. Integrity. Reputation.
Top News - June - 2001
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Matthew Coon Come announces on May 10 that the chiefs have decided to reject the governance act initiative of Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault. He also urged First Nations people to boycott the minister's consultation process. Three days before, the national chief helped launch the First Nations Governance Institute.
Photo Credit: Paul Barnsley
Chiefs reject governance process
First Nations Governance Institute to open June 1Fiduciary, tax exemption not affected, says chief
Centre helps keep language alive
Kill the sacred cow - Guest Column
Remember the People- Editorial
Tourism Supplement - Guide to Indian Country-2001
THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF WINDSPEAKER'S JUNE ISSUE
ARE ONLINE IN THE ARCHIVES - ACCESS IS RESTRICTED TO SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.
CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION INFO.
Chiefs reject governance process
By Paul Barnsley
Windspeaker Staff Writer
SQUAMISH FIRST NATION, B.C.Angry chiefs gave the national chief and the Assembly of First Nations executive a strong mandate to fight Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault's push to pass legislation he says is aimed only at strengthening the Indian Act.
Debate throughout the three-day Confederacy of Nations at the North Vancouver-area Squamish First Nation Recreation Centre showed that the chiefs arrived on the West Coast in the mood for a fight. As vice chief after vice chief reported on varying portfolios, the theme quickly emerged that the chiefs have had enough of patiently participating in negotiations with the federal government that seem to be going nowhere.
The minister's own public statements created the momentum for the chiefs' backlash. Many AFN leaders and technicians expressed anger with remarks Nault made in this news publication last month and during the official launch of a consultation process for Nault's proposed First Nations governance act, a heavily staged media event on the Siksika First Nation in Alberta on April 30.
In Siksika, the minister spoke to a crowd of high school students in the school auditorium as national media and dozens of Indian Affairs officials added to the crowd.
"I'm told that at the current rate of negotiation we're 60 years away from all First Nations getting under self-government," the minister said. "That means, if you're a student here today, you may well be an Elder when that goal is reached."
AFN officials were quick to point out that self government negotiations frequently involve specific claim negotiations and the minister has personally created that 60-year backlog by proposing a cap on the amount of money the federal government is willing to spend each year to settle specific claims.
In another comment that is not sitting well with the chiefs, Nault told the audience that the most powerful person in Indian Country "is me." He went on to say that he is proposing his governance act as a way of correcting that situation. But First Nations politicians and bureaucrats say they have seen no sign the minister is prepared to enter into nation-to-nation relationships where First Nation leaders are equal partners with the federal government.
Many observers see it as significant that television coverage of the minister's announcement in Alberta terminated at the end of his remarks, even though Siksika Chief Adrian Stimson spoke after the minister and expressed his council's concerns about the proposed act.
Stimson said the Supreme Court of Canada gave Indian Affairs 18 months to consult First Nations about how to change one line in the Indian Act that the court found, in the Corbiere case, violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The chief said the two-month-long consultation period for the governance act seemed far too short in comparison. Nault responded that his plan was to have the act ready for first reading by the autumn of 2002, a two-year period, not two months. But chiefs believe the bulk of the consultation will be done between now and October.
"We're not happy it's not optional," Stimson told the minister and the auditorium audience. "There's something very undemocratic in that proposal."
He also reminded the minister that First Nations did not ask for the governance act and they would rather the government implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People, instead. He said First Nations leaders will only be satisfied with a nation-to-nation approach to governance.
The minister left the school after a short press conference that followed Stimson's remarks and attended a community meeting at the Siksika community centre. There he heard from grassroots people who told him they were most concerned about the level of federal government spending on health care, social assistance and economic development.
"Where do we stand on our treaty rights?" a community member named Joseph asked the minister. "A few years back, we didn't have to pay anything (for medication). Now we have to dish it out of our own pockets. You federal government, you're supposed to look after us, not the province."
Nault replied that he was talking directly with Alberta Premier Ralph Klein about establishing a treaty commission in the province.
Asked by grassroots people about the amount of money that chief and council make, Nault said, "As minister, I've seen the numbers. There are a very small number (of chiefs) who are paid more than I think is acceptable."
A few days later, on the eve of the Confederacy of Nations in Vancouver, department officials released statistics on the earnings of First Nation leaders for the first time. First Nation leaders suspect that move was an attempt to embarrass them and undermine any statement it was anticipated they would make against the governance act initiative. They also see it as a sign of just how far the minister is prepared to go to impose the governance act on them.
After two long sessions dealing with the governance act, National Chief Matthew Coon Come and his executive members met with the press and announced the chiefs had passed a resolution rejecting Nault's plan.
"First Nations have spoken clearly about Minister Nault's initiative-a clear rejection of it. I am asking the minister to listen to the First Nations leadership and take the direction being provided, as he said he would," he said. "First Nations citizens and governments are asking for fair and equitable treatment. This means giving them the tools to manage their own affairs and provide for their communities. This proposed legislation is not about that. It's about perpetuating the colonial mentality against First Nations. First Nations were not fooled by the minister into thinking this process is about governance. It clearly is not."
The national chief spelled out the vision for accomplishing the goal of modernizing the way First Nations are governed.
"As a starting point, we are asking the federal government to work with and assist First Nations to develop their own laws based on traditional community practices at the community, regional and national level, where appropriate. Yes, the Indian Act is flawed; yes, the Indian Act is coming apart. But we remind the minister that the Indian Act is not ours. It was not created by the First Nations. It was created by the federal government, unilaterally, and imposed on First Nations," Coon Come said. "First Nations have lived with the Act for more than 125 years. We know better than anyone else that changes are needed to address our priorities and achieve our own aspirations. It is time to give First Nations the opportunity and the means to identify the necessary changes so we can throw off the yoke of colonization. A unilateral and federally driven process will not work. It's exactly the same approach that created the Indian Act in the first place."
He said the Nault process served federal needs and ignored First Nations' needs.
"First Nations are saying they will not support any process that is not controlled by them or does not address the First Nations' priority issues. The minister's initiative will not address First Nations poverty, high rates of suicide, unemployment, infant mortality. It will not address the fundamental issues related to real First Nations governance," he said.
The national chief hinted that he suspects the minister has his own agenda and isn't interested in what First Nations want.
"We can work with the minister and the government. The problem is he doesn't want to work with us. Many, if not all, of the issues the minister wants to address can be dealt with by the parties through ongoing policy work," he said.
Many grassroots people say the chiefs are rejecting the governance initiative because it will force them to give up control of a powerful network of patronage, nepotism and intimidation that allows them to rule their communities with no tolerance for opposition. Coon Come said the chiefs aren't against accountability measures, but they insist they be allowed to be accountable in their own way.
"First Nations are saying we will take action to stop this initiative and to work towards nation building. And I want to be clear that this rejection of the federal initiative is not a rejection of the concept of accountability, which seems to be so important to the minister and his advocates in the Reform-Alliance party," he said. "We are accountable and will continue to be accountable to all our citizens. But government is about much more than accountability. It is about treaties, treaty implementation and self government. The minister says that's not what this process is about. We say it's what First Nations want. That is governance."
The AFN leader urged all First Nations people to join in the fight against the governance act.
"We will inform the public, cabinet ministers, senators, the Governor General, the international community of our position. We will oppose this and any other attempts to impair or hinder our right of self-determination or our Aboriginal and treaty rights. First Nations [chiefs] are asking all First Nations communities and organizations to boycott any federal governance consultation and to prepare their own action plans to oppose this initiative," he said.
He said Canada needs to send a signal that it is serious about improving conditions on First Nations and not just controlling costs and maintaining political control.
"Canada has options to implement First Nations priorities," he said. "Many of these were laid out in the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People and more recently were reiterated in the speech from the throne. We will ask the prime minister to sit down with the First Nations to map out a process that can address those recommendations and those references to the First Nations that came from the Throne Speech.
"We want to work with Canada on a renewed relationship that is based on a nation-to-nation [relationship]. We think it's in the national interest for the federal government to sit down with the (First Nation) leadership of this country. It cannot possibly be in the national interest to allow the continuation of the poverty of our people. It cannot be in the national interest of this country to continue to exempt [us] from a share of the wealth of this country and its natural resources. Therefore, we want a process that will benefit everyone. That would be truly modern and an honorable relationship."
After he learned the chiefs had rejected his proposal, Nault issued a statement that indicates he will continue the process.
"While we are disappointed by the AFN's decision at this time, we will continue to encourage them to participate. We have worked well together in the past and I hope we will be able to work well together in the future," he said. "Our aim, as always, has been to engage as many First Nation organizations in this process as possible. Talking to both First Nations leaders and members is essential to gain the wealth of knowledge and experience on which to build this initiative. We need full discussion on the tools needed to ensure effective governance in First Nation communities. Community-level consultations are just the first step. The communities first process will stretch over the next two-and-a-half years. And during that time, we hope that those who have concerns will welcome us into their communities. We're looking to reach as many First Nations members as possible through both traditional means and modern technology.
The minister and the national chief were to meet in Ottawa on May 17, after Windspeaker's publication deadline.
First Nations Governance Institute to open June 1By Paul Barnsley
Windspeaker Staff Writer
VANCOUVERThe creation of an institution that was recommended by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People was announced in downtown Vancouver on May 7.
National Chief Matthew Coon Come was present along with a 10-person board of directors representing all regions of the country to announce that the First Nations Governance Institute will open its doors on June 1. The institute, intended to be a place where Native and non-Native academics and staff members will study, compile statistics and provide information on governance processes to First Nations, will be headquartered in a former residential school building on the Long Plains First Nation territory in Manitoba.
More than two years ago, interim executive director Gordon Peters said, Indian Affairs consented to fund the institution for five years at $5 million per year. But the AFN was not ready to take advantage of that funding immediately because no operating plan was ready. Former national chief Ovide Mercredi and Leroy Littlebear were asked to provide that plan. Only $1 million of a possible $15 million was accessed over the first three years. Institute treasurer Marie Smallface-Merule of Alberta told Windspeaker the board is currently negotiating with Indian Affairs for more funding.
Coon Come took advantage of the announcement to take a few shots at Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault's First Nations governance act.
"This certainly is not what Mr. Nault is talking about," he said. "It comes from our people. It does not come from an office in Ottawa."
Well-placed sources admit the minister's initiative has helped convince the political leaders to speed up the opening of the governance institute, but it appears the AFN's claim that it's only a co-incidence that this institution is ready to open at a time when governance issues are dominating the political landscape, is true. The institution has been in development since well before Nault announced his plans to revamp the Indian Act.
Coon Come also suggested that there's no need for the minister's initiative now that the institute is about to become operational.
"Minister Nault cannot be faulted for taking the initiative," the national chief said. "But he is starting off on the wrong track."
The board members are: chairman Willie Seymour, British Columbia, Marie Smallface-Merule, Alberta, Harry Lafond, Saskatchewan, Louis Harper, Manitoba, Vernon Roote, Ontario, Bart Jack, Labrador and Quebec, Bob Atwin, New Brunswick, Joe B. Marshall, Nova Scotia, Mark Wedge, Yukon, James Wah-shee, N.W.T.
During a presentation to the chiefs at the Confederacy several days later, board member Roote, the grand chief of the Union of Ontario Indians, told the chiefs the institute will secure charitable status and then begin fundraising.
Memberships will be sold to First Nations and corporate sponsors. He also said three academics and non-voting youth, Elders and women will be appointed to advise the board.
Fiduciary, tax exemption not affected, says chief
By Paul Barnsley
Windspeaker Staff Writer
SQUAMISH FIRST NATION, B.C.Former Kamloops Indian band chief Manny Jules, the driving force behind the proposed financial institutions act, explained the details of the initiative to chiefs gathered at the Confederacy of Nations held May 8 to 10.
Four institutions would be created by the act, said Jules. A statistical agency that compiles and analyzes economic information in First Nations is "absolutely critical to fiscal development." A tax commission, which is designed to be the successor to the Indian Taxation Advisory Board, a group also lead by Jules, would be a national office that can deal with First Nation taxation powers. A First Nations finance authority will make it easier for First Nations to get access to capital, and the First Nations Financial Management Board will be used to develop "our own" methods of accountability.
Even though the act is being prepared to go to Parliament at the same time the federal government is preparing other legislation that will have an effect on First Nations, "this comes from us," Jules insisted in an impassioned sales pitch to the chiefs.
"We were legislated out of the economic field because people didn't want to see us compete in their economy," he said. "And then they wonder why we're having the difficulties we're having today, why our people are facing the poverty that our people are facing. Because of federal legislation."
He said the development of a First Nations financial institutions act is "breaking down those legislative barriers preventing us from having access to capital, from having the opportunity to have our own economies within our own homelands."
Jules said the root causes of most First Nation problems are related to the economic and governance limitations imposed on First Nation councils by the Indian Act.
"So what we've started to do as building blocks to develop a new fiscal relationship not based on program delivery, not based on somebody else's needs but our needs . . . we have the youngest population in this country. We have a dynamic youth that have no opportunity. How can we begin to deal with the increasing pressures that our communities are going to face immediately down the road within the next five to 10 years? If we don't begin to deal with the economic situation of our people, you can imagine the kind of issues we're going to have to deal with," he said.
He insisted the time was ripe for First Nations to get their economic acts together because the general Canadian population's dependence on government will grow as the baby boomers age. He sees an opportunity for the relatively young First Nations population to become a major economic engine for Canada as a result of this aging trend in the mainstream.
In order to capitalize on this opportunity, he added, First Nations must stop the fiscal leakage that occurs in the communities because most services are located off reserve.
"Still we're facing the reality that 80 to 90 per cent of the dollars that come into our communities immediately leave," he said. "We call that bungee economics. An economic situation that benefits all others, except us."
Jules has been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism since his early involvement with the Indian Taxation Advisory Board, and that criticism continues with the taxation component of the financial institutions act.
"I've caught a lot of heat over the years about tax, but tax is a fundamental jurisdiction," Jules said. "The Supreme Court of Canada recognizes that we have this (power), not only deriving from federal legislation, but inherently, this is one of our powers."
He attempted to reassure the chiefs that the tax-exempt right recognized in the Indian Act will not be affected by the financial institutions act.
"There's no way under this proposed legislation that we're dealing with Section 87 or Section 89 of the Indian Act. As a matter of fact, we've had some very difficult discussions with federal officials about that," he said. "Because they say, 'Why don't you deal with this?' We say, 'This isn't what we're talking about. That's for some other discussion and there's no mandate from the chiefs for entering into those discussions, anyways.'"
Jules used an on-going confrontation in the community of Chief Stewart Phillip, who left the Confederacy to return home after Elders occupied his Penticton Indian band office to protest the band's financial deficit, to explain the need for the management board component of the act. Phillip is also the president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs.
"All of our communities, and I myself, have been accused of a lot of stuff by members and others. A lot of times, these individuals have no place to go other than the media, other than the Department of Indian Affairs. And they're not going to help. They love it. They love the fact that they're going to be embarrassing the president of the UBCIC," Jules said. "They don't care about the economic situation in Penticton or the other 58 communities across the country that are under third party management. They love conflict, conflict that has no end. So what the First Nations management board is all about is creating an institution that our people and our First Nations governments can [take] charge of that issue, ourselves. Not leaving it in the hands of the federal government or the Alliance or anyone else.
"Again, the problems we're facing in terms of this issue are not of our making. It's because we don't have the jurisdictional tools at our disposal and we don't have the resources to adequately provide the level of service that other Canadians take for granted."
Jules then dealt with objections to his initiative, dismissing them as "myths."
He said the act is not part of the federal agenda and is not designed to end the government's fiduciary obligation.
"The fiduciary is unchanged," he stated. "In fact, the institutions provide the tools to enable First Nations to monitor the federal government's fiduciary obligations."
It has been suggested the Act includes inadequate transfer arrangements for federal funding to flow to First Nations.
"In fact," Jules argued, "it provides the framework to provide that transfers can be increased and made more flexible, thereby increasing confidence in First Nations governments."
Opponents of the initiative fear that First Nations will be turned into municipalities and Aboriginal title will be extinguished.
"The reality is that we will be able to improve access to financing, improve revenue options, improve accountability. First Nations are not municipalities and the institutions will not change this," Jules said. "It will help strengthen Aboriginal governments, thereby providing effective tools to enable First Nations to implement Aboriginal and treaty rights. The institutions will not extinguish Aboriginal title, Aboriginal rights and treaty rights."
In closing, he urged the chiefs to remember the inadequacy of the current situation.
"Remember that the under-development of our people costs us $5 billion a year. Nobody can stand that kind of loss. There are strong economic interests, not only amongst ourselves but the federal and provincial governments, to resolve this," he said. "This has an incredible impact on issues like the social union. Right now the federal government is going to be transferring billions of dollars to the provincial governments. And they benefit two ways. They benefit first from our numbers and then they benefit from our poverty without any obligation to provide any service to us. There's no doubt in my mind that we need to begin this journey and we need to begin it together."
