Trust. Integrity. Reputation. Top News - November - 2003 Wind taken out of Fontaine's sails Media gets it wrong, says chief Benefit turns education fundraiser Sour grapes; lots of wrath - Editorial When things go bad, they go really bad - Guest Column Check out Ontario Birchbark THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF WINDSPEAKER'S NOVEMBER ISSUE ARE ONLINE IN THE ARCHIVES - ACCESS IS RESTRICTED TO SUBSCRIBERS ONLY. CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION INFO. Wind taken out of Fontaine's sails Opposition chiefs hijack special assembly agenda Paul Barnsley, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Squamish Nation, B.C. Opponents of Bill C-19, the First Nations Fiscal and Statistical Management Act, succeeded in forcing an agenda change at the Oct. 8 and 9 special chiefs assembly that allowed them to defeat a resolution in support of the bill. The chiefs who opposed the fiscal institutions legislation were on the offensive from the beginning. Technicians working to oppose the bill say the agenda seemed to have been set up for a vote on Day 2. The opposition strategy was to force the vote on Day 1 in the hope that not all the chiefs who supported C-19 would be in attendance. When assembly co-chair Luc Laine tried to get the assembly agenda approved by the chiefs-usually a formality-Chippewas of Nawash (Ontario) Chief Ralph Akiwenzie was on his feet with a demand the agenda be significantly altered, suggesting working into the night, if need be, to get some work done. The altered agenda resulted in the resolution put forward by Squamish Nation Chief Bill Williams being put to a vote. The resolution called for the assembly to reject the governance act, amend the independent claims body initiative and accept C-19. A vote soundly defeated the motion 109 to 65 with two abstentions. Many of the chiefs in assembly attacked National Chief Phil Fontaine for his support of Bill C-19. Fontaine's position heading into the assembly was that he had campaigned on a platform of supporting C-19 as long as it was optional and contained a non-derogation clause. His recent election, he said, gave him the mandate to push that position. This unabashedly aggressive attitude was exactly what the assembly chiefs were concerned about, that their newly elected national chief was forgetting the bottom-up structure of the organization, where the top takes orders from the assembly, rather than dictates to the assembly. The chiefs were concerned that the national chief and executive were preparing to steam-roll ahead with an agenda without their direction or consent, and this concern could have been at the root of the defeat of the C-19 resolution. The national chief admitted to Windspeaker that he was disappointed with the loss. "The disappointment . . . is one that I share, not only with the B.C. delegates here, but also with a number of delegates from other regions," said a newly chastened Fontaine on Oct. 9. "But we accept the decision of the assembly and we want to move on. There's important business to attend to and we want to deal with that business. As far as I'm concerned, the deal is done here as far as these bills and we will take our cues from the assembly and the assembly has instructed me on how I ought to proceed and I will take that very clear direction." Though the chiefs forced Fontaine to back away from his position on C-19, it's uncertain what was gained since the bill was scheduled for debate in the House of Commons on Oct. 20 and he had already sent a letter of support of the bill to the standing committee on Aboriginal Affairs. Bill C-19 could still be passed into law after moving to the Senate for hearings and amendments. Top Media gets it wrong, says chief Paul Barnsley, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Vancouver National Chief Phil Fontaine arrived in Vancouver for a special chiefs assembly with a goal of correcting what he called "an unfortunate report in the national media" that he was asking for almost $2 billion for the Assembly of First Nations. The reality, he said, is that only one per cent of that proposed funding would go to the AFN. Getting Results is a 10-point proposal to reform the Assembly of First Nations and dramatically improve the services available to First Nations people. The 40-plus page document was leaked in early October and widely distributed. The "Getting Results Agenda" would bring as much as $1.7 billion in new money to First Nation programming if accepted by the federal finance minister. The plan calls for money for a wide range of policy areas, including $500 million for education, $300 million to increase the number of land claim settlements and $200 million for housing. It does not call for the money to be funneled through the assembly, Fontaine said. "This is an unfortunate misrepresentation of this pre-budget submission. What we are seeking is new money. New money that will be directed to tribal governments and First Nations governments so that they can administer these funds for housing, for education, for health, policing, languages," he said. "There's absolutely no plan or design to have AFN administer these funds. We've already said that we're not in the business of delivering programs and services. We're a political organization. It's unfortunate that people have this idea that what we're after is $1.7 billion that AFN will [get]." Many veteran observers of First Nations politics jumped to that conclusion and, knowing the AFN takes a 15 per cent administration cut on all money it administers, saw Fontaine asking for almost $300 million for his organization, more than 10 times the amount of its highest budget ever. That was a crucial error, he said. "There's no administrative cut in this case. In fact, we've made a point that the net effect, as far as AFN is concerned, is one per cent. We've made a separate submission to the government and we're still in the process of negotiating our budget. I'm hoping that we will be successful in securing additional revenue so that we can deliver on the instructions that we have received from the chiefs in assembly." The Getting Results Agenda was presented to the media before it was formally presented to the chiefs in assembly for discussion and input, which caused some ill-will at the meeting in Squamish. Fontaine was hoping that the agenda would receive the approval of the chiefs there, but instead the assembly passed a motion to meet on the matter at another special assembly to be held sometime in December or January 2004. The chiefs said they needed time to discuss and digest the plan before they were asked to endorse it. Top Benefit turns education fundraiser Suzanne Methot, Windspeaker Contributor, Toronto A benefit concert held at Toronto's historic Massey Hall on Oct. 10 was supposed to raise money for the George family of Stoney Point, Ont. to fight a wrongful death lawsuit against the Ontario Provincial Police and former Ontario premier Mike Harris. Instead, it turned into a fundraiser for a new Aboriginal education fund. The Harris government, which was in office during the 1995 protest at Ipperwash Provincial Park during which Dudley George was shot and killed, "spent millions of taxpayers' dollars fighting an inquiry," said benefit organizer Martin Long. But Ontario's newly elected Liberal government announced it would call an inquiry into George's death. As a result, the George family settled the lawsuit out of court. "We don't need to fight for an inquiry anymore," Long said, "so we decided to celebrate the fact that the George family got what they wanted. "We don't have all the details settled yet, but we will create a scholarship fund to support [Native education], and we will consult with the Native community about how to manage that fund and how to use the money. This will give us an opportunity to remember Dudley in a more permanent way," Long said. The benefit was organized and sponsored by the Elementary Teachers of Toronto (ETT), an 11,000-member chapter of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario. The ETT paid all the costs associated with the concert, including hall rental and artists' travel expenses and fees. "Every penny raised tonight will go into the fund," Long said. Jazz singer Molly Johnson was the stand-out act of the night, contributing a performance that was soulful and accomplished. Johnson was humble, funny, and sexy. The love and respect between Johnson and her friend and piano accompanist, Andrew Craig, was a tribute to the life and legacy of Dudley George. Johnson gazed at Craig adoringly- even mouthing "I love you" after he finished a solo-and Craig thanked the audience several times by bowing his head and clasping his hands as if in prayer. The duo exuded good energy, blessing everyone around them. "It's such a thrill to be here," said Molly Johnson, who is African Canadian. "I feel blessed-me, a little mixed-race girl from downtown Toronto, welcomed and accepted by Aboriginal people. It's such an honor." Other highlights included blues sensation Derek Miller, who blazed across the stage and growled into the microphone. The Old Mush Singers, from the Six Nations Reserve, performed their first song outside the auditorium doors, then filed down the centre aisle to the stage, to the delight of the crowd. And when Mi'kmaq fingerstyle guitarist Don Ross played songs from his new CD, Robot Monster-his first recording in four years-the audience hollered for more. Asked why he agreed to appear at the benefit, Ross answered, "It's a cause that's bugged me for a long time. When the opportunity came along to help, I took it. "I don't usually make political statements in my music. The music I do is celebratory. But I think it's important to make a positive statement with my music, and this is a positive statement." Comedian Charlie Hill-who says he doesn't really have to play Canada anymore "because Don Burnstick is doing my act"-did a hilarious extended riff on 9/11 that offered some advice to Americans. "Just relax, [because Native people] know how to get through this," Hill said. "We've been fighting terrorism since 1492!" The audience of nearly 3,000 was mixed in terms of age and ethnic background, and was composed of teachers, social activists, First Nations people, and other concerned citizens. Federal NDP leader Jack Layton and other notables were also in attendance. Long, who is president of the organization, remarked on the mixed crowd. "Tonight is about bringing Native and non-Native people together," Long said. "This is what Dudley has done." Several people, including members of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto's political action committee, George family lawyer Murray Klippenstein and Greenpeace Canada executive director Peter Tabuns, addressed the audience. At the end of the concert, Dudley George's brother Sam and other members of the George family were ushered onstage. Sam George thanked author Peter Edwards, who wrote the book One Dead Indian: The Premier, The Police, and The Ipperwash Crisis, and he also thanked the audience. "Please walk down this path with us now," George said, "where we wanted to be eight years ago, with a public inquiry." Halfway through the concert, volunteers with buckets, envelopes, and pens fanned out through the crowd, soliciting donations from audience members by cash, cheque or credit card. Donations were also solicited in advance of the benefit from various employee unions, local businesses and private donors such as Toronto mayoral candidate David Miller. The ETT hoped to raise between $30,000 to $100,000 from ticket sales and from donations received during the concert. The final tally was $46,000, said Martin Long. Top