Trust. Integrity. Reputation.
Trust. Integrity. Reputation.
Top News - October - 2004
Volume 22 - Number 7
National Museum of the American Indian opens
Details scarce on new health funding
This Mold House: A community at risk
Best evidence still to come - Editorial
Remembering Harry "Qimmiq" Daniels - Guest ColumnCheck out Ontario Birchbark
The entire contents of Windspeaker's October issue is available online in the AMMSA Archives. Access is restricted to subscribers only.
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National Museum of the American Indian opens
Paul Barnsley, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Washington DC
The National Mall in the United States capital was jammed with some 80,000 people on the morning of Sept. 21 as close to 25,000 Indigenous people from throughout the Americas and beyond-many in their traditional regalia-celebrated the opening of the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) with a spectacular procession down the middle of the Mall.
After several days of intermittent rain, as the fallout of this year's unusually harsh crop of tropical storms made their presence felt in the Washington area, the morning of the big day was breath-taking, with sunny, almost cloudless skies and temperatures approaching 30 degrees Celsius.
The procession was a true spectacle that lasted almost two hours, but all the activity was designed to celebrate something for the ages, the Smithsonian's 18th museum.
Large sections of downtown Washington were closed to traffic for the day that began with the procession and ended with the official opening of the NMAI's doors shortly after the dignitaries completed the opening ceremony. Well, it didn't really end with the opening of the doors. A festival of Indigenous culture continued all day long and for several days afterward. The museum itself stayed open all night that first day.
Windspeaker got an advanced look at the NMAI on Sept. 17. Workers were feverishly putting the finishing touches on the $199 million (US) structure. It cost another $20 million for exhibits, public programs and opening events. The museum raised $214 million toward the construction and opening. The fundraising was led by Richard West, the Cheyenne director of the NMAI.
The Canadian Embassy got into the spirit of the opening, screening Canadian Aboriginal films throughout six days of celebrations. An Aboriginal art display compiled by the Canada Council was also available for visitors to tour in the embassy.
Foreign Affairs Canada donated a work by Sto:lo artist Susan Point to the NMAI. It will be a prominent feature of the main floor, near the central rotunda. The work is a two-metre-high cedar sculpture entitled "The Salmon and the Mink." It is inspired by Coast Salish stories about mink bringing salmon to the rivers.
In a press release, Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew said he was "delighted and proud to be presenting this exceptional work to the Smithsonian on behalf of all Canadians.
"This sculpture showcases Canadian Aboriginal culture at this extraordinary museum, which promises to be one of the leading cultural destinations in the world," he added.
Point and family members and Dene Secretary of State for youth Ethel Blondin Andrew were in the museum for the presentation ceremony.
The Canadian influence was hard to miss all week long. The design of the building is unmistakably the work of Alberta Aboriginal architect Douglas Cardinal. He designed the building but parted ways with the museum after a dispute. He refused to attend the opening.
There are four direction stones that come from Native communities in the Americas places around the site of the NMAI. The northern stone is from the Northwest Territories. Forty grandfather rocks are placed throughout the grounds. They come from Aylmer, Que. Before the rocks were moved to Washington, a group from the Montagnais Nation held a blessing ceremony to ensure that the rocks would have a safe journey and carry the cultural messages of past generations to future generations.
St. Laurent Métis from Manitoba showed up in large number to celebrate their inclusion in the museum. The St. Laurent fiddlers participated in the procession and performed at the Canadian Embassy, located just blocks from the new museum. Their way of life is celebrated with an exhibit that includes an old Bombardier snowmobile, the kind the St. Laurent Métis use to cope with northern Manitoba winters.
Exhibits related to the communities of Kahnawake and Sagkeeng cover Canadian First Nations and there's an Inuit exhibit as well that features an Inukshuk made out of television monitors that is eye-catching.
Dr. Gerald McMaster, special assistant to the director for mall exhibitions at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian is a citizen of the Siksika Nation (Alberta) but he grew up on the Red Pheasant First Nation in Saskatchewan. Previously, he was the curator-in-charge of the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Que. He is also a well known artist.
McMaster provided visiting Canadian journalists with a guided tour of the museum prior to the official opening.
He explained the significance of the exhibits. The museum is dedicated to being different from traditional museum exhibits that display Indigenous peoples as quaint relics of the past, he said.
"We're not just passive victims of change. We've survived."
In the past, the authority for deciding how Indigenous peoples would be depicted in museums rested with the museums. Now it rests with Indigenous peoples, he said.
"You'll hear a Native voice; you're in a Native place. Indian people will be showing you their world views and we don't all think alike."
The building is visually striking, finished with multilinear, honey colored Kasota dolomithic limestone. The five storey, 250,000 square foot museum is surrounded by an eastern lowland landscape and Indigenous vegetation. The entrance faces east towards the rising sun.
The pieces of Kasota vary in size and surface treatment, giving the building the appearance of a stratified stone mass that has been carved by wind and water. Washingtonians of all walks of life seem to approve of the uniqueness and freshness of the newest structure on the Mall.
Inside, after you pass the welcome wall that features an electronic photo montage greeting visitors in 150 Native languages, the most striking visual feature is the Potomac, a central rotunda that rises more than 30 metres (100 feet) to form a dome of concentric circles. Crystal prisms face south and use sunlight to create a light show inside the Potomac. McMaster said they're designed to converge on June 21, the summer solstice. Around the floor of the Potomac is a metal sculpture, a circular wall of woven metal that pays tribute to basket weaving cultures.
The NMAI rests on a 4.25 acre site east of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum where you can see moon rocks, Neil Armstrong's spacesuit from the historic first lunar landing, Charles Lindberg's Spirit of St. Louis and the Skylab orbital workshop, among a host of other exhibits. NMAI is located just south of the U.S. Capitol Building whose gleaming white dome dominates the city's skyline. The Washington Monument is a couple of blocks south of the museum, the White House a few blocks away to the southwest.
The Lelawi Theater, 120-seat circular theatre on the fourth floor offers a 13-minute multi-media experience entitled "Who we are" and prepares visitors for what awaits them elsewhere in the museum.
The Cultural Resources Centre houses objects not on display at NMAI, and is located in Suiteland, Maryland. Only 8,000 objects out of the total collection of 800,000 are in the NMAI. Those objects are a matter of some controversy. They were accumulated by George Gustav Heye, a wealthy non-Native New York investment banker who, beginning in 1903, travelled throughout North and South America acquiring Indigenous artifacts. Upon his death in 1957, an act of congress was passed turning the collection over the original Museum of the American Indian which was founded by Heye in 1916.
That museum was not accessible to the public and drew few visitors. Many American Indians see the new museum as being a continuation of that cultural appropriation.
Oneida comic Charlie Hill, in a performance at the Kennedy Centre the night before the museum opening, showed just how bitter the sentiment is in some corners. He suggested the objects should be given back to their owners and earned loud applause from the mostly Native audience.
There was a Canadian element involved in the comedy show as well. Hill shared the bill with Alexander First Nation (Alberta) comic Don Burnstick. Curve Lake Ojibway Drew Hayden Taylor was the master of ceremonies.
The content of the museum itself is seen as a little tame by many. There is no in-your-face reminder of the injustices visited upon American Indians by the newcomers. West told the Washington Post that will come in time but it's not something that would have helped get the NMAI established.
Windspeaker asked Canadian artist Mary Anne Barkhouse, a member of the Nimpkish First Nation (Kwakiutl Nation on Vancouver Island) what she thought of the museum. The artist's "The Beaver" was on display on the Canadian Embassy.
"Where's the dissent," she asked.Details scarce on new health funding
Paul Barnsley, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Ottawa
The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and the federal Indian Affairs minister both came up a little short when they were asked for details about how the promised injection of money into Aboriginal health care-as much as $1 billion-will occur.
Prime Minister Paul Martin had announced the funding on Sept. 13, just before he and provincial and territorial leaders sat down with representatives from national Aboriginal organizations to discuss the state of Native health and health care programming.
Martin announced that a $200 million transitional fund will allow federal, provincial and Aboriginal governments to sort out jurisdictional battles that have hindered the effective delivery of health care in the past. A $100 million human resource fund will allow more Aboriginal doctors, nurses and other health care professionals to be educated and prepared for the workforce. And a $400 million fund was announced to deal with issues that seem to be prevalent in all regions of the country, such as diabetes, youth suicide and maternal and child care.
It was also promised that an "escalator clause" would allow Aboriginal groups to get their share of new monies transferred to the provinces as a result of any agreement between the federal and provincial and territorial governments. This escalator clause will allow for money beyond the $700 million to be targeted at improving Aboriginal health.
"If you put the two together we're talking about a financial commitment of over a billion dollars," said national chief Phil Fontaine.
Reporters wanted proof that the money wouldn't disappear into a bureaucratic sinkhole. Fontaine said the money would not stay in Ottawa, but would go out to the communities.
"What I'm confident about is that a large percentage of the funds will go directly to the First Nation governments to deliver directly to their citizens in our communities," he said. "But that won't necessarily be at the front end in some cases. For example, the $100 million for health human resources, that's directed to ensuring that we have more Aboriginal doctors and nurses and other health professionals. That won't necessarily at the front end go to First Nation communities, but the long-term benefits are going to be substantial. But the $400 million for diabetes, youth suicide and maternal and child care, that goes directly to First Nation citizens and hopefully a good effort will be made to ensure that we have a more effective public education program with respect to diabetes."
Minister Andy Scott said the government will judge the success or failure of its attempt to improve Aboriginal health by the results achieved.
"This is going to be measured against outcomes, not about how much money's spent. Everybody today was talking about this isn't about just spending money; it's about changing various health and wellness outcomes in the Aboriginal community where they fall well behind the rest of the country. My sense is that's going to require us to make sure this gets to the ground because otherwise the outcomes won't be affected," he said.
But when he was asked how that would work, he was not prepared to offer any detailed response.
"The one thing that everybody agreed on is it won't be one size fits all. The needs in some areas of the country are very different from others," the minister said.
He defended spending $200 million to sort out jurisdictional disputes among the three levels of government.
"My most personal experience around this had to do with a task force I did as a backbencher in the mid-1990s on disability and, quite frankly, it was awful to the extent to which people, human beings with needs, were being subjected to all kinds of jurisdictional wrangling that got in the way of any government's ability to offer what would be fundamental support. This has to be attended to. It's real. It's a real challenge, and the first thing you do with a real challenge is to acknowledge it. Then people with good will and creative intelligence can figure out how to deal with these things. And I think today was a step in the right direction in that regard," he said.
"Ultimately, it's to get to a place where the systems that exist in your part of Canada-some delivered by the provinces, some by us and some delivered by First Nations-so that those support systems that exist are done in a much more integrated way so that they're really based on the need of the client. It's going to cost money to get from here to there," he said.
He was asked if he saw the poor housing situation as a health issue.
"I would agree completely that to look at health or wellness exclusively from a perspective of illness is a mistake. There are a number of educational issues, housing is particularly important, even the kind of hope that comes from knowing that there are economic opportunities out there, all of these things bear on well-being," he said.
He was asked if bureaucrats would use the funding preparing plans and doing studies.
"We're not talking about studying anything. We're actually talking about having different players from the community, from the provinces and from the federal government sit down and actually get the job done," he responded.
"The prime minister announced today that the government of Canada put $700 million of new money on the table to dig holes and do things and get the outcomes that we're talking about. We can't do it by ourselves. We have to do it collaboratively, otherwise we'll get all kinds of attention but we won't get the outcomes that we want, and that wouldn't be good for anybody."
When he was asked who would check to see the money goes where it's supposed to go, Scott said that as vice-chair of the Cabinet committee on Aboriginal issues he would have a large role to play in that area.
Some regions of Health Canada have sizable deficits. Scott was asked if any of the "new money" would be used to pay down old debts.
"Those are the details that the Prime Minister of Canada has asked officials from the provinces and officials from the government of Canada to solve now. . . We're working out those details now," he said.
Asked if non-insured health benefits (NIHB) funding would be restored, he repeated that the government is "working out the details."
The NIHB are health goods or services not covered by other federal, provincial, territorial or third-party health insurance plans, and include drugs, medical transportation, dental care, vision care, medical supplies and equipment, and crisis intervention mental health counselling.
Phil Fontaine said "NIHB has always experienced a shortfall. It has ranged from $31 million to $115 million. So we want that particular part of [First Nations and Inuit Health Branch's] mandate to replenish, to secure an appropriate resource level so that it will be able to deliver according to its mandate and responsibilities."
Restoration of previous cuts to non-insured health benefits is "part of our strategy and success will be very much dependent on how successful we are in putting the story together and that's something we're going to have to work out with Health Canada," explained Fontaine. "I get the sense though that we have the ear of government. I'm confident that we're going to be able to produce even better results in the next while."
TopThis Mold House: A community at risk
Debora Steel, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Kwicksutaineuk B.C.
In a classic case of irony, the community of Kwicksutaineuk First Nation, in which the water is undrinkable and the houses are unlivable, rests on the shores of a place called Health Bay.
Health Bay is located in a remote area on Gilford Island near the northern tip of Vancouver Island accessible only by float plane or boat.
Respiratory illnesses caused by the mold-infected homes send small children and the elderly out of the community to hospital with regularity. A water system in disrepair for the last eight years has the 40 residents, determined to maintain a presence there, bathing in salt water, their skin prone to rashes and other ailments.
Drinking water is shipped in from Fanny Bay, and has been for five years at the cost of the water and a $300 cargo fee each month.
The health centre is infested with mice, and the doctor, who has been visiting the community for the past 28 years, is concerned about hanta virus and other diseases such infestation brings.
The community health rep lives in one of the 21 homes in the community. Tacked to her door is a warning: "Attention Visitors. It has been found that I have MOLD in my home," it reads. "Please be aware when you come to my house that you are putting yourself at risk." She's been made to sign a waiver freeing the government of liability for any health complaints if she continues to reside there.
There is no safe alternative housing in the community in which to move. She could pick up sticks and settle in an apartment in Port McNeil on Vancouver Island, in theory at government expense until new accommodations in Kwicksutaineuk can be built, away from her job, her family, friends; off reserve with all that means.
Or she can stay, and breath in mold spores as she sleeps, cooks her meals, watches TV, knowing that in Kwicksutaineuk she is not alone. The homes there are not safe.
The houses at Kwicksutaineuk were built in the 1950s and '60s and the shoddy construction of them was such that it created a comfortable environment for mold to live and breed.
The naturally moist climate certainly plays a role in creating that environment, as does the lack of vapor barrier and adequate insulation in the homes, but so does over-crowding. People create moisture through bathing, cooking, being, said Jamie Clark, a consultant with a hazardous waste removal company called Envirovac who has inspected the homes. He points to one two-bedroom, 600 sq. ft. home and says seven people live there, two adults and five children. Ella, just two years old, spent every second weekend being flown out to the hospital last year with ear infections, bronchitis and such, said her mother as she bounced her youngest, Shania, on her knee. Shania had just returned to the community from the hospital that week.
Kwicksutaineuk First Nation Chief Henry Scow has had enough. Despite years of negotiation with Indian Affairs, over which time countless proposals for improvements to his community have been rejected, his community remains in difficulty.
Despite warnings from the community's third party manager that he would embarrass himself, said Scow, he decided to make Kwicksutaineuk's plight public. He flew Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, regional Chief Shawn Atleo and media representatives in to his community on Sept. 24 to see the living conditions there first hand and to speak to residents about the grievances.
Scow greeted Fontaine at the entrance to Kwicksutaineuk with a speech seething with frustration and despair.
"We are in dire straits for no unearthly reason," he said, his voice breaking with emotion. "The public has to understand."
Chief Scow seems a sturdy man of gentle demeanor, but he has no love of the department of Indian and Affairs, and particular disdain for a third party manager in charge of the community purse from Campbell River; a third party manager who, Scow says, hasn't stepped foot in the community in all the time he has been chief, and probably at no time before that.
At a luncheon in the Big House after the tour of the community, Scow let loose on the department.
"It's criminal why we have to fight for anything we need on reserve," he told Fontaine and guests. "Indian Affairs is our worst enemy. They want to push us over the edge and leave us there."
Fontaine seemed sympathetic to the community's plight.
"It's not a happy situation you find yourselves in," he said, and promised to speak with the new Minister of Indian Affairs, Andy Scott, at the earliest opportunity.
"That's what we wanted to hear," responded community member Lucille St. Germain, whose father, carver Sam Johnson, later presented the chief with a talking stick to encourage him to present Kwicksutaineuk's case in Ottawa.
When pressed for details on the course of action Fontaine would be asking the minister to take, the national chief said there were three steps.
The first was to get rid of the third party manager and give full control of the finances back to the community, saying to not have that control was like going back to the days of the Indian agent.
The second, said Fontaine, was to deal with the situation with the drinking water, saying there was sure to be an economical way to provide potable water to the community.
And the third step was to address the terrible housing situation.
Fontaine told reporters that while Kwicksutaineuk's case was one of crisis, it was not unique.
At least 100 First Nation communities in Canada live under a boil water advisory, he said. At least 20,000 new housing units are needed and 85 per cent of the existing housing stock on reserve is in desperate need of renovation.
He said Indian Affairs and Canada Mortgage and Housing needed to get out of the business of providing First Nations housing. There have been "whispers" that a First Nations housing authority will be soon established, he confided. "That's the only way this can be dealt with."
He acknowledged though that Kwicksutaineuk's housing situation was urgent and promised to tell Scott what he had seen there.
In speaking with the media after Fontaine's speech, Scow became emotional. "It shouldn't be like this in the year 2004," he said.
