Trust. Integrity. Reputation. Top News - September - 2001 Kootenai rider Marlin Burke rides ahoop and long arrow course during the 2001 International Traditional Games on Montana's Flathead Indian reservation on July 26 to 29. The games will come to Morley, Alberta next July to coincide with the sixth World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education. Photo Credit: Ron Seldon Raid! Chiefs favor "tinkering" with act-Dorey Métis National Council tries to define Métis Canada's actions speaks louder than words, Erin Culhane - Guest Column Referen-dumb in La-la land- Editorial THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF WINDSPEAKER'S SEPTEMBER ISSUE ARE ONLINE IN THE ARCHIVES - ACCESS IS RESTRICTED TO SUBSCRIBERS ONLY. CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION INFO. Raid! By Paul Barnsley Windspeaker Staff Writer Kamloops, BC A pre-dawn raid outside of Kamloops saw provincial Ministry of Transportation and Highways workers dismantle a camp set up by First Nations people as a base of operations for protests of the expansion of the Sun Peaks ski resort Two RCMP officers stood by during the raid at 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 28, which provincial officials say was prompted by safety concerns. There were no incidents and no arrests, although the occupants of the protest camp were not allowed to remove their personal property, said Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs president Stewart Phillip. The dismantling of the camp prompted Native Youth Movement activists to occupy the Ministry of Transportation and Highways office in Kamloops later that day to make it clear "this is unceded, unsurrend-ered traditional territory. Therefore, government, the RCMP and Sun Peaks have no authority on our lands." The claim that safety concerns were the reason for the removal of the camp doesn't ring true with Phillip. He said the area in question was the site of the original protest camp, begun on Thanksgiving Day last year, and during that time no safety concerns were raised. He said several weeks after the site was first established the resort management asked the protesters to move to another location because they objected to its high visibility. The protesters agreed. "The resort had another piece of land which they referred this group to, slightly up the road," he said. "It was a much less visible site." The protest camp remained at that second site until early July of this year. At that time, four people were arrested when police carried out a court order to remove the protesters. "What precipitated those four highly publicized arrests was the ski resort had very quietly, unbeknownst to the First Nations communities in the area and contrary to the Delgamuukw requirements, the ski resort had acquired a licence of occupation for that particular spot of land. Previous to that that location was Crown land," he said. "So the ski resort acquired a sort of tenure over that land and then indicated they needed that property to install some sewage and water works and started, by correspondence, to ask the people in the camp to move. Of course, there was some resistance to that." After the arrests, the camp was moved back to the original site. "The provincial government and the ski resort operators were aware the camp was going back to the original site but they never expressed any safety concerns at that time," Phillip said. But after just over a month, the province decided the camp was in a location that threatened public safety. Phillip said the ski resort owners have been pressuring the province in recent weeks to end the protest. "So within the last week," he said on Aug. 28, "the Ministry of Transportation and Highways has written to the Neskonlith band and indicated a safety hazard due to its proximity to the road and they were requesting its removal." Phillip attended a meeting at the camp on Aug. 20 where protesters and provincial officials discussed the matter. He said the discussion led to an agreement that signs would be posted near the site to warn drivers to slow down and the protesters would move the structures on the site back from the road side. "Also, there was a general understanding and agreement that there would be a further meeting to nail down the details of exactly how far back they had to move from the road," he said. But when the Native Youth Movement decided to block a highway leading to the resort on Aug. 27, slowing traffic and angering local residents, the situation changed, Phillip said. Having been tipped off the night before that the roadblock would occur, Phillip drove from Penticton to Kamloops and arrived just before the demonstration began. "There was a great deal of tension and hostility. The RCMP arrived about an hour after it started. Eventually the protesters took down the barricade . . . it was probably three-and-a-half, four hours in duration," he said. Local residents met with the RCMP to show their displeasure with the roadblock. "The RCMP got thoroughly roasted for not moving more quickly to bring it down," Phillip said. Phillip believes the pressure from the resort owners and the public played a role in the decision to dismantle the camp. "Up until this point there was dialogue and correspondence. The general feeling is it's a pretty provocative move to move in in that manner," he said. "The general approach in these matters is there's a court order issued and an enforcement order and the RCMP move based on the instructions in the court order and enforcement order. There's time for discussion and dialogue in the interim." He said recent police actions had been done without a court order. "It's not only provocative, it could prove to be dangerous," he added. And it may prove to be a rallying cry to other First Nations people. Many Native people in the British Columbia Interior who had previously chosen not to join the 11-month-old protest at the Sun Peaks ski resort are now thinking of participating. "That's what I've heard," said Phillip. "I've heard that it's going to be re-established." Top Chiefs favor "tinkering" with act-Dorey By Paul Barnsley Windspeaker Staff Writer Edmonton Dwight Dorey, the chief and president of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP), wants to introduce some new ideas to the First Nations governance debate. "The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples' recommendations envisioned reducing the number of First Nations from 633 to 70 or 80 across the country," he said. "The 55 or so Mi'kmaq bands in Eastern Canada are not First Nations. There's only one First Nation and that is the Mi'kmaq Nation. Until the chiefs and people realize that, we're going to keep having these problems." Dorey said he is advocating a return to traditional tribal governing entities, the governing bodies the original Indian Act set out to break up and destroy in the name of assimilation by imposing the band council system. But he believes the government must be willing to consider opting back in to tribal governance if Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault's decision to consult Native people is to be taken seriously. "We don't have any assurances," he said. "But the fact we're in this process and we have this [consultation funding] agreement indicates to me the minister is willing to at least listen to us." The CAP national chief-the organization is phasing out mainstream titles like 'president' and 'vice-president' in favor of more culturally appropriate titles-was in Edmonton lobbying the Liberal Party of Canada's national caucus on Aug. 23 when he met with Windspeaker. The lobby group that speaks for non-status and off-reserve First Nations residents and some Métis people had signed an agreement to accept $985,000 in governance consultation funding from the Department of Indian Affairs in late June. Dorey said the organization will send most of the money out to its regional organizations. They will host local consultation sessions. A national forum on governance will be held in conjunction with CAP's two-day annual general meeting Oct. 19 and 20 in Aylmer, Que. Many of the most pressing issues facing First Nations people occur off reserve. Statistics Canada numbers for 1996, the most recent data available, show that 73 per cent of the people of Aboriginal ancestry in Canada do not live on reserve. Dorey expects his membership will use the consultation sessions to tell the minister that he has to reverse government policies towards off reserve people in any legislation that can legitimately be said to reflect the needs of grassroots people. One policy the government has adamantly clung to-the idea that the department is responsible only for status Indians living on reserve-will definitely have to go, he said. Nault has said repeatedly he has no hidden agenda, that he is only interested in improving life for First Nations people by strengthening their governance structures. First Nations leaders have stated they doubt that claim. They say they disagree with the government on so many fundamental points they can't see how the government can be trusted to do anything that won't do irreparable harm to Aboriginal and treaty rights. Nault counters by saying the chiefs have a vested interest in keeping things as they are. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Matthew Coon Come has accused the minister of "tinkering" with the Indian Act and dealing only with the federal government's needs without trying to address the issues that matter most to Native people. Dorey is willing to give the minister a chance to prove he is sincere. "I believe from meetings I've had with him that he has a different approach and it is results oriented," he said. When he accepted the money from the government, Dorey was aware First Nations chiefs were boycotting the consultations. Since so many of the issues facing the people he represents tend to involve conflict with the positions of chiefs and other on-reserve officials, Dorey wasn't too worried that he was pulling in a different direction than the chiefs. 'I didn't see it as a problem. I saw it as an opportunity. It's not like I have a strong, cozy working relationship with the AFN," he said. "I did receive a letter from Matthew Coon Come when he learned we were entering into consultations. He wanted to meet and discuss the matter. But after Halifax, things changed and I haven't heard back from him." At the AFN's Halifax meeting in mid-July, the chiefs changed their approach, deciding to set terms under which they would agree to participate in the consultations. Meetings between Indian Affairs and the AFN have occurred. The minister agreed to suspend all consultation sessions on First Nations' territories while the two sides hammer out an arrangement that will allow First Nations to participate. Sources in Ottawa say information about that arrangement will not be made public until the first week of September at the earliest, after Windspeaker deadline. Dorey believes the chiefs will try to limit the scope of any possible changes to the Indian Act. "They like the system," he said. "The Indian chiefs and councillors like the system. They want minor changes and that's it. That's all the chiefs want, a little bit of tinkering and that's it. I want to send a clear message to chiefs and councils at the band level. If you're serious about self-government, take a look at nationhood, not this band council thing." The minister has described the First Nations governance act as an interim measure to deal with governance deficiencies in the Indian Act while First Nations complete self-government agreements with the Crown. Windspeaker asked Dorey if it makes sense to interpret the minister's decision to include the off-reserve organization in the consultations as a sign that off-reserve people might one day negotiate a self-government agreement. He said he believes a true nation-based government would claim jurisdiction over- and take responsibility for-its off-reserve members in a way that band councils have so far failed to do. It's an issue he dealt with in his 1993 master's thesis (he holds a master's degree in Canadian studies from Carleton University). "The manifestation of self-government in terms of services provided will have to be different for (Mi'kmaq Nation) members living in urban areas than for those living in homogenous, relatively small Mi'kmaq reserves and settlements," he wrote. "What is under active study in this regard is the possibility of entering into agreements with municipalities and provinces to share responsibility for providing health, welfare, education and other vital services to those Mi'kmaq living in cities and towns." Dorey, a former band councillor on his home territory, the Millbrook First Nation near Truro, N.S., is a veteran off-reserve activist. He believes the chiefs will fight change to the present system simply because they could lose power and influence. But that doesn't lead him to conclude that all First Nations leaders are corrupt , a conclusion many mainstream commentators have reached. "I think that's been blown way out of proportion," he said. "Sure, there are problems. But show me a place that doesn't have problems." He believes First Nations have abandoned their off-reserve members because the funding levels are so low they're forced to make unpleasant choices. He hopes off-reserve residents will finally be heard by First Nations leaders and government officials during the consultation process and points to the fact that little attention has been focused on off-reserve residents so far. "I haven't heard of any band calling any meetings to discuss this with off-reserve people," he said. Top

Métis National Council tries to define Métis By Joan Taillon Windspeaker Staff Writer Ottawa The argument is on again about who has the right to call themselves Métis. The reasoning expressed by leaders in the political organizations has a remarkably similar ring to it. The "real" Métis are in the West. But wait, the "real" Métis are in the East. Each claims a heritage going back to the days of the fur trade. What they don't say is what anyone has to gain from saying they are Métis if they are not. Only a few in the West have title to land grants, and the amount of government money trickling down to grassroots membership in any Métis organization has been limited to short-term education and training projects. Some who are not in the political spotlight say they are not themselves very concerned with definitions. Others, such as expressed in researcher Harry Daniels' paper on Métis nationhood for Alberta Senator Thelma Chalifoux, point out that Métis in other areas such as Treaty 9 were promised land grants but never got them. Both land and other Aboriginal entitlements are on the agendas of Aboriginal political organizations, particularly since the Métis got recognition as an Aboriginal people in the Constitution Act, 1982. The Métis National Council, with regional organizations in five provinces, states that "The Métis people were born from the marriages of Cree, Ojibwa and Salteaux women and the French and Scottish fur traders, beginning in the mid-1600s Scandinavian, Irish and English stock were added to the mix as western Canada was explored." Further, a document on the council's Web site says the Métis were intermediaries between European and Indian cultures in numerous roles, and there were Métis villages between the Great Lakes and the Mackenzie Delta. Today, however, the organization is trying to confine its membership to descendents of the Red River colony and a few other pockets of "traditional homeland" in the prairie provinces, northwestern Ontario and northeastern British Columbia. If council president Gerald Morin has his way, the rest of the country's mixed blood people with Indian ancestry, whether or not they follow any Native traditions, speak an Aboriginal language or self-identify with Métis culture and heritage, will not be eligible for membership in his organization. He said this is not a new policy, but the council's stance has been attracting attention recently as the organization has been negotiating in Ottawa to get its narrow definition of Métis accepted by the federal government. Christi Belcourt, director of communications and media relations for the council, said on Aug. 26, however, "press reports have been misleading. "The meeting in Ottawa was not just to discuss the definition. The meeting . . . was actually a Métis rights panel meeting . . . to discuss the litigation and the framework agreement that they're trying to form to draft to then present to the government to get a negotiation table happening, to eventually end up with a Métis nation agenda." She said discussion around the definition was limited. What discussion there was, she said, flowed from the June 9 and 10 council assembly in Vancouver when a working definition was approved in principal. But consultation with all their provincial affiliate organizations has to take place on the definition before it is brought before next year's assembly and "either ratified or not." The Métis Provincial Council of British Columbia is a governing member organization affiliated with the Métis National Council. Former British Columbia region six director Valery Simonds is now president of a Métis local in Prince Rupert. She said her opinion is that Gerald Morin's attempt to narrow the definition of Métis "is a big mistake. "Not everyone can prove they came from the Red River. Government documents are sealed and people are not able to access all of their genealogy." Simonds added that although her family is from Red River and is descended from Cuthbert Grant, an uncle living in Medicine Hat, Alta. is unable to obtain a Métis card. Morin concedes that some people who think they have a right to be included will be left out. Cheryl Shirtliffe, administrative assistant in the Manitoba Métis Federation's southeast regional office at Grand Marais, said "maybe I'll be left out as well." Although she stressed she was not speaking for her organization and was not well versed in the political context of the issue, she said "I definitely have (an opinion)." She agrees with the idea of potential federation members having to prove their genealogy. As for excluding people that don't fit the council's draft definition, she said, "I think that's going a step too far." Predictably, Michael McGuire, president of the Ontario Métis Aboriginal Association, which has disagreed with the Métis National Council before, agrees with the general views expressed by his rival's grassroots affiliate members. McGuire said the council's definition of who is a Métis person "is certainly not our definition here in Ontario." The president talked at length about Métis ceremonies and traditions and mentioned an Ontario legend that he heard from his grandfather. "When the hills echo, he said, the land will give up the secret and the two tribes would be recognized." He added, "We in Ontario are saying that we are the Woodland Métis tribe . . . and the other tribe would be the Oji-Cree tribe, so we would be both half-breed tribes." Their medicine people tell them that all Anishnaabe people are part of the red race, and the Woodland Métis people are part of that race. McGuire calls the Sault Ste. Marie area the traditional homeland area for the Métis people, as they were grouped tribally along the river there before they were ever a community in the West. "The Ojibways, the French company and the Hudson's Bay Company also lived there on one part of their own land." He also pointed out that one of the Métis chiefs from his area was one of the negotiators of the Robinson-Superior treaty before 1850. Manitoba Métis Federation President David Chartrand doesn't accept that. In an Aug. 20 interview on CBW-AM radio in Winnipeg, he said that their position, since the Charlottetown Accord, is that "the Métis are in fact descendents of the Red River, and Dominion Lands Act, that's what the Constitution states today." He said their own Elders tell them "who are the Métis, and clearly the Métis was created in Manitoba." He said they are watching other provinces with court cases hinging in part on definitions of who is a Métis, such as recent hunting cases in Saskatchewan and Ontario, where it appeared the court was taking a broader view than what Chartrand's organization takes. He said they are intent on defining their membership before the courts do it. Chartrand said Métis people in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and parts of Alberta who can trace their ancestors to the Red River area and a 1991 list of families they have compiled from the region are eligible for membership under the Métis National Council definition. So are Ontarians who can trace ancestry to the Dominion Lands Act. Morin discounts "so-called people who call themselves Métis" from other parts of Ontario and points East. He said he neither knows nor cares what their traditions are. Chartrand, however, said "We do know there's a strong population in Quebec." He said they have expressed interest in affiliating themselves with his group at the national level. But he cautioned, "We have to make sure that it will be actual descendants of the Red River and Dominion Lands Act." A draft bill drawn up this spring by Senator Chalifoux to honor Louis Riel on his birthday, Oct. 22, was distributed to Métis Nation of Alberta members for comment. In it, Chalifoux wrote, "The historic role of Louis Riel as a founder of the Métis people is acknowledged." Few who call themselves Métis would dispute that. At least there the Métis people have common ground. Top