Assembly chiefs look to new ways to get support

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Stripped of half its budget and under attack from inside and out, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has been forced to seek out allies in new ways.

Chiefs, their proxies and others who attended the special chiefs' confederacy in Ottawa on Feb. 20 and 21 found themselves drafted into the lobbying corps. They were dispatched in two shifts to Parliament Hill to tell anyone and everyone who would listen what they don't like about the federal government's legislative agenda on First Nations governance.

With the help of NDP Indian Affairs critic Pat Martin, the AFN booked the Confederation Room, located just steps away from the House of Commons chamber, for three hours on Feb. 20. They then spread the word that First Nation leaders wanted to meet with MPs and other government officials. The first day of the special assembly was cut short so the delegates would be available for the lobby effort.

A total of 22 members of Parliament visited the reception, snacking on buffalo, poached salmon and other delicacies, while being buttonholed by chiefs. One Senator, two party leaders-Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe and NDP leader Jack Layton-along with the solicitor general of Canada, Wayne Easter, attended.

An advisor from the Prime Minister's Office, 11 assistants to MPs and several senior bureaucrats, as well as the Aboriginal liaison with Liberal leadership candidate Paul Martin, also made an appearance.

The Canadian Alliance led all parties in attendance with seven members. The Liberals and the NDP each had five members drop by while four Bloc members attended, including longtime Indian Affairs critic Claude Bachand, who was recently succeeded by Yvan Loubier. One independent MP also came to hear the chiefs' point of view.

Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians Grand Chief Chris McCormick told Windspeaker that he and other chiefs had also been involved in one-on-one lobbying with MPs earlier in the day.

On Feb. 21, National Chief Matthew Coon Come congratulated the delegates for their efforts.

"I believe that what we did yesterday demonstrated our solidarity and showed we can do something on the Hill," he said.

Many chiefs spoke of the urgency of the situation and the lateness of the hour in opposing the government agenda. One said that members of the government itself needed to be targeted in any lobby effort.

Russell Diabo, a member of the AFN team that beat back former Minister Ron Irwin's Indian Act reform during Ovide Mercredi's term as national chief, now works for the Algonquins of Barriere Lake. He has been heavily involved in the fight against the legislative agenda of the current minister. He attended the confederacy as the proxy for Penticton Indian Band Chief Stewart Phillip.

Diabo, a former member of the Liberal Party's Aboriginal caucus, said that most Liberal MPs believe the governance legislation is necessary because First Nation leaders are inept and corrupt.

"That message has been internalized by most of the Liberal caucus," he told the chiefs. "They believe only the leaders object, not the grassroots people."

He suggested the AFN should develop a template letter that First Nations can send to MPs to voice their concern. He also urged the leaders to encourage their community members to speak out against the legislation.

"We need to get as close to the local and household and family level as we can," he said. "We need to show it is not just the leaders who object."

Six Nations of the Grand River Chief Roberta Jamieson said her community has already been pulling out all the stops.

"We've sent letters to all the consultants who do work for the band," she said. "They're there for the contracts. They should be there when we need help."

She also recommended that requests for assistance should be forwarded to prominent people, suggesting the likes of author Margaret Atwood and journalist Patrick Watson.

Dave General, a Six Nations councillor who was carrying the proxy for the Shawanaga irst Nation, suggested that musician Bruce Cockburn and Aboriginal celebrities should also be approached.

"If the newspapers are tired of seeing our politicians on the front page, maybe they'll be interested in our celebrities," he said.

One potential source of political help made his first appearance at an AFN meeting on Day 1. Newly-elected NDP leader Layton told the chiefs his caucus has decided to follow the AFN's lead in opposing the governance package. He told the chiefs his caucus believes the governance legislation must be defeated.

He agreed that the government is waging legislative war against First Nations. He told the national chief that the list of social problems faced by Native people "was long and powerful."

"And what response have you seen from our federal government? First, they have not responded with the resources that are needed. Worse than that, they brought down pieces of legislation, three pieces of legislation, which when you take them together amount to nothing less than an attack against the First Nations peoples of this land," he said.

"Pat Martin, who has been our critic in this area, working to advocate, working with you, is going to be working with me to ensure that our party in the House of Commons, in the communities, is advocating with you for justice, for rights for First Nations peoples, for First Nations to be treated like First Nations. The word 'nations' is important here. What we see in this legislation is a legacy of colonial thinking."

The new party leader said he has been instructed to be more visible on Native issues.

"I essentially have been asked by the membership and I think that's why they asked me to become the leader, to be out there in a very forceful way on these issues where injustice exists and to have a clear, strong position to the media, to all Canadians, so we can enlist their support," Jack Layton told Windspeaker.

He emphasized that his party will work in partnership with First Nations to show Candians the Native side of the issues. He said it was his experience that most Canadians have "no idea" that Third World conditions exist in their country.

"We had a wonderful Royal Commission report that exposed so much of this. Yet how many of its important recommendations have we seen? It's almost become a joke. A tragic joke."