Article by Andrea Bear Nicholas

Having been asked to write a piece on First Nations' issues relevant to the current election campaign I responded by pointing out that First Nations people cannot participate in federal or provincial politics without jeopardizing their treaty rights.

Since treaties can only be signed by nations, and not by citizens of the same nation, the benefits and obligations arising from a treaty continue to exist only as long as the nations that were original signatories to the treaty continue to exist. And those nations continue to exist only as long as they maintain separate institutions of government.

That First Nations' lives are dominated by that piece of Canadian legislation known as the Indian Act is a serious infringement on our status as nations, but it does not negate it. By choosing as individuals, however, to participate in institutions of Canadian government, we put our status as separate nations into jeopardy, and with it, our claim to treaty benefits.

So it is as a dominated people, and not as potential voters that we need to speak out on issues of importance hoping that both candidates and the electorate will address these issues during the election campaign and act on them afterwards. In this case I would like to comment on a matter essential to our survival as First Nations, that of our linguistic rights.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nbvotes2010/story/2010/09/02/nbvotes-analysis-a...