Crown / First Nations Summit
January 13, 2012 - 2:18pm
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excerpt: (summit is January 24)
Grand Chief Derek Nepinak, head of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, said Third-World conditions in native communities are a symptom of the unequal relationship between aboriginals and the Crown. Harper must take immediate action following the summit or frustrated young people will start taking matters into their own hands, he warned.
"Our young people are fed up with the way things are," Nepinak said. "We've made several attempts to deal with this through diplomatic means and political means, but we're reaching a point where the winds have shifted.
"People are frustrated. If diplomacy fails, we can't speak for what happens beyond that."
Harper announced the long-awaited summit last month when a housing crisis in the Cree community of Attawapiskat became high profile. First Nations chiefs had been asking for such a meeting since the summer of 2010. Harper called it a "historic" opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing aboriginal people.
The summit is only for one day and Nepinak said First Nations are tired of being trotted out for photo opportunities. They want to see some real change.
"It's a small window of opportunity. We're going to do our best to kick that window in."
Grand Chief Stan Beardy, who represents dozens of northern Ontario First Nations, said the treaties signed by his ancestors promised to share the land and its resources, yet his people live in poverty while governments make millions off the north's natural resources.
Beardy said he has managed to convince some people to give diplomacy a chance, but that hasn't paid off so far.
Land claims, education, economic development on Jan. 24 meeting agenda
According to a preliminary agenda released by the AFN, three concurrent sessions will be held during which First Nations delegations can address members of the cabinet and government officials on the following topics:
Ghislain Picard, the Assembly of First Nations regional chief for Quebec and Labrador, says it is not yet clear whether regional chiefs will have a chance to present their issues directly to the prime minister or his cabinet ministers at the Jan. 24 meeting.
The issues on the agenda are huge, and it is still unclear how exactly the discussions will proceed, how many regional chiefs will be able to make presentations, which of them will be able to address the prime minister directly, which cabinet members will be in attendance or even how long the prime minister will actually be at the meeting.
I heard a soundbite from PMSH more or less saying not to expect much from this summit. He treats everything as a foregone conclusion. He is the antithesis of a negotiator.
I wonder how much of the summit - if any - will be televised?
Shawn Atleo was on CTV's QP today but I'd have to watch it again at 5 pm to report accurately - he was asked about the Northern Gateway pipeline, and his response* caught me off guard a bit. Maybe someone else can comment if they watched QP today?
1/3 of the Harper cabinet will be there for the whole day, and Harper will be there only half the day, if that much.
*I'm not entirely positive of this, but it seemed to me that on QP Atleo has brought into the government's claim that a good chunk of the Fed's $600billion from tar sands (of $3trillion total sales) over the life of the project (50 - 100 years) will be used for First Nations employment, education, and housing. I need confirmation from others that I heard this correctly.
ETA: Just watched QP a second time - he said $400billion, not $600billion. And he raised a figure of $115billion - not sure what that was in reference to.
The GG will be present, to represent the Crown.
First Nations economies need 'urgent' action, Atleo says
First Nations to raise 'bread and butter issues' with CrownMishkeegogamang Chief Connie Gray-McKay said she only wants one thing out of the chiefs' meeting with Stephen Harper this week - for basic human rights to be met on First Nations reserves.
and:
Historic First Nations summit may not yield concrete outcomesexcerpt:
The government has shown no inclination to earmark the billions of dollars First Nations say is needed for immediate crises. Chiefs will be watching the next federal budget closely to see how serious Harper really is.
Robert Lovelace: A most important gathering: Determining the future for us allThe potential for history to repeat itself is obvious. Indeed, the prospect of Aboriginal youth migrating from reserve dependency to take up residency in the dwindling Canadian middle-class is horrific. Just spend a few days and nights in the real north end of Winnipeg. The hope that the youngest population in Canada is going to succeed in an economy increasingly dependent on the export of primary resources and progressively less capable of supporting social equity in wages, health care, education and social services has to be wishful thinking at best. As sure as the security of lottery tickets, people on Federal Indian reserves will be offered the chance to convert their ancestral titles to private property. The Reform Parties' proposals will be staged so as not to confuse twisting the arm with breaking it. The only thing in the Harper Plan that makes any sense is the expansion of prisons and fortification of the criminal justice system. He's going to need it.
The real potential for the gathering on January 24 is to challenge the preconceived notions of our shared relationship. Aboriginal people and settler Canadians have come to depend on policies that were established in the 18th and 19th centuries during times when Indigenous economies were most threatened and colonial corporations wielded the military power of imperial nations. This dependence on a transitory and unjust reality has even led the Supreme Court of Canada to declare (against all moral rationality) that the Indigenous Nations are inferior. No matter what the courts say, in practice you cannot have equitable relations when one party can only consult and the other party has license to dominate.
A relationship built upon such a context is doomed to failure. Failure will ensure the continuation of at least cold violence and most certainly will lead to the moral decay of both societies. The colonial government of Canada cannot just apologize. Great leaders must take up the cause and work of de-institutionalizing colonial policy and practice and give equal recognition and authority to those upon whose homelands Canada was founded. Anything less will be movement in the wrong direction.
Remember how Harper and Flaherty dealt with the provinces on health care by giving them a deal and saying in effect "take it or leave it"? I wonder if that will be Harper's tactic tomorrow.
Conservative FN senator Patrick Brazeau was just on P&P praising the Harper government for their handling of First Nations issues - and was roundly criticized by the other two FN panelists who were pretty outraged at his comment. Evan Solomon joined in because he looked as if he couldn't believe his ears. Brazeau went on to say the best thing Harper could do for FN is scrap the Indian Act entirely. Brazeau - if I remember correctly - co-authored a book with Tom Flanagan on scrapping the Indian Act - but also giving First Nations full property rights. Which is interesting because 'property rights' are not a part of our Charter or Constitution. Brazeau is pretty right wing, probably the only FN person I've ever seen sing the praises of Harper. I think we had a conversation on this in the 'Property Rights' thread.
Boom Boom, much as I hate to quote myself, here is what I said about this asshole Brazeau three years ago:
Patrick Brazeau is an ambitious pal of Harper and his policies. He attacks mainstream Aboriginal organizations. He calls for federal funding of Aboriginals to be frozen until "accountability" can be established - just like any neo-con would do. He condemns the Kelowna Accord because it was going to hand out money without "accountability". He likes Harper's approach better. When the "coalition" was formed this month, he asked so-called "rhetorical" questions, such as:
"Does the formation of a coalition government take away from one's right to vote?"
"Does the fact that the Bloc Quebecois (a separatist party) would hold the balance of power ridicule our parliamentary system and democracy?"
He wants Harper to pass legislation on "accountability", and wants funding to bypass the chiefs and go to the "grassroots" people.
If he didn't self-identify as Aboriginal, he would be condemned as a typical neo-con splitter of Aboriginal peoples and ally of the worst elements in the Harper ranks.
Of course, he was appointed "Senator" for his treason to indigenous people. Hope he chokes on his salary.
ETA: There's lots more about that crooked character in the thread from 2008-9.
Harper's Indian Meet-and-Greet - by Dan David
http://www.mediacoop.ca/story/harpers-indian-meet-and-greet/9686
"One thing is certain though. The abuse will continue. Indians don't matter. That's it. That's all..."
Wow. Thanks for the reminder, U. I'll have to go and read through that thread.
Brazeau is a self serving traitor.
As for Harper, I'm sure he's going to break arms as Robert Lovelace predicts. Shawn Atleo is nowhere near as forthright as Mathew Coom Come unfortunately.
Atleo-bureaucrat summit: How bad does it have to get?
excerpt:
This First Nation-Crown Summit has now been reduced to an Atleo-bureaucrat summit where most of the time will be taken in fluffy, empty speeches to make Harper look good, some gift-giving and ceremony and then Harper leaves before anyone has a chance to talk about the hard issues. If Atleo would stand for this on behalf of all the Chiefs, this makes me wonder -- how bad does it have to get? What would it take for Atleo to say enough?
His lack of action and bizarre defence of Harper makes me wonder if Atleo is the new Brazeau? No progress has been made, yet Atleo is always defending the Conservatives. That may have got Brazeau a Senate seat, but it didn't improve the lives of First Nations people.
I guess I'll get my answer when Atleo responds to this latest development. If he defends Harper's no-show at the upcoming meeting -- I guess there is nothing more I can say about it. We'll see on the news tonight or tomorrow if he stands up for us or supports Harper.
Good column at rabble.ca:
[oops. Boom Boom beat me to it!]
...Evan Solomon joined in because he looked as if he couldn't believe his ears. Brazeau went on to say the best thing Harper could do for FN is scrap the Indian Act entirely. Brazeau - if I remember correctly - co-authored a book with Tom Flanagan on scrapping the Indian Act - but also giving First Nations full property rights...
I don't know Brazeau, but I've watched some of Solomon's shows and I cringe when Flanigan is given his soap box appearance on it. Now there's a man with a poisinous attitude towards Indigneous cultures. To the right audience he could be very compeling in his dismisal of us.
...His lack of action and bizarre defence of Harper makes me wonder if Atleo is the new Brazeau?...
I'd have to agree with Ms Palmater's uncertainty. Atleo had been on a bit of a Chambers of Commerce tour and at one particullar meeting, in I believe Toronto, he announced that First Nations communities were "open for business". I was disappointed hearing this said, not only because I see such a pronouncement as the purview of individual communities, but it places our hands in a system that has sustained and caused much of our problems. I don't know what to hope for from this gathering. Harper isn't someone Indigenous people can count on. Arrgh... I hate to be that negative for something that should be hopeful.
Live coverage: Crown - http://aptn.ca/pages/news/tag/gathering/
A full-dress RCMP corporal "performing" the "national" anthem. This is a great start.
The G-G looked as if he was watching an anthropology lecture.
The PM looked as if he was watching a kindergarten class at play.
I'm sick already.
It's on CPAC. #512 on Bell ExpressVu (satellite) here.
The Crown's gift: a *reproduction* of a painting of the battle of Queenston Heights.
Greg Rickford is speaking - he was called a liar last night on P&P because he said there is no disparity in education funding between aboriginal children and non-aboriginal children.
The G-G just hailed the "cooperation" of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal soldiers in the war of 1812 as being the nation-building moment. Weren't both fighting for colonial Britain against the newly-independent states - or did I miss something?
He was introduced, in glowing terms, by a member of the AFN youth council.
Photo-ops and propaganda for Harper.
Harper just blamed minority parliaments for standing in his way!
Now the cold-blooded overlord Harper, cynically praising Aboriginal people for being cannon fodder not only in the War of 1812, but in all the wars since - fighting to defend freedom and democracy. Keep dying for the realm, and we'll throw you some crumbs. Maybe.
This should be interesting - Harper has just promised to replace elements of the Indian Act with modern legislation.
Atleo recalls the "sacred alliance of our native ancestors with the British Crown". Hope I got that right. Actually, maybe not.
Atleo honours the military skills of Aboriginal warriors in the War of 1812.
He condemns the legacy of the Indian Act - says it's long past time to change it.
Yes - Atleo is not holding back - he blames the Indian Act for all the pain First Nations have suffered for so long.
Against the Assembly of First Nations
http://warriorpublications.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/resist-the-assimilat...
"The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) was first established in 1980 in Ottawa. It claims to be the national representative of Indigenous people across Canada, one that fights for our title and rights. In reality, it is a state-funded organization comprised of Indian Act band council chiefs, who act as neo-colonial agents in the interests of governments and corporations..."
Harper tells chiefs they should contact their MPs
Yes - Atleo is not holding back - he blames the Indian Act for all the pain First Nations have suffered for so long.
Right. So now when Harper amends the Act to promote private partnerships to (e.g.) exploit the tar sands - or else, "you're on your own" - he can say, "well, I thought they supported changing the Act".
On CTV a commentator just said there's potential conflict brewing between First Nations, the provinces, and the Feds - over resource development, and First Nations standing in the way.
I wonder when Atleo received his copy of the script?
Harper's fixation with all things military should really give all Canadian pause.
Against the Assembly of First Nations
http://warriorpublications.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/resist-the-assimilat...
"The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) was first established in 1980 in Ottawa. It claims to be the national representative of Indigenous people across Canada, one that fights for our title and rights. In reality, it is a state-funded organization comprised of Indian Act band council chiefs, who act as neo-colonial agents in the interests of governments and corporations..."
Thank you, NDPP, for the link to this article. It's very well written and provides an all-too-rare class analysis of the crisis of colonialism and exploitation of the indigenous people of this country.
I recommend it highly.
Stan Beardy said they don't just want jobs etc. from resource development - they want a share of the "wealth".
From poverty to wealth - sounds like a plan.
Stan Louttit is being interviewed. He was asked his opinion about Harper's indications about creating private property rights on reserves. Louttit didn't say no. He said, we have to be there in the discussions, right from the outset, and we'd have to buy into it.
Apparently, nothing is "sacred". It's all up for discussion.
I can't watch this any more. I have other things to do. Anything else would be preferable. History is full of massacres. Don't need to witness another one. I'll look at the reports later.
CPAC reports that FN are asking for:
1. A First Nations - Premiers - PM meeting.
2. A guaranteed number of seats in the House of Commons and Senate be set aside for FN.
No. 2 is not a good idea. Respect can't be a impossed.
Wow - did Chief Jody Wilson Raybold just accuse Harper of neocolonialism???
(edited to correct name)No. 2 is not a good idea. Respect can't be a impossed.
I think the idea is that FN will select candidates to run for a determined number of seats. Not imposed at all.
Ovide Mercredi is demanding that Canada respect and enforce treaties made between FN and the Crown.
Mercredi: "We have considered going back to Britain to remind them what Queen Victoria promised".
Live coverage on APTN will resume at 4 pm.
Thanks to Regional Chief Jody Wilson Raybold and Ovide Mercredi.
Yes - and she got the first round of spontaneous applause I've seen this morning (there were others later). She was actually quite brilliant and inspiring. And rather than just talking about "we want a share of the resource wealth", she focused on self-government.
PS: I lied (to myself) when I said I wouldn't watch any more. As soon as she came on, I was pulled back in.
Okay - Harper said he can not dump the Indian Act entirely, he can just make changes to it. Chief Jody Wilson Raybold said that "tinkering with the Indian Act amounts to neocolonialism". And she said this directly to Harper.
Live coverage on APTN will resume at 4 pm.
Thanks to Regional Chief Jody Wilson Raybold and Ovide Mercredi.
CPAC just said their coverage will resume right after the lunch break - 130 pm.
ETA: oops! CPAC is just replaying their coverage from this morning. Live coverage continues at 4pm, same as APTN.
Cameras aren't allowed in the meetings themselves. 4 pm will be the closing ceremony, from what I understand.
Following the closing ceremonies I think we will have a lot of speeches from the participants on what transpired inside the meeting rooms. CBC has booked Chief Stan Louttit I think. There will be full coverage on CBC's P&P and CTV's Politics show, as well as on APTN and CPAC.
Breaking news! Harper will actually stay through to the end of the meeting he called!
Oh, dear.
Stuff white journalists say @rosiebarton RT: There are some fabulous head dresses here. #cfng
3 minutes ago via web
P&P: The PM has promised incremental changes to the Indian Act, but the FN chiefs (one from Manitoba now being interviewed) are saying incremental change is not enough. He also says the meetings today lacked substance.
John Duncan - saying FN communities that do fiscally well will be rewarded by the government. Going to have to flesh this out with some links as they become available.
Grand Chief Atleo said right away there will be task forces set up on resource revenue sharing and FN education.
Chiefs want this to be an annual meeting - no commitment from the feds on this. However, a progress report card will be issued January 24, 2013.
Chiefs want a meeting of First Ministers (Premiers), PM, and FN chiefs - no commitment on this from the feds.
Harper has been in power six years - and cancelled the Kelowna Accord when he became PM. Why has this meeting taken the PM six years to facilitate??? Would the Kelowna Accord have made any difference if Harper had honoured it?
Symbolism at First Nations Summit (and vid)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/video/video-symbolism-at-first-natio...
"...to declare our sovereignty and to ensure that we would not lose the essence and the formal legitimacy of that sovereignty.."
Can Canada overcome its 'Katrina moment'? video
As the country's prime minister meets with aboriginal chiefs, we look at the plight of some First Nations communities.
quote:
"Canada not only created these reserves, they displaced First Nation's laws with provincial child welfare, education and health laws that should apply to all Canadians. The result is most horribly experienced by children. One-in-six First Nations communities don't even have the basics like water; some of them are using buckets for sewers. The list goes on and it is unacceptable in a wealthy country like ours, and completely preventable."
Cindy Blackstock from the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestoryamericas/2012/01/20121249...
There were two visions for the Crown-First Nations relationship at the summit meeting yesterday in Ottawa: assimilation and reconciliation.
And there was one over-riding concern: trust.
From Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development John Duncan, we heard self-congratulation for the Conservative record over the past six years and a desire to implement incremental change under the framework of the Indian Act. Their suggested changes include privatization of reserve lands and legislation that, rather than supporting self-government, imposes provincial rules on reserves.
As Regional Chief Jody Wilson-Raybould eloquently rebutted, such changes are unilaterally imposed, emphasize individual rights and continue the colonialist, racist regime established in the 1876 Indian Act. For so long as the Indian Act governs, the policy of assimilation will not change.
As anyone paying attention to the diminishing quality of life on many reserves knows, the Conservatives have nothing to be proud of in their record. That does not build trust.
— Romeo Saganash
quote:
BC Assembly of First Nations Proposed Solutions and Desired Outcomes - First Nations/Crown Gathering, January 24, 2012
...The following desired outcomes from the First Nations/Crown Gathering to be held January 24, 2012 in Ottawa, are organized around the four pillars that form the basis of the BCAFN Building on OUR Success Action Plan. The action items under each desired outcome reflect the mandate as resolved and directed by the Chiefs through our three Provincial organizations - the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and the First Nations Summit. The action items identified for each outcome reflect actions that require Canada's involvement or support to implement and should inform any agreed to work plan or statement coming out of the First Nations/Crown Gathering and that would support the initiatives of the Chiefs of British Columbia.
1. Fair Lands and Resources....
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/909727/british-columbia-first-nations-le...
Chief Theresa Spence (Attawapiskat) was interviewed on CBC at noon, she predicts aboriginal young people are totally fed up and are going to make some noise and take other actions.
I wonder if the $6billion Kelowna Accord would have made a difference had it been implemented six years ago.
Off to See the Wizard: the 2012 AFN-Crown Summit
http://warriorpublications.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/off-to-see-the-wizar...
"Like bannock, band-councils and blocades, Native delegations to see the 'Great White Father' are by now an entrenched part of Native culture. Always presented as something new and dynamic, they follow a predictable pattern: militant sounding chiefs go to the colonial fort, hat in hand, to ask for more money and power from their political masters. If their demands are not met there will be an Indian uprising...
Far from defending Native peoples and their 'Aboriginal Rights', the AFN chiefs are instead endangering the very survival of Native peoples and territories by promoting greater resource extraction and disposession from their last remaining land bases (reservations), while at the same time jockeying for more profit and political power."
Pamela Palmater was just on P&P warning Grand Chief Atleo to be very careful about what FN's are agreeing to. And "property rights" for FNs - that's a clear attempt for corporations and governments to buy up new privately-held FN territory to steal natural resources.
Paul Martin to Harper On First Nations: Get On With It, You Wasted 6 Years
First Nations youth “unrest” aimed at “own” leadership video
quote:
“A lot of the unrest amongst are young people is also geared towards our own leadership and the invitation is (there) for our current leadership to be open (up) to what our young people have to offer,”said Tootoosis. “There is a lot of intelligent young people out there who can see things differently from a more organic perspective than the current state of our current leadership.”
I feel like there is a great deal of divide and conquer strategies at play here :-(
For sure there are problems with some of the leadership and the youth should be active in changing things in their community. But they should tread carefully if they think working with someone like Harper is going to make their lives better. Traditional leadership has struggled to maintain their cultural identity in the wake of all the damage that was done with policies of assimilation that included residential schools. That has been an overwhelming task because the damage was deep.
I just hope FN youth don't fall into some trap that Harper is setting up.
Saskatchewan natives reject national action plan
Attempts by the head of Canada’s largest aboriginal group to strike a new relationship between first nations and the federal government face a rocky future as chiefs in the West angrily denounce a process that they say was crafted without their consultation or approval.
Chiefs attending a meeting this week of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) unanimously endorsed a motion rejecting the Canada-First Nations Joint Action Plan.
“They never consulted with any of the nations,” Chief Wallace Fox of the Onion Lake Cree Nation, the author of the motion, said in a telephone interview on Thursday. “There was no consultation or endorsement from us as chiefs of this region for this process.”
The action plan, which the federal government and the Assembly of First Nations unveiled last summer, was reaffirmed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo last month in Ottawa at what has been called a historic meeting between chiefs and federal officials. Largely aspirational, it aims to improve first-nations prosperity through better education, economic development, respect for culture and transparency.
But Mr. Fox said the plan would negatively affect the work that he and his people have been doing to develop their own laws and governance systems based on their treaty rights.
quote:
Saskatchewan is not the only place where Mr. Atleo is facing opposition.
Chiefs in Manitoba held a meeting last week at which they passed a resolution asking Grand Chief Derek Nepinak to take several steps in regard to the meeting in January between the Prime Minister and first nations.
“Most of the steps that I am mandated to take are internal and cannot be discussed openly in the media,” Mr. Nepinak explained. “I can share with you, however, that the Manitoba chiefs do not endorse the process identified at the gathering.”...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/saskatchewan-natives-reject...
BC Introduces Law Allowing Development on First Nations Reserves
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/bc-introduces-law-allowing-dev...
"The British Columbia government introduced legislation Thursday that it says will soothe the fears of investors and clear the way for aboriginal entrepreneurship on reserve land. The legislation will mean provincial laws and regulations will apply to commercial, industrial and residential developments on aboriginal reserves. Scott Fraser, the opposition New Democrats aboriginal relations critic, said the proposed law could stimulate economic activity on reserves.."
Ed John Takes Up International Responsibility
http://www.ammsa.com/node/29937
"Even though Grand Chief Edward John has the support of prominent First Nations organizations as he bid for the job of representing Canada's Indigenous peoples on the international stage, he was ultimately selected to the post for his expertise. The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues announced on April 28 that John, along with 15 other delegates from around the world has been chosen to serve three year terms.."