Grand Chief Derek Nepinak and (Human) Treaty Rights

On September 18, 2013 the Grand Chief Derek Nepinak of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs came to the University of Manitoba to give his vision for treaty rights and relations between First Nations (or Status Indians - there was a whole debate surrounding this term) and the federal government.  GC Nepinak has been very controversial in the past year having very closely aligned himself with the Idle No More movement and has presented a opposing vision of the relations that should exist between First Nations and the Federal government. While some have accused him of trying to destroy the Assembly of First Nations when you hear CG Nepinak speak you hear someone who is concerned that the current system is not working for First Nations peoples and the current approach in dealing with the federal government is in fact not allowing First nations to be strong and self-reliant peoples, but peoples living in dependence. 

GC Nepinak has now set up another national organization of a Treaty Alliance which hopes to bring recogogniztion and respect of the treaties that have been signed by the crown and First Nations. He was introduced by Dr Niiganan Sinclair (UManitoba). He partially addressed the idea that his work is not only so he may challenge for the position of GC of the Assembly of First Nations, but promote greater understanding between Aboriginal peoples and Canadians. He certainly demonstrates that he does not beleive the approach used by current AFM leadership is working. I should note he never actually said he was interested in being CG of the AFN, but there seems to be an undercurrent pushing him to this position.

CG Nepinak is asking for a return to a original understanding of the treaties. It is a very difficult line to walk between building and destruction An Elder said to me it is easier to destroy than to build or we can live in two ways, the path of chaos or the path of the good life. It will certainly be an on going debate for years to come. If the work of GC Nepinak in Manitoba and all treaty territories to change the way First Nation peoples deal in their relations with the federal government and all Canadians starts gaining greater traction, we must remember where it started. 

To Learn More (Video)

http://youtu.be/wUh0pEkp3ek

A Life of Resilience: The Example of Elder Ralph Paul

Ralph Paul taken from Nativejournal.ca

This week it is a two part interview with the very active and inspiring Elder Ralph Paul from English River First Nation. Over the course of 50 minutes we discuss his life from when at age 6 he was sent to residential school in Saskatchewan to his later years as a chief for his community. After a very difficult time away from his mother, father and family at Residential school he was eventually chosen to be one of the first Indians to attend a white school in the Battleford area. A Catholic priest believed in his abilities and felt further education would be profitable to him. Ultimately he graduated and was offered the chance to enter teachers college when he earned a one year teaching certificate and so began a very long career. During that time there were not a lot of options available for young men, teacher, priest, or book keeper, so Ralph felt lucky. Ralph has worked in schools in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Eventually in 1973 he was working in Thompson as a school counsellor. He was advising children to get an education yet he did not have much of an education. In 1974 he enrolled at the University of Manitoba for a Bac of Ed degree. He was one of only 13 Indian students.

He also married to a lovely Scottish lady and had two children and both have been very successful in their chosen careers. He learned form his wife how to care and love children because it was not something that you would have learned in Residential school. He in time became the best father he could. The question is why some people are successful even after the horrors of the residential school era. Why do some have an inner resilience and have been able to become successful. We discussed marital relationships and how a man and woman should not discuss politics, but focus on loving each other.

Eventually he moved back to his reservation after he had retired in early 2000s. After 8 years near the community he was elected chief. A position he held for 4 years before taking another break. There was along discussion about politics, chief, financing, funding, per diems, treaties and other issues that have been very hot in the media with a lot of misnomers and misunderstanding. Ralph felt it is important that a chief speak the truth and understand the needs of the people he represents. It is not a top down approach, but consultation and involving people in the governance and running of the reserve.

He told a number of stories about how the elders felt that are the signing of the treaties it would take 7 generation for the Dene people to surpass the Moonyas people of Canada. He feels we are in the 6 generation and it will be his grandchildren and my children who will be the most successful and truly rise to their full potential.
To Learn More (Interview and Podcast Part I)
https://archive.org/download/RalphPaulPartIMixdown/ralph%20paul%20part%20i%20mixdown.mp3  
https://archive.org/details/RalphPaulPartIMixdown
To Learn more (Interview and Podcast Part II)
https://archive.org/details/RalphPaulPartIiMixdown
https://archive.org/download/RalphPaulPartIiMixdown/ralph%20paul%20part%20ii%20mixdown.mp3  

Citations

Message Lost in Translation: The Indian Act & No Way Forward

This is an interview in french only that (Oct 22, 2012) I did with Radio-Canada about the Indian Act and the motions presented by liberal leader Bob Rae and the conservative Tory MP Rob Clarke in late 2012. Both Parties had presented very opposing points of view about how they see the need for changes to the Indian Act and how these changes should be implemented.

The Conservative point of view is to have a slow incremental changes while the liberal point of view is that the Indian Act should have massive change after consultations with First Nations. The problem is neither is really an adequate solution because the conservative view will modify an imperfect system and make it only more functional, but still imperfect while the liberals are not likely to get much consensus from politicians and First Nations. The proverbial Rock and a Hard place. perhaps we should all move to England and start a fresh.

I think the need for a major overhaul of the Indian Act is long overdue, but as we know the Conservative have no mandate (example Senator Brazeau) and have little chance to bring about consensus. The excuse that consensus will never come so we must impose a solution is also wrong. It is time we spent some long hard hours talking between Canadians about these issues. The issues though must be worded in terms that the average Canadian can understand, Human Rights. If First Nations people continue to use the term Treaty Rights, we will be talking to ourselves. We need to allow the average Canadian the ability to have a reference point something they can grasp.

For most Canadians they see treaty rights as being special rights that they do not have, wrongly or rightly this is the impression. While attending the American Indian Studies Conference in Phoenix Arizona on Feb 7-8 2013 I was in a hot tub with three Canadians and a couple of Americans. there were two parts to our debate the first part was after we each talked I realised we were not sharing the same common language about the issues. I changed my language and we finished the very constructive debate of 2 hours about the idea of human rights to education, housing, food security. The Canadians got it and understood when it was done in these term. Paul Nadasdy wrote a book Hunters and Bureaucrats: Power Knowledge and Aboriginal State Relations in the Southwest Yukon where he talks about how Aboriginal peoples must translate our concepts and understanding into term that average people can understand.

Interview with Radio-Canada about the Indian Act

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSIrDCmJ7UM&feature=g-crec-u 

A friend of mine Leo Baskatawang, who walked across Canada to change and abolish the Indian Act also talks about this issue: March4Justice
http://www.attheedgeofcanada.blogspot.ca/2012/11/leo-basktawang-march4justice-dragging.html

Treaty & Constitutional Negotiations of 1980-82: Understanding the Past to Create the Future.

This is an interview I did with the great and knowledgeable Tony Belcourt who is a Metis leader from Ontario. He was there when Aboriginal organisations and especially the Metis defended their ideals of sovereignty and treaty rights. He discusses the roles and the histories surrounding the 1980-1982 Constitutional negotiations between the federal, provincial governments and the Aboriginal governments. For anyone wanting to know more where the word Aboriginal comes from, the origins of many Aboriginal organisations and the importance of this era to Indigenous Rights in Canada you would do well to listen to the words of Tony.

Understand the past to create the future.

To Learn More (Interview and Podcast)

http://archive.org/download/ConfederationOf1982AndTonyBelcourt/TonyBelcourtMixdown.mp3 





Citations