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The New National Chief, and His Corporate Suitors

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But even if one ignores the fact that tens of thousands of victims of Canada's apartheid -- Phil Fontaine among them -- are very much alive, this argument falls apart under the most casual inspection. A brief survey of the ways in which we continue to marginalize First Nations in 2009 would include the fact that reserves are given half as much money for education per capita as the rest of Canadians receive; about 100 reserves country-wide lack access to clean drinking water; people on reserves are not allowed to own the homes they live in, and thus are unable to leverage their assets like the rest of us; of the tens of billions of dollars earned in taxes from resource extraction industries and spent on Canadians regardless of where they live (so long as it isn't a reserve), First Nations receive not a cent. Could all this, one wonders, have something to do with Canada's refusal to sign the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples?

Inspired by Obama

Such facts were no secret to the thousands who came to Calgary to witness the election of their new national chief. The question is what to do about it.

"They're talking about all this poverty, and yet here they are spending a million dollars on booze and posh hotels," said Rachel Wuttunee, a 28-year-old of mixed descent with a BA in First Nations studies from Vancouver Island University. "Why couldn't they do something more in line with aboriginal tradition, like hold the assembly in a natural setting away from the city?" Wuttunee saw this as an example of the huge generational rift between the 50 per cent of First Nations who are under 25 and the elders at their helm. But in a later conversation, she allowed that accepting sponsorship had its merits. "It's great that all these people are getting to do and see things here they've never done before. And at the same time, people who live in the city are embraced with our culture."

Atleo, who is hereditary chief of Vancouver Island's Ahousaht First Nation, seemed to me to demonstrate a fine understanding of the nuanced issues he'll be grappling with for at least the next three years. While his campaign centered above all on the need for education to lift First Nations out of poverty -- and help the rest of us understand the Third World in which so many of them live -- he's no less intent on building partnerships with industry or getting Ottawa to honour its treaty obligations.

A few hours after his swearing-in ceremony, tired but triumphant, Atleo spoke to a small crowd at a reception in the Hyatt. He'd sounded a little wooden during the campaign speech but now seemed more at ease, no longer resorting to notes and eliciting a wider range of emotion than before. He described visiting Washington to watch Obama's inauguration and reflected that "we are at a moment in history where we can see change around us that we can grasp and harness." Aside from some obvious changes he'd like to see in Ottawa, he also urged his own people to overcome the divisions that have made them all too easy to exploit over the past few centuries. "There's going to be tremendous potential for our peoples if we can coalesce from coast to coast," he said. His message to Ottawa was a blend of challenge and promise: "We must realize that prosperity for First Nations will mean prosperity for all Canada."

By then he'd changed out of the traditional vest he'd been wearing all week, and into a casual dinner jacket. You couldn't tell by looking that he was anything but Canadian. [Tyee]

Freelance writer Arno Kopecky reported for the Tyee's Hook blog this week from the AFN General Assembly from Calgary.

11 Comments:

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  • alive

    2 years ago

    Really

    Yeah , I get it, if the drinking water goes foul it is our problem, but if they find oil it is none of our business!
    When do we stop being so stupid?

  • realisticman

    2 years ago

    Aside from some obvious changes he'd like to see in Ottawa

    "Aside from some obvious changes he'd like to see in Ottawa..."

    Obvious? Like what? quote, "people on reserves are not allowed to own the homes they live in", does he want this to change?

  • dirk

    2 years ago

    I wish they would drop the

    I wish they would drop the "national chief" title and use the proper title of CEO.
    AFN represents 633 Indian Act Band Council chiefs period,it does not represent indigenous peoples in any sense of the word never mind in spirit.
    The very fact that AFN is pushing a "rights based" agenda rather than one based around sovereignty and treaty enforcement shows just how out of touch they are.But then again they know who their pay-masters are.
    The game as played by AFN is a dead end and mostly irrelevant as far as ordinary indigenous peoples are concerned.

  • Gary

    2 years ago

    Congratulations

    Congratulations A-in-chut.
    My hopes are that some if not all your visions come to pass. It will be a long hard road ahead. Put aside all the negatives or turn them to positives and progress will be made. I see the main negative already in the comments here. Education is definitely needed not only within the First Nations but obviously with the White Man. Education is what will make the change.

  • doggone

    2 years ago

    This "whitey" actually wishes you good luck

    What a maelstrom you inherit.
    ( I worked on the gymnasium for a while at the school and used to know Hughie fairly well)
    If I was you I'd keep my head down for a short time - but that's just me talking
    Years ago my sister's boyfriend, Wayne went face to face with what's his name?: Treudeu
    and Treudeau advised Wayne (Cheif of Okanagan) to
    "Get his shi2 gether"
    So Wayne did get his shi2 gether
    There seem to be some "whities" backin' you up and they are "way back" but that's ok - I am one "whitey" who loves the west coast (I have soaked in the Hot Spring)

  • DPL

    2 years ago

    It's interesting to watch

    It's interesting to watch the chiefs doing the rounds at the Golf Courses, hanging out in fancy hotels as the complain about poverty on reserves. who is to blame for the poverty folks? The flow of money to the chiefs and council gets bigger every year.Some band members have the newer trucks, nicer homes and others line up atthe food banks. Ten years living on a bit of land set aside( reserves) as a occupier really opened our eyes as to who was on the right side of things and who most certianly were not. we argued for modern treaties and changes to the Indian Act to protect the women and kids. Each time a DIAND Minister tried to make changes to the act the spit hit the fan. A lot fo the so called leaders like the status quo. Lets see if the new guy can light a fire under a few of them. Education and working for a living is a great start. Leaving the reserve is failry common and its tough to give up the perks of being on reserve status, but many have made the move, pay their taxes, educate their kids and many won't go back.

  • Cynic

    2 years ago

    Exactly, DPL. "Some band

    Exactly, DPL.

    "Some band members have the newer trucks, nicer homes and others line up atthe food banks."

    The elite who rule us know exactly how to keep the people down: just set up a sub-elite, preferably a psychopath, who will do our bidding, knowingly or not. Just look at their great success in Africa. I wonder if Sean knows what he's really up against.

  • ME2

    2 years ago

    cynic

    Just why should our power elites treat Indians any differently that they treat us? And since Indians happen to be ordinary humans too, why shouldn't their power elites act just like power elites anywhere else?

    When, I wonder, will the touchie-feelies stop applying an entirely different set of expectations, and rules and standards of every kind to aboiginals, than for "whitey"?

    When will it stop being acceptable for FNs to accuse us of a totality of base motivations toward them in every sphere of our relaions?

    When will FNs realise that we don't reply with the many real-life stories of FN failings, lest we begin a genuine race war? When will FNs stop ezploiting that fact?

    And when will both touchie-feelies and FNs realise that the FN propaganda mill is racist to its very core?

  • wayfarer

    2 years ago

    The Aboriginal Industry

    The image that sticks in my head is Chief Atleo shown striking a very fine drive at the country club (land, that ironically, belonged to his ancestors) before stepping on the plane to Calgary.

    The political corruption stemming from the Indian Act and reserve system has had decades to grow and evolve into a more and more sophisticated corruption. Coming to terms with this reality does not negate the injustices natives face, just as acknowledging injustice doesn't excuse aboriginal corruption.

    If you're interested in probing the issue, check out Widdowson and Howard's recent book: "Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation" -- http://www.amazon.ca/Disrobing-Aboriginal-Industry-Indigenous-Preservation/dp/0773534210

  • Just me

    2 years ago

    How apartheid works

    "Just why should our power elites treat Indians any differently that they treat us?"

    Well, for one, because non-native Canadians owe First Nations about 300-plus years of back rent. And two, because our courts finally have started to come to grips with this, it is the law.

    The law, I'm sure, is too touchie-feelie.

    Viewed from the outside, First Nations politics look to be almost as corrupt as, oh, say, Olympic politics. Or maybe Railgate? Bingogate? The Quebec sponsorship scandal? New Jersey?

    The terrible legacy of Canadian apartheid is that Canada (not necessarily "white" but its racially diverging mainstream) and its First Nations still face each other across such a gap of incomprehension. The real "two solitudes."

    To deny this gap also might be called "racist to the core."

  • lary waldman

    2 years ago

    conclusion

    Since I was young and growing up in Winnipeg, I have wondered why our people, the new arrivals, and our indigenous people, First Nations, can't just come to a conclusion whereby they manage their asset, and we manage ours. Where crossover occurs we operate with respect, and view one another as Canadians. It seems like the older generation will not get it, my hope is that younger Canadians will, and one day there will be a conclusion.

    Lary Waldman
    Qualicum Beach

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