Canada's First People Weblog

UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

2007-09-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

BBC Reports:

"The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a non-binding
declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples after 22 years of
debate.

The document proposes protections for the human rights of native
peoples, and for their land and resources.

It passed despite opposition from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and
the United States. They said it was incompatible with their own laws.

***********

A leader of a group representing Canada's native communities criticised his government's decision to oppose the declaration.

"We're very disappointed... It's about the human rights of indigenous peoples throughout the world. It's an important symbol," said Phil Fontaine, leader of the Assembly of First Nations.

'Need for balance'

Campaign group Survival International says Canada's Innu tribe, who live in the frozen Labrador-Quebec peninsula, are struggling to maintain their traditional lifestyle as the government allows mining concessions, hydro-electric power schemes, and roads on their land.

The Canadian government said it supported the "spirit" of the declaration, but could not support it because it "contains provisions that are fundamentally incompatible with Canada's constitutional framework."

"It also does not recognise Canada's need to balance indigenous rights to lands and resources with the rights of others," a joint statement from the Canadian ministries of Indian and Foreign Affairs said.

Vancouver Island Treaty Passes With Large Majority

2007-08-01T01:52:00.000-07:00

"The Huu-ay-aht First Nation on the west coast of Vancouver Island
have voted 90 per cent in favour of the Maa-nulth Treaty, which they
are part of along with four other first nations. Of the 303 eligible
Huu-ay-aht voters who cast ballots on Saturday, 272 approved the
treaty granting the Huu-ay-aht self-government, land and cash, as well
as access to fisheries, forestry and other economic opportunities
valued at $145-million. Huu-ay-aht voters also approved the transfer
of band assets to the new Huu-ay-aht government. The treaty is
expected to take effect in 2010 if the other four Maa-nulth Nations
approve the treaty in their votes, expected in October. That will be
followed by votes in the provincial legislature and in Parliament..."

The Globe and Mail, July 30, 2007, p. A5

Time For a VIrtual Aboriginal Province?

2007-07-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

A Canada Day Commentary by Alastair Sweeny

With Canada facing a long, hot summer of native protests, Minister Jim Prentice and Chief Phil Fontaine deserve kudos for pulling together a new proposition to speed up specific land claims. But no amount of pushing and pulling and funding will cure what is at heart a deeply dysfunctional system.

Last year’s Kaseshewan Crisis and Chief Phil Fontaine's cri de coeur that the treatment of Canada's aboriginal children is a human rights issue only goes half way. This state of affairs is a travesty of government brought on by a lack of democracy and a crisis of modernism. Reserves like Kaseshewan are obsolete and everybody knows it.

Canada's antique reserve system was set up like a trusteeship, where the Crown was the official guardian of the Indian people, who were essentially the Queen's children. Reserves were never Indian property, but only set aside for their use and benefit. They remained Crown land. Like minors in orphanages protected by a court system, they had no real rights except those accorded under common law.

This state of affairs led to all sorts of stupidity, as for example when returning Indian veterans came back from the war to find they could not get veterans land grants because they already had the land, in common.

Maladministration by the Department of Indian Affairs was common, and malpractice flourished, as in the residential school system, run for the Department by the churches. The Indian people were like a body parasitized by thousands of bureaucratic fleas.

Indian agents were usually political appointees. Some were decent, but others used the reserves for financial and other gain. It is said by some Indian people that bad reserves usually had a bad series of agents.

The reserves themselves often turned into family run enterprises, sometimes in collusion with the agent.

All these were problems of democracy, which were eased somewhat when John Diefenbaker gave Canada’s Indian people the vote. An explosion of Indian politicking has occurred, and reforms have been made, but the system is still not meeting the needs of the aboriginal people of Canada.

Billions of dollars and scores of Kelownas cannot solve the whole rotten system. But how to reform it?

_______________________________________________________________________________________

"The solution to the problems of democracy is more democracy." Saul Alinsky

Canada’s Indian people need real democratic power to control their own destiny, and the way to do this is to establish a virtual Indian province with its own bicameral government, where Indian people are truly masters of their own destiny. But how to set up a structure that takes into account the different language and tribal groups that make up Canada's First Nations?

The US Constitution is a good place to start. Supposedly inspired by the Iroquois Confederacy, it gives the US a strong Congress with representative power balanced out by state power in the Senate. In an Indian province, an upper house or Council of Elders would be used to balance out the various linguistic groups so the Algonkians and Crees did not dominate by population.

This sort of system could be grafted onto Canada's current constitution without too many radical changes, and parts could be instituted in stages.

Instead of the money wasted today, instead of Kelowna-like feel-good agreements, the new province would be given transfer payments like any other less fortunate province.

Like any province, the new entity would have control over education, health and municipalities. Local reserves or provincial groups would have the option in some cases to hire expertise, and buy services from the provinces.

The new province would have control over reserve policing, and could hire the RCMP or OPP for individual cases, such as controlling corruption and criminal activity on and off reserves.

The Indian province could set up a rational tax system with auditor general. It could treat current reserves as municipalities, with a body like the Ontario Municipal Board to manage development.

The new virtual province could have its own capital, somewhere central such as Manitoulin, and it could use modern-day conferencing technology to limit face-to-face meetings to only a few weeks a year.

It's time to fix a structure that is no longer working and never will work.

B.C. Supreme Court Ruling Strikes Down s. 6 of the 1985 Indian Act

2007-06-18T00:30:00.000-07:00

"The B.C. Supreme Court has wiped out one of the most contentious aspects
of the federal Indian Act, striking down part of Ottawa's definition of a
status Indian and opening the door to hundreds of thousands of new
applications for native services. The court rejected part of the existing
legal definition on the grounds that it discriminates against Canadians who
trace their aboriginal roots through their female relatives rather than
their father or grandfather. The ruling alters the federal law that has long
created two classes of aboriginals in Canada: the 767,000 who fit the
definition of status Indian and the several hundred thousand more who don't.
The 2001 census found 976,000 Canadians who self-identified as aboriginal
and more than 1.3 million who said they had aboriginal ancestry. Many
aboriginals who failed in their requests for status will now have a much
better chance of success, said Beverley Jacobs, the president of the Native
Women's Association of Canada.... Aboriginals with status qualify for
prescription drug coverage and can apply for postsecondary assistance.
Status Indians are also exempt from paying taxes on income earned on
reserves. But Sharon McIvor, who successfully challenged the law with her
son Jacob Grismer, argued in court that status also carries a huge social
value in native communities that can mean the difference between acceptance
or rejection."

B.C. Court Strikes Down Status
Provisions of Indian Act,
Appeal, Chaos Certain
"It is the intention of these reasons to declare that s. 6
of the 1985 Act is of no force and effect insofar, and
only insofar, as it authorizes the differential treatment
of Indian men and Indian women born prior to April
17, 1985, and matrilineal and patrilineal descendants
born prior to April 17, 1985, in the conferring of
Indian status."

So said Madam Justice Ross of the B.C. Supreme
Court on June 8 in a case filed by Sharon McIvor
against the Registrar appointed by DIAND to
administer the status and membership provisions of
the Indian Act. The Government has not announced
whether it will appeal.

The full effect of the decision will send out rippling
waves which could end up in a tsunami of unintended
consequences. While the decision specifically is not
intended to affect "membership" in a First Nation, for
about half of the First Nations in Canada,
"membership" comes with "status". Tens of
thousands of persons could suddenly have rights to
reserve residence and demands upon already scarce
resources capped by an annual 2% increase.

Essentially, it means that the 1985 registration
process involving over 100,000 applications is
opened up again. Children of persons eligible to
register priorMadam Justice Ross wrote in her Reasons for
Judgment, "In 1985, the government elected to sever the
relationship between status and band membership. Status
is now purely a matter between the individual and the
state.

"I have concluded that s. 6 of the 1985 Act violates s.
15(1) of the Charter in that it discriminates between
matrilineal and patrilineal descendants born prior to April
17, 1985, in the conferring of Indian status, and
discriminates between descendants born prior to April 17,
1985, of Indian women who married non-Indian men, and
the descendants of Indian men who married non-Indian
women. I have concluded that these provisions are not
saved by s. 1".[which allows discrimination if it can be
"justified"]

The government had asked Justice Ross to suspend
implementation of her decision for 24 months. It said
that unless there was a suspension, "deserving
persons" would be deprived of benefits.

The government also said a suspension would enable
the registration process to continue and afford Parliament
time to seek input from Aboriginal groups in its
development and implementation of a scheme consistent
with the courts ruling.

In regard to this request, Madam Justice Ross quoted the
Supreme Court of Canada in the 1984 Hunter v. Southam
Inc.case:
"While the courts are guardians of the Constitution and
of individuals' rights under it, it is the legislature's
responsibility to enact legislation that embodies
appropriate safeguards to comply with the
Constitution's requirements.

"It should not fall to the courts to fill in the details that
will render legislative lacunae constitutional."

Justice Ross rejected these argument. "Further delay for
these plaintiffs must be measured against the backdrop of
the delays that they have already experienced. The record
discloses that from the late 1970's forward, successive
governments recognized that the registration
provisions discriminated on the basis of sex. It was not
until 1985 that legislation was passed to remedy this
discrimination, legislation that I have found continued
to perpetuate the problem."

The Court retained supervision of the case. "The court
remains seized of the case in order to give the parties the
opportunity to draft appropriate relief in light of these
reasons. Should the parties fail to reach agreement, I will
hear further submissions on the issue of remedy."

Ipperwash Inquiry Reports

2007-05-31T09:28:00.001-07:00

The Ipperwash Inquiry reported today on the death of Dudley George during the Ipperwash incident. The full report can be found at http://www.ipperwashinquiry.ca/

Commissioner Sidney B. Linden found fault with both the Ontario and Federal governments. In addition he found fault with the actions of the Ontario Provincial Police.

Linden noted that Ipperwash must be understood in historical context. Decades of protest and struggle by the people of Kettle Point and Stoney Point were ignored by Indian Affairs.

Linden also made the following observations

There was no need to act quickly with the Ipperwash incident. Pressure from provincial politicians such as former Premier Mike Harris exacerbated the situation.
Both Harris and the former Minister of Natural Resources made racist comments during meetings about Ipperwash
Political desire to move quickly prevented efforts by bureaucrats who preferred negotiation and mediation to find a solution
Premier Harris was not forthright about what occurred during a key meeting of Cabinet Ministers and senior bureaucrats prior to the shooting of Dudley George
Racism and cultural insensitivity on the part of some OPP officers prevented creating a positive dialogue between the occupiers and the OPP
The Federal Government (through Indian Affairs) has delayed the settlement of the land claim at Ipperwash for too long. Linden says this is "inexcusable" and "neglect" by Indian Affairs.
A Treaty Commission of Ontario needs to be established to settle outstanding land claims in the province.
A Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs should be established in Ontario due to the growing complexity of Aboriginal issues in Ontario.

Key Terms: Canada, land claim, Dudley George, Ipperwash, Michael Harris, Ontario, Indian Affairs, First Nations, OPP

Caledonia Land Claim Offer made by Indian Affairs

2007-05-31T05:06:00.000-07:00

Toronto Star, May 31, 2007.

Ottawa has offered $125 million to the Six Nations to settle four land claims in exchange for an end to the longstanding Caledonia dispute. ...
One condition is that there will be no final settlement until protesters move off the former housing development site in Caledonia, he said. ...
Doering said the offer was made yesterday but the Six Nations representatives said they needed time to review it. Negotiations involving Ottawa, Queen's Park and Six Nations are to continue today. ...
Last night, a Six Nations negotiator dismissed the offer and said natives have made it clear from the start of talks they only wanted land. "The only positive thing about it is it was an offer," said Mohawk Chief Allen MacNaughton. ...
The offer involves the settlement of four of 27 existing land claims: the former Moulton township, the flooding of lands in Dunnville to accommodate the Welland Canal, the former Burtch correctional facility in Brant County and the Grand River Navigation Co. claims. ...
Doering said the offer settles legitimate land claims.
"Canada has done an assessment and feels there was a breach of some lawful obligation" involving the four claims, he said.
Natives say they reclaimed the Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia, which the province bought from the developer for $16 million last year, over a claim involving the building of the Hamilton-Port Dover Plank Road (Hwy. 6) in 1843.

Topics: Canada, Canadian, First Nations, Aboriginal, Native, Caledonia, Grand River, Land Claim, Mohawk, Haudenosaunee

Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Blog

2007-05-30T05:27:00.000-07:00

The Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Blog is a telecollaborative project between students at Rutherford School and Jasper Place High School in Edmonton.

"The purpose of this project is to give the elementary and senior high school students an opportunity to work together in a telecollaborative nature to produce animated drawings of the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. The Rutherford Group have been studying this World Heritage Site and have written about ‘A Day in the Life of a Child at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump’. They then created drawings on their computers reflecting their research. The Jasper Place students will then animate the younger students’ drawings. This blog will be used to enable the two groups to discuss the animation plans. The high school group is using this opportunity not only to practice their animation skills but also to simulate a client-artist process of creation towards a common goal."

Canadian First Nations Await Ipperwash Inquiry Report

2007-05-27T07:51:00.000-07:00

Commissioner Sidney B. Linden, has announced. that the Report of the Ipperwash Inquiry will be released to the public at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 31, 2007.

The Report will be transmitted to Attorney General Michael Bryant shortly before the public release.

The public release will take place at the Forest Memorial Community Center (Kimball Hall) at 6276 Townsend Line, Forest, Ontario, where the Inquiry's hearings were held.

The Report will be available on the Inquiry's web page http://www.ipperwashinquiry.ca at the time of release and copies will be distributed to media in Toronto.

The work of the Commission to date can be found http://www.ipperwashinquiry.ca . PDF copies of historical reports can be located at http://www.ipperwashinquiry.ca/history.html including a PowerPoint presentation made the historical consultants to the Commission.

Keywords: Canada, Canadian, First Nations, Aboriginal, Native

Welcome to the Canada's First People Weblog

2007-05-27T05:43:00.001-07:00

This Weblog is written by and for the authors and users of the Canada's First People and CFP Junior portals. Please contact us if you want to post in these pages.

David Calverley
Alastair Sweeny