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Pam Palmater

Tag: FNCFNEA

  • Harper’s Shell Game: Bill C-33 is on “Hold” – not Dead

    Today, only 3 days after Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Shawn Atleo resigned, Prime Minister Harper’s Conservative government has made its move. Contrary to Harper’s usual backroom politics and secret meetings with the National Chief, Harper has switched it up. He has decided to play this political game out in the open for all to see. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) Minister Bernard Valcourt offered a statement to the press today saying that it will put consideration of Bill C-33 First Nation Control of First Nation Education Act on hold until the AFN clarifies their position.

    “With the support of the Assembly of First Nations, our Government introduced historic legislation, the First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act (Bill C-33) in April. However, given the recent resignation of the National Chief, following today’s second reading vote, any further consideration of this legislation will be put on hold until the AFN clarifies its position.

    Our Government firmly believes that First Nations students deserve a quality education, like every other Canadian.

    The First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act provides the structures and supports necessary to help First Nations students reach their potential and become full participants in the Canadian economy. It would entrench in law the five conditions for success identified by the Chiefs in Assembly last December.”

    This is a very calculated move on the part of Harper’s government which serves a three-fold purpose. Firstly, this move serves as an indication to the AFN that Harper will give it another chance to get back in line. The carrot being offered is the promised funding attached to the bill (post-conservative-election funding). If the AFN confirms their support of the bill, they’ll all kiss, make up and move on as they were pre-Atleo. Atleo’s resignation would go down as a minor hiccup for Harper.

    Secondly, this move could serve to cause internal chaos at AFN. Harper is essentially casting his line to see which member of the AFN executive will take the bait – i.e., who will step up to replace Atleo and maintain the status quo relationship between the AFN and Harper government. Saskatchewan Regional Chief Perry Bellegarde has been front and centre in the media supporting the Atleo-Harper education deal – at least until Atleo’s resignation. Then, there’s always New Brunswick Regional Chief Roger Augustine, who recently wrote an open letter trying to convince Chiefs to support Bill C-33 – so maybe it will be him? It’s hard to say at this point.

    However either of these two scenarios turn out – they both miss the point. It simply doesn’t matter if the AFN Executive jointly issue a statement clarifying their support for the bill, or one of the Executive is appointed as interim National Chief and supports the bill. The AFN has no legal or political authority to allow, approve or in any way provide permission for this bill to proceed through the legislative process. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the AFN is not a rights-holder – it is an advocacy organization. To those with Aboriginal, treaty and inherent rights to education, it doesn’t matter what the AFN says, except in so far as the AFN has the power to negatively impact our struggle to preserve those rights. We are the rights holders and we are the only ones who can decide. Our strong opposition to this bill is what’s really scaring Harper and motivating this move.

    Finally, and perhaps most ironically, what this recent move by the federal government does is focus attention away from the education bill and place it back on the AFN. Harper is hoping to reduce the building momentum against this bill by directing our attention to the AFN. Many people are now waiting to see what the AFN will say. The media is fixated on the AFN election and who the candidates might be. Some have even commented that AANDC’s announcement to put the bill on hold is a sort of victory.

    But perhaps that’s the idea? Maybe in putting this legislation “on hold” Harper hopes this will be enough to snuff out the fire that has been lit in our communities to defeat this bill?  Keep in mind, First Nation leaders and citizens, together with Canadians, have organized major rallies for May 14 in Ottawa to voice their opposition to this bill. Maybe Harper is hoping we’ll see no need to rally, now that the bill is on hold – but they’d be wrong. We have to use every single day to our advantage to oppose this bill.

    Bill C-33 is still in Parliament, still in Senate pre-study (though on hold) and could be re-animated and rammed through Parliament at a moment’s notice. We have to maintain our focus on killing this bill and worrying about the AFN later. We need to ensure that our voices are heard and that we do everything we can to ensure this bill does not pass. We all want to change the status quo and address the crisis in First Nation education – but giving up control over our education to the Minister is not the way to do that.

    AANDC could start addressing the crisis by providing fair funding and addressing the cumulative deficit in education. AANDC could literally address the chronic underfunding TODAY. It’s a choice they make – against every study, domestic and international law, our treaties and even economic recommendations – not to do so. Look at the lengths Canada will go to in order to defer, deflect and deny the problem of purposeful, chronic underfunding of First Nation education. All of these many decades of studies, reports, and meetings, followed by more studies, reports and meetings are meant to delay the inevitable conclusion – First Nation education must be funded.

    But if Harper has his way – this bill will pass and so too will our chance to protect our future generations from Harper’s assimilation plans.

    We have to stay focused. We have the power to defeat this bill. Hopefully, AFN will have learned from all of this and stand behind the people. But, either way, as sovereign Nations, we have to stand up and defend our sovereignty and jurisdiction over the education of our children and give them hope for their future.

    #KillBillC33

    #StayUnited against #FNCFNEA

    #May14 in Ottawa!!!

  • No Compromise on First Nation Control of First Nation Education: Response to Regional Chief Augustine

    Our unity on First Nation control of First Nation education has been broken by one of our own representative organizations: the Assembly of First Nations. While most of the attention has focused on Atleo, and his recent surprise resignation, we can’t forget that some of the Regional Chiefs have allowed this to happen. http://www.mediaindigena.com/dan-david/issues-and-politics/atleos-last-historic-moment Recently, Regional Chief Augustine issued an open letter in the Globe and Mail arguing that Chiefs should be supporting Bill C-33 – First Nation Control of First Nation Education Act. In his letter to the Globe and Mail he publicly insulted chiefs by saying if they don’t support this legislation, they clearly don’t understand it. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/as-first-nations-leaders-we-should-support-new-education-act/article18388152/ Regional Chief Augustine, against the majority of Chiefs across the country, seems to think he can belittle Chiefs into supporting Bill C-33. He says he has lost patience with them, accuses them of having not read the bill; and implies they are not experts enough in education, or they would see how this bill will save the Indians. Further, he implies that if he and Atleo disagree with dissenting Chiefs, his and Atleo’s views should reign.

    Yet, Augustine does not point to a single provision of the Act that is an improvement for First Nation education, nor does he show how this Act will improve outcomes for our children. He simply mimics the AANDC Minister’s speaking points and tries to scare Chiefs by presenting them with a false choice: Bill C-33 or the Minister’s many scary powers over education in the Indian Act.

     

    This sort of uninformed rhetoric does more to harm to Augustine’s position, than help it. First of all, anyone familiar with the Indian Act knows there are relatively few education provisions in the Indian Act, most of which are not even used any more. In comparison to Bill C-33, the Minister will have greatly enhanced powers over First Nation education.

     

    The majority of all analysis to date by actual First Nation legal, policy and education experts are in agreement that this Act increases Ministerial power and decreases First Nation control. Augustine refers to experts, but doesn’t name any. There is a reason why there is such a mass opposition to this bill, and it’s not a fear of losing the status quo. We are all wanting to overturn the status quo and make changes for our people. Most of us however, want to go forward, not backwards. Most of us want to preserve our sovereignty and jurisdiction over education, not give up control to the Minister, his education co-managers or third party managers. 

     

    This Act lays out a path for the assimilation of First Nations into provincially-directed curriculum, the incorporation of provincial laws on reserve, forces First Nations to educate non-First Nations students, and all must be done in either English or French. This is not a “new journey” – it’s the same path of assimilation Canada has been trying to force us down for the last 500 years. We are trying to undo the damage of residential schools – not repeat it.

    Augustine goes on in his letter to chastize Chiefs for allegedly adopting an all or nothing approach, yet presents Chiefs with a defeatist approach: something or nothing. He uses the same logic and persuasion tactics that the federal government has used for decades. He essentially argues that we have to take whatever deal we can get, because we won’t get anything better. He forgets we have survived many Prime Ministers, Minister of Indian Affairs and other adversaries over the years. This Prime Minister too, will pass. The question is: will we have sold the farm out of fear or preserved our rights for future generations? Augustine is so ingrained in colonial ideologies that selling out rights for beads and trinkets becomes the only logical option – a very defeatist and weak approach. It is certainly not an approach befitting our strong, proud, independent Nations that have thrived on Turtle Island since time immemorial. We have a choice – we don’t have to give up control over our education. That doesn’t have to be the sacrifice we make to advance our cause for properly funded education systems. Our Aboriginal, inherent and treaty rights are solid – we have had them since time immemorial and they cannot be unilaterally extinguished. We can only lose them if we voluntarily give them up. Augustine wants us to embrace inevitable assimilation – the standardization of the Indian in the child, until there are no Indians – all in exchange for a little money. http://www.indigenousnationhood.blogspot.ca/2014/03/first-nations-controlled-first-nations.html Some things that are not negotiable and our sovereignty and jurisdiction over education is one of them. Our rights are not for sale. To voluntarily allow Canada to legislate the treaty right to education is an insult to the ancestors who fought to protect those rights for future generations. Harper wants First Nations to voluntarily transform their treaty right to education into a discretionary program entitlement that is subject to the whims of Parliament. Why would anyone do this? Augustine’s impatience with Chiefs is more of a reflection of his own skewed view of First Nation politics. He thinks the quick deal is the best deal – one battle at a time he says. He equates “winning” with money. He forgets that sometimes the real win is the protection of what makes us who we are: our sovereignty as Nations. No amount of money can ever be as powerful as the sovereignty bestowed on us by the Creator and defended by our ancestors for generations. There can no compromise on First Nation Control of First Nation Education. The solution is simple: In the short term we must address the crisis in First Nation education created by the purposeful, chronic underfunding by the federal government. Amendments can be made to contribution agreements by adjusting funding levels AT LEAST comparable with the provincial rates, with additional amounts to build and repair schools, teach Indigenous languages and build capacity and training. There is a cumulative deficit in the billions in underfunded education on reserve. Even if we are funded now, it will take decades to catch up. In the longer term, it will be up to each Nation to decide how they want to go about addressing the larger issues of treaty implementation, restitution of lands and resources and the recognition of First Nation governance. It’s not for any one leader, organization, Minister or Regional Chief to make that decision for us. #StayUnited against #FNCFNEA #KillBillC33 #ValcourtResign

  • #StayUnited against #FNCFNEA

    Since the time I was small, I have always been told by Chiefs, politicians and elders about the importance of our unity – unity within our Mi’kmaw families, our communities and Nation. Leaders even spoke about the importance of inter-tribal or inter-nation unity. I come from a territory where the Wabanaki Confederacy, a political allegiance of multiple Nations, built upon our Nations’ diverse backgrounds for common purposes. The relationships which came from this confederacy have lasted until present day.

    At the same time, my elders were careful to explain that unity is not about sameness. Unity is a type of bond or treaty amongst Indigenous Nations which celebrates the different strengths, histories, cultures, insights and skills of each Nation and brings them together to make the whole stronger. Unity is a celebration or embracing of those differences to make the treaty group stronger in defending its sovereignty, territories or peoples. It is not an agreement on all issues at all times. Nor is unity about each Nation conforming to one way of thinking or acting. Diverse Nations inherently have different needs, outlooks, priorities and ways of accomplishing their goals.

    Several long-time leaders also told me that unity for the sake of unity can cause more harm than good. Unity for the sake of unity denies the very differences we celebrate as Nations and shuts out the voices of caution, overlooked facts, multiple perspectives and potential outcomes. Sometimes these lone voices are mischaracterized as oppositional, trouble-making, politicking or disloyal. Consensus building takes a great deal of effort and time; so when these brave voices speak out against the consensus, sometimes its hard not to lose patience or be frustrated.

    Yet, elders have told me that those voices which delay consensus for a time are sometimes the most loyal citizens – citizens who care so deeply about their community or Nation that they risk ridicule and exclusion to raise potential threats to the collective. They may not always deliver the message as we’d like or even have all the facts, but that is what consensus building is about – providing everyone with all the facts, potential outcomes and perspectives so that when a decision is made, everyone understands and accepts its – even if not in total agreement. I believe the future of our Nations depends on the consideration and inclusion of all voices.

    The biggest impact on our ability as Indigenous Nations to maintain our unity in times of need is the impact of colonization. Generations of colonial ideologies, residential schools, Indian Act restrictions, federal divide-and-conquer tactics, and systems of government-imposed rewards and punishments have impaired our ability to see unity as we once did. Canada has divided us into good Indians and bad Indians – those who comply versus those who resist. In so doing, the hard work of unity-building within Nations is impaired because the focus is on one-size-fits-all Indians. In fact, pan-Indianness is so ingrained that we often criticize ourselves for not being unified as “Indians” when we should be unified in resisting pan-Indianness.

    Our unity as Nations is like a treaty – a coming together of certain Nations at certain times to assert or defend certain causes. We can be united to defend our right to control education but different in how we want to assert that control (depending on each Nation’s priorities and needs). Sometimes our unity is based on historical relations, regional similarities or broad national interests. Our unity is no less powerful because the Mohawks educate one way and the Cree another. The similarity is in the assertion of sovereignty and jurisdiction over our right to control our own education systems, methods, content and outcomes.

    With regards to Prime Minister Harper and National Chief Shawn Atleo’s education “deal”, this was not made in a good way, nor in the spirit of unity. In fact, the countless secret meetings, lack of information, and surprise announcements are counter to our traditional ways of building consensus and capitalizing on our strengths and differences in unity. The biggest problem is that no space was ever made for the possibility that there would be no unity on this deal – the deal was made for us without us at the table. The result is wide-spread distrust, anger and reaction – all justified. Now, our leaders are forced to account to their citizens for decisions of which they had no part, causing even further disharmony amongst our Nations. Yet, none of this had to happen.

    For many decades, First Nations have been tightly unified on their views about First Nation education. While we may have taken very different approaches to other issues, on First Nation education we all agreed. First Nations are united in their views that we have jurisdiction over every aspect of our education systems (however we choose as individual Nations to define them) and that we should be the ones in control. We have always held the position that Canada must live up to its legal obligations to recognize and implement our treaty, Aboriginal and other rights to education with adequate funding. We have always asserted that Canada needs to make amends for the damages caused to our languages and cultures from residential schools by providing the supports needed to advance and protect them in current education systems – First Nations or provincial.

    How we choose to get there is up to us. Some of us may want to negotiate sectoral self-government agreements in education; some may wish to use the current systems with modified funding, some may want a treaty-based system, and others may want to design and implement their own systems independently with completely different funding agreements. We may have different methods, but we are united in defense of our right to choose how we will implement our right to control our own education systems. We are not all one mythical race of Indians after all.

    Our current initiatives in resisting the Atleo-Harper deal on education are not about sour grapes, jealousy, politics, the next federal election, the next AFN National Chief election, or who’s “right”. Those are all red-herrings critics throw in the mix to keep people from focusing on the real issue – control over our own education systems. The reason why so many Chiefs, grassroots citizens, academics, lawyers and Canadian allies are against this deal is because it violates our fundamental right to control our own education systems. We are not fighting against unity – we are fighting desperately to maintain our long-held unity in education.

    The Harper government has become very adept at its divide-and-conquer techniques. It also uses funding as a reward-punishment tool to further control and divide us. It’s most effective tool so far has been using First Nations individuals and organizations to promote its assimilatory agenda. Trojan horses filled with assimilatory Aboriginal warriors march forward to implement Harper’s plan under the guise of what’s good for us. The numerous bills being imposed on us all have wonderful titles and great media sound bites that distract us from what’s inside the bills. Calling a bill “First Nations Control” is a lie if what’s inside is increased Ministerial control.

    I think most of us expect this from Harper, but the most hurtful and offensive part is that we don’t expect our own leaders to do this to us. National Chief Shawn Atleo has hurt us all by acting as if he had the right to make this deal in the first place; by acting so secretively and outside our traditional ways of building consensus; and then standing in defense of this destructive bill – no matter what First Nations say. Part of being a leader is being humble and admitting when you have made mistakes. Atleo could still stand with First Nations against this bill, but he refuses to do so. Atleo destroyed our negotiating leverage in Ottawa and now he has broken our unity on education. He refuses to listen to us.

    Unfortunately, we don’t have time to commiserate about it – we have to act. We cannot give Harper any ammunition to use against us as he tries to ram this bill through the House and Senate. We have to show that Atleo does not speak for us, as the Minister is already relying on Atleo’s endorsement of the bill as his “proof” of consultation and consent. We cannot let Harper hide behind any First Nation individual or organization to roll out his assimilation plan.

    Most of all, we have to stay united against this bill to protect control over our education and save our cultures and languages for future generations. If we voluntarily allow Canada to legislate our treaty rights, there is no undoing it later. Harper is desperate to turn the treaty right to education into a discretionary program and service that is subject to Parliament’s budgetary whims. We can’t let Harper do that.

    Harper is scared of our voices. AANDC is running scared and is tweeting in defense of itself. Harper can see the growing opposition from First Nations and is speeding up the review of the bill. We have the power to stop this. When First Nations stand in unity, there is no piece of paper, no legislation, or crooked politician that can stop us. The “winter we danced” as Idle No More showed the world how powerful in peace our people are when we stand together. I’ve always believed in the power of our people to make change – let’s stay united on education and give our children some hope.

     

    #StayUnited against #FNCFNEA