Media.Knet.Ca

The AFN press release and the CTV.ca new item below highlights how the current government is creating a crisis using First Nation people in an attempt (and hope) to favourably position themselves for voters and mainstream society. Then on April 2, the Minister of Defence assured Canadians that the final version will not contain any reference to Aboriginal Canadians (see Globe and Mail story below).

Assembly of First Nations National Chief demands that Federal Government Immediately Repudiate and Remove Reference to First Nations from Military's Terror Manual List

            OTTAWA, April 1 /CNW Telbec/ - Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine today demanded that the federal government immediately remove any reference to First Nations in a Department of National Defense draft counter-insurgency manual listing international terrorist threats. According to a report by The Globe and Mail, radical Native American organizations such as the Mohawk Warriors Society are listed in the training manual as insurgents, alongside other insurgent groups.

            "Any reference to First Nations people as possible insurgents or terrorists is a direct attack on us - it demonizes us, it threatens our safety and security and attempts to criminalize our legitimate right to live our lives like all other Canadians do. Just being referenced in such a document compromises our freedom to travel across borders, have unimpeded telephone and internet communications, raise money, and protest against injustices to our people," stated AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine.

            "I am calling upon Prime Minister Stephen Harper to immediately and without reservation, reject and remove any references to First Nations from all versions of the training manual."

            "It is shocking and outrageous to learn that the Canadian military would consider First Nations people as insurgents or equate us to Hezbollah or Hamas. Not only is there not a shred of evidence to make this link, First Nations have always served Canada well by their contributions to the Canadian services. Such absurd allegations only serve to undermine respect for the military and lead us to believe we will not be able to rely on their protection the way other Canadians do."

            Moreover, the federal government has also recently threatened that it would aggressively audit and possibly cut off funding provided to First Nations organizations who participate in, or support a peaceful National Day of Action on June 29th. This, taken with the report that we are included in the list of insurgent organisations in the military's manual, raises serious questions about the federal government's respect for freedom of speech and freedom of assembly for First Nations people. It appears that they want to silence us.

            "The proposed June 29th National Day of Action is intended to bring focus to and generate awareness of the deplorable social - economic status of First Nations peoples in this country. Too often, First Nations poverty and the injustices suffered by our communities are not well understood. We aim to begin changing that by reaching out to Canadians and by putting our issues and our solutions front and center. First Nations people are people of integrity and we will abide by the rule of law while exercising our right to free speech," said the National Chief.

            The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada.

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/For further information: Bryan Hendry, A/Communications Director, (613) 241-6789, ext. 229, cell: (613) 293-6106, bhendry@afn.ca; Nancy Pine, Communications Advisor, Office of the National Chief, (613) 241-6789, ext. 243, cell: (613) 298-6382, npine@afn.ca/

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From CTV.ca news ...

Army manual lumps radical natives with Hezbollah
Updated Sat. Mar. 31 2007 - CTV.ca News Staff

Radical natives are included on the same list as the Tamil Tigers and Hezbollah in a new counterinsurgency manual being prepared for the Canadian army.

The manual is in the final stages of preparation, but The Globe and Mail has obtained an early version of the document.

The draft outlines tactics, including ambush, deception and killing, which the military could use both at home and abroad against military opponents.

The document was put together in September 2005, under an access-to-information request.

A cover letter stated that although the manual was considered a draft version, it had been circulated for immediate use as a training manual until the final version was completed.

The final copy is expected to be released to the military within months, The Globe reports.

The draft is specific in listing some natives as potential enemy combatants.

"The rise of radical Native American organizations, such as the Mohawk Warrior Society, can be viewed as insurgencies with specific and limited aims," the manual states.

"Although they do not seek complete control of the federal government, they do seek particular political concessions in their relationship with national governments and control (either overt or covert) of political affairs at a local/reserve ('First Nation') level, through the threat of, or use of, violence."

The Mohawk Warrior Society played a role in Quebec's Oka crisis of 1990 that led to a 78-day standoff with police and left an officer dead.

The draft manual surfaces at a time when many feel the recent federal budget ignored many of the issues faced by natives, and as a months-old dispute between natives occupying a housing development near Caledonia, Ont. and residents, drags on.

Stewart Phillip, the Grand Chief of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs said he is "absolutely outraged" by the manual.

"It's a complete attack on our political rights," he told The Globe.

"What we're seeing is the deliberate criminalization of the efforts of aboriginal people to march, demonstrate and rally to draw public attention to the crushing poverty that is the reality within our communities."

Phillip recently said he expects "a summer of aboriginal protest" against the government.

Many natives and the federal government are at odds over the $5 billion Kelowna Accord, a document negotiated by former prime minister Paul Martin to address native issues but never tabled by the Conservatives, and the plight of the residents of Kashechewan.

The reserve in northern Ontario has faced water contamination, sickness and flooding, but Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice says the government can't afford the $474 million price tag estimated to move the embattled Kashechewan reserve, as requested by the residents.

Prentice has warned the government will impose financial penalties against native groups that use federal money to plan summer protests against Ottawa on issues such as land claims and poverty.

"Working together to find common solutions is a much more constructive way of dealing with issues than planning blockades," he wrote to The Globe.

According to the manual, an insurgency is "the actions of a minority group within a state who are intent on forcing political change by means of a mixture of subversion, propaganda and military pressure, aiming to persuade or intimidate the broad mass of people to accept such a change."

The response to that, the manual states, can go beyond military response to include psychological tactics to defeat the enemy.

The manual seems to focus on the Canadian military serving in places where governments have lost control and factions are fighting for power.

The Canadian Forces has not yet commented on the manual and it is not clear whether native groups have been previously listed as a potential opponent.

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From Globe and Mail story ...

Final version of terror report will not refer to natives, O'Connor says
BILL CURRY - POSTED ON 02/04/07

OTTAWA -- References to radical natives in the Canadian army's counterinsurgency manual will not appear in the final version of the document, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor has announced.

The use of "radical Native American organizations" as an example of insurgents in a draft version of the manual has incensed native leaders, who viewed the wording as a threat to their political rights to protest.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine said yesterday the inclusion of natives in the manual could threaten the ability of Canadian natives to travel internationally.

But in a written statement, Mr. O'Connor explained that the document was simply making reference to past examples of insurgencies and was not meant to suggest that natives in Canada are a potential military target.

"The draft counterinsurgency manual was produced in September, 2005, under the previous government. The draft manual is not a final document, and continues to evolve and be updated," the statement from the minister said.

"The final version will not contain references to any current aboriginal organizations. The draft manual does not make comparisons between aboriginal groups and any insurgent groups," he stated.

"The draft manual does not state that any other particular group is a potential target of the Canadian military . . . What the draft document does do is use examples of past insurgencies from Canada and abroad to illustrate how some groups have resorted to violence or the threat of violence in the past in order to gain political influence or concessions."

The minister's office said the draft manual has been used to train Canadian soldiers for the mission in Afghanistan. The reference to natives will be removed because the manual is only for use in relation to that mission, a spokeswoman said.

The Globe published a report on the manual on Saturday. The report noted that the Mohawk Warrior Society was involved in the 1990 Oka crisis in Quebec, which spawned a 78-day confrontation with police and the military that left a police officer dead.

The draft manual's 164 pages outline a wide range of measures that could be used to assess, manage and defeat an insurgency.

On the 11th page, under the heading "Overview of insurgencies and counter-insurgencies," a paragraph is highlighted, which states: "The rise of radical Native American organizations, such as the Mohawk Warrior Society, can be viewed as insurgencies with specific and limited aims. Although they do not seek complete control of the federal government, they do seek particular political concessions in their relationship with national governments and control (either overt or covert) of political affairs at a local/reserve ("First Nation") level, through the threat of, or use of, violence."

There is no other mention of natives in the manual, nor does the manual add further context as to why that paragraph is included.

Five pages later, the manual gives other examples of insurgents, listing Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and the Tamil Tigers.

Mr. Fontaine issued a statement yesterday describing the mention of radical natives as "shocking."

The following two stories documents document the struggle that the people of Kashechewan are having with the Conservative government ...

From CTV.ca ....

Prentice: $474M move for Kashechewan too costly
Updated Fri. Mar. 30 2007  - CTV.ca News Staff

Canada's Indian Affairs minister says the federal government can't afford the $474 million price tag estimated to move the embattled Kashechewan reserve.

Jim Prentice said it would be more feasible to spend $200 million on repairs rather than completely move the 1,800 people in the northern Ontario community.

"It's not realistic and frankly to move 30 kilometres up the river, ... there's no economy there, there's no jobs there, there's no economic future there," he told CTV News.

The report, commissioned by Indian Affairs, was prepared by engineering firm Neegan Burnside. The firm estimated it would cost $263,000 for each man, woman and child to move north.

The document does not stipulate the cost to move Kashechewan 450 kilometres south to Timmins, Ont. -- a move recommended by a special adviser appointed by Prentice but rejected by the residents of the reserve.

"It's a community of 50-60,000 people. It has modern schools hospitals, colleges all of the things that young people would take advantage of," Prentice said.

However, opposition parties are siding with the people of Kashechewan.

"When you move a whole community that has lived for thousands of years in Canada's north and put them as a little suburb to a big urban area, you're essentially condemning that community to ultimately being absorbed," said NDP leader Jack Layton.

The Mushkegowuk Council, which is responsible for the Kashechewan reserve, maintains they would rather move their residents north to their traditional hunting grounds.

"The majority of them said that they would rather re-locate to safer, higher ground," said Chief Jonathon Solomon.

The repairs to flood-plagued reserve near Albany River would include extensive work to a failing protective flood wall, housing, along with repairs to the school and buildings.

The Cree hunters were forcibly relocated to the flood plain in 1957 by the federal government.

Liberal MP and former Indian Affairs Minister Andy Scott was forced to deal with a barrage of criticism in 2004 as the reserve made headlines for an E. coli water crisis.

On Oct. 27, 2005, Scott signed an agreement worth $500 million to rebuild the entire Kashechewan community on higher ground north of the reserve.

"It was approved and booked,'' by former finance minister Ralph Goodale, Scott said.

However, the Conservative government has since reneged on the funding, saying the Liberals never officially committed to the deal.

"If Andy Scott can show us where the $500 million was booked, we'd be glad to see it because we sure can't find it anywhere,'' Prentice spokesman Bill Rodgers said.

The minister said it would not be practical to maintain the current reserve through another flood season while a new one was being built.

The entire town of Kashechewan has had to be evacuated three times since 2004 because of flooding and water supply contamination on the low-lying site.

With a report by CTV's Rosemary Thompson and files from The Canadian Press

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From CBC News ...

Prentice turns down Kashechewan move request
Last Updated: Friday, March 30, 2007 - CBC News

Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice has turned down a request by the embattled Kashechewan reserve in northern Ontario to relocate within its traditional hunting grounds, reserve officials say.

Stan Louttit, grand chief for the Mushkegowuk Council, which is responsible for the Kashechewan reserve, told CBC News Friday that Prentice rejected the option of relocation as too costly and offered $200 million to redevelop the community at the current location.

"Disappointment" was how Louttit described his reaction, as he said relocation was the preferred option of the vast majority of the community's 1,700 residents.

In an interview Friday with the Canadian Press, Prentice said a new engineering report estimates it would cost about $474 million to move the reserve to higher ground — an option he called "prohibitively" expensive.

"If the situation is that the community wishes to stay in their traditional territory, then the most prudent option is the current Kashechewan site, where there's probably $150 million to $200 million of infrastructure in place already," Prentice said.

Louttit said the next step is for Kashechewan Chief Jonathan Solomon to go back to the community with this offer and decide how they will respond.

Earlier this month, Solomon said Prentice had balked at a report saying the community preferred to be relocated 30 kilometres upstream, within their traditional lands.

The report found a majority of residents wanted to move off the flood plain of the Albany River, where their homes have been repeatedly swamped during spring thaws.

It contradicted an earlier federal report recommending community members be moved to the city of Timmins, about 480 kilometres to the south.

Three evacuations since 2004
The federal report, prepared for Indian Affairs by former Ontario provincial government cabinet minister Alan Pope and released last November, recommended moving the reserve to the outskirts of Timmins to give community members access to hospitals, schools and employment.

Solomon has called on the Tories to honour a 2005 deal worth $500 million reached with the previous Liberal government to build a new community within their traditional hunting grounds in 10 years.

"It was approved and booked" by former finance minister Ralph Goodale, Liberal MP and former Indian Affairs minister Andy Scott told the Canadian Press Friday.

Prentice had repeatedly said the people could choose to relocate, but following the release of the survey earlier this month, a spokesperson for Indian Affairs told CBC News the cost projections had forced the ministry to take a second look.

Ottawa moved the community, against the residents' will, to the low-lying land in 1957.

Flooding and tainted water have prompted three evacuations since 2004.

The evacuations came as the community struggled with squalid housing, domestic violence, addiction and a number of reported suicide attempts.

Prentice himself has called conditions on the reserve "deplorable."

From the Vancouver Sun ...

Aboriginal actor annoyed - They don't need to involve whites in telling their stories, Adam Beach says
Alex Strachan, CanWest News Service - March 30, 2007
Adam Beach is irked.

He is irked that many filmmakers continue to tell stories about aboriginal issues from a white, anglicized point of view, often through the eyes of a white lead character.

If this weekend's National Aboriginal Achievement Awards do anything, he says, it will be to show the outside world -- and aboriginal people themselves -- that the first nations, Inuit and Metis culture is a thriving, vibrant community that deserves to tell its own stories in its own ways.

"There seems to be this idea that if you're going to do an Indian movie, you have to have white people involved so it will sell the film," Beach said. "When I hear that, you're saying to me that our people aren't interesting enough to sell a film on their own. I see it time and time again. They'll show a white person come to a reservation, be introduced to the culture and then help the Indian person become more aware of their culture through a white perspective."

The Aboriginal Achievement Awards prove that doesn't have to be the case, Beach says. Casual viewers watching it for the first time will be surprised, amazed even, by what they see.

Jennifer Podemski, creative producer of this year's ceremony and a colleague of Beach's from several stage and TV roles, asked him to host this year's ceremony. Podemski wanted a more youthful energy in the program, and she thought Beach would appeal to a younger audience.

Beach agreed, even though it meant taking time out of his busy schedule taping Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which he recently joined as a regular character. He plays a Brooklyn detective opposite rapper/actor Ice-T.

The NAAA ceremony was taped March 16 in Edmonton. It will be televised Saturday on Global and the APTN specialty channel.

"I felt very honoured," Beach said, "because it's an opportunity to show the successes of our people. We're only honouring a select few recipients, but there are many more people like that in the country. It's important that we show that, because right now we need more role models for our younger generation of aboriginal people. We need to put them on that pedestal, to show that there are people who are making a difference in the world. We need to show our young people that if you succeed, we'll be there to support them."

Viewers can expect to see performances by the Juno-nominated Leela Gilday, accompanied by the Awasisak Nikamowak children's choir from the Prince Charles School in Edmonton, and Gemini nominee and former Aboriginal Achievement Awards host Andrea Menard.

"My best memory of that evening was seeing so many people who were friends of mine I hadn't seen in a while," Beach said. "I really enjoyed being around them because I'm pretty busy with my work and I rarely get to see anybody."

His favourite part of the show itself was a contemporary interpretative dance performance with aboriginal singer Fara Palmer.

"I thought it was really beautiful," Beach said. "It just showed that we have a lot of artists -- actors, singers, dancers, musicians -- who have done a lot with their lives. We just need more of our own people to become more involved and say, 'Yes, we can accomplish our dreams in these types of occupations.'"

Beach is no stranger to a hardscrabble upbringing. He was born of Saulteaux descent in Ashern, Man., and raised with his two brothers on the Dog Creek First Nations reserve. His mother was killed by a drunk driver when he was just eight years old. She was eight months pregnant at the time.

His father died shortly afterwards, in a boating accident. Beach and his two brothers grew up with his aunt and uncle in Winnipeg.

Beach fell into acting after he signed onto a drama class in high school. He thought drama would be a cool place to "goof off" with his friends. Instead, it became his passion.

A lead role with the Manitoba Theatre for Young People, guest-staring roles in TV shows like Walker, Texas Ranger and Touched by An Angel, and starring roles in North of 60, The Rez and Law & Order: SVU soon followed.

Beach's dream role is playing the iconic comic-book hero Turoq, one of the gods of the Arctic, in a live-action version of the '70s comic and present-day series of video games. Beach has just recorded the voice of Turoq for an animated TV version.

"I've always dreamt of doing a live-action movie," he said, laughing. "I'm in talks right now. Who knows? A lot has been coming true for me in the past year -- it's amazing. I've been living a dream."

The 2007 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards airs Saturday, on Global and APTN. Check local listings for times.