Governor General meets aboriginal chiefs and elders in Saskatchewan
From http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/05/09/1571440-cp.html
Governor General meets aboriginal chiefs and elders in Saskatchewan - May 9, 2006 - By MICHELLE MACAFEE
FORT QU'APPELLE, Sask. (CP) - Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean told a group of aboriginal chiefs and elders Tuesday that she would take their concerns about funding and social issues to the federal government, but that they must also continue to work toward their own solutions.
Members of the Treaty 4 Tribal Council, which comprises 36 Saskatchewan bands, emerged from a private meeting with Jean optimistic that she truly listened and wanted to help.
"She's able to talk to the prime minister and the Indian Affairs minister, and she said she would certainly raise the issues, which are common across Canada, on our behalf," Chief Marie Anne DayWalker-Pelletier of the Okanese First Nation said after the hour-long meeting.
"But she also said we should continue also lobbying the federal government."
Jean absorbed a sweeping list of contentious issues during the meeting, including overcrowded housing, water quality, infrastructure, education and the duplication involved in accounting for how federal funding is spent.
The itinerary for Jean's first official visit to Saskatchewan includes several events involving aboriginals, including a performance by an aboriginal theatre company and a meeting Wednesday with a dozen women chiefs and elders from across the province.
Almost every speech has touched on the themes of youth, marginalization and diversity - subjects that have been the focus of her term so far.
"It is unworthy of a country like ours, so proud of its achievements and its position in the world, not to recognize the priceless contribution that the First Nations and Metis have made to our history, our unique identity and our aspirations for the future," Jean said in a speech to more than 100 community members gathered for a public ceremony at the Treaty 4 Governance Centre, about 45 kilometres northeast of Regina.
During the private meeting that followed, DayWalker-Pelletier said many chiefs expressed their desire for First Nations to have more control over their funding.
"It should be a one-window approach instead of every department having a different approach and making us report to them in 20 different ways."
Tribal chairman Dean Bellegarde refused to comment on the specifics of the discussion, but said he left feeling optimistic.
"She wanted to know about the problems that we face, how they came about and some solutions to how we could fix these problems, but in partnership," said Bellegarde.
"She's a little more aware of our problems and who we are, and that's the first step."
As Jean arrived, a group of drummers welcomed her with a traditional honour song.
In her speech, Jean said her own upbringing under a dictatorship in Haiti made it easier for her to recognize the anguish caused by high unemployment, family violence or suicide.
But she also said such hardship sows seeds of bitterness and anger that need to be acknowledged before healing and liberation can begin.
"We cannot undo the injustices of the past," said Jean. "But we can learn from our experiences and start to build the kind of society we want for ourselves and our children."
Jean and her husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, were presented with two quilts before a group of schoolchildren sang O Canada in Cree.
The couple spent the rest of the day touring Fort Qu'Appelle and nearby Qu'Appelle before heading back to Regina.
They met with Regina Mayor Pat Fiacco before touring a north-end neighbourhood revitalization project.
Jean wraps up her visit Wednesday with a visit to the RCMP training academy, where she'll lay flowers to honour all fallen members.
Jean has now visited eight provinces since her appointment in September and hopes to maintain the long-standing tradition that sees a new governor general visit every province and territory within their first year.