First Nations and Harper government continue to struggle as chiefs sit in jail for protecting the land
Natives' frustration with Ottawa threatens to boil over
BILL CURRY - April 7, 2008
OTTAWA -- Smiling photo ops with aboriginals across the country have been a regular occurrence throughout the first two years of the Harper government.
Land claims have been signed, a residential-schools deal has been reached and new water-treatment facilities have been unveiled with much federal fanfare.
On the surface, all seems surprisingly calm on the aboriginal file for a Conservative Party that some aboriginal leaders vehemently opposed during the last election.
But quiet anger and frustration over a mounting number of grievances is threatening to boil over across the country in a very public way.
Executives at the Assembly of First Nations, the national native organization, have tentatively circled May 29 for a "direct action" event on Parliament Hill to raise awareness of poverty issues.
But other native leaders say the AFN's plan to repeat last year's "national day of action" is too tame. Native leaders in British Columbia, for instance, have recently struck "direct action" committees of their own to organize demonstrations.
"The relationship between the aboriginal people of this country and the Harper government is absolutely dismal and at an all-time low," said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. "All of the aboriginal regions across this country are talking about the necessity for an ongoing campaign akin to the civil-rights movement in the U.S. back in the sixties and seventies."
B.C. Chief Doug Kelly of the First Nations Summit confirmed plans are afoot for protests, but said he wants the events to be peaceful ones that attract broad public support. He suggested brief blockades, using canoes, of B.C. ferries; and handing out pamphlets to British Columbians caught in traffic.
He acknowledged that young natives across the country could turn to more confrontational tactics similar to the blockade of Ontario's Highway 401 last year by Shawn Brant and his supporters from the Tyendinaga Mohawk reserve east of Belleville.
"Thus far, that anger [among young natives] has been directed inward into our own community," Mr. Kelly said, pointing to violence, drug abuse and suicides.
The list of aboriginal grievances has been building since the federal government vowed to ignore the $5-billion Kelowna accord signed by the previous Liberal government to address social issues such as housing, health and education.
A perceived lack of progress on these issues is the dominant concern. Last year's signing of an out-of-court settlement compensating natives who attended residential schools was welcomed, yet there is huge skepticism over the delay in a promised federal government apology and creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Thousands of former students say they have been shortchanged by the government in their compensation payments.
But Mr. Philip said two recent events may have pushed the things over the edge: The first is the jailing of native leaders in two Ontario communities for denying access to mining prospectors on disputed land. The second is Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl's announcement last week that he will beef up the auditing of chiefs and councils on reserves and make the audits public.
In recent interviews, the Indian Affairs Minister said he is warmly received in native communities because his government is delivering concrete results on such issues as water quality and land claims.
Launching the commission and apologizing for the residential-schools era takes time, he said, because there are so many parties involved. When asked about the political risk of announcing new audits while native leaders are increasingly upset over delays in settling the residential-school issues, the minister rejected the premise that unrest is on the rise.
"The [native leaders] aren't getting testy over the apology because they know the apology's coming. "Arrangements are being made. It's coming together nicely and it's going to be a very fine moment for our government and our country and for first nations."