Media.Knet.Ca

Ontario Power Authority press release ...

Remote Ontario First Nation Communities get first Energy Conservation Kits
7/9/07

INAC press release ... 

Canada's government supports Northern Ontario Aboriginal tourism centre

     CONSTANCE LAKE FIRST NATION, ON, Sept. 6 /CNW Telbec/ - The Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, and the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health and Minister for FedNor congratulate the Constance Lake First Nation on the opening of its $12 million Eagle's Earth Cree and Ojibway Historical Centre.

From London Free Press ...

Help for disabled, natives pledged - Ontario's new lieutenant-governor urged the public to lend a helping hand.
MICHAEL OLIVEIRA - September 6, 2007

TORONTO -- Challenges faced by the disabled in Ontario will get more attention and a new program will soon be launched to give a high-tech education to every aboriginal child in the northern part of the province, the new lieutenant-governor pledged yesterday.

INAC press release ...

Government Congratulates Aroland First Nation On New School Opening

AROLAND FIRST NATION, ONTARIO (September 5, 2007) - The Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, today congratulated the Aroland First Nation on the opening of the Johnny Therriault School.

"Canada's Government believes that First Nations youth deserve the best possible facilities in which to learn and thrive," said Minister Strahl. "We are proud to ensure First Nation youth can attend healthy and safe schools that measure up to standards in other parts of the country."

Aroland First Nation Chief Sam Kashkeesh said the new school will improve the educational outcomes for the community’s students. “The school represents hope for our young people, who will one day be our leaders.”

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada provided approximately $8 million for the new school. The 1,760 square-metre facility will house Kindergarten to Grade 8 classrooms to accommodate up to 120 students and has a full gymnasium. Construction began on the school in October 2005.

Canada's Government continues to make investments in education facilities across Canada. This commitment improves learning environments through funding and support for construction, expansion, renovation, repair, design, and planning. It also provides annual operation and maintenance funding.

The Aroland First Nation is located 400 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario, with a membership of approximately 594. The community is accessible by road year round.

For further information please contact:

Media Relations
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
819-953-1160

Linda Britt
A/Communications Officer
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
(807) 624-1559

Stephanie Ash
Communications Officer
Aroland First Nation
(807) 767-4443

Ministry of Northern Development and Mines News Release ...

Ontario Supports Development Of Aboriginal Training Centre - New Facility Would Help Prepare Young People For Forestry Sector Jobs

September 05, 2007

SUDBURY – The McGuinty government is promoting career development among Aboriginal youth in Northwestern Ontario by investing in a training centre at Pikangikum First Nation, Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci announced today.

“Our government is committed to fostering new economic development opportunities in small communities across Northern Ontario,” said Bartolucci, who also chairs the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC). “This NOHFC investment will help the Pikangikum First Nation pursue partnerships that would support the establishment of a new forestry training facility for young people in the region.”

The NOHFC is providing $48,550 to Pikangikum First Nation for the next phase of its Whitefeather Forest Teaching and Training Centre project, which includes securing partnership arrangements and completing an implementation plan to support the launch of a new forestry training facility for Aboriginal youth. The Pikangikum First Nation is working with the Ontario government to obtain commercial forestry tenure and stewardship responsibilities on a portion of the community’s traditional land use area known as the Whitefeather Forest. The establishment of a training centre would prepare young people for new employment opportunities in forestry sector and value-added manufacturing jobs.

“Our government is committed to building strong partnerships with First Nation communities in the province’s Far North,” said David Ramsay, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs. “The development of a new training centre would prepare local youth for new jobs in their region and enhance the community’s efforts toward self-sufficiency.”

Other McGuinty government initiatives in support of northern prosperity include:

• Investing more than $13.8 million to date, from the NOHFC, to provide internships and work placements to help some 730 young northerners launch their careers in the North
• Investing nearly $640,000 in a mining training program for Aboriginal youth in Northwestern Ontario
• Refocusing the NOHFC’s Emerging Technology Program to help bring broadband Internet to most of the North within three years and continue with cellular service expansion.

These initiatives are part of the government’s Northern Prosperity Plan for building stronger northern communities. The Northern Prosperity Plan has four pillars: Strengthening the North and its Communities; Listening to and Serving Northerners Better; Competing Globally; and Providing Opportunities for All.

-30-

Contacts:

Michel Lavoie
MNDM/NOHFC – Sudbury
(705) 564-7125

Ministry of Northern Development and Mines News Release ...

Ontario Funds Youth Entrepreneurial Experience Project - Program Will Require Students To Develop And Launch A Business Idea

September 05, 2007

SUDBURY – Aboriginal students can now participate in a pilot educational program focused on providing entrepreneurial experience, Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci announced today.

“With its emphasis on practical experience with mentors who are successful business professionals, this program holds much promise for young, aspiring entrepreneurs from remote First Nations,” said Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro. “Moreover, the program will be delivered in an environment in which students are encouraged to develop a strong sense of identity in the distinct language, culture and traditions of Aboriginal people.”

The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) will invest $75,000 to assist with the development of Entrepreneurship: The Venture program at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School in Thunder Bay. The program, designed specifically for youth living in remote First Nations, will provide innovative hands-on activities, motivational speakers, business mentors and role models as well as insights into business theory and practice. The key element of this program will be the requirement for each student to develop and launch his or her own enterprise.

This project is in keeping with recently released recommendations of a Northern Development Council consultation that identified new training opportunities for Aboriginal youth as an important element of keeping young people in the North.

“The future of Northern Ontario lies in the talents, skills and creativity of its youth,” said Bartolucci, who also chairs the NOHFC “Our government is empowering young Aboriginal students by supporting a program that will develop their entrepreneurial skills.”

This is just one more example of how, working together, Ontarians have achieved results for northern youth. Other examples include:

• Providing more than $2.3 million to date, through the Northern Ontario Young Entrepreneur Program, to help some 105 young people start their own business
• Holding consultations on approaches to stem out-migration of youth from the North, hosted by the Northern Development Councils
• Providing valuable on-the-job training and experience through the NOHFC’s Northern Ontario Youth Internship and Co-op Program.

These initiatives are part of the government’s Northern Prosperity Plan for building stronger northern communities. It has four pillars: Strengthening the North and its Communities; Listening to and Serving Northerners Better; Competing Globally; and Providing Opportunities for All.

-30-

Contacts:

Michel Lavoie
MNDM/NOHFC – Sudbury
(705) 564-7125

MNDM News Release ...
September 04, 2007 
  
Ontario Invests Over $17 Million In Northern Telecom Expansion - Projects Enhance Economic Opportunities And Quality Of Life Across North

SUDBURY – McGuinty government investments in cellular telephone and broadband Internet services will deliver new opportunities for community growth and a better quality of life for northerners, Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci announced today. 

“Our communities need access to reliable telecommunications infrastructure that will allow them to share in the benefits of modern technology,” said Bartolucci, who also chairs the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC).  “By expanding services to many more northern communities, these projects open up possibilities in education, health care, culture and business.”

The NOHFC is providing $17.4 million in support of 12 projects that will enhance telecommunications infrastructure across the North.  The projects will provide almost continuous cellular coverage along major highways from Sault Ste. Marie to the Manitoba border and deliver almost complete broadband coverage within that area.  In addition, they will extend coverage to hard-to-service locations such as the James Bay Coast and the remote Far North.  In all, the residents of more than 130 northern communities will benefit from new and enhanced services.  

“These improvements will greatly enhance the lives of residents in affected northern communities by providing them with access to a whole new range of products, services, information and activities,” said Bartolucci.  “The expansion of telecommunications infrastructure will help ensure that all northerners have an opportunity to participate in the global information society.”

Today’s investment is just one more example of how, working together, Ontarians have achieved results in the North.  Other examples include:

• Contributing $250,000 to help Algoma University College establish a computer gaming technology centre on campus
• Investing $2.5 million over four years in the production of Météo Plus, a new television series to be filmed and produced in the Sudbury area
• Providing $67,500 to Geraldton Community Forest Inc. to do preparatory work for an online interactive mapping application that will provide users with a comprehensive view of all the tourism values, natural features and recreational activities Northern Ontario has to offer.

These initiatives are part of the government’s Northern Prosperity Plan for building stronger northern communities. The plan has four pillars: Strengthening the North and its Communities; Listening to and Serving Northerners Better; Competing Globally; and Providing Opportunities for All.

-30-

---------------------------------------------------------------

Backgrounder
NEW CELLULAR AND BROADBAND INVESTMENTS IN THE NORTH

Twelve new projects will deliver expanded telecommunications services to the residents of more than 130 communities throughout Northern Ontario.

Under its Public Sector Emerging Technology program, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation is investing in the following 10 proposals from partnerships and alliances of municipalities, private sector businesses and organizations, federal government and other government-related agencies: 

• The Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre:

- $1,650,000 to build on a partnership with Thunder Bay Telephone and FedNor to enhance services for more than 1,000 customers along 210 kilometres of highway in the Red Lake area
- $967,000 to extend and enhance services to residents along Highway 17 west from Thunder Bay to Vermillion Bay and from Thunder Bay south to the U.S. border
- $2,500,000 to provide broadband and telecommunications services to 37 communities and enhance services to another 28 communities along 1,100 kilometres of highways 11, 71 and 17
- $3,400,000 to implement enhanced cellular telephone services affecting up to 11,000 residents in more than 20 communities along 360 kilometres of Highway 17 between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie

• City of Kenora – $1,913,847 to expand cellular coverage to the communities of Minaki, Redditt, Whitedog First Nation, Wauzhushik Onigum First Nation and Pine, and to provide high speed wireless Internet service in the currently unserved communities of Sunnyside, Blindfold Lake, Echo Bay and Black Sturgeon East

• Rainy River Future Development Corporation – $2,500,000 to complete gaps in cellular and broadband Internet services along Highway 11 in the Rainy River-to-Shabaqua area

• Town of Cochrane – $113,423, in conjunction with Cochrane Telecom Services, to offer services to 57 occupied lots in the Silver Queen Lake area of the municipality

• K-Net Services, through Keewaytinook Okimakanak Northern Chiefs Council –  $1,000,000 construct and pilot a cellular demonstration telecommunications infrastructure initiative in Keewaywin and Weagamow First Nations

• Mushkegowuk Council –  $1,000,000 to bring high-speed Internet connectivity to Attawapiskat, Kashechewan and Fort Albany

• Blue Sky Economic Growth Corporation –  $331,615 to increase access to high speed Internet in Ardbeg, Bayfield Inlet, Bear Lake, Carling Township, Dokis, Marten River, Nobel, Otter, Pointe Au Baril, Shawanaga and Tilden Lake

The NOHFC’s Infrastructure and Community Development program will assist two projects that rely on effective partnerships to create jobs and improve economic prospects in the North through improvements to infrastructure.  Contributions include:

• $1,000,000 to the recently formed Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission to assist in the development of the Whalen Information and Communications Technology cluster in Thunder Bay’s downtown north core, an effort that is expected to attract inbound sectoral investment around the city-owned Whalen building

• $1,000,000 to Confederation College’s Advanced Technology for Learning Project (the Learning Commons) to produce learning spaces and electronic access across the region in support of the NOHFC’s investment in expanded northern broadband capacity.

A vital component of the Northern Prosperity Plan, the NOHFC works through six unique programs to foster private sector job creation while supporting critical infrastructure and community development projects that build a foundation for future economic growth and enhanced quality of life.

-30-

Contacts:

Ron St. Louis
Communications Services Branch
MNDM – Sudbury
(705) 564-7120

Wendy Parker
Communications Services Branch
MNDM – Toronto
(416) 327-0620

Randy McAllister
Northern Development Advisor
MNDM – Thunder Bay
(807) 475-1210

www.nohfc.com

Request for Proposals

HOSTING OF THE 5TH ANNUAL YOUTH SYMPOSIUM ENVIRONMENT

The Ontario First Nations Young Peoples Council (OFNYPC) is mandated to host an annual youth symposium and is an excellent opportunity for youth to network and learn from one another regarding issues they face.  The theme for the 2007 Youth Symposium will focus on the Environment. 

Interested First Nations youth groups in Nishnawbe Aski Nation are encouraged to submit a written proposal to bid for hosting the 5th Annual Youth Symposium.  In an effort to assist with bid submissions, the attached background information on OFNYPC and its past symposiums is attached for further review.  

Request for Proposal (RFP)

A written proposal should include the following information:

Host Information

1. Statement of Interest; please include why your youth group is interested in hosting the symposium, and what assets and strengths your youth group and host community will contribute to the annual symposium (please limit statement of interest to 250 words).
2. Name, description and location of the youth group and community bidding to host the conference. 
3. Letter of support and/or resolution from Chief and Band Council approving the youth group to make the bid.
4. Name and key contact information of the youth group.  To assist with the communication process, the lead contact and group must have access to telephone, fax, email including MSN or AOL Instant Messages.  The proposal must clearly demonstrate that the youth leader and group must have suitable qualifications as well as a strong commitment to devote time and effort to help plan for the annual symposium.
5. Names and contact numbers of the Host Community Planning Committee.
6. Name and contact of key finance persons responsible to manage the contract agreement i.e. financial arrangements for the symposium.
7. The conference must be held by the end of March 31st, 2008.  The date of the symposium is suggested for the last week of February 2008. Alternative dates may be considered to accommodate the host community.
8. A description of the conference planning details including a proposed agenda, suggested workshops and environment related events. 
9. Description of host group ability to contribute financially and in kind to the symposium. Will the host group set aside funds or fundraise to contribute to the symposium?
10. Description of a plan for Elders’ support for the duration of the symposium.
11. Conference planning must consider the diversity of all First Nations in Ontario.
12. All conference details are subject to OFNYPC approval.

Site Information

Description of the conference site requirements must include:

• Capacity for 300 youth delegates and at least 10 presenters;
• Multiple meeting rooms for plenary and breakout sessions;
• Good lighting, heating and access to electrical outlets at facilities;
• A list of accommodations available, public and private;
• Room rates and conference rate discounts if available;
• Description of accommodations and bathroom facilities;
• Description of kitchen, dining, cafeteria, and banquet facilities and/or other areas for meals;
• Shuttle and ground transportation services;
• List of youth volunteers and community supporters;
• Distance from accommodations to conference site;
• Logistics, map, and history of the community; 
• List of security and protection services;
• A good sound system with microphones;
• Proposed budget: please prepare a budget that includes accommodation, meals, meeting rooms, equipment, security, cleaning and setting up costs, ground transportation, and any other costs included with hosting the symposium

Local Resources Available

1. A description of area resources that can be tapped into for the environment related events;
2. A description of cultural and traditional activities, inclusive and mindful of the diversity of First Nations cultures, traditions and languages in Ontario; please include a listing of 5 workshops you think should be essential in the conference agenda. OFNYPC will approve final agenda.
3. Community catering services to provide healthy and wholesome meals snacks including traditional foods, a meal plan must be submitted and OFNYPC must approve final bid;
4. A clean ground site to host a sacred fire and or sacred rituals or customary practices;
5. Emergency and medical services;
6. Description of 3-5 local attractions to be used as possible entertainment sites-must be drug and alcohol free;
7. Traditional and cultural activities and other healthy recreational sporting events;
8. Interpreters and translations service a definite asset;
9. Local traditional knowledge practitioners knowledgeable on environment issues.

Proposals must be submitted by September 30th, 2007

The proposals will be reviewed and approved by October 7th 2007 and notification will be made shortly thereafter in order that the successful youth group can proceed with conference planning with the OFNYPC Coordinator. Upon preliminary selection, a site visit may be arranged. 

To be considered as conference site host, please submit proposal to:
 
Laura Calm-Wind
Chiefs of Ontario – Youth Coordinator

Chiefs of Ontario (Thunder Bay Office)
RR#4, Suite 101 Anemki Dr.
Fort William First Nations Office Complex
Thunder Bay, Ontario P7J 1A5
Tel: (807) 626-9339    Fax: (807) 626-9404
laura@coo.org

Website: www.chiefs-of-ontario.org

Click here for all the background information about previous gatherings

Press release ...

CBC Radio Focuses on Native Issues this Tuesday as Aboriginal Author Takes Straight Aim at Native Issues

Listeners of CBC radio will want to tune in tomorrow morning to find out more about some new radical approaches to deal with long-time Aboriginal issues.

CBC National Radio will broadcast their popular morning show, Our Native Land, at 10:00 am tomorrow morning, Tuesday, September 4, 10:30 am in Newfoundland. The show will feature an exceptional special guest or two, and is the first in a series focusing on Canadian issues.

The CBC Roundtable will focus on Calvin Helin, the author of Dances with Dependency. He is considered one of the emerging stars on the Aboriginal front who is not afraid to say exactly what he thinks when it comes to Native affairs.

A Vancouver lawyer and businessman, Helin is adamant that economic independence should be at the forefront of Aboriginal thought.

He, along with leaders, such as Chief Clarence Louis of the Osoyoss First Nation in B.C. and Patrick Brazeau, the national Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, all share the view that it is time for the federal Indian Act to be scrapped and First Nations to take control of their own economic future.

Helin and Louis both made their positions known in an article that appeared in the national news magazine, MacLeans, in late August. According to the article, Helin, for one, calls for an Aboriginal ‘glasnost’ after the policy of openness and freer information initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev in late-Soviet Russia.

To Helin, a Tsimshian raised in the coastal village of Lax Kw’alaams and educated in Victoria and the Lower Mainland, nothing should be off-bounds.

Aboriginal self-governance? “Meaningless,” he says, so long as it is federally funded.

Helin sees a crisis on the horizon.

The Aboriginal population is growing seven times as fast as the mainstream population, according to the article. Meanwhile, the Metis are winning court challenges that establish the same rights and benefits as status Indians.

“Canada can’t sustain the current level of funding to the growing Aboriginal population at a time when a third of the Canadian population is set to retire; there has to be another way.”

And for those who want to know more, Helin’s book, Dances with Dependency, is available. In it, he blasts the so-called Indian industry, the lawyers, consultants and governments who prosper from Aboriginal misery. But his real venom is reserved for Native chiefs. He alleges a great many of them are not interested in anything but keeping the federal gravy train rolling along.

“Right now, all the chiefs ask is: who are we going to blame for this? That’s not a solution. At this stage of the game the useful question is: what are you going to do about it?”

He will bring these views and what he sees as possible solutions to the roundtable. Other guests include Dan Christmas from the Membertou First Nation and Ellen Gabriel, a Quebec activist.

++++++

From Macleans.ca ...

An aboriginal 'glasnost' - On the Osoyoos reserve in the Okanagan, "real warriors hold a bjob!" is the motto
NANCY MACDONALD - September 3, 2007

There is no housing shortage on the 13,000-hectare Osoyoos reserve, tucked deep in B.C.'s bone-dry interior. Nor are there any apparent signs of poverty. In fact, some of the fanciest facilities in this corner of the Okanagan Valley are on band land. The Osoyoos Indian Band's school and health centre are more architecturally advanced than anything in neighbouring Oliver or Osoyoos -- a tourist town that swells from 5,000 to 20,000 during summer. And the adobe-style Spirit Ridge resort, perched high above Lake Osoyoos, offers the best views, by far, of desert and turquoise waters. They've even got the best public art: massive metal sculptures by U.S. artist Virgil "Smoker" Marchand. Truly, the 440-member band puts the surrounding towns to shame -- a cheerful inversion of the Canadian standard.

Blame it on the chief. When Clarence Louie was first elected in 1984, at age 24, the Osoyoos were bankrupt. Like most native bands, they were marooned on marginal land, and crippled by welfare dependency and sky-high unemployment. Health problems as well as social pathologies -- corruption, violence -- were rampant. Two decades on, the tiny band is a regional powerhouse, pumping an annual $40 million into the B.C. economy. It owns nine businesses, including an award-winning winery, and is the biggest employer in the south Okanagan. And its tough-talking chief and CEO is fast becoming a national icon. "We're no longer the ghetto next door," says Louie, 47, nodding toward two non-native women sweeping the Nk'Mip winery's brick patio.

"Across the country, Aboriginal leaders know: if you want to start a development project, you go pay Chief Louie a visit," says Liberal-era Indian affairs minister Bob Nault, who is still firmly plugged into the Aboriginal community. "He probably gets more phone calls than any native leader in the country."

Louie spends one week of every month on the road, preaching the business gospel to mixed audiences. On this day, there are 50 speaking invites piled on the desk of his wood-panelled office in the band's modest corporate headquarters, near Oliver. "I don't give the usual Indian speech: that we fly with the eagles, run with the buffalo, swim with the salmon and beat with one heartbeat," he says. "I want to talk about creating jobs and making money." Blaming government? That time is over, he tells cross-country audiences. Join the real world. Get off welfare. Quit your sniffling. If your life sucks it's because you suck. Our ancestors worked for a living; so should you. To the irritation of some band members, diluted versions of these mantras -- such as "Real Warriors Hold A Job!" -- are posted on burgundy-and-white signs across the reserve. Louie is a provocateur; he lives to offend.

But there is a broader verse here. Louie is part of an emerging group of distinguished Aboriginals and native leaders who are advocating a complete native mind shift. Echoing the critic and wit H.L. Mencken, these dissenters, who include Patrick Brazeau, national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, and Vancouver lawyer and businessperson Calvin Helin, argue that economic independence is the only freedom worth a damn. They call for an end to the system of federal dependency that has crippled Aboriginal peoples, and advocate progress through integration into the mainstream economy.

Helin, for one, calls for an Aboriginal "glasnost," after the policy of openness and freer information initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev in late-Soviet Russia. To Helin, a Tsimshian raised in the coastal village of Lax Kw'alaams and educated in Victoria and the Lower Mainland, nothing should be off-bounds. Aboriginal self-governance? "Meaningless," he says, so long as it is federally funded. The timing is right: Helin sees a crisis on the horizon. The Aboriginal population is growing seven times as fast as the mainstream population. Meanwhile, the Métis are winning court challenges that establish the same rights and benefits as status Indians. He says Canada can't sustain the current level of funding to the growing Aboriginal population at a time when a third of the Canadian population is set to retire; there has to be another way.

The Osoyoos present a shining alternative. From the start, Louie's kept eyes trained on the bottom line. His first major success came early, when he turned around the band's small but heavily indebted vineyard. For a year, Louie let the operation bleed while he quietly analyzed it. He pinpointed its structural flaws, fired its ineffectual manager, and in 1986, the winery announced its first profit. In 1987, as the vineyard doled out its first round of employee benefits, Louie launched a construction company. Ten years later, the Osoyoos were rolling out the big-ticket businesses: a $30-million hillside resort; a $9-million cultural centre, which offers rattlesnake interpretive sessions and hiking trails through the hills; a $3-million destination winery overlooking Osoyoos Lake; a golf course and a ready-mix concrete plant. (The band has also partnered in the Mount Baldy ski development, and its 400-hectare vineyards supply grapes to vintners such as Jackson-Triggs and Mission Hill.) "It would have been easier to do what a lot of bands do, and just chase federal government grant programs," says Louie. "It's tougher running businesses. But we're going from welfare to work."

Not all bands are located on tourist tracks like Napa North. Still, a quarter of First Nations should be pursuing his strategy, says Louie. "Some oil-money bands bring in tens of millions in royalties. But their people are sitting at Great Depression unemployment rates, year after year." Instead of doling out billions in "negative spending" -- on jails, alcohol treatment centres, healing lodges -- we have to get the economic wheel turning, he says.

Two years ago, Louie made it to an Assembly of First Nations meeting, his first in 20 years as chief. "I only went because it was the first time the grand chief was hosting a conference on economic development. Every year, $9 billion is spent on Aboriginals. Two per cent of that goes toward economic development. The rest goes to social spending. That's been the formula for 100 years. Where has that gotten us? Absolute poverty."

Helin would agree. In Dances with Dependency, a book he published last year, he blasts the so-called Indian industry, the lawyers, consultants and government bureaucrats who prosper from Aboriginal misery. But his real venom is reserved for native chiefs. He alleges a great many aren't interested in anything but keeping the federal gravy train rolling. "Right now, all the chiefs ask is: who are we going to blame for this? That's not a solution. At this stage of the game the useful question is: what are you going to do about it?"

To Patrick Brazeau, it is a problem of "too many" chiefs. He argues that Canada's 633 native communities should be slashed to 60. The Indian Act? Scrapped, and the $9 billion in annual Aboriginal spending redirected. Right now, the lion's share is funnelled to on-reserve natives; meanwhile, 51 per cent of status Indians live off-reserve. Brazeau backs the Tories -- remarkable for a native leader. Since becoming national chief of CAP in 2006, the 32-year-old has been stepping on some toes. "In Ottawa there's only one Aboriginal organization that means anything," says Nault. "Patrick Brazeau is changing that."

He is a thorn in the side of Phil Fontaine, grand chief of the Assembly of First Nations. The two organizations have been at loggerheads since 2001, when CAP supported the controversial First Nations governance bill, which would have required bands to adopt minimum standards of accountability, such as holding regular elections and publishing financial records. The split deepened in 2005, when CAP opposed the failed Kelowna accord because accountability structures weren't built into the $5-billion deal.

"We need that governance act reintroduced," Don Sandberg, Aboriginal policy fellow for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, says from remote Saskatchewan. He is partway through a two-year Aboriginal governance survey for the Winnipeg-based think tank. A Canadian first, it's not winning him friends. In July, he was ordered off the St. Theresa Point First Nation, a 3,000-member northern Manitoba community. Sandberg says its chief, who functions as band mayor, police chief, judge and jury, didn't like his line of inquiry. This is not the first time Sandberg has felt the strong arm of a chief. Ten years ago he was thrown off his home reserve, the Norway House Cree Nation, for speaking out against the dysfunction and corruption he witnessed. He has no rights in Norway House; he cannot access social services, or vote.

For a long time, he was just a voice in the wilderness. No more. "The mavericks are coming at this from different angles, but they're all saying the same thing: the status quo isn't going to get them anywhere," says Nault. "And they're right."

This blockade has the support of local non-native residents in the region.

From the Kingston Whig-Standard ...

Mine protesters spurn injunction
Steve Serviss - September 01, 2007

More than 200 native and nonnative people shouted down a sheriff who was delivering a court order that called for the immediate removal of a blockade at a proposed uranium mine north of Sharbot Lake.

Superior Court Justice Gordon Thomson had issued the written order Monday.

Yesterday, two sheriffs, escorted by Ontario Provincial Police, were met on the road outside the mine by Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nations warriors who would not allow the court officers on the property. The mine is located off Highway 509 about 12 kilometres north of Sharbot Lake.

The court order was delivered verbally by a sheriff standing on the road in front of the crowd, most of whom were blocking the mine entrance. As the sheriff issued the order, the crowd drummed, chanted and yelled.

Shabot Obaadjiwan war chief Earl Badour, who oversees the security of the protesters at the site, said he met the officers with a group of about 24 warriors.

"I said to them we were not speaking," said Badour.

Badour then signalled for the native flag to be turned upside down as a symbolic gesture that "all natives are in distress. And the government has put them all in distress," he said.

After the order was delivered, the sheriffs left, with the police escort. Because of the blockade, they did not attempt to post the order on the fence.

The group of protesters, both native and non-native, numbered about 200. Native leaders have said they want a peaceful resolution through negotiations and not through court injunctions.

They also say they are not leaving. Residents and Algonquins oppose the mining site because of environmental concerns such as potential contamination of the water table.

The Algonquins also say the provincial government was wrong to have allowed the mining company, Frontenac Ventures, to prospect for uranium on the site because the land belongs to the aboriginals.

Frontenac Ventures is suing the Algonquins for $77 million and is seeking a court injunction to have the protesters removed from the land. The interim injunction order issued this week stands until a full hearing Sept. 20.

The OPP said they have no plans to move in on the protesters this weekend. They visited the site yesterday to assist the sheriff's office, said OPP Const. Paige Whiting.

The OPP will continue to keep officers posted on Highway 509. If they intend on taking any action, including negotiations, Whiting said, police will contact native leaders.

"The OPP will keep open lines of communication and consult all parties involved," said Whiting. "There will be no hasty action at this time."

The blockade began June 29. Police have since brought in a command post, a large OPP trailer, which is located at the Sharbot Lake detachment.

Whiting said the OPP has also supplemented its local roster with officers from neighbouring counties because monitoring the blockade requires additional staff.

"Fortunately, it's been peaceful," she said.

The OPP will continue to consult with lawyers to determine its future plans.

Algonquin war chief Badour said his group will continue a "non-confrontational" approach and welcome more talks with police and the government, but on its terms and outside of court.

The Algonquins' attempts to bring the premier and the province into direct negotiations over the uranium site have been unsuccessful.

The protests have also caught the attention of an organization that works to conserve peace. Members of the Christian Peacemakers Team International visited the site yesterday. Co-director Doug Pritchard said his group will discuss whether to become involved.

"Our mission is violence reduction and to achieve peace," said Pritchard.

The group is already assisting aboriginal groups in Kenora who are embroiled in a logging dispute.

As the peacemaker group decides if it will become involved, more area residents are supporting the blockade even in the wake of the injunction order.

Perth resident John Miller opposes the uranium mine and visits the blockade three to four times a week .

"I have been here since the beginning of the altercation to give the First Nations support for their action," said Miller.

He worries about the environmental impacts of a uranium mine and plans to continue to support the First Nations groups going forward. Area resident Linda Harvey, a retired family physician, also adamantly supports the First Nations' blockade because of the environmental impact of the proposed mine. If required, she is willing to make a statement by joining the fight on the front line. "I am absolutely behind the blockade," she said. "If the [First Nations] are taken out, then we'll come in."

The relationship between the natives and non-natives over this issue is clearly strengthening.

Badour has been at the site for 61 days, leads the warriors, and says he can call on other native groups for support. Though he is the war chief, Badour said his role is one of protector, a role that also extends to the local residents, also referred to as settlers.

"My role is to protect my chief, my people and the settlers," said Badour.

Local support by residents is having an affect. At the mine site, about 80 vehicles lined the roads for the protest yesterday. Many non-natives wore bright yellow T-shirts with a slogan "no uranium mine, there is a better solution."

In the hours that passed after the officers had left, the crowd seemed jubilant and relaxed. Several rings of people gathered outside the mine gates recounting the sheriff's visit.

People snapped photos of each other arm in arm, some shared cigarettes, others took a video they admitted they would share with friends. They even rushed over to listen to a radio report that recounted the action.

All the while, people and vehicles flowed in and out of the mine site, each time defying the court order.

Inside the gates, there are several outbuildings of the decommissioned Robertson mine. The Algonquins occupy a small construction trailer and several tents, and depending on the time of day, there are anywhere from 10 to 50 people inside.

Outside the gates, there are five tents for sleeping, two porta-potties and a larger tent used for meetings where native leaders remained in discussions following the departure of police.

Most of the talk late in the afternoon centred on the Ardoch Algonquins' weekend powwow. People were heading over to set up at that site, about six kilometres away. Police planned to have their auxiliary run security for the event, as for any other local event. sserviss@thewhig.com