Communities must pursue self-government goal

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The defeat of the Charlottetown accord shouldn't stop work towards self-government at the community level, says leaders of some of Manitoba's Native organizations.

"The struggle continues at the community level whether the vote had gone yes

or no," said Kathy Mallet, a spokesman for Winnipeg's Original Women's Network.

"There too much time spent on this stuff.....If we had that money spent at the community level look how far ahead we could be."

Provincially, Manitoba was a divided province in the weeks leading up to the Oct. 26 vote. Leaders like MLA Elijah Harper, who played a crucial role in the defeat of the Meech Lake accord, were studying the deal and holding back on public comments.

But strong opposition surfaced in the final days of the referendum campaign. After weeks of considering the deal, Harper urged communities to boycott the vote. By then chiefs from at least 10 of the province's 61 bands had decided to bar polling booths from their reserves.

And opposition to the accord gained extra momentum in a final chief's meeting before voting day. Along with leaders from treaty nations in other provinces, chiefs took steps to set up their own organization outside the umbrella of the Assembly of First Nations.

Rouseau River chief Lawrence called on communities to begin acting as sovereign nations whether or not the constitution recognized self-government.

When the vote was tallied, Manitoba's communities clearly rejected the accord. But the defeat was not as solid as in provinces like Alberta. The eight bands of Dakota-Ojibway Tribal Council voted to an even split, with the four bands currently involved in self-government negotiations accepting the accord.

"I was somewhat surprised. I thought it would have been closer," said Andrew Kirkness, spokesman for the off-reserve Indian Council of First Nations of Manitoba.

Kirkness was disappointed by the outcome, which would have set a framework

for dealing with off-reserve issues. He blamed the accord's failure on timing,.

"I think they were pushing it too fast," he said. "I think that did more harm than good. (If there was more time) it might have had a different outcome.

"I think everything possible should be done to go after off-reserve rights. I don't think we should stop just because the deal went down. I think we should fight harder."