National chief backs panel as leaders turn away

Leaders that represent an estimated 230 First Nations groups in Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan have refused to participate in an effort to improve education in Native schools.

The initiative was announced jointly in December 2010 by John Duncan, minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, and Shawn Atleo, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN).

Despite this lack of participation, the three-person, non-partisan education panel, tasked with facilitating discussions on education with First Nation communities throughout Canada, will continue its work. This was confirmed by Atleo during a mid-summer interview with Windspeaker.

Atleo said that while any recommendation that spring from the information collected during nationwide meetings is non-binding, the panel is expected to report to the AFN and Ottawa by the end of the year.

The report could eventually be used to create future legislation for First Nation elementary and secondary school education, something Atleo said is much needed.
“It’s about taking the control back and power over First Nations education...It’s about how we take control and it’s about getting a fair and equitable funding guarantee,” he said.

Atleo called First Nations input and collaboration a “critical” element in the education planning process.
“[Collaboration] can only help First Nations during the work forward,” he said. And “it will remain up to First Nations to decide the way forward,” he added.

“This is about our people deciding for themselves,” he continued. “There can’t be a top-down, ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.”

Chief Gilbert Whiteduck of the Kitigan Zibi First Nation in Quebec is a critic of the panel. He claims that leaders were told they would have a say in the selection of the education panel and input into its Terms of Reference.
“We embarked on this belief that we were going to collaborate,” he said. “Later we began to realize that selection of the panel and the Terms of Reference were not going to be made in a collaborative way,” he said.
“We were being misled,” he claimed. “We were being misled in the belief that our input would make a difference.”

While Whiteduck said he is not against legislative reform, he said he is dedicated to ensuring that future legislation will guarantee autonomy for First Nations people and that concrete funding will be established, various jurisdiction and capacity issues will be examined, and levels of service required for distinct communities throughout Canada will be assured.

Representatives of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) share Whiteduck’s concerns and announced last month that they too would not be participating in the panel, citing worries stemming from the potential risks to treaty rights and fears regarding disintegration of power over decision-making.

The group “With federal legislation, the federal government will assume full control over First Nations education,” claimed FSIN Vice-Chief Lyle Whitefish.

“They will drive it, develop it, change it and do whatever they want with it. And First Nations children will be forced to dance to their tune again,” he said.

Whitefish further casts blame on the AFN, saying the organization is walking a proverbial tightrope with important treaty rights to education.

“Unfortunately, the AFN, our own national First Nations organization, is not listening to us, and appears to have been co-opted by the federal government in supporting a process that will only serve to create legislation that weakens our treaty right to education,” he said in a statement.

But Atleo denied the allegations.

“We’re not going to allow the government to determine unilaterally what’s right for us,” he explained.

Asked if he thinks the chiefs’ decision not to participate in the education review is a politically-motivated move in light of next year’s election for the AFN’s top position? Atleo shrugged.

“This is a political office,” he acknowledged.

But Whiteduck denies that he has his eye on the AFN national chief’s seat, explaining that his primary motivation for bowing out of the panel had to do with legislative framework concerns, a lack of assurance regarding Aboriginal autonomy and the lack of concrete promises for a funding guarantee if new legislation is passed.

“At the end of the day, the panel will consult with an unrepresentative group of First Nations across Canada and then influence federal legislation that is not aligned with our belief systems,” Whitefish said in a statement.
Whitefish linked the panel process to a legacy of historic power struggles nestled under the trope of the Indian Act.

“While the federal government issued a residential school apology that included a commitment not to repeat the mistakes of the past, this national panel seems like a step back to the ‘we know best’ colonial attitude,” he said.

Although Minister Duncan was unavailable for comment, the department of Aboriginal Affairs weighed in on the issue.

“I can tell you our government is taking action to improve the educational outcomes of First Nation students. We are working in collaboration with First Nations communities to engage on possible options for improving First Nation elementary and secondary education. Our government believes students come first and we are committed to working directly with First Nations. The independent National Panel announced jointly by our government and the AFN is seeking views from First Nation leaders, parents, students, Elders, teachers across the country on how to improve elementary and secondary education outcomes for First Nation children living on-reserve.”

“Also, it is important to note that individual First Nations from some of these regions have already participated in discussions with the independent National Panel and have expressed an interest to continue discussions on this important initiative,” the spokesperson stated.

But those opposed to the panel say Ottawa has no place in the process.

“We don’t need our ‘great white father’ sitting at the table,” said Whiteduck.

“There have been many reasons not to trust government,” Atleo said. “We have to be vigilant and we can’t put all our eggs in one basket.”

But in urging caution, Atleo continued to emphasize the importance of legislative education reform for the Indigenous people of Canada.

“We’re not going to allow for government to decide unilaterally what’s right for us,” he declared.

“My job is to kick the door open and get out of the way for nations to proceed.... It’s no longer about discussions,” he said. “We need action.”

The education panel report is expected to be completed by and presented to the AFN and Ottawa in December.
Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan are in the process of writing independent reports that will also be presented to the AFN and Aboriginal Affairs Canada by the end of the year.