Fontaine delivers museum message

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Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Phil Fontaine was in Edmonton Aug. 13 to deliver two messages at the Provincial Museum of Alberta.

Fontaine presented the museum's Syncrude Gallery of Aboriginal Culture with a framed statement commemorating the museum's role in helping to inform and create awareness between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. The statement was created for the opening of the new gallery in November 1997, but with busy and conflicting schedules, it's delivery was delayed.

In presenting the statement, Fontaine said the gallery has done Aboriginal people justice in the displays and information it portrays.

"This museum describes our place very accurately and appropriately and that is most important for our people. For that reason we gave our whole hearted support and I hope my presence here this afternoon is a further expression of ou rcommitment to ensure that the museum will continue to grow and build," said Fontaine, adding that he likes the idea that the gallery was a "living museum" highlighting the Aboriginal people as they lived, are living and continue to live.

"This is a gallery about a living people, a living gallery. It is not a history gallery where you come to a museum to see something of the past," said Philip Stepney, the museum's director. "We are here to trace the story from the past 11,000 plus years through to present day as we continue to change the gallery and follow the events of the people today as they go through time and as we continue to work together to make what we know as Canada."

Fontaine's framed presentation will be featured beside the gallery's other recent addition, the framed Statement of Reconciliation which documents and recounts the government's role in residential schooling across Canada.

Fontaine remained at the museum after the presentation to be the keynote speaker at the Capital Cities Mayors' Conference. The conference, running from Aug. 13 to 15, hosted mayors from across the country.

Fonatine's keynote address focused on the need for municipalities and First Nations to pool their resources and to forge agreements with each other for the mutual benefit of their community members.

He used the Aboriginal gallery as an example of what co-operation and partnership between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people can produce.

Fontaine said with the recent increase in the migration of First Nation people to the larger centres across the country, the training, education, housing and establishment of business opportunities of those people "are issues that need the full co-operation of municipal leaders."

While he drew some similarities between municipal governments and First Nations governments, he stressed that the blueprint for Native self government would not be modeled after the municipal government structure.

"We need to partner and co-operate with the municipal governments. Not that we aspire to be municipal governments. We want to be much more than that. We want to be our own distinct government, equal in stature with the other two levels of government," Fontaine said.

In just the last few years, there have been numerous agreements and joint-meetings conducted between municipalities and neighboring First Nations, said Fontaine.

His 20-minute speech drew a standing ovation from the 100 municipal leaders at the reception.