Prairie Natives want Jane out

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A small group of irate First Nation members met with Reform Party MP Myron Thompson in Airdrie on Sept. 18 to give him a letter calling for Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart's resignation. Jane Stewart is the main foe for the Wildrose MP and the group from Alberta and Saskatchewan First Nations he met with.

Thompson admits the letter is only a symbolic gesture representing the frustration of First Nation people who are trying to achieve accountability from their chiefs and councils.

"It might attract some attention," Thompson said. "As far as her resigning, you'll never see that happen."

The letter, drafted by a Thompson aide and presented at the meeting for signatures, reads in part; "As a grassroots Native person living on a reserve in western Canada, I would like to voice my objection to the ignorance of your department towards our concerns. Corruption on the part of our chiefs and councils is rampant - there is no accountability, elections are being fixed, and our band finances are being mismanaged."

Although doubting the letter will cause Stewart to resign, it is indicative of the growing activism among some First Nations, in Western Canada at least, to change the administration of their affairs. The First Nations Accountability Coalition in Manitoba and SCAR in Saskatchewan are two newly formed groups to emerge from the movement. In Alberta, there is the Committee Against Injustices to Natives (CAIN).

The meeting with Thompson was arranged by the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples of Alberta but the number of people who showed up fell far short of expectations. Initial projections had support coming from hundreds of people, but only dozens showed.

Sandra Horseman from the Horse Lake First Nation has questions and concerns not only about band policies, but social issues on the reserves across the country. Horseman, who said she herself was the victim of a sexual assault on the reserve when she was only 12 years old, is calling for First Nations across Canada to speak out about their own issues and concerns.