Open up the election to all

Page 5

The winds of change are blowing across Indian Country. Witness the recent election of the new national chief.

Prior to the election, few Indian people across this country felt that the former national chief Phil Fontaine would be unseated because it is very rare that an incumbent is forced from office. Rare as it is, it did occur and to the surprise of many people who watch such things.

Fontaine assumed the reins of power three years ago and found the cookie cupboard bare after an undistinguished two terms by national chief Ovide Mercredi. By all accounts, the national chief's election then was a bitterly contested event. That would come back to haunt Fontaine and cost him his national chief's position in the latest election.

In the rarified air of the Assembly of First Nations, the rank and file Indian never knows what is going on back in Ottawa and rumblings are sometimes heard but it is a long, long ways from here in British Columbia to Ottawa. Case in point. Ask any Indian what the Indian Affairs offices Gathering Strength initiative is and what it does for them and you would probably get a blank stare and a shrug of the shoulders.

Most Indians on reserve rarely have any contact these days with Indian Affairs bureaucrats unless it has to do specifically with the program they are managing or when they are in trouble financially and the financial services officer pays them a visit.

That was part of Fontaine's problem. He was too closely tied to Indian Affairs programs and rarely did the benefits of those programs accrue with the rank and file Aboriginal person. More often than not it kept the bureaucrat in Ottawa or Vancouver busy trying to figure out how to translate that program into something tangible for the communities he was supposed to be serving.

That cozy relationship appears at first glance to be put on the back burner.

The national chief's election was incredible to watch. To Chief Coon Come's credit, he assembled a savvy, attractive team of advisors including Cara Currie, Romeo Saganash, Kowaint'co Shackelly, and Dorothy Grant (the few that I knew anyway). Throw in former national chiefs Ovide Mercredi and Noel Starblanket and you have political experience to go with the strong technical skills that are needed to unseat an incumbent.

Chief Coon Come's aggressive message plays in Indian Country with the current demographic that is beginning to assert its control over our communities. That demographic is characterized by a huge bulk of Indian people - 60 per cent of our population - being under the age of 30. His message of change and confrontation are things that the younger generation of 'skins want to hear in our communities. These young people are chomping at the bit and want a shot at the older generation of bureaucrats and politicians who have been managing their lives ever since they were born.

That goes for Indian politicians, non-Native politicians and white and Native bureaucrats...anyone who is not a part of the solution is viewed as part of the problem. Councils across British Columbia are witnessing those changes with young councillors wanting changes now - not tomorrow.

Now the tough part for Chief Coon Come...questions from the floor about opening up voting to the rank and file Indians across Canada that dogged him on the campaign trail. It will be one of the toughest issues for him deal with for the upcoming term. Three years doesn't seem long enough.

That is the way I see it anyways...putucw.

To make any comments about this article please contact seklep@telus.net or edraven@ammsa.com.