Pacific Peoples gathering looks at governance

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Indigenous activists from across Canada and the South Pacific met at the University of Victoria Sept. 19 and 20, where they shared their perspectives on Indigenous governance and resource management at the annual Pacific Peoples Partnership Conference.

The two day conference began with Tom Sampson of the Sencoten Tribes providing an eloquent speech and heartfelt welcome. Sampson said, "The Creator told my ancestors, 'Here is the land that you will know, here is the land that you will use, here is the land that you will respect, and here is the language that goes with it.'"

Sampson continued, "They took our longhouses down, they took away our language when we welcomed the newcomers to the land, and what we got in return were little reservations, incarceration, sickness, disease and punishment because we were Indian.

"Is it necessary to have more and do we need to continue to devastate the land until there is nothing left?" asked Sampson. "The people who manage these resources don't understand because they don't have a relationship with the land, and to them, timber is nothing more than two-by-fours."

The conference was packed with very important Indigenous delegates. The keynote plenary panel consisted of Sir Hugh Kawharu, Chief Leah George of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, and Lopeti Senituli of the Tonga Human Rights and Democracy Movement. Their topic was Re-Imagining Local Governance.

There were presentations from seven Pacific delegates from Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Tonga. Many Canadian First Nations were also represented. Also present were representatives from various agencies and government departments including David Kilgour, Conservative MP and Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific.

The conference explored and evaluated specific governance models-some failed, others experimental, some traditional, others modern-employed by Indigenous peoples in partnerships with the state, private sector or non-governmental organizations. Within these topics the changing roles of women and the dynamic efforts of Indigenous youth were discussed. The conference examined the role of international aid and environmental organizations in promoting sustainability and Indigenous governance.

First Nations people in Canada and Indigenous peoples of the Pacific have a shared history of both struggle and innovation in their efforts to evolve governance models that further their control over local resources and their livelihoods.

Further information about the Pacific Peoples Partnership is on the Internet at www.sppf.org.