Court decision will mean Indian Act changes

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Huge changes are looming in Saskatchewan's Indian political landscape and the shape of that new landscape will be known within the next 18 months.

Last month, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Section 77 (1) of the Indian Act as unconstitutional. That's the section that prevented off-reserve Indians from practicing their democratic right to vote in a band election.

"This is a huge victory for us," said Keitha Kennedy, an urban Indian from the Carry The Kettle First Nation, located about 100 km east of Regina. "We now have a voice."

For years Kennedy says she's tried to convince her band to let all band members vote in band elections. But she says the chief and council used the now dicriminatory piece of government legislation as a road-block to keep off-reserve members off the reserve during election time.

"Before they didn't even acknowledge us because we didn't live on the reserve," said the 37-year-old, who's never cast a ballot in a band election. "A lot of First Nation leaders are going to be scrambling around wondering what they will have to do to pacify the off-reserve Indians."

Joe O'Watch, chief of the Carry The Kettle First Nation, says including off-reserve Indians in the election process has been a point of discussion for years. But it was only talk and nothing was ever done, he says from his home on the reserve.

"But now with the ruling and the mandate of the people," said the chief. "We certainly have to move in that direction."

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For O'Watch though, the ruling comes down to money. He raises the argument that Indian Affairs will have to now provide dollars for all band members.

Currently Indian Affairs distributes program money based on the on-reserve population and not the over-all population.

Saskatchewan's top chief says money should be dished out based on historic agreements.

"It's based on a treaty relationship we have with the crown," said Perry Bellegarde, chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations. "And any new funding has to be based on that."

Treaty rights are portable and governments will have to hand out money accordingly, regardless of where Indian people live, says Bellegarde.

Bellegarde took the opportunity to make it clear that the high court decision supports what the FSIN has been saying all along.

"Chief and councils represent all the people on and off the reserve," he said. "Eventually down the road there won't be a need for a lot of these organizations that purport to represent First Nation people. There's no legitimacy to them."

Now is the time to unite and direct energys to dealing with the federal and provincial governments, he said.

"I think the air will be cleared and there will be a lot more unity amongst our people now."