First Nations lift voices, lift concerns at Legislature

Seven-hundred strong poured onto the grounds of the Legislature in Regina on Sept. 26 raising their voices to demand the provincial government hear them.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is the transfer of obligations and responsibilities that came when the province was given rights to the minerals from Canada,” said Yellow Quill First Nation Chief Larry Cachene, who helped organize the event.

Cachene said that the Natural Resources Transfer Agreement was passed to the provinces in the 1930s, but the obligations didn’t go with it. Chiefs expressed frustration with trying to deal with the provincial government.

“The position that the province has, that there’s no need to consult on a lot of issues that concern our treaties and our treaty rights. There’s a lot of legislation and industry moving into our territories and there’s never any consultation or process of the local Nation,” said Cachene.

The issues facing First Nations in Saskatchewan are numerous. Lack of housing, poor education, inadequate health care, and limited economic development are the larger concerns.

“The minerals come out of the ground, come out of Saskatchewan. Every citizen from Saskatchewan benefits from those except the First Nations,” said Cachene.

Politicians were not invited to speak at the rally, which saw people march from the Cree Land Mini Mart several blocks to the Legislature.

“We’ve dealt with three different governments here in Saskatchewan in the last 20-30 years and none of them have done anything. So we’re just saying that you had the opportunity to do it, why didn’t you do it then?” said Cachene.

That was the message he took to the crowd.

“It’s time for us to start raising our voice and to raise issues, and to provide the solutions that we have for our communities,” he said.

Cachene is hoping that the government will start listening and that the general Saskatchewan public will begin to tune into the concerns voiced by First Nations.
While Cachene was disappointed with the turnout, he was pleased with the busloads of young people who attended the event.

“The youth want us to take action,” he said. “They’re also sending that message that we have to start doing things to protect our treaties and our rights that come through those treaties.”

Even the Elders are saying it’s time for leaders to do something.

 “We have our Elders, who are leaders in our communities, the most patient people in our communities, and they’re saying ‘Enough is enough.’ If the Elders are getting to the point where they’re saying that then I think that everybody else is ready for it, too. They’re saying, ‘Why do we stand for that? Why do we allow this to happen?’” said Cachene.

A petition stating, in part, that “the time has come for Canada’s three Orders of Government to come together to truly honour Treaty and develop viable and enduring solutions for the problems facing Saskatchewan’s First Nation people,” was signed by the membership to be delivered to Premier Brad Wall. Cachene is hoping the petition will result in discussion with the provincial government.

Alberta First Nations held a rally on the same day on the steps of the Legislature in Edmonton and Ottawa was the site of a third rally with First Nations participants, this one protesting the development of tar sands in Alberta.
Cachene was unaware of the rally planned for Edmonton. The Saskatchewan rally, dubbed “the day of action,” was carried out through an FSIN resolution passed in July. In Alberta, the “day of awareness” was the result of a resolution passed by the Alberta Assembly of Treaty Chiefs in June.

“I think if First Nations across the country marched on the same day, it would have more weight,” said Cachene. “(These rallies are) just the tip of the iceberg.”

Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo, who attended the rally in Edmonton, agreed.

“It’s a people’s movement. It’s the power of the people stepping forward and in some respects pushing the leaders to say we’re going to stand up and not only are we going to support what it is that you’re doing but we’re going to push all of you,” he said. “I think that the resurgence in that notion is being witnessed here in Alberta. We’re seeing it in Saskatchewan, we’re seeing it right across the country, in fact.”