FSIN vice-chiefs re-elected

Page 5

The people have spoken and Guy Lonechild and Lawrence Joseph were returned as vice-chiefs in the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) election held during the organization's fall legislative assembly Oct. 19 and 20. Both incumbents were elected on the first ballot and will serve another three-year term.

Lonechild is a member of the White Bear First Nation and holds the economic and community development portfolio at FSIN. He has served as vice-chief since being elected in 1999.

Lonechild thanked the delegates for his re-election, saying that the economic development portfolio needs continuity in its leadership.

"Focus and attention on entrepreneurialism and business development, I think, has lead to a focus that we have to have continuity when it comes to people choosing leaders by a democratic process," said Lonechild.

"I am very happy that they want to continue down that direction. First Nations, no matter where they live, should have access to opportunities for home ownership, on and off reserve, and also they should have equal access to be business owners and entrepreneurs."

Lonechild said role models are needed for business and he is happy to push those issues forward. He also advocates for First Nations people to become more involved in their own economies.

"My priority is to strengthen our community economic development strategies and to ensure that First Nation communities are the rightful stakeholders, regardless of some of the issues that have been put up against our people not to participate in our economies," Lonechild said.

"We are the rightful stakeholders in northern communities. We are the rightful stakeholders in areas where agriculture is the predominant sector (of the economy).

Lonechild also said it is his mandate to stand up for the honouring of treaty rights and to ensure that First Nations are a major workforce in Saskatchewan and that the people are prepared to take on that role.

"Right now we say that education is our buffalo and that we need new investment in education for our children, in advanced training and trades and ensuring that our people, regardless of where they live, regardless of what jurisdiction they are under, have equal opportunity like the rest of Canadians. I am going to make sure that First Nations of Saskatchewan youth and people have the opportunity afforded to other Canadians."

Lawrence Joseph is a member of the Big River First Nation and is fluent in both the Cree and English.

Joseph, who has served on the FSIN executive since 1997, holds a number of portfolios for FSIN including justice, Dakota/Lakota/Nakota affairs, First Nations veterans, the treaty governance processes and the treasury board.

Joseph said he was very grateful for being re-elected and pledges to continue the fight for the advancement of First Nation issues in Saskatchewan.

"I don't take personal credit for anything. I think that the chiefs that direct me to do the work are the ones that got me in power to do the work that I have done in the past eight years," said Joseph.

A big issue for Joseph is over-representation of Aboriginal people in Saskatchewan's prison system. Aboriginal people represent 10 to 12 per cent of the population of Saskatchewan but in prison Aboriginal people make up 78 per cent of the population, he said.

Joseph is renewing the call for First Nation police services to be the first response to problems on reserve. One of the biggest obstacles to achieving this goal, he said, is funding.

Lawrence Joseph would like to see a First Nations secretariat with an auditor general much like the federal auditor general to track First Nations funding from the time it is announced to the time it trickles down to the grassroots level in order to find out how much is being taken out for administration by the federal government. He feels that more funding would be available for programs such as policing if there was better accounting of the money due to First Natins.

"No government can operate with transfer payments based on contributions from another authority," said Joseph. "We have to have our own authority, we have to have our own revenue. I want to know how much of that money actually provides for direct services for programs and identified by ourselves as services delivered at the community level.

Joseph would also like to see a First Nations secretariat that would develop policies that are First Nations friendly, legal and based on treaty and the inherent right to self governance.

"We will develop those for ourselves so that they are our own. Not something that is imposed on us by outside governments," he said.