Saskatchewan News Briefs (September)

FSIN calls for share in Potash resources

The Province needs to establish a resource-revenue sharing agreement to ensure southern First Nations share in the benefits of Potash development, says Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) Chief Guy Lonechild.

“First Nations never ceded their rights to minerals below the depth of a plough,” he stated in a release.

“The potash mining operations that have been operating since the early 1960’s within Treaties 4 and 6 have provided virtually no benefits to First Nations in the area, and further, the province has not shared the royalties it has extracted from those operations with First Nations, either directly or indirectly,” he added.

In a letter to the Leader-Post, Chief Lonechild called on the provincial government to set out a new long long-term strategy, one that includes First Nations participation in current and future potash developments in the Province.

“The province’s unjust approach to resource-revenue sharing must end,” he stated. “Not only have First Nations been excluded from the benefits of resource extraction in this province, but no plans have been made to correct this ongoing injustice.”

Chief Lonechild said he has already been in discussions with large mining interests who want to work with First Nations, but an agreement is needed for further First Nations participation in these ventures.

He pointed to mining developments in northern Saskatchewan that have First Nations participation to a large extent.

“We need to build upon this experience in the southern Saskatchewan potash industry,” he said. “What our First Nations governments desperately need the province and the private sector to do is take this opportunity to help meet the human resource requirements of this industry.”

Sask university team researches Mi’kmaq culture

This year, a three-year project will be undertaken by a team of scholars at the University of Saskatchewan to investigate and research the Mi’kmaq culture in Atlantic Canada.

The project is led by Professor Marie Battiste, who is director of the university’s Aboriginal Education Research Centre and a technical expert to the United Nations on issues surrounding education of Indigenous peoples.
“The European interpretation has been the source of diminishment for Indigenous peoples by virtue of the fact it creates itself as the norm and everybody else as subordinate to the norm,” said Battiste.

Worldwide, she states, Indigenous people are articulating their own humanities as part of a decolonizing movement known as the Indigenous resistance.

The team will investigate and record the teachings, spirituality, oral traditions, arts and other aspects of the humanities of the Mi’kmaq. Through the project, the Mi’kmaq will share in their own words and experiences, rather than have their history told through Western and European perspectives.

“The goal is to shift educational and public discourses about the Mi’kmaw from deficiency to accomplishment, from misunderstanding to respect, from exasperation to pride, and from division to co-operation,” Battiste said.
Providing the $249,858 in funds for the interdisciplinary project is the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

FSIN rally to oppose changes to post-secondary funds

A Regina rally is planned for the morning of Sept. 22 to show First Nations oppose a decision of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) to make changes next April to the Post-Secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP) that is administered at the reserve level.

“INAC threatens changes to PSSSP by April 2011 but has not consulted First Nations to date despite the “Duty to Consult” agreement,” states a Sept. 3 document released by the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN).

The release does not specify changes to be made but says the rally is being organized to give First Nations people, students, and families a voice as future post-secondary education funding is at risk.

Each year about 1000 First Nations people in Saskatchewan are being denied their treaty right to post-secondary education, the release states.

“Ever rising costs and a 2% PSSSP funding cap, imposed by INAC in 1996, have resulted in fewer students being funded each year.”

FSIN Chief Guy Lonechild plans to attend the rally along with students, parents, First Nations leaders and other supporters.

“This is a critical time in Saskatchewan’s economy when the workforce is getting older while the young First Nation population matures,” stated Chief Lonechild. “A young, educated First Nations population would be an asset and a solution to the province’s labour needs.”

Band members charged for stealing Aboriginal healing funds

Three band members and former administrators of the Yellow Quill First Nation – Charles Bighead, Doreen Ahpay, and Valene Smokyday – have all been charged for theft of residential schools healing funds for their First Nation.

All three appeared in Rose Valley court on Sept. 15, each faced with one count of theft over $5000 for funding the band received from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in 2004 and 2005.

RCMP started an investigation after they received information on April 2008 about the misappropriation of funds by the three, who held band councilors and health portfolio positions at the time.

The Yellow Quill First Nation is currently under third-party management with a non-band member appointed by the federal government managing the band’s funds.

New school opens at Birch Narrows

On August 17, a new $25 million K-12 school was unveiled at the Birch Narrows First Nation attended by Member of Parliament Rob Clarke, Minister of Education Donna Harpauer, and Chief Robert Sylvester.

Chief Sylvestre stated parents may now have peace of mind knowing their children do not have to travel outside the community to receive an education. Previously, students were transported to off-reserve schools.

Funds contributed for the school included $20.3 million from the federal government under Canada’s Economic Action Plan, $4.25 from the Province, and $350,000 from the First Nation.

“This capital project will contribute to improved learning opportunities and student achievement while helping to secure a high quality of life for the community,” said MP Clarke.

Minister Harpauer added the project contributes to improved learning opportunities and student achievement while helping to secure a high quality of life for the community.

Birch Narrows has a population of 650 and is located 580 km northwest of Saskatoon.

Sept marks third anniversary of UN Declaration

Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Shawn Atleo is calling on the federal government to honor its commitment in endorsing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“(The Declaration) is a landmark achievement by the more than 370 million Indigenous peoples around the globe and the members of the United Nations General Assembly that voted in favor of its adoption,” stated National Chief Atleo in a release. “It articulates the right and need for Indigenous peoples to develop based on principles that will enhance harmonious and cooperative relations between Indigenous peoples and the States they live in.”

Three years have come to pass after the UN Declaration was signed on Sept 13, 2007.

In March 2010, Canada finally announced it would endorse the UN Declaration in a Speech for the Throne, followed by a reaffirmation to the international community in April 2010. The government has yet to take steps in reaffirming its promise, stated the AFN release.

As a national organization, the AFN represents First Nations citizens across Canada.