AFN leader speaks out

Page

In what some interpreted as a call for unity and others saw as a demand for absolute power to represent all Indigenous people in Canada, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine lashed out at his critics and dismissed claims by other national Native organizations during a July 21 speech at the Assembly of First Nations assembly in Vancouver.

On the second day of the four-day gathering, Fontaine, according to AFN staff, threw away his speaking notes and spoke for about a half-hour about his first two years on the job.

Noting that he and his fellow chiefs were "entrusted to make difficult decisions in hard circumstances to the good of the many and the detriment of none," Fontaine reminded the chiefs that in making their deliberations they should always think of a small child who will be affected by those decisions.

Perhaps thinking of the Ty and Connie Jacobs tragedy, which the AFN has followed closely since the impoverished mother and son were shot by RCMP during a confrontation on an Alberta reserve with great oil wealth, Fontaine said First Nations leaders have not done enough to deal with the crippling poverty faced by many Aboriginal children.

"I suggest we have imposed an unjustifiably hard burden on our young people," he explained. "I pledge that the principal agenda of the AFN in the coming year will be to address those conditions of poverty."

The chief called for more unity and less divisiveness at both the federal and local levels. Instead of dwelling on the seemingly insurmountable problems, he said, leaders should take their inspiration from success stories.

"In 1969, there were 80 First Nation students in post-secondary education. In 1999, there are 30,000. That's a tremendous achievement and that success belongs to our people because the turnaround occurred when our people began to take control," he said. "So I stand before you today and say with all my heart and soul, 'We are victims no more.'"

When you blame someone else for your troubles, he said, they have control.

"We are in control," he stated. "We are responsible for and capable of developing our own future." And if you have control, he said, it begs the question, 'What do you do next?' To that rhetorical question, Fontaine noted that while "political debate is the hallmark of democracy," the answer is to let the leaders lead.

"I would like to respond to those who say we're too cozy with the federal government, that we're pawns, that this partnership we have formed shows weakness. I suggest that they are wrong. Partnerships are the way governments do business. What are treaties if not partnerships? We seek the power to influence, not the power to annoy."

Fontaine pointed out that the AFN has grown significantly during his two years at the helm.

"Not only in the number of personnel, but in its influence."

He rapped the mainstream press for selecting only bad news stories to portray First Nations, noting the historic meeting of Canadian-based and United States-based Native leaders that was an integral part of the assembly's agenda rated little coverage in newspapers or newscasts.

He then turned his attention to rival political organizations, suggesting they are divisive and damaging to the cause.

"We have an organization that pretends to represent 800,000 of our people," he said, referring first to the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples and then adding a reference to the Native Women's Association of Canada. "Another claims to represent 52 per cent. That leaves the AFN in a deficit position and, of course, that's not true and we have to resolve this."

Fontaine cited a Supreme Court of Canada decision which "named only the AFN as a legitimate government" for First Nations.

"We hold out our hands to all First Nation organizations in Canada," he said. "We say, 'Come and join us.' The selfishness of political aspirations must yield. We need strong, transparent, local, regional and national governmnts. I ask you chiefs, Elers, young people, women - all First Nation citizens - to come together to put your trust in us, the executive."