Bilateral constitution talks AFN and coalition shun provinces

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When the First Ministers' Conference between Native leaders and the governments ended in Ottawa on March 9 with little progress made toward defining Aboriginal rights, the two groups representing treaty Indians, the Assembly of First Nations and the Coalition of First Nations, agreed that the provincial governments have no authority to determine Aboriginal rights.

Grand Chief David Ahenakew of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), representing most of Canada's 300,000 treaty Indians, said the provincial governments have no jurisdiction over the AFN and his organization would continue to deal directly with the federal government in bilateral talks.

This is the position that the Coalition of First Nations, a breakaway group representing 70,000 treaty Indians across Canada, has always maintained. The Coalition, whose members include the Chiefs of the Kehewin, Frog Lake, Goodfish lake, Cold Lake, Saddle Lake, Enoch and Paul Bands, says the treaties were made between two nations, Great Britain and the Indian First Nations. This means the provincial governments have no right to interfere in what they call a "nation to nation process".

But chief Ed Burnstick, Coalition member from the Paul Band 55 km west of Edmonton, does not foresee the Coalition and the AFN working together toward their common goal of having Indian control their own affairs.

"At this time I don't see any working relationship with the Assembly of First Nations. The AFN has been trying to coordinate this whole thing but they don't speak for us. We speak for ourselves," said Burnstick.

During the two-day First Ministers' Conference members of the Coalition, whish has refused to join in any constitutional talks which include the provinces, protested outside the conference while representatives of the AFN were discussing Aboriginal rights and Indian self-government with the federal and provincial governments and other Native leaders.