Coon Come angers chiefs, wins grassroots support

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Matthew Coon Come, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) national chief, has apparently survived a very dangerous time in his political life, but not without making-or at least exposing-a few powerful political enemies.

When reports surfaced in the national mainstream press that Coon Come had told the First Nation leadership to "sober up," the response from many chiefs was outrage. Despite a subsequent claim by the AFN that the remarks had been taken out of context, the Atlantic chiefs formally demanded his resignation.

The stories were based on comments the national chief made when approached by reporters at the AFN's national health conference in Ottawa on Feb. 27.

On March 20, Windspeaker contacted Millbrook First Nation Chief Lawrence Paul, co-chair of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs (APC), to see if he and the national chief had worked out their differences.

"No, we didn't," he responded. "All he had to do to calm the waters a bit would be to say that in the heat of the moment he might have made some remarks that weren't acceptable to the chiefs of Canada and, if he did, he apologizes. But he flatly refused to do that. So therefore I think our national chief is a little arrogant, too, eh? And he can't be humbled. So, on a person's character, if he's a good leader, he's got to have all those traits. You've got to be flexible; you've got to be humble and you've got to be a listener. But he flatly refused to apologize for his remarks."

Not all the chiefs resented the remarks. In Coon Come's first public appearance after the story broke in Vancouver in early March, he was applauded by the member chiefs of the First Nations Summit. However, Summit task force member Bill Wilson wrote a letter to the editor of the Vancouver Sun saying that other threats to First Nations health included "born-again Christianity," a veiled reference to the national chief's Pentecostalism.

"I applaud Matthew Coon Come on his courage to state the obvious," Wilson wrote.

He added that smoking, drug use and drinking alcohol are "just the surface expression of the powerlessness and frustration of Aboriginal people."

"The biggest disease that I see is born-again Christianity," he added. "Not since the common cold, smallpox and original Christian missionaries have we seen such an assault upon Aboriginal culture as we are now seeing perpetrated by religious fundamentalism."

But later, another British Columbia chiefs group, the Nu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council, also voiced their approval of Coon Come's remarks. And grassroots people, in letters, emails and phone calls, are almost unanimously supporting the national chief.

Smoldering in the background, meanwhile, is another area of disagreement between Paul and Coon Come. Paul was one of two Atlantic Policy Congress chiefs who signed a very blunt letter to the national chief, received at the AFN on Jan. 23, which instructed him to "[a]dhere to your role as national chief elected by chiefs." Coon Come has said he will put forward a resolution as early as this May to change the constitution of the AFN so that grassroots people, and not just the chiefs, will elect the next national chief. He said it was an issue that was repeatedly raised by grassroots people during his campaign for the national chief's position last spring and he feels obliged to do what he can to follow the voice of the people. The Atlantic chiefs' letter made it clear that they want no part of such a move.

Many observers saw Coon Come's remarks at the health conference as part of a strategy to mobilize grassroots support as he prepares to battle the chiefs on the election issue. Paul believes Coon Come is trying to elevate himself above the other chiefs.

"I think he wants to be a super-chief," he said. "Because the chiefs of Canada disagree with him, he lashed out back at us by calling us a bunch of drunks, and stereotyping us. I think when a national leader stereotypes his own people, well, I think tha's an unforgivable sin. I think he should go forth and be a man and apologize for those words that he said. . . telling the non-Native general public that the chiefs of Canada are nothing but a bunch of drunks and smokers and good-for-nothings. I think that's a cardinal sin and I think he should be man enough and humble enough to go on national TV and the national news media and apologize for the those remarks that offended the chiefs of Canada or the Native people of Canada."

AFN communications director Jean Larose said the reporters got the story right but the headline writers in daily papers across the country distorted the facts. The headlines blared the message that the national chief had backed up former Newfoundland Premier Brian Tobin's allegations that many First Nations leaders were incapacitated by their addictions. But the stories below the headlines-by Rick Mofina of Southam News and Sue Bailey of the Canadian Press-didn't necessarily say that. Larose said the national chief didn't mean to say only chiefs need to be better role models.

"He was talking about leadership and leadership is everybody," he said. "In a small community, the local hockey coach could be a leader."

To understand the national chief's comments, Larose said, one must remember that he was merely echoing what he had heard health care providers say during the health conference.

"It wasn't in any way, shape or form a reflection on leadership because people had told him and told others at the youth and suicide workshop that in many communities kids are not getting proper role models. (They are getting instead) people who drink too much, smoke too much," he said.

Larose said the national chief couldn't retract his comments without betraying the people who'd originally made the comments.

"He didn't back away. He was very adamant," Larose said, adding his interpretation of what Coon Come was saying. "'This is what I said because this is what people have told me and they're the people wh work in the communities. They're the people who are on the front line. If, to them, this is an issue-not everywhere, but in some areas- then we have to look at it. As leaders, we can't turn a blind eye to something because it may not suit us to look at it. That's not being leaders.'"