Dissent evident at chiefs annual gathering

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It began mid-morning on the first day of the four-day joint session of the Assembly of First Nations and National Congress of American Indians. Those who ventured outside the convention halls to enjoy the warm weather and the view of Vancouver's scenic waterfront - and there were many - heard the drums.

Those who went in search of the source of the drumming discovered members of the city's urban Native population, whose leaders have long claimed to have been ignored by the First Nation leaders meeting inside. They were attempting to enter the Convention and Exhibition Centre but were greeted by a wall of uniformed security guards. Frustrated by what they felt was another example of the indifference of their elected leaders, the placard-carrying protesters settled into what became a four-day vigil in the courtyard outside the front door of the facility.

The scene was reminiscent of the AFN assembly, nearly two years to the day previously in the same venue, where Phil Fontaine unseated Ovide Mercredi to become national chief. Many of the same people were sitting in the same courtyard with the same grievances, two years later. But the feeling of righteous anger that marked the protest in 1997 was missing this year because AFN staff met them half way.

After the protesters were prevented from entering the building, Fontaine personally met with their leaders and arranged to have a member of the Native Youth Movement added to the next day's agenda. The NYM has, in the past two years, occupied the Vancouver office of the British Columbia Treaty Commission and the Westbank First Nation band office in protest of the treaty negotiation process in the province.

NYM spokesman David Dennis took advantage of the opportunity and delivered a fiery speech to the chiefs, which Fontaine commended from the same stage immediately after the speech was completed. Fontaine even went so far as to gently pressure the chiefs to make financial donations to the NYM.

Fontaine later said that all the protesters needed to do to get on the agenda was to go through the proper channels.

"There's really no attempt to deny anyone their participation in their organization," Fontaine said, later. "But we would respect the various procedures and rules that are place now to help guide the organization in its deliberations. Those rules and procedures are not designed to deny anyone. They're in place to ensure that there's a systematic and orderly approach to business."

Viola Thomas, the president of the United Native Nations of British Columbia, (a group which speaks for off-reserve residents in the province), told Windspeaker the urban Native people came to the assembly hoping, but not expecting, based on past experiences, to find a chief who would arrange for them to address the assembly. Her previous attempts to make the chiefs listen to the demands of off-reserve members had not prepared her to even consider applying for a spot on the agenda.

Throughout the four days, Fontaine insisted that the AFN is changing its ways with regard to access and openness. During a speech on the morning of the second day of the gathering, in which AFN media relations person Jean Larose said Fontaine departed from his prepared text, the national chief stated that political debate and dissent were the hallmarks of democracy. During a press conference after that speech, the national chief expanded on that remark.

"We made a commitment two years ago that we would endeavor to create a more inclusive organization. We've taken some very important steps in that regard," he said. "We now have a gender equality secretariat that is primarily responsible for women's issues so that everything we do as an organization will reflect the interests of women. We've now had three major gatherings for young people so that young people can express in their own way how they wish their organization to represent their interests. There are 246 Elders present at this assembly which I thin is an outstanding testament to their commitment to the organization. And now with the recent court decision on Corbiere it is now possible for us to extend First Nation governance to wherever our members are residing and I'm referring particularly to First Nations residents in urban centres. So, we've taken some very clear steps to make this organization as inclusive as it can be."

The voice of dissent actually began during the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver gathering, when Penticton Indian Band Chief Stewart Phillip's turn in the long list of speakers arrived. The man who is also president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, a group that has been critical of Fontaine's method of dealing with the government, took a few shots at other members of the head table.

"I'd like to recognize Lady Jane and Sir John," Phillip began, irreverently referring to then-Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart and Indian Affairs Director General for the Pacific Region, John Watson, who were in attendance.

Phillip then went on to take a shot at Fontaine and his policy of working closely with the government.

"This organization has had many strong leaders in the past," he said, pausing for effect. "I miss those days."

He then remarked that the AFN had placed a great deal of trust in the federal government since Fontaine had been elected, "a trust that in my view we have misplaced."

Shortly after Phillip's remarks, Minister Stewart addressed the joint assembly. As she spoke, an unidentified male voice from the audience shouted, "There's no justice in Canada."

There did not appear to be any move to remove the heckler and the minister continued her speech, unruffled.

There were dissenting voices to be heard throughout the assembly. Perhaps nostalgic for the days when dissenters couldn't get past security, AFN staffers kept a watchful and nervous eye on Telqua Mitchell, whose name tag (provided by the AFN to all registered delegates) identified her as an Elder, througout the four days. Mitchell attended several of the main sessions and workshop sessions. In each case, she challenged the panel members and levelled her criticisms at the Native leadership and the British Columbia treaty process. She was escorted out, under the watchful eye of city police, part way through a workshop on the evening of the convention's third day after angrily attacking a United Nations representative for not acting to help the disenfranchised, urban Native people in Canada.