International appeal gets mixed results

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Deh Cho First Nations Grand Chief, Gerald Antoine, felt it was "worthwhile" to go to Geneva for the recent meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, held from March 17 to April 25. The intervention paper he was prepared to lobby for on behalf of the Deh Cho peoples wasn't submitted to the International Working Group on Indigenous Affairs in time to be translated, interpreted and included on the spring agenda; however, it will be discussed at the July meeting of the Human Rights Commission.

July will also mark the 20 year celebration of the first meeting of non-governmental organizations (NGO) of the United Nations. Chief Antoine was introduced to representatives of this group. For him it was hopeful and enlightening to "[meet] with persons working in the human rights environment." He also appreciated "the efforts Indigenous people [were] making within [the] Human Rights Commission" and spoke warmly of the graciousness with which he was received in Geneva.

Strategically, however, there was some disappointment that the intervention paper was not discussed. The paper itself cites "federal diversion of Deh Cho First Nations jurisdiction and funding to the territorial administration as a violation of Deh Cho civil and political rights." Yet the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs shows no sign of releasing its control. At the same time, said Antoine, "development is going on, but we're not sharing the benefits."

In spite of the seriousness of the situation he was presenting, and though the trip itself couldn't - because of the timing - accomplish all that was hoped, Antoine was philosophical. After all, he had also "come [to Geneva] to lay the foundation for further participation in the United Nations process," and he learned a lot about that process. Furthermore, the trip to Geneva in hopes of alerting the support of the international community was only one of the principles and strategies agreed upon by community delegates, Elders and leaders at two recent meetings of the Deh Cho First Nations.

Other strategies include attending all-candidate forums, asking hard questions of local candidates and working to get commitments from them.

Neither is this the first time the Deh Cho have pushed to get their rights recognized by the Government of Canada. Before embarking on the United Nations process, the First Nations communities submitted their Deh Cho Proposal to the federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, on March 19, 1994. His April 26, 1996 reply gave no satisfaction. Neither did the minister attend any of the face-to-face meetings with Deh Cho leaders to which he was invited. Most recently, he declined the spring leadership meeting to discuss self government scheduled for the end of May 1997.

Chief Antoine is not one to be easily discouraged. |

"We're here and we're here to stay; this land is to be shared," he said. Antoine feels the Deh Cho in asking the government to honor treaties has a "common interest with the Canadian public."

The Deh Cho requests to the Human Rights Commission are summed up in the intervention paper in this manner:

Deh Cho First Nations, which represents 14 community governments, calls upon the Human Rights Commission to request Canada to:

- stop trying to extinguish our land rights;

- recognize our Aboriginal and treaty rights as our peoples understand them;

- enter into fair and open negotiations to recognize the scope of our authority over our lands and peoples;

- dismantle administrative structures and policies that restrict our peoples from being self-governing and self-determining;

- provide more appropriate resources to our peoples so that we can amend the inequities that are resulting in violation of our peoples' civil and political rights.