Letter to the Editor: Reader mistaken

Dear Editor:
Re: "Windspeaker should send reporters to witness CAP voting," May 2006

The assertion by your reader F. One Moon in the May 2006 edition of Windspeaker that "the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples is a Metis organization" is incorrect and should have been more thoroughly researched by the author.

The congress was incorporated in 1971 as the Native Council of Canada to advocate on behalf of non-status Indians and Metis peoples across Canada. The council changed its name in 1994 to the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples following amendments to the Indian Act in response to the growing realities and needs of both status and non-status Indians and Metis peoples living off-reserve in this country.

Many past presidents of the NCC/CAP are not Metis, but treaty status Indians. This continues to this day. I am a status Indian from the Kitigan Zibi Reserve located near Maniwaki, Que. Many board members of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples are also status Indians.

This is not to say that Metis heritage is not every bit as important as that of status Indians. It is just as significant. However, for the author to claim that CAP is a Metis organization is an affront to non-status Indians, and to off-reserve status Indians.

In our view, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples is an organization that promotes inclusion, recognition and accommodation of all Aboriginal peoples, regardless of status or place of residency.

As the national chief, Aboriginal peoples of all stripes and colors, including status and non-status Indians, and Metis peoples, elect me. The CAP executive is elected for three-year terms and the voting delegates at each annual general assembly are selected from grassroots people from across the country, who choose to get involved in organizations that advocate on behalf of their interests. Similar to Canadian mainstream political parties, our voting process is by means of a delegate system. There are 16 voting delegates from each province, which must include an Elder and youth from each said province. The entire process for elections in the congress are no secret either, and are featured at length on our Web site (www.abo-peoples.org)

Your reader contends that "CAP should and must have a public accounting of (its) membership, voters' registry, and an audited expense spread sheet of its national voting convention." On that assertion, the author is absolutely right; we do.

The answers to all your readers' questions are only a phone call, click of a mouse or a touch of a button away. We would welcome the opportunity to further enlighten anyone as to the works of the congress as we seek both recognition and accommodation of the needs and aspirations of "the Forgotten People."