Manitoba Grand Chief receives award

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"I think to be a good negotiator, you have to be able to listen; you

have to hear what the other side is saying," said grand Chief Phil

Fontaine of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. "You have to be able to

articulate your position clearly.

"You have to be firm when necessary; you also have to be soft at

times," he continued. "And you always have to make certain that the

other side feels they've won something in the process."

Perhaps Canada's most significant Aboriginal political leader,

statesman and successful negotiator, Fontaine's advice on this subject

is likely to be the best there is. His talents in these areas were

recognized when he was presented with the National Aboriginal

Achievement Award for public service in his home province, one of four

Manitobans out of 14 winners.

"We need to celebrate our achievements, he said after the ceremony.

"And the importance of evenings like this is that it's a celebration of

our achievements by our community from within the community."

Fontaine's achievements are certainly worthy of celebration.

Fontaine was born in the Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba. As its

young and dynamic chief, he established the ground-work for future

self-government by establishing local control of education and social

programs on the reserve. Credibility was established with the various

levels of government when the responsibilities were delivered

effectively and they were managed well.

More recently, as chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Fontaine

has been central in the process of dismantling regional programs within

Manitoba in cooperation with DIAND. Authority for replacement programs

has ben placed in the hands of individual First Nations--an extension of

the earlier successes at Sagkeeng.

As well, he has taken a community initiative and placed in firmly, and

notably, in a national perspective.

"The idea of Aboriginal self-government became a political reality in

Manitoba because of Phil Fontaine," according to the award jury.

Fontaine graduated from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg with a

degree in political science, and is in his third term as grand chief of

the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. He has been involved in the Company of

Young Canadians, the Canadian Indian Youth Council, the Manitoba Indian

Brotherhood and has worked within the DIAND, in addition to the Assembly

of Manitoba Chiefs.

Fontaine won the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for public

service "because of his commitment to the self-governing future of

Aboriginal peoples across Canada."