News Briefs: April

MARCH 31 MARKED THE 50th
anniversary of the right to vote for First Nations. “This is an important milestone and a cause for reflection,” said Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl. The Diefenbaker government amended the Canada Elections Act in 1960. The law received Royal Assent on March 31, 1960, and the law came into effect July 1 of that year. “Canada has shown significant leadership in protecting the rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples,” said Strahl. ”We will continue to work to advance and uphold the rights and freedoms of Aboriginal peoples at home and abroad.”

MÉTIS IN MANITOBA HAVE EXPRESSED
concern about T-shirts being sold online that feature an image of Louis Riel with a noose around his neck. Text on the shirt reads “Hang with me on Louis Riel Day,” which is a provincial holiday in February. Riel is a controversial figure in Canada, considered by some a freedom fighter and founder of Manitoba and by others a traitor. He was hanged in 1885. The T-shirts were being sold online by a company in the United States, but have since been removed from the Web.

This year marks the 125th anniversary of the Northwest Rebellion, a famous skirmish in Canadian/Metis history. Back To Batoche is a week-long event that celebrates the resistance and Louis Riel, who was a central figure in the fight. The event takes place July 18 to July 25 in Saskatchewan. Singers Michelle Wright and Andrea Menard will be featured, along with Donny Parenteau, and the Metis Fiddler Quartet. The event attracts thousands of people every year.

ON APRIL 1, THE COURT OF APPEAL
for British Columbia granted a three-month extension to amend the registration provisions of the Indian Act that the court deemed discriminatory. On March 11, the federal government introduced Bill C-3, Gender Equity in the Indian Registration Act to address the requirements of the court decision. Bill C-3 will ensure that eligible grandchildren of women who lost status as a result of marrying non-Indian men will become entitled to registration (Indian status) in accordance with the Indian Act.

AHOUSAHT FIRST NATION HAS
taken the next step in its attempt to rid the community on the West Coast of Vancouver Island of drug dealers and bootleggers. About 12 members of the remote First Nation on Flores Island off the coast of Tofino have been issued eviction notices. These are the folks that didn’t take up the hereditary chiefs’ offer of treatment to deal with their own drug and alcohol problems. About 30 people were told in March that they would be forced to leave the community if they did not accept help. Eighteen people travelled to an isolated location in the territory where counselors and experts in local traditions had prepared for eight weeks of treatment.

AN INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN CALLED
into the death of a 19-year-old woman from Saskatchewan who died on a lonely stretch of road seeking help for her family. Kerri Canepotatoe volunteered to walk to get help after the car she was travelling in broke down April 8. She was travelling with another woman and her two sons. After calling 911 three times and waiting for a response through the night, Canepotatoe set out in the direction they had come from walking an estimated 60 km before collapsing and dying on the highway. The rest of the party wasn’t found until April 15. The three were taken to the hospital and later released. It’s believed the women were from the Big River reserve.

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH THE FUNDS
promised by the Conservative government to help resolve the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada? The feds aren’t sure how the $10 million will be used. Some fear the money allotted will be distributed through a number of federal departments, and thereby lose the focus for which it was intended. Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, suggests a multi-partisan “cross committee” should be formed to properly address the issue. The Status of Women, Justice, Indian Affairs, and Public Safety should work with First Nations organizations and First Nations women to create a national action plan. “We really want the government to walk with us and work together with the leadership on this and recognize what the Sisters in Spirit have done.” Sisters in Spirit is a group that was funded to collect data and raise public awareness on the issue of murdered and missing women.

TWO MORE ALBERTA FIRST NATIONS
are seeking the assistance of the Supreme Court of Canada in defending their Aboriginal and treaty rights in the face of mounting oil sands development in Alberta. The Supreme Court of Canada has granted intervenor status to Duncan’s First Nation and Horse Lake First Nation in a case that may have major legal implications for the development of oil sands, pipelines, oil sands infrastructure projects and other major projects. Duncan’s Chief Don Testawich stated, “Our traditional territory is being overrun and cut to pieces by oil sands, major pipelines, gas fields and major power projects. Companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Trans Canada Pipelines and Bruce Power are proposing massive projects that will fuel unsustainable oil sands growth. Development on this scale is making our treaty rights meaningless and threatens our traditional way of life.” He said the governments of Alberta and Canada sit back and refuse to address their concerns. “We are intervening before the Supreme Court because it is abundantly clear that neither the environment nor First Nations can expect to receive a fair hearing within Alberta, where oil sands revenues are at stake. We need help now and help fast.”