Regional chief co-chairs Liberal convention

Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Jody Wilson-Raybould admits the Liberals still carry some unfortunate baggage in Indian Country — particularly a bitter taste from Jean Chretien’s White Paper in 1969, when he was Indian Affairs Minister — but she maintains that a crucial way to change the system is still from the inside.

Invited to co-chair the party’s national convention in Quebec in late February, the We Wai Kai Nation councillor (also known by her Kwakwaka’wakw name, Puglaas) downplayed media reports that she would run as a 2015 Liberal candidate, telling Windspeaker she hasn’t yet decided.

“I know the media are reporting that I’m running as a candidate in the next election,” she said, chuckling quietly, “but to be honest I haven’t made any decision if that’s going to happen or not.

“I haven’t ruled out the potential of running for federal politics. If and when I make such a decision, I’ll certainly have to have a conversation with my chiefs back home.”

Other First Nations leadership sources, however, told Windspeaker it’s highly unlikely she would choose otherwise. One direction she hopes the party will take – and which gained support from convention delegates after being proposed by the Liberals’ Aboriginal caucus – is to recommit to the principles of ex-Prime Minister Paul Martin’s Kelowna Accord, a multi-billion dollar funding agreement with First Nations which was scrapped as soon as the Conservatives took office.

On the thorny matter of the White Paper, a proposal passed on the convention floor symbolically distancing the party from Chretien’s attempt to solve the “Indian problem” by dissolving the Indian Act and absorbing Indigenous peoples into the Canadian politic four decades ago. That initiative led to massive resistance from First Nations across the country, including galvanizing protests and the founding of most of today’s Aboriginal advocacy organizations.

Wilson-Raybould said that today’s protest movements, such as Idle No More, have reinvigorated such activism for Indigenous rights, but she hopes people will also engage in changing the political landscape itself.

“For me, what Idle No More means is that our citizens are demanding change,” she said. “There’s always time to protest.
“But with the huge challenges we have in this country, it’s time to translate the victories we have won, to translate protest into actions on the ground, and to rebuild our nations as Aboriginal peoples.”

She said she felt complimented to be invited to co-chair the convention by Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, whose father was Prime Minister when the White Paper was introduced. Asked about the current party head’s policies on Aboriginal affairs, Wilson-Raybould said she believes “in him as a strong leader” with a “strong vision” for the country. She said she has heard him speak about “the need to hear from Aboriginal communities and to be inclusive–to ensure that our Aboriginal people are dealt with appropriately and with respect.”

First elected AFN’s regional leader in 2009, the former provincial Crown prosecutor and treaty negotiator was re-elected two years ago.

Although Trudeau has spoken little publicly about Aboriginal issues, his support for two controversial pipelines from Alberta’s oilsands has irked many First Nations vowing to resist them being built through their territories.

In a Jan. 22 interview with Metro Calgary, Trudeau said one of the Prime Minister’s most important jobs is “to make sure we can get our resources to market” — but that it must be “sustainable” and have community “buy-in.”

“Because of that I have been a strong promoter of the Keystone XL pipeline,” he said. “For similar reasons, I’m not a proponent of the Northern Gateway Pipeline ... which runs through the Great Bear Rainforest, which has spectacularly failed at getting community buy-in from First Nations communities and from local communities that could be potentially affected by it.

“I am, however, very interested in the Kinder Morgan pipeline, the Trans Mountain pipeline that is making its way through. I certainly hope that we’re going to be able to get that pipeline approved.”

Wilson-Raybould told Windspeaker she saw the Liberal convention as “a tremendous opportunity to highlight the issues and challenges that we as Indigenous people across the country are facing,” but also to showcase efforts at nation-building in many First Nations.

“My approach to political office is I want to be where I believe I can make a difference,” she said. “To put more emphasis on Aboriginal issues into a mainstream political party and convention is a huge opportunity not only for aboriginal people but for Canadians in general.”

Speaking by phone from the convention as it kicked off, she said many there were discussing the idea of improving a “partnership” between government and First Nations. But while divisions simmer within the AFN itself over how to deal with Ottawa, and Idle No More ponders its next steps, Wilson-Raybould said Indigenous peoples should not dismiss “public service” in Canadian politics outright.

“It’s a challenging endeavour, but we need to have young people, old people, and every type of person engaged in our political discussions,” she said. “I got involved because I wasn’t happy with the way things are.

“If you’re not happy with the way government is running, you have to get involved. Your voice is important and needs to be heard.”