Senator's position demands response

Page 10

Dear Editor:

Reading the September article on Senator Thelma Chalifoux's thoughts on Aboriginal governments, there are several points that command response from this elected Aboriginal representative.

While I do agree that Aboriginal representative organizations should spend a large part of their business within the political field of representing their people's interests, I thought it should hardly be the place of an Aboriginal Senator to point that out to the government of Canada, when it has been the work of the Aboriginal representative organization for some time.

In fact, knowing that services must and should be separated from political whims is one of the first considerations most Aboriginal organizations undertake.

Looking back through the decades to the 1960s when Aboriginal peoples first began experiencing liberation from colonial oppression, it was the Aboriginal representative groups that organized themselves into what we see today as governing structures recognized by Canadian governments. While today, these structures are not fully developed to the point where political patronage and whim are devoid, much hard work has gone into their development by people such as the likes of our Senator.

It is therefore with some difficulty that I find statements made that give little respect for the earnest work that our past leaders made towards what we have today, and, more importantly, what has been inherited by the younger generations of Aboriginal leadership.

Finally, growing up involved in Aboriginal representative groups, particularly the Metis Association of Alberta, I, and many others, considered Senator Chalifoux a role model for women, and single mothers. She was a trailblazer in terms of women in politics. Indeed, Senator Chalifoux had much to do with the creation of our current Metis government structure, with one of the first ballot box systems in place.

Therefore, I am bewildered why, at a time when the good Senator is in a position of support, why she would be critical of the role of the Aboriginal representative organization. I am sure that I am not the only Aboriginal leader who feels the warm tinge of a good slap in the face by our revered Senator. I'd like to take solace in the thought that perhaps the good Senator is simply making such comments so that our Aboriginal leaders will stand up and debate.

While, we've been taught to respect our Elders, I must question the wisdom of the latest of Senator Chalifoux's remarks.

Brenda Blyan-Calliou

Provincial vice-president

Metis Nation of Alberta