Support the call to abolish the Indian Act

On July 20, 2010, at the Assembly of First Nations Annual General Meeting in Winnipeg, , AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo gave a keynote address entitled “It’s Our Time: a Vision for the Future”.

The speech, filled with passion and determination, is a call to action for all Canadians to work to improve the lives and future of Canada’s First Nation people, and encourages First Nation people to step forward and “turn words into action and ideas into clear results.”

The tone, intent, and focus of Atleo’s speech reminded me of a similar vision articulated more than 40 years ago on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Martin Luther King Jr.’s seminal “I Have a Dream” speech was a call to action and an articulation of the need for the end of an era of oppression, to an attainable future of hope and equality.

The parallels to Atleo’s speech are uncanny, and, I would think, fully intentional.

Read King’s words, and imagine changing the word “Negro” to” First Nation”, and “discrimination” to “Indian Act” (and discrimination!). It’s easy to recognize the state of Canada’s First Nations today:
One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.

King’s vision and efforts helped lead to the creation of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, and abolishment of legislated bigotry and racism in the United States. Grand Chief Atleo has thrown down the gauntlet to the Harper federal government to eliminate the Indian Act within three years, as part of his vision to see the end of more than a century of legislated discrimination and oppression in Canada.

The Indian Act–an old and nasty piece of legislation–is, in Atleo’s words, “clearly designed as an instrument of oppression, control, paternalism and assimilation, [and] continues to permeate and constrain daily First Nation government operation and function.”

The elimination of legislated discrimination is absolutely essential. The Indian Act is a disgrace to all Canadians. It is a chain hindering progress towards equality for Canada’s original and fastest-growing population.

But getting rid of the Indian Act will not be a silver bullet to end oppression and discrimination, and its eradication is not Atleo’s sole objective.  His vision includes a call to action on education, federal recognition and implementation of First Nation governments, development of economic partnerships, greater environmental stewardship, and end to discrimination and violence against women, and–as articulated as recently as Aug. 9–Canada’s endorsement of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Critics who suggest Atleo is merely engaging in platitudes need to recognize that the hereditary chief of the Ahousaht Nation knows that much more work will need to follow to close the economic, education, health and social gaps between the First Nation and non-First Nation populations in Canada.

In my experience, there are some critical actions that need to occur:
Canada’s First Nations need to be encouraged and supported to build skills, knowledge, and capacity to thrive in a brave new world without the federal government’s paternal handcuffs. This means that communities, organizations, and–yes–the federal government need to increase their focus and investments in ways that meet the needs and desires of First Nations people.

Top-down approaches that create and perpetuate unhealthy dependencies should be replaced with full engagement and participation by First Nations. Government programs and policies must be based on local and regional realities and cultures, including capacity building among all community members.

First Nations parents, families and their support networks need to be provided with the resources, tools and freedom to raise their children in a healthy, nurturing and culturally-connected environment. This means building strength and capacity from within families and communities themselves.

First Nations and non-First Nations alike need to engage in more cross-cultural information sharing programs, to increase understanding, reduce conflict and build bridges of support across cultures.

Colonial and non-traditional governance and bureaucracies imposed by the Indian Act must be replaced by traditional models that incorporate the strengths and systems that served Aboriginal people long before the Indian Act was ever conceived. The US Constitution was founded on the Great Law of Peace which the Iroquois Six Nations Confederacy followed for centuries prior to European contact.

We should applaud and support Atleo’s drive to eliminate this apartheid-like legislation. And we should recognize that, like the continued struggles of African Americans since King’s famous speech, Atleo’s challenge to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the citizens of Canada will undoubtedly require much more hard work if the great vision is to be achieved.

Marc Storms is a founding director of GMG Consulting Services and of the Good Medicine Health and Wellness Programs.