Violence undermines self-government

Page 5

Tansi, ahnee and hello. November rain. The streets of the city are as slick as a political promise. Walking becomes a test of balance, integrity almost. Falling, a form of surrender. Skating along the polished sheen of the city you could almost swear you'd become weightless, your future at a whim of the wind that propels you. November rain. Mute testament to a season of changes.

I read with dismay the news from our brothers and sisters on the Blood Reserve. According to published accounts, the threat of internal violence ran high prior to their recent elections. Already divided by discontent, the Bloods appeared to be on the brink

of mayhem. Change, the chief protagonist in this drama. Thankfully, those threats did not materialize and the Bloods have a new chief and council in place.

Still, the weight of the words linger and wound all of us.

As aboriginal people we find ourselves in a season of changes. With the flushing away of the Charlottetown Accord the streets we navigate our way to control of our own destinies are as slick as the streets of this city. Walking becomes a test of balance, integrity almost. Falling, a form of surrender.

Because the decision makers are watching the way we move. They line all the avenues to self-government. Watchful, waiting, eager to see the slip of footsteps, hungry for failure, the fall. Our inability to navigate those venues is proof of our lack of balance, our surrender to change.

Published threats of violence go a long way towards telling the decision makers we're incapable of governing ourselves. They tell mainstream Canada that, perhaps, continued wardship and dependency are good things. That in order to walk these streets of change we still need to lean on the process. That we need someone ahead of us salting the sidewalk. That workable self-government is a distant drum.

There were many in this country who welcomed the news that maybe the Bloods would engage in a shootout. That perhaps they would diminish themselves. Certainly, a published threat diminished them politically in both the eyes of the watchful and in the nation's living rooms. Critical voter support was weakened and may not be regained.

The idea of an internalized Oka on the largest reserve in the country sent many a supporter's mind reeling. As aboriginal people we have gained much credence through demonstrations of our desires to move consensually and peacefully. Despite the summer of 1990 we became recognized as negotiators as opposed to revolutionaries. We became walking, talking epitomes of the self-governing ideal.

The implications of internal discord and possible violence serve only to negate that positive image. Not only on the Blood Reserve but in the Native community in general. We are still, despite making much hard-won headway, continually painted with the same brush in many crucial circles.

So it's imperative that we learn to govern ourselves within the shelter of our own processes. That feelings of antagonism, anger, frustration, doubt and confusion be recognized as legitimate at our council tables and boardrooms. The mechanics and dynamics of working for the advancement of a people will always generate such feelings somewhere along the line.

Legitimize those feelings is the first step in healing. Telling ourselves where we are in terms of our own political geography allows everyone a peek at the landscape. Allows the process of change to begin based on acceptance of truth. The truth that disagreement is inevitable and that our traditions allow us a process to deal with it.

Within our own decision-making processes we need to implement ancient self-governing principles. The principle that each voice is valid and that the will and needs of the people override the will or agenda of leaders. Disagreement is a fact of life but one that leads ultimately to betterment and security when its voice is allowed to be heard.

When we heal ourselves internally we are trust self-governing. The image we convey to te watchful lends itself to support for the overall principle. Support for our freedom, support for our future.

Anger suppressed is anger expressed, the vitriolic statements coming out of the Blood Reserve prove this beyond a doubt, and the unfortunate image conveyed is that of a people who need assistance to negotiate these slipper streets of change. The watchful are waiting, ready as always to lend a hand, to pick us up when we fall and help us walk their way. It's time we leaned on each other.