“We will stand in front of efforts to sweep away our titles and rights,” he said Thursday. Failing to make First Nations partners in the development of the major resources on their land “will not lead to (the) more efficient development” promised in omnibus budget bill C-38.
While Atleo has been challenged for being too close to the Conservatives, the national chief is beginning his second term firmly behind the chiefs who are attempting to halt or delay the mining, logging and pipeline projects proceeding without the consent of First Nations.
For projects that affect remote communities, like the Northern Gateway Pipeline, “outreach (to First Nations) has been minimal at best,” he said.
Where government has failed to act, he hopes corporate Canada will step up.
“First Nations cannot just be an afterthought . . . (They) must be engaged early and often, that was (what) the chief executives are now recognizing,” he said, referring to a report released this week from the Canadian Council of Chief Executives.
Still, “good faith” on all sides is essential to move forward, said Atleo.
His last three-year term as national chief built some historic bridges with the federal government, most notably a joint action plan that led to a national education task force and the first ever Crown-First Nations summit in January.
However, Atleo sought to reassure chiefs that the recent initiatives to improve education are not about placing First Nations education in the hands of the provinces.
“It’s about recognizing the treaty rights for education and First Nations-led systems of education, and then funding them in a fair and sustainable way,” he said.
Atleo will be at the Council of the Federations meeting of premiers next week in Halifax, as will the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations interim chief Morley Watson.
Watson agrees that the education and employment of young people is one of the top priorities going forward, and while the support of the AFN is welcome, he says the provincial group needs to take the lead role in fighting for their rights.
But there is merit in Atleo’s push for the chiefs to be “stronger together,” he says.
“At the end of the day I think the leaders across Canada face pretty much the same issues, you’ll see that unity return and we’ll tackle those issues collectively,” said Watson.
Changes to mainstream education could also be the start of a necessary link between Canadians and First Nations peoples, said Atleo.
He intends to “compel” the provincial governments to support a curriculum in mainstream schools that includes the treaties and challenges facing First Nations people.
“We are all treaty citizens,” he said. “But there is a deep gap in misunderstanding that still exists in this country about the realities that our people face.”
He repeated as he has since his first election as national chief in 2009, this is a “moment of reckoning.”
“If we do not do something, the economic future of our country is at stake. Not only because we would not be employing the human resources of our young people,” he said. “But because for the natural resources that the government wants to open up, First Nations have to be dealt with.”
Original Article
Source: the star
Author: Alyshah Hasham
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