National Chief Shawn Atleo, in his first remarks since going on a doctor-ordered medical leave 10 days ago, said the country’s aboriginal peoples have never been so prepared to take extreme actions to achieve real change.
“We have arrived at a moment of reckoning. This is not a moment characterized by today or this week or a certain meeting or gathering or rally. It’s one we must seize and I believe strongly we are seizing the moment,” Atleo told reporters in Vancouver after a meeting of the assembly’s B.C. chiefs.
His remarks came as Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence ended her 44-day liquids-only fast in Ottawa. Raymond Robinson, an elder from the Cross Lake band in northern Manitoba, also called off his sympathy hunger strike.
Atleo went on medical leave amid intense pressure in mid-January when deep divisions emerged over leadership roles during weeks of aboriginal protests and rallies. Some chiefs in Manitoba and Ontario, as well as Spence supporters and Idle No More organizers, were critical of Atleo for meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Jan. 11.
On Thursday, Atleo said his convalescence from a norovirus was necessary so that he could be 100 per cent prepared for the work still to come.
He acknowledged First Nations leaders differs on many issues but insisted there has been progress in recent weeks as the attention sought so long by aboriginal peoples begins to pierce the consciousness of the country.
In Ottawa, meanwhile, Theresa Spence was taken to hospital for a checkup Thursday morning while aboriginal leaders and opposition parties held a news conference and vowed to keep the issues at the forefront of national consciousness.
“When there is political will to change things, we can prove pretty fast when it is necessary,” said NDP MP Roméo Saganash (Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou), who noted how the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, a treaty approved in 1975, was negotiated between the Quebec government and the province’s Cree and Inuit within a year.
In a statement from his office, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister John Duncan said the Jan. 11 meeting between Spence and Harper produced concrete commitments.
“We continue to work with those aboriginal leaders who choose to work with the Government of Canada to improve living conditions and create jobs in their communities,” the statement said.
After her release from hospital, Spence signed a declaration of commitment. She had insisted on this before she agreed to end her liquids-only fast.
“It’s time to really stay together, no matter what hardship we go through and no matter what the government intends to do to us to divide us,” Spence said. “Always remember that we are here together and we are here for our people, especially the youth. The youth look up on our leaders.”
Spence singled out Grand Chief Derek Nepinak of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, who last week encouraged the “men” to take up the fight so that Spence, a woman, could end her fast and improve her health.
She encouraged chiefs to take over and said she will be now be part of the audience, watching.
Original Article
Source: the star
Author: Petti Fong, Joanna Smith
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