“It’s an interesting dynamic that’s going on out there, and it’s hard to predict the winner,” said Doug Cuthand, a member of the Cree Little Pine First Nation and a columnist on aboriginal issues for The Saskatoon Star Phoenix. “What I see happening is the ‘Anyone but Atleo,’ movement will start and it’ll coalesce around somebody else.”
The other candidates are Bill Erasmus, Ellen Gabriel, Joan Jack, Diane Kelly, Terrance Nelson, Pamela Palmater and George Stanley.
Some 640 chiefs that make up the AFN, who represent communities of varying sizes, will be able to cast a vote in the one-chief-one-vote system, and the new national chief—the eighth to be elected by the AFN—will have to garner at least 60 per cent of the vote in order to win, under the AFN Charter. Voting will take place on July 18, with a winner declared before the day adjourns.
The 33rd annual General Assembly, to take place from July 17 to 19 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The election is considered historic because it’s drawing the highest number of overall candidates and the highest number of female candidates to date.
But as Mr. Atleo has pointed out, the First Nations population is still poorly educated, unemployment rates are as high as 80 per cent in many communities, the health conditions are poor, and the Indian Act is antiquated.
“We need to reset the relationship back to that original vision of true partnership, a relationship codified and sanctified in the Covenant Chain, the Pre-confederation Treaties in the Atlantic, the Niagara Treaty of 1764, the Robinson Treaties and the numbered Treaties signed by our ancestors,” Mr. Atleo wrote in a column in The Hill Times last month.
“This means, in its most simple expression, First Nations regaining control of the decisions that affect their lives. It means working together, government to government and respecting our right to conduct our own affairs and run our governments based on our traditions and the will of our citizens.”
Mr. Atleo, 45, a hereditary chief from the Ahousaht First Nation and chancellor of Vancouver Island University, has previously served two terms as an AFN regional chief in B.C., during which time he forged a leadership accord among First Nations leaders in the province in 2005.
Mr. Atleo, who has focused his political energy on education, has said he achieved an important foot in the door during his tenure with the Crown-First Nations meeting held in Ottawa in January.
But the current national chief has faced criticism from those who say he not been aggressive enough with the federal Conservative government.
Mr. Cuthand said the AFN is a “very regional organization, so what they’re talking about in one region isn’t what they’re talking about in another region.”
And with the way a national chief is elected, where a candidate’s regional support lies makes all the difference.
“Some chiefs in British Columbia will represent between 300 and 500 people whereas you take the chief of the Six Nations [of the Grand River] reserve, which is the largest reserve in Canada, he represents 24,000 people. One vote,” explained Mr. Cuthand.
In addition to regional differences, Mr. Cuthand said the AFN is divided between treaty rights—First Nation communities covered by a numbered treaty—and aboriginal rights groups; as well as between those who think the AFN should take a harder line with the government, and those who think a softer approach is best.
Mr. Cuthand said the candidates will define themselves along these lines.
Mr. Cuthand said much like how the Liberal Party has historically had a trend of switching between French and English leaders, the AFN has a tradition of switching between a national chief from a treaty territory and a national chief from an aboriginal rights territory.
However, Mr. Cuthand also pointed out that national chiefs have typically been re-elected for a second, three-year term.
The system of voting for the election of a new national chief has received a good deal of attention this year, particularly as a result of the increased role social media has played in allowing AFN’s grassroots to become engaged in the conservation over leadership.
Mr. Cuthand said the AFN’s system of voting is a “dicey issue” and one that needs to be addressed. He said there needs to be a better representation of the First Nations population in the election and the system should be a changed to a 50-per-cent-plus-one vote.
Mr. Erasmus has been serving as the AFN’s regional chief of the Northwest Territories since 1994, and, aside from a three-year break between 2003 and 2006, he’s served as the Dene national chief since 1987. Mr. Erasmus’ brother, George Erasmus, served as AFN national chief from 1985 to 1991.
Mr. Erasmus, who many see as Mr. Atleo’s biggest competition and represents a treaty territory, has been outspoken in his criticism of Mr. Atleo’s tenure as national chief
Ms. Gabriel is from the Mohawk First Nation and formerly served as president of the Quebec Native Women’s Association. She is perhaps best known for her role as a spokesperson during the Oka crisis in Quebec in the 1990s.
But Mr. Cuthand pointed out Ms. Gabriel’s chances could be hurt by the system of voting. “[Even] if she gets all the Mohawk support, she may get less than 10 votes simply because they’re great big reserves,” said Mr. Cuthand.
Ms. Jack is an Ojibway lawyer from Berens River First Nation in Manitoba.
Ms. Kelly is a lawyer from Ojibways of Onigaming First Nation in Northwestern Ontario, and has been involved with the AFN for the past four years and is a former Treaty 3 grand chief, the first female one for the community.
Ms. Kelly said she’s decided to run because of her solid understanding of both traditional teachings and governance, and her knowledge of politics—she studied a bachelor of political science before earning her law degree at the University of Manitoba.
While Ms. Kelly didn’t criticize Mr. Atleo’s style as national chief—she said she had a “lot of respect” for him—she said the AFN needs a “much stronger voice,” particularly on treaties.
Mr. Nelson is a former, five-time chief of Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation in Manitoba. During the 2009 national chief election, Mr. Nelson garnered 10 per cent of the vote, and is perhaps best known for taking a more radical stance.
Recently, Mr. Nelson has earned some national notoriety for sending a letter to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asking for support and subsequently meeting with Iranian officials at their Ottawa embassy in March.
Mr. Cuthand said Mr. Nelson is seen as a “strong leader” who speaks out, but his dialogue with Iran hurt his chances: “that’s a little too over-the-top for a lot of our leaders.”
Ms. Palmater is a Mi’kmaq lawyer from the Eel River Bar First Nation in northern New Brunswick and is an associate professor in the department of politics and public administration at Ryerson University in Toronto. According to the CBC, Ms. Palmater has a large grassroots following who are engaged in new media.
Mr. Cuthand said Ms. Palmater has “a lot going for her” and would do well, but he said she might not be seen as strong enough on treaties: “I just don’t see the chiefs with conservative ways taking that leap.”
Finally, Mr. Stanley is currently AFN’s regional chief in Alberta and is from the Cree First Nation of Frog Lake in Alberta. Mr. Cuthand said he sees either Mr. Stanley or Mr. Eramsus being Mr. Atleo’s biggest competition by virtue of their prime positioning.
“With the men, you’ve got a bunch of career politicians, guys who have been in politics for years.…Whereas if you look at the women, you’ve got a bunch of highly-educated people there who have worked outside of the established routes…George Stanley’s a regional chief from Alberta, Erasmus is a regional chief. So they’re kind of on an uneven side, they’re part of that old boys’ club, kind of thing, whereas Pam and some of the women coming in are on the outside, and they’ve got fresh ideas and they could take the organization a long ways. They’re just untested,” said Mr. Cuthand, who said it’s a question of whether “there’s enough support for change.”
While the AFN has not yet had a female chief, Mr. Cuthand said it’s just a matter of the right person, not gender. Mr. Cuthand said aboriginal women are graduating university at double the rate of men and are taking up an increasing portion of leadership positions.
Mr. Cuthand said personally, he thinks Mr. Atleo has “done the best with what he’s faced with,” and will likely “squeeze by” to be elected for a second term.
Mr. Cuthand said following the Crown-First Nations gathering in January and cuts to aboriginal programs in this year’s budget, the AFN is at a “tipping point.”
Under this year’s budget and the corresponding departmental cuts, the department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada was cut by $165-million. This will result in cuts to aboriginal programming, such as the First Nations Statistical Institute—the only First Nations-managed Crown corporation in Canada, formed in 2006 to gather statistical information of First Nation community demographics—which had 50 per cent of its 2012-13 funding cut, with all funding set to be eliminated in 2013-14. The AFN receives most of its operating funds from the department.
“This government, aside from that one little show they put on in January, really has done very little for aboriginal people since they got in, and [the Crown-First Nations meeting] was only forced because of the Attawapiskat situation up there. I think the message came out pretty clear this spring, and it’s still coming out,” said Mr. Cuthand. “There are very little announcements, [but] a lot of programs for aboriginal people have been cut back…people are kind of wondering, like we’re kind of at a cross-roads, at a tipping-point. Do we stand up and fight back? Or do we try to get out of this thing the best we can? That’s the conversation taking place right now.”
Original Article
Source: hill times
Author: Laura Ryckewaert
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