CULTURAL, POLITICAL AND SPIRITUAL FORCES COME TOGETHER
TO DEVELOP UNDERSTANDING, SPIRITUAL CONNECTION
RONALD IRWIN, M.P. MINISTER, DEPARTMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
[This is the Ministers address on Dec 9 after receiving the
Reconciliation Proclamation by Chair Harper. The Sacred Assembly was
called by Elijah Harper, M.P. Churchill, Manitoba.]
...our personal spirituality. It's different but it must be respected in
each individual. We spent four days sharing this together and the
remarkable achievement of this gathering is the strength that it brings.
I just met an elder coming in here. "It hit some of us at different
times," he said he was here for two days and it hit him yesterday. What
we can do collectively, what we must do, when we go back to our own
territories.
And I have to take a moment to thank Elijah Harper for the tremendous
work he has done, and it has been tremendous. How this came about was we
were in a lot of trouble at Ipperwash. A person had been killed, a 16
year old boy had been shot and a councillor had just been beaten up and
Elijah was just coming back from his healing process. I went to Elijah
and said please come with me. I didn't know if he had the strength to do
it. It was a long day. We started at 5 am and we didn't finish till 11
pm that day. The leadership came in, all the Ontario Chiefs, and the
Grand National Chief Ovide, the surrounding Chiefs and we came together
there. On the way over we had time to talk, and what are we going to do?
We were in the middle of Adams Lake, Penticton. Gustafsen Lake,
Ipperwash. It was just getting out of hand, the whole thing was
deteriorating. Elijah said we have to have a spiritual assembly. At
that time he was talking about three things: restoring spiritual values,
restoring the integrity of the elected chiefs, (integrity of the elected
chiefs--where a chief who was elected would say one thing and then the
media would go over to anybody that was opposed to that chief), and
restoring territorial integrity. And we started talking about it and I
thought that it was a great idea but I didn't know if they could put it
together.
There were many meetings and we sat there with Wally and Elijah saying,
"Is this going to work." After seeing the statement that has come out of
here and the gathering, it has worked. He has to be committed. I want
to tell you there is nothing in that statement that I cannot support and
will--support. Let me phrase that differently--there is nothing in that
statement that I cannot support and for the next two years I intend to go
to the wall with you as partners.
We have talked here about Turtle Island, peaceful co-existence and the
meaning of treaties, the residential schools, and walking together,
unity, and the land, and the commitments that last as long as the water
flows, the grass grows, the sun shines, the dignity of the elders, the
healing. Is there anything that has been said here today that doesn't
make sense? In the last four days, is there anything that any Canadian
that is listening to this would not agree with? This is the role, and
this is the vision of the future. I feel inadequate, quite frankly,
being here. I have heard so many people just talking in the halls
listening to people here who have expressed it so much more eloquently
than I have. I just feel inadequate being here before you. But if this
is to be a success, and if it is a success, there had to be a first step.
You don't get much out of politics. I mean I'm the fourth in my family.
It's tough, I mean we basically have bad genes that we keep coming back
to politics. But I'm getting old. I'm possibly past elder stage. If I
walk away from politics, I still have one friend, Elijah Harper, that
brought dignity to the process.
I'm not even going to waste your time. I go across this country giving a
pretty set speech. But you people know what it's about. I don't have to
talk to you about C31, or script, or the Metis, or residential schools,
or inadequate housing, or healing, or suicides. If you didn't know about
it, you wouldn't be here.
We can't change history but we certainly can learn from our mistakes that
we have made, and we have made horrendous mistakes. We have to
collectively, all Canadians, take responsibility for taking those
mistakes, and making sure that they never happen again as long as we have
anything to say about it.
Now I don't want to get into politics today and all these great things we
are doing, or are supposed to be doing, because we have so far to go in
our Red Book. I want to talk about one thing because it deals with
spirituality. That is the inherent right. We have taken the position,
as a government, that the inherent right comes from the Creator, that the
rights of governance, of justice systems, of policing, of marriage, of
custody, of health and education, of language, of culture are inherent to
the aboriginal people of this country. Not delegated by government. Not
given by anyone, but came from the Creator and cannot be taken away.
Until some court tells me otherwise that's the way we're going to
operate.
I've been a minister for two years. I was hoping that it would not
change me. It does change you when you see the misery out there. You
see misery one day, you see hope the next, it does. You go from one to
the other. I'll give you an idea. In the last ten days, just the last
ten days:
I met with the BC Chiefs and they are fighting out there in BC. They are
fighting on the BC treaty process. And what is it? It is a promise 100
years old, that has not been fulfilled. When we did the treaties we said
that we would come back and do the treaties in BC. Either we are liars
as Canadians or our people have honour. That is the issue. We are people
of honour that keep our word. They are fighting out there.
Yesterday, or the day before, in the House of Commons there was a
resolution and I must commend the Bloc. They came and fought against it.
There was a resolution in the House that we discontinue settlements in
the BC treaty process for one year because the opposition parties are
opposed. That's there.
I was up at Williams Lake. Just got back from Williams Lake. They went
through a horrendous time because of Gustafsen. There is now racism
against the children in the schools. There is now a feeling in the non-
Native community where they used to enter into contracts in forestry that
maybe we shouldn't be doing this. That healing has to come back. Mini-
healing processes, they were bringing the mayors together, the people
together to start talking, going into the schools.
Left Calgary and the aboriginal contract meeting where we are trying to
get across the point that there may be 3000 companies, but they are small
companies, and we have to redesign our procurement policies, our
government contracts, because there has to be self-sufficiency and these
companies have to be able to tender into this process and do this work
because there cannot be self-government or dignity without self-
sufficiency. The whole thing will implode. If we can't understand that
basic rule.
Went over to Kamloops and there's Ron Ignace and Manny Jules and they
have waited 100 years for the return of that land. The question is: why
did they have to wait 100 years? It's a day of celebration. I apologize
that it took so long to come back.
And then, when was that Ovide, Thursday? we met with Ralph Caribou.
Thursday? I've lost track of the days, Wednesday? Thursday morning?
Wednesday (...?) How about white-man's time! He's on Cree time.
There's Ralph Caribou with his wife trying to bring the problems of his
housing shortage in Pukatawagan.
Then up to the Chippewas yesterday morning. And this is amazing. The
Chippewas of Michigan are Ojibways. In fifteen years they went from a
tribe of 1000 people to 2900 employees. They do everything. They say we
have an empty bag we must fill it. And they did. Now they want to come
in because they feel they are part, in Canada. They feel that they are
part of the Anishnabe Nation they are not Americans. They're not
Chippewas they are part of the Anishnabe Nation. Spent yesterday
morning with them.
Then yesterday afternoon. Into Ontario--The Common Sense Agenda--meeting
with the Attorney General and the Ontario chiefs. There is so much
learning that has to be done in Ontario. We cannot bring the land claims
process to a stop, or co-jurisdiction to a stop, or co-management, or
moving the justice systems in Ontario. There is so much teaching that
has to come. I am sure that even with the Agenda that the Conservatives
came into Ontario if they understand the problems and how significant
they are - they are people, they bleed like all of us. That we can talk
to them and bring them back in Ontario.
The night before last Bucktootie(sp?) the Inuit people of the north
women. We spent three hours here in Hull just talking about the violence
that still exists with Inuit women.
Then Zebee Nungat(sp?), the other day, what we have to do with the Arctic
exiles. That's just ten days. And that's just part of it. But there
are three or four things that are coming out of this. They are hurt.
They have been wounded. They are hurt, but they have a vision of where
they want to go, and they are moving ahead, and no-one is going to stop
them.
Now many of us came here for different reasons. Some came to heal. Some
came to be healed. Some came to hear new ideas. Some came to give new
ideas. I came for all those reasons, but I came for one more. I need
partners. I need allies. I need people walking side by side. I need
them. I'm tired of this quiet revolution. I don't want non-Native
Canadians to be quiet. If they see injustice, come out and say that is
an injustice, that is an injustice. Don't sit back and wait for others
to do the job, and read the paper, and say that this is wrong.
In BC, I need allies out there saying you told us you'd come back. It's
taken you 100 years. The Nishga have been sitting there doing it your
way for 19 years. I don't need people out there saying the Indians are
claiming 143% of the land and these statements just sitting there. I
need the white community out there saying this is just, this is fair.
Do it.
In Alberta, I need people in Alberta, helping on the treaty process, the
scoping out on Six and Seven, In the north helping out Bernie Meneen(sp?)
and the groups doing co-management, co-jurisdiction. There's Six, Seven
and Eight. When we did the treaties no-one thought that the Indians
would wind up with nothing at the end because there was no-one there. So
much of the land was taken away there was nothing left.
There cannot be spirit and intent of treaties without access to the
resources. That is spirit and intent of treaty. I need white people in
Alberta saying: he's right, they're right. And we have to start and
listen.
In Manitoba, Phil Fontaine and the chiefs out there--it's tough keeping
that together. The media in Manitoba takes what goes wrong. That's all
you see in the paper. What went wrong today, and what went wrong every
day what went wrong. You see it in the House every day, or every second
day, this went wrong with this band. I need white people, non-Natives
out there saying this is the way to do it.
Like the chief in northern Ontario said to me, "We're tired of being
passive observers to our own destiny." Isn't that it? At Sandy Lake.
I've got to get that message out in Manitoba and I can't do it alone.
I've got to have all of you with me, together.
In Ontario the Common Sense Revolution, the Common Sense Agenda, there is
no policy. It will be developed in January or February we are told by
the Attorney General yesterday. I need people in Ontario to talk to the
Conservative Party. Tell them about the claims of the Algonquins. By
the way, if you want to claim Hull, you can have it. It's just a joke.
Just a joke, don't get worried. Don't get worried.
In Quebec, I'm glad my good friend from the Bloc is here. You know the
message has to get out there that there is an 1898 line, and that's the
northern two-thirds of Quebec. The aboriginal people were there for
10,000 years. And the people who have been here four years do not have
superior rights. They have inferior rights to the people that have been
there 10,000 years. If that's accurate, north of the 1898 line it's
accurate in the territory of the Hurons, it's accurate in the territory
of the Mik'maqs, it's accurate in the territory of the Mohawks, and the
Algonquins, and the Abenaki. This is the message we have to get out to
Canadians, that these people exist, that their rights are superior and
they're there and they will be honoured.
Now I need allies, everybody knows about suicide. But I don't have
enough people talking about what we can do about it. Generally the
suggestion to me is let's have more health people, lets have more health,
let's have more social workers. You know this is not going to cure it.
You know that there has to be economic stability. The leader of the home
has to come home feeling that I'm a warrior. I'm a man. I can keep my
family. You can't do that with just health officials. That's the message
we have to get out.
And housing, across this country there are so few Chibougamaus, or Six
Nations, or the various, some of the Alberta First Nations, or some of
the BC First Nations. There are 608 First Nations, 600 need work on,
600! That message has to get out there. As mayor of Sault Ste Marie, or
as an M.P., this would never be tolerated in the white community. So if
we don't tolerate it in our own community why do we tolerate it in the
community of people who have been here for 10,000 years?
I know there are Natives here, but I am addressing this to my tribe, the
so called white tribe. These are the people that have to get out there.
And if we think that we can achieve these things by hunting and fishing
and trapping, forget about it, forget about it. The biggest First
Nations aren't in Red Sucker. They're in downtown Toronto--60,000
aboriginal people. They're in downtown Winnipeg, 30-40,000, I can't even
get accurate figures. They're in Regina. We have forgotten that. We
have to understand that there has to be self-sufficiency, and values, and
skill development with the biggest first Nations of this country just
happen to reside in our major cities.
Now I've come and I'm so pleased that the young people are here because
they're the ones that are going to have to carry this on. I'm getting
old, Ovide's getting older, Elijah's getting younger. But I have come
and it has to be done with the youth. To renew our commitment, to say
that we need more than bricks and mortar, to say that we will work
together, to say that we will maintain the spirit, to say that we will
fight disrespect, lack of disrespect, to say that we must have a vision
that works.
I want to ask you to take that vision of tolerance throughout this
country. I want to ask you for perseverance, I want to ask you to put
away anger and look to hope.
Elijah talked circles. I have a friend called Neil Fabreau(sp?), his
daughter is (...?) wedding, close friend. He talked about three circles.
He said we have three circles in life, he was giving away his daughter.
First there is our immediate family, then there is our extended family,
our cousins and so on, then there is the circle of our friends. But
unless we go to the fourth circle, the circle of spirituality where we
all are part of that circle, this country will not subsist. Will not.
It can't. It doesn't deserve to subsist. That's what we must expand,
that circle of spirituality. I hope that I have, from you, the strength
and courage to stay within that circle and in my small way carry your
vision forward to my people.
Thank you.
Elijah:
Thank you Ron, our Minister of Indian Affairs, for coming to address us.
He has made some commitments, I intend to remind him of that.
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Transcribed from an audiotape by:
Harold P. Koehler, 43 Napoleon Drive, LONDON ON N5V 4A8
(519)453-5452, Fax 453-3676 E-mail hkoehler@execulink.com