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All Things First Nations - CF help, protests, solutions, residential schools, etc. (merged)

"one way to ... cut down on the litigation would be..."

...to put funding of anything which serves obstructionist organizations at the bottom of a list contingent on targets for resource-driven revenues being achieved.  Let them pay the price first and see how strong their resolve is to make the sacrifices for which they call.
 
BC is wary of the mining industry after stuff like this

mount-polley-mine-tailings-pond.jpg


The main problem with mining is that almost all the "easy" deposits have been depleted and the up front capital costs to start a new project are staggering. One project is proposing a 14km long tunnel under a mountain just to get access to the deposit and that tunnel would have to support truck traffic, slurry pipelines and power lines. http://www.novagold.com/section.asp?pageid=22238  KSM just was approved by sort of in the same boat, the upfront cost are crazy http://seabridgegold.net/ksm_engineer.php
 
Most of the bands are opposed to the oil sands pipelines, Coastal FN's generally support the LNG export projects http://www.thenorthernview.com/news/286227721.html

But bands like the Fort Nelson FN have significant issues with the extraction side http://www.legassembly.gov.yk.ca/pdf/rbhf_FNFN-Presentation.pdf

I would say that the majority of bands in BC want development, but the current pace of development is overwhelming them and even the bands that want to be engaged can't meet the demand for their time to consult. I seen with my own eyes one bands very committed team walking around like zombies because at least 7 different LNG export companies all want to meet with them at the same time.

The BC Liberals pushing Site C right now was a very poor strategic decision as it pushed the FN's into a confrontation they weren't looking for. The Federal government in Ottawa has been ignoring FN consultation in BC for the most part despite warnings from the regional departments heads and the panicked response sending out he Ministers at the last minute just showed how unaware Ottawa is. the Legal ground is very different here then other parts of Canada. The FN's don't agree on their own boundaries, very little of BC is covered by Treaties and those that are can be ambiguous and badly worded.
What the natives don't see coming is that the population of BC is changing and the new immigrants will not care about FN issues and when the politicians sense that their is no political capital in pursuing Treaties, the issue will grind to a halt on the government side. The bands are challenged by many being to small to be economically viable and to remote to sustain economic livelihoods for the young. While the demographic i generally young, there is a schism forming between the 'purebloods" and the "mixed Indians" which is going to eventually upset the grip on power that certain families in each band have. Toss in the animosity between hereditary chiefs, Elder councils , elected back councils, FN development corporations and the warrior society (plus gang issues) and things can really get weird.   
 
The WFN pretty well own all the malls (lots of malls) in West Kelowna, BC

WFN celebrates success

by Ragnar Haagen - Mar 31, 2015

While many First Nations across Canada continue to face significant hardships, Westbank First Nation continues to buck that trend.

WFN celebrates 10 years of self-governance this week.

But it was only through a long process of negotiation and community consultation that the possibility became law on May 6, 2004, and came into force on April 1, 2005.

Many First Nation reserves, especially in Canada's North, lack proper infrastructure, everyday services and the quality of life most Canadians take for granted. Not so in Westbank, where the band has developed lucrative residential, commercial and recreation properties, making it one of the most prosperous First Nations in Canada.

“I am proud of how far our community has come over the past 10 years,” Chief Robert Louie said Tuesday.

“Self-government has opened doors to opportunities that the community would not have seen if we were still governed by Canada. Not only has self-government increased the accountability and transparency of the WFN government as well as bringing a great sense of pride to our community, but it has also resulted in increased opportunities for our members, increased property values and an improved standard of living.”

In fact, property values have skyrocketed over the past 10 years, with the Westbank First Nation now ranked 61st in the province for assessed value, out of 162 B.C. municipalities.

The value of band land has nearly quadrupled during that time, from $398 million to more than $1.4 billion, according to the WFN.

The band says they've also contributed $80 million of annual fiscal revenue to the federal and provincial governments through the generation of sales tax, personal income tax and corporate tax on Westbank First Nation Lands, $500 million annually to the local economy, and remains one of the largest employers on the Westside.

And down the road, South:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/clarence-louie-feature/article18913980/

How a B.C. native band went from poverty to prosperity

Jake MacDonald- 29 May 14

The Osoyoos Indian Band is arguably the most business-minded First Nation in Canada.
So what’s the secret to their success?
 
Pipeline opponents begin to gather:

Reuters

Canada's native chiefs reviewing treaty to block oil industry expansion
Wed Sep 30, 2015 8:26pm EDT
By Mike De Souza

CALGARY (Reuters) - Native chiefs in the Western Canadian province of British Columbia voted on Wednesday to join some of their eastern counterparts opposed to a major pipeline project, in a move some leaders described as a step toward a national alliance aimed at blocking expansion of Alberta's oil sands industry.

The chiefs from British Columbia agreed to join opposition to the Energy East project - proposed by TransCanada Corp at the meeting, also attended by chiefs from the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec. If approved, the Energy East pipeline would carry up to 1.1 million barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta's oil sands to the Atlantic coast, along a 4,200 km (2,850-mile) route.

Canada's oil sands in northern Alberta are home to the world's third-largest crude reserves but they also represent the country's fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions due to their energy intensive production methods. While the industry has said it needs to expand pipelines to give it access to new markets and promote responsible expansion, environmental and aboriginal groups and some municipalities across the country have opposed new projects, due to the risk of spills and the climate change impacts.

The native leaders also released a draft national treaty at the meeting, to be circulated among First Nations across the country, that would call for them to prohibit, challenge and resist use -whether by pipeline, rail or tankers - of their territories for expansion of oil sands production.

(...SNIPPED)
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Apparently not all First Nations are against pipelines. Re-produced under the usual provisions of the Copyright Act.

Eagle Spirit Energy’s pipeline plan in northern B.C. gets backing of First Nations chiefs

Geoffrey Morgan | September 30, 2015 | Last Updated: Sep 30 12:01 AM ET

CALGARY – As other pipeline proposals from Alberta’s oilsands to the West Coast appear stalled, Eagle Spirit Energy Holdings Ltd. claimed Tuesday that it now has the support of every First Nation chief along the route of its own proposed oil pipeline through northern B.C.

A group of aboriginal chiefs in northern British Columbia declared their support for a pipeline corridor that would connect Albertan oil and gas plays with the Pacific in a letter delivered Tuesday to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the premiers of Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan.

The company also indicated in a release that those chiefs supported natural gas pipelines along the proposed “pipeline corridor.”

“Eagle Spirit’s proposal fairly compensates First Nations for the risks posed to our traditional territories through meaningful revenue generation, business, employment, education, training and capacity building opportunities promoting economic self-sufficiency for our communities and their members,” said the letter signed by the chiefs.

The chiefs maintained that Eagle Spirit would consult with First Nations on the design, engineering, construction and operation of the pipeline and corridor to ensure the project exceeds regulatory requirements.

Eagle Spirit is backed by the Aquilini Group, which owns the Vancouver Canucks NHL franchise, and is proposing an oilsands pipeline between Fort McMurray, Alta. and Prince Rupert, B.C. at an estimated cost of $14 billion.

The letter included the signature of Lax Kw’alaams hereditary chief Alexander Campbell, whose First Nation’s traditional territory includes Prince Rupert – the terminal point for Eagle Spirit’s proposed oil pipeline and marine terminal.

Various Lax Kw’alaams members, including the community’s mayor, said in June that Eagle Spirit was over-stating First Nations support in the area.

However, Campbell said the group now supports Eagle Spirit, after a community meeting was held with the company in a local gymnasium this summer.

“They gave us time to ask questions, and a lot of people asked questions, and when they were here in Prince Rupert. I got up and said ‘I don’t see how we can let this one bypass us,’” Campbell said.

In May, Lax Kw’alaams members voted against a $1-billion deal with Malaysia’s state-owned energy company, Petronas, over the construction of a liquefied natural gas facility in the area.

Campbell confirmed that Eagle Spirit is offering First Nations equity ownership in the pipeline in addition to business opportunities, educational opportunities and various other community benefits, like support for the community’s seniors.

Eagle Spirit has yet to disclose the final details of its proposed pipeline route, but the company’s press release said “the parties are presently working together to determine the final route and towards the completion of final binding agreements.”

The company also established a chiefs’ council, which Campbell said would vet any and all development decisions related to the pipeline.

“As meaningful participants and owners of the Eagle Spirit project, we know that our economic future, as well as that of the Canadian economy, is best served by ensuring that oil can reach markets abroad in the safest way possible,” said Wesley Sam, the chiefs’ council representative in a release.

“We refuse to see oil shipped by rail through our traditional territories,” he said.

[email protected]

Twitter.com/geoffreymorgan
Click to expand...

Article Link
 
Brad Sallows said:
  It's always about the money.
Click to expand...

And speaking of which...

CBC

Oil producing Sask. First Nations sue Canadian Government for billions
CBC
February 9, 2016

Oil producing Saskatchewan First Nations are suing the federal government in a class action lawsuit. They say the government hasn't done enough to develop the resources on First Nations.

The lawsuit is being represented by Poundmaker Cree Nation and Onion Lake Cree Nation, and could include more than 50 First Nations in Saskatchewan, after the court decides if there is enough common issues to make it a class action. 

Heather Rumble Peterson, a lawyer on the case, says the federal government hasn't done enough to support resource development on reserves.

(...SNIPPED)
Click to expand...
 
Let me see if I get this straight:

First Nations, who are almost always the first to object to any form of project they are offered for oil exploration/exploitation on their territory because of their "sacred" relation to the land, their "respect for the environment" and the need for the land for their "traditional" way of life are now complaining the government didn't do enough to support that type of development?

This ought to be interesting to watch.  :pop:
 
So we have FNs in the west bitching about non development and FN east against the pipleine. Perhaps we could just sit back and watch them deal with each other for a change. ::)
 
Chief Clarence Louie sounds like a great leader.
http://www.thereminder.ca/news/local-news/get-a-damn-job-chief-offers-blunt-remedy-for-what-ails-first-nations-1.2171595

His advice for young members;
Get a damn job, be a man. It should be embarrassing for you to raise your kids on welfare.”

Looking to succeed in the workplace? “Be punctual. Be on time. Indian time doesn’t cut it.”

Deciding what to read? “Too many times I go into Indian people’s houses, even on my own rez, I see tabloids.
Click to expand...

The article also mentions now not only 80% of the members are employed but how they've hired from 30 other reserves.  Pretty impressive.
 
In BC I would say the changes at most Reserves is for the most part in the positive. Often the want and will is there, just not the jobs or the knowledge.
 
No doubt the press will bring up the 1990 Oka crisis again:

Canadian Press

Indigenous communities should have power to call in the military: chief
[The Canadian Press]
September 14, 2016

Indigenous communities should have power to call in the military: chief

WINNIPEG — Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is considering a request to give First Nations the power to directly call in the military when their treaty, environmental and other rights are threatened.

Ron Swain, vice-chief with the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, told Sajjan during consultations with indigenous groups Wednesday that aboriginal communities deserve the same rights as provincial governments, which have the authority under the National Defence Act to call in the military to fight civil unrest and during other crises.

"We believe, in protecting our sovereign territory and our issues around environmental concerns, we should be able to trigger the same response and have our Armed Forces defending our treaties and our territories," Swain said during a break in the closed-door meeting in Winnipeg that included about a dozen aboriginal leaders and academics.

(...SNIPPED)
Click to expand...
 
DefMin tones down expectations in an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press:
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan threw a reality check on the notion he is considering giving direct power to First Nations to call in the military when they feel their rights or communities are being threatened.

Sajjan met with indigenous leadership in Winnipeg Wednesday as part of his national defence policy review. At that meeting Ron Swain, vice-chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, which represents all off-reserve status and non-status First Nations, Métis and Southern Inuit, raised the issue of needing the military to come to the aid of indigenous peoples trying to defend their rights or territories.

That could, for example, include protests against pipelines or other development, taking place without First Nations' consent.

After the meeting Wednesday, Sajjan's office was non-committal but indicated the request was one of a whole host of things Sajjan would consider as part of the policy review. But Sajjan told the Free Press in an interview Thursday he didn't think the system needs to be changed.

"We do have a good system in place and they just need to be reassured the system that is there will serve them as a priority," Sajjan said.

The Canadian military is deployed at home almost entirely to help during natural disasters such as the Winnipeg flood in 1997, to help fight wildfires such as last spring's disastrous blaze that razed parts of Fort McMurray, Alta., or the much maligned call for help from Toronto during an extended snow storm in 1998.

He said most of the assets and infrastructure to help is kept at the municipal or provincial level. "The military is there as a last resort," he said.

Sajjan said the military is there to help First Nations affected as well but he said the process in place is for the province to seek help from Public Safety Canada, which has the lead on emergency preparedness. If the public safety minister feels additional resources are needed, he then turns to the defence minister to send in some troops ...
Click to expand...
 
I'll put this here for now rather than starting yet another white versus red topic.

This is from the CBC and reproduced here under the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright Act:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/city-advocates-defend-anti-racism-billboards-1.4188754

City of Saskatoon, advocates defend anti-racism billboards
'It's not staged actors, nor did the city make up those quotes'
By Charles Hamilton, CBC News Posted: Jul 04, 2017 3:00 AM CT Last Updated: Jul 04, 2017 3:00 AM CT

A billboard that drew the ire of some Saskatoon residents online is being heralded as a much-needed conversation starter about racism.

The sign on Circle Drive is part of the city's campaign called "I am the Bridge" — a multimedia effort designed to share people's stories and insights on their experiences with racism.

One particular billboard shows a photo of a man who appears to be white and a quote that reads "I have to acknowledge my own privilege and racist attitudes."

Sheelah Mclean, a co-founder of Idle No More and an anti-opression educator, says she understands why billboards about white privilege and racism make some people uncomfortable.

'There are going to be people who feel guilt'
- Sheelah McLean
"There are going to be people who feel guilt, there are going to be people who are going to feel sadness that they didn't know this information, they had never been taught it. There are going to be people who feel anger. It's all called backlashing," McLean said.

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron agrees. He says the billboard is part of ongoing and important conversations concerning race and prejudice around the province.

"It's a good thing if it's generating discussion. There will always be some negative comments and everything else. But we can pray for them and we certainly do," Cameron said.

Cameron pointed to commitments and agreements the FSIN has made in recent months with several Saskatchewan municipalities as evidence that things are moving in the right direction.

"We cannot change the attitudes or opinions of the 50-year-olds or the 60-year-olds who have always hated people for their skin colour. We cannot change them. But we can start focusing and educating those children to understand that we are in the province, this world together," Cameron said.

The City of Saskatoon spearheaded the campaign.

During the launch, Mayor Charlie Clark said the campaign was about "building relationships and a shared understanding."


Backlash part of the 'myth of meritocracy'

McLean says decades of research and experiences of aboriginal and other visible minority Canadians has shown that white privilege is real.

"The idea that white privilege doesn't exist or that not everybody benefits from it who is light skinned is actually false, it's a fallacy," McLean said.

She says as a white person she understands how being confronted with that knowledge can be upsetting for some. McLean herself participated in the campaign by offering her own thoughts on racism. 

She says the "myth of meritocracy" — the idea that light skinned people get to where they are solely because of things like hard work — is simply not true.

While she says many light skinned or white people may have felt oppression in one form or another, they have not felt racial oppression. Educating people about privilege and racism, she says, is what the campaign is all about. .

City defends billboards

The project asked citizens to submit videos sharing their experiences, and the most powerful quotes were used to create the campaign.

"It's real people who live in Saskatoon. It's not staged actors, nor did the city make up those quotes," said Lynne Lacroix, the city's director of community development.

"These billboards were not intended to suggest that all people have to do the same thing or that all people are racist."

The city's website points out the fact that racism exists in Saskatoon. One cited example is the fact a large majority of Aboriginal people in Saskatoon agree with the statement  "I think others behave in an unfair/negative way towards Aboriginal people." That came from a research project called 'Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study: Saskatoon Report' done back in 2011.

Lacroix said she is pleased the campaign is creating discussion around racism in Saskatoon.

"Also encouraging the rest of the community to gain a broader understanding of the nature of racism because that is what is really critical for us all to recognize, to know what racism is, in order to address it," she said.

************************************************

The article has a photo of the offending billboard with the racist bastard earnest-looking middle-aged white male confessing his guilt.
 
Another example of Socially Acceptable Racism. As long as it is directed to White people.
 
Bass ackwards said:
City of Saskatoon, advocates defend anti-racism billboards
'It's not staged actors, nor did the city make up those quotes'
By Charles Hamilton, CBC News Posted: Jul 04, 2017 3:00 AM CT Last Updated: Jul 04, 2017 3:00 AM CT

A billboard that drew the ire of some Saskatoon residents online is being heralded as a much-needed conversation starter about racism.

The sign on Circle Drive is part of the city's campaign called "I am the Bridge" — a multimedia effort designed to share people's stories and insights on their experiences with racism.

One particular billboard shows a photo of a man who appears to be white and a quote that reads "I have to acknowledge my own privilege and racist attitudes."

Sheelah Mclean, a co-founder of Idle No More and an anti-opression educator, says she understands why billboards about white privilege and racism make some people uncomfortable.

'There are going to be people who feel guilt'
- Sheelah McLean
"There are going to be people who feel guilt, there are going to be people who are going to feel sadness that they didn't know this information, they had never been taught it. There are going to be people who feel anger. It's all called backlashing," McLean said.
Click to expand...

I really can't stand that narrative.
What you're feeling is guilt.
You're uncomfortable.
You need to acknowledge your privilege.

The worst are white people with a holier than thou attitude trying to enlighten the misguided masses. 

I have zero guilt and I'm not uncomfortable.
 
I personally can only be held responsible for all the bad things that happened to anyone who isn't me since 1968, when I emigrated from England. This is typical immigrant bashing, and I'm starting to feel repressed.
 
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