Ellis Ross
UNDRIP, DRIPA, POLITICS
As Haisla Chief Councillor, I didn’t support UNDRIP.
We were already on a good path that had it’s foundation in Section 35 of the Constitution and pursuant jurisprudence (jurisprudence is another word for caselaw).
The caselaw I’m referring to are the court rulings that determined what Aboriginal Rights and Title is and what it isn’t.
The most important case was the Haida ruling of 2004.
For us it brought peace in the woods and LNG.
This ruling finally leveled the playing field between governments and First Nations while balancing society’s needs.
UNDRIP is a good document for countries just getting started in dealing with Indigenous issues.
Canada is not in that situation. Canada has been making progress for 46 years.
What i feared was UNDRIP would bring us back to 1982 with court cases, roadblocks, fear, anger and uncertainty.
The warnings i gave fell on deaf ears.
The business community believed government rhetoric that UNDRIP would solve everything.
The non-natives wanting to address the past and not knowing caselaw believed the political announcements as well.
And of course the politicians got what they wanted, standing ovations and votes.
Being ignored didn’t bother me. Neither did the slurs of being a “sellout” or “traitor”, mainly because i stuck to saying what I believed was right based on my experiences and knowledge.
Ultimately, I didn’t want what we’re seeing today.
I wanted to
Keep lifting people out of poverty
Build strong communities and societys
And don’t divide Canadians to the point where we all fail
I can’t help but think that i failed in communicating these points effectively