Bulletin #5

Trail of Tears Campaign
405 Alfred Ave. Winnipeg Manitoba, R2W1X7

What has been learned so far on this Trail of Tears journey?

Report from the “Belly of the Beast”

This report comes from a stopover in central Ontario region, the place where the power of the Canadian establishment is strongest. The Trail of Tears campaign has already collected much information on how Indian Affairs financial management policies affect First Nations Peoples at the grassroots level across this land. We have learned that none of our Nations is isolated in the experience of this ongoing program of indigenous cultural genocide. We just feel that way! THAT is exactly what the Trail of Tears campaign has set out to change!

Mi’kmaq Territory

Creator puts things in front of us, and sometimes it takes a while to see what is being put there.

I came to Mi’kmaq territory to find leaders and elders who would speak to me about how Indian Affairs has implemented Co-Management and Third Party Management in that region. I went to offices and organizations, and came up empty-handed. Along the way, I met a Mi’kmaq youth named Nathan (on a park bench in Halifax). I told Nathan what I was doing, and he spent some considerable energy looking for an Elder to speak with me. Nathan was discouraged and ashamed that he couldn’t find one with the courage to speak on these serious issues. In the end, as APTN news documented, at the Opening Ceremony for the Trail of Tears, where Water was collected from the Atlantic Ocean, this youth Nathan was by my side. I told Nathan, “You are going to be a leader. The Trail of Tears is recognizing you for that.”

In some ways, the situation in Mi’kmaq, Maliseet and Passamaquoddy territory is different from the rest of Canada. These Peoples have endured the brunt of colonization for hundreds of years longer than many other First Nations in Canada. They also have a slightly different relationship with the Crown/Canada, as their treaties are much older than those of First Nations in the rest of Canada. Despite the differences, the communities are divided as badly in Mi’kmaq territory as they are everywhere else. Indian Affairs policies ensure this.

As I travelled north and west through Mi’kmaq territory, I did eventually find some people who were willing to speak to me, in confidence. From a large Mi’kmaq community (which is on the edge of Third Party Management as I write this), I met a husband and wife who are seen as Elders by some in their community. They said that sometimes they have to lock themselves into their home because they are afraid for their lives from speaking out against the financial corruption, social chaos and personal suffering in their community. People reported loss of jobs and loss of services, for speaking out. The “auntie” of one youth with whom I spoke worried about the repercussions for her niece, if she got too involved with the Trail of Tears campaign.

Another individual I spoke with was a grassroots community leader who was at the forefront of the recent “fishing wars” campaign for treaty-based economic rights. He stated that the kind of pressures my People are now facing is what led to that frustration erupting around fishing rights in his community. Prior to this escalation, Indian Affairs had full knowledge of the situation between the Haves and the Have Nots in that community. IA did not try to do anything. The majority of the community, the grass roots people, felt abandoned. This direction – of asserting economic rights to fish by direct action – seemed to offer hope, and the majority of the People were famished for hope of any kind.

After it was all over, when the TV cameras were gone and the fishing wars incidents became old news, the grassroots leaders involved at the forefront of that economic rights battle were ostracized. The community went right back under the thumb of IA rule again. This grassroots community leader is very concerned for the children and youth, who have tasted pride and opportunity, and now see everything that was so hard won vanishing. This leader told me that the Trail of Tears has given him and his grassroots community allies a way to see hope again. They see our demand for a public inquiry as another way to deal with these concerns.

The youth in the Mi’kmaq territory bear the burdens. I also had the chance to meet a remarkable young Mi’kmaq woman during my journey. Like Nathan, she is future community leader, I have no doubt. Young women and men like these two are very aware of what is happening in their communities around them. They know what needs to be done, and are looking for the way to do it. The Trail of Tears campaign honours Mi’kmaq youth for their courage and ability to understand that unity is a process that must be undertaken, no matter how difficult.

It is hoped that the light being shed by the Trail of Tears campaign will help the brave youth and apprehensive adults of the Mi’kmaq Nation know they are not alone.

Maliseet Territory

A communication of support for the Trail of Tears was received from some members of the Tobique First Nation. Tobique (TFN) is a community in Maliseet territory, on the western side of what is now known as New Brunswick. It has been riddled by financial mismanagement and corruption issues for a long time. A grassroots opposition has built against enduring any more suffering. They call themselves the “New” TFN (NEWTFN).

A simple glance at the website for NEWTFN shows that the epidemic of malfeasance has spread to Maliseet territory. Indian Affairs’ blind eye to local incompetence, corruption and negligence has been followed by IA takeover of the Band affairs (Co-Management, so far…). To quote from NEWTFN’s informative website:

Officials of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) met with the Chief and Council of the Maliseet Nation at Tobique to discuss issues related to the deplorable financial situation of Tobique on Monday Dec. 5/05. Department officials informed the Chief and Council that the region's Audit and Accountability Committee have completed a review of Tobique's financial situation. As a result of the review, the DIAND at Amherst (regional office) has decided that a "Co-Management Agreement" is required in an attempt "to restore the financial health of the community as quickly as possible". INAC officials further informed the council that a "co-manager" has to be in place by the next few weeks picked by the same Chief and Council who put us in this mess.

In a letter to the council dated Nov. 29,05, John Brown (Regional Director General) informed the council that the Audit and Accountability Committee considered the following issues in making its decision:

• a qualified opinion from your auditor due to the band enterprises not being audited;
• Council's self-administered (RMP) Remedial Management Plan for 2004-2005 realized a deficit of $1,208,833 which increased the cumulative deficit to $15,868,842;
• significant issues respecting capital projects and child maintenance programs;
• education tuition with the province of N.B. ;
• cash flow problems for the last quarter of the current fiscal year may jeopardize the delivery of essential services to the community.
  

http://www.newtfn.com
copyright 2004, updated as of September 2006.

See these pages in particular: http://www.newtfn.com/grass.html and http://www.newtfn.com/salar.html (look at dates).

The NEWTFN is battling to bring out the truth. Their goal is greater justice and fairness for the majority of people on their reserve. As they point out, there were three suicides in their community last year, and many more attempts, and yet the Band Council leadership is not doing enough to progress on suicide prevention project that the community has designed, according to the NEWTFN website. Suicide is a symptom of a hopeless community, more than anything else. The NEWTFN seem to be people of great courage, considering what can happen to people who speak out in many of our communities.

Cree Territory

Conversations have opened but are not yet concluded with grassroots and other community leaders among the “Quebec” or Grand Council of the Cree (GCC). Third Party Management exists there and is a “hot” issue. One community is in deficit of somewhere from $6 to 20M, even though the GCC just received a settlement of more than $3B. One has to question how a community could be in deficit under those circumstances!?!

I spoke of the chaos and misery in my home community with a Cree grassroots leader. It was obvious to both us that there are enormous similarities between what my People and his People are going through. It gave us both insight that there is something REALLY wrong going on here, and that the only way to get underneath the cheating, lies and cover-up is to hold a full, fair, independent public inquiry into the federal policy of Third Party Management. Trail of Tears is hoping that we will soon enjoy the visible support of the Cree Peoples who are experiencing this epidemic of malfeasance.

Haudenosaunee territory

When I – Lonefighter Leader Milton Born-With-A-Tooth – entered Haudenosaunee territory on this trail of tears journey, I took the same care I have taken throughout this journey. I came forward as a representative of the Blackfoot Confederacy to acknowledge the Original People of that region, on whose territory I now stood.

Following Traditional Protocols, I asked the community leaders of the Haudenosaunee, at their Eastern Door, for permission to be there and to present information about the Trail of Tears campaign. This permission was granted and I was able to meet with the People of the Longhouse at Kanehsatake.

The Haudenosaunee People must be acknowledged with great respect for their continuing strength and endurance in maintaining their sovereign position through ceremony and traditions in a continuing way, after all these years of colonization. Further, the Haudenosaunee maintain a policy of recognizing that there is still an opportunity for peaceful resolution of the conflicts between the colonizer’s government (Canada, the provinces, etc.) and First Nations. The sincere dialogue we shared around the Trail of Tears campaign reflects that commitment.

Discussion in Kanehsatake reflected on the crisis that their People had gone through recently, with the chaos in the community brought on by issues to do with conduct by the Band Council, Chief and their own FN local police – all IA delegates for local governance. This discussion revealed yet again that the Trail of Tears journey is uncovering an epidemic of malfeasance. INAC policies are directly connected to the misinformation and lack of support to the majority of Kanehsatake FN people, who have urgent, real concerns about the social and economic priorities of IA local leaders in their community.

Kanehsatake’s People of the Longhouse support the objective of the Trail of Tears journey – that there be a full fair public inquiry into INAC involvement in FN community governance, using the Peigan situation as a case example.

The Trail of Tears acknowledges and gives credit for the ongoing diligence of the People of the Longhouse as they keep looking for peaceful and honourable solutions to the ongoing problems of colonization, which result from the government’s continuing program of indigenous cultural genocide. Their willingness to join in support of the TOT initiative demonstrates the Haudenosaunee commitment to diplomatic approaches.

Next stop on the Trail of Tears journey was the Mohawk community of Tyendinaga First Nation (MT). A meeting was held there with an individual who has been demanding justice and clarity on scandals that involve Chief and Council and outside institutions. Their situation has many similarities to that of my home community. As with the Peigan, the current situation of chaos, turmoil, and mayhem includes that the FN community of Tyendinaga is in a deficit position. The Trail of Tears was a breath of fresh air for the embattled individuals in that community, who felt totally isolated and did not know who to turn to for support. We spoke the same language about the same issues that are before us.

Trail of Tears Exposes the Hidden Agenda

In my journey through eastern Canada, I have had the company of a half-bottle of Water. Taken from the Atlantic Ocean, this Water is travelling with me to the Salish territory on the Pacific Ocean coast. There the Waters of the two Oceans will be mingled in the bottle, and I will take those Waters back home to pay respect to the Oldman River. By the time I return home, I hope to have helped many other First Nations grassroots people to break out of the fear and isolation that surrounds exposing what Indian Affairs in doing nowadays in our communities, especially the Third Party Management issue. Corruption, the mishandling of funds, negligence and incompetence are what is seen and felt in the communities. I also hope that the support of the Peoples I am meeting along this journey will help my People gain the public inquiry we are demanding. That is the only way to force the truth out of the government about what they are up to with this new policy, which has only been in place since 2001.

Trail of Tears is not making accusations, we are collecting information, using documented firsthand reports from FN communities. Our statements are based on this courageous research and action by grassroots community members across Canada. Political and urban community organizations are endorsing the Trail of Tears, including the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples and the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto. The responses we are getting show that what we are asking for – a full public inquiry into Third Party Management – is the right thing to do.

Our Strategic Approach of Education and Mobilization

Along the way so far, our thinking has been reinforced on the strategy we are taking. The Trail of Tears way is to deal with this issue is through diplomatic engagement. We are demanding accountability from the grassroots up. Taking this political approach will help rebuild our faith that we can manage our own affairs. It will also avoid the build-up of tension between Canadians and First Nations Peoples, which seem to be part and parcel of INAC’s ongoing program of indigenous cultural genocide.

INAC’s hidden agenda is fuelling the negative community situation around the Six Nations’ reclamation effort at Caledonia. The underlying issue plaguing the leaders there is that information about the treaties, history, and land issues has been concealed by the Crown and Canada. Canadians invested in the land in question, which has never been ceded to Canada, without knowing that it was First Nation territory. This lack of awareness in the community continues to cloud the real issue and perpetuates the threat of community violence. The FN community leaders on the reclamation site continue to use every available opportunity to set the record straight, but really it is the government of Canada that should be doing this – should have done this all along. First, INAC violated the treaties, or allowed them to be violated. Then INAC tried to hide this fact, thus abdicating their treaty-based responsibility to show fiduciary care for First Nations within the Nation-State borders of Canada. The Trail of Tears has great respect for the People of the Longhouse at Six Nations, and their allies. At Caledonia, they are standing up for the land and for their children’s futures! We also have sympathy for the grassroots community on both sides of the Caledonia issue. We understand who the real enemy is.

Being in Ontario region at the moment, it is essential to acknowledge the tremendous sacrifice of grassroots leaders at “Ipperwash” – the territory of the Stoney Point People at Aazhoodena. A life was taken when grassroots FN people stood up for their rights there. This produced an inquiry, an inquiry that many people feel changed the political history of Canada, and some also feel has helped to protect lives at Caledonia. The FACT is, though, that this Inquiry should have been held BEFORE the police riot that led to the death of FN lands right activist Dudley George, on September 6, 1995. The full responsibility for his death lies on INAC’s shoulders. In this case as well, Indian Affairs officials in Ottawa concealed the truth about what the treaties said and who had rights to the land. INAC’s handling of issues and incidents is oriented towards only one purpose: the elimination of our distinct indigenous cultures – a very serious human rights violation.

Trail of Tears campaign wants to find a way to make change that does not involve embittered confrontation between grassroots Canadians and First Nations Peoples, as we have seen at Caledonia, Ipperwash, Kanehsatake, Burnt Church, Oldman River, Grassy Narrows, Gustafson Lake, Sun Peaks, and many other locations.

On September 18th, Canada’s Great White House – the Canadian parliament – will reconvene. On behalf of my People, and the suffering grassroots people I have met on this journey so far, I ask for your help. We urgently demand that the issue of a public inquiry into Third Party Management be put on the floor for discussion in this sitting of Parliament. This inquiry can put us on the right track so that the youth of Canada and our First Nations youth do not have to fight one another.

How You Can Help

The Trail of Tears campaign has reached the centre of power in Canada: southern Ontario – Toronto and Ottawa. The evidence collected proves that the Peigan situation with Third Party Management is not an isolated case. FN across Canada re being hit with an epidemic of great virulence and very serious consequences. This is an epidemic of corruption by public officials, at the core of which is the Government of Canada’s determination to rid itself of the “Indian Problem.” A full and fair independent public inquiry must look into INAC’s policy of putting FN under Third Party Management.

Letters, emails, faxes, phone calls, and prayers asking for a public inquiry should be directed to the four leaders of the political parties in Canada. The addresses of these leaders are provided in TOT Bulletin #1, which is easily found online at the bottom of our home page.

If you want a guide for composing your letter, TOT campaign volunteers are preparing material to help you. In the next few days, detailed information about our demand for a inquiry will be circulated and also posted on our website: trailoftears2006.blogspot.com.

The Trail of Tears journey now moves into Anishnawbe and Cree territories, then will cross the land, through Blackfoot territory, on the way to Salish territory. This is one human spirit’s journey taken out of love for our youth and the Peoples of this land now known as Canada. If this journey can instil hope, confidence and courage in grassroots people across this land, it will be a success. From this seed of hope will grow unity in strategy and action.

Join in our Campaign through the Internet

If you are “virtually” capable, “bookmark” our website: trailoftears2006.blogspot.com.

Visit us often and add your “comments” us to our Bulletins to share what you think about the issues we are raising. I can be emailed at trailoftears2006@gmail.com. It may take a while for me to answer you, depending where I am in this journey. However, TOT’s Communications Coordinator, Ann Pohl, checks email and speaks with me everyday.

In God’s name, you came.
In the Great Spirit’s name, we have always been.

Lonefighter Leader Milton Born-With-A-Tooth