Chief Shawn Atleo should tear up First Nations Education Act
[ http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/pamela- ... cation-act ]
By Pamela Palmater | April 30, 2014
Dr. Pamela D. Palmater is a Mi'kmaw lawyer and member of the Eel River Bar First Nation in New Brunswick. She teaches Indigenous law, politics and governance at Ryerson University and heads their Centre for Indigenous Governance.
The National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Shawn Atleo made a "historic" deal with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on First Nation education. What makes this deal so historic? Well, it's the deal that no First Nation asked for and it's one that Atleo had no power to make. It's historic because not only will Atleo go down in history as the worst National Chief, but he has taken the AFN down with him. For the most part, many Regional Chiefs sat by and watched him do it. Now, the AFN thinks that by analyzing its own deal, this will help make the bitter taste of assimilation wash down more easily. They are wrong.
It is important to understand that Atleo has absolutely no independent political power as National Chief. The AFN's Charter is very specific about this. So, all of his deal-making with Canada is outside the legal scope of this authority. The Prime Minister, who is not a signatory to the treaties between First Nations and Her Majesty, is also acting outside the legal scope of his power. Harper has no power to unilaterally amend treaties or violate constitutionally protected treaty rights. Yet, this political duo is taking matters into their own hands and changing the rules in education and treaty rights -- just like they both promised at the Crown-First Nation Gathering.
The opposition to this deal is not new -- it has been significant and consistent throughout the last few years. Three provinces of First Nations pulled out of the National Panel on Education -- Saskatchewan, Quebec and Ontario -- as a strong message to Atleo that he did not have the mandate to make a deal on First Nation education. Atleo did not listen. He forged ahead despite the growing opposition. The Chiefs in Assembly passed numerous resolutions against Atleo making any deals on First Nation education and specifically against education legislation. Atleo hung on tightly to Harper and forged ahead despite growing calls for his impeachment.
Then came the "deal" -- the promise of adequate funding, First Nation control and legislation that would recognize our Aboriginal and treaty rights to education. From the moment Atleo-Harper held their joint press conference, First Nations knew we were in trouble. Atleo sang songs about how he was saving our children from the status quo while Harper countered every point Atleo made -- although with great tact.
When Atleo realized that Harper wasn't singing the same song, Atleo sent a strongly worded letter asking whether or not any of the promises Atleo made to First Nations were in fact going to be kept by Harper. The answer was no. Instead of throwing away his pride, admitting to his colossal mistake and standing with First Nations against Harper's assimilation agenda, Atleo stood by Harper.
What followed was political propaganda from Harper, Minister Valcourt and Atleo meant to save the deal from being challenged in the public arena. AFN's open letters, statements, clarifications and press releases were desperate acts of damage control. It was too late -- Chief Gilbert Whiteduck filed a judicial review against Canada about the proposed legislation. First Nations spoke honestly and critically in the media about the damage this proposed Act would do. Lawyers, academics, analysts and political commentators all seemed to come to the same conclusion: the Act did not reflect First Nation control or protect treaty rights, and even the funding was an illusion.
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Chief Shawn Atleo should tear up First Nations Education Act
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Chief Shawn Atleo should tear up First Nations Education Act
by Oscar » Wed Apr 30, 2014 9:16 pm
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Harper wins, First Nations lose
by Oscar » Sat May 03, 2014 7:21 am
Harper wins, First Nations lose
[ http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/daniel- ... tions-lose ]
By Daniel Wilson | May 2, 2014
Give the win to Stephen Harper, with an assist to some of those who claim most loudly to oppose him.
The Prime Minister is well known for being unsatisfied with merely besting opponents, seeking rather to break them. He has done so again and may well be on his way to larger goals.
- - - - -SNIP - - - - .
In his brief statement, Atleo said, "This work is too important and I am not prepared to be an obstacle to it or a lightning rod distracting from the kids and their potential."
Ironically, Atleo's resignation makes no difference to the legislation. Bill C-33 will pass because of the Conservative majority that brought us this polarization.
But the story here is not the legislation. As my last blog on this subject made clear, there was no doubt that Bill C-33 did not meet the five criteria Chiefs had set for their support, despite claims to the contrary by Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt.
The real story is the increasingly untenable position of the National Chief and the AFN created by a duplicitous Conservative government and its vengeful leader.
In his first term of office at the AFN, with a minority government in Ottawa, Shawn Atleo's thoughtful and pragmatic approach to his role as advocate for First Nations rights and interests meant that legislative attempts to undermine those rights could be defeated or amended and some small progress, like the reluctant acceptance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, could be achieved.
That all changed with the election of a Conservative majority in 2011.
Since then, the Conservatives have passed a host of legislation that diminished the legal rights and undermined the legitimate interests of First Nations.
The Crown-First Nations Gathering in January of 2012 amounted to nothing more than an embarrassing photo-op from which the National Chief walked away empty-handed and politically damaged by association.
A year later, in the midst of Idle No More protests and hunger strikes, simply attending a meeting with Harper further distanced Atleo from his increasingly frustrated constituents.
But the coup de grace came with the announcement of the Conservative's redrafted education bill, with a banner declaring a "deal" with the AFN and with the Prime Minister's speech repeating that claim.
The National Chief of the AFN has no power to strike such a deal and no one knows this better than Shawn Atleo. In fact, he made no such deal. He repeatedly said in the weeks following that it would be up to First Nations, as the holders of rights the AFN was trying to defend, to determine for themselves the value of Bill C-33. And his statement that the bill "reflected" the five criteria Chiefs had put forward was an accurate, though misleading, characterization of legislation that made some steps toward each of those criteria without fully meeting them.
Atleo's support for the bill came from a position of weakness -- the lack of power to overcome the tyranny of Harper's majority -- and from a deep desire to make some small progress on the issue that Atleo himself had defined as the priority of his administration. It was both the best anyone could do against the Conservative government and not good enough.
While Atleo might be faulted for choosing co-operation rather than confrontation in his advocacy on behalf of First Nations, it is the consistently unco-operative approach of the Harper government that brought the National Chief down, that has angered First Nations citizens to the point of calling for this resignation, and that may put an end to the AFN itself as a voice for justice.
Having succeeded in dividing First Nations against themselves, conquest may soon follow
[ http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/daniel- ... tions-lose ]
By Daniel Wilson | May 2, 2014
Give the win to Stephen Harper, with an assist to some of those who claim most loudly to oppose him.
The Prime Minister is well known for being unsatisfied with merely besting opponents, seeking rather to break them. He has done so again and may well be on his way to larger goals.
- - - - -SNIP - - - - .
In his brief statement, Atleo said, "This work is too important and I am not prepared to be an obstacle to it or a lightning rod distracting from the kids and their potential."
Ironically, Atleo's resignation makes no difference to the legislation. Bill C-33 will pass because of the Conservative majority that brought us this polarization.
But the story here is not the legislation. As my last blog on this subject made clear, there was no doubt that Bill C-33 did not meet the five criteria Chiefs had set for their support, despite claims to the contrary by Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt.
The real story is the increasingly untenable position of the National Chief and the AFN created by a duplicitous Conservative government and its vengeful leader.
In his first term of office at the AFN, with a minority government in Ottawa, Shawn Atleo's thoughtful and pragmatic approach to his role as advocate for First Nations rights and interests meant that legislative attempts to undermine those rights could be defeated or amended and some small progress, like the reluctant acceptance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, could be achieved.
That all changed with the election of a Conservative majority in 2011.
Since then, the Conservatives have passed a host of legislation that diminished the legal rights and undermined the legitimate interests of First Nations.
The Crown-First Nations Gathering in January of 2012 amounted to nothing more than an embarrassing photo-op from which the National Chief walked away empty-handed and politically damaged by association.
A year later, in the midst of Idle No More protests and hunger strikes, simply attending a meeting with Harper further distanced Atleo from his increasingly frustrated constituents.
But the coup de grace came with the announcement of the Conservative's redrafted education bill, with a banner declaring a "deal" with the AFN and with the Prime Minister's speech repeating that claim.
The National Chief of the AFN has no power to strike such a deal and no one knows this better than Shawn Atleo. In fact, he made no such deal. He repeatedly said in the weeks following that it would be up to First Nations, as the holders of rights the AFN was trying to defend, to determine for themselves the value of Bill C-33. And his statement that the bill "reflected" the five criteria Chiefs had put forward was an accurate, though misleading, characterization of legislation that made some steps toward each of those criteria without fully meeting them.
Atleo's support for the bill came from a position of weakness -- the lack of power to overcome the tyranny of Harper's majority -- and from a deep desire to make some small progress on the issue that Atleo himself had defined as the priority of his administration. It was both the best anyone could do against the Conservative government and not good enough.
While Atleo might be faulted for choosing co-operation rather than confrontation in his advocacy on behalf of First Nations, it is the consistently unco-operative approach of the Harper government that brought the National Chief down, that has angered First Nations citizens to the point of calling for this resignation, and that may put an end to the AFN itself as a voice for justice.
Having succeeded in dividing First Nations against themselves, conquest may soon follow
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Idle No More responds to Shawn Atleo's resignation
by Oscar » Tue May 06, 2014 9:06 am
Idle No More responds to Shawn Atleo's resignation
[ http://rabble.ca/news/2014/05/idle-no-m ... esignation ]
By Idle No More | May 5, 2014
On Friday, after four years of servility and weak leadership in the face of a Harper government bent on an aggressive agenda of assimilation and termination of First Nations, National Chief Shawn Atleo was forced by popular pressure and a brewing chiefs' revolt to resign, the first time a national chief has resigned since the creation of the institution.
Throughout his term, Atleo has been more concerned with keeping Ottawa happy than with representing the aspirations of First Nations people. When people rose up during Idle No More, he undermined the movement by legitimizing the government's empty posturing by attending a controversial meeting with the Prime Ministers' Office on January 11, 2013 without the mandate of the Chiefs in Assembly.
Most recently, he has served as the fig leaf for the government's Orwellian First Nations Education Act, which aims to finish the job of "killing the Indian in the child" that residential schools began by placing First Nations education under the control of governments and central authorities remote from the realities of First Nations -- all while disingenuously claiming to place education under First Nations control. This was too much for First Nations peoples, and many chiefs, to bear.
Defenders of the Land cofounder Arthur Manuel, whose father George Manuel founded the National Indian Brotherhood (NIB) that later became the AFN, said, "when my father began the NIB, it was a grassroots organization that represented the people. Now it is an organization that serves Ottawa and is controlled by Ottawa's funding. Only a real movement of the people can fill the vacuum of leadership among First Nations, and I hope Shawn Atleo's departure will allow that kind of movement to bloom."
"With the Harper government foreclosing debate, ignoring First Nations concerns and rushing to pass Bill C-33 before summer, our movement must keep up the pressure on the AFN executive to show real leadership in the fight against Harper and his termination agenda. The First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act (FNCFNEA) is nothing more than a bogus term created by the Harper government. It goes to the heart of our identity as First Nations Peoples, and our ability to choose our own way of life," said Idle No More activist Janice Makokis.
"The emergency Confederacy of Nations Meeting called by Ontario Regional Chief Stan Beardy, which is to take place in Ottawa on May 14, 2014, is the time to hold our leadership to account. It is the time for our leadership to show they are on the side of our Peoples, our Treaty and Inherent rights, and self-determination," said Sylvia McAdam of Idle No More. "We must focus the energy of our movement against the machine of the Harper government and not allow our own people to become the instruments of our own destruction."
For more information, contact:
Russell Diabo (613) 296-0110
Janice Makokis (780) 915-0310
Sylvia McAdam (306) 281-8158
Art Manuel (250) 319-0688
This press release originally appeared on Idle No More.
[ http://rabble.ca/news/2014/05/idle-no-m ... esignation ]
By Idle No More | May 5, 2014
On Friday, after four years of servility and weak leadership in the face of a Harper government bent on an aggressive agenda of assimilation and termination of First Nations, National Chief Shawn Atleo was forced by popular pressure and a brewing chiefs' revolt to resign, the first time a national chief has resigned since the creation of the institution.
Throughout his term, Atleo has been more concerned with keeping Ottawa happy than with representing the aspirations of First Nations people. When people rose up during Idle No More, he undermined the movement by legitimizing the government's empty posturing by attending a controversial meeting with the Prime Ministers' Office on January 11, 2013 without the mandate of the Chiefs in Assembly.
Most recently, he has served as the fig leaf for the government's Orwellian First Nations Education Act, which aims to finish the job of "killing the Indian in the child" that residential schools began by placing First Nations education under the control of governments and central authorities remote from the realities of First Nations -- all while disingenuously claiming to place education under First Nations control. This was too much for First Nations peoples, and many chiefs, to bear.
Defenders of the Land cofounder Arthur Manuel, whose father George Manuel founded the National Indian Brotherhood (NIB) that later became the AFN, said, "when my father began the NIB, it was a grassroots organization that represented the people. Now it is an organization that serves Ottawa and is controlled by Ottawa's funding. Only a real movement of the people can fill the vacuum of leadership among First Nations, and I hope Shawn Atleo's departure will allow that kind of movement to bloom."
"With the Harper government foreclosing debate, ignoring First Nations concerns and rushing to pass Bill C-33 before summer, our movement must keep up the pressure on the AFN executive to show real leadership in the fight against Harper and his termination agenda. The First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act (FNCFNEA) is nothing more than a bogus term created by the Harper government. It goes to the heart of our identity as First Nations Peoples, and our ability to choose our own way of life," said Idle No More activist Janice Makokis.
"The emergency Confederacy of Nations Meeting called by Ontario Regional Chief Stan Beardy, which is to take place in Ottawa on May 14, 2014, is the time to hold our leadership to account. It is the time for our leadership to show they are on the side of our Peoples, our Treaty and Inherent rights, and self-determination," said Sylvia McAdam of Idle No More. "We must focus the energy of our movement against the machine of the Harper government and not allow our own people to become the instruments of our own destruction."
For more information, contact:
Russell Diabo (613) 296-0110
Janice Makokis (780) 915-0310
Sylvia McAdam (306) 281-8158
Art Manuel (250) 319-0688
This press release originally appeared on Idle No More.
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Don't stop the pressure on the First Nations Education Act
by Oscar » Sat May 10, 2014 12:27 pm
Don't stop the pressure on the First Nations Education Act
[ http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/pamela- ... cation-act ]
By Pamela Palmater | May 9, 2014
On Monday, only three days after Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Shawn Atleo resigned, Prime Minister Harper's Conservative government has made its move. Contrary to Harper's usual backroom politics and secret meetings with the National Chief, Harper has switched it up. He has decided to play this political game out in the open for all to see. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) Minister Bernard Valcourt offered a statement to the press today saying that it will put consideration of Bill C-33 First Nation Control of First Nation Education Act on hold until the AFN clarifies their position.
With the support of the Assembly of First Nations, our Government introduced historic legislation, the First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act (Bill C-33) in April. However, given the recent resignation of the National Chief, following today's second reading vote, any further consideration of this legislation will be put on hold until the AFN clarifies its position.
Our Government firmly believes that First Nations students deserve a quality education, like every other Canadian.
The First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act provides the structures and supports necessary to help First Nations students reach their potential and become full participants in the Canadian economy. It would entrench in law the five conditions for success identified by the Chiefs in Assembly last December.
This is a very calculated move on the part of Harper's government and serves a three-fold purpose. Firstly, this move serves as an indication to the AFN that Harper will give it another chance to get back in line. The carrot being offered is the promised funding attached to the bill (post-conservative-election funding). If the AFN confirms their support of the bill, they'll all kiss, make up and move on as they were pre-Atleo. Atleo's resignation would go down as a minor hiccup for Harper.
Secondly, this move could serve to cause internal chaos at AFN. Harper is essentially casting his line to see which member of the AFN executive will take the bait -- that is, who will step up to replace Atleo and maintain the status quo relationship between the AFN and Harper government. Saskatchewan Regional Chief Perry Bellegarde has been front and centre in the media supporting the Atleo-Harper education deal -- at least until Atleo's resignation. Then, there's always New Brunswick Regional Chief Roger Augustine, who recently wrote an open letter trying to convince Chiefs to support Bill C-33 -- so maybe it will be him? It's hard to say at this point.
MORE:
[ http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/pamela- ... cation-act ]
- - - -
Indigenous Nationhood
Dr. Pamela D. Palmater is a Mi'kmaw lawyer and member of the Eel River Bar First Nation in New Brunswick. She teaches Indigenous law, politics and governance at Ryerson University and heads their Centre for Indigenous Governance
[ http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/pamela- ... cation-act ]
By Pamela Palmater | May 9, 2014
On Monday, only three days after Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Shawn Atleo resigned, Prime Minister Harper's Conservative government has made its move. Contrary to Harper's usual backroom politics and secret meetings with the National Chief, Harper has switched it up. He has decided to play this political game out in the open for all to see. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) Minister Bernard Valcourt offered a statement to the press today saying that it will put consideration of Bill C-33 First Nation Control of First Nation Education Act on hold until the AFN clarifies their position.
With the support of the Assembly of First Nations, our Government introduced historic legislation, the First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act (Bill C-33) in April. However, given the recent resignation of the National Chief, following today's second reading vote, any further consideration of this legislation will be put on hold until the AFN clarifies its position.
Our Government firmly believes that First Nations students deserve a quality education, like every other Canadian.
The First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act provides the structures and supports necessary to help First Nations students reach their potential and become full participants in the Canadian economy. It would entrench in law the five conditions for success identified by the Chiefs in Assembly last December.
This is a very calculated move on the part of Harper's government and serves a three-fold purpose. Firstly, this move serves as an indication to the AFN that Harper will give it another chance to get back in line. The carrot being offered is the promised funding attached to the bill (post-conservative-election funding). If the AFN confirms their support of the bill, they'll all kiss, make up and move on as they were pre-Atleo. Atleo's resignation would go down as a minor hiccup for Harper.
Secondly, this move could serve to cause internal chaos at AFN. Harper is essentially casting his line to see which member of the AFN executive will take the bait -- that is, who will step up to replace Atleo and maintain the status quo relationship between the AFN and Harper government. Saskatchewan Regional Chief Perry Bellegarde has been front and centre in the media supporting the Atleo-Harper education deal -- at least until Atleo's resignation. Then, there's always New Brunswick Regional Chief Roger Augustine, who recently wrote an open letter trying to convince Chiefs to support Bill C-33 -- so maybe it will be him? It's hard to say at this point.
MORE:
[ http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/pamela- ... cation-act ]
- - - -
Indigenous Nationhood
Dr. Pamela D. Palmater is a Mi'kmaw lawyer and member of the Eel River Bar First Nation in New Brunswick. She teaches Indigenous law, politics and governance at Ryerson University and heads their Centre for Indigenous Governance
- Oscar
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- Posts: 9965
- Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm
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