Métis Nation on The Road to Reconciliation

Transcription

1 Métis Nation on The Road to Reconciliation The Métis National Council held its Constitution Convention and General Assembly in Winnipeg from June 16-18, In the fighting spirit of Cuthbert Grant and his Métis defence force who defeated the Selkirk setters and the Hudson s Bay Company at the Battle of Seven Oaks on June 19, 1816, the Métis Nation took some important steps on the road to reconciliation with the Trudeau government. On June 16, the Métis Nation Constitution Convention developed a plan and timetable for completing the work on a Métis Nation Constitution. That plan was forwarded to the MNC General Assembly that adopted the plan in a resolution on June 18th. The plan envisages the adoption of a Declaration of Rights and Principles of the Métis Nation in the fall of 2016 that will capture the a spirational components of the constitution such a s the preamble, objectives, and principles. Further work will be undertaken to complete the other sections of the final draft of the constitution that will be brought to the 2017 MNC General Assembly for adoption. The constitutional work is seen as strengthening the Métis Nation a s it heads into Continued on next page

2 reconciliation talks with the federal government based on Métis section 35 rights including the inherent right of selfgovernment. The Ministerial Special Representative (MSR) on engaging the Métis Nation on section 35 rights, Mr. Tom Isaac, addressed the Constitution Convention and provided an over view of the section 35 reconciliation principles that will be included in his report that is expected imminently. Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett, the keynote speaker at the dinner banquet of the General Assembly on June 17, spoke to the developing nation-tonation, government-togovernment relationship between Canada and the Métis Nation. MNC President Chartier expressed his appreciation for the outcome of the Constitution Convention and the Assembly. MSR Tom Isaac was quite right in challenging the Métis Nation to make sure our governance house was in order as we head into the reconciliation process, stated Chartier. And I believe the members of the Convention and General Assembly rose to that challenge. Debate on Draft Métis Nation Constitution Presidents delivering reports

3

4 Seven Oaks Two Centuries After The bicentennial celebration of the Métis Nation s Victory at Frog Plain, otherwise known as the Battle of Seven Oaks, was held in Winnipeg on June 19, On June 19, 1816, a Métis Nation defence force under the leadership of Cuthbert Grant defeated the forces of the Hudson s Bay Company and Selkirk settlers. The battle marked the emergence of a new nation, the Métis Nation, fighting under the same blue infinity flag used today across the Métis Nation homeland. Métis fur trader and poet Pierre Falcon captured the victory and the glory of the Bois Brulés in his stirring Song of Pierre Falcon that was played during the State of the Métis Nation Address at the MNC General Assembly by President Chartier on June 17. On June 19, 2016, descendants of the early Red River Métis and Selkirk Settlers gathered by the Seven Oaks Memorial at the intersection of Main and Rupertsland Blvd. in Winnipeg to commemorate the battle two centuries ago. MMF President David Chartrand and MNC President Chartier called on the gathering to remember that the battle was the first of many that the Métis Nation would wage to defend their territor y and economic interests in the Red River Settlement. Whether it was confronting the Hudson s Bay Company and its monopoly, standing up under Riel to Canada s attempt to annex the territory without regard for the interests of its Métis majority, or repelling a Fenian invasion from the United States after bringing Manitoba into Confederation, the Métis Nation stood steadfast in defence of this region. Joining them at the ceremony were the Hon. Mar yann Mihychuk, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour and Member of Parliament for Kildonan St. Paul and representatives from various parties that worked on site improvements including a series of new interpretive panels providing a factual, balanced perspective of the battle, all centred on the historic monument to the battle that has been in place since These included the Manitoba Metis Federation, Parks Canada, the Province of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg, the Manitoba Historical Society, Seven Oaks School Division, Seven Oaks Resident Association and the Seven Oaks House Museum. Continued on next page

5 According to the Seven Oaks Monument Committee, In 1891, the Manitoba Historical Society erected a monument on a small plot of land in West Kildonan, dedicated to Governor Semple and his men. In 2007, a committee made up of representatives from the Manitoba Metis Federation, the Seven Oaks Historical Society and Seven Oaks Residents Association came together with the goal of making this plot of land a pleasant park for everyone to enjoy and, most importantly, to tell the full story, from all perspectives, of the event that occurred in 1816 at Frog Plain. MMF President Chartrand emphasized how important the full story of Frog Plain or Seven Oaks is for understanding the ongoing struggle of the Métis people. Now we need to start taking that story and changing it, so people can say, when they see the Métis Nation, We know who they are, we respect who they are, we understand why they re fighting for what they re fighting for, he said. They ll never understand until the story is told. Above: President Clément Chartier Above: MMF President David Chartand and Danielle Mesojednik, 18, one of the original students of the Governor Semple School, who started researching the battle when she was in Grade 4 (2nd row) left: Métis Elder Norman Fleury

6 Message from the President At the Métis Nation s June General Assembly, a resolution was passed to direct more attention to Métis Nation youth and their engagement in the Métis movement and government. This is one of several which have been made over the past decade. This one, however, is timely as Canada now has a government which has opened greater opportunities for youth, including Indigenous youth. In fact, the government takes it so seriously that the Prime Minister has retained the youth portfolio for himself. The Métis Nation is no stranger to the role of youth in the emergence and evolution of its people with both female and male, young women and men playing important roles in getting us to where we are today. On June 19 th we celebrated the 200 th anniversary of the Métis Nation fla g as well as La Victoire de la Gournouillère or the Battle of Frog Plain, also known as the Battle of Seven Oaks, as an important event on the road to Métis nationhood. Of note, the leader of the Métis that day was Cuthbert Grant, twenty-three (23) years of age. Cuthbert was born in 1793 at Fort Tremblante, south east of Kamsack, near Togo, Saskatchewan. While still a young man when he led the Métis, Cuthbert had received a formal education in Scotland before returning and assuming a leadership role for which he is today renowned. A number of years later, another young man emerged. Louis Riel at the age of fourteen (14) was sent to Montreal to continue his education and, upon his return to the Red River Settlement at the age of 25, he became the President of the First Provisional government which protected the rights of the Métis Nation and eventually agreed to the entry of Manitoba into Confederation as the fifth province to join Canada with provision for Métis land contained in section 31 of the Manitoba Act, As can be attested to by these two examples, Métis youth have rendered great service to their people, continue to do so, and will inevitably continue to be integral to the future greatness of the Métis Nation. The time is right to create the space necessary for our youth to flourish and be engaged in all aspects of the life of the Métis Nation. We must all do our part in ensuring that this does in fact occur.

7 New Intergovernmental Forum on Indigenous Issues Emerges Aboriginal Affairs Working Group of the Provinces and Indigenous Peoples gives way to a new Federal Provincial Territorial Indigenous Forum co-chaired By Federal INAC Minister Carolyn Bennett. On June 10, 2016, First Nations, Métis Nation and Inuit leaders joined federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for Aboriginal Affairs in the new body that seeks a new approach in support of improving outcomes for Indigenous peoples and promoting reconciliation in Canada. The meeting was co-chaired by the Honourable Bob McLeod, Premier of the Northwest Territories and Chair of the Aboriginal Affairs Working Group (AAWG), and the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs. The terms of reference of the FPTI still have to be worked out. The MNC, AFN and ITK tabled a draft that envisages Indigenous governments collaborating on a nation-tonation basis with federal and Continued on next page

8 provincial governments on priority issues. Given the commitments of the Trudeau government on reconciliation, the addition of the federal government to the group is seen a s a positive step in this direction. MNC President Chartier stated: I am hoping that the Forum will serve as a means of realigning all jurisdictions toward building nation-tonation relationships with First Nations, the Métis Nation and the Inuit on the road to reconciliation. Forum parties agreed to meet annually to discuss progress on their activities. Ontario Minister of Aboriginal Affairs David Zimmer and Minister Carolyn Bennett agreed to cochair the next meeting of the FPTIF. The MNC presented a gift to Premier McLeod for his co-chairmanship of the meeting and for having served as Chair of the AAWG during the past few years. MNC Vice-President, MMF President David Chartrand addresses Child and Family Care at the FPTI Forum President Chartier presents gift to Premier McLeod

9 A New Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples On June 15, 2016, the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Santo Domingo. The process to arrive at the American Declaration began with an OAS resolution in 1989, followed by a meeting of experts and representatives of Indigenous peoples in Mexico City in January I have waited a long time for the adoption of this American Declaration, stated President Chartier, as I was one of a handful of Indigenous representatives who in 1991 met in Mexico City with Ambassador Robinson and Osvaldo Kreimer of the Inter- American Commission on Human Rights of the OAS to begin the process which finally ended with the adoption of the American Declaration today. While the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which was adopted in 2007 by the United Nations General Assembly, covers Indigenous and human rights of Indigenous peoples world-wide, the American Declaration which is complementary to that Declaration, is crafted to address some of the situations specific to the Americas such as upholding the true spirit and intent of Treaties entered into with First Nations in Canada. The final sta ge of serious negotiations began in 2003 and after nineteen (19) negotiation sessions ending on May 19th of this year, the draft Declaration was at a stage of either going forward for adoption or simply dropped. Those Indigenous representatives who stuck with the process and persevered through the trying moments of the negotiations opted to support the adoption, rather than losing the opportunity to secure the best deal possible and lose all the time, effort and expense which went into making this Declaration a reality. It was a long and difficult road to arrive at this Declaration, but with the struggle of many Indigenous peoples in the Americas, failure or rejection was not an option, as the situation of Indigenous peoples in many countries in the Americas are dire and they need all of the encouragement and support which the Declaration can provide, at least at the political, moral and policy levels stated President Chartier, concluding by stating: Over the years I dedicated to the Indigenous struggle in South and Central American, having personally witnessed the use of armed force against Indigenous peoples, I am convinced that they cannot be asked to wait any longer while every conceivable point of view or interest is addressed in the Declaration. They do not have the luxury of such deliberation and perfection.

10 Indigenous Leaders Visit Indigenous leaders from Peru, with whom the Métis Nation entered into a Treaty of Partnership at Batoche in 2011 attended the Métis National Council s General Assembly held June 17-18, 2016, as well as the day of commemoration and celebration of the 200 th anniversary of the unfurling of the Métis Nation flag during the Victoire de la Gournouillère, also known as the Battle of Frog Plain and the Battle of Seven Oaks which took place on June 19, President Hugo Tacuri, Vice- President Pedro Huamani and Susy Ponce de Leon of CONAIP, a national Indian organization, have been working with President Chartier, the AFN and several other Indigenous leaders from South and Central America pursuing the formation of an Indigenous leaders organization for the Americas. Travelling from Winnipeg to Ottawa, the delegation was joined by Brooklyn Rivera an Indian leader from Nicaragua for a series of meetings on June 21 st with v a r i o u s agencies and government departments, as well as an i n t e r n a l m e e t i n g which was joined via telephone by A m a d e o Martinez, a n a t i o n a l Indian leader from El Salvador as well as being the Head of a regional Indian organization representing Central America. The purpose of the meetings was to discuss the potential for gaining federal support for the formation of an Indigenous leaders organizations for the Americas, the enhanced engagement of Indigenous peoples within the Organization of American States and the reengaged support and funding by Canada of the Indigenous Summits of the Americas which were held in conjunction with the Summits of the Americas, composed of the Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Americas. The last Summit of the Americas took place last year in Panama and did not have any Indigenous peoples participation, the first time since the late 1990s. The next Summit will be held in Lima, Peru in The internal meeting discussed the path forward on the way to the 2018 Summit, the organizing of the Americas-wide Indigenous leaders organization and the potential for a further organizing committee meeting in Tinta, Peru in November of this year.

11 Canada Consulting on International Matters July 2016 President Chartier attended two International Assistance Review Consultation sessions in June held by Global Affairs Canada. The first one on June 2 nd dealt with Governance, Pluralism, Diversity and Human Rights, the second one on June 7 th dealt with Peace and Security. Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau of the Ministry of International Development attended the June 2 nd session and her Parliamentary Secretary Karina Gould attended the June 7 th session and Pamela Goldsmith- Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister Stéphane Dion of Foreign Affairs, attended both sessions. These for ums provided President Chartier an opportunity to address the potential for the reinstatement of the Indigenous Peoples Partnership Program (IPPP) which was a fund set up by the previous Liberal government enabling Indigenous organizations and governments in Canada to enter into projects with Indigenous partners in South and Central America. An example of this is the public h e a l t h e d u c a t i o n project the Métis Nation had with AMICA an I n d i a n w o m e n s organization in Nicaragua. P r e s i d e n t Chartier also addressed the need for the renewed support of Canada for the Indigenous Summits of the Americas which it had formerly funded from the late 1990s until 2009, with no support for the last one held in In addition to the Indigenous summits, President Chartier also spoke to the need for Canada s assistance in enabling the Indigenous peoples in the Americas to organize a permanent body which could address the pressing issues faced by Indigenous peoples and communities. This was stressed particularly for South and Central America in connection to human rights violations, violence against Indigenous women and girls, President Chartier and Minister Bibeau lack of the application of the duty to consult and the proliferation of extractive industries affecting Indigenous communities and the need for democratic and constitutional reform, including the need for consistent and constant exchange of information and monitoring of critical issues in various countries with poor human rights records. President Chartier also spoke to the need for strengthening Indigenous women s organizations and the pressing need to engage Indigenous youth, including programs which would provide for the exchanges between Indigenous youth from Canada and other countries in the Americas.

12 PBLI Hosts Program on Daniels On June 23-24, 2016 the Paci5ic Business & Law Institute (PBLI) held a session on the Supreme Court of Canada s April 14, 2016 decision in Daniels which held that both the Métis and non- Status Indians fell within federal jurisdiction under s. 91(24) of the Constitution Act, The Program was Co- Chaired by Jean Teillet and Jason Madden of Pape Salter Teillet LLP. Over the two day session a number of speakers addressed legal, historical and political issues arising from the Daniels decision along with decisions of the Supreme Court in the previous cases of Powley (2003), Cunningham (2011) and Manitoba Metis Federation (2013). The audience in attendance was broadly based, with some there to address non- Status Indians issues and others focused on the Métis aspect of the decision. It was quite obvious that there was a wide gap in the perspectives of participants from Métis Nation citizens who profess to be from a distinct and historic Métis Nation homeland to those from outside the historic Métis Nation who adhere to the belief that anyone with some Indian ancestry, who does not identify as a non- Status Indian and who does not have Indian Act status, is Metis. It was pointed out that the Supreme Court of Canada decisions since 2003 do not make the issue any simpler as they have taken a broad approach to Métis identity leaving open the interpretation that there are some Métis who would qualify for s.35 Aboriginal rights by meeting the criteria set out in the Powley decision, to those who will not be able to, but still may be within s. 91(24). It was also pointed out that the Supreme Court of Canada in Powley stated that there were likely more than one Métis people, saying that there may be Métis peoples, and in the Powley decision identifying the defendants (the Powleys) as potentially being part of the Great Lake Métis. While certainly being positive for the Métis Nation generally, the Daniels d e c i s i o n nevertheless has raised a number of issues which will need to be addressed by the governments of the Métis Nation.

13 United Nations Consultation on Indigenous Peoples Engagement On June 30, 2016 the four advisors appointed by the United Nations President of the General Assembly held their last consultation with Indigenous representatives and States government in follow-up to the decision by the General Assembly of the UN at its highlevel plenary meeting known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples held in 2014 to consider ways to enable greater participation of Indigenous peoples representatives and institutions in UN bodies on issues that affect them. The first face-to-face consultation took place at the UN in New York on March 7, 2016 which President Chartier attended with several more including consultations during the two week session in May of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The result of those consultations was a compilation document of views on possible measures to achieve that end compiled by the four advisors and which formed the basis of the June 30 th consultation, also attended by President Chartier. The Métis Nation joined in with the Indian Law Resource Centre (ILRC) from Washington DC and several other Indigenous Nations in a joint response calling on the UN General Assembly to maintain, with potential enhancements, the current processes, such as the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which would remain accessible to all Indigenous peoples. However, with respect to the General Assembly itself, it was recommended that its focus should be on Indigenous governing institutions, not nongovernmental organizations or groups. This, it was proposed, could include providing observer status to Indigenous governments or institutions which represent Indigenous governments. In his intervention, President Chartier recommended that Indigenous peoples engagement in the General Assembly should be on an inter-governmental level, giving the example from Canada where the Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit Tapiritt Kanatami and the Métis Nation engage with the other two orders of government (federal and provincial/territorial) as one of the three orders of government under Canada s constitution. President Chartier also stated that under the joint proposal presented by the ILRC, traditional governments would also be accommodated. After concluding their final draft, the four advisors will present their findings/recommendations to the President of the General Assembly who will in turn finalize his report and recommendations for consideration by the General Assembly when it convenes in September 2016.

14 UPCOMING EVENTS Back to Batoche Days July Batoche, SK Unveiling of the Métis Veterans Memorial Monument July 16 Batoche, SK Council of the Federation Meeting (COF) July Whitehorse, YK MNS MNLA & AGA July Yorkton, SK MNA AGA Aug 5-7 Métis Crossing, AB MNO AGA Aug North Bay, ON MMF AGA Sept Winnipeg, MB MNBC AGM Sept Richmond, BC ASETS Conference Nov Vancouver, BC Métis Nation Anthem Competition We thank all citizens who submitted their anthems for consideration. At this time we are still reviewing the submissions and hope to have a final decision made at the MNC Special General Assembly scheduled to take place in October 2016.

15 Battle of Frog Plain/Seven Oaks By Pierre Falcon Would you like to hear me sing Of a true and recent thing? It was June nineteen, the band of Bois-Brûlés Arrived that day, Oh the brave warriors they! We took three foreigners prisoners when We came to the place called Frog, Frog Plain. They were men who d come from Orkney, Who d come, you see, To rob our country. Well, we were just about to unhorse When we heard two of us give, give voice. Two of our men cried, Hey! Look back, look back! The Anglo-Sack Coming for to attack. Right away smartly we veered about Galloping at them with a shout! You know we did trap all, all those Grenadiers! They could not move, Those horseless cavaliers. Now we like honourable men did act, Sent an ambassador yes, in fact! Monsieur Governor! Would you like to stay? A moment spare There s something we d like to say. Governor, Governor, full of ire, Soldiers! he cries, Fire! Fire! So they fire the first and their muskets roar! They almost kill our ambassador! Governor thought himself a king, He wished an iron rod to swing. Like a lofty lord he tries to act. Bad luck, old chap! A bit too hard you whacked. When we went galloping, galloping by Governor thought that he would try For to chase and frighten us Bois- Brûlés. Catastrophe! Dead on the ground he lay. Dead on the ground lots of grenadiers too, Plenty of grenadiers, a whole slew. We ve almost stamped out the whole army, Of so many Five or four left there be. You should have seen those Englishmen Bois-Brûlés chasing them, chasing them. From bluff to bluff they stumbled that day while the Bois-Brûlés Shouted Hurray! Tell, oh tell me who made up this song? Why it s our own poet, Pierre Falcon. Yes, she was written, this song of praise For the victory we won this day. Yes, she was written, this song of praise Come sing the glory Of the Bois-Brûlés.

16 Office of the President Office of the President Métis National Council #4-340 MacLaren Street Ottawa, ON K2P 0M6 (800)