Quantcast
Channel: Calgary Herald » aboriginal
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 8

After election, NDP pressed to keep promises to aboriginals

0
0

Alberta’s NDP made sweeping promises to aboriginals during the election campaign, from backing a national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women, to bringing more aboriginal culture and history to the province’s school curriculum.

But the platform is not necessarily what has given some aboriginal leaders and supporters considerable hope, there may be a break from what they called a paternalistic relationship between government and their people. It’s the language Rachel Notley used in her victory speech on Tuesday night.

“To Alberta’s indigenous peoples, the trust that we have been given tonight is a call to be better neighbours and better partners,” Notley said. “And I am looking forward to consulting with you and learning from you.”

Carol Wildcat, head of industry and government relations at Ermineskin Cree Nation north of Red Deer, said the overture Notley made in those 30 seconds of a 14-and-a-half minute speech was something she hadn’t heard before.

“She wants to learn from us, she wants to work with us, she wants us to be part of their family. That’s a nice invitation. We didn’t get that from the other premiers,” Wildcat said. “Who else has spoken to us like this?”

Bob Small, interim executive director of the Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations, said he wasn’t as drawn by the election speech, arguing Notley did not outline how she plans to address long-standing concerns of aboriginals in Alberta.

These include calls for an acceptable agreement to help understaffed and under-qualified band staff negotiate deals with industry over the development of natural resources, Small said.

The Progressive Conservatives under Alison Redford had passed Bill 22, designed to create a levy that would fund consultations with industry, but aboriginal groups said they were not consulted on the legislation.

In its platform, the NDP promised to repeal the bill and work with First Nations to replace it.

“The three grand chiefs of Treaty 6, 7 and 8 have extended a welcoming hand to the NDP and said, ‘We congratulate you, we welcome you; let’s sit down and meet; lets talk about how we can move forward,’ ” Small said.

The question now, he added, is whether the New Democrats will honour their campaign commitments.

Their election platform outlined an eight-point plan for a “renewed partnership” with aboriginals. It promised to work with Ottawa and aboriginal groups to resolve land claims and ensure reserves have access to clean drinking water. And, among other steps, it promised to “build a relationship of trust” with aboriginals.

Cheryl Currie, an assistant professor at the University of Lethbridge, said she was taken by the language in Notley’s speech, which appeared to reflect “a change in tone.”

Currie said governments have traditionally approached First Nations by attempting to accommodate them, instead of treating them like equal partners.

“When I listen to the language of Rachel Notley, I think she’s moving in that direction, the direction that we need to move in so that we can work towards equal partnerships,” she said.

Sandra Sutter, president of the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary, said she was also encouraged by the language in Notley’s speech. She said the New Democrats have built up great expectations around the approach they promised to take with aboriginals, something she said will take time and effort to execute.

“There is a great opportunity to get boots on the ground and do some really important work and build some really important relationships. And that requires a lot of face-to-face time in the communities,” Sutter said.

“This may be a government who’s able to do that. And I certainly wouldn’t say that other governments haven’t made sincere and genuine efforts in these areas. But it can’t happen fast enough to improve the well-being of our people.”

rsouthwick@calgaryherald.com

The NDP’s election platform on aboriginals:

* We will implement the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and build it into provincial law.

* We will support a National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, which will have at its centre Indigenous women and the families of the missing and murdered women.

* We will work with Alberta Indigenous Peoples to build a relationship of trust and ensure respectful consultation.

* We will work with federal and Indigenous governments to resolve land claims.

* We will work with the federal government to ensure jurisdictional conflicts do not prevent children from receiving services they need.

* We will work with the federal government to ensure Indigenous communities have reliable access to clean and safe drinking water.

* We will improve the representation of Indigenous culture and history in Alberta’s school curriculum in consultation with Indigenous leaders and Elders, and improve availability of First Nations language programs.

* We will repeal Bill 22, which was passed without consulting First Nation groups and imposes requirements on First Nations Bands not required of other business arrangements. We will work collaboratively and respectfully with our province’s First Nations to replace this legislation.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 8

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images