35th Anniversaryof the - Nishnawbe Aski Nation

35th Anniversaryof the
Declaration of Unity
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A publication of Nishnawbe Aski Nation
All Rights Reserved
2012
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CONTENTS:
Page 4 – Introduction
Page 7 – Andrew Rickard Excerpt
Page 9 – Gerry Martin Talks
Page 15 – Q and A with Wally McKay
Page 19 – The Infamous NAN Passport
Page 26 – Chris Cromarty Interview 1978
Page 28 – The Declaration
Page 35 – Special Thanks
Wally McKay and Andrew Rickard at the reading of the Grand Council Treaty #9 Declaration in Toronto in 1977.
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THE DECLARATION
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n 1977, Grand Council Treaty #9 made a public declaration of the rights
and principles of Nishnawbe Aski. This summer it will be 35 years since the
founding leaders composed the Declaration which was presented by the leaders
of Grand Council Treaty #9 and other northern chiefs to Ontario Premier
William Davis, the federal government and the Canadian public at large. This
was a turning point for communities in the north and a powerful statement
that echoed throughout the country and set the foundation for the future of
Nishnawbe Aski Nation.
To commemorate this event, NAN gathered archival photos, film footage and
included present day statements from the people and the leaders who were
either involved with this event or were working
with Grand Council Treaty #9 at the time.
The idea of the video and the commemorative
book is to honour the leaders of the past and
celebrate how far Nishanwbe Aski has come
but mostly it is an opportunity to re-examine
the significance of this Declaration of Unity
and the spirit and intent of its words.
Unity, Strength, Success.
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Saul Fiddler, Ananias Winter, Andrew Rickard, and Tom Fiddler at the Reading of the Declaration.
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Freedom consists of our being able to live our lives with
comfort and dignity. For this to happen, we must have the basics of
shelter, clothing and food; we must have the right to support our
families through employment and through maintaining a healthy
life-style; and finally, we have the God-given right to fully regain
our pride in our culture. The difficult struggle to have these rights
recognized and to gain our freedom is what Treaty #9 is all about.
Treaty #9 is the driving force behind the wishes and aspirations of
our people.
The world is changing
and so must we, in
order to survive. We must accept that in many cases, the old way
of doing things, taught to us by our forefathers, is not the only way.
Because we recognize this, Treaty #9 is fighting for our people to
ensure that we have every opportunity to develop at our own chosen
pace of development, and not to have development thrust upon us
by the outside.
We now come to one of the issues of development that we are
meeting right now, and that is local government. In the old days, we
had a system of self-government which covered education, justice
and the law, economic systems and our spiritual life.
These days, the type of self-reliance we used to practice is called
“Local Government”. The Treaty #9 programs are designed to help
us rebuild our system of self-determination, which has been almost
totally destroyed by the coming of the White man. We
cannot be successful in this vital endeavour unless strong
leadership in band councils and band administration can
be established. In some cases, this involves the training of
community leaders in special skills. But leadership is not
enough. Our people must be actively involved in electing
the most responsible and qualified band councils.
Generally, our people must participate in the process of
self-government for it to become as strong again as it was
in the past.
Written by Andrew Rickard, Founding Grand Chief
of Nishnawbe Aski Nation - From the publication,
Basic Issues and Priorities of Grand Council Treaty #9
published 1977.
Andrew Rickard and Emile Nakogee.
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Saul Keeash and Ananias Winter
Jerry Martin (left) unveils the NAN logo at the Ontario Legislature.
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Andrew Rickard
The Logo and the Plane Crash
Gerry Martin, a Grand Council Treaty #9 staffer
recalls the events leading up to the Declaration
“It was eventful.”
That’s what Gerry Martin said when asked about how the
signing of the Declaration of Nishnawbe Aski came about
in 1977. Martin was one of the people involved with the
Declaration, and shared his story of how the Declaration
came to be.
It was late summer 1976. By this time, many leaders were
getting frustrated and fed up with the lack of co-oporation
between bands and the provincial and federal governments.
The leaders wanted the government
to hear them and their demands for
proper consultation on their lands.
The members of Grand Council
Treaty #9 were following closely
the events underway with the
Berger Inquiry into the McKenzie
Valley Pipeline, and how they could
prevent a similar situation with
proposed hydro projects in their
traditional territory. And then the unthinkable happened.
On Saturday, September 4, 1976, a DHC-3 Otter took off
from Moosonee airport bound for the South Porcupine
seaplane base. On board were three members of Grand
Council Treaty #9 Xavier Sutherland, Doug Sheppard, Harry
Achneepineskum, six hydro workers, and a pilot. Due to
deteriorating weather conditions, it is believed the pilot
diverted his path to the Abitibi River, which also was lower
terrain. He would have then followed the river southward
towards the power dam. Shortly thereafter, fog began to
accumulate, and the plane struck the electrical cables at the
generating station. No one survived.
The deaths in the plane crash were seen as the final straw
for the Grand Council leaders. Andrew Rickard was Grand
Chief at the time, and tasked Wilbur Jones with putting
together a team to share its thoughts on what Treaty #9
needed to help its people. Various sectors within Treaty
Nine’s organization were consulted. There was help from
Dennis Cromarty in Economic Development, Chris
Cromarty, Wally McKay, Archie Cheechoo, and Earl
Commanda. Gerry Martin said he had to compile everyone’s
information into one simple document. The new group
also needed a symbol. Mishon Sutherland worked with
Alex Spence to help design a new logo. The White Bear was
chosen after conversations with elders from the James Bay
coast and is used to this day.
A date was also set to unveil the new Declaration of the
Nishnawbe Aski Nation: July 7, 1977. A few months before,
Andy Rickard sent Gerry Martin to Iroquois Falls, where the
Honourable William Davis was campaigning for Premier
in the upcoming Ontario election. Martin told Davis about
the Declaration and the soon to be
Premier accepted.
Everyone gathered at Queen’s Park:
NAN Chiefs, the Premier and his
Cabinet, media, and other officials.
The message of the Declaration
was the self-governance of NAN.
Rickard and his group saw selfgovernance as a wheel with each
spoke being a different department
to work on, i.e. education, economic development. Gerry
Martin said you can see him in the photos while Rickard gave
his presentation. Martin was tasked with standing behind the
flip chart and turning each page as Rickard spoke.
The entire event was well received. The people of Grand
Council Treaty #9 finally had a unified voice that helped
close the widening gap between native leadership and
government.
“I consider it an honour to have sat around with the elders
and leaders of the time, and would do it all again if I had
the chance. It saddens me that many friends and allies are
no longer with us. I hope that the youth of NAN hear what
we have done, and continue to fight for future generations.
The leadership of 1977 said enough was enough, and had to
speak out, and it was well worth it,” said Gerry Martin.
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From left: Daniel Wabasse, Mike Wabasse, Simon Beaver, Fred Plain and Peter Moonias
Fred Wesley
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I think that in moving forward we
need to be able to really come
forward in terms of developing our
own constitution as a government.
We need to be developing more
land-based positions. I think that
the chiefs are finally coming to
a realization that the answers
are not going to come from
our participation in government
processes; our negotiations with
Queens Park or Ottawa. I think
the answers will come from the
territories that we come from.
And if we set up processes within
those territories, then we will be in
a better position to deal with the
government in a government to
government basis.
Archie Stoney
- Frank Beardy, Former NAN Grand Chief
Stan Sainnawap and Tom Kam
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Fred Neshawabin, Darrel Boissoneau, Tom Fiddler and
Gary Potts.
Jacob Fiddler, Dennis Cromarty and Arthur Cheechoo.
Below: Archie Cheechoo, Les Louttit and Norman Naveau.
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Wally McKay, Leo Bernier (former MNR Minister) and Tom Fiddler.
It was essential to declare NAN sovereignty to support the spirit and intent of Treaty 9 and 5.
NAN First Nations have accompanied much in their community development since 1977 but our
struggle must continue more so today as deal with the resource extraction from the Ring of Fire.
This will be the real test as to whether the provincial and federal governments have the political will
to “do it right.” If not, then the consequences will be theirs to bear forever and not the NAN First
Nations.
- Les Louttit, former NAN Executive Director
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Elder Tom Fiddler and Wally McKay.
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Wally McKay:
On the Birth of a Nation and Drawing a Line in the Sand
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ally McKay’s story with NAN begins in 1974. Up
until then, he had been working in Manitoba for the
Manitoba Indian Brotherhood. He left and went back to
his home community of Sachigo Lake First Nation. It was
there that Wally got the call from Grand Council Treaty
#9 President Andy Rickard and Lead Advisor Fred Plain to
come work for the Grand Council during the division of Big
Trout Lake band into eight First Nations. Shortly thereafter,
Wally began work on the Declaration of the Nishnawbe
Aski:
What was the mood that influenced the creation of the
1977 Declaration?
We were faced with trying to address the situations of a sort
of new political organization. Grand Council Treaty #9 was
only formed in 1973. We were struggling with many issues
especially due to the remote-ness of our communities. We
had leadership that were more traditionalists from the point
of the northern perspective. There was a lot of dependence
on the organizational capacity to be able to advance their
issues forward, and so we were constantly trying to address
those issues.
What was the catalyst that helped create the
Declaration?
It was what was happening at the time with the
Conservative government of Bill Davis. There was a signed
agreement between the province and a multimillion dollar
company in England to clear cut 100 square miles of
northern Ontario, which now sits under the management
of the Dryden Pulp Mill. The issue raised great concern
among the communities and organization, and a campaign
ensued to address this because elders said clear cutting
vast tracks of land would alter the sight of those areas,
and would negatively impact the communities… basically
destroying them and altering their environment. Young and
enthusiastic people of Grand Council Treaty #9 mounted
a public campaign that aimed to be aggressive if it needed
to be. A lot of the people were residential school survivors
that wanted to challenge the issues that supressed their
people. We campaigned all across Ontario and Manitoba.
I was Vice-President (Grand Council Treaty #9) at that
time and did some community visits. I remember being
in Pikangikum and being told it is better to burn down
the forest so it can replenish itself, than clear cut the land,
so I told that to a local television station. Eventually the
public pressure forced the government to pull back and
not grant the license, which led to the forming of the
Royal Commission on Northern Environment. During the
public campaign, the chiefs authorized the issuing of the
Declaration of NAN.
How would you describe the Declaration?
It was very much ahead of its time in terms of declaring
the position of the original people in northern Ontario…
outlining their responsibilities as custodians of the land
looking into the future. It provided a framework to guide
us as to where we are going in the north with our lands and
resources. The Declaration became a focal point of sort of a
‘battle cry’.
Why change it from Grand Council Treaty #9 to
Nishnawbe Aski?
The entire group of northern Ontario was not included in
the original Grand Council. It left out some of the Treaty
5 communities such as Sandy Lake and Pikangikum. Also,
we were dealing with people that spoke Cree, Ojibway, and
Oji-Cree. So rather than including one group, we decided
to incorporate everyone by calling ourselves Nishnawbe
‘Ojibway for the People’ Aski ‘Cree for the Land Nation.
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What did the Declaration mean to you?
It was important for the people to be involved, for the first
time, in their history to really frame out their aspiration as a
people and a nation. There was no thinking about nations at
that time. We were still in a colonial mentality as laid out in
the Indian Act. The Declaration sort of launched northern
Ontario to start thinking as a nation. We started to act in a
way that no other people would. It was the real birthing of a
nation. It cut the strings that
tie you around the Indian
Act mentality. We were
energetic and idealistic. The
public had never really met
something of that nature in
terms of a group of northern
Indians that are supposed to
be illiterate and living out in
the bush. And yet we were
well educated and coming
before the government of
Ontario telling them what we
were going to do. I found it
enlightening.
Since the Declaration, has
progress been made?
When I became Grand Chief
of NAN, I could never forget
the first time we had our own
assembly in our community.
This was the first Keewaywin
Conference in Fort Hope in
1981.
Our rights were being trampled on by the MNR because
our people were constantly being harassed and charged for
exercising our Treaty and Aboriginal Rights. Remember,
this was before the Constitution Act of 1982. The Resolution
(pictured above) outlined drawing a line in the sand saying
we will no longer tolerate the actions of the government. It
ended with the leadership watering down their position to
almost no effect at all. I think if the Chiefs had taken a
stronger position, then the present situation of First Nations
in northern Ontario would be significantly advanced to
greater degrees than it is now. For instance, the Ontario
government is looking at resource development by
having land use resources and planning. I think you are
giving up what rightly belongs to your children. You are
compromising your equity position within your ancestral
territories that your forefathers made for you.
What was stated to the
people in 1977 were the
rights to exercise Treaty
and Aboriginal inherit
Rights, but now I think the
First Nations will continue
to suffer economic and
resource loss by wanting to
participate within too much
under the terms of what the
government wants.
The thinking of the
Declaration in 1977 was
to look ahead 20 years to
see something significant
happen, and even though
a lot has happened, it
has been watered down
from what was originally
envisioned. It is because
we don’t want to fight
anymore… we will always
be relying on government
programs and staying in poverty. We will always be subject
to government colonialism and we perpetuate it.
Things need to change. I believe that change is coming
yet. I believe that there is a new leadership on the horizon
that will make the changes. The Declaration of NAN was
developed because it had to start some place… something
totally different. We need it now. It is time to take a different
approach with how to move things forward. It is time to
draw that line in the sand.
July 2012
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It was really important to have this
Declaration document.
Heather Ross, Louie Bird and Greg Spence.
Jacob Fiddler, Margaret Naveau and John Bighead.
It came about through mutual discussions
between senior government officials, native
leadership, and ultimately… myself. There
was a great feeling during the meetings and
discussions. It was worth the effort at the
time, in my view. No one could argue that
it was wasted time; although, it didn’t bring
about what we all wanted, at least it was a
start. It would lead to a greater awareness
of the complexity of the issues facing the
native community, greater understanding of
the need to solve some of the issues, and
I think that the fact that you had different
views from the native bands coming
together was an accomplishment in itself.
The content was there, and their spirits
were all into it, but like so many complex
issues, it has not been totally put into effect.
I was attempting, along with the others,
to provide support and leadership, but a
lot still needs to be done. Even though the
document did not materialize to the extent
we all would have liked, it created a positive
impact, and it would be nice to see a similar
meeting take place again to further discuss
the founding principles of the Declaration.
- William Davis, June 2012
Premier of Ontario, Canada from 1971 to 1985
James Wesley, Premier William Davis and Richard Pine.
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Fred Plain, Frank McKay, Howard Walker, Gerry Martin and others drumming at the Ontario Legislature.
Jeremiah McKay and Jimmy Mezzatay
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The Story of the NAN Passport
T
he 1977 Declaration of Nishnawbe Aski Nation was a turning point in
many aspects. It gave the people a stronger sense of nationhood and selfgovernance, so much so, that the leaders of NAN took a bold step to assert
their autonomy.
Shortly after the signing of the Declaration, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference
was being held in Scandinavia. Elder Fred Plain, from the Chippewas of Sarnia
band, was selected to attend the conference. With the help of an artist named
Leonard Stevens, a NAN Passport was designed for Fred. It was an exact
act
copy of the Canadian passport; however, instead of a Canadian emblem
m it
sported the NAN Bear.
Fred travelled to Finland, Russia and Sweden with the passport, but NAN
AN
leadership knew there would be problems when he arrived back in Canada.
nada.
Fred was scheduled to return to Montreal, so the NAN leaders decided
d to
hold a Chiefs’ meeting in Montreal.
Catherine Beamish represented NAN’s Legal Counsel at the time, and
d was
sent to Montreal. She found out which gate and what time Fred’s flightt
was arriving. The RCMP was already waiting for Fred at the gate to seize
ize
him and his passport once he deplaned. Catherine was also waiting at the
gate, and began an argument with the RCMP saying Fred is a First Nation
tion
member, a citizen of Canada, and cannot be denied access to his own
country.
NAN had invited several media outlets, so the press was waiting to seee
what the RCMP would do. Gerry Martin and another person went to
the airport as well to escort Fred to the hotel. They also brought a drum
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group with them.
Eventually the RCMP relented to the intense pressure and let Fred
through the gate. Gerry walked up to Fred and gave him a big hug to
welcome him home. During the hug, Gerry picked the passport out
of Fred’s pocket and slipped it in his own. Afterwards, Fred was taken
through Customs, where he had no passport on him when questioned
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by police.
Later that evening, the NAN Passport was locked inside a safe in
someone else’s hotel room. Fred left his room for the evening and
when he returned later that night, he found it ransacked with nothing
valuable missing. No one can confirm who ransacked the room and
what they were looking for.
Media across the country were fascinated with the story like the Montreal
Gazette and Wawatay News.
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Arthur Beardy, Tom Fiddler, Tom Kam and Roy
Kaminawash collecting their per diem.
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Simon Beaver and Mike Wabasse.
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Earl Commanda, NAN Executive Director, 1980
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(The Declaration) outlines the direction
Grand Council Treaty # 9 was taking
at that time, and we wanted to regain
control of our lands and resources, our
lives in the communities.
I think if we look at the timelines
that were established at that time…
We were supposed to have achieved
our independence, setting up our
own infrastructure, our own capacity
to have our own governance in the
communities… it’s still a long way to go.
We are impeded by the government not
recognizing our right to self-government
the way we look at it… the way we
understand it from our Treaties. We
still have a long way to convince the
governments to honour our Treaty
promises that they made when those
Treaties were signed.
I think we still have a lot of work to do
from our side, from a First Nation’s side
to establish and to regain our economies,
and self-sufficiency in our economies
and also get our people educated and
to get access to health services that
we require. It’s still a long way to go to
address all the concerns our people
have.
- Frank McKay
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Presidents, Grand Chiefs and Deputies
1973 Grand Council Treaty # 9
Founding President & Chief Andrew
Rickard
VP Chris Cromarty (West)
VP Willie Wesley (East)
VP Eli Baxter (Central)
(Charlie O’Keese)
Interim Grand Chief Dennis
Cromarty
1979 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Grand Chief Dennis Cromarty
1980 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Grand Chief Dennis Cromarty
1974 Grand Council Treaty # 9
1981 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Founding President & Chief Andrew
Rickard
VP Chris Cromarty (West)
VP Willie Wesley (East)
VP Eli Baxter (Central)
Grand Chief Wally McKay
1975 Grand Council Treaty # 9
1982 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Grand Chief Wally McKay
Deputy Grand Chief Bill Nothing
Deputy Grand Chief Frank Beardy
Founding President & Chief Andrew
Rickard
VP Chris Cromarty (West)
VP Willie Wesley (East)
VP Eli Baxter (Central)
1983 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
1976 Grand Council Treaty # 9
1984 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Founding President & Chief Andrew
Rickard
VP Chris Cromarty (West)
VP Willie Wesley (East)
VP Eli Baxter (Central)
Grand Chief Dennis Cromarty
Deputy Grand Chief Victor Chapais
Deputy Grand Chief Bill Nothing
Deputy Grand Chief Archie Cheechoo
1977 Grand Council Treaty # 9 –
Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Grand Chief Dennis Cromarty
Deputy Grand Chief Frank Beardy
Deputy Grand Chief Lindy Louttit
Deputy Grand Chief Dave Fletcher
Founding President & Chief Andrew
Rickard
VP Chris Cromarty (West)
VP Willie Wesley (East)
VP Eli Baxter (Central)
1978 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Founding President & Chief Andrew
Rickard
VP Chris Cromarty (West)
VP Willie Wesley (East)
VP Eli Baxter (Central)
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Grand Chief Frank Beardy
Deputy Grand Chief Victor Chapais
Deputy Grand Chief Bill Nothing
Deputy Grand Chief Archie Cheechoo
1985 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
1988 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Grand Chief Bentley Cheechoo
Deputy Grand Chief James Morris
Deputy Grand Chief Charles Fox
Deputy Grand Chief Bill Mamakeesic
1991 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Grand Chief Bentley Cheechoo
Deputy Grand Chief James Morris
Deputy Grand Chief Brian Davey
Deputy Grand Chief RoseAnn Archibald
1994 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Grand Chief Charles Fox
Deputy Grand Chief James Morris
Deputy Grand Chief Stan Louttit
Deputy Grand Chief Brian Davey
1997 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Grand Chief Charles Fox
Deputy Grand Chief James Morris
Deputy Grand Chief Stan Louttit –
(medical leave)
Deputy Grand Chief Goyce Kakegamic
2000 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Grand Chief Stan Beardy
Deputy Grand Chief Raymond Ferris
Deputy Grand Chief Goyce Kakegamic
Deputy Grand Chief Dan Koosees
2003 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Grand Chief Stan Beardy
Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler
Deputy Grand Chief Goyce Kakegamic
Deputy Grand Chief Danny Koosees
2006 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Grand Chief Stan Beardy
Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler
Deputy Grand Chief RoseAnne Archibald
Deputy Grand Chief Terry Waboose
2009 Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Grand Chief Stan Beardy
Deputy Grand Chief Mike Metatawabin
Deputy Grand Chief Les Louttit
Deputy Grand Chief Terry Waboose
2012 Nishnawbe Aski Nation –
ELECTION YEAR - Kashechewan
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The actual NAN Declaration as it was presented and published
in 1977.
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There was a distinct feeling back then that we needed better representation for the north and this
is when the discussions began. The whole idea about community development and community
governance: we were going to do more for the people in the north and set out a plan. People
were still living in tents. Priorities like communications, landing strips, and health and education
issues were all priority. The leaders wanted to develop a governance process for the people with
timelines.
The leaders set an agenda and now we need to get back on track and get focused on that
original agenda. It’s about education: the education of the issues and the priorities set out in the
original Declaration. We were able to achieve many things over the years - better housing, better
education and communications systems, for example. These accomplishments only demonstrate
that we can do whatever we set out to do. There is so much more to accomplish.
- Bentley Cheechoo, Former NAN Grand Chief
Spe
Special
Meegwetch to:
Helen
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el Cromarty, Catherine Beamish, Gerry Martin, Chris Cromarty, Wally McKay, Charles Fox, Ben Cheechoo, James
Mo
Morris, David Fletcher, Diane Riopel and Kathy Perreault and the Ojibway Cree Cultural Centre and everyone who shared
thei
th
their memories through interviews, quotes and photos. Newspaper and photos courtesy of Wawatay News and Times News.
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Head Office
Administrative Office
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100 Back Street Unit 200
Thunder Bay, ON P7J 1L2
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Fax
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Phone
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Fax
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Phone
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Fax
(705) 360-1863
Toll Free
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www.nan.on.ca