Login / RegisterAboriginal people in B.C. should form political party, school trustee says
An elected school trustee who lives in Kamloops is calling for aboriginal people in British Columbia to establish a new political party.
With the B.C. Liberal and New Democratic parties both staging their own leadership races, Troy Hunter told the Straight that it’s a “really good time” for indigenous people to build a provincial party that could field a slate of aboriginal candidates in the next election.
“I suppose I don’t necessarily agree with a lot of decisions that are being made,” Hunter said by phone from his home. “It seems that the indigenous peoples are lacking a voice in the legislature, where important decisions are made.”
Hunter is a first-term trustee with the Nicola-Similkameen school district, which oversees schools in Merritt and Princeton, and a member of the Ktunaxa Nation.
This week, Hunter circulated an open letter, putting forth the idea of founding a political party based on the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
His open letter suggests that the First Nations Leadership Council “take the lead on this idea”.
It notes that the First Peoples National Party of Canada exists at the federal level, and the All Nations Party of B.C. was active in the 2001 provincial election.
“I hope someone is listening with the intent of breathing life into this idea of an Indigenous rooted political party,” Hunter wrote. “I am not a racist, the stark reality is that Indigenous peoples’ are true bona fide stakeholders with unceded Aboriginal Title and BC has a long way to go with respect to finalizing treaty negotiations.”
Hunter told the Straight that the UN declaration—which the Canadian government endorsed in November after voting against its adoption in 2007—recognizes that indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination, to establish their own political institutions, and to decide whether or not to participate in government.
But he said he would like to see British Columbians from all backgrounds get involved with a new indigenous political party, which he proposes be called the First Peoples Political Party.
“It’s not so much race-based,” Hunter said. “It’s more coming from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the charter document. It’s sets the tone right there. I don’t know how to go about starting a political party. But I think that would be a very good starting point to begin with.”
Hunter stressed that he isn’t talking about a party with a “single-issue platform”.
He’s concerned with the state of education, the environment, human rights, economy, and employment across the province.
“Aboriginal students in the province, maybe 50 percent are completing high school,” Hunter said. “When you look at the statistics, the aboriginal people are on the failing end of education. Education’s extremely important in everything that we do.”
Hunter observed that the B.C. treaty process has gone “stale” due to government negotiating mandates.
He also said he’s “disheartened” that First Nations and government are “at odds” despite the promise of the 2005 New Relationship accord between B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell and top First Nations leaders.
“We need to have consensus,” Hunter said. “I think that, in order for that to happen, we have to be participants.”
You can follow Stephen Hui on Twitter at twitter.com/stephenhui.
Surely there's a better potential in supporting the Native candidate running for NDP leadership - Nicholas Simons...
This government or any,have the excuses to manipulate the parliament by changing of the caucuses.That's the governments main tactics by removing and changing.All we say to the government is Barrack Obama here we come.
Too often Aboriginal people have counted on a certain political party to have their representation made, only to find inadequate representation. Who really cares if the NDP or the Liberals take the next election, why not build a new party based on a completely different way of thinking, one that is neither right or left, one that is forefront and centre.
I just explained in great detail how my own governments discriminate against me every day, and allow you and guys like you to discriminate against me and guys like me every day - and you still have the nerve to suggest your people are hard done by by federal and provincial governments!
Tell you what: when you speak out against anti-Euro discrimination I will once again speak up for your people, as I have done before and my people have done for generations. Until then, no soup.
Why wouldn't I want to join if I supported the Constitution of the party.
Troy, you or any of your associates can write me any time @robbins.canada@email.com if you want some ------------- outside suggestions.
With a middle name ---- Patrick I might just consider that Irish Party--I expect me and mine would rightly challenge the BC Aboriginal Party--for voters.
oh a twiddle dee and a twiddle dum -
native only anything just furthers the alienation...how about someone using that dirty 'a' word: assimilation
new immigrants get by just fine without specialty parties or programs why cant home grown FN's...??
Everybody hear about the $13 billion dollar class action lawsuit currently before the courts where aboriginal students are now trying to be compensated for having to attend day school?
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/09/13/bc-aboriginal...
Maybe all taxpayer funding for first nations education should be frozen until this issue is resolved, otherwise we are just setting up the next generation for another round of multi billion dollar lawsuits.
I am reminded of the story related by a St'atl'imx elder whose grandfather witnessed the arrival of the first Europeans to the future Lillooet townsite, Simon Fraser and his crew. The chiefs apparently discussed whether or not they should attack and kill the newcomers in order to dissuade anymore from coming but the wisdom of one chief apparently prevailed. He said that if they killed them they would only get the "blankets" they carried, but if they let them live, they could quite possibly get many more.
The term "blankets" was in fact a blanket (no pun intended) term for goods, possession or wealth. At the time of colonization, a slave women who was being prostituted by the Chiefs was said to be "earning blankets."
La plus ca change . . .
If you are in favor of abolishing this increasingly arbitrary designation, I would be the first B.C. native to join your party.
How about you work to be on the on the judicial, legislative and executive branches of all levels of Government in Canada, just like the rest of us.
http://www.indigenousbar.ca/home/news.html
Steven Lewis Point, OBC (Xw? l? qw?l t?l) (born July 28, 1951)[1] is the 28th and current Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
First Nations government (Canada), Métis National Council, and Inuit Circumpolar Council
National representative bodies of Aboriginal people in Canada include the Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Métis National Council, the Native Women's Association of Canada, the National Association of Native Friendship Centres and the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
Justice Harry S. LaForme is a Mississauga Indian and a member of the Mississaugas of New Credit First Nation located in southern Ontario.
An Aboriginal judge from the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Gerry Morin has also been the president of the Prince Albert Indian Metis Friendship Centre and a member of the Prince Albert Raiders Board of Directors.
They form just under 3.8 percent of the total Canadian population. You want to be Prime Minister or the CEO of Telus? Go right ahead and get the education, get the jobs and work your way up like everybody else. They already have free education, that's more than enough.
In Switzerland, there are city and land cantons, with the land cantons voting and constituted separately from the towns; even within cantons comprising both, the rural areas are constituted in such a way that their views, and votes, are not overridden by urban centres.
The NDP have their silly rule about gender in the top ranks; it's notable to me that they have never come up with anything like a "native candidates" policy of similar ilk, not even for ridings where the native economy and nattive polity is very strong and numberous. Union reps will usually win out, and that's "resource union", generally, and not in common interest with native agendas.
I reject the suggestion that this would "split the progressive vote". The conservative and pro-business ethic of the Osoyoos and Westbank bands and others is a reminder that not all natives are left-oriented, and the conceit that only the NDP should be the home of the so-called progressive vote is just "more of the same". And not very progressive at all.
If a native party, and more native candidates, get more natives into the political process, win or lose, all the better. But some re-gerrymandering would help to actually get some of them elected. If the "progressive vote" is so determined not to be split, let the NDP bow out in those ridings, then....
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