It was not lost on me that across the street from the busyness of the Canada Day celebrations in Yellowknife that a First Nations woman was passed out on a bench. That the Indigenous man walked with a limp and staggered badly by the post office with friends obviously inebriated, too, was not lost on me either.
I was pretty sure they would not be celebrating this national holiday with the same patriotic fever shared by the rest of us.
This is, after all, their Turtle Island that was taken from them without consent on both sides of the border after extending a hand to help colonizers survive the brutal winters. July 1 was not a day of celebration, but a day of painful reminders of all that was lost and all that was taken from them.
We are overwhelmed with patriotism and a sense of national pride due in large part to the threat from the unhinged president in the south. But First Nations in Canada are only further wounded by the way we are dealing with that threat. We are failing to include them in our struggle.
It started with Bill C-5 in which they were not invited to the table or consulted on anything having to do with a bill which could allow massive nation-building projects across their unsettled lands. Our Indigenous community was ignored in creating this bill, even though Prime Minister Mark Carney had said he would include them in any discussions going forward. He needed to have them at the table in the early stages of this bill's creation as a nation-to-nation endeavour.
They are not an afterthought. First Nations are the main bodies to hold hands and build with. It is them that, in the end, will make or break Canada.
We have learned that the new federal government will be changing the way it will issue funding for the Jordan's Principle program. The territorial government has put in a plea for help, asking the federal government to reconsider these changes as it could cause the loss of nearly 80 educational assistant jobs with Yellowknife Education District No. 1 alone. Of course, a majority of those will be Indigenous youth who face so many challenges both at home and in the system.
This is a jurisdiction where the Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister, Rebecca Alty, vowed in her first week in office that she would fully consult Indigenous governments on matters impacting them. She failed to talk to them at all about cuts to Jordan's Principle. Why? This minister and the Carney government needs to do better in their handling of and respect for First Nations people.
Of course, the first failure in its relationship with Indigenous groups was its appointment of a Caucasian woman from Yellowknife to the role of Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs. Clearly that portfolio should have been divided in two with Crown-Indigenous Relations being awarded to an Indigenous person and Northern Affairs to a Caucasian person, if Carney wished. But in no way should this appointment have been given to a Caucasian person, which has all the appearances of colonialism.
This is the big leagues and deals with more substantial matters than street repairs. Indeed, Indigenous matters and relationships could make or break this country. It is safe to say that the way we consult and work with First Nations could determine the well-being of this country.
Make no mistake, First Nations are coming into their own. They are no longer asking to be part of our country's decisions -- they're demanding it.
This is Turtle Island. This is their country, too. We are two nations which must work jointly at the table to move Canada forward. Yes, it is the deranged American president threatening our sovereignty, but it is how we work with First Nations which will determine our ability to stand up in strength against this man.
In honour of Canada Day, let's celebrate as two equal nations working together for the land we all love.
SA国际影视传媒擭ancy Vail is a longtime Yellowknifer concerned with social justice.
