The work that Manon Barbeau is doing is definitely inspiring. The Council for the Arts is now realizing that it has to implement an Aboriginal arts program built on the principles of self-determination. That program will be different from other programs and will truly be based on the expression of an original voice, regardless of the means chosen and the distinctions that we traditionally make between translation, contemporary art and so on. Those distinctions are far more European and far less Aboriginal.
For the Council for the Arts, the huge benefit of having such a program is that it will address one of the biggest challenges in our society: the kind of separation that exists between our daily lives and the arts. Aboriginal people don't separate the two. Having a program that embodies that within the Canada Council for the Arts will be an honour, a privilege and a responsibility.