I would like to thank you for asking the Kakisiwew-Ochapowace Nation to appear as a witness at this very important hearing regarding the restitution of land to first nations.
My name is Okimaw Iskwew Shelley A. Bear, chief of our nation. I have been involved in first nations politics for decades in different capacities. As well, I've had the opportunity to have had passed on to me much of the oral history of our peoples.
The Kakisiwew-Ochapowace Nation is a signatory to Treaty 4. Prior to that, our peoples date back hundreds of years living off these lands provided by the Creator. We lived by hunting, fishing, trapping, trading and maintaining our way of life on extensive tracts of land throughout parts of what we now call Canada and the United States.
Treaty 4, signed by our leaders and the Crown, unequivocally promised that by agreeing to share this land, we would maintain our way of life. Everything else negotiated was on top of what we already had. This was to be enjoyed by Kakisiwew and its peoples to ensure our posterity forever.
I want to share what took place during Treaty 4 negotiations in 1874. This was passed on to me by my late grandfather and late chief Richard Poorman. Chief Kakisiwew and Chief Kawacatoose carried sacks of dirt and placed them on the negotiating table. Chief Kawacatoose then asked treaty commissioner Morris how many sacks of money he'd brought, and stated that for each sack of money, they could have a sack of dirt in exchange. The chiefs went on to strongly assert that “this country is not for sale”. Of course, this never made it into the treaty transcripts, but this exchange has been passed down through the generations.
These words illustrate our ancestors' deep connections to the lands and how such an idea as selling our lands, or country, was a concept that our people couldn't grasp. It also illustrates how our words during treaty deliberations were misunderstood, misinterpreted or totally struck from the transcripts.
This is why our present leaders understand things differently. I'm referring to the agreement to share the land to the “depth of a plow”. These words were also struck from the transcripts of the treaty as understood by our peoples.
When Canada transferred the administration of lands and resources to the prairie provinces in 1930 through the Natural Resources Transfer Agreement, the first nations people of the prairie provinces were not consulted or even informed. The NRTA resulted in an incredible breach of our treaties, a breach that was unlawful back in 1930 and is still unlawful today. The exercise of our right to hunt, fish, trap and gather is fundamental to the treaty promises that were made to first nations. Without our lands and resources, the exercise of our rights will be gone, as will our traditions, ceremonies and languages.
When the Crown came upon our lands, they used the doctrine of discovery, which allowed the Crown to claim sovereignty over our lands. This doctrine means that when a nation “discovers” land, it directly acquires rights to that land, but there were many first nations on Turtle Island. We were not discovered. These doctrines need to be put to rest. They continue to oppress our nations.
This oppression is evident in the Saskatchewan First Act, Saskatchewan's unlawful assertion of jurisdiction over lands and resources that rightfully fully belong to first nations. The Saskatchewan First Act is a direct threat to our inherent treaty and constitutional rights, especially when the province says they have exclusive jurisdiction over the natural resources within our treaty and traditional territories.
Canada was built on first nations land. This country has benefited from the colonization of our peoples in many ways, most notably in terms of the theft of our lands and our bountiful resources. In order for our nations to truly become sovereign and able to provide for our citizens, we need our land back.
In the words of Jody Wilson-Raybould, “True Reconciliation is broken down into three core practices—Learn, Understand, and Act”.
First nations have been studied and analyzed for decades, yet we are still plagued with poverty, addiction and despair. What we need today is for Canada and mainstream society to learn about what we need. We need mainstream government leaders, their government bureaucrats and Canadian society to understand our rights and why we have a special relationship with the Crown.
First nations don't keep asking for handouts like many in this country believe. We want what is rightfully ours. We want to establish and maintain respectful relationships with our neighbours. We need Canada to understand that the rights we negotiated under treaty need to be respected. Until those rights are respected, we cannot achieve true reconciliation.
Finally, we need Canada, mainstream society and first nations to act. We need to put our words into action and deliver on the promises made under treaty. We need to work to that end in order for our nations to benefit and be truly equal to other Canadians. We want our children and grandchildren to have a fighting chance in our country. We deserve that. Our children and grandchildren deserve that. We owe them that.
The colonial practices of the past cannot continue. We need to redefine our relationship with each other and work toward true reconciliation. To me, reconciliation is “land back” that is fair and justified, because without the land, we have no home or no way to exercise our rights and pass down our sacred teachings to our children, grandchildren and those yet to come.
Thank you for allowing me to be on the agenda today.
Ekosi.
