Choosing a new national chief: I have some concerns

At some point on July 22, there will be a new national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

For the majority of Canadians, this is about as exciting as a byelection in Old Crow.

But for Canada's treaty Indian population, it's significant. After all, the AFN claims to represent all First Nations people. That's some 700,000 status and non-status Indians, according to the last census.

Of course, whether the AFN really does represent all those people depends on whether you believe that the 633 First Nations' chiefs, who will choose the new national chief, represent the political will of all those others.

Personally, I don't think so.

For one thing, the majority of us live off-reserve. In the main, we are urban dwellers more concerned with employment, education, daycare costs and securing adequate housing than treaty rights or land claims.

Most of us never get to speak to a chief. It's taken a horrific amount of wrangling even to allow us a vote in band elections.

And given the often huge geographic distances involved, few of us ever cast that vote.

So the charade that is First Nations representation continues at the national level.

The political agenda is left to 633 chiefs for whom there is no standard or necessary qualifications to assume that role.

Mostly, you just have to know people.

Who would I choose

So when July 22 comes around and the AFN gathers in Calgary to elect its new national leader, count me out.

I can only see this as a big show being put on for public consumption and I don't want any part of it.

Organizers say they expect some 3,000 delegates. While that sounds like a decently sized convention, the truth is that most of these delegates have no voice. Only the 633 chiefs get a say in the new national leader.

So, for argument sake, if I, as a card-carrying First Nations person — or treaty Indian, as Canada defines me — actually had a vote in the process, who would I choose?

Well, I'm 53 years old and I have spent the last 30 of these as a working journalist and a published author.

My home is not on a reserve. I have a mortgage, credit cards, bills, career stresses and a host of concerns typical to your average Canadian.

My life is more mainstream than marginalized.

Still, I wrestle with issues pertinent to my Treaty Status that stem from an inefficient and inattentive Department of Indian Affairs.

So let's start with Terrance Nelson. He's the vociferous Manitoba chief whose demeanor is full of bluster and hard talk.

A couple of years ago, he said "there's only two ways to deal with a white man. You either pick up a gun or you stand between him and his money."

Well, anyone who still uses the term "white man" has no business seeking the right to represent me.

A mouthful of syllables

The face of Canada today is multicultural. There are more ethnic faces in Parliament than ever before and while Nelson says he rejects racism, he seems to be spouting it with his repeated use of the term "white man."

First Nations seek inclusion and offensive terms like that, especially from one who deems himself a leader, only serve to create more separation.

Then there's John Beaucage.

He's Ojibway, university educated in economics and English, and was the grand chief of Ontario's Anishinabek Nation.

Given his tribal affiliation, he comes closest to representing me. But he still would not get my vote.

Beaucage promises a new AFN, with urban people being given a significant say, and a push to address First Nations poverty.

But he says it all in that oblique way of Michael Ignatieff.

There may be substance there, but you just don't know what it is.

"Together, through nation building, we will work towards eliminating poverty, building economies, and empowering our citizens and our youth through unity with pride."

That's a mouthful of syllables. What it means is unclear. Terrance Nelson might accuse him of speaking like a white man.

What unites people

Chief Shawn Atleo  of British Columbia has been called the frontrunner.

I suppose that's because he's not afraid to tell anyone who will listen how much of a traditional native person he is.

He cites his lineage of hereditary chieftainship and how he was brought up as a traditional person.

All of which is fine except that truly traditional people tend to operate with more humility and allow their actions to determine their standing.

For an urban native like me, who has to fight hard to maintain a connection to traditional practices and knowledge, such pomposity is dissuading.

More B.C.

Bill Wilson, also from B.C., would be a sentimental choice for me.

He was there when First Nations met with Pierre Trudeau and the provincial premiers on the Constitution in the early 1980s.

His was an acerbic, though learned tongue.

He was unafraid to go toe to toe with the country's first ministers and his loyalty to First Nations people is unquestioned.

But it's a different time and there's less of a need now for strident if eloquent rhetoric.

Wilson's failure to connect with the voting chiefs at the last election three years ago, when he was the only challenger to Phil Fontaine, was a sign of that.

That leaves Perry Bellegarde, the former Saskatchewan vice-chief of the AFN and a former grand chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations.

He's also university educated but he speaks clearly and directly about issues, as well as about the work he's done all his life encouraging education and social advancement.

As a committed sun dancer for 25 years and the recipient of two ceremonial head dresses from the elders of his people, he knows that traditionalism is built on a foundation of humility.

What's more, as an urban dweller chasing a university degree, he understands the plight of off-reserve native people.

Though Bellegarde is firm on the jurisdictional rights of First Nations, he also believes that cooperation and partnership are what unite people.

That's my vision of Canada, too: a rightful and equitable place at the table for all of us.

If the legacy of the outgoing national chief, Phil Fontaine, is cooperation and compromise, then Perry Bellegarde is the logical choice to continue that work.

The AFN and Canada need a national chief who will bring us closer together as a country and as communities. If the chiefs want to represent me in Calgary, they'll elect Perry Bellegarde.