Satsan
Back in 1999 when I began my consulting practice, one of the first contracts I landed was with the British Columbia Vice-Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Satsan (Herb George). He was assembling a team to undertake a national process to educate and activate communities with respect to the exercise of Aboriginal title. One of the results of that work isan astounding collection of legal research papers hosted at the Delgamuukw/Gisday’wa National Process website. You will also find there a plain language guide on Aboriginal title which I wrote.
Satsan took the view that Aboriginal title was there for the taking. That there was no need to ask any level of government for permission to exercise it. In fact, he argued that the landmark Delgamuukw supreme court case made it encumbant on First Nations to exercise their title. Use or lose is sort of the dictum of the day.
But exercising title is not a willy-nilly process. It requires that a First Nation also perform the role of a government in order to regulate, legislate and exercise inherent Aboriginal rights. Satsan has gone on to head up the First Nations Governance Centre.
There is an intimate link between the possession and exercise of Aboriginal rights and title and the implementation of excellent governance systems. What these two websites show is just how much of that work is being undertaken and led by First Nations themselves. This is decolonization that empowers local communities while playing on the legal and political fields of the colonial society.
In one of the more poignant observations on last week’s American election, I read a recent letter to the Globe and Mail which pointed out that if the election were about values then the decision means that it’s okay for one man to kill another man, but not to hold his hand.
Another terrific find by riley dog, whom I read every morning. This short poem by Frederick Morgan captures some of the essence of BEING invited into a place where anything is possible, but it is all uncontemplated except in the moment:
The Step
From where you are at any moment you
may step off into death.
Is it not a clinching thought?
I do not mean a stoical bravado
of making the great decision blade in hand
but the awareness, all so simple, that
right in the middle of the day
you may be called to an adjoining room.
When we are at a point where “stoical bravado” seems our only option, sometimes we need to simply be more sensitive to the call of life in its subtlest forms.
This essay arrived on an email from my friend Anne Stadler. It’s by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, the author of “Women who run with the Wolves“:
“For many decades, worldwide, souls just like us have been felled and left for dead in so many ways over and over brought down by naivete, by lack of love, by being ambushed and assaulted by various cultural and personal shocks in the extreme. We have a history of being gutted, and yet remember this especially ‘ we have also, of necessity, perfected the knack of resurrection. Over and over again we have been the living proof that that which has been exiled, lost, or foundered can be restored to life again…
Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good. What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take “everyone on Earth” to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.”
Especially in a world where so few of us have a say in tomorrow’s decision that affects all of us, there is lots of good advice in this piece.
Last week I pointed to the Sliammon treaty office website. There are more and more fantastic First Nations websites out there, all putting out the story of how communities and nations are trying to meet the challenges of living in a colonial context while expressing their own identity and striving towards a relationship with themselves and their neighbours that results in freedom.
I thought I’d point you to some of these sites on a somewhat regular basis. A First Nations Monday kind of thing.
Even if you aren’t especially interested in the struggles of First Nations in Canada, there are some good reasons why you might be interested in these sites.
These communities represent the very coal face of democracy. In looking at these communities are handling their affairs, people can learn a great deal about what it means to do nation building, community development, citizen engagement and institutional support. First Nations are dealing with these issues all the time, while they also struggle to meet the needs of a population that suffers from tremendous stresses in health, social and economic indicators. The project of decolonization that is happening all around me here in British Columbia can be a lab for people who are working with leadership, citizenship and community in a whole variety of institutions around the world.
The reason for this is quite simple. I have discovered that in doing organizational development and facilitation, nearly everyone is after improving their lives. Making an organization more effective cannot happen without also making that place one where people are free and feel invited to work with passion and responsibility. In First Nations communities, tapping the passion and responsibility of citizens is what is leading the way towards a post-colonial reconiliation with mainstream society. But, in my experience, it is the same forces, both within individuals and within groups that ensure this whether the project is decolonization and liberation or leadership and organizational effectiveness.
So when you are reading through these sites that I’ll bring to your attention, think about the implications of what these groups are doing, not only for themselves, but in terms of your own life, whether you are working to improve organizations or communities or the lives of your own family. There is a broader pattern that connects all of this work. And you are a part of it.
So on to this site, which is the home of the Office of the Wet’suwet’en in Northern British Columbia. You can browse through a lot of their intentions on this site, starting with a statement of interests and then seeing how the Wet’suwet’en want these interests implemented in a treaty with Canada:
1.1 The treaty will be distinctly and uniquely Wet’suwet’en. It will not be based upon any other treaties or models which have been agreed to or negotiated with Aboriginal peoples in Canada.
1.2 The treaty will be an affirmation of Wet’suwet’en title and rights of the Wet’suwet’en relationship to the land and all of the beings and things it contains.
1.3 The treaty will be founded on mutual respect, recognition and reconciliation.
1.4 The treaty will recognize and celebrate the existence of the Wet’suwet’en.
1.5 The treaty will provide certainly regarding the foundations of the relationship between the Wet’suwet’en and the Crown. The Crown wants certainly and we do also. This is one of many goals which we share.
1.6 The treaty will define the relationship and mutual responsibility of the Wet’suwet’en and the Crown. It will focus on how we can live together rather then how we each want each other to live.
1.7 The treaty will be an expression of Inuk Nu’at’en. The treaty will have a full constitutional status of Canadian law. it also will have full status as a treaty under international law. “
Such a positive and assertive and respectful position. It represents a strong grounding in culture and identity and a strong need for reconciliation with present realities and future opportuinities. It is uncompromising while being flexible and adaptive. What do you think?