Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
3TuesdayJuly232013PoliticsFirstNationsByMARYWALDENHungryAboriginalpeoplewhowereusedashumanguineapigsinnutritionex-perimentsmorethan60yearsagodeserveanapologyandnancialcompensationsaidtheAssemblyofFirstNa-tionsAFN.Newsthattestswerecon-ductedonatleast1300mal-nourishedchildrenattendingresidentialschoolsinAlbertaBCOntarioandNovaSco-tiainthe1940scametolightjustaschiefsfromacrossthecountrywerewrappinguptheirannualassemblyinWhitehorselastweek.Callingtheexperimentsshockinganddeeplydis-turbingtheassemblypassedanemergencyresolutioncon-demningthefederally-con-donedtestsanddemandingcompensationforthosewhosufferedphysicallyandemo-tionallyasaresult.ThesewerejustkidssaidKenWattsaFirstNa-tioncouncillorfromBC.Theworldneedstoknowwhathappenedtothesekids.Atrocitiesliketheseexper-imentsarejustanotherreasonwhythefederalgovernmentshouldreleaseallarchivaldocumentsithasregardingFirstNationspeopleanotherdelegatesaid.ForNationalChiefShawnAtleoconrmationofthesehorricexperimentsonlyservedasasadnalnotetoanalreadyhecticweekofwrestlingmyriadcomplexissuesincludingthefutureoftheorganizationitself.Takingtothepodiumonelasttimehewrappedupthemeet-ingmuchashehadkickeditoffwithacallforunityandthepromiseofchange.DespiteagrowingriftwithintheAFNunderscoredbyaparallelmeetingofdissentingchiefsinSaskatchewan-AtleoputonabravefaceinsistingtheNorthhadinspirednewhopeforasharedvision.Thewaythingsareisnotokayanditcannotbebusi-nessasusualgoingforwardhetoldtheassemblywhichdrewmorethan700delegatesincludingabout200chiefs.FirstNationsneedtostandtogetherhesaid.Thatllbechallenginges-peciallygiventheeffortsofoutsidersworkingtopullFirstNationsapartinmuchthesamewaythatchildrenwerepulledfromtheirfamiliesandsenttoschoolhesaid.Wereleftwiththatlegacyhesaid.ToaddressthatwerecallingonCanadiansandthefederalgovernmenttoac-knowledgedirectlyandworkwithFirstNationleadersfromacrossthecountrytorectify.LikeFirstNationspeopleandthecultureitselfAtleosaidhescondenttheorga-nizationcanadaptadoptandemergestrongerthanever.Wewilltakeyourdirec-tion.Wewillactonyourorders.Wewillstandstron-gertogethertoday-astheysayhereintheYukon-forourchildrentomorrowhesaidreferringtothetitleoftheterritoryslandclaimsproposaldeliveredtoOttawa40yearsago.Ittookanother20yearsforYukontocutalandclaimandself-governmentdealbuttodayforFirstNationsacrossCanadathefrustrationisg-uringouthowtogetthefed-eralgovernmenttoliveuptoitsendoftreatybargains.TheAFNisntatreatysigna-toryandhasnoaspirationstone-gotiateonitsmembersbehalfAtleosaidearlierintheweek.Ratheritseesitsroleasadvo-catingonissuesandsupportingmembernationsseekingjustice.FirstNationspeoplearelivinginastateofperpetualcrisishesaid.Crumblinghomesabjectpovertypoorhealthandothersocialprob-lemscontinuetoplaguecom-munitiesacrossthecountry.Almosthalfofourchil-drenarelivinginpoverty.Wehavemorechildrenincarerightnowthanattheheightoftheresidentialschoolera.Ouryoungpeoplearemorelikelytoendupinjailthantograduatehesaid.AFNcondemnsAboriginalhealthexperimentsNationalchiefcallsformoreunityatmeetinginWhitehorseThereisalsogrowingpressurefromgovernmentsandresourcecompaniestodevelopminingandenergyprojects.ManyareonornearFirstNationslandsandcom-munitiesoftennditallabitoverwhelmingheadded.Thentheresthehighratesofviolenceagainstwomenandgirlsincludingthealarmingnumberofmiss-ingandmurderedAboriginalwomen.EndingthiscycleisapriorityfortheAFNanditrepeateditscallforapublicinquiryintothematter.AFNishopingsomeoftheseissuesmaketheirwaytothisweeksmeetingofthecountryspremiersinOntario.TheAFNisalsogearingupforacontroversialvisittoCanadafromtheUNsrap-porteurontherightsofindig-enouspeopleslaterthisyearaswellastheUNWorldCon-gressonIndigenousPeoplesinNewYorkCityslatedforSeptember2014.PhotosMaryWaldenTheYukonsDakhkaKhwaandancersprovideatraditionalwelcometodelegatesattendingthemeeting.DelegatesattendingtheAssemblyofFirstNationsmeetinginWhitehorsegatherforthreedaysofdiscussiononarangeofissues.