Bellegarde has been a savvy politician

There always seems to be added angst when it is a First Nations leader — especially a newly elected Assembly of First Nations (AFN) chief like Perry Bellegarde — talking about the need for Indian people to stand up for their inherent rights. This would be an overreaction. And in the case of the savvy 53-year-old Bellegarde, who has become the first AFN chief from Saskatchewan since David Ahenakew three decades ago, it’s certainly nothing to fret over.

For starters, let us understand that First Nations chiefs are politicians and all politicians giving a politically charged address before supporters at a convention are more apt to say things they might not ordinarily make a point of saying.

To the delight of longtime New Democrats, Former NDP leader Roy Romanow would bash the rightwing corporate media and their reporter stooges at the party’s annual convention. He then would sidle over to the press table and make a point of telling whatever reporters were there that, of course, he didn’t mean them.

Even current Premier Brad Wall has been known to come across as slightly more right-wing than usual when addressing the annual Saskatchewan Party convention.

So when Bellegarde — in a speech after his first-ballot win before the 600 voting chiefs and a live nationwide audience on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network — said it’s no longer “business as usual”, that “you can’t unilaterally exploit resource wealth” and “Canada is Indian land”, let us understand who he was addressing.

Moreover, Bellegarde had just inherited an AFN that virtually ousted previous grand chief Shawn Atleo over his supposedly being too cozy with the federal Conservative government over changes to First Nations education funding.

One can question the cutthroat nature of First Nations politics as one might also question the nastiness of provincial or federal politics. But the reality for those who want to make a difference is the need to survive in this very political environment before they can hope to change it.

Notwithstanding that Bellegarde’s first salvos offered very little that would enhance either understanding of the treaties/First Nations issues or foster good working relations with the federal government and the rest of “us”, one suspects the new AFN grand chief will promote an improved, more positive relationship. It all has to do with what he said five years ago, when he first ran for grand chief, and what he has since done.

“In terms of my style, I’ve always prided myself as someone that can walk in both worlds,” Bellegarde said at the time. “We can walk in both worlds. We have to learn to walk in both worlds.”

As explained back then by the former Little Black Bear First Nation band councillor and Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) chief, “walking in both worlds” meant combining traditional aboriginal values with the reality of modern Canadian economics. But today, it could just as easily mean Bellegarde’s proven ability to function in both political worlds.

During his last leadership bid, Bellegarde was also combative in his demands for full treaty rights. That said, he pushed for and still pushes for co-operative answers on resource-sharing that he said back in 2009 could be used as a tool for both economic development and dealing with social aboriginal issues of education, unemployment, gangs, poverty and substance abuse.

In fact, in his most recent tenure as FSIN leader, Bellegarde has frequently walked the line on his favourite issue of resource revenue sharing. He has gently nudged provincial politicians on the issue at every available opportunity.

“It is almost always First Nations people against everyone else in Saskatchewan,” Bellegarde said, reacting to a Sask. Party political advertisement in 2013 criticizing NDP leader Cam Broten for the party’s 2011 campaign plank supporting revenue sharing. “It’s almost as if they’ve (the Sask. Party) written off 15 to 20 per cent in the province ...

“How do you want First Nations people to treat everyone else when they are the majority?”

That said, Bellegarde might have come very close last winter to allowing the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) to gain full ownership of the far-more-profitable Regina and Moose Jaw casinos for a song by going to Premier Brad Wall with a deal. All this deal evidently required was the support of Broten, we were told.

To this day, we still don’t know whether this was the best deal for Saskatchewan First Nations that was never quite made, or just an opportunity for Wall to try to embarrass Broten. Either way, Bellegarde showed remarkable political abilities.

Bellegarde has done rather well in both political worlds.