Wall’s legacy with First Nations lacklustre

While the mainstream media gushed compliments and eulogized Brad Wall after his retirement announcement, his resignation was greeted with indifference in Indian Country.

His term as premier has been marked with very little progress or interaction with the province’s First Nations and Métis population.

This summer, the staff and students at NORTEP have been cleaning out their offices and making alternative plans. The provincial government trashed a longtime and workable program in favour of placing it as a part of the Northland College. NORTEP was a successful teacher education program that was supported by the Meadow Lake Tribal Council, the Lac La Ronge Indian band and other Aboriginal groups, but their pleas to maintain the program went ignored.

First Nations with Treaty Land Entitlement were ignored as the province sold off and made long-term leases on community and PFRA pastures. The Natural Resources transfer Agreement states the province must provide land to fulfil outstanding treaty land entitlement.

The TLE framework agreement also states that federal and provincial Crown land was on the table for selection.

The Harper government transferred the PFRA to the provinces and the Wall government proceeded to dispose of both the federal and provincial land, ignoring First Nations in the process.

Instead, pasture patrons could receive governmentbacked loans to purchase the land and if wanted, another option was a long-term lease for the pasture patrons.

The treaty land entitlement agreement was negotiated during the Devine years and signed by Roy Romanow.

Another initiative from Grant Devine was the Saskatchewan Communication Network (SCN) and the film and video labour tax credits.

Both these were axed by the Wall government, killing the film and television production industry.

Now, as the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is growing and developing, there is no Saskatchewan programming in their broadcast lineup.

Last year, when Colten Boushie, a young man from the Red Pheasant First Nation, was killed east of the reserve, social media lit up with vitriol and racist comments from all over the province. “His only mistake was leaving three witnesses,” one comment stated.

Another stated that he should have killed all five and be given a medal.

The racial divide in Saskatchewan was exposed for the world to see. Wall stepped in and told people to cool it and that racism had no place in Saskatchewan.

He told reporters, “This is a province full of wonderful people. We have the Saskatchewan values and the Saskatchewan character. It’s built on tolerance, actually, if you consider our history. We’re good neighbours and we need to remember that.”

His comments were disputed by FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron, who said racism was, in fact, rampant across this province and the provincial government wasn’t doing enough to address it. Others were less circumspect. “It’s the air we breathe,” a reporter was told at a demonstration at North Battleford.

The relationship between the province and the First Nations is secondary to the relationship with the federal government, which is mandated by the BNA Act, the Indian Act and the Canadian Constitution. The provinces came after the treaties and the federal legislation that outlined the federal relationship with the First Nations.

However, over the years, this relationship has eroded and some programs have been shifted over to the provinces.

Demographic shifts such as the urbanization of about half our population has placed our off-reserve people under provincial jurisdiction. The ’60s scoop placing Indigenous foster children in non-native homes was a provincial initiative.

Boarding schools at locations such as Isle a La Crosse and Timber Bay came under provincial jurisdiction and the federal boarding school settlement doesn’t apply to them. It remains a piece of unfinished business.

Another piece of unfinished business is resource revenue sharing. First Nations have never received any revenue from the province for resources.

The province also shares the sales tax with the municipalities, but not the First Nations, in spite of the fact that we now pay sales tax.

Brad Wall’s relationship with the First Nations has been lukewarm, with no new initiatives and a list of unfinished business. It’s a shame we can’t look back on a more fruitful relationship.