First Nations & Metis

Through my training and work as a family doctor I've been fortunate enough to spend a lot of time in First Nations and Metis communities. I've visited a number of communities and in particular have spent time in the Metis community of Ile a-la-Crosse, with friends at Buffalo River Dene Nation (Dillon) and in Saskatoon's predominantly Aboriginal inner city. I have been inspired by the strength of these communities. I have also been dismayed at the ongoing chasm between the experience of the aboriginal people and the rest of the population.

Recently I was working in the town of Lestock, located on the edge of the Muskowekwan First Nation. Driving into town I noticed a huge brick building at the end of a long lane of trees. Being a curious fellow I drove up the lane and walked in the front door where I met the caretaker, Julius. Julius was very friendly and quickly got permission to show me around the building. The building was once a residential school, of course. Now it belongs to the band and serves as a short term home for teenage boys and girls in troubled situations. Julius showed me the classrooms and the dorms, the guitar room and the cafeteria and the workshop, and the boiler room with the two enormous boilers he's named after his sons. He was very proud of the work they do there for the kids and the work he does to keep the place running.

He told me that he used to go to the school. I asked him how it was for him to work there now that it had changed purposes. While reticent to talk of his own experiences at the school, he said it was a daily struggle to come in that imposing old building to work. If it weren't for the youth he could never do it.

This story speaks to me of the strength and resiliency of First Nations people and communities. There is a lot to recover from, no question, but given the opportunity to take responsibility and direct their own futures, First Nations communities will not only catch up, they will lead.

The fastest growing segment of Saskatchewan's population is Aboriginal. Too often this is talked about as though it were a burden. I view it as our finest opportunity. Having a young, vibrant population informed by proud tradition can make us the envy of other North American societies.

It is an opportunity that is not without its challenges, however. As a result of the multi-generational effects of residential schools and other abuses and marginalizations, First Nations and Metis people are unduly burdened with ill health, addictions, poverty and low levels of education. Unless we work to change that gross inequality, that enormous blight on our society, we will struggle to find a place for the coming generations.

There is no quick answer for these concerns. But there is an approach that is key. Too often in the past experts have come from outside with answers that were simple, direct, and dead wrong, resulting in long term harm for First Nations and Metis community and damage to their traditional lands and way of life. Good money has been poured after bad ideas and the result is no change in Aboriginal communities and frustration on the part of the rest of the population. The answers to the problems faced by these communities are in the communities themselves, in their strengths, their traditions and their ideas and innovations.

This means going beyond the narrow interpretation the current government is giving to the concept of Duty to Consult to a real partnership that incorporates strategies such as revenue sharing and other means of addressing persistent inequalities and honouring treaty rights.

I am convinced that the only way to work to a better future for the Aboriginal people of Saskatchewan is to work alongside them. These communities will identify their needs better than any outside agency, and they will also identify the solutions that will work in their specific context. This is not a simple solution. It requires patient investment and the development of long-term relationships built on mutual respect. Given the attention it deserves, however, it will contribute to the long term safety and prosperity of all the people of our province.

As long as we are a province divided we cannot truly grow. When we come to recognize the value of the contribution of all people, and in particular those long neglected and marginalized, then and only then are we on are way to building a healthy society.