Chiefs, municipal leaders explore partnerships

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This article was published 16/03/2018 (1841 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In what organizers are calling a historic meeting and a move toward reconciliation, 23 Indigenous and municipal leaders gathered at The Forks this week in an effort to break down long-standing barriers that have stifled collaborative action for the past 150 years.

Representatives sat down Thursday and Friday in a facilitated process that was spearheaded by the Southern Chiefs’ Organization and the Partnership of the Manitoba Capital Region, with the goal of beginning to build relationships between their communities.

This week’s meetings in Winnipeg were the first step in an ongoing process (which will continue in May and June), as the communities seek to build bonds, while also taking a closer look at common issues they can partner on, organizers said.

“We came to this agreement that maybe we should be trying to build understanding and build relationships, so that we can really give reconciliation life, rather than it just being a talking point that we hear time and time again,” said Grand Chief Jerry Daniels of the Southern Chiefs’ Organization.

“We’re the ones who make the decisions at the local level. If we can get it right, if we can find solutions at this level, then they have no choice but to support us at the provincial level. So it’s important for us to get it right here.”

The symbolism of the two-day event at The Forks — a centuries-old meeting place — wasn’t lost on those in attendance.

Organizers felt there was no better place to hold the gathering, given its historic significance and the long-standing divisions between Indigenous and settler communities.

“We realized it was time to extend our hand to our Indigenous neighbours and our friends, to look at ways we can all work together to make things better. As the grand chief said, it’s been a long time coming — 151 years — and it was time to do this,” said Frances Smee, reeve of the RM of Rosser.

“Meeting together for the first time, one of the things that we discovered was how much we have in common and how many things we could partner together on. We’ve identified a whole range of issues that we want to start to discuss and move forward with.”

One of the catalysts for the meeting was the effort to better integrate different communities’ strategies to deal with spring flooding.

But in discussing that specific issue, community leaders realized it could serve as a springboard to address others collaboratively.

Before that could happen, however, organizers decided it was important first to open up lines of communication that historically have been closed. To accomplish that goal properly, a facilitator was brought in this week.

At the next meeting in May, the leaders will seek to address information gaps between their communities, treaty land entitlement, economic development and water concerns.

At the final meeting in June, they’ll begin planning scenarios and hope to establish a plan of action.

Those involved hope the efforts will allow them to chart a path toward reconciliation in Manitoban communities, as well as move to implement recommendations of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

“We have to do it on the ground. We have to find ways in which we can all work together. It’s about planning for the next 100 years, the next 500 years. It’s not just about the First Nations. It’s actually about all of us and working together to create a better quality of life for everyone,” Daniels said.

“Once we have a path and a solution and a strategy in place… I think that’ll align all of our voices so that all of us get behind the same message, and I think that’s a lot stronger going to the provincial or federal level if we’re all saying the same thing.”

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @rk_thorpe