Nujignua’tegeg met with Dr. Palmater. Here is an extract of the interview. The full interview will be available on our YouTube channel.

Nujignua’tegeg:  Have we – and if we did – when did we lose control of Membership Codes?

Pamela Palmater: Under the Indian act, all First Nations have had their Indian status registration of individuals and their band membership controlled by the Federal Government since the Indian act in 1876. But for tens of thousands of years long, pre-Indian Act, we were always in control of our own citizenship and what it was to be a Mi’gmaq, and who got to live in which of the Mi’gmagi districts. That was never controlled by the Federal Government so we have a long history of controlling our own citizenship, but that got interfered with by the Indian Act.

Nuji:  What is the Canada’s ideology in deciding who is or is not an Indian.

P.P: The whole purpose of the Indian Act in setting up a registration system was for the express purpose of eliminating Indians over time. They designed a formula, literally to breed Indians out of existence. Their two policy objectives are to take all of our lands and resources, but also to reduce any financial obligations that come out of Treaty commitments.  Canada associates Treaty beneficiaries with registered Indians and they figured the best way to get rid of Treaties: get rid of Indians, then they have no beneficiaries.

Nuji: What smallpox and contaminated blankets failed to do, eliminate us, do you think mathematics could do it?

P.P: That’s the thing. They only had two ways of trying to get rid of us. Physically eliminate us, scalping, sterilizations and smallpox blankets or assimilate us over time — residential schools, take away your language and culture, make you hate yourselves so that you don’t want to be a part of your community, and Indian status is the final nail in the coffin, essentially. It’s for all of those who managed to survive. The idea is to legislate them out of existence, and because of the Indian Act there is an extinction date for each First Nations where there will be no more status Indians. We will all still be here, we are the fastest baby-makers in Canada, our populations are growing, but for legal and political recognition and whether or not were allowed to identify with our communities, occupy territories have Aboriginal Treaty and Rights recognized…that will be significantly impacted by the Indian Act, if we let it continue.

Nuji: What actions are we taking now to prevent this.

P.P: There’s all of the provisions under the Indian Act that deal with status and registration there all under litigation so there each sections being challenged by a different group of individuals because of discrimination. A large number of First Nations are moving towards developing their own Membership Codes either inside the Indian Act or outside the of the Indian Act just based on their own inherent laws or through self government or similar mechanisms to take away government control and then the next step is to renegotiate the relationship based on who we say our members are.

Nuji: Why do you think it`s important to have theses conversations of membership and identity.

P.P: Because in the past the federal government interfered with our communal processes our traditional governments. Our governments were based on the will of the people. It was the people who put the leaders in place and told the leaders what to do and what not to do. We always worked towards consensus on things. Coming up with our own code is bringing it back to the people and letting the people decide, letting the people undo the harms that have been done, through colonization and the Indian Act and letting the people decide how can we go forward and heal our communities and our nation. It's critically important that we at least start having the conversations and based on whatever information, research and experiences other First Nations have had so we can learn from it.

Listuguj students had the opportunity to explore future plans on Feb. 24. The LMDC organized a career fair, and invited a mix of professionals to represent their fields. 

The hope was to create an event that was engaging.

“Not just to go around to the tables and pick up pamphlets,” said Bobbi Madahbee, the Re-Investment Manager with the Listuguj Education Directorate. “We wanted them to actually get interactive with them.”

NBCC had two simulators with joysticks set up. Students got to try their hand at running excavators.

“The young people are use to video games, but when they started on the simulator there was a little difficult at first,” said Constance Sewell, the Aboriginal Student Advisor for NBCC in Miramichi and Moncton. “So I could see a little frustration, but they did really well.”

A survey beforehand helped the organizers gage interests. They invited guests, and planned presentations accordingly. The second half of the visits were intended to directly address the students interests. Panelist spoke about Education and Business in one classroom, and Health and Law in another.

“We were really surprised at some of the outcomes,” said Madahbee. “A lot of the kids want to go into entrepreneurship.”

Other popular fields identified in the survey were graphic and video game design. Davinci College was present to explain some of their programs.

Fashion, and design were also identified as big interests. Whitney Dedam, from Listuguj, had a table. She works as a hair stylist in Moncton, and is now the only educator with Johnny B Hair Care in Canada. The training took her to Los Angeles.

And aside from trying to help students learn a bit more about careers they may be interested in, the organizers of the career fair also wanted to provide the opportunity to learn about other careers that may be in demand.

Representatives from the MMS offered information on careers needed for the Mesgi’g Ugju’s’n Wind Farm.

As much as the fair was for kids to learn more about what they were already interested in, it was also to help expose them to the many careers out there. Especially for those who don’t know what they want to do yet. 

“Not knowing – there’s no need to panic,” said Madahbee. “It’s just, don’t be scared to get out there and try things and take risks, and challenge yourself. I think that’s what we really want to get across to the kids.”

Mesgi’g Ugju’s’n Wind Farm

“When we first started working on the wind Farm, we were focused on the construction side of it. So now that we’re going to be in commercial operation December 1st, we’re now looking at the operations, the long-term opportunities for the next 20 years, and that’s why right now we’re dong a big push to have people go out to get certified as wind turbine servicetechnicians,” Terri Lynn Morrison.

Two students are in Maine right, and will have completed their program in June. They already have conditional offers of employment. But Morrison said there is room for at least two more, and potentially more than that.

“And in the area – we have partnerships with all the other developers now, they know us, we’re very well positioned in Gaspesie, so they are open to hiring Mi’gmaq Service Technicians,” she said. “So the opportunities are there for the long term. It’s careers, it’s not just a short term construction period.”

Whitney Dedam

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist,” is one of Whitney Dedam’s favorite quotes.

“Once you know the basics, hey, it’s your own world,” she said.

Dedam moved to Moncton to become a hair stylist.

“I didn’t know anybody there. I didn’t know anybody at all, so I was scared. I moved up pretty much blind and by myself. And as soon as school startd you get to know people, it’s just a matter of putting yourself out there and just doing it.”

She is now the manager of the barber area of her shop, and is the only official brand ambassador for Johnny B hair care.

She even taught a her first class in February, at the same school she graduated from.

Dedam struggled, and says she still “lives like a student” sometimes, but she loves what she does, and believes there’s opportunities for anyone who wants it.

“You just have to learn how to – or know – and want to put yourself out there a little bit. It’s scary. Sometimes I’m still scared.”

After the first few weeks of 2016, Chief Scott Martin sits at his desk, surrounded by stacks of papers. At the very top is a sheet signed on Jan. 18.  It finalizes the creation of the trust fund – the final step in the settlement agreement.

The official creation of this fund is the last piece of the puzzle, and Chief Martin feels good about it –  nothing was overlooked.

“[There’s] a lot of happy people,” he said. “It was a long process.”

The fund will hold the per capita distribution (PCD) funds for the 793 minors who are eligible to withdraw their portion once they turn 18. It will also hold the funds for the 431 band members that have not applied yet. They have five years to do so.

With this completed, focus can now shift to other projects and priorities

“We intend to create more employment for the community,” Chief Martin said.

A lot of interesting options are being considered, including partnerships with investors on a medicinal marijuana facility. Chief Martin was approached at the start of the year about creating a proposal. Discussions will continue. It will require a lot of work, but it has the potential to generate revenue, and jobs.

Another potential project is the gas station. As the planning work is being done, the vision is becoming clearer. The goal would be for it to be more than just fuel pumps. An attached strip mall is being considered. A seafood restaurant is also under consideration.

“There’s about 2 million tourists that go through the highway every year,” Chief Martin said.

The LMG has already identified willing investors. 

Chief Martin also confirmed that the election term will definitely not be changed this election. Changing to four-year terms can be done with an order from Chief and Council, after two public consultations. But he doesn’t want to rush it.

“I’d rather give them more time,” he said.

However, the last 18 months saw a lot of progress.

“Coming into a 20 million dollar deficit, [with] old files that were never resolved – we resolved a lot of them.”

The result was stability in the eyes of the Federal Government. The LMG was released from the Management Action Plan (MAP), which has re-opened doors.

Now, with access to Ministerial Loan Guarantees again, the LMG intends to work toward returning to the building capacity of as much as 20 homes a year.

Working with the new provincial and federal governments is looking good in a variety of ways. Both have expressed interest in exploring how they can help.

This year will also see results and progress from ongoing projects, including the fishing quota allocation to PEI, and completing agreements involving the wind farm.

“It looks promising for the future,” Chief Martin said. “We’re starting to go forward.”