Lewis: What I would like to say here is that with rights come responsibilities, and with those responsibilities as treaty partners —
May: Avi Lewis is the newly elected leader of the federal NDP. He was in the Cowessess First Nation east of Regina May 14th. He heard from elders about unresolved land claims dating back to 1907. Chief Erica Bowden says the unresolved claims are emotional, especially as elders have passed away with no resolution in sight.
Bowden: I want to see this historical wrong come to a close and so that we can close that chapter and move on in the way that we see fit.
May: Bowden says she hopes Lewis’s visit will help discussions with the feds resume. APTN reached out to the Department of Crown Indigenous Relations for an update on land claim talks. Even though there’s no movement according to Cowessess, a departmental spokesperson said in an email, Canada believes that the best way to address outstanding specific claims and advance reconciliation with First Nations is through negotiation and dialogue.
Speaker: The elders are scratching their heads saying, like, what’s with the economic discrimination?
May: Cowessess economic development lawyer Malcolm McPherson says while the federal government says they’re looking into the issue, progress is too slow while major nation-building projects are being developed.
McPherson: And that’s a policy problem because as there’s forward pressure to have these major projects advanced, there’s going to be the requirement of proper engagement and Indigenous social license. And it’s just hard to see the Indigenous social license being there if the, you know, important portfolios like, you know, Indigenous specific claims are not actively being dealt with.
May: Lewis, whose party is clinging to just five seats in Parliament, reassured band members that one of the NDP’s core principles is advocating for marginalized and disadvantaged communities. Lewis’s Saskatchewan tour will take him to Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, and First Nations including Star Blanket Cree Nation and Pasqua First Nation. Rachel May, APTN National News, Saskatoon.