9 Points for Hereditary Chiefs to Ponder

Civil disobedience worked. You have the attention of the people of Canada and every level of government.

NOW WHAT?

I know you have felt powerless for a long time, and it feels good to flex your political muscles. But remember, your power to disrupt the rest of Canada exists only in your own minds and in the democratic spirit of the Canadian population. Even your power with your own people is not certain. You are on the verge of losing everything you fought for.

Here are a few things for the hereditary First Nations chiefs of to think about in the coming days.

1. It Isn’t About Power

It’s all about public relations.

Your main need is to persuade the Canadian public – that’s the people who are reading this post and journalists like me who are writing about your issues – that your cause is just and your means are justified.

You aren’t doing this if you continue to disrupt our economy. In case you haven’t noticed, the usefulness of that technique has come to an end. A number of your supporters in the general public (me included) are beginning to say, “Wait a minute. Where is this going?” If you keep up the disruptions, that flow will become a stampede.

2. Climate Change

Part of the power of your argument is your leadership on climate change. I’m with you on that. Most Canadians agree that climate change has to be dealt with. But at the moment, they’re still hoping it can be handled without disrupting their lives too much. Yes, I know that’s illusory, but disrupting their lives for your own selfish reasons isn’t making you any friends. And you need friends, not enemies.

3. Democracy

You have a basic problem in your First Nations method of governing. Our nobility long ago proved themselves too selfish to be allowed to mess in our politics. We relegated our hereditary leaders to a position of cultural and moral leadership. Much though we want the Indigenous people to have their own culture, if parts of that culture are counter to what most Canadians firmly believe in, perhaps it’s not a good idea to throw that fact in our faces.

4. Leadership

Good leaders are always looking over their shoulders. If they realize their people aren’t following, they change their course. In my understanding, the position of the hereditary chief is that sort of leadership. If you keep leading in a direction that the majority of your people don’t want to go, how long will your leadership remain viable?

5. Paternalism

“We know what’s best for you. Go back to your reserve and we’ll take care of it.” This has been the line from the Indian Affairs Department for decades. But how is your approach any different?

6. Reconciliation

Reconciliation is a two-way street. Don’t slap the hand that reaches out to you. Be careful that “Reconciliation” doesn’t start to equate with “We get everything we want.” Reconciliation is a tough struggle, and you have a lot of people in powerful positions and a lot of the general public on your side. Don’t drive them away.

The present government isn’t making much progress on reconciliation, but if they were to fall, the Conservatives would be a whole different story. Figure out who your friends are.

7. Sure the Power Feels Good, but Don’t Overdo It

When you are running a public relations campaign in a democratic country, you have a big problem with acting in an autocratic way. If you do, you will soon find yourselves on the moral high ground of a rapidly shrinking island of public support, both with your own people and with the Canadian populace. And then you will find out how much power you really have to disrupt the Canadian economy.

8. The Realities of Federal Politics.

Up until now the federal government has tried to stay out of it. Understandable, since it’s pretty much a no-win situation for them. But once they get into it, self-interest says the Liberals have to look at what the average Canadian voter thinks.

And most of us think that the protests have done their job. It’s time to sit down at the bargaining table again and work things out. And be prepared not to win everything you hoped for. That’s what democracy and bargaining is all about. Going into negotiations saying, “Sure, we’ll talk, but if they don’t shut down the pipeline, we’ll go back to fighting,” doesn’t sound like a very positive attitude.

9. Complexity

Everyone keeps saying, “Oh, but it’s all so complicated.” Of course it is. The Gitxsan Nation, for example, has about 50 hereditary chiefs, and they cannot agree on their position on the pipeline. Of course they can’t. This system was created over the centuries to deal with internal clan matters and contacts with bordering clans. It was never required to make a decision for the whole nation, an almost-impossible task for a political structure of that sort.

The Bottom Line

No government has had the political will to solve the real issues. Apart from the pipeline, there are two problems that need to be solved:

1. First Nations need to decide who speaks for them and abide by that decision.
2. Federal and provincial governments need to get their digits out of intimate bodily orifices and settle treaties with everyone.

Then maybe we can deal with the specific problem of a single pipeline.