The tattered relationship between First Nations and non-aboriginal Canadians sprang into prominence during the Idle No More movement, but despite demonstrations and publicity, little was resolved. A Victoria conference this weekend will examine the issue.
Experts on aboriginal issues will speak at the Singing a New Song: Creating a Renewed Relationship with First Nations conference sponsored by the Parish of St John the Divine.
“The principal goal is to see, based on the Idle No More movement, what is the real story and where can we go from here to produce a resolution,” spokesman Derry McDonell said.
Key grievances of First Nations people — including land claims, food or housing — remain unresolved and the conference will present a chance to find solutions, he said.
The sold-out conference was capped at 150 people, with a mix of aboriginal groups, public-interest organizations and members of the St. John congregation, McDonell said.
Speakers include University of Minnesota professor John Borrows, a scholar in indigenous, constitutional and environmental law.
Borrows, who will speak this evening at St. John’s Church hall, 925 Balmoral Rd., will look at the troubled history of the First Nations and Canada and how the relationship could be repaired and strengthened.
Messages sent via the Idle No More movement, and the social media storm surrounding it, are little different from messages sent through the previous decades and there is no reason why they will be more accepted now, Borrows says in his speaking notes.
“The divide is deep and the relationships are too frayed to expect much change without [a] kind of moral and constitutional recalibration,” said Borrows, a member of the Chippewas of the Nawash First Nation of Ontario.
“We need an infusion of some very non-political values to guide our future paths — love, humility, honesty, kindness, bravery, respect and truth.”
Borrows, who blames both sides for the failed relationship, will make a plea for direct action to help each other.
“We could visit someone who’s ill, help a grandmother in need or invite someone over for dinner — I know many Anishinaabe stories which place these actions at their heart — and, like many old stories, we could positively transform the world around us.”
Saturday’s keynote speaker will be lawyer Robert Morales, a member of Cowichan Tribes and chief negotiator for the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group. Morales, who is leading a Hul’qumi’num petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, will speak on how international law can address gaps in Canadian legislation on land claims and treaty issues.
Other speakers include Val Napoleon, aboriginal justice and governance professor at the University of Victoria, and Ana Maria Peredo, professor at UVic’s Peter B. Gustavson School of Business.
• For more information, call the St. John the Divine office at 250-383-7169.
