Sur la mise en place forcée de la Loi Nault sur la gouvernance

Avant la colonisation européenne de l'Amérique du Nord, les habitants des Premières Nations avaient développé leur propre système de gouvernement autour d'un grand conseil.

Une fois arrivés, les Européens considérèrent les Premières Nations comme une entrave au progrès et à la colonisation. Des traités furent préparés par les Européens afin de maîtriser et d'asservir les Premières Nations. 

Les Européens commencèrent par s'accaparer les terres des Premières Nations, ils les convertirent aux Christianismes et ils imposèrent leur propre système administratif.

Afin de donner un air de légitimité à leur colonisation, ceux qui étaient devenus entre-temps des Euro-canadiens, continuèrent à décréter des lois et à signer des traités sur le dos des Indiens maintenant confinés dans des réserves.

Toutefois, les autochtones sont de plus en plus conscients de l'histoire des Premières Nations. Avec la promulgation de la plus récente Loi sur la gouvernance, les Premières Nations ne peuvent que réaliser que cette dernière n'est qu'une tentative additionnelle de légitimation du pouvoir illégitime imposé à ces peuples durant les derniers 500 ans.

On the Forced
Implementation of the
Nault Governance Act

Dan Ennis
Kikahan Committee
August 2002

n 1491, the Indian People of Turtle Island, a.k.a. North America, had their own systems of government. Most, if not all, had a variation of the grand council format. In its basic and simplest form, it consisted of a family council, a clan council, a community council, a regional council and a grand council. Leaders, or so-called chiefs, either male or female, were chosen by the clan mothers. Decisions on issues were made through consensus and this consensus was strictly adhered to throughout the systems of governance. The guiding principle throughout this system was that we sit in council for the Seventh Generation.

Author: Dan Ennis

It was this system of government that kept our people strong, united and spiritually connected. It was this system that allowed for the preservation of the clean and pristine paradise that Europeans found when they came to our homelands in 1492. Also, it was this system and paradise that Europeans immediately began to set about changing to suit their own selfish needs and wants. Our people were viewed as simple savages who stood in the way of white progress and development and who were very much in need of "Christian-izing" and civilizing.

The transplanted Europeans had the perfect answer to what they began referring to as the "Indian problem". It was their God given "white is right" and "might is right" mind set. These principles have been their driving force for the last 500 years. This is the force that managed to annihilate the Beothuk of Newfoundland and so many more of our people.

Initially, because of our superior numbers, the Euro-Canadians were forced to show some respect for our people while all along conspiring on ways to subdue and control our people. One way this was achieved was to sign treaties with our people. Treaties that the Euro-Canadians themselves wrote and read to our people to get them to sign since our people could neither read nor write.

Even though our people could not read or write they insisted upon peace and friendship treaties without any mention of signing away any of our birthrights as Indian people, nor any of our land. As Indians, we could neither own, buy nor sell land. We were merely the caretakers of the land for the Seventh Generation.

Through these treaties, Euro-Canadians felt that they now had at least a toehold within our homelands. The Euro-Canadians exploited and took full advantage of the respectful and generous ways of our people. Their numbers began to multiply and they began to outnumber our people.

Upon reaching superior numbers, the Euro-Canadians began to exert their power and will over our people. Then they began to either annihilate or civilize our people. Either way, they would still achieve their ultimate objective, possession of our homelands.

At some point, one of those civilized Euro-Canadians got the idea of a reservation as a place to put Indians, thereby controlling and confining the "Indian problem" to a small and manageable location. The Euro-Canadian thinking was/is that with the "Indian problem" confined to a small reservation, it could be controlled, managed and have some predictability.

In order to give the process of the theft of Indian rights and land an air of legitimacy, the Euro-Canadians began enacting legislation under the guise of helping the poor Indian. They enacted the first Indian Act. This Indian Act was designed and written to eliminate the Indian as a distinct people one way or another. They enacted legislation forcing Euro-Canadian religion and education upon our people. They enacted legislation forcing our people to receive permission (pass-laws) in order to leave the reservation for any reason, under penalty of law. They enacted legislation forbidding our people from hiring lawyers. They passed legislation converting our homeland into something that was referred to as Indian crown land but which is now called crown land. I wonder what happened to the word Indian?

Given the fact that Indian nations and Euro-Canadian nations signed treaties to ensure peace and friendship between them why did one feel the need to enact the aforementioned legislation? Also why is there not similar legislation for other peoples, such as an English or French or Italian or German Act? Could one infer the existence of a German problem given two world wars?

The legislation was for the purpose of legitimizing the theft of our land and for the denial of our birthrights to our Indian identity, our spirituality, our language, our heritage and our own form of government. It was to acquire control, maintain control and to perpetuate control over our people as a means of holding on to stolen land.

(photo: Eskasoni, NBEN/RENB)

No amount of legislation, nor intellectualizing, nor rationalizing will change the following facts: 1) Indian people have called "Canada" their homeland for some 20 000 years, at least according to Euro-Academics. 2) Our homeland was stolen by the European newcomers. 3) The European newcomers accomplished the theft of our homeland through genocide, state terrorism, lies and cheating. 4) They continue to hold on to their ill-gotten land through the same "white is right" and "might is right" means, namely genocide, state terrorism, deceit and denial.

Today, Indian people are beginning to ask questions, to find out, to expose and to demand; therefore, Euro-Canadians and their governments are finding it more and more difficult to hide the truth about our 500 year, one-sided relationship. The government's only solution to the Indian problem is an old one--enact more legislation in the form of a so-called Governance Act. It has worked in the past with their people and with ours so maybe it will work again. We are still thought of as the dumb savage.

In its headlong rush to force a new Indian Act upon our people, the government is completely ignoring its 57 million dollar Royal Commission on Aboriginal Affairs report with all of its excellent recommendations.

All My Relations.