“Treaty No. 9 was never about control; it’s about sharing, honouring and respecting each other and the land.” – Chief Theresa Spence
September 30th, 2014: Sometimes the most banal question can elicit a stinging reply so severe that the roots of the sting are formed from centuries of oppression. When questioned by a reporter at a closed door inquiry dealing in Indian Affairs, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Shawn A-in-chut Atleo was asked about his views on a reporter who was summarily ushered off the reserve at Attawapiskat by band police acting on orders of the Chief. Do you think that’s appropriate? What followed was a methodical and measured response that showed the lunacy of such a query.
“Is it appropriate that First Nations ranks around 67th on the U.N. development index when Canada ranks in the top seven? . . .
Is it appropriate when Amnesty International released a report saying that this is a grave human rights crisis amongst First Nations in Canada . . . is that appropriate? . . .
In 2011 when Shelia Fraser said that after 10 years of audits and after 30 audits specifically on Indian and Northern Affairs that conditions were getting worse . . . is that appropriate?
The question is. . . .Is that appropriate? This is what our people are saying. That poverty is killing our people . . . the history of colonization and unilateral action on the part of governments WILL STOP NOW!”
We have arrived at a fork in the road. The room goes silent.
Our government would have you believe that 3rd world standards in a 1st world democracy is something born in a faraway land far removed from the ideals of Canadian society. Problem is its thriving right here in Canada. Acclaimed filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin (Kanehsatake: 270 years of Resistence), painstakingly chronicles the journey First Nations people in Canada have endured in the feature documentary, ‘Trick of Treaty?’. For some the recent uprisings combined with government obfuscation shows just how wide the chasm of reconciliation and reparation still is.
Like her sisters before her, Chief Theresa Spence is making a stand in the name of all First Nations people. Taking up residence in a teepee on Victoria Island facing Parliament Hill, the hunger strike begins. Meeting requests were issued to the big chief himself, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, one of his little chiefs Governor General David Johnston and all the First Nations leaders in hopes of improving relationships between the First Nations people and the Canadian Government. The Governor General’s inclusion harkens back to the origins of Treaty No. 9 penned by then Governor General Sir Albert Henry George Earl Grey, who, as the representative of the King was responsible for the original treaty negotiated in 1905. With more trick than treaty baked into this signed document, this untranslated maligning piece of prose leans more towards a high brow political grifting than a document between equals.
On a cold and blustery day, gaggles of press scrum around Spence just outside her teepee and hang on her every word. Broken promises from Treaty No.9 are at the crux of her meeting to resolve core issues affecting First Nations. A distance heckler interjects about where the money went but Spence doesn’t waiver from her script. Obomsawin’s use of archival stills and journal recitations highlight the Treaty players and serves as a framing device for the narrative. As understood by First Nations people, this treaty was predicated on peace, prosperity and understanding between the government of the day and First Nations to make things better for the Cree. This was not the case. Dr. John Long penned the foremost authoritative book on said topic entitled, Treaty No. 9 – Making the Agreement to Share the Land in Far Northern Ontario in 1905 – which documented the historical writing and oral wording while simultaneously parsing out its many interpretations giving strategic insight on the government of the day. The diarized notes from the Ontario Commissioner at the time, George McBarton, stated that First Nations could use the land forever, period full stop. In addition, the King wants his people to be happy and prosperous so every man, woman and child shall receive $8.00 per person the first year and $4.00 per person every year after that. The catch?, the taking up clause means First Nations people have conditionally agreed to the terms of Treaty No. 9 without fully understanding it.
Director Obomsawin shows how the wheels of government continue to play an integral and somewhat subversive role in the First Nations diaspora. As recently as December 2012 the Canadian government passed the Omnibus Bill C-45 which contains many changes to several act; The Indian Act, The James Bay Lord and Claim Settlement Act, Natural Resources Act, The Water Pollution Protection Act all without the consultation of consent of indigenous people. And the result of these changes engendered a ground swell of support which manifested in the Idle No More Movement that started with four Saskatchewan women questioning the changes to Bill C-45.
For Tony Belcourt, Metis Nation – First President of Native Council of Canada, 1971 – 1974 the times may have changed but the message is still the same. Government continues to deny, never wanted to meet, doesn’t want to talk and are blind to the issues surrounding First Nations people. So what has changed since 1971? Well, they could get away with it then but in 2012 they can’t. The irony is that this single treaty, viewed in its entirety, always meant different things to different people. Adulterated in its translation by government, Treaty No. 9 was always couched to yield the most favourable outcome for its colonial masters. They say history is written by the victors and never were truer words uttered.
Verdict 4 /5 – We as a country espouse to greatness. But this greatness cannot and should come at the hands of a government that even today, fails to acknowledge the wrongs it has perpetrated on the First Nations community. Obomsawin’s poignant narration provides the historical context for a people in transition. A strong follow up to her 2013 The People of the Kattawapiskak River documentary which screened as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival last year, Trick or Treaty stands as a continuing testament to the voices and struggles of people who will not be silenced. From the historical chicanery of Treaty No. 9 to the ground swelling of the modern day Idle No More movement, this story is told with the unfiltered intelligence that nurtures all who watch. The splendour and beauty of the motherland and their way of life is what the First Nations people are fighting to preserve and the closing coda echoes breathtaking vistas and aerial cover of what they will lose if things don’t change.
Treaty No. 9 signed in 1905 offers more tricks than treat.
Genre: Documentary
Director: Alanis Obomsawin
Country: Canada
Year: 2014
Language: English/Cree
Premiere Status: World Premiere
Runtime: 85 minutes
Rating: PG
Executive Producer: Annette Clarke
Producer: Alanis Obomsawin
Production Company: National Film Board of Canada
Screenplay: Alanis Obomsawin
Cinematographer: René Sioui Labelle, Philippe Amiguet, Michael Darby
Editor: Alison Burns
Sound: Glenn Hodgins, Donald Ayer
Music: Alain Auger
Cast: Jode Kechego, Dr. Stan Louttit, Dr. John Long, Chief Perry Bellegrade, Chief Theresa Spence, Tony Belcourt, Benson Cowan, Clayton Cheechoo, James Cheechoo, Lynda Kitchikeesic Juden, Edmund Hetherington, Joyce Peters, Matthew Mukash, David Kawapit, Sage Mukash, Gabrielle Fayant, Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, Joe Red Sky, Thundering Woman
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