First Nations Voice

PAGE 2 • OCTObEr 2012 ADVERTISING MATERIAL SPECIFICATIONS First Nations Voice creates an opportunity for advertisers, businesses and all levels of government to reach First Nations audiences in Manitoba. With a focus on training, education and employment opportunities, this publication serves to showcase opportunities available to First Nations and all Aboriginal people. department, 697-7020, for more information about file types accepted. The Free Press can also build your ad. Please contact your First Nations Voice ad sales rep for details. disk or delivered electronically, should be Mac compatible. Please include all files necessary for output. Call the Winnipeg Free Press pre-press All digital advertising files, whether on NEXT ISSUE: November 3, 2012 The October advertising deadline is October 22, 2012 Alan Isfeld (204-256-0645) / e-mail: rdeagle@mymts.net For your ad placement and contents CONTACT EDITH BONNER (204-697-7389) edith.bonner@freepress.mb.ca Toll free 1-800-542-8900 HOW TO CONTACT US PUBLISHER Al Isfeld (204.256.0645) ASSISTANT EDITOR Breanna Lambert (204.256.0645) All Rights Reserved. Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, Scanterbury, MB R0E 1W0 Phone 204.256.0645 E-mail rdeagle@mts.net 100-per-cent First Nations owned — Distribution: 94,685 copies No material in First Nations Voice may be reproduced without permission of the copyright owner. First Nations Voice is published monthly by the First Nations Voice. the Winnipeg Free Press office. No out of office sales rep will collect cash outside of this office. Please direct questions to Edith Bonner 697-7389. All payments for advertisements in the First Nations Voice should be directed through 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, MB Canada, R2X 3B6 Advertising Sales Edith Bonner 204.697.7389 / edith.bonner@freepress.mb.ca Mike Manko 918-7768 mmanko@mymts.net Sales and Marketing Breanna Lambert (204.256.0645) Subscriptions $26.25 annually, payable to First Nations Voice c/o Winnipeg Free Press Message from Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief DEREK NEPINAK Federal funding cuts threaten the viability of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Derek J. Nepinak LL.B., B.A. (Hons) Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief, lot of talk about the future of the AMC. Re- cent cutbacks by the federal government have essentially made it next to impossible for the AMC to function in the ways that it has functioned over the past several years. With an 80% cut to our core funding arrange- ments our operational budgets, Over the past few days there has been a our cash-flow forecasts and our long-term advocacy plans have to be completely re- written. The projected cutbacks to proposal driven projects are too difficult at this time to quantify but it is safe to say that we will also experience considerable cutbacks in project funding because our regional efforts do not always fall squarely into the key prior- ity areas agreed to by the Assembly of First including Nations (AFN) and the Department of Ab- original Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC). As a result, the gover- nance of the AMC, including our executive council of chiefs and our issue specific com- mittee work will need to be reconsidered. At no time in the history of the AMC has political action and to coordinate with the AANDC on effective ways to improve the lives of our people in our communities as well as the urban environment. Throughout my career as a Chief and there ever been such a threat to the viability of the organization. Massive cutbacks are not only happening to the AMC, our partner organizations of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), as well as the Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO), are also facing considerable cuts. organizations across the country, as well as tribal councils will also be cut significantly. Interestingly however, First Nations, as party to the Harper gov- ernment's joint action plan on First Nations people will only receive minimal the Assembly of cuts. In addition, project funding will flow to the AFN based on its key joint priorities under the joint action plan, making the AFN the big winner in all the losses to regional political efforts. The operations of the AMC have always been designed to encourage collaborative funding In addition, all political now as Grand Chief, I have always consid- ered the role of a Chief to be a spokesper- son for the benefit of our grassroots people, no matter who is funding the community or the assembly. I have always spoken for the interests of our people and have always spoken from a rights based approach to governance, as well as a rights based ap- proach to the good life we all deserve as Canada's Indigenous people. In light of the significant challenges ahead, many have asked me what is it ex- actly that the AMC does? Shortly after ask- ing a question like this, critics of political organizations are quick to criticize the orga- nizations saying that they are not relevant to the grassroots experience or that our orga- nizations do nothing for our grassroots peo- ple. I can honestly say that if we did nothing for our grassroots people, I would certainly not be here doing the work I do. I have observed over my time as a Chief the sometimes subtle ways in which gov- ernments maintain a steady attack against our ways of life as Indigenous people. As a result, organizations like AMC are in a con- stant battle to combat and defend against strategic tactics, words and policies that are intended to sway public opinion in a way to discredit us in our leadership. History has shown us that federal Crown policy has been extremely detrimental to the experiences of our ancestors in our own homelands. No matter how convincing gov- ernments might try to be constructing strate- gies to tell us that assimilation based policy is a historical problem and that they are now 'sorry', the truth of the matter is that assimi- lation and detrimental federal crown policies are as strong today as they ever were in generations past. Federal policy makers have been in a steady push to offload responsibility for First Nations people for at least the past 50 years. As part of this offload, funding for- mulas have been designed to squeeze our people out of the communities and into the urban environments, falling on the social & health programs of the provinces. Continued on page 16

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