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| Elijah Harper 1949-2013 Was a Leader of his People! |
It reminds me of when I lived in Alberta and one of the Vice Presidents of the Indian Association of Alberta asked me what I thought made a good Chief. His question caught me off guard and at the time I felt ill prepared to give him a satisfactory answer. But his question has stayed with me over the years.
Background
I was the Executive Director for Treaty and Aboriginal Rights Research (TARR) in Alberta, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I worked with all the Chiefs of all of Alberta – namely the Chiefs of the First Nations of Treaty 6, 7, and 8. At the time there were 45 Chiefs in Alberta. I led a team that worked diligently to research and document specific claims (mostly Treaty breaches) that were ready to be submitted as Statement of Claims to the government of Canada. When the Federal government validated a claim, we continued to provide support to the First Nation’s negotiation team to ensure that a fair settlement was reached.
After working at TARR, in 1992 I accepted a Executive Director position with
the newly created Indian Claims Commission in Ottawa. The Commission was
established by the Privy Council under the Inquiries Act to address the bottleneck
of specific land claims across Canada. For
the first time, an independent body existed to which First Nations could seek
redress when Canada had rejected a claim.Again, I was working directly with Chiefs from across all of
Canada.
However, one day by chance I met the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Ovide Mercredi, on a flight to Ottawa. By the time we landed, he had offered me a position as his Executive Assistant and I had accepted it. Working at the AFN national office I was privileged to work at the highest level with Chiefs from across Canada, on a variety of issues that concerned them.
However, one day by chance I met the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Ovide Mercredi, on a flight to Ottawa. By the time we landed, he had offered me a position as his Executive Assistant and I had accepted it. Working at the AFN national office I was privileged to work at the highest level with Chiefs from across Canada, on a variety of issues that concerned them.
As a result of these extraordinary positions I was able to
experience working with a variety of Chiefs from Alberta and across the country.
I have observed many different styles of being a Chief.
I feel that the question is still a very complicated one and conceivably in today’s environment an even more difficult one to answer than in the past.
I feel that the question is still a very complicated one and conceivably in today’s environment an even more difficult one to answer than in the past.
What do I mean?
I will speak of my own First Nation, Athabasca Chipewyan First
Nation (ACFN). ACFN owns a business, ACDEN, which serves the oil industry. I’ve been told it does more than $280 million
in contracts annually and employs a staff of almost 3,000 people. In 2014 ACDEN
moved into a state of the art modern building on five acres of prime land in
Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. This is the only building in northern Alberta
that is Gold LEED Certified.
In a video on the ACDEN website, a person says, “This building
symbolizes growth, quality, and dedication.”
Good for us, right? Well, not
so fast.
In spite of this perceived achievement we still have overwhelming
unemployment, poverty and lack of housing in our community, not to mention all
the problems that are associated with poverty, like drugs and alcohol, mouldy houses, poor
health, and high suicide rates. The
question I have been asking for the past few years is why there is such a huge
disconnect between the apparent success of our business and the abject poverty
of our members? Shouldn’t the success of
the ACDEN also mean the success of its owners, who are the members of the First
Nation?
Which brings me back to the question of what makes a good Chief. Well, Lawrence, I finally have an answer I feel comfortable sharing after years of working with Chiefs. Understandably, there is not one clear answer. My observation is that the Chiefs who are
successful are the ones with a clear vision and a strong mandate from their
members.
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| Chief Louie (click here) He is a great chief! |
A “good Chief” takes direction from the members, but is also not
afraid to provided leadership. A “good
Chief” continually evaluates decisions made by Council with how those decisions
impact the members. A “good Chief” is not afraid to admit when he or she has
made a mistake. A “good Chief” might
make mistakes, but will learns from them and move forward. A “good Chief” makes decision not based on
emotions but well thought-out and in the best interest of the collective
membership. At the end of the day, the members will benefit from his / her leadership.
First Nations have collective rights, but they also have collective responsibilities. Traditionally, the entire membership made decisions together as a group.
Thus, a “good Chief” is an integral part of the First Nation and not separate from them. A “good Chief” is on the same page as the
members and derives the strength necessary to do a good job from the support of
the members for their collective vision of the First Nation’s future.
Which begs the question, what would it take to make a “Great Chief”
because a “good Chief” will recognize that just being 'good' does not cut it? A “good Chief” will always strive to be a
GREAT chief. A great Chief will not only lead his or her community into a brighter future but will also empower its members.
A great Chief will know the community, its history and its rights. A great Chief will strive to improve the
prosperity and wellbeing of everyone in the First Nation and not just a corporate entity.
