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By KIMBALL CARIOU
Billed as the largest gathering of Indigenous peoples in
history, the World Assembly of First Nations (WAFN)
met in Regina, July 18-25. Hosted by the Federation of
Saskatchewan Indians and the Assembly of First Na-
tions (formerly the National Indian Brotherhood), the

assembly drew 2600 delegates from Canada, the USA,

Greenland, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand and

Scandinavia. Thousands more came to a wide range of .

WAEN events — a trade fair, pow-wows and other
traditional ceremonies, art shows, cultural per-
formances, rodeo and other sports events, and a chil-
dren’s institute.

WAEN adopted the “‘Covenant on the Rights of Indi-
genous Peoples” drawn up by the World Council of
Indigenous Peoples (WCIP) in 1981. The Covenant is an
expression of their demands for recognition in the inter-
national community. :

Pointing out that ‘‘the consequences of colonialism
have not been eradicated for Indigenous peoples’’, the
Covenant calls for self-determination, so that they may
“freely determine their political status and freely pursue
their economic, social and cultural development’”. Indi-
genous peoples are defined as ‘‘a people who lived in a
territory before the entry of a colonizing population,
which has created a new state(s) or extended the jurisdic-
tion of an existing state(s) to include that territory, and
who continue to live as a people in the territory and who
do not control the national government of the state(s) in
which they live’’. Some 200 million people come under
this definition, claim WAFN organizers.

‘Centuries of Colonialism

Self-determination, the Covenant states, must in-
clude: the right of Indigenous people to choose their
political forms and institutions; the right to equality and
full participation in the state where they live: full surface
and subsurface rights to the land they use: and full con-
trol of their own education and culture.

Many documents and speakers at WAFN provided
evidence of the deplorable conditions which centuries of
colonialism have created. A paper presented by the
Grand Council of the Crees of Quebec pointed out that
“‘in Canada, an Indian child between the ages of one and
four is more than four times more likely to die than a
non-Indian child’’ and that Indians’ life-spans are 10
years below whites. According to government reports,
the paper says the high mortality among Indian children
is due to respiratory ailments and infectious or parasitic
diseases reflecting poor housing, sanitation and medical
facilities. Federal and provincial governments know this
but have failed to act, the paper says, which ‘‘leads us to
the accusation of genocide’. ~

George Manuel, past president of the NIB and a foun-
der of the WCIP, also levelled the charge of genocide. In
a tough, well-received speech at the opening cere-
monies, Manuel accused the Canadian Government of
helping the Chilean junta to liquidate Mapuche Indians
by not stopping helicopter sales to Chile, and said that
the Guatemalan military is using Nazi techniques to
massacre the Indian majority of their country.

In Canada, he said, “‘when you find 90% of Indians are

on welfare, starving in a rich country, that to me is a
subtle form of genocide’’. Manuel called on Indigenous
-people to battle against the greed of ‘‘the 250 multi-
national corporations which control the majority of
industry and production, and which are the instigators of
the exploitation of all the countries we represent’’.

Many Tribes and Countries

At the WAFN workshop on Politics and Law, speak-
ers from many tribes and countries spoke of their own
struggles and history. Not all were as forthright as Man-
uel, with some preferring to emphasize their desire to
revive traditional Indigenous culture, political forms and
religions. Federation of Saskatchewan Indians (FSI)
leader Sol Sanderson, for example, called for ‘‘clear
Native jurisdiction over our land and resources” to ena-
ble bands to gain full control over their futures, but
refrained from serious criticism of governments and big
business which have robbed natives of their lands.

Chief Wayne Christian of the Spallumcheen Band of
the Shuswaps in B.C., spoke of his people’s struggle for
their fishing rights, and of the unemployment, al-
coholism and suicide common among urban Natives as
examples of the source of ‘‘frustration which can only
last so long before people take action’’. He called for
support to Native peoples in Central and South America

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—AUGUST 20, 1982— Page 6

PHOTO — ONTARIO INDIAN

who “‘live under military dictatorships supported by the
imperialist governments of Canada and the USA’’. The
Regina Leader — Post later attacked his speech for its
““negative spint’’ and ‘‘chilling accusations’.

Other workshops dealt with social and community
development, health, communications, sports and eco-
nomics. Delegates at each outlined the oppression of
Native peoples in their own lands, although solutions
varied, reflecting their diverse backgrounds and political
views. Resolutions from these workshops included: an
end to the removal of Indigenous children from their
communities; expanded training of Native doctors and
health workers (there is only one Indian doctor in
Saskatchewan!); education and cultural exchanges; an
international First Nations communications association;
pressure on governments to ensure that foreign aid will
benefit Indigenous peoples; aid from North American
Natives to other even poorer Indigenous peoples; and a
campaign for the recognition of Indigenous groups as
nations in the Olympics and other international sports
events. :

Miskitas of Nicaragua

The situation of the Miskito Indians and other Indi-
genous groups on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua since
the victory of the Sandinista revolution was widely dis-
cussed at WAFN. Most delegates made little differen-

tiation between treatment of the Miskitos before and .

after the revolution. Manuel, for example, claimed that
in Central America ‘‘Indians are caught between the
right and the left’’, a statement which much of the media
seized upon, ignoring the bulk of his speech.

Delegates and visitors from Central America, how-
ever, presented a different picture. A speaker from
CORPI (Regional Council of Indigenous Peoples of Cen-
tral America) outlined the role of Indigenous peoples in
the ‘‘decisive revolutionary events”’ taking place in his
area. From the time of the arrival of the usurpers, he
said, the Native peoples have carried on open and
underground struggles, which have become by necessity
part of the current explosions against centuries of
oppression. This speaker was one of the few to stress the
need for unity and alliances between the Indigenous
peoples and exploited working people in ‘‘mainstream”’
societies.

Some Indian tribes such as the Miskitos haivebeen ;

historically and geographically isolated from the revolu-
tionary process, he said, but this does not make them
counter-revolutionary, despite the attempts of U.S.

Native child takes part in meeting of over 2,600 delegates representing indigenous peoples around the world. |

- China. Dr. Theodore Mala, an associate professor at

“USSR, he said, he was told the trip would be pointle*

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imperialism to use them to recover its positions.
judgment of the delicate situation in Nicaragua is valid
he concluded, unless it comes from the Natives
CORPI.

A delegation from Nicaragua, composed of re
resentatives of the peoples of the Atlantic coast, was’
WAEN. They explained in detail the attempts of
USA to foment distrust between the Indigenous people
and the Sandinistas, and listed the gains made by thé
peoples since the 1979 revolution.

international Consciousness

A number of left-oriented delegates felt that WA
was successful in bringing Native peoples to a cleaf®
understanding of their demands and advancing thé
international consciousness. But they also pointed 0
that the impact of the Assembly was limited by m
oeuvres of right-wing leaders in the North Ameri
Native movements, many of whom are tied to the C.
dian and U.S. governments. ;

They noted that there is a growing class differentiati
among North American Natives, with a small number
wealthy businessmen and chiefs using the movement!
strengthen their positions. _

Thus, the Native Council of Canada, which speaks f
non-treaty Natives, and the Association of Métis
Non-Status Indians of Saskatchewan, which gene
takes more militant positions than the FSI, were left 0
of the planning process for WAFN. Some delegates f
that this may have been deliberate. The Métis and no
Status natives, who number about 750,000, lack even t?
limited benefits held by treaty Indians, and are equ
the victims of racism. ; |

Similarly, members of the American Indian Mov!
ment, who staged a march from Saskatoon to Regina
protest brutal treatment of Natives, were not allowed!
attend the WAFN pow-wow, an exclusion wh
angered many delegates. i

Another point raised by some was that no Indigeno!
peoples from the Soviet Union or other socialist cou!
tries were invited, although a speaker came from Maoié

University of Alaska, related his experiences ‘in tl
Soviet Union te the health workshop. Before going to th

because there were no positive programs for Nal
peoples there. But he found that the reality was differé
— that in his field of alcohol abuse the Soviets were ve
advanced.

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