1 i 1 1 1 1 GENOWIN DISOMIN/GUNOWEN DISOMIN 1 KEEPING OURSELVES A Comparison of Justice in Four First Nations 1 | 1 | The Submission of the Independent First Nations Alliance to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples 1 1 1 • 1 1 1 1 Garnet Angeconeb Executive Co-ordinator • Independent First Nations Alliance 1 601/2 Front Street Sioux Lookout Ontario 1 September 1993 P8T 1K6 1 GENOWIN DISOMIN/GUNOWEN DISOiMIN KEEPING OURSELVES "Thank you for letting me talk about the past. I know something about the past. We are trying to get back something that was lost. We lost it because someone told us that there was a better way. We are trying to keep ourselves, to govern ourselves We are trying to get back what we have lost and what we know is right" Albert Peters Elder Pikangikum First Nation, August 5,1993 The title of this paper is the term used by some elders for self-government. The title is in Ojibway (genowin disomin), Oji-Cree (gunowen disomin), and English (keeping ourselves). GENOWIN DISOMIN/GUNOWEN DISOMIN KEEPING OURSELVES A Comparison of Justice in Four First Nations The Submission of the Independent First Nations Alliance to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples Summary i Map: The Communities of the Independent First Nations Alliance iv I Introduction 1 i The Independent First Nations Alliance 4 ii The Four First Nations 5 II Pikangikum in 1932: A Glimpse of the Past 10 in Traditional Methods of Social Control amongst the First Nations of the Independent First Nations Alliance 16 i A Complex Social Control System 18 ii Justice in the Elders' Youth 28 IV Social Control Today amongst the First Nations of the Independent First Nations Alliance 32 V Destructive Forces 42 VI Conclusion 58 NOTES 63 Appendix 1: Charged Persons Statistics, 1988-1990: Big Trout Lake First Nation, Muskrat Dam First Nation, Pikangikum First Nation. Appendix 2: R. v. Hatchard, [1993] 1 C.N.L.R. 96 (Ontario Court, General Division). Appendix 3: Project Description and Research Team. Appendix 4: Justice Concerns of the Independent First Nations Alliance, Presented to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Big Trout Lake, December 3, 1992. GENOWIN DISOMIN/GUNOWEN DISOMIN KEEPING OURSELVES A Comparison of Justice in Four First Nations The Submission of the Independent First Nations Alliance to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples Summary The Independent First Nations Alliance works with the Big Trout Lake First Nation, the Lac Seul First Nation, the Muskrat Dam First Nation, and the Pikangikum First Nation, situated in Northwestern Ontario, four very different First Nations. The language of two of the communities is Ojibway while the other two speak Oji-Cree. Lac Seul is a signatory of Treaty 3, signing in 1873. Pikangikum signed Treaty 5 in 1875. Big Trout Lake and Muskrat Dam signed an adhesion to Treaty 9 in 1929. This paper focusses on only one aspect of First Nations life: on the destruction of indigenous social control systems and their replacement by the Euro-Canadian justice system. The four First Nations which work together in the Independent First Nations Alliance offer an illustration of the state of First Nations justice today, and of the ongoing process of colonization in relation to justice. The Alliance is funded through the DIAND tribal council funding formula but the four participating First Nations do not consider themselves a tribal council. The Four First Nations remain autonomous and independent of each other as they have been since time immemorial, working together through the Alliance where doing so does not compromise the individual independence of each of the member First Nations. In this research, the Alliance examined the state of community social control practices in each of the communities. The project was discussed with the Chiefs and Councils of each of the First Nations. The research team also attended a gathering of the four First Nations in Lac Seul. Fifteen elders and a number of other persons were interviewed. All but one of the Independent First Nations Alliance i Big Trout Lake, Lac Seul, Muskrat Dam, Pikangikum interviews were recorded in the native language and the tapes were transcribed into English • and the results analysed. The effects of the encroachment of Canadian society are readily seen and felt in these four communities. The degree of that effect varies from most severe in the Lac Seul First Nation through a somewhat lesser effect in Pikangikum and Big Trout to its least destructive manifestation in the Muskrat Dam First Nation. While the destruction which has occurred is not equal throughout the four First Nations, the prognosis for each is the same. If nothing is done to halt further encroachment, only increased disempowerment and assimilation lie ahead. Only 60 years ago, these communities had been little affected by colonization. Beyond being brought within the fur trade economy, the First Nations of Northwestern Ontario continued to live very much in accord with the traditions handed down from the past. The elders described a complex social control system which clearly has elements which meet any definition of a justice system. At the service of the community and its leaders was a social control system which offered different instruments for different degrees of need. The formal "Circle" process was used to deal with serious behavior and also to publicize what the leaders thought was appropriate behavior. Each of the clan-based groups which made up the larger community had one or more designated persons participating in the Circle. Meetings of the circle would be held where matters arising were discussed and dealt with. It . would appear that the needs of both victim and wrongdoer would be dealt with in an atmosphere where caring and the healing of community relationships was the prime motivator. Chiefs and the designated persons also had formal roles which required then to police the community and intervene where appropriate. Through public meetings Chiefs also kept community members informed of what was considered appropriate conduct. The Chiefs had an informal role in the community visiting people and making sure that everyone was cared for and had a sufficient supply of necessities. In the 1920s and 1930s, when the elders participating in this study were young, the effects of contact on traditional justice were already visible. Lac Seul, the most southern band, was already beginning to be brought within the white justice system. Pikangikum, less impacted, was beginning to experiment with some aspects of the white justice system. In the north, at Big Trout Lake and Muskrat Dam, the traditional practices was beginning to be used to serve the needs of the Indian Agent. Massive changes have happened in the last 60 years with the most severe effects taking place since 1950. The once peaceful communities are all experiencing rising crime rates. The complete social control system no longer functions in Big Trout Lake which is now policed by the OPP supported by First Nations constables and offenders are now tried by the Ontario Courts. In Pikangikum even more elements of the white justice system can be found. Along with the OPP and the Courts, the Native Justice of the Peace Courts hold regular and frequent hearings in the community. Legal Aid services are provided through a Community Legal Independent First Nations Alliance ii Big Trout Lake, Lac Seul, Muskrat Dam, Pikangikum Worker from the Nishnawbe-Aski Legal Services Corporation who lives in the community. • In Lac Seul today, almost all matters of social control are dealt with by agencies which are resident outside of the community. Lac Seul is policed by the Sioux Lookout detachment of the OPP and offenders attend court in Sioux Lookout. Only Muskrat Dam offers grounds for hope. There, the traditional practices have been successfully brought into the present. The OPP have only been called upon 3 times in the history of the community and the Ontario Courts only once. But even there the future is clouded. Already this year, the OPP have been called in three more times and another court date is scheduled. Without help, it would appear that Muskrat Dam too, traditional justice is threatened. Analysis of the causes of the destruction of traditional social control methods reveals that the present policies and practice of the federal and provincial governments are destructive of traditional justice. The destructive forces are both direct and indirect. The fragmented, departmentalized approach of Canadian authorities to government are antithetical to the holistic First Nations approach to government and justice. White society deals with justice in isolation from other aspects of community relations. In First Nations, all aspects are equally important. Canadian authorities fund roles in the community that support their needs but often fail to provide funding for matters essential to community needs. They fund many of the key players in traditional justice, such as Chief and Council, to perform new tasks related to the national scheme. While funding them in their new role, the authorities fail to provide funding to replace them in their old roles. Similarly, while the authorities provide apparently unlimited funding to take their justice system to the communities, they provide no funding to support the development of traditional mechanisms. Alcohol, residential schools, loss of control over education generally, and the imposition of Canadian game, fish and other laws on First Nations have all contributed to the destruction of traditional systems in the communities. This research demonstrates that today the process of colonization is ongoing and that First,. Nations justice is one of its major targets. We also suggest that the role of the federal and \ provincial governments in this is advertent. The Independent First Nations Alliance and the member First Nations have long been seeking to preserve and revitalize traditional justice.