Janice Makokis

Box 365
Saddle Lake, AB
T0A 3T0 OPEN LETTER
Email: janice.makokis@gmail.com

Dear Chief Makokis:

Re: Governments of Canada/ Alberta Position on Education and Protecting Our Treaty
Right to Education

Last week, I attended the Gathering on Lifelong Learning conference organized by the
Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations (CT6FN). It was an opportunity for participants
(leaders, Elders, adults, and youth) to discuss what Indigenous education and lifelong learning is
and to be updated on what is happening at the political tables nationally and locally on this
matter.

During the course of the Gathering we were made aware that the Assembly of First Nations
(AFN) and Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) have collaborated on a joint process
related to First Nations Education. The goal in this process is to develop and implement federal
legislation on education for statutory funding with the intent of completing this by August 2018.
The federal process is aligning with the provincial agenda (Alberta Education) to receive federal
monies (additional to those monies designated under Treaty that was transferred already) for
First Nations Education. This is the federal offloading to the province to be our new education
service deliverer. I have attached several documents to this letter for our Chief and Council/
Peoples to review.

As a Mother and Treaty rights holder, I am very concerned with the direction the federal and
provincial governments are taking to invite us to move away from our Treaty. The ultimate
agenda has always been to get us (the People and our Governments) to give up our Treaty so
they no longer have a legal obligation to us. They have always wanted full unfettered access to
our lands so they have full control over our lands and resources to benefit themselves for their
own agendas. They have never given up trying to implement the White Paper of 1969, in fact, in
recent years this goal has been made easier because they are using our own people to implement
their agenda.

We are facing the same government agenda that my grandparents (your parents) fought in the
1970s where they resisted the government push to assimilate and absorb us (our Peoples) into
Canada. We must be vigilant and stand strong on our Treaty position to ensure we are protecting
our current and future generations.

When our ancestors made Treaty with the British Crown, we NEVER gave up our inherent
responsibility to educate our children in our languages and our ways of knowing. We are askiy
ayisiyiniwak (people of Earth) and our laws, obligations and Original instructions the Creator
gave to us come from this sacred relationship. Our children/ people deserve to know who they
are and be given the opportunity to be educated in nehiyawewin (our Cree language), our
cosmology, our knowledge(s) and ways of being.

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To allow the current AFN/ INAC and provincial agendas to move forward without challenging
them, means that our children, grandchildren and future generations will be impacted
significantly. In the future, the government will say we consented to step away from our treaty
releasing them from the legal obligation to fund our education. We will become domesticated
minorities; a minority has the right to language, religion, and to practice their culture but is
forever alienated from the land.

We have a responsibility to do something to move an inherent right and Treaty position forward
to safeguard our childrens future as our ancestors did for us. I recommend that you host an
emergency community meeting to update our People on this important matter to seek their
guidance on moving forward. I am offering to help provide briefing information in person and
through written documents on this matter to assist our Nation in developing a treaty based
position moving forward. In this regard, I advise that Our Nation consider the following:

1) Host an emergency meeting to inform our Nation citizens about this matter
2) Pursue a Treaty based agenda on this matter -
a. Ratify our Education Law
b. Develop a position to secure Treaty Based Funding this will move us out of the
governments attempt to include us within their statutory based funding framework
c. Work with the Tribal Institutions (Colleges/ Blue Quills University) to begin
development of curriculum reflective of nehiyaw cosmology/ ways of knowing/ ways of
being
d. Begin work to develop an Indigenous Teacher Association (with our surrounding Nations
through Blue Quills University)
e. Put a moratorium on all BCRs/ letters of support going to the Province and INAC for the
joint collaborative process (AFN/ INAC) on Education
f. Direct the Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations to provide our Nation with ALL
information regarding the AFN/ INAC joint collaboration process; re-consider SLCNs
participation in the CT6FN
g. Send a letter to CT6FN requesting they are open and transparent with information that is
sent to them (AFN, INAC and AB) so our Nation can be fully informed
h. Send a letter to Minister Bennett requesting a meeting to discuss a Saddle Lake Cree
Nation approach to Education based on lifelong learning (cradle to grave) as confirmed in
our Treaty
i. Send a letter to the AFN telling them that SLCN retains the governing authority to
represent its Peoples on all matters relating to Treaty and no organization has the
authority to represent us.

If we are participating in the Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations we need them to provide all
information (Government and AFN documents) to our Nation if we are to make fully informed
decisions in the area of Education. These documents will then need to be reviewed/ analyzed
before any decisions are made, since these decisions potentially impact our Nation. The
international legal standard of Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) also applies to
organizations providing full information to our Chiefs, technicians, advisors and peoples so we
are able to analyse documents to give the best advice possible (aligning with a self-
determination/ treaty position) to our Chiefs/ Peoples.

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As a nehiyaw lawyer trained alongside Elders and knowledge keepers to learn our own nehiyaw
laws and with my training in the western academy in law, policy, and governance, my review of
the attached documents give rise for this letter of concern.

I anxiously await your response.

Janice Makokis, BA, MA, LLB

(wpimaskwasis, little white bear)

Attachments:

1. Alberta Chiefs Briefing on Education

2. AFN First Nations Task Team Orientation
3. AFN Work Plan
4. AFN First Nations Engagement Process
5. AFN Early Childhood Education Task Team
6. AFN Post-Secondary Education Task Team
7. AFN Statutory Funding Task Team
8. AFN-INAC Terms of Reference for Joint Collaboration (New Funding Framework)
9. INAC First Nation Engagement Process and Timeline
10. INAC Engagement on First Nations Education K-12