Prompt #16 Crown First Nations Gathering

This past week, Stephen Harper met with representatives of Canada’s First Nations in Ottawa. The event was called ‘historic’ by some, partly because it was Harper’s first time meeting with First Nations leaders in the six years he’s been in office. We posted numerous source articles this week, but our main source came from Laura Payton, reporting for the CBC.

I am very pleased to have so many varied responses to this week’s prompt, especially because we welcome a new writer to p+n, Veronica Simmonds. We salute you V!

Prompt # 16 Veronica Simmonds

a plan for a plan leaves us looking

behind

they planned to plan but returned to the

grind

they planned to plan for a new span of

time

for a space to abandon the yours and the

mine

for a time of creation, relation and

facts

a time to revisit, revision our

acts

but the plan the plan to plan was up for

debate

Canada likes his routine, doesn’t want to

relate

one hundred and thirty six years went to

fast

he’s not ready for change he’ll stick to what

passed

Prompt #16 Annik Adey-Babinski

Possession

I’m told the old Chief
had the same desk chair
as Obama. It was built for him
by NASA, designed to fit his spine.
Elijah wanted to sit in it one day
when he found himself alone in the office
but he thought better of it and just left
the coffee on the table instead.

Up by the Band Office the houses have
triple-garages and two-storeys.
These driveways are filled with trucks and bikes.

So how is it that Terry and his siblings
just down the road can’t afford to hunt at Goose Break
when snowmobiles are given away as door prizes,
promoting attendance at the town meetings?
Kids want to know what you’ll give them
if they do their homework. Someone is living
in a portable by the post office. Some things
can’t be bought. Some things were stolen.

Prompt # 16 Crown First Nations Gathering

First Nations Chiefs listen at the Crown First Nations Gathering in Ottawa (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

Oy! Sorry I’m so very late this week!   

For my tardiness, writing’s due late Sunday night, to the presses Monday!

Send them to poetsandnews@gmail.com

 

I’ll keep it short and sweet, and let you do your own research this week.

Our topic is the Crown First Nations Gathering that happened earlier this week in Ottawa. The big item on the agenda was the First Nations proposed repeal of the Indian Act, “the law that governs their relationship” with the Federal Government. Harper insisted that there were “deep roots” to the Act and that “blowing it up would just leave a big hole.” This quote was taken up by Huffington Post Blogger Chelsea Vowel, who gave her impression of the Gathering here.

To add a bit more protein to this week’s offering, David Ljunggren reported this news today:

The federal government disassociated itself on Thursday from an embarrassing official policy paper that said the country’s independent energy regulator, now studying a controversial oil pipeline, is in fact a government ally.

Critics have long charged the right-of-centre Conservative government is trying to pressure the regulator – the National Energy Board (NEB) – to approve Enbridge Inc.’s plan to build a pipeline from the Alberta oil sands to the Pacific Coast.

…

The paper – written by bureaucrats at the International Trade Ministry – also said that among the government’s adversaries on the file were aboriginal groups, also known in Canada as first nations.

Ottawa is in fact trying to woo the first nations and this week hosted a summit between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and hundreds of native chiefs to discuss improving the often awful living conditions of Canada’s aboriginals.

…

Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent told reporters in Calgary that while he had not seen the document, the notion Ottawa considered aboriginal groups as adversaries was a “gross misrepresentation of reality”.