Grand Council Treaty #3 wants to meet again with municipal leaders.
This past summer, aboriginal leaders met at Whitefish Bay First Nation with mayors of some communities from northwestern Ontario.
Grand Chief Frances Kavanaugh says the Aboriginal viewpoint has to be taken in consideration in municipal decisions, especially if they impact native people.
“Because of our different cultures, we know who we are and how to address certain situations,” says Kavanaugh. “It’s essentially up to us to take care of us. That’s all we’re saying.”
Kavanaugh says that’s why it’s important to have an All-Nations Hospital so the beliefs and ideals of Aboriginal communities can be represented. Such a hospital is under development in Kenora.
“We can’t work in silos. You can’t have municipalities working on something to address in Kenora because a lot of the people in Kenora are First Nations people. Any solution they design we have to be part of that solution. We have to provide our input.”
One of the issues Kavanaugh would like to have more discussion on is the drug situation in the region. He says solutions for problems like drug use can’t be made in isolation.
“We fully intend moving forward on addressing the issues of drugs, drug dealers and homelessness. That’s why we have homelessness in towns and cities. It’s because they’re health-related and related to drug use.”
