Let's speak some rhetoric now, for the rhetoric I speak is the truth to many First Nations people, but clear rhetoric to many others, here is the truth. Who really speaks for Indian/Aboriginal or First Nations people, Grand Chief George Manuel would say they speak for themselves, but they are just not being heard. This is how much we have changed from the days of Grand Chief George Manuel to the present day Chiefs and Councils. I want you to imagine at this moment we are at a Chiefs meeting of all the Chiefs of Canada, now I want you to imagine you are a newly elected Chief at your first Chiefs meeting, and you have a major moment of clarification. As Chief you stand up and address all the Chiefs, and start by saying; what we say here means nothing to most of our people in our Villages and Communities. Here we make speeches for each other. Yet, the pulse of our people are influenced by the environment they live, example; TV, Movies, Music, Internet and Social Media, etc. Our people are prepared to give their loyalty to someone or something that truly understands them. To take over from the Governments or Band Administrations, in the name of their Freedom. The Assembly of First Nations (National Indian Brotherhood) says it represents First Nations people of Canada, but yet more than a half a million Status Indians, of more than a million plus Status Indian people, don't even know what the organization truly does. This is not about the 600 hundred plus Chiefs, or Aboriginal organizations or the lawyers, etc., it is about the pulse of the people. Until we stand with the million plus people of our Villages and Communities, the people who bring life to our Families, Ceremonies, Culture and Communities. The Chiefs, Aboriginal organizations or lawyers, etc., will truly not represent the million plus Indian/Aboriginal or First Nations People of Canada, or will they ever be able to truly challenge the Government/s as Nations. In Canada it's the Government/s and the Department of Indian Affairs, or what ever they call themselves today. They decide how an Indian/Aboriginal or First Nations person lives, what they can do on their lands, how they can use their lands, when they can fish and hunt, when they can go to school and receive training, by the amounts of money their communities budgets receive annually. They also inform us, what is justice and what is not justice. We truly do not have one Indian/Aboriginal or First Nations body or organization, or individual/s that can fight the Government/s head on. Because we have to ask ourselves, do we fight to change things, or do we fight to punish. Are we truly ready for change, because in some parts of the Country we are not ready for change. To gain our recognition, the recognition we once had, but to gain our recognition and standing, we must prove worthy of it. We must unify our standing or we will stand alone in different directions. We must remove our anger and frustration, or it will enable us in our discussions or direction. For our true strength right now is our collective civil defiance of these Government/s and the Indian Act. To all the Chiefs, let this not go on deaf ears, be humble and take the step forward. Respectfully yours Peter Leech
