The MCCN is celebrating its 100th year of signing our Treaty with Canada. As Chief of MCCN during this historic time, I maintain that while we celebrate our past and our achievements that we also look forward to our future. I want to point out that perseverance has been our theme for these past 100 years.
MCCN has seen many changes throughout the past 100 years. We have witnessed major historical events and the introduction of outside influences, both positive and negative, during this time. But when you consider the true history of our nation and it's people, this is really just a snapshot in the millenia that our forebearers have lived in this territory of our Mother Earth generation after generation.
This past century was full of experiences for us. Our citizens have served in World Wars, our oldest Elder has now survived 4 pandemics! At times, we have been forced to leave our lands and our children had been forced from their homes to attend residential school. To this day, we see our children removed to foster care.
But we are still here. We have persevered.
Our communities has seen traditional ways of living altered or discontinued because changes to the environment and social conditions have removed life-sustaining activities like hunting and trapping and fishing. Yet we are still here. We persevere.
One of the greatest social upheavals in the history of Canada tood place here in Pukatawagan 22 yrs ago when it was proven that faulty generators had been leaking massive amounts of diesel fuel which contaminated our soil at our town centre before leaching throughout our community. We lost the entire centre of our community as we had to demolish the school, band hall, restaurant, hotel and nursing station. The work to clean up this disaster still continues today as bulldozers and backhoes dig up poisoned earth.
BUT we persevere and we have developed a new community plan which we expect to announce funding for soon, creating a new town centre with governance, business and social/recreational facilites to be built on fresh, clean soil.
You will hear stories about our history and our culture and the people who built this nation century after century. You will hear these stories and our legends told in our own language, which has persevered even amongst our young people because our parents and our grandparents know that our language is the framework for our culture and our true history.
And you will hear laughter around most every corner in our community. Despite severe hardships, and some very serious social concerns like the massive shortage of housing, you will hear laughter because no matter what has happened we are still here.
We PERSEVERE.
This is much more then simple survival. This is a cause for extreme joy because despite everything that has happened over the past 100 years, you will still see people opening their doors to share and shelter their family and friends. And there is more laughter.
Today is a day to stop and celebrate. All that we have overcome and all that we have to build on for the future. We still have hope. We have an abundance of natural resources and a very bright and large force of young people ready to take on the opportunities we are working hard to create.
We have severe obstacles of poverty and a severe lack of funding to overcome those obstacles. But we work hard to develope a new town centre, a community plan and industries to create employment for our people and wealth for our community.
Change is exponential. Change takes place constantly and at a faster rate. And so just like 2x2=4 and 4x4=16 and 16x16=256, we recognize how fast the world is changing and we are ready to join these changes and gain our fair share of the new worlds that we can create together.
But along the way, we remember and recognize the way in which we have persevered and kept our history and our culture and our language and our friendly and caring ways and our laughter all throughout the past and forever to come.
Thank you.
Your Chief,
Chief Arlen Dumas
Sunday, August 22, 2010
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