Action
Alert dd March 28, 2002
Re: Misuse
of Power & Abuse/Victimization of Aborginal Women by self-proclaimed
"Chief" Dennis Pashe of the Dakota Tipi First Nation
There is an
Aboriginal Reserve community not far from Winnipeg called
Dakota Tipi First Nation. Over the years, there have been
stories of abuse
of power by the self proclaimed Chief, Dennis Pashe, but
more recently,
several of the women have spoken out. Their stories speak of intimidation,
no access to basic services, and concern about the band and council
expenditures. An election held off reserve, but to which all Band
members
were invited, elected Marge Prince as interim Chief.
Several Manitoba
women's groups are deeply concerned that the Interim Chief
and her supporters are at risk on Dakota Tipi First Nation reserve.
They
are asking that an election be held, which can be done under section
74 of
the Indian Act.
The following
letter could be sent to the Minister
of Indian Affairs, and
could make all the difference in the Minister taking action. He
has put a
deadline of March 31st as to when a decision will be made about
the future
of this community.
The address
is:
House of Commons,
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
or e-mail: naultr@parl.gc.ca
Be sure to send a copies of your letter to:
Megwetch.
SAMPLE
LETTER
Dear Minister Nault,
It has come
to our attention that some serious human rights abuses are taking
place on the Dakota Tipi First Nation, south of Portage la Prairie.
Dennis Pashe, self-proclaimed chief, has fired all Band members
who have opposed him, has been with-holding social assistance
payments, has prevented access to essential services, has verbally
and physically intimidated Band members, cutting off phone lines
and otherwise creating an emergency situation on the reserve.
The consequences
of this have been the formation of a group of women who must travel
to the city to pick up food from Manitoba Harvest in order to
feed their families. With on-reserve jobs being no longer accessible
to ostracized band members now making up approximately half of
the reserve population and the withholding of social security
payments, merely scraping together enough gas money to make the
trips into Winnipeg is a challenge.
Recent additional intimidation tactics have been the implementation
of a degrading and unfair workfare program, the termination of
Hydro payments, and the imposition of rent payments on housing
that the Band is responsible for providing which is essentially
an attempt to legally evict families from their homes. Children
of ostracized families are not being picked up by the school bus
and are therefore not attending school. Those who are unwelcome
on reserve vote with their feet by moving off reserve. Dennis
Pashe does not allow band members residing off reserve any say
in band leadership selection. Dennis Pashe claims band custom
supports his position.
Dennis Pashe
has vilified the women who have spoken out against him in the
press and in the courts. He has called them "healthy people who
do not want to work" and has attempted to tarnish their character
by painting them as a violent threat to his well-being and that
of other band council members. Our experience meeting with these
women has proved the exact opposite. They are mothers speaking
out against injustice and supporting their children.
They should be entitled to social assistance payments after being
wrongly dismissed from their jobs. Elderly people are not receiving
pension payments they are entitled to. Post-secondary education
funding is being denied. Under these conditions, people on the
reserve, mainly women, children, youth and the elderly are being
denied access to food, education, health services and resources
that would aid in finding employment. These are human rights abuses
as well as abuses under the charter of rights for political discrimination.
The Department
of Indian Affairs has been approached by the women from the Dakota
Tipi First Nation, and other concerned citizens. The human rights
of these people are being violated under the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. The Federal Department of Indian Affairs is responsible
for the well-being of these people yet has done nothing to remedy
the situation. A meeting held by the community March 14 specifically
asks for INAC to supervise an election under Section 74 of the
Indian Act.
Additionally,
the accountability of the department is under question when they
are fully aware that tax money allocated to the band members is
not being properly handled and is in fact being used to intimidate
and repress half of the band population. How would the department
account for these monies? Where is PSE money going? Where are
pension payments going? Where is housing money going?
It is not
acceptable that any person be treated this way in a country that
prides itself on being number one in the world to live in. It
is even more unacceptable that these people are being turned away,
not taken seriously and treated as second-class citizens by the
government.
Native self-government
is an important step in rectifying the situation of aboriginal
peoples whose power and agency has been eroded away by the Canadian
Government since its formation. However, it is imperative that
the Federal Government not dodge its obligations when it is responsible
for setting up the system that allows such abuses to take place.
Meeting these women has proved to us that native self-government
is feasible, for they are determined, knowledgeable, responsible
and concerned for the well-being of their community.
Unless and
until Minister Nault declares that this band conduct elections
under S74 of the Indian Act (and thereby allows a supervised secret
ballot vote of all band members on and off reserve in accordance
with independent rules enforced with integrity) there will not
be democracy and accountable leadership. There is no other viable
option.
We urge
that the Department of Indian Affairs work actively with these
women to better their situation. We understand there will
be a decision on March 31 regarding the governance of Dakota Tipi.
Please advise us as to what measures will be taken to ensure the
safety of these women and their children.
Sincerely,
