Premier Wynne visits Whitefish River First Nation
By Barb Nahwegahbow
WHITEFISH RIVER—Whitefish River First Nation (WRFN) got an unexpected but welcome visitor on Sunday August 7, 2016. Chief Shining Turtle said they received a request on Saturday, August 6, to host Premier Kathleen Wynne as part of her northern tour. The Chief, staff, and Councillors swung into action to make the most of the Premier’s visit and all went smoothly.
“It was an honour to meet with the Premier,” said Chief Shining Turtle, “and we were happy to show her a small part of our territory. She seemed surprised at everything we were accomplishing with very limited resources.”
The Chief was joined in the meeting by Councillor Cara McGregor, and travelling with the Premier were Marie-France Lalonde, Minister of Government and Consumer Services and Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, and James Janeiro, Senior Policy Advisor.
Chief Shining Turtle hosted the meeting at Rainbow Lodge which has the spectacular backdrop of Dreamer’s Rock.
“We spoke to her about the history of Dreamer’s Rock,” said the Chief, “and that countless numbers of Anishinaabe men and boys travelled from all over including the U.S. to do their vision quests in that very spot. Kathleen Wynne quickly grasped the historical and spiritual significance of this part of our territory. She was visibly touched by the beauty and spirituality of this special place. I also talked to her about Rainbow Country, the television series that was filmed there in the early 70s. She had no idea.”
The Chief told the Premier that the Lodge provides a business opportunity by WRFN because they rent it out as a holiday lodge and a conference centre. “We are only the caretakers of this territory,” the Chief told the Premier.
The discussions focused on some of the issues faced by Ontario First Nations, including lack of access to capital for economic development. Chief Shining Turtle told the Premier that First Nations cannot go to lending institutions for business capital making it impossible to compete in the global marketplace. The Premier promised to look into this because this does not make for a level playing field for First Nations.
Prior to the meeting at WRFN, the Premier visited the Helios Greenhouse Project developed by WRFN and located in Espanola, Ontario. There, the Premier met with Greenhouse Manager Jeff Scarff. Premier Wynne was impressed with the Project, said Chief Shining Turtle, but even more impressed with the possibilities of taking the model developed by WRFN to northern communities. She could clearly see where northern First Nations could achieve self-reliance and independence by growing their own food, said the Chief.
How can we move ahead on practical solutions to some of the basic concerns like health, youth, and economic development, while still engaging in treaty discussions is a question that the Premier asked, said the Chief. “I felt she was genuine in her concerns about some of the basic life issues our people are facing,” said Chief Shining Turtle.
The Premier posed one final question to the Chief in the visit that stretched from 20 minutes to just under an hour. “She told me she could count on me to be straightforward,” said the Chief.
“What I’d really like to know,” said Wynn, ” is how are we doing in terms of our work with First Nations. Are we making a difference? If I don’t know what the stumbling blocks are, I can’t do anything about them,” the Premier said to the Chief.
“I felt she was sincere,” stated the Chief. “I had to tell her I needed time to really think about it and talk to my Councillors. I made a commitment to write her a letter. It’s a tough question to answer on the spot. I didn’t want to leave anything out.”
Chief Shining Turtle presented Premier Wynne with a quill box, a hand carved bowl, and Sweetgrass from WRFN, and a handmade starblanket from United Chiefs and Council of Mnidoo Mnising.
It was a successful visit, said the Chief, “and I’m optimistic about the future of our relationship with her government. However, I do question the quality of briefing that she’s getting from the bureaucrats because there seemed to be a lot of basic information she didn’t know about our First Nation.”