It’s surprising the amount of interest there is in determining the status of territory and who speaks on behalf of the Natives living in today’s Quebec. The problems started when partitioning of Quebec was discussed and the PQ’ists stated, “No way.” Canada’s Ron Irwin said, “Yes,” and they can stay in Canada with their territories if they want. Arguments flew back and forth with the Grand Council entering the fray citing constitutional protections and opposing bilateral decisions without Cree participation.
Canada is looking to put Quebec on the defensive so Irwin asked a very important question—Would Quebec use force to keep Natives in Quebec?
Native Chiefs in Quebec pressed Minister Irwin to ask this question. To Natives this is an important and legitimate question. Our lives may depend on the answer but as with everything else the question itself is questioned without being answered.
Premier Bouchard tells Irwin to shut up. This isn’t the worst. Then National Chief Ovide Mercredi gets into the act and says the same thing. One must ask if Ovide hasn’t become a “blanket Indian.” In the past “blanket Indians” were those Natives who hung around non-Native settlements and forts helping non-Natives rip off Native people in exchange for a cut of the action and booze. Ovide lept into the fight with both eyes closed and
without consulting the Quebec Chiefs. His input was not appreciated by any but the PQ party.
This to me shows the folly of having a national leader who isn’t picked by all the people. Ovide’s remark that it was a waste of time to talk about “fictitious ideas” show how out of touch he is with the present reality of the PQ dream.
One PQ minister said on a talk show in Alymer, Quebec that the Crees don’t have any rights to northern territory because they are nothing more than nomads and gypsies. More threatening were Quebec Native Affairs Minister Guy Chevette’s words that Quebec has the right to counter internal rebellions. He also said Quebec is so democratic and patient it let the Mohawks block “everything around Montreal” for two months during the Oka crisis. I seem to recall that at the time of the Oka crisis, the PQ called for the army to be sent in with guns blazing.
With everyone fighting over the Crees’ future and right to decide perhaps Crees should just take a page from the separatist handbook and have a referendum to start an independent Cree country. Oh yes, we’ll want to keep economic ties as well as Canadian passports.
Of course, Ovide would no longer be representing Crees to all Canadians but I think that would be a very cheap price to pay.
