Theresa Spence | |
---|---|
Chief of the Attawapiskat First Nation | |
In office August 27, 2010 –August 2015 | |
Preceded by | Theresa Hall |
Deputy Chief of the Attawapiskat First Nation | |
In office July 2007 –September 2010 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1963 (age 59–60) Kenora District,Ontario,Canada |
Theresa Spence (born 1963) [1] is a former chief of the Attawapiskat First Nation in Canada. [2] She was a prominent figure in the Attawapiskat housing and infrastructure crisis, [3] Idle No More, [4] and other First Nations issues. Prior to serving as chief,she was the deputy chief of Attawapiskat.
As chief of Attawapiskat,Spence oversaw a $31.2 million annual operating budget. [5] [6] According to the most recent census,Attawapiskat has 1,549 people living on reserve. [5]
The Attawapiskat reserve has been the subject of several state of emergency announcements by Spence in recent years,due to the reserve's poor housing conditions. The announcements have received national media coverage. On October 28,2011,Spence called a state of emergency for the third time in three years. On December 30,2012,a spokesperson for the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs stated that by the end of 2012-13,the federal government will have spent $131 million on the Attawapiskat reserve since 2006,including the construction of 60 new and renovated houses and a new school. [7]
Controversy has grown around the question of how the money received from the federal government is spent or allocated by the reserve's own government. Financial records have never been made public to reserve residents or to the media;some residents of the reserve refused to discuss the matter with media,saying that they feared repercussions. [8] The De Beers company,which owns a diamond mine nearby and employs around 60 residents of the reserve full-time,has donated trailers for housing to the reserve in the past. The Attawapiskat reserve's government receives a payment from De Beers,but Spence has declined to say how much or how it is spent. [8]
Grand Chief Stan Louttit has criticized media coverage of the Attawapiskat reserve finances for misconstruing the true cost of living in remote locations such as Attawapiskat,which is significantly higher than more populated areas in southern regions of Canada. The Attawapiskat band council agreed to a comprehensive audit,the results of which are pending review by the Aboriginal Affairs Department and Health Canada. [9] Attawapiskat had been placed under third party management by the federal government following the state of emergency declared by Spence in 2011. However,this arrangement was overturned by a court ruling. [10]
A 2012 financial audit commissioned by the Government of Canada for the years found a lack of documentation to account for millions of dollars spent by the Attawapiskat Band Council between 2005 and 2011. [11] [12] When the audit was released to the public,Spence responded by accusing Canada of acting in bad faith. Other First Nations leaders,however,were critical of Spence’s fiscal mismanagement as indefensible and undermining reserves that followed proper bookkeeping. [13] [14] The audit primarily covered the years prior to Spence becoming Chief.
Spence's combined salary and travel expenses amount to more than $71,000. [15]
On 11 December 2012 Spence declared a hunger strike. Her hunger strike consisted of a liquid diet of lemon water,medicinal teas,and fish broth—a historical survival diet for Indigenous communities facing poverty and food shortages from land loss and colonial policies,according to Anishinaabe scholar Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. [16]
Various estimates of Spence's daily caloric intake were published,ranging from 50 to 400. [17] [18] [19] According to the 1991 Declaration on Hunger Strikers (Declaration of Malta),hunger strikes and total fasts include the consumption of liquids [20] and this is reflected in an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association on the treatment of hunger strikers. [21]
Her protest was intended to focus public attention on First Nations issues,support the Idle No More indigenous rights movement,and highlight concerns about Bill C-45. [17] Further,she stated her action "won't end until Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Gov. Gen. David Johnston agree to sit down and talk about Canada's treaty relationship with First Nations leadership." [17] From a tipi on Victoria Island,near Parliament Hill in Ottawa,she issued a call for First Nation traditional women healers and other women,including Laureen Harper,the wife of the Prime Minister,to come and join her "to pray for Canada." [22] Her protest attracted worldwide attention to the Idle No More movement and she became a unifying symbol to some Idle No More supporters. [23] [24] Attawapiskat also fully backed Spence. [25]
A bank account for accepting direct donations was set up for Spence,which Spence's spokespersons indicated would be under the sole financial control of Spence's spouse,Clayton Kennedy,rather than the Attawapiskat band council. A columnist with Canadian news weekly magazine Maclean's questioned the propriety of the arrangement,as well as questioning who was authorized to speak publicly on behalf of Spence. [26]
Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development John Duncan sent a letter to Spence on December 25,2012,expressing concern for her health and urging her to end her protest. [27] Spence subsequently called for a day of protests in support of her cause to take place on December 30,2012,bringing peaceful demonstrations in Toronto,Calgary,Vancouver,and other locations,while a VIA train was detained by demonstrators near Belleville,Ontario. Spence was visited by 21 senators and members of parliament representing opposition parties. [7] Former Prime Minister Paul Martin met with Spence on January 5,2013,calling her "an inspiration". [28] Amnesty International issued a statement in her support and urged the Prime Minister to meet with Spence. [29]
Shawn Atleo,national chief of the Assembly of First Nations,had met with Spence repeatedly and had tried to convince her to end her hunger strike,without success. On January 1,2013,Atleo invited the Prime Minister to a January 24 meeting with First Nations leaders,but this date was rejected by Spence who said her health condition required a meeting within 72 hours. [30] Spence's spokesperson stated that the hunger strike would not stop and could continue after January 11. [31]
On January 4,2013,the Office of the Prime Minister announced that a meeting would take place on January 11,2013,between Harper and Duncan and a delegation of First Nation leaders,coordinated by the Assembly of First Nations,to follow up on issues discussed during the Crown-First Nations gathering that took place on January 24,2012. [32] A spokesperson for Spence initially stated that she would attend the meeting,but Spence later clarified her position and rejected the invitation,as Governor General David Johnston had declined to attend,while Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty was unavailable. [13]
Chief Spence ended her 6-week hunger strike on January 24,2013. [33] A Declaration of Commitment [34] was prepared over the preceding couple of days,which committed federal opposition parties and the AFN to address the critical issues that affected the relationship between First Nations people and the Canadian Government,based on Nation-to-Nation treaties going back to the 18th century. At the meeting with the chiefs that occurred on January 11,2013,Prime Minister Harper had already agreed to top-level talks to modernize and implement the ancient treaties that were always intended to bring peace and prosperity to First Nations. [35]
Her hunger strike was covered in part by the 2015 documentary film After the Last River . [36]
Spence has five daughters. [1] Her common-law husband is Clayton Kennedy. Kennedy was previously hired by the band council to co-manage spending and monitor accounting procedures. [37]
Spence has held numerous positions within the Attawapiskat government and its various organisations. She was elected Chief on August 27,2010,but,prior to that,held positions as deputy chief,councillor,a member of the local development corporation,and manager of local daycare. [38]
John Morris Duncan is a Canadian politician. He served as a Member of the Parliament of Canada from 1993 to January 2006 and again from October 2008 until August 2015. On August 6,2010,he was appointed to the Canadian Cabinet as Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development,Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians,and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency until his resignation on February 15,2013 over his inappropriate written communication to the Tax Court of Canada. He later returned to Cabinet as Chief Government Whip,and served in that capacity until the 2015 election,which saw both Duncan's own defeat and the defeat of the government.
David Lloyd Johnston is a Canadian academic,author,and statesman who served from 2010 to 2017 as Governor General of Canada,the 28th since Canadian Confederation. He is the commissioner of the Leaders' Debates Commission and former Colonel of the Regiment for the Royal Canadian Regiment.
Neskantaga First Nation is a remote Oji-Cree First Nation band government in the northern reaches of the Canadian province of Ontario,situated along the shore of Attawapiskat Lake in the District of Kenora.
The Attawapiskat First Nation is an isolated First Nation located in Kenora District in northern Ontario,Canada,at the mouth of the Attawapiskat River on James Bay. The traditional territory of the Attawapiskat First Nation extends beyond their reserve up the coast to Hudson Bay and hundreds of kilometres inland along river tributaries. The community is connected to other towns along the shore of James Bay by the seasonal ice road/winter road constructed each December,linking it to the towns of Kashechewan First Nation,Fort Albany,and Moosonee Attawapiskat,Fort Albany,and Kashechewan operate and manage the James Bay Winter Road through the jointly owned Kimesskanemenow Corporation,named after the Cree word for "our road" -kimesskanemenow. Attawapiskat is the most remote northerly link on the 310 km (190 mi) road to Moosonee. They control the reserves at Attawapiskat 91 and Attawapiskat 91A.
The Numbered Treaties are a series of eleven treaties signed between the First Nations,one of three groups of Indigenous Peoples in Canada,and the reigning monarch of Canada from 1871 to 1921. These agreements were created to allow the Government of Canada to pursue settlement and resource extraction in the affected regions,which include modern-day Alberta,British Columbia,Manitoba,Ontario,Saskatchewan,and the Northwest Territories. These treaties expanded the Dominion of Canada with large tracts of land in exchange for promises made to the indigenous people of the area. These terms were dependent on individual negotiations and so specific terms differed with each treaty.
The Kashechewan First Nation is a Cree First Nation band government located near James Bay in Northern Ontario,Canada. The community is located on the northern shore of the Albany River. Kashechewan First Nation is one of two communities that were established from Old Fort Albany in the 1950s. The other community is Fort Albany First Nation,which is now located on the southern bank of the Albany River. The community is connected to other towns along the shore of James Bay by the seasonal ice road/winter road,linking it to the towns of Attawapiskat,Fort Albany,and Moosonee.
Leona Aglukkaq is a Canadian politician. She was a member of the non-partisan Legislative Assembly of Nunavut representing the riding of Nattilik from 2004 until stepping down in 2008;then was a Conservative Member of Parliament representing the riding of Nunavut after winning the seat in the 2008 federal election. She was the first Conservative to win the seat,and only the second centre-right candidate ever to win it. Leona Aglukkaq is the first Inuk woman to serve in cabinet. She remained an MP until she was defeated in the 2015 federal election by Liberal candidate Hunter Tootoo. Aglukkaq unsuccessfully contested the 2019 federal election.
The Kelowna Accord is a series of agreements between the Government of Canada,First Ministers of the Provinces,Territorial Leaders,and the leaders of five national Aboriginal organizations in Canada. The accord sought to improve the education,employment,and living conditions for Aboriginal peoples through governmental funding and other programs. The accord was endorsed by Prime Minister Paul Martin,but was never endorsed by his successor,Stephen Harper.
The association between the Canadian Crown and Indigenous peoples in Canada stretches back to the first decisions between North American Indigenous peoples and European colonialists and,over centuries of interface,treaties were established concerning the monarch and Indigenous nations. First Nations,Inuit,and Métis peoples in Canada have a unique relationship with the reigning monarch and,like the Māori and the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand,generally view the affiliation as being not between them and the ever-changing Cabinet,but instead with the continuous Crown of Canada,as embodied in the reigning sovereign. These agreements with the Crown are administered by Canadian Aboriginal law and overseen by the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs.
Lisa Sarah MacCormack Raitt is a former Canadian politician who served as a federal Cabinet minister and member of Parliament (MP) from 2008 to 2019. A member of the Conservative Party,Raitt was elected to the House of Commons in the 2008 election,representing Halton. Shortly after her election,Prime Minister Stephen Harper named her minister of natural resources,holding the role until 2010,when she became minister of labour. In 2013,she became minister of transport,remaining in the role until the Conservatives were defeated by the Liberal Party in the 2015 election. Raitt was re-elected in the newly formed riding of Milton. She contested the Conservative leadership in 2017,losing to Andrew Scheer,who made her deputy party leader and deputy opposition leader,a role she would hold until she was defeated in the 2019 election. Since leaving politics,she has been the vice chair of Global Investment Banking at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).
Patrick Brazeau is a Canadian senator from Quebec. At the age of 34,he was and is the youngest member of the Senate during his appointment. From February 2006 until January 2009 he held the position of national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. Brazeau was expelled from the Conservative caucus following his February 7,2013 arrest for domestic assault and sexual assault. On September 15,2015,Brazeau pleaded guilty to simple assault and cocaine possession as part of a plea deal in which other assault charges were dropped,and he was acquitted of sexual assault.
Perry Bellegarde is a Canadian First Nations advocate and politician who served as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations from December 10,2014,to July 8,2021. He had previously served as chief of the Little Black Bear First Nation,chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations,and as the Saskatchewan regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
The Victor Mine was the first Canadian diamond mine located in Ontario,and De Beers' second diamond mine in Canada. It is located in the Northern Ontario Ring of Fire,in the James Bay Lowlands 90 kilometres (56 mi) west of Attawapiskat in the remote northern part of the province. In June 2005,the Attawapiskat First Nation voted in favour (85.5%) of ratifying the Impact Benefit Agreement (IBA). Construction of the mine began in February 2006 which created 3200 positions;mining and operations will create around 400 permanent positions. The Victor Mine is an open-pit mine,with a processing plant,workshops,and an airstrip located on site. By 2013–2014 royalties collected from De Beers Victor Mine amounted to $226. At that time De Beers was continuing to pay off its "$1 billion investment to build the mine and from now until it closes,the company expects to pay tens of millions of dollars in royalties." The mine completed mining and processing in 2019 and has moved to a shut-down phase including demolition of infrastructure and rehabilitation of the site.
Shannen's Dream is a Canadian youth-driven movement advocating for equitable education funding for First Nations children. Education on-reserve is funded by the Government of Canada,while off-reserve education is funded by provincial or territorial governments. Several reports by the Auditor General of Canada,the Parliamentary Budget Officer,and other authorities have indicated an urgent need for improved funding for on-reserve education. Shannen's Dream advocates for the building of safe and comfy schools on reserves,and culturally based education for all First Nations children and youth. The movement was named in honour of Shannen Koostachin,a young activist from the Attawapiskat First Nation and a nominee for the 2008 International Children's Peace Prize
Idle No More is an ongoing protest movement,founded in December 2012 by four women:three First Nations women and one non-Native ally. It is a grassroots movement among the Indigenous peoples in Canada comprising the First Nations,Métis and Inuit peoples and their non-Indigenous supporters in Canada,and to a lesser extent,internationally. It has consisted of a number of political actions worldwide,inspired in part by the liquid diet hunger strike of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence and further coordinated via social media. A reaction to alleged legislative abuses of Indigenous treaty rights by then Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative federal government,the movement takes particular issue with the omnibus bill Bill C-45. The popular movement has included round dances in public places and blockades of rail lines.
The People of the Kattawapiskak River is a 2012 documentary film by Alanis Obomsawin exploring conditions inside the Attawapiskat First Nation,which in October 2011 declared a state of emergency due to health and safety concerns over a lack of housing and infrastructure,and remained in the public spotlight during the Idle No More protests.
The Jobs and Growth Act,2012 is an Act of the Parliament of Canada. It was passed in December 2012 from the second omnibus bill introduced by the Conservative government to implement its 2012 budget,following the passage of the Jobs,Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act in June 2012. Both bills attracted controversy both for their size and for the breadth of provisions contained that were not fiscally related.
Nishiyuu,which means "human beings",or "modern people" in the Cree language,refers to the 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) journey undertaken by a group of Cree youth of Eeyou Istchee between January and March 2013,in support of the Idle No More movement. It is also known as The Journey of Nishiyuu,and the group who participated as The Nishiyuu Walkers.
Jane Philpott is a physician,academic administrator,and former Canadian politician who represented the riding of Markham—Stouffville in the House of Commons. Philpott was first elected in the 2015 federal election as a member of the Liberal Party and was appointed to the Cabinet of the 29th Canadian Ministry,headed by Justin Trudeau,on November 4,2015. On March 4,2019,Philpott resigned from her cabinet position as President of the Treasury Board over the SNC-Lavalin affair. On April 2,2019,she and Jody Wilson-Raybould were both expelled from the Liberal caucus in the aftermath of the controversy.
After the Last River is a Canadian documentary film,directed by Victoria Lean and released in 2015. The film centres on the humanitarian crisis facing the Attawapiskat First Nation in the early 2010s,culminating in chief Theresa Spence's widely publicized hunger strike.
{{cite news}}
: |author=
has generic name (help)