Greetings and Welcome Back Again!

PART 3:
This segment of our newsletter discusses the importance of honest, kind and respectful dialogue.

OUR COALITION CREATES DISCUSSION
Since we first explored the idea of developing the CAAS, in December 1998 (see ORIGINS on our site), we have known that some people regard us as controversial. This doesn't surprise us...

The way we look at it, the existence of CAAS poses fundamental questions about restoring balance. How do Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal persons work to build awareness and understanding about our common interests in the life on and in the land, the water and the air? How do we support each other in this work, given the history of our relationship as Peoples? How can we collaborate on healing the damage done to the fabric of Indigenous culture? How can we cooperate to resolve continuing manifestations of this history?

Our Core Group, our members and our network stand firm on our convictions. We believe that this history must be given its due recognition. We can only progress through acknowledging our historic relationships. In this way, our two groups of Peoples Indigenous and Newcomers can collaborate on the task of creating a good way to live on this part of Turtle Island.

Many Canadians do not share this commitment. The bulk of CAAS effort goes towards reaching Canadian educators, parents, activists, academics and education-decision makers. We seek to link with those who share our views and build awareness among those who do not.

But, CAAS has also received criticism from some First Peoples' educators and activists. Some have said that we are co-opting the discussion, and by the nature of our cross-cultural approach we are again colonizing or diluting the culture and identity of First Peoples. Others have spoken more directly about the long legacy of broken promises, exploitation and trickery. Some express the view that it is better to work separately rather than take the apparent risks of collaboration. This debate becomes most heated when discussing "who should teach" children about Indigenous Peoples' history, culture, traditions, worldview and perspectives.

CAAS is a pragmatic organization. We believe the problems we face are, at this stage, mutual problems, and that ALL our efforts are required to address these problems... Yet, CAAS is also intensely idealistic. As we come together for this work, our underlying goals as human beings - Canadian and Aboriginal educators, academics and activists - are far more profound than school curriculum. We are focussed on establishing what some call "Right Relations". The crisis we face is not just one of the tensions within the political and economic framework of Canada. Nor is it even limited to the terrible poverty and other social conditions endured by Aboriginal youth and their families across Canada.

We are in a crisis situation of much more profound dimensions. Long ago, the dominant culture renounced respect for Mother Earth and all creatures who call her home, as it ambitiously harnessed the natural world for various purposes. Community leaders (and their followers) abandoned their responsibilities to ensure the vital balance of creation in all processes and decisions a duty we are reminded of by the Seven Generations Teaching, represented in our logo.

There is an urgent need to rebalance the relationships inside our species, as well as between our species and all the rest of creation. This is what CAAS members are addressing when we commit ourselves to learning how to build "Right Relationships". CAAS is working towards this goal: trying to learn, as we go, how to change the status quo while living and working in the current milieu of mistrust, anger, racism and inequity.

The principles we apply to our efforts are found in the Sweetgrass Teaching, shared several years ago with some of us by Dan Smoke-Asayenes, a Seneca teacher in the London, Ontario area. We will make mistakes and have successes along the way, but eventually we must come together in a sharing, respectful, honest and kind way to achieve our goals.

COMING SOON: AN ONLINE FORUM
Following a successful trial run as an informal e-mail list in November and December 2000, a new online forum is being developed to promote a renewed relationship between our Peoples. Organized by a group of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal activists, artists, facilitators, and academics, the forum will be jointly sponsored by Under a Northern Sky: Aboriginal Peace and Justice Circle, the Coalition for the Advancement of Aboriginal Studies, and the University of Manitoba Native Studies Department.

The goals of the forum are to foster meaningful dialogue between Indigenous and Newcomer Canadians on a range of issues relevant to their relationship; to share information about actions, resources, and events that further the improvement of this relationship; to develop strategies for joint action; and to explore, in a respectful and constructive way, the issues Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people face when working in alliance, so that colonial patterns are not replicated.

The forum will feature a interactive opportunity for discussion on a range of issues, eg. education, residential schools, self-government, our colonial history, collaboration obstacles, etc., to which people can submit questions or respond. An on-line strategy bank will document creative strategies for public education and action, such as community dialogues, community history plays, teaching strategies for teachers in schools, learning circles, etc., and the experiences of those who attempt to implement them. An "action" page will bring together concerned individuals to identify, develop and co-ordinate selected public actions to address specific issues in the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people -- one suggestion, for example, is to increase treaty compliance and education about treaties by promoting the voluntary signing of "respect for treaty" agreements by individuals, businesses, and resource companies. The site will also include an annotated resource list of useful books, videos, speakers, facilitators, and workshops that promote changes in our relationship, as well as links to other sites and organizations.

The aim of the forum is to increase peoples' sense that they can do something personally to improve the relationship between First Nations and other citizens. We hope to broaden and strengthen a nation-wide movement in support of Aboriginal rights and build a sense of momentum for change that will encourage other people to take action themselves.

(This forum will be coming soon to a computer near you. If not actually
located at the CAAS' web address, you will be able to access the forum
via a link from our site. For further information, contact the authors
of this notice, who will be the forum moderators:
Victoria Freeman vfreeman@web.net and Mary Alice Smith maryalic@voyageur.ca .)