Comments: Election Result

February 20, 2009

I would first like to congratulate Chief Clarence Louie and the rest of the Councilors, Charlotte, Theresa, Tony and Veronica, on being elected last night.

I have high hopes for the new Council because this election process, that was so very heated, started a lot of discussions and caused membership to question a few things, and, left the membership feeling overall that there should at least be some changes made, for our community to improve and grow. This interest should not be ignored because there is a lot of potential that can be drawn from it and this leaves me feeling optimistic and glad. Because, I have said this before and still believe, that it makes no difference where these changes initiate, either from myself or someone else, as long as it means the lives our community members will improve. In the end, I am happy with the whole experience, because I am still the same person that I was when I began the process and did not have to compromise who I am.

Well, I’ll put it this way; my oldest daughter woke me up early this morning jumping and bouncing all over me. She then noticed my drum bag, which was by the side of my bed, grabbed it and pulled out our drums. She grabbed hers right away and passed me mine. Eventually, I woke up enough to join her. And, when we were trying to create a “Cookie Monster” song, I realized that it is through those little brown eyes that I am truly accountable too, because those little eyes will be watching how I act, treat people and conduct myself and it is through those eyes that I will get my toughest evaluation. Because, our children will become who we are and when they grow up they will take on our good qualities, and, unfortunately, our bad, whether we like it or not.

There is still a lot of work to be done, and changes made, that is if our People are able to make some connections. Such as, the drug and alcohol problems that plague our reserve. We cannot address this problem if each term begins with a huge party (last night there was a $2,000 tab at the Mesa). This is sending the wrong message to our Youth, of what the first order of business is. Also, if it was wrong for me to try and submit a letter to the Band newsletter, because Band funds cannot be used for campaign purposes, well, this I can accept. However, why was Clarence allowed to write up a 7 page Question Response, copy it with Band equipment, have a Band employee distribute it, mail it with Band funds to all off-reserve members, ask government officials to comment (on an internal issue) and ask Bank representatives to give a favorable opinion (to one of their clients). If we cannot see that this is unfair, then there will always be factions and splitting up of families in our reserve because some people can do some things while others can’t, that is the very meaning of unfairness.

Going back to the election celebrations, what if someone got injured driving home while intoxicated? Will the community make the connection that maybe there shouldn’t be a drinking celebration? Or, would the community blame the individual for drinking too much? I truly hope nothing does happen, as I have heard there are still some in our community celebrating.

I still believe that Council should be measured by their impact on the community. That means, in 2 years, membership should ask: Has the drugs and alcohol problem gotten better or worse? Have more kids dropped out of high school, or less? How many of our members were sent to jail? How many members get diabetes or other health problems? How many students finished college/university? There is a lot of work to be done yet and some pressing issues, such as rental arrears, inclusion of the community in the Industrial Park development and impact of Sewage Treatment Plant. And, I look forward to the upcoming strategies.

In the end, I am glad that, for myself, I still maintained my integrity, morals and values that I have set for myself and, in the end, if I have to change who I am for a position, really any position, then I don’t want it. And, because I am a traditional person, I will end with a story, this is a story that I first heard while I was in Winnipeg, from a man from Northern Manitoba, and I first told this story at a UBC-O aboriginal grad dinner last Spring:

There was this brilliant man (no, it’s not about me!! hahaha),
He was the most brilliant and smartest person that anyone ever met.
When he got older he decided that since he was so brilliant that he wanted to make the world a better place.
So, he decided that he would go to the United Nations to work.
Because, he figured that it was at the United Nations that he could change the world and solve some of the bigger problems facing the whole world, such as world hunger or peace in the Middle East.
He thought he would start with the big problems.
This was his goal, and because he was so brilliant he figured it was possible.
So, he went to the United Nations and was hired instantly.
He worked hard, year after year.
However, he began to realize that nothing was changing, year after year.
He got more and more discouraged.
Eventually, he got discouraged enough and quit, because things remained the same.
So, he decided that he would start smaller and go back to his Nation and work there.
He figured that if he couldn’t change the world, he should be able to make changes within his Nation.
He applied to work at his Nation and was, again, hired instantly.
He worked hard, year after year.
But, the same thing happened, nothing was changing, and year after year, the same problems remained.
He was discouraged, once again.
Eventually, this caused him to quit his job within his Nation.
By then, he didn’t know what to do and was very confused.
He thought that because he was so brilliant that there should have been some changes made over the years.
So, he came to the conclusion that if there was any place that he could change, he would return to his community and work there.
He figured that it was guaranteed. That it was at the community level is where he could solve problems.
He was sure that those problems could be solved by his brilliant mind.
Again, he was hired instantly from his community.
He worked and worked, very, very hard, year after year.
But, to his surprise, at the community level, the problems still remained.
He was very discouraged, once again.
This brilliant man didn’t know what to do, and thought about it for quite a while.
Then, he realized something.
The only place that he could really change is himself and his own life.
So, he decided to start to change his own life and lived his life in the best way he could.
He did this year after year.
Then, he noticed something.
He noticed the people around him began to change.
There were people that started to see how he was living his life, and this caused them to have a look at their own life.
They thought, if he can do it, so can I!!
And, people started to change how they were living, and more and more people began to see the changes that those people were making.
Eventually, the community began to change for the better …
The End

Election Results

OIB Election Results:

Chief:
Clarence Louie

Council:
Veronica McGinnis
Theresa Gabriel
Tony Baptiste
Charlotte Stringam