Shawn Atleo replaces Phil Fontaine as chief of the Assembly of First Nations lobby group.
You fund the AFN lobby group, to the tune of in excess of $110 MILLION per year, through your federal government via any number of its growing myriad politburo departments, including the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, which provides the bulk of its funding, but individual bands also contribute money, some of which they get from other government divisions and departments and agencies and secretariats and bureaus and committees and ministries and their various programs.
“Successful social change movements – principally the election of President Obama – have generated enthusiasm for change and hope for the future despite negative conditions.”
Moments after the inauguration, he said: …My father was connected in the Canadian and American Indian movements of the 1960s. Listening to Obama’s words echoing on the mall, and reading his words on the screen, it reminded me. It was amazing.
B.C.’s Regional Chief to the Assembly of First Nations lives entirely off the grid at his home in a tiny village off the west coast of Vancouver Island. You might say he already gets the idea of energy conservation.
Shawn Atleo and partner Nancy have maintained their small footprint for the last three years, thanks to the ten 48-watt panels that power their island home in Ahoushat. Their house has no freezer or television and is virtually free of appliances. With a primary source of heat a wood stove and a propane heater as a secondary source, there’s a reluctance to cut down trees and carry in 100-pound propane tanks.
To offset the chill, they wear sweaters and slippers. They also compost and keep worm gardens. Next to camping out, it’s the greenest lifestyle possible.
[…]
Atleo and Nancy are also in the process of downsizing by selling their 3,200 sq. ft. home in Nanaimo, in which they raised their children. Instead, they plan on finding a small apartment in Nanaimo to serve as a part-time base (Atleo travels internationally, and he flies out of Nanaimo)…
…Mr Atleo fears militancy may be on the rise again. “Up to 50 per cent of aboriginal people in Canada are under the age of 30 and many are very frustrated.”
Mr Atleo, himself, has used force to protect Ahousaht land and waters. “I have taken part in evictions of companies that did not consult us about using our territories,” he said. …
Also see:
• Halt more aboriginal funding until accountability is in place says Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.
• Appendix D: Federal Aboriginal Grant and Contributions, 2006 – 2007 (WARNING: It’s a simple list of taxpayer funding to aboriginal groups, and it’s 269 pages long).
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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