Strong words by an FSIN senator kicked off this morning’s opening session of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations’ Fall Legislative Assembly in Saskatoon.
Roland Crowe told delegates he thinks it is time the federation got back to basics with its mandate to pursue treaty implementation, and to get away from building what he calls an “internal legislative process”.
Crowe says grassroots people on reserves are constantly losing inherent rights and that has to change.
The former FSIN chief says he has attended too many meetings where little gets accomplished:
“We’ve sat in meetings that have went on for two or three hours to decide four people who were going to sit on two committees. When we go home at the end of the day — as a former leader or today’s leader — and band members ask us what we’ve achieved, what does it really mean to them?”
Crowe also says that when this week’s FSIN chief election is over, he hopes everyone gets behind whoever is elected.