And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: SYMPATICO NEWSEXPRESS NATIONAL NEWS Tues, July 20th http://www.ab.sympatico.ca/news/Fullstories/n071950.html Link with American natives on AFN agenda DENE MOORE VANCOUVER (CP) - Canada's biggest aboriginal group will consider a proposal to work with its U.S. counterpart in an attempt to increase its political clout. The Assembly of First Nations' annual general meeting begins Tuesday and members of the National Congress of American Indians are expected to be there. "We see this as an opportunity to renew historic ties with our friends to the south," assembly Chief Phil Fontaine said Monday. "We recognize that a joint strategic approach to common issues is the best way to go - strength in numbers." But critics say the assembly can't even work with native groups in its own backyard and doesn't properly represent most First Nations people. "We should unite in Canada before we start going outside to unite with others," said Marilyn Buffalo, head of the Native Women's Association of Canada. Buffalo said she was not invited to the annual meeting until she wrote a letter to Fontaine last week. She received an invitation but must pay her own expenses. "We've been left out of this entirely," Buffalo said from Calgary. "It's very, very sad when 52 per cent of the population, which I represent, have been left out of this assembly." But Buffalo said she is keeping an open mind about the meeting. Roy Little Chief, a former chief of the Siksika Nation in Alberta, isn't so optimistic. He said the assembly represents the federal government, not native people. "Right now in Canada there's probably 80 per cent poverty among the people (while) Phil Fontaine is controlling all kinds of money," Little Chief said in a telephone interview. "I think people are getting fed up with this." Little Chief is one of several people who plan to attend the Vancouver meeting Tuesday to protest the assembly and the proposed link with the congress. "It's not going to do anything for us," he said. The congress is the same as the assembly - a government-funded organization out of touch with grassroots natives, Little Chief said. But Fontaine said working together has led to many successes for Canada's natives. And there are many issues - land claims, resource rights, treaty issues - that are common to native people in Canada and the United States, he said. A co-operation agreement could see the assembly send its own ambassador to Washington to work more closely with American Indians, Fontaine said. The proposed agreement of co-operation will be reviewed by representatives of each national group and likely revised. Both will vote on the proposal. Assembly spokesman Jean LaRose said the agreement could be the first step towards international co-operation among indigenous people. That could include the Maori people of New Zealand, South American Indians, the indigenous people of Taiwan and others. Up to 5,000 Canadian and American native leaders are expected to attend the meeting. It is the first time the assembly and congress have met and delegates will discuss everything from treaty issues to veterans affairs. © The Canadian Press, 1999 Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&