The first terrible fracture was political. It came with the collapse of the Dene/Metis comprehensive claim in 1990.
With no agreement on how to tackle the federal government to push the claim through, Gwich'in and Sahtu leaders broke away from the Dene Nation and didn't return until 11 years later in 2001.
The second wing fractured with the departure of long-term President Bill Erasmus in 2003.
Erasmus took over from Stephen Kakfwi in 1987. At the height of the North/South break-up, it was Erasmus who uttered the famous words: "They'll be back'" after the Gwich'in and Sahtu left the meeting tent. He also said the federal government would never negotiate with the regions one-on-one. He was wrong on both counts.
The feds not only did negotiate, but withdrew significant funding from the Dene Nation which put a major squeeze on the organization's ability to survive as a political force.
Throughout the nineties, with no political mandate, the Dene nation accomplished little more than keeping itself alive. The regions were busy settling land claims and had no need for the Dene Nation.
In 1998, Erasmus announced a new direction. The organization would focus on health and environmental issues, he said, as if acknowledging there was no political role left to play.
Now Noeline Villebrun has inherited an organization which, after years of financial drain, is badly in debt and still lacking a political mandate.
The recently resurrected Aboriginal Summit, under the leadership of former NWT Premier Don Morin, has been anointed by DIAND to take the lead on devolution and resource sharing negotiation issues at the territorial level. There goes a potential mandate and ongoing funding.
As well, Erasmus, who was acclaimed several times in the past by the chiefs, didn't support Villebrun's election. He kept the Assembly of First Nations post of Northern vice-president which further erodes the Dene Nation chief's authority and salary.
But the Dene Nation is not one person, it's a lodge of Dene Chiefs who together have huge authority and credibility.
While the Dene leadership seems to have a soft spot in their hearts for the Dene Nation, at the most recent Assembly there was little progress in defining what the Dene Nation should be doing. So the question remains: What is the role of the Dene Nation?
Until that question is answered, the organization will remain be closer to the spirit world than the political one.
In order for the highly anticipated Made-in-Nunavut curriculum to work, we need the people to teach it.
According to education officials, there aren't enough Inuktitut speaking teachers, especially in the high schools.
The finest Nunavut curriculum is useless without Inuktitut speaking teachers at the front of the class teaching, or in the principal's chair, setting the tone for the school.
It wasn't that long ago, Inuit were afraid to even speak up at all in their own language, much less stand in front of a group and teach.
Inuit have a come a long way from the one-room school house where Inuktitut was not allowed to be spoken and when culture and language had to be left at home.
Last week some prominent Nunavummiut shared their stories with Nunavut News/North about growing up in the North and challenges being educated here.
Since Nunavut was created in 1999, the department of education has been announcing the arrival of "Made-in-Nunavut" curriculum to bring Nunavummiut full circle.
This is supposed to be the foundation of life here, the very stuff that gives people self esteem and hope. The wheels are moving, but slowly.
For example, letters requesting permission to use certain pieces of work for use in schools are starting to arrive in the mailboxes of writers, artists, filmmakers, even people in the media who have written stories and contributed to the fabric of life here.
This is a start. But without the homegrown teachers, how effective will the lessons be?
The department of education is reviewing distance programs offered through Nunavut Arctic College to see what degree and diploma programs can be tweaked, and what more could be offered here.
According Education Minister Ed Picco, the most successful degree program offered through Nunavut Arctic College has been the Nunavut Teacher Education program.
Nunavummiut have embraced the fact they do not have to leave Nunavut to get teacher training and their degree.
It's going to take time to get Inuit teachers into our classrooms. Until they are in the majority, the education department should find creative ways to make sure Inuktitut is the language of instruction -- perhaps with translators or classroom aides who speak Nunavut's native tongue.
Editorial Comment
Lisa Scott
Kivalliq News
I've been at the helm of the Kivalliq News for two weeks now. Travelling east from Yellowknife marks my first visit to Nunavut, and the first time I've glimpsed Hudson's Bay.
I've spent much of that time getting to know people and organizations in Rankin Inlet, as well as the other six communities in the region.
Of course, learning a new set of acronyms for those people's titles and for government departments different from the NWT has been a whole other challenge.
The culture here is unlike anything I've ever seen, even on travels around the world. I had thought that coming to Yellowknife from southern B.C. a year ago would open my eyes to how Northern Canadians live.
After coming to Nunavut, I realize how distinct each territory is, and how much more I can learn.
The theme of education
I've covered four high school graduation ceremonies in the region so far, making education a bit of a theme for each week's newspaper.
The ceremonies are symbolic of the Nunavut culture, exposing the people's values on education, family and community. At the Alaittuq high school grad, emotions ran high among the students and their friends and family.
There was a sense of real accomplishment in the air, echoed by speeches from MLA Tagak Curley and principal Jesse Payne. Valedictorian Special Kusugak's speech was laden with tears, for herself and for her peers.
My southern Ontario graduation from high school shared none of that emotion. In fact, many of my friends weren't able to travel back from their respective universities for the fall event.
Students like Marjorie Kaviq Kaluraq of Jonah Amitnaaq school in Baker Lake travelled all the way from her studies at Trent University in Ontario just for her graduation celebration Aug. 28.
Positive interaction
The small class sizes and schools obviously allow for positive interaction of students with teachers, with each other and with the community. There isn't the anonymity rampant in graduating classes numbering hundreds of students in bigger centres -- where the official grad photo looks like a bunch of ants wearing hats.
Congratulations to all the grads with their Grade 12 diplomas safely tucked away.
May you embrace the myriad of post-secondary study options available across Canada.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
For gas project watchers, all eyes are on Deh Cho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian after he made good on a threat to use the courts as a bargaining tool to try and get what he believes is a fair deal for Dehcho First Nations.
Norwegian's basic argument is that because 40 per cent of the proposed Mackenzie Valley Pipeline goes through Deh Cho territory, the Deh Cho should be able to appoint two seats on the seven-seat joint review panel. The panel is charged with evaluating the pipeline application, which includes the Environmental Impact Statement, before making its recommendations on the project's viability to the federal environment minister.
Interesting that we've heard nary a peep from the Sahtu region, where approximately 40 per cent of the proposed pipeline will be built, as well.
Perhaps it's the fact that the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement was signed more than 10 years ago, compared with the Deh Cho land claim and self-government deal that remains in limbo.
While inking a land claim deal for the Deh Cho is important, one has to question the wisdom of a lawsuit against the federal government as a way of hastening this process.
The cold reality
Either there will be a pipeline or there won't be. If one is to be built, the pipeline will require a one kilometre corridor passing through the NWT to Alberta.
Yes, there will be environmental and social implications. However, economic spin-offs could provide a windfall for everyone in the territory. Naysayers will argue that the big financial prizes will only be up for grabs during the pipeline's construction and will peter off as the gas starts flowing.
As for having a say where the corridor will be, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that physical geography combined with the pipeline's destination will limit the nature of its route through the territory.
How much is land worth?
So the big question is: how much is a 1x400 km swath of land worth? Add that to the compensation value for the pipe's impact on the environment -- during both the building and operation phase -- come up with a dollar figure everyone can agree on and cut Norwegian a cheque. Because the best land claim deal in the country and all the self-government one can handle is only as potent as the economic foundation upon which it rests.
In light of recent events, this approach may provide the best pipeline deal the Deh Cho will ever get as it's hard to imagine people scrambling to do related business with leadership that appears difficult to work with.
As noble as standing one's ground in the face of neo-colonialism may appear to some, others will say that old wounds have prompted Norwegian to grind his political axe. And at what expense?
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
Jack Handey -- for those familiar with Saturday Night Live -- became renowned for his Deep Thoughts. Here are a few miscellaneous musings that passed through the unsettled mind of your local scribe last week:
-- Finally, the Dehcho First Nations is going to court. Whether you believe that's a good thing or a bad thing, the DFN feels an injustice has been done. It wanted, but was not granted, the power to appoint two members to the seven-member Mackenzie Valley pipeline review panel. The DFN's credibility was arguably starting to take a beating because chiefs have regularly trotted out the threat of court action over the past several years. The DFN was comparable to the boy who cried wolf. Now that has changed. Whether the court case can be won or whether the suit will be withdrawn if and when a compromise is reached, remains to be seen.
-- Fort Providence is, without a doubt, the fly capital of the nation, maybe the world. Many people have expressed such a sentiment because it's the truth. Even in early September, the flies there -- blackflies or sandflies depending on who you ask -- continue to torment every living creature. Even though they have to cope with them on a daily basis, Fort Providence residents haven't become desensitized to the ubiquitous clouds of flies. Everywhere one looks outdoors, there are people waving their arms, muttering "darn flies" (or something stronger) and wearing mosquito netting over their faces.
Scientists gather at the demonstration burn site near Fort Providence in the summer to study fire behaviour. There ought to be a team of scientists trying to figure out what makes these hardy little buggers keep on ticking when their brethren have died off in nearly every other Deh Cho community.
Serious bison problem
-- The bison problem on the highway is a serious one. A warning sign near Fort Providence informs drivers that bison may be on the highway for the next 236 kilometres. That's a heck of a long stretch to remain vigilant but what's the alternative? By letting one's guard down or driving too fast, there's the potential for a collision that isn't going to do the bison or the motorist any good.
While heading to Fort Liard in August, I came upon a large bull who wandered out of the bush and onto the road, several hundred metres in front of my truck. Thankfully, this occurred in broad daylight, so the bison was easy to spot. If it had been dark and I hadn't slowed down, my trajectory would have likely resulted in the vehicle's hood crumpling right into the belly of the beast.
Ouch!
Salt River First Nation Chief Jim Schaefer was not chief or a member of council when the council was ousted at a special meeting in November 2002. Incorrect information appeared in NWT News/North on Sept. 6.
The photo of hanging muktuk in News/North's story "Food swap in the Delta" (Sept. 6), should have been credited to Merven Gruben. News/North apologizes for the mix-up.
Clarification
Dene Nation salaries and travel costs reported in News/North, Sept. 6, may have given an incorrect impression. Salaries of $209,056 were paid to five officials during the last fiscal year. Current National Chief Noeline Villebrun took over from Bill Erasmus midway through the year. Travel costs of $323,709 included costs of hosting the annual assembly and regional meetings.