Inuvik (Mar 03/03) - James Firth has been chief for 13 years and in addition to serving as president of the Nitah Gwich'in Council, finance committee member for the Gwich'in Tribal Council, a Gwich'in Renewable Resource Board member, he works full-time job for NorthwesTel.

Inuvik Native Band Chief James Firth is in the final weeks of his career in aboriginal politics. But he will continue his fight for a Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline. - NNSL photo

News/North: Why did you decide to throw in the towel now?

James Firth: I think I did my time. We have a lot of good young people that have to be given a chance, I think, to take over the leadership. It's time for some new ideas for them to implement. It's tiring, you know. You're a chief for 24 hours a day. You're called all the time for every kind of problem that you can think of and after 13 years I think somebody else should take over that responsibility.

N/N: What sort of qualities are you hoping for in your successor?

JF: When I say young, it doesn't mean younger than me. They have to be a little older, but I think they have to be energetic, they need to have to know our culture, they have to keep our tradition here of sharing and hunting and that sort of thing. But also, to understand how business works -- how we work with government and how we work with each other, between the other communities as well. It's a very important quality to work with everybody.

N/N: How has the Inuvik Native Band progressed over the last few years since your term began?

JF: Well, when I took over from Chief Cece MacCauley about 13 years ago, at that time we were just started negotiating land claims. So some of our time was spent in doing that the first year. Then in 1992 we signed land claims and then after that it was kind of getting our organization set up so that we could implement it and to make sure we take advantage of it and see where we are in the community.

Because Inuvik is tax-based we had to look at ourselves a little differently than the communities. We had to get into business. So I think in 13 years we have put ourselves there where everybody understands the way our organization runs, we have a process for decisions to be made -- which I think is really important for any organization.

But also, on the business side, I think we set ourselves up where when the pipeline comes, we will be ready to take advantage of it and the opportunities that come along. I think that anybody who is part of our group here can get information here. We have our audits done, we have our financial statements done once a month -- so everything is up front and there is nothing to hide. I feel comfortable with that.

N/N: What is your most memorable experience as chief of the Inuvik Native Band?

JF: There are lots! We have had a lot of good leaders in the past. My greatest mentor was the late Chief Johnny Charlie from Fort McPherson. When he retired, they had quite a ceremony for him in McPherson and we participated there. That really stood out in how people treated one another.

And another one, I guess, is that we are now, in Inuvik, starting to win contracts and be involved with the community, supporting the community up here and trying to work together with the town and the Inuvialuit.

N/N: You mentioned Johnny Charlie -- have you been trying to follow in his footsteps?

JF: Oh, definitely! He was a very traditional chief and in those days it was all about survival. You had to be a hunter and a fisherman, and be in politics and business with the government. But he told us many years ago 'my role as a provider of food to keep our Gwich'in Nation surviving is changed now because of land claims. You have certain rights under treaty, certain rights under your land claims, and people treat you different, and the way that we do things is going to change.' And he said it's going to change because everything revolves around money. So he told us to take what we learned from him, sharing the food and the fish and the water, and now share our jobs and proposals and really work together to make it stronger.

And another mentor was my uncle, Wally Firth. He was one of our first MPs in Ottawa and he is the one that got me into my career with NorthwesTel. We learned lots from him, how the white man works, how they do business and how they do politics. He's one of those guys who you could call and he would have an answer.

N/N: So what are you going to do with all this free time on your hands?

JF: Well, I took a year off from NorthwesTel and I like going on the land. I like hunting. I run a trapline every weekend, so I will have more time to do that. But then after I year I will go back to NorthwesTel and hopefully finish my career off there. I've got 31 years there and two more to go, I think.

I am also doing some work for the pipeline with the Arctigas proposal. And regardless of which one is dealt, we want to make sure that we want a pipeline that aboriginals are going to benefit from. We want to make sure that the money stays in our area. And not only the Delta, but all Aboriginal groups in the (Mackenzie River) Valley. We need to make sure that we know how big industry works and we want to make sure that we are ready with the education part and the business part, and we want to make sure that we get value for our land that we will be leasing.

N/N: So the pipeline is not something you are going to back down on anytime soon?

JF: I don't think so. I have about six more months left on my leave from NorthwesTel and in that time I hope we can bring it to a point where the people can make a decision.

N/N: Are you optimistic?

JF: I think what's happening with the Aboriginal Pipeline Group and what's happening with Arctigas, we are going to be bringing it to a point pretty quick where industry will decide what it's going to do. And I think the aboriginal people have spoken -- they want some control in this and they want some equity in the pipeline, they have the tools and the land claims in place, and they have the knowledge to help them make the decisions. I'm very optimistic that this thing is going to go.

N/N: The Inuvik Native Band has had some trying times in the past. How do you see things going from here?

JF: There have to be some very big decisions made very shortly with the Inuvik Native Band. We are status people, we are treaty, and we have to make a decision with self-government on the horizon, how are we going to fit in as a band. And we have done some work on that, and we look at how the band would fit in to the Gwich'in government. The four chiefs are working together with Indian Affairs so that the treaty rights that we think we have are going to be honoured upon signing this self-government agreement. That will be a very big change. And with what's happening across our country with treaty issues and court cases that are being won by other aboriginal groups taking the federal government to court and winning -- tax issues and land issues -- I think there are going to be some major, major changes coming very shortly.

Also, the federal government is pushing this new governance act. Not many people understand it, but we have gone through it and it's change of course, but change always means there is going to be opposition to understand it. But in the long run, I think everything is for the better.

N/N: Where do you see Inuvik, with regards to development, 10 years from now?

JF: I see Inuvik in 10 years being as big as Yellowknife, in that there is going to be a pipeline coming through here, there is going to be people running all over looking for oil and gas, there is going to be all the business related to it. I think Indian Affairs is going to open an office up here so that they could look after all the concerns that have come out with oil and gas. I think we are going to see self-government just about finalized and the Gwich'in-Inuvialuit governments will be running a lot of the programs up here. And I can also see the Gwich'in being right in there helping everybody make this happen. It's just so positive.