Future of Dene Nation debated in discussion of revised constitution

Delegates spent Wednesday at the Dene National Assembly debating the Dene Nation’s purpose as the group looks to update its constitution.

The Dene Nation’s advisors say the current bylaws are an overlapping and complex patchwork. A new constitution has been recommended multiple times since 2019 to consolidate gaps and duplications while modernizing the organization.

However, Chief Bertha Rabesca Zoe – who has led Behchokǫ̀ for the past half a year – questioned the value of spending time discussing a new constitution, and the role of the Dene Nation itself in the modern era.

“We don’t oppose the Dene Nation, we’ve got to be clear,” she told delegates in host community Fort Good Hope, “but we question the relevance of it, because when you look at the political landscape in the Northwest Territories, it’s totally different from the rest of Canada.”

She pointed to the different stages reached in many nations’ land claims and the success of the Tłı̨chǫ Government, which has had a self-government agreement for more than 20 years and now, she said, boasts a $100-million budget, more than 160 full-time employees and lawmaking authority over its land.

“We’re not really interested in sitting to talk about how to modernize a nonprofit corporation document,” Rabesca Zoe said.

“Tłı̨chǫ is not interested in being a member of a nonprofit organization right now.

“How do we work together? That’s the question … I don’t think it is through a nonprofit organization.”

‘We shouldn’t walk away’

A wide-ranging discussion of the Dene Nation’s principles followed, with most speakers backing work on a new constitution and calling for unity.

“It’s an organization that is still useful,” said former NWT premier Jim Antoine.

“You’re representing a lot of people. You’re the land and the water, all the animals that are out there that depend on you, and the world is changing really drastically. The environment has changed drastically from the time we started, and the politics and the economics of the world are changing. We don’t know where it’s going to go.

“We’re in a very volatile, unknown area, so we have to be very strong as Dene.”

Délı̨nę Ɂekw’ahtı̨dǝ́ or leader Danny Gaudet said the Dene Nation was a venue at which First Nations with settled claims and self-government can help others who haven’t reached that stage.

He added it offered a place “to come together, even if it’s for a dance, even for hand games, even for a cookout, because we forgot how to do that.”

“I’d like to keep working towards trying to get a constitution that finds a balance between all of us, because we shouldn’t walk away saying it doesn’t represent us,” he said.

Chief Elizabeth Wright of Fort McPherson’s Teetl’it Gwich’in Band Council suggested a constitution is only valuable if chiefs who attend Dene Nation meetings take the time to read and understand it.

“I like coming to the Dene National Assembly meetings. I get a lot of strength sitting at this table. I get a lot of strength visiting with people that I know because they give me encouraging words, and I do the same to them,” she said.

Wright, who is one of four Dene Nation regional executives, also pointed to the organization’s financial deficit and inconsistent reporting. According to current bylaws, the executive is expected to file quarterly financial statements and a yearly budget, she said, but that has not been the case.

“We can’t just go to meetings for the sake of going to meetings. We need to be on top of leaders to make sure this work is being done,” she said.

“Maybe if we did, maybe more chiefs would be more interested and engaged.

“If the Dene National Assembly is all about visiting and encouraging, I am all for that, but at the same time it’s business that we need to adhere to. And again, the responsibility is on all of us chiefs.”

Becoming a powerhouse

Chief Fred Sangris of Ndılǫ, one of the last to speak on the matter, walked delegates through the history of the Indian Brotherhood – the precursor to the Dene Nation – and early efforts to establish a constitution.

“This Dene Nation, we have to structure it. But as Bertha said, it’s a corporation,” said Sangris. “We are two steps back. We need to take three steps forward.”

He kept returning to the idea of creating a “powerhouse,” pointing to the Assembly of First Nations as an example. (“They’re powerful. Even the prime minister, if he’s invited, he goes there – he has to,” he said.)

The Dene Nation was once viewed that way, Sangris continued, referring to a time stretching back to the 1980s when, as he recalled, “Canada was so afraid that they had RCMP spying on us for 20 years.”

A strong Dene Nation constitution with a clearly defined vision could help protect Dene communities when major projects happen, money begins rolling in and “greedy firms and contractors from down south” arrive, Sangris continued.

“How are we going to work together economically, politically? Because some regions are rich and some regions are not doing so well. But if you had a powerhouse, economically, politically – a powerhouse like AFN – it’s a dream. You could make all the regions work together.

“What we need is a real good structure, constitution, bylaws.”