Outgoing Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins says he’s not sure why it took his community and its neighbour to the North 140 years to start working on better relationships.
But, Collins said Wednesday at a celebration luncheon marking the third anniversary of the signing of a declaration of commitment between the First Nation and Thunder Bay, it’s never too little too late.
It’s about closing the gaps and ending the cycle of negative thoughts each side has directed at the other, Collins said. It will take a lot of work, but a lot of the building blocks are already in place, thanks in part to the commitment the two sides made in 2010.
“We’re all critical of the society we live in,” Collins said. “We as First Nations people blame the municipalities, we blame government and we blame industry. Sometimes we have to take a look at ourselves.”
It’s time to quit playing the blame game, he said, adding there is plenty of wealth and opportunity to go around for everyone.
“We have a big city. We have a big community. We have a large territory with some big resources ... If we all want to be players, we have to be players together.”
Collins praised the efforts being made in the past three years, saying Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs has gone out of his way to forge a more inclusive city.
He pointed out Hobbs has been criticized in the past for sitting with “us brown guys,” but reaching out is the only way a solution will be found.
Collins is convinced it can happen and the bad feelings on both sides can disappear.
“Those things are slowing going to go away,” he said.
Hobbs acknowledged the city has taken a few backward steps in the past year, with several highly publicized incidents involving city police and Aboriginal incidents dominating the headlines.
Police were wrongly accused in December by a First Nations teen of abandoning him outside city limits. But other incidents, such as the “Fresh Breath Killer” email mistakenly sent out by police last summer after a murder suspect was caught, has left a bad taste in many mouths.
Hobbs said it just shows there is work to done, despite all the efforts in recent years.
But both the city and Fort William First Nation are prepared to make it happen, the mayor said.
“We’re going to get there,” he said. Yes, there have been setbacks. There’s always going to be critics. Police are always under fire ... Do we have work to do? Of course we do. It’s an ongoing struggle for both the City of Thunder Bay and Aboriginal people.”
Sam Achneepineskum, the city’s acting Aboriginal liaison, said it’s important to recognize the trailblazers who have helped the two sides get to where they are today.
On Wednesday he and Hobbs congratulated 16 partner organizations.
Achneepineskum said there’s no doubt a lot of progress has been made since 2010 and beyond.
“Before this started the city and the Aboriginal people weren’t really having conversation with the city,” he said.
“I think with the (declaration) the door opened where we sit together and talk about our common issues and try to find a way to make the city better and to have a better relationship with the city. I think everyone in the city wants to have a safer community for our people, for our children, where they feel they’re welcome and feel they’re part of the community.”
As with any relationship, there will be bumps along the way, but with improved relations, they can more easily be resolved, he said.
Last year’s mishaps are actually a chance to put that theory to the test, Achneepineskum added.
“I think in reality it’s opening the door for conversation and to move forward,” he said. “I think we need to involve a lot more people and continue with the work that we do.”
