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The Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) isn’t cutting ties with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), but they are calling for changes in the organization’s governance.
STC Chief Mark Arcand spoke to reporters outside TCU Place in Saskatoon Thursday during the FSIN assembly.
He said he’s written to the federal government to say neither the FSIN or AFN is authorized to negotiate on their behalf for program and services funding.
Arcand said the FSIN didn’t support their child welfare case in 2016, forcing the STC to negotiate a $50 million agreement on their own.
“We didn’t even get a congratulations from the FSIN, which is kind of hurtful especially when we put money into the organization,” he said.
He noted the STC has taken on several of their member’s cases related to treaty rights in recent years, taking their own focus away from directly providing programs and services.
Arcand added the executive has been shutting STC member tribes out from events as well, pointing to a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in September.
“We don’t know why (others) were invited but we weren’t,” he said.
“That to me is a divide and conquer tactic, a favouritism tactic.”
The STC chief said the FSIN needs a governance overhaul to eliminate policy grey areas to clearly define what the organization is responsible for, while also implementing more transparency and accountability.
“It would take less than a year,” he said.
