Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
politician. He was the national chief of the
Assembly of First Nations
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is an assembly of Canadian First Nations (Indian bands) represented by their chiefs. Established in 1982 and modelled on the United Nations General Assembly, it emerged from the National Indian Brotherhood, ...
from 1985 to 1991.
Erasmus was born in a
Dene
The Dene people () are an indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages. ''Dene'' is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term "Dene" ha ...
community of the Northwest Territories to a family of 12 children. He attended high school in
Yellowknife
Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...
. In 1967, he was a volunteer with the
Company of Young Canadians The Company of Young Canadians (CYC) was a short-lived Canadian youth program sponsored by the Canadian federal government, which existed from 1966 to 1977. It was designed to be run autonomously without government direction.
It generated considera ...
.
He became president of the Dene Nation in 1974 and while president fought against the proposed
Mackenzie Valley Pipeline
The Mackenzie Valley Pipeline, also called the Mackenzie River Pipeline, was a proposed project to transport natural gas from the Beaufort Sea through Canada's Northwest Territories to tie into gas pipelines in northern Alberta. The project wa ...
Western Arctic
Northwest Territories (french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest) is a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada. The electoral district covers the entire territory.
This riding was created in 1962 from Mackenzie Riv ...
riding.
Erasmus was national chief of the Assembly of First Nations during the
Oka Crisis
The Oka Crisis (french: links=no, Crise d'Oka), also known as the Kanehsatà:ke Resistance (), was a land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada, which began on July 11, 1990, and lasted 78 days until Septe ...
. After serving two terms as national chief he co-chaired the
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) was a Canadian royal commission established in 1991 with the aim of investigating the relationship between Indigenous peoples in Canada, the Government of Canada, and Canadian society as a whole. ...
.
Erasmus has been honoured for his work many times. He was appointed to the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the cen ...
as a member in 1987, and was promoted to officer in 1999. He has also been awarded honorary doctorates by seven Canadian universities, including the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Governor General's Northern Medal.
Intellectual Contribution to Indigenous Rights
Georges Erasmus is a committed advocate, political leader, and well-respected spokesperson for Indigenous peoples in Canada. In 1976, Erasmus presented to the ''Berger Inquiry'' the Dene’s position to the proposed pipeline. This presentation, "We the Dene" gives some initial insight into the intellectual thinking of Erasmus. However, it is important to stress that Erasmus speaks from his location as a member of the Dene and his intellectual thoughts would be influenced by his relationships with his elders and his position within his community. Speaking as one of the Dene, Erasmus outlined the Dene’s assertion of sovereignty.
As a distinct Dene nation, Erasmus pointed out that they sought to enter into the confederation of Canada as a "recognized entity" with their own self-government over a specific land base. Erasmus points out in this presentation that the Treaties 8 and 11 were agreements entered into on the understanding that they recognized the right of the Dene to govern themselves and from which the Dene nation could live separately but in peaceful coexistence with the non Dene people. Erasmus states, "Clearly these agreements have been broken. Instead of recognition of our national right to self-determination, we have been subjected to over fifty years of colonization, of forced assimilation." In representing his people on the public stage, Erasmus has pursued the need for negotiation, new agreements, and recognition of Indigenous rights from the Canadian government. At times his frustration towards a noncommittal federal government has shown, and he has had to forewarn the government of potential conflict.
At an early point in his intellectual and political life, Erasmus began to highlight the importance of de-colonization and how this must be based on collective action. In taking this approach he attempted to highlight the collective capacity of resistance, and challenged the power relations embedded within the language and practice of paternalism, asserting his people’s right to define themselves, and their own needs. Beginning with the Dene declaration, the model of nations coexisting together in an ethical relationship while retaining sovereignty, is highlighted as a central tenet of his people’s position. This was carried on throughout his public interviews and is presented in the RCAP.
In a speech given by Erasmus in 2002, he continued to call for conversation "nation to nation," as the means upon which to build a "common future". Importantly, Erasmus proposed that the contemporary focus should move from an emphasis on "Aboriginal Rights to relationship between peoples; from crying needs to vigorous capacity; from individual citizenship to nations within the nation state." He suggests that the pursuit of seeking recognition of Aboriginal Rights through the Canadian courts should change because "Litgation is no way to build a community." Erasmus reasserts instead, the importance of treaty making as a way forward to build renewed relationships built on "mutual trust" and a bond "like that of brothers who might have different gifts and follow different paths, but who could be counted on to render assistance to one another in times of need."
References
*Erasmus G "The Lafontaine-Baldwin Lecture 2002," The Lafontaine Baldwin Lectures Volume One: A Dialogue on Democracy in Canada Ed. Rudyard Griffiths of the Dominion Institute, Canada: Penguin, 2002.
Find a video of this address here http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/georges-erasmus-offers-a-native-view-of-canadas-future
*Watkins, Mel, ed. The Dene Nation The Colony Within. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1977.