B.C. Claims Task Force Report

5. Public Education and Information

The negotiation of treaties in British Columbia will be one of the most significant initiatives in the province in the 1990s. It is essential to the success of this initiative that the negotiations be conducted in an atmosphere which will contribute to the development of a new relationship between the aboriginal and non-aboriginal people of British Columbia. In large measure the atmosphere will depend on the public awareness and the understanding of the history of British Columbia, and the dissemination of accurate information about the negotiations.

History is important to the First Nations' approach to treaty negotiations. They trace their rights as independent and self-governing First Nations to the times before contact with Europeans. They point out how through history Canada and British Columbia have failed to react to their demands for recognition. Unfortunately, most people in the province have little knowledge of this history; without it, they will have difficulty understanding the First Nations' perspective and the underlying need for a new relationship.

First Nations have cultures based on beliefs and values that are fundamentally different from those of most Canadians. This results in different patterns of communication. Often what is intended in one culture is misunderstood in the other. Throughout the province, both aboriginal and non-aboriginal groups have undertaken initiatives to increase public awareness and knowledge of aboriginal people, their culture, and their history. Canada, British Columbia, and the First Nations should encourage these and other initiatives to improve communication.

The new relationship will bring about changes. In the absence of a program of public information and education, there will be unnecessary apprehension and resistance.

First Nations, Canada, and British Columbia approach the negotiations from differing perspectives. Each may provide information on its own point of view. However, there is value in a joint program of public information and education so that common understandings of interests and perspectives can be widely shared. In this way the people of British Columbia will be better able to assess the implications and merits of the new relationship and contribute to its realization.

17. Canada, British Columbia, and the First Nations jointly undertake public education and information programs.

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Public Information
Presentations made to the Task Force by those involved in other negotiations emphasized the importance of tripartite information about the negotiation process in general as well as for each negotiation. We were told that it takes much longer to produce tripartite than one-party information. However, this extra effort provides consistent information from the three parties to the communities concerned. As building the new relationship will require aboriginal and non-aboriginal people to understand each other and to work together, the effort of all negotiators to meet with communities affected by the negotiations will pay significant dividends.

Use of media provides a good means of communicating information, but face-to-face meetings can provide a level of understanding that is deeper and more lasting. Negotiators for each treaty should explore creative ways to allow aboriginal and non-aboriginal people to meet to discuss their perceptions, concerns and hopes for the future. Such meetings could do much to create understanding and to minimize fear about change or the unknown.

18. The parties in each negotiation jointly undertake a public information program.

Public Education

Recent initiatives to increase curriculum content on First Nation issues and to involve more aboriginal people in all phases of the education system must be expanded and accelerated.

There is a need for resource materials dealing with the history of First Nations in British Columbia and the development of the negotiation process to be made available to the schools in British Columbia and to the public without delay. To accomplish this, British Columbia, the First Nations and Canada should seek the assistance and advice of the First Nations Education Secretariat, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Advanced Education, Science and Technology, the British Columbia Teachers' Federation, and the British Columbia School Trustees Association.

19. British Columbia, Canada, and the First Nations request the First Nations Education Secretariat, and various educational organizations in British Columbia, to prepare resource materials for use in the schools and by the public.

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