Phil Fontaine

Phil Fontaine

Larry Phillip (Phil) Fontaine , OC OM (born September 20, 1944 in the Fort Alexander Reservation , Manitoba ) is a Native American tribal leader in Canada . From 1997 to 2000 and from 2003 to 2009 he was Chairman (National Chief) of the Assembly of the First Nations in Canada.

Life

Fontaine was born in 1944 as a member of the Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation on the Fort Alexander Reservation , 150 km north of Winnipeg . His first language is Ojibway . Until 1961 he attended the Assiniboia Residential School and the Powerview Collegiate in Winnipeg. He later studied political science at the University of Manitoba , where he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1981 .

In 1973 Fontaine was elected tribal leader of the Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation for four years. He then moved with his family to the Yukon Territory , where he took up a position in the Canadian government as Regional Director General . After returning to Manitoba and finishing college, he worked as a government employee for the Southeast Tribal Council . He was then elected deputy tribal leader of Manitoba to represent that province in the First Nations assembly . In 1989 he was elected chief tribal leader of Manitoba, and in 1991 and 1994 he was confirmed in office.

In 1997, the First Nations Assembly elected Fontaine National Chief , the highest representative of the First Nations in Canada. In 2000, he accepted a government position as Chief Commissioner for the Indian Claims Commission . In 2003 and 2006 he was elected National Chief for a further term each . In July 2009, Shawn Atleo Fontaine's successor, who had renounced another candidacy.

Services

Fontaine dedicated most of his life to First Nations rights in Canada. Within the political currents in the First Nations, he took a balancing position. In 2000 he had to give up his position as National Chief to the more radical Matthew Coon Come , who accused him of being too close to the Liberal Party of Canada . In 2003, however, he was re-elected to office.

Fontaine was the first to bring the abuse of children in church residential schools to the public, and in 2005 he managed to get the Canadian government to agree to a compensation payment of two billion dollars.

Also in 2005, Prime Minister Paul Martin promised in the Kelowna Agreement to pay five billion dollars over five years to improve the precarious living conditions of many First Nations. This agreement was put on hold by Stephen Harper's Conservative government . After his re-election as National Chief in July 2006, Fontaine said his priority was to get the deal back on the agenda. In June 2008, he accepted the Prime Minister's official apology for the conditions at the residential schools.

Web links

• Assembly of First Nations - Phil Fontaine (English)
• CBC Archives - Radio / TV reports about Phil Fontaine (English)
• Fontaines' speech to the Senate