Treaty relationship not working

Open letter to Treaty 3,
Booshoo Grand Chief Diane Kelly, chief and councils of all Treaty 3 First Nations, honoured Elders, friends, relatives and fellow Anishinaabeg.
I am writing to you to voice my concerns and aspirations for our First Nations.
First and foremost, I want to point out five words written into our treaty: first soldier and his messenger. Those five words ensure us the right to have our own standing army. Each and every one of the 28 governing councils within Treaty 3 have the power to restore the position of “first soldier and his messenger,”, as specified in the treaty. This would send a very powerful message to Ottawa and Toronto. It was back in 1895 when the Canadian government unilaterally abolished the rank of the “first soldier.”
I was heartened by Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo’s words about the Indian Act, but we have to go a step further. We should not agree to any amendments to the Indian Act, promising more money for First Nations. I would view this money as golden chains, but chains nonetheless, binding us to the Indian Act. We would have to draft up our own written constitution so that we could emerge from the colonial shadow of the Indian Act.
Our treaty relationship is not working because they are not abiding by the terms of the treaty. They are not into resource revenue sharing. I do not like seeing our people living like paupers in our own resource-rich homeland. It is a matter of historical record that the Canadian and Ontario governments have systematically eroded our treaty and inherent rights, contrary to their own laws. A treaty is like a contract, if one party does not abide by the terms of the contract, then the other party would have every right to declare that contract null and void.
I hear the term “working towards self government” a lot these days, but that is the wrong term to use, since we never gave up our sovereignty. That is what we have to do, declare our sovereignty. We have to take these initiatives to make this symbolic sovereignty into a concrete reality, with all the powers and responsibilities that come with it. We have to join together in a political and economic union, and if need be, a military union.
Only by speaking as one voice can we be heard, not only in Ottawa, but also around the world, where the Anishinaabe Nation can stand proudly amongst other nations. I am very positive that international law will agree with us. We will be like the state of Israel where every citizen, 18 years of age and over, male and female is a member of their armed forces. They number less than 7 million and they are surrounded by millions and millions of their Arab enemies who vow to destroy their nation. The very survival of their nation depends on the strength of their armed forces.
I am not advocating for warfare, but only to use our armed forces as a tool – a tool to be seen by the world as being able to exert our sovereignty over our own land. I am hoping our leaders can embrace that ideal of being a sovereign nation, where we can live again, under the rule of Anishinaabe law.
On the flip side of this sovereignty option would be our demands. We should demand that all of our treaty rights be restored and all of our land claims be settled as soon as possible, like right now. Every single one of these items would have to be restored with not one item missing.
Our Nation is at a crossroads. We can either be a fully independent nation or we can stay within Canada with all our rights restored and honoured for as long as the sun shines.
That’s the hard choice Canada would have to make. Start honouring all treaty obligations and fiduciary duties, and then Grand Council Treaty 3 stays within Canada. Say “No” and Grand Council Treaty 3 becomes a nation in every sense of the word. Negotiate from this position – a position of strength.
Larry Mandamin
Treaty 3 Anishinaabe Nation
Iskatewizaagegan #39 Branch