Khwe,

My name is Robert "Sorenhes" Bastien

I send you this letter in an attempt of clarify the situation that I have created and also to set the record straight on certain information you mentionned in your letter.

My letter was not aimed at you for the following reason:

It was the links at "The Wendat-Huron newsletter" webpage and the "Wyandot Nation of Kansas" webpage that had the word "official" in their text. I did not send the letter to Ishgooda, and I never intended to implicate the "Huron-Wendat Newslist". I did sent the letter to the webmasters of these sites.

If you want to glorify the former Grand Chief, that's your business, not mine. But your site does contain inflamatory text that could not go undenounced.

One thing that I do resent is you thinking that I am uninformed or misinformed. I am a member of the Wendat Nation of Wendaké, and a very active one at that. As to the misinformation that I seem to have let travel on the wire here is a little history lesson on who I am.

I am the son of Heather Bastien, first women candidate for the position of Grand Chief in a white man's band council in 1988. She herself is the daughter of Marcel Bastien, band councillor in the 1950's. He was the son of Ludger "Sorenhes" Bastien who was Grand Chief from 1929 to 1935. After that he became the first native to be elected to the Québec legislative assembly (National Assembly as known nowadays) where he served one term. Also my great great great grandfather Maurice "Agnolien" Sébastien was Grand Chief between 1883 and 1896. So if it is my origins and my knowledge of my Nation's history, past and present, that you question I have enough documentation of these facts to extinguish all doubts!

Concerning the links, I received e-mail from both webmasters to the effect that the links were changed or on the point of being changed. If you think that I did not visit your site, well it was very well done for a commercial site. Such a site should not be the "Wendat Nation of Wendaké" official website. That is why I sent my letter in the first place.

Concerning the court order, I do apoligize for the error. I admit that I was misled by someone. When I brought up the question of the webpage here in Wendaké, some people had seen it and I was told that a court order had been sent concerning the honourary title of the former Grand Chief. Again I apologize.

My family's legal battle against the band council was not concerning the "Quarante Arpents" as you mentionned in your letter but on the ongoing negociations on autonomy! I feel that you need to be informed about the matter.

We asked the court for an injunction to stop the members of the band council from signing an agreement in principle on the autonomy of the Wendat Nation of Wendaké, such agreement to become in force with only a resolution carried by the band council. Have you ever heard the term "Buffalo Jump"? Well with the document they were about to sign we would have jumped!

The negociations had been going on between the band council and the governments (both federal and provincial) for the past 5 to 6 years without the members of my Nation being informed of consulted during the course of these negociations. An ad-hoc consultation was done in 1990, but the report was not used as the base of the negociations, in other words it was shelved. Just like the federal government is doing right now with the report from the Royal Commission received lately. Many members of my Nation were enraged about the fact that they were being left out of the process and that all was being done in secrecy. That is why my family and another family from Wendaké went to the courts.

In court, we demonstrated that the white man's band council had neither the mandate nor the legal power according to Section 81 of the Indian Act to negociate the rights that belong to the individual members of my Nation. Also, past decisions in Canadian courts demonstrated that a band council as defined by Section 81 of the Indian Act was not a legal entity (such as a corporation, company or municipal government). Section 81 of the Indian Act gives administrative powers only. It does not spell out any powers to negociate individual rights. What was being done was undemocratic and illegal and had to be denounced.

Concerning autonomy, how can we achieve autonomy without a strong economic base and a large enough land base to sustain this economy? The negociations left out the land base question, plans on the funding was murky and according to the last document drafted in July of this year, the question of citizenship was untouchable since the federal government did not want to relinquish the control they have on the citizenship of the Wendats.

The question of taxation was raised also. Let's be realistic here, it is not 1000 people (on the reserve) or even 2800 people (on and off reserve) that will generate 9 to 10 million dollars. That's what the annual budget is for all services rendered by the band council.

If that's what you call autonomy, well you are no better than the politicians in Ottawa and Quebec City that would rather see us disappear than try to help us achieve the autonomy that we have yearned to attain for so long.

Presently, the model on which all autonomy negociations are based on is the treaty with the Nisga'as of British Columbia and the White Paper drafted by Jean Chretien (current Prime Minister of Canada) then minister of the Indian Affairs Department in 1969. Many leaders in the native community denounced the treaty as being a step towards assimilation. As for the White Paper, it was scrapped in 1969 by Pierre Elliot Trudeau (then Prime Minister of Canada) because of the outcry it caused in native communities and the public at large across Canada. The federal government is trying to get rid of its fiduciairy obligations as spelled out in the Royal Proclamation of 1763, The BNA act of 1867, the Canadian Constitution of 1982 and the Indian Act last revised in 1989. Old solutions for new problems. Again I point out that this is heading us straight toward the "Buffalo Jump".

One other point that needs to be mentionned concerning autonomy. Natives have been saying far and wide that they are NATIONS and that they should be treated as such. As for the Wendat Nation, we were never conquered and never gave up our rights by way of treaties or otherwise! So why should we not be treated as a NATION? The notion of nationhood is intrenched in the Royal Proclamation, The BNA act and the Canadian Constitution as to relations with natives in this county. Suffice to say that at the federal government level that's not the way they see it! All negociations must be held Nation to Nation! The provincial government had no business being part of the negociations on autonomy. They are not a Nation! Not yet!

Now concerning the former Grand Chief. In his first terms as Grand Chief in the 1960's and 1970's he did accomplish some marvelous things for his Nation, but so did his predecessors who never got honourary titles apon leaving office. As his terms in office followed one another he became tainted as many politicians do after many years in the political arena. Many members of my Nation started thinking that he was not necessarily representing his Nation. That is, he was no longer an agent of his Nation but an agent of the federal and provincial governments. His last term in office seemed to confirm this theory. In his first terms in office he actively cried aloud the fact that we were a NATION and that we should be seen as such but lately his speeches were more subdued. Why?

The question of the "Quarante Arpents" is a very interesting one where I feel you were off base. I guess another history lesson is in order.

This subject is one on which I am very well informed. My mother was a member of a committee formed to bring input into the negociation process. The committee comprised of elders and young people and was formed in the summer of 1993.

Now for the fact on the matter. The parcel of land known as the "Quarante Arpents reserve" belonged to the Jesuits who in the 1800's transferred the legal title of the land to my Nation. The area of the reserve was 1352 acres and not 10 as you mentionned in your letter. In 1904, the land was sold lock, stock and barrel after several shady deals implicating a federal member of parliament and several Wendats. The town closest to the land was also implicated and wanted to get their hands on the land whatever the cost. At the time, the only way land belonging to my Nation could be sold was to hold a vote where all male members of the Nation that were eligible to vote voted to give consent to the sale. This was done according to Section 39 of the Indian Act in 1904. When the vote was held, quorum was not attained, the vote was held anyway and the sale went ahead as planned.

The facts of the sale resurfaced several times over the decades but nothing was done. In the early 1980's the details of the sale were submitted to the Justice Department as a specific claim. The basis of the claim was that the sale was illegal since Section 39 of the Indian Act was not respected in that quorum was not attained and the vote should not have been held. The Justice Department agreed with my Nation's claim and ordered the federal government to rectify the situation by negociating a just compensation for the illegal sale.

Afer the decision had been handed down, the band council hired a private firm to evaluate the present value of the land in question. The last report drafted by the firm evaluated the land base (1352 acres) to have a value of 22 million $. Also, they concluded in their report that since many members of my Nation had used the resources of the land for personal, commercial and traditional (herbal medicine, etc.) reasons, a compensation for damages caused by the sale should be also taken into consideration. They evaluated that 11 to 12 million $ was just compensation for damages incurred. The report was published in 1993. There were negociations between the band council and the federal government who stuck by their offer of 2 million $.

In 1994, elections were held and a new team was elected into office. All information concerning the matter was muffled and the committee my mother was part of never reconvened. The negociations continued in secret and in August of this year, just before new elections were to be held, the members of my Nation were convened to a meeting where they were told that the federal government's final offer was 13 million $. The meeting got rowdy and all present voiced their opposition to accepting the offer. During question period, each member of the band council was asked if he agreed to accepting the offer. All said no, except the Grand Chief who still stuck to his guns. I got the impression when reading your letter that you agree with him. We should be NICE LITTLE INDIANS and accept the hand out. I hope that in light of the new information concerning the matter you will have a change of heart. But one question still remains, for whom would we accept the money, the politicians and technocrats in Ottawa or for the future members of my Nation.

Now finally I get to the question of the casino that is planned on or near the reservation, take note that I am strongly opposed to the idea. Also take note that if a casino is to be built it has to have the approval of the caucus of the governing party in Quebec City which is quite unlikely. Another factor is the stiff opposition coming from the people running the casino in the Charlevoix region near Quebec City. Maybe it will happen in our lifetime but do not bet on it!

My opposition is fueled by what has been happening in native communities where casinos were built. We have seen civil strife and civil war break out in communities in the U.S.. All of this over the distribution of the wealth generated by the casino and who has a right to that wealth. I will fight with all my heart and soul against the building of the casino in Wendaké because I believe that it will further divide my Nation. The idea is not a well thought out one and is only a band-aid solution to a larger problem. When will our leaders understand that we need long term solutions to achieve our autonomy. I guess I have to get REAL as you would say.

I finish this letter by saying that my objective was not to circulate lies. That is why I researched the facts of this letter by going back and rereading certain documents concerning these various subjects. I hope that this document will shed some light for all who were implicated in this little scuffle.

When your official website is finished, please inform me of its existence and I will be happy to visit and send my comments.

I wish you a pleasant Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.

Robert "Sorenhes" Bastien

N.B. The following documents were used in my research and can be found at the band council's archive centre in the Band Council building in Wendaké.

1) Indian Act of 1873 (last revision in 1989)

2) "Revendication de la Bande des Hurons de Lorette contre la couronne du Chef du Canada" by Gérard L. Fortin

3) "La Revendication des Quarante Arpents - Rapport final" by the firm Raymond, Chabot, Martin, Paré - November 1993

4) "Projet d'entente de principe en vue de l'établissement d'une nouvelle relation" - July 1996

5) Legal documents pertaining to "La famille Sioui et la famille Bastien c. Le Conseil de Bande de la Nation Huronne-Wendat"