Group of Carcross/Tagish First Nation citizens want self-government jobs to be more accessible

A group of Carcross/Tagish First Nation citizens says their self-government is losing its traditional way as they see more non-citizens getting hired in leadership positions. 

The group is calling for a new election for chief, a complete reshuffle of leadership positions and more job-shadowing opportunities within the government.

"Self-government for Carcross/Tagish First Nation has not been working," former deputy chief Geraldine James said. 

James and several other citizens attended a meeting on Friday in Carcross, a community of about 300 people south of Whitehorse, where they spoke of concerns toward the way Carcross/Tagish First Nation (C/TFN) is being administered. 

Two members of the C/TFN government's executive council were in attendance, but C/TFN Chief Maria Benoit was absent. 

People at the meeting said some government jobs have become out-of-reach for citizens throughout the years. Some higher paying jobs like directors and managers now require university degrees, James and other attendees noted, and James said she has seen candidates with deep, lived experience and strong knowledge of their community get overlooked.

Attendees said they believe some directors and managers are now not representative of the community, drawing comparisons between their self-government and a colonial system. 

"Citizens are not getting the good-paying jobs," James said. She and other attendees say they believe C/TFN is outsourcing positions to people who aren't citizens.

The meeting came after a week of sit-in protests in front of the C/TFN government building. Posters have been plastered on windows, denouncing "oppression" and demanding more "transparency" and "equity."

Teri Lynn Schinkel, one of the protest's organizers, also sits on C/TFN's general council, representing the Gaanaxteidí clan. 

She said she questions whether non-citizens holding leadership positions have the community's best interest at heart. 

"There's these directors that are making $100,000 and plus a year … They don't talk to our people. They don't associate with us, unless it's to do with their job. And even then, we're turned away. They don't hold our traditional values, our traditional laws," she said.

James agrees. She said C/TFN is losing its traditional way. 

James said most of the community has been trained in peacekeeping circles to address conflict and trauma. She said the practice, however, hasn't actively been used lately. 

"When somebody has a complaint against somebody, there's no peacekeeping circles done," she said.

"Instead, the person gets fired. Constitution is being broken and the people are not allowed to have a voice." 

CBC put in several requests, but C/TFN declined to comment directly. 

Benoit issued a statement on Tuesday to the individuals participating in the protest. CBC obtained a copy of the statement and verified its authenticity. 

Benoit said while C/TFN disagrees with the protesters' approach, it also welcomes feedback on how the First Nation is administered. 

However, she added that recent actions have "crossed a line" and requested that posters be removed from the government's building. She also asked for the sit-in protest to end.

"Occupying parking spaces, physically blocking building exits and engaging in behaviour that intimidates employees and other citizens is not only unacceptable, but also potentially unlawful," Benoit wrote. 

A video circulating on social media, posted on July 15 by a protester, showed a heated push-and-shove interaction between one staff member and another protester in front of the government's building. 

In the video, which reached more than 24,000 views, the C/TFN staff can be heard using derogatory and vulgar slang while taking posters down. 

C/TFN executive director David MacMartin told CBC the matter has been addressed internally, "consistent with C/TFN's personnel policy."

Behind C/TFN self-government

This year marks 20 years since Carcross/Tagish First Nation signed final and self-government agreements. These established four governing councils, including general and executive councils, as well as judicial and elders councils. 

For elder Harold Gatensby, that's when a shift happened. 

"We used to take care of the community," he said. 

"But when land claims was settled ... all these postings came out immediately after, for these jobs that you needed a university degree to qualify. Well, nobody in Carcross got a university degree." 

Gatensby pointed to the legacy of the Chooutla residential school, which operated in Carcross from 1911 to 1969. He said the community is still healing and trying to decolonize itself.

"And yet here we are, immersed in someone else's system," Gatensby said.

"I hardly ever go near the First Nation office because I don't know anybody in there. I don't know who those people are, where did these people come from?"

C/TFN citizen David Huebschwerlen is now retired, but he worked for the First Nation for two decades. He said back then, management talked about funding for job shadowing for First Nation youths, in order for them to take over high-paying jobs. 

"That's what was supposed to happen, but I don't see any of that happening yet," Huebschwerlen said. 

MacMartin said in an email that "we have the Haa Ḵusteeyí Celebration happening here this week and weekend, which is our focus right now."

MacMartin, however, sent a statement on behalf of C/TFN Chief Benoit, directed to CBC. 

The statement recognizes that the First Nation is "continually challenged" to deal with many complex issues as it navigates a self-governing system. 

It also lists the "virtues and values" of the First Nation — selflessness, honour, respect, courage, integrity, knowledge, compassion and honesty. 

"As C/TFN Haa Sha du Hen, I am and I will continue to be guided by these "virtues and values" in the leadership of my First Nation," Benoit wrote in that statement.

"I expect that all members of all C/TFN governing bodies and all C/TFN citizens will also continue to be guided by these "virtues and values" in their decisions and in their participation in C/TFN self-government. The success of our unique form of clan-based self-governance depends on this."

Benoit stated she hopes to address concerns at an All Clan meeting in September.