The Assembly of First Nations is slipping in importance, according to an indigenous policy expert who wants regional voices to engage more with individual governments rather than a national one..Melissa Mbarki, a policy analyst for the MacDonald-Laurier Institute, says the AFN has been less effective and relevant in the past decade than those prior..“It's a lobbying group that's supposed to encompass all indigenous issues, and it's not doing that. They haven't spoken in favor of pipelines, oil and gas. And many reserves in Alberta and Saskatchewan — they're part of these large scale projects, even B.C. And the leaders aren't seeing a whole lot of backing or support from AFN because they kind of have their own agenda happening,” Mbarki said..“It's very hard for one organization to speak for 633 reserves in Canada. The whole thing has to just come out of Ottawa — period. They definitely don't touch on issues that impact me out West. Our issues here are completely different from what you see in Ontario.".Mbarki, who lives in Edmonton, said she believes an Ottawa-based organization that relies on federal funding can be manipulated..“No, it comes from Ottawa. And that's where the problem is. When you get money from government, you're under their control. So, you see acts like UNDRIP that were just recently pushed through; it was pushed through with very little consultation of the reserves,” Mbarki said, referring to the federal adoption of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples..“Make it more regional, because then leaders, whoever they are, can speak to the provincial government, as well as the federal government because what we're seeing now is a disconnect with the provinces. There's really no discussions happening with them… We need to get those conversations happening and see how this is going to work countrywide, because the way it is working now is not working for anyone.”.Mbarki believes the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents 74 bands in Saskatchewan, is doing more effective groundwork for their communities than the national organization..“A lot of the reserves that were prospering economically, they pulled back in a way from [the AFN]. And we're starting to see a lot more of that because once the reserves have their own autonomy and their own sovereignty over what's happening, they don't need this extra layer of bureaucracy above them,” Mbarki said..“It definitely has to be restructured because the way it's working right now isn't working for the grassroots people that live on the reserve, or even off-reserve like myself. I don't know what's happening. They're making decisions on my behalf, and I have no clue how they're deciding this. So I feel like they've taken our voices away, and they've taken our right to vote on these issues away from us.”.In a statement June 16, National Chief RoseAnne Archibald wrote: The AFN cannot continue to conduct internal business as it has…The backroom deals, the large payouts to staff, and other documented incidents of corruption and collusion has caused us to lose sight of our shared goal: to fight for the collective rights of more than 900,000 Indigenous Peoples.”.The executive of the AFN suspended Archibald due to her comments and complaints from her staff, something Archibald later called “a staged coup.” Mbarki said she hopes the chief can remain and the organization can work through its problems..“I really hope that they come to some sort of consensus, and they fix whatever's happening internally, and that she continues to lead. The chiefs have voted her in for a reason, and that has to be respected. Change doesn't come easy, but at the end of the day, we're just looking for answers like she is.”.Mbarki says she doesn’t want money wasted while communities face vital needs..“I grew up on my reserve on Muskowekwan First Nation. I moved when I was 17, when I was in high school. I lived through a water advisory then, and about seven years ago, we had another water advisory. It's just an ongoing issue. Now they're saying that we have to drill another well, so we don't even know if we're going to have funds for that,” Mbarki said..“Stuff like this is really scary for my family that still live on the reserve because I do worry about their health, and I do worry about their safety. And issues like this are very close to my heart.”
