Open Letter to the AFN EXECUTIVE

May 7
th
, 2014

To: Perry Bellegarde, Bill Traverse, Roger Augustine, Morley GooGoo,
Jody Wilson-RayBould, Ghislain Picard, Stan Beardy, Mike Smith,
Bill Erasmus, Cameron Alexis - The AFN Executive Committee

Re: KILL THE BILL C- 33- (FNCFNEA)

As a Kanienkeh:ka Educator from Kahnawake Mohawk Nation Territory, I write this
letter, strongly urging you to kill this draconian piece of legislation by denouncing in
public KILL BILL C-33/FNCFNEA. The federal government, nor you, acting in the
capacity of the AFN Executive, do not have our Free, Prior or Informed Consent to make
any decision that will have a devastating impact on the collective rights of our children
and those yet unborn.

When you met on May 6th, you had a chance to publically denounce Bill C-33. Instead,
you chose to be silent on this Bill. Why were you silent on this Bill? Your silence has
given the Minister the green light to use the media and justify to the Canadian public
there is no united voice of the AFN, so we will move ahead with the Bill. Your inaction
and silence on Bill C-33 is totally unacceptable. Furthermore, you have also stood silent
in listening to the leadership that are directing you to move forward with a
Confederacy of Nations meeting on May 14
th
. Instead, you chose to ignore their call.

By the time you call for a Special Assembly late in May, the Bill could be passed in
Parliament and nothing will stop it. Should you come out in support of this Bill, your
leadership will have failed the people and most importantly, you will have failed our
children.

As a collective, the organizing spirit of the people is powerful. Parents, students, Elders,
Spiritual leaders and communities across this country will not sit idly by and allow you,
or the Harper government to take away the collective rights of our parents to have full
control over the education of our children. Do not underestimate the power of the
people.

It is with the strongest conviction that I urge you, to not give your consent to support
Harper/Valcourts Bill C-33. For the sake of our children, your children, and for the sake
of our future generations and those yet unborn, do not support this Bill. By lending
support to this Bill C-33, you willingly participate in the extinguishment of our childrens
inherent, collective and inalienable rights to education. Stand with the parents, children,
Elders and speak out vigorously, forcefully, and consistently against this Bill designed to
extinguish forever, our childrens collective and inalienable rights to education. How we
educate our children is how they become strong, principled leaders and contributing
2
members of our families, clans and Nations, which in turn, contributes to the collective
power in actualizing our self-determination as Indigenous Nations.

I urge you to stand with the people and take a strong collective and unified stance and
say NO TO BILL C-33.

Donna Kahrakwas Goodleaf, Ed.D.
Kanienkeh:ka Nation
Kahnawake Mohawk Nation Territory