The AFN is NOT a government!

During every Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief election, we hear the rallying cry from every candidate "the AFN is not a government"!And then, after the election, we see business as usual where our National Chief meets with leaders of the Canadian state to create "frameworks" within which we all then accept as the parameters of the sandbox within which we must play nicely and still there are those who say the AFN has no power! Clearly those who influence the rules of the game, the sandbox, have a lot of power over our lives as registered Indians!It would seem that while we know how to say the words the AFN is not a government, the AFN is an advocacy organization, we actually don't know what an advocacy organization does or how it should operate!Riding as a part of the Treaty Freedom Riders from Winnipeg to Vancouver for this AFN election assembly gave me time to think about how I would like to see the AFN operate as an advocacy organization.If one looks at the successful advocacy organizations within Canadian democracy, you rarely see, for examples, Green Peace leaders meeting with the Minister of Environment or the Fraser Institute meeting with the Minister of Mines, yet we know full well that those elected to serve all Canadians darn well do pay attention to what the leaders of these advocacy organizations are saying as does the Canadian public!The AFN doesn't need to "reorganize" and waste a bunch of time and money pretending to do what we want while our National Chief and AFN staff continue to meet with our oppressors and develop the framework of our oppression. The AFN needs to get busy transforming itself into a true advocacy organization and that means they have to set up communication systems to talk to all of us - those whose lives they affect at the grassroots and our leaders!Maybe it's the name National Chief that needs to be changed? The word "Chief" implies leadership and leadership implies governance. Maybe we should call this person our National Speaker or National Messenger!#justsaying Personally, I'm favouring National Messenger and the first message I'd like delivered is "we are not you"!In case anyone is wondering, here is one definition of advocacy groups!!Advocacy groups (also known as pressure groups, lobby groups, campaign groups, interest groups, or special interest groups) use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and/or policy. They have played and continue to play an important part in the development of political and social systems. 😁