We are the Anishinaabek (the people) of Sagamok. We are band members of Sagamok. We are also the electors of those who represent us as our leadership body. 

As Anishinaabek of Sagamok, we all carry a personal and honourable responsibility to involve ourselves in our own governance. In order to fulfill our responsibility to ourselves, our people, our ancestors and the generations to come that we are to provide for, we require adequate power, freedom and voice in our decision making that comes from open, healthy communication and access to information. This is the foundation for the strong bonds of unity, cooperation, social support and belonging that are key to our all our wellbeing.

Together, the Anishinaabek, as a collective, are the rights and title holders of these lands that are our home.

As members of a band created under the Indian Act, we carry an expectation that we will be involved in decision making processes in our community that impact us today and will impact our coming generations. This is especially true concerning Treaty related matters. 

As the electorate, we carry an expectation that our elected leadership body takes its responsibility to maintain a meaningful relationship with those who it represents. We also carry a responsibility to hold our elected leadership accountable.

We recognize the band council as an entity created and enabled by Canada’s Indian Act that we still use today to act as a local government body. As a body that was created and is maintained by the Indian Act, the Chief and Council are not rights holders and have no power to represent rights and title holders. The Chief and Council has a fiduciary obligation to our band members. 

It is our position that the Chief and Council has demonstrated a violation of its trust relationship with our band members by failing to uphold its duty to engage with them meaningfully, honestly and with the full integrity associated with our values as Anishinaabek in most matters of concern, but especially in relation to the RHT Annuities Case Settlement and other Treaty matters.

To thrive, we need a climate of trust, collaboration and communication. As band members, we deserve a band government that is transparent and committed to dialogue with the people so that we know that our interests remain at the heart of decision making in our community.

This petition puts forward simple, but critical, immediate measures to rebuild a relationship of trust between band members and their elected band government: 

1. We are asking the Chief and Council to establish a dialogue with community members to determine a new approach to decision making that is transparent and inclusive of community members. 

2. We are asking that the Chief and Council halt all new spending, spending commitments and other treaty matters until such time as a new approach to decision making has been committed to through successful dialogue with community members.

We believe that with a collective voice, we can bring about the change needed to create a more transparent and collaborative environment within our band government where decisions are made openly and every band members feels value and heard. 

Please sign this petition to show your support for transparency and dialogue in Sagamok.