This is the text of the speech that I gave for the Alderville First Nation all-candidates video message.
Bo jo! Before I get started, I would like to acknowledge the current Chief and Council. They walked into a very tough position with the COVID pandemic, but they endured and have kept our community safe. Chi Miigwech. I would also like to acknowledge all of the candidates running in this year’s election. It takes a lot of courage to step forward and I appreciate every single one of you. Best of luck.
Ndizhnicaaz Rob Stevenson. I am 41 years old and have lived and worked in Alderville for most of my life. I am the father of 2 young boys aged 5 and 8, and have been happily married to my wife Katie for 10 years.
I grew into my business sense when I was about 14 years old. When Dad first approached me about starting a Paintball business he said, “This is yours to grow. Run with it!” We strategized, we made a business plan, we got a loan from Alderville and we hired other local youth. We worked hard but you know what? This business was a success and kicked off my interest in entrepreneurship.
It was also this business opportunity that gave me the confidence and the ability to strategize. To listen and work with others. To think outside of the box.
It was this first experience that I learned about the importance of two topics: Indigenous Rights and Strategic planning and investment.
They are both pertinent to assist in strengthening our path as a growing, culture rich, and united community. These topics affect our youth, our elders, and those living on and off reserve. They affect the present and our future.
Indigenous Rights
“To have a strong tree, you need Strong Roots.” Our culture and rights are at the center of these roots.
An Elder once told me that we need to hold onto our future generation like we would hold our own child. He said “we must coddle, nurture and keep safe.” But the Elder warned, “every time we reach out our hand to the government, we lose a little piece of ourselves. We lose grip on our future – our future generations.”
In light of recent events and with the ever-present pressure from Federal and Provincial Governments, we are at risk of jeopardizing and losing our grip on our culture and traditions that binds us as a community.
We must come together to continue to nurture and sustain all that is Alderville.
We need to assert that the governments respect our Treaty and Aboriginal Rights to allow us more meaningful control over our lands including hunting and fishing, use of our natural plant-based medicines and our economy.
Asserting our Indigenous Rights also allows us unique opportunities which I refer to as “Jurisdictional Arbitrage.” Using our rights as Indigenous people to benefit the health and wellbeing of our community
Indigenous people are already the most regulated people in Canada. I am for regulations that protect the health and well-being of our community and that protect our identity. But we need to be cautious not to over regulate and place ourselves at a disadvantage to the rest of Canada
Strategic Investment
We are a proud and caring community. We come together in times of happiness and grief in good times and bad but for the community to truly thrive we need to “strategically plan to invest in both short and long-term goals.
How do we draw people back to Alderville and to keep our children here? How do we support people in their business endeavors, how do we stay connected?
We need to focus on togetherness to ensure our members on and off reserve have many of the same opportunities.
Government Funding is limited so we need to look at other avenues. We need to find viable ways to support the building of homes and apartment complexes, build and maintain programs for our Youth and Elders and to ensure the sustainability of Alderville.
The Williams Treaty settlement left Alderville with a portion of money going directly to every member and the balance set aside to ensure our longevity. This has allowed us a safety net, but we still need to do more.
Alderville entrepreneurs have recently entered the Indigenous cannabis industry empowering our people and creating many jobs and ancillary opportunities and we need to protect this industry. However, cannabis is just one of many tools. By utilizing our lands to create income we have the ability to generate a revenue stream that could directly benefit all members.
I have a business track record for building successful businesses from the ground up. As an Indigenous man who is motivated by family, community and strengthening Indigenous culture and roots I will use my skills and knowledge to provide a strong voice for our community.
For more information, please visit my website robstevenson.ca. to learn more.
Chi-Miigwetch
Rob Stevenson
