A gathering of leaders in Montreal

Billed by the Aboriginal Finance Officers Association (AFOA) as the first time five former national chiefs appeared on the same stage, a much-touted panel served as a capstone for this year’s national conference held in Montreal.

From February 16-18, the AFOA brought together thousands for workshops and panels discussing the present and future of Aboriginal communities across North America.

The featured panel on the final day – moderated by former Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin – consisted of Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, Matthew Coon Come, Phil Fontaine, Ovide Mercredi and George Erasmus.

Martin got some push back as the intros began, but he was lenient with the five-minute rule. “I was not going to stop you from talking, if you kept going on about Kelowna,” Martin jokingly said about the doomed funding accord he signed with Canada’s First Nations shortly before his government was defeated in 2005.

The leaders went on to share their personal experiences in their role as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations and their insights on current issues. “It’s an amazing time in this country right now,” Mercredi stated in his opening. “There is hope now – that was gone for a decade.”

Much of the discussion shared this hope since the return of the Liberal Party to power in last fall’s federal election. Promises of greater cooperation between the federal government and First Nations has led to high expectations.

“Our challenge is to provide the tools to ensure that our communities are habitable,” Coon Come said in his closing, “so that they can be healthy environments for our children to lead successful, productive lives.”

Coon Come’s remarks drew attention to four high school students listening intently only a few feet away from the stage. They were invited as a part of the 2016 PotashCorp Aboriginal Youth Financial Management Award, chosen for their winning essays. The four were Jacqueline Hamill of Lax Kw’alaams Band in British Columbia; Julian Marshall of the Membertou First Nation in Nova Scotia; Jocelyn Pagée of Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Erickson Owen of the Poplar Hill First Nation in Ontario.

Owen stood out for achieving a perfect 100% average in all his Grade 12 courses. He decided to show his fellow classmates what could be achieved from diligent studying after reading about another student with a perfect average in the Toronto Star. His determination even resulted in him turning down trips to focus on his studying.

In the end though, it was not his grades that brought him to the AFOA conference, it was his winning essay. With dreams of working in finance, his paper explored how Owen draws his inspiration from past First Nations leaders such as Atleo and business leaders like Bill Gates.

As he concluded his speech, Coon Come gestured towards the four students, but his message was directed at all of the First Nations youth. “The greatest story has not been told; the greatest film has not been filmed; the greatest song has not been sung,” he said. “I believe in you, young people, to write your own history.”