This text is part of the special section Relève en recherche
He was asked the question more than once, so of course his answer was already ready. How to adequately combine his responsibilities as vice-chief of the Atikamekw of Manawan with the demands of university life as a master’s student in native studies at the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT)? For Sipi Flamand, “the two things constantly feed on each other” and are much more alike than some might think.
“As a politician, I am always in search of information and I use the research methodologies learned at the university to push my reflections further before proposing measures”, affirms the one who is increasing the number of interviews in the field at the moment. (with elders, women, youth, indigenous leaders) to feed the content of his thesis. Title, provisionally, The promotion of political and philosophical knowledge of Atikamekw Nehirowisiw in the context of indigenous self-determination, it will bear the imprint of the deep desire for dialogue that drives Sipi Flamand.
Some concepts, such as land or governance, do not mean the same thing from an Indigenous or Western perspective.
Its ambition to reconcile with Quebec society and to establish deep, lasting changes within Indigenous communities is not new. All of this crystallized in part during his studies in political science at Laval University. A passage which, however, did not lead him directly to master’s level studies, since he first worked as a political and legal analyst for the Association des femmes autochtones du Québec, a job that allowed him to both ” apply knowledge already acquired and become more aware of the importance of research to better understand the multiple realities of indigenous communities. Some of which are painful and persistent.
Listen to the word
This reconquest of cultural identity and the very concrete improvement of living conditions require, among other things, the knowledge of the elders, which for a long time was transmitted only through oral tradition. The upheavals caused by the forced sedentarization of communities and acculturation through the suffocating residential school system have caused multiple generational divides, and Sipi Flamand is looking for a way to alleviate them. “The elders have a great facility in transmitting knowledge through tales and legends, and it is through these stories that the major laws, major principles and great values are conveyed,” says the researcher. This way of doing things, young people must not only appropriate it, but know the principles of it in order to transmit them in their turn. “
On another front, he also tries to build bridges between the dominant legal traditions and those of the indigenous peoples, and above all to translate the nuances between what sometimes looks like two very distant continents symbolically.
“Certain concepts, such as that of territory or governance, do not mean the same thing depending on the indigenous or Western point of view”, underlines Sipi Flamand. And these differences, sometimes fundamental, according to him cause serious communication problems, thus reinforcing asymmetric relations, in no way conducive to rapprochements and collaboration.
Joyce’s Principle
And the vice-chief is well placed to measure the extent of these gaps, because he actively participated in the consultations and in the drafting of the famous Joyce Principle, this protocol intended to offer quality health services to members of the First Nations. , inspired by the tragic death of Joyce Echaquan at the Joliette hospital on September 28, 2020. Sipi Flamand does not hide his pessimism in the face of the Legault government’s resistance to recognizing the notion of systemic racism, which accentuates a dialogue of the deaf that was already very present before the disappearance of this mother of seven children, and in unimaginable conditions.
“We know the political discourse of the Caquista government, so it is better to concentrate on establishing a dialogue with Quebec society,” suggests Sipi Flamand. Joyce’s Principle is what all aboriginal peoples are calling for, and it can serve as a model for working in partnership with other levels of government. From the way health care is financed by Ottawa to the way it is managed by Quebec, this roadmap is essential in the eyes of the vice-chief, and it is firmly part of his political commitment.