By Bryan Eneas

CAP Saskatchewan elects new president

Apr 6, 2017 | 5:00 PM

The Coalition of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) in Saskatchewan recently elected a new president.

John Hanikenne, a Prince Albert resident from the Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation came out on top, taking the leadership role for the next three years.

CAP represents and advocates on behalf of urban and rural off reserve people across Canada.  

In the next three years, Hanikenne hopes to tackle an issue plaguing many northern communities – food security.

“The price of food, especially with Aboriginal people they’ve been left out of the economy forever,” Hanikenne said. “We have to become a part of it. We have so many skills and so many things that we can do, and yet they’re not being done because nobody has taken the time to organize these things.”

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Hanikenne hopes to set up an Indigenous food network around Saskatchewan, connecting community gardens to send fresh vegetables to the North.

“If we build ourselves an economy in the city, the whole city will benefit here. If we build throughout the province, the whole province benefits,” Hanikenne said. “New funding streams coming through, people are having new monies to spend and that helps all the economy.”

Hanikenne said he hopes to get more communities involved “on the ground basis” to promote the spread of new ideas between Indigenous peoples in Saskatchewan. A national organization exists for the CAP, giving a larger platform to raise the issues of urban Indigenous people.

He said there are funding opportunities which have been missed out on for years due to a lack of organizational structure as well.

“It’s a matter of organizing ourselves and approaching it and getting strong representation,” Hanikenne said. “I’m not talking about just a few people who’ve been in a clique for a few years, I’m talking about engaging people in the community who have skills to sit on proper boards and advocate for our people.”

He said he also hopes to create community councils who can speak on behalf of people in different areas to “attack different problems the people have.”

The CAP will be meeting at the Prince Albert Indian and Métis Friendship Center on April 22 at 1 p.m.

“Bring your views, but bring a good attitude most of all. You know, for a long time we’ve been fighting over nothing, fighting for politics, political reasons, with politics with no strength,” Hanikenne said. “We have to really engage ourselves and rethink what we’ve been doing to ourselves and how we’ve been holding our own selves back.”

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas