CARCROSS – Members of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation renewed their call for a fair Financial Transfer Agreement (FTA) on Monday, as Conservative Party members gathered for an annual barbecue with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Members of the First Nation – many wearing traditional dress – drummed, danced and held signs across the street from the Caribou Crossing Trading Post, where the barbecue was held, drawing attention to their ongoing struggle for fair negotiations with the federal government.

"We deserve respect,” one sign read, while another called for "Meaningful dialogue please.”

"Our children's future is in danger,” a third pronounced, echoing sentiments held by many in attendance.

CTFN elder Albert James said, "We're here in support of our Kha Shade Heni (chief) to negotiate a fair and equitable agreement in the Financial Transfer Agreements. That's what our ultimate goal is, so we're here in support of that.”

Chief Danny Cresswell met earlier in the day with John Duncan, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, to discuss the FTA. However, the chief didn't seem confident any progress had been made when he spoke with the media before the barbecue.

"There's no commitment to any negotiation,” he said.

Cresswell said the minister agreed to look at the numbers, but added those numbers appear to be different depending which government, First Nation or federal was looking at them.

"We need to be treated fairly; we need to be actually able to come to the table and negotiate an agreement,” said Cresswell.

"We haven't negotiated anything; we've had a take-it-or-leave-it offer; we watched someone else negotiate in front of us and we're saying that's unfair.”

The First Nation has said it's been told if it doesn't sign the offered agreement, its funding will be withheld.

Beverly Sembsmoen, a CTFN implementation official, said the funding being discussed is only governance funding.

However, there are several other areas where the First Nation has responsibility under its self-government agreement, including lands and resources, health and social services, and education.

"All of these years, this is our sixth year, we paid for all of those expenses coming from our governance dollars,” Sembsmoen said.

The federal government has seemed disinclined to discuss other types of funding, she added.

"Canada is forcing us to either accept inadequate and unequal funding, so we cannot properly care for our people, or receive no funding, which would be devastating to our First Nation,” Cresswell said in a press release last month.

The CTFN became one of 11 self-governing First Nations in the Yukon and one of 19 self-governing First Nations in the country in 2006.

The First Nation's FTA was meant to expire last March 31, but was subsequently extended to Sept. 30. The agreements are negotiated every five years.

A handful of members of the group Yukoners for Democracy joined the CTFN members for part of the evening, continuing their rally held earlier in the day in downtown Whitehorse.

The group had invited Harper to a "people's lunch,” but the prime minister did not attend (see coverage, p. 4).

By Ainslie Cruickshank

Star Reporter