Reluctant leader Theresa Spence inspires a nation

By Christopher Curtis, Postmedia News December 20, 2012

OTTAWA – Whether by accident or design, Theresa Spence has come to symbolize the broken relationship between Canada’s aboriginal leaders and its federal government.

The Northern Ontario chief’s 10-day-old hunger strike is the foundation of an indigenous protest movement that has mobilized thousands across Canada. But many of her closest friends say they were surprised by Spence’s bold move, describing her as a reluctant leader who has often shunned the spotlight and avoided confrontation.

“(The hunger strike) isn’t something I could have ever expected or prepared for,” said Clayton Kennedy, Spence’s partner of 11 years. “She isn’t someone who put herself out there like that. So when she said she wanted to do this, we knew she was serious. It’s been hard on the family but we support her and we’re hoping for some kind of resolution to this.”

Spence has been living in a teepee on a small encampment along the Ottawa River during her strike. She insists she’s prepared to die if Prime Minister Stephen Harper won’t meet with her and Canada’s aboriginal leaders to negotiate better living conditions for the country’s Native population.

Well-wishers have poured in from Cree, Ojibwa and Mohawk territories throughout the province to pay their respects to the chief, whose physical condition is gradually deteriorating.

Despite the steady stream of visitors, Spence keeps her daughter Thaislisia Linklater and granddaughter Tia Spence, both 13, closest to her. Supporters say Spence is  deeply committed mother to her four children and five grandchildren.

“She’s someone who survived the residential school system, who grew up away from her family, away from her people,” Kennedy said. “She came up through a world of pain and she wants her children to have a strong sense of family.”

NDP MP Charlie Angus recalls meeting Spence when she sat on the Attawapiskat band council, long before the village’s housing crisis made it a household name in Canada.

“She was very quiet, not what you would expect from a politician,” Angus said. “While some chiefs went to other reserves to meet with other First Nations leaders, (Spence) stayed behind and really focused on what was happening in her community. I think that resonated with the people of Attawapiskat.”

But it was the way Spence handled the fallout from Attwapiskat’s now-infamous housing crisis that truly impressed Angus. In October 2011, Spence declared a state of emergency in on the reserve after squalid living conditions forced over two-dozen families to live in emergency shelters—many without plumbing or insulation.

In the aftermath of the crisis, government officials pointed the finger at Spence’s management of her band’s finances, attempting to depose the Cree leader and have her replaced by a third-party manager.

“(Spence) was dragged through the mud pretty bad, she withstood some ugly attacks,” Angus said. “It would have been easy to just give up and hand over control of the reserve to the feds but she fought it.”

In the end Spence took Ottawa to court and avoided having her town’s finances managed by an outsider. A review of the audited financial statements documenting Spence’s two terms as chief found that they had all been reviewed and approved by the federal government.

“It shows that while she may be quiet, she’s definitely a fighter,” Angus said. “Knowing how serious (Spence) is, I actually met with her before the hunger strike and tried to talk her out of it. It’s a very dangerous strategy, I don’t doubt her resolve and I’m honestly quite concerned for her safety.”

Pam Palmater stood alongside Spence when she announced the beginning of her hunger strike on the steps of Parliament Hill last week. Palmater, a Ryerson University Professor, says she’s been blown away by the Attawapiskat chief’s strength.

“Here’s someone whose first language is Cree, she doesn’t have a speech writer, she doesn’t have the backing of a huge national organization but look at what she’s doing,” Palmater said. “This isn’t about her, she’s actually a very humble, spiritual person. This isn’t about Attawapiskat either, although she deeply cares about her home. This is about all of Canada’s aboriginal people.”

On Friday thousands are expected to turn out and march in solidarity with Spence’s cause in all of Canada’s major cities.