Open Letter to the AFN EXECUTIVE May 7th, 2014

To: Perry Bellegarde, Bill Traverse, Roger Augustine, Morley GooGoo, Jody Wilson-RayBould, Ghislain Picard, Stan Beardy, Mike Smith, Bill Erasmus, Cameron Alexis - The AFN Executive Committee Re: KILL THE BILL C- 33- (FNCFNEA) As a Kanienkeh:ka Educator from Kahnawake Mohawk Nation Territory, I write this letter, strongly urging you to kill this draconian piece of legislation by denouncing in public KILL BILL C-33/FNCFNEA. The federal government, nor you, acting in the capacity of the AFN Executive, do not have our Free, Prior or Informed Consent to make any decision that will have a devastating impact on the collective rights of our children and those yet unborn. When you met on May 6th, you had a chance to publically denounce Bill C-33. Instead, you chose to be silent on this Bill. Why were you silent on this Bill? Your silence has given the Minister the green light to use the media and justify to the Canadian public there is no united voice of the AFN, so we will move ahead with the Bill. Your inaction and silence on Bill C-33 is totally unacceptable. Furthermore, you have also stood silent in listening to the leadership that are directing you to move forward with a Confederacy of Nations meeting on May 14th. Instead, you chose to ignore their call. By the time you call for a Special Assembly late in May, the Bill could be passed in Parliament and nothing will stop it. Should you come out in support of this Bill, your leadership will have failed the people and most importantly, you will have failed our children. As a collective, the organizing spirit of the people is powerful. Parents, students, Elders, Spiritual leaders and communities across this country will not sit idly by and allow you, or the Harper government to take away the collective rights of our parents to have full control over the education of our children. Do not underestimate the power of the people. It is with the strongest conviction that I urge you, to not give your consent to support Harper/Valcourts Bill C-33. For the sake of our children, your children, and for the sake of our future generations and those yet unborn, do not support this Bill. By lending support to this Bill C-33, you willingly participate in the extinguishment of our childrens inherent, collective and inalienable rights to education. Stand with the parents, children, Elders and speak out vigorously, forcefully, and consistently against this Bill designed to extinguish forever, our childrens collective and inalienable rights to education. How we educate our children is how they become strong, principled leaders and contributing

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members of our families, clans and Nations, which in turn, contributes to the collective power in actualizing our self-determination as Indigenous Nations. I urge you to stand with the people and take a strong collective and unified stance and say NO TO BILL C-33. Donna Kahrakwas Goodleaf, Ed.D. Kanienkeh:ka Nation Kahnawake Mohawk Nation Territory