Chief Gardner prefers to be introduced by his Ojibway first name, which is MIZINAASIGESI. He was named after the sun in the Moose clan. The sun is the spirit protector in the Moose clan.
Chief Gardner feels that all First Nations peoples should know their Ojibway name and know the clan that they belong to. It is important to know that one cannot marry into their own clan. The other members of the Moose clan are considered his sisters and brothers. Two individuals of the same clan, even though they have a different last name, and are strangers, are still forbidden from marrying.
According to Chief Arnold Gardner, this knowledge of one’s own clan, has been lost by many young First Nations peoples. At one time, First Nation peoples lived self-sufficiently and were proud of their heritage. Then, his people were devastated by Residential school. Furthermore, First Nations people were not given the right to vote until the 1950s.
Another important self-identification that Chief Arnold spoke of very early in the interview was that he saw himself as a recovering alcoholic even though he had not had a drink in over thirty years. Before he knew his culture and its connection to his identity, his “wet-mind”, did not allow him to practice his culture, nor did he know who he was.
Chief Garner believes that in the beginning, the North American continent was given to the red man, the European continent was allocated to the white man, and the African and Asian continents were given to the black and yellow man respectively. However, when the white man invaded North America, the red man did not go to Europe. After the white man came here, he brought other people as well.
During the 1800’s, the Canadian government wanted to open the west for settlement and thus they needed a peace treaty with the First Nations peoples. Treaties One and Two that involved the First Nations peoples west of North-Western Ontario were signed immediately. However, Treaty Three, which involved the people in North-Western Ontario was not signed immediately as there was a lot of mistrust on the part of the First Nations peoples.
Following the Treaties, was the installation of the Indian Act which was a major impairment to the First Nations way of life. The Indian Act changed First Nations people from a self-sufficient, self-governing people, to a people dependent on the government in all ways of living. The Indian Act told them that they were not good enough to govern themselves; therefore, the government had to plan and organize every aspect of the First Nation way of living. The Indian Act also brought the European education and welfare systems along with the corruption of power to the First Nations peoples. This made them dependent, feeling a deep shame with respect to their dependence on the government.
Residential School had a devastating effect on First Nations peoples. Most notably, it robbed the people of the ability to love. Parents did not know how to support and love their children because Residential school had previously robbed the parents of their ability to love. Never having been cuddled and loved as children, made it extremely difficult for these parents to love and cuddle their own children. Furthermore, those who attended Residential school were not able to secure a personal identity, and consequently were unable to model those parenting skills for their own children. As a result, alcohol and drugs became prevalent issues for First Nations Peoples over many generations.
Chief Arnold Gardner was born on January 17, 1951 in the Dryden Hospital. His mother, as well as his grandmother, were not fluent in English. His father, a World War II veteran, was well-educated but stern. When Chief Arnold was a child, the “John Wayne” mentality of First Nations peoples was preeminent; First Nations peoples were savages who had to be tamed. This affected his self-esteem, as he did not see himself as being as good as non-Native peoples.
Chief Gardner’s parents had a very difficult life, working off the land and on the trap lines. They hunted, fished, trapped, logged for pulpwood, and harvested wild rice to earn their living and survive. His parents routinely woke up at 4:00 am to start their workday. As a child, his parents instilled this hard work ethic into Chief Arnold. He cannot express enough what a difficult life it was for him as he was growing up.
Chief Arnold’s father was a Chief of Eagle Lake First Nation, his grandfather was Chief of Wabigoon Lake First Nation and his uncle Philip, was also Chief of Eagle Lake First Nation for twenty-five years. His uncle Philip played a big role in what Eagle Lake First Nation is about today.
Though his parents lived off the land, they instilled in Chief Arnold the importance of receiving a good education. He attended Dryden High School from 1965 to 1969. When he started Grade nine, there were only about five First Nations children in high school. By 1969 there were about twenty First Nations children in a school population of over 1500 students. He remembers Mr. Gordon Wood and Mr. Harry McMaster as having a positive influence on him as a teenager. In fact, he says, that to this day, he frequently contemplates how these role models influenced his life. When he completed High School, he was in the minority, as not many First Nations peoples had graduated from High School. From there, he went on to attend Forestry School at the College in Sault Saint Marie and subsequently graduated in 1972.
After graduating from College, Chief Gardner worked as a social counsellor at Eagle Lake First Nation and retained that position for fifteen years. He had to help many people deal with the stereotype of themselves along with the low self-esteem that came with that stereotype. Many First Nations peoples, including Chief Arnold, at one time, saw themselves as “savages” with lives that had to be dictated by the government. This control over their identity resulted in his people having deep feelings of inferiority, dependence and shame.
As social counsellor at Eagle Lake, he had to help many young people who came here from the North to attend High School, deal with the many conveniences that other people take for granted. For example, many young people from the North did not even know how to turn on a faucet. Housing arrangements were setup as boarding arrangements, far from their families. Loneliness and low self-esteem were frequent issues with these young people. Because of stereotyping and racism, their reaction was to retreat, turn and run. Many stayed only until Christmas time. This low self-esteem and isolation were the major contributing factors that led to their failure in school.
Chief Gardner tried his best to model and give direction to these young people. He told them that they were number one, they were as good as the others and that they had every right to be proud of their heritage.
So many rights were denied to First Nations peoples. They were only given the right to vote in the 1950s. Eventually, they were given the right to enter a public beer parlor in the 1960s, and unfortunately, that led to devastating consequences for his people.
Another issue which is very important is the issue of the First Nations language. This loss can also be attributed to the effect of Residential school. The Ojibway language was suppressed, and today as a result, many adults are not able to speak the language and pass that language on to their children.
Along with Residential school was the attempted suppression of the First Nations religious ceremonies and the replacement with Christian ones, particularly those associated with the Roman Catholic religion. Chief Gardner relates a metaphorical story where his people used to pray with their heads and hands up in the air. When the Jesuits came, they were made to pray with their heads down. But when the First Nations peoples looked up, everything they had was gone.
Fortunately, today the situation is better for young First Nations people. Parents see the importance of education and are encouraging their children to stay in school. There is a good elementary school on the Eagle Lake First Nation. Most parents now have at least an elementary education and some high school. There are others who have succeeded with a good education and are now lawyers, doctors and teachers. These are role models for First Nations children.
A lot of the success can be attributed to the recreation facilities that are available. On the Eagle Lake First Nation there is an ice rink and two ball diamonds. Parents encourage their children to participate and be active. Chief Gardner encourages First Nations kids to participate with the Eagles sports teams, and to get involved in many of the other clubs, such as the Drama club.
Chief Gardner’s son Marlon played with the Eagles hockey team, and then played junior hockey in Manitoba as well as with the Dryden Ice Dogs. He continued his hockey and played semi-professional hockey in Philadelphia while he attended and graduated from Neuman University in Pennsylvania. Chief Gardner attributes this success to the recreational activities made available to his son while he was young.
In the assembly of First Nations in Canada there are about 640 communities. In Ontario, there are 133 communities, and in Treaty Three, 28 communities. One of the major problems of the administrative level of these communities is the distrust that exists amongst the leaders. One of the root causes of this distrust is the fact that many of the leaders are survivors of Residential School. Another problem is the disclosure of the salaries of the Chiefs of the communities. Chief Gardner feels that all municipal, provincial and federal members of government and federally appointed senators should have their salaries disclosed as well. Of the Chiefs of Treaty Three, he, as Chief of Eagle Lake First Nation, is the lowest paid chief in the area.
However, Chief Gardner still feels that the Federal Government still does not listen and respect the wishes of the First Nations Chiefs. The main problem is that the Canadian government is organized in a hierarchical structure, where there are few people at the top of the pyramid of political power who do not take into consideration the appeals of the Chiefs. The 55,000 square miles of Treaty Three was not shared proportionately, with the government taking control of most of the land.
With Eagle Lake First Nation provided only 8,000 acres of land it is difficult to create a self-sustaining economy. Eagle Lake First Nation believes that any economic development must take into consideration the care and preservation of the land, forests, animals and water. It is not their desire to rape mother earth and leave nothing for future generations.
Of recent issue is the Trans Canada Pipeline. The company has promised jobs for the First Nations Peoples but this has not materialized at all. Another concern related to the pipeline is the possible leaking of toxic chemicals into the soil. Chief Gardner believes that God gave us eyes, ears, nose and mouth and we should use these blessings to make decisions in the most judicious way.
At Eagle Lake First Nation there is a shared service leader model. Committees have been set up to listen, discuss and act on the concerns of the people. Eagle Lake believes in a bottom up approach to governance.
Chief Gardner believes that women are sacred in the eyes of God, and that he as a man, will never be able to fully understand a woman. That special attribute of women is their ability to bear children. He will never be able to fully understand his mother and wife.
As Chief of Eagle Lake, he tries to follow the Seven Teachings, and he believes that the teaching of Love is the greatest. He believes in a Supreme Being, but we all worship Him in different ways. Every day he tries to give thanks, by giving tobacco offerings, playing drums and using an eagle staff. He strongly believes in wearing a poppy during Remembrance Day to honour those who served. He does not like to talk too much about his beliefs and practices and sees himself as a humble man. Everyone has feelings and we have to respect that. As Chief he has dedicated his life to helping others and wants that to be his legacy. He asks for forgiveness for any one he has hurt.