Even by the standards of Chief Roy Fabian – never a man shy about expressing his opinions – it was a stunning statement.
It was prompted because the leader of K'atlodeeche First Nation was disappointed that members voted against a plan on dispersing a $28.3-million settlement with the federal government for unfulfilled agricultural commitments in Treaty 8 – the so-called cows and plows promises.
The main sticking point – which saw the proposal rejected on Sept. 18 by a vote of 144 against and 137 in favour – was a one-time payment to individual members.
A working group proposed a $15,000 payment to each band member and an $18-million trust fund, but that was voted down.
Many members wanted a higher individual payment of $27,000 based on a motion passed at a membership meeting. That would have naturally meant a smaller trust fund for the future.
The defeat of the proposal caused Chief Fabian to say the following to The Hub:
"The whole treaty implementation process is about the future and that's what this whole thing was all about and was based on this premise that I worked on the treaty and tried to make sure that everything was about the future. What I realized was that the majority of the First Nation people do not agree with the future and were not concerned about the future."
We're not sure if Chief Fabian heard us gasp on the other end of the telephone line. For a First Nation leader to say that its members do not care about the future is almost unthinkable.
Non-Indigenous readers of The Hub might need some explanation. It appears to be a universally-accepted truth among First Nations people that they always think about future generations. You hear it at virtually every meeting and event and in conversation.
We would suggest we have heard of the importance of 'future generations' much more than anything else from members of K'atlodeeche First Nation.
So you can imagine our surprise when we heard Chief Fabian say they don't care about future generations.
Now, far be it from us to make any comment on how KFN should distribute the treaty settlement money. That is something for the First Nation leaders and membership to work out.
However, we cannot let this opportunity pass by without considering the pros and cons of getting more money now or leaving more for future generations. That is not just a KFN issue, but an issue for all people and governments.
On the face of it, it seems to make sense to put a chunk of money away to help people in the future.
On the other hand, some might argue there is really only the present and today's people are just as important as those to come.
Perhaps no one will ever win that debate.
However, as a result of Chief Fabian's comments, we will never hear Indigenous people talk about 'future generations' in the same way again.
That is disappointing, because it was nice to think there were some people in this world that really thought about the future and not just today.