Paul Andrew considered himself a small cog in the wheel of the Dene Nation in the 1970s, when he was also chief of Tulita. 

He didn’t work with other levels of government or even international organizations — just with communities. He did not think he would be one of the people spied on by the RCMP.

So, he was surprised that his name came up several times in the RCMP’s files. The files show police monitored him, from his stance on divisive issues to his comings and goings at workshops. 

Now, he wants access to the unredacted documents.

“For me, an apology would not be enough,” he said.

This past week, CBC published a  series of stories  detailing spying on Indigenous leaders by the RCMP in the 1970s, including  Dene leaders in the N.W.T.  The stories were backed by thousands of partially redacted pages of documents obtained through Access to Information requests.

Andrew, now an elder, is one of a growing number of Dene leaders calling for all the files to be turned over. He said he is also open to discussing a class action lawsuit with other leaders who were spied on and are still around. 

Library and Archives Canada said in an email to CBC it’s open to meeting with the Dene Nation to discuss access to the unredacted files.

Apology not enough

Gerry Cheezie’s name also comes up frequently in the files kept by the RCMP on the Dene Nation, then known as the Indian Brotherhood of the Northwest Territories.

He was the chief of the then-named Fitz-Smith Native Band, which has since split into Salt River First Nation and Smith’s Landing First Nation.

Cheezie knew he was being watched by the RCMP in the 1970s. He saw it as a necessary sacrifice for his case: protecting his people and their rights, their land and their territory. 

“But I didn’t realize the extent of their paranoia of the work that we were doing,” he said. “It’s a massive invasion of privacy.”

The sheer scale of the RCMP’s Native extremism program has stunned observers. 

“It just shows the racism of the RCMP during the time, and the state for that matter,” said Glen Coulthard, director of University of British Columbia’s Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies. He is also a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.

While files on the Dene Nation reflect surveillance at a time before Canada adopted its Charter of Rights, Coulthard said the program overstepped.

“These were Native people who had rights even then, although not constitutionally protected.”

Cheezie echoed Andrew, saying apologies even at the federal level would not be enough.

Andrew said he has seen too many general apologies, and not enough change over the years. 

A meaningful apology would be a personal letter from the prime minister to each person targeted in the files, he said. 

He also wants to see action on a broader scope, like access to the full files and “serious actions” from the federal government.

Serious action, he said, could look like settling the outstanding land claims in the Northwest Territories. 

“Give Indigenous people what they want for once.”

Lawsuit a possibility

Cheezie said he believes the people who were spied on should come together and discuss the possibility of filing a class action lawsuit against the federal government, the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service for the “ordeal” they were put through.

Andrew said he likes the idea of coming together to respond collectively, but is not sure a lawsuit would be the best way to ensure lasting change for the next generations. 

“We’ve had many lawsuits,” he said. “It just ended up in an exchange of money and essentially nothing else seems to have happened.”

He said he’s interested in an outcome where reckoning with the spying, and preventing it from happening again, is the concern of every Canadian.

Federal response

While some leaders say an apology is not enough, the Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak has called for federal leaders to issue a formal statement of regret.

In an interview with CBC, Dene National Chief George Mackenzie said what the RCMP did is a “disgrace” and has also called for an apology. 

He asked the documents be turned over to Dene leaders.

In an email response, spokesperson Richard Provencher said Library and Archives Canada acknowledged the redacted documents would not provide a full picture. There is “an additional responsibility for barrier-free data return to Indigenous Peoples,” he added.

He wrote that the department would welcome a meeting with Mackenzie to discuss possible steps toward accessing the records.

When CBC requested the files through Access to Information requests, it was told Library and Archives Canada needed to consult with intelligence services , because it raised concerns of national security.

A security and intelligence spokesperson deferred the decision of release of the files to Library and Archives Canada, saying they were the ultimate custodian of the documents.

“Canadian Security Intelligence Service is fully supportive of Library and Archives Canada determinations on release of relevant records in accordance with applicable law and policy,” they wrote.

Meanwhile, at the federal level, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree have  said an apology is needed  over the spying program detailed in the files. 

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme issued a statement expressing regret for the program.

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Minister Rebecca Alty called the spying “deeply disturbing and not acceptable.”

She said she would be happy to support the efforts of Dene leaders to access the files as necessary moving forward.

The files are more than just records for Andrew. He said they are the missing pieces of a story every Canadian must face for reconciliation to truly happen. 

“We’re trying to build a better future for our children and grandchildren,” he said.

“And in order to do that, we have to have a good idea of what has happened, what we need to know, what to correct.”