The Daily Gleaner

Augustine sought to instil confidence in native youths across the province

Published Tuesday November 16th, 2010

METEPENAGIAG - He was a dedicated activist, a gifted speaker, a businessman, a poet and a defender and promoter of his people.

Noah Augustine, 39, was all of these things and more over the course of his life, a promising life that ended Saturday night after his pickup truck careened off Route 420 in his home of Metepenagiag First Nation, and down a steep embankment.

The RCMP believe that alcohol, excessive speed and failure to wear a seatbelt contributed to the former chief's death just after 10 p.m.

Dallas Augustine, the 28-year-old man who was identified as the lone passenger in the vehicle, continues to recover from non-life-threatening injuries at Miramichi Regional Hospital, Const. Eric Anderson told reporters Monday.

Augustine's community continues to mourn the loss of a man who, though a divisive figure at times, worked tirelessly on behalf of aboriginal people not only in Metepenagiag but across the country.

Augustine burst onto the scene in the late 1990s as a young man to champion native logging rights, unafraid to confront government over its policies and steadfast in his defence of what he viewed to be fair and just.

But prior to this public chapter of his life, at an even younger age he crusaded to change the status quo in his community.

In 1994, while in his early 20s, Augustine went against the grain and "grabbed the bull by the horns," as he put it back then, to fight back against the rampant prescription drug abuse that had been plaguing Metepenagiag, then known as Red Bank, as well as other reservations across the province.

Armed with a pen, paper and the charisma that would become a hallmark of his career, Augustine went door to door, conducting interviews in 115 Metepenagiag households, or 90 per cent of the population, to get to the bottom of the problem.

His research uncovered figures that showed about 68 per cent of respondents felt prescription drugs were the most prominent and readily available drugs in the community.

The fallout from his investigation rubbed some people, mainly drug dealers and pushers, the wrong way and soon Augustine found himself the target of threats. Undeterred, he ran for chief for the first time later that year only to lose by three votes.

"That was really tough. My family felt so badly for me and I'd given up everything to run because I loved my people and believed in myself and the community," he said at the time.

"But I really believe that events like that, as traumatic as they are, are meant to happen so that you'll learn something. I've learned my greatest lessons in life during the worst times."

Fearing for his safety due to the continuing threats, Augustine left the community and headed to Fredericton where he accepted a position designing and marketing native tourism sites for the Department of Economic Development and Tourism.

This would prove to be a career choice that would lead to one of his shining moments during his time as chief of Metepenagiag.

Metepenagiag Heritage Park honours 3,000 years of Mi'kmaq history and has become a point of pride in this scenic community, located at the juncture of the Northwest and Little Southwest Miramichi rivers.

Augustine oversaw the park from the outset and spoke proudly of what the heritage park, now a flourishing tourism mainstay in Metepenagiag, meant to his people when it opened in 2007.

"I was basically taught that my ancestors were savages in the way of development, and I never learned through the education system how proud I should be as a Mi'kmaq and the rich heritage that we have," he said.

"So for the kids today to come in here, they'll be bringing their friends in here and they will be our little ambassadors.

"That in itself will create a new level of confidence amongst our younger generations and in order to have a strong nation, you need to have confidence."

Augustine was also known as one of the nation's foremost suicide prevention instructors, travelling across Canada conducting seminars for RCMP officials and inmates behind the walls of the Atlantic Institution in Renous.

During the height of the native logging rights issue, Augustine gained a certain amount of notoriety in September 1998, when he shot and killed Bruce Barnaby in nearby Eel Ground First Nation.

Augustine subsequently fled along with another man to Jacksonville, Fla., where they later turned themselves in to authorities.

He told the court that he shot Barnaby in self-defence and was acquitted of the charges by a jury.

From there, Augustine was a key adviser to leaders in Esgenoopetitj First Nation during the heated native fishing dispute, was elected chief of Metepenagiag in 2004, at the age of 33, and became involved with a number of aboriginal economic, social and political initiatives.

He was president of the Union of New Brunswick Indians and co-chairman of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs, worked on many land claim files and co-founded the First Nations and Business Liaison Group that pushed for partnerships between aboriginal groups and the public and private sectors.

In May, Augustine was voted out as chief of Metepenagiag, losing to Freeman Ward by 14 votes.

Editorial in The Daily Gleaner

A man with a dream

Published Tuesday November 16th, 2010

The news of the death of Noah Augustine has taken us all by surprise.

The 39-year-old well-known First Nations leader was a vibrant, articulate man whose death is untimely and unfortunate.

He was Chief Noah Augustine until just a few months ago. He was born in Metepenagiag First Nation, led the community as its chief, and died just outside it on Saturday after his truck left the road, hit a tree and crashed down an embankment.

But he didn't just remain in his community for 39 years. Between his birth and death, he was a passionate advocate for his people, a capable man who wanted to improve the plight of aboriginals. And he was well on his way to doing that.

"He was a young man with a tremendous natural intelligence and capability who believed deeply that he could help to bring better economic life to his community and to First Nations everywhere in New Brunswick, and he worked very hard at it," said former MP (J.W.) Bud Bird, his colleague.

Mr. Bird and Mr. Augustine worked well together over the past three years, consulting on salmon conservation in the Miramichi area where Metepenagiag, formerly known as Red Bank, is located.

Together they co-founded the New Brunswick First Nations and Business Liaison Group, an economic development organization dedicated to promoting closer economic relationships between native and non-native entrepreneurs.

Economic success and economic independence for natives were Mr. Augustine's dreams.

"He realized that the best way to do so was to reach out beyond the First Nations themselves and to join in the whole business community of our province and of our country," said Mr. Bird.

To this end, he worked with groups both outside and within the aboriginal community, including serving as president of the Union of New Brunswick Indians and co-chairing the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs. He also fought aggressively for native logging rights in New Brunswick.

Probably one of the most impressive traits of Mr. Augustine was his frank manner in discussing the issues that face native leadership, one of the biggest being corruption.

He pushed hard for the separation of band-owned businesses from the political leadership of the band. He believed a band council's job was to develop policies, not manage funds. He advocated for more transparency and accountability for native communities.

"If you don't have that, then you're opening the door for opportunity for corruption..." he said during an interview with the Telegraph-Journal in March.

He saw problems he felt he could fix, and wasn't afraid to poke a few hornet's nest to get the job done.

Sadly, Mr. Augustine's job is not complete. While he accomplished much, he died far too young to have met every goal and righted every wrong.

His are big shoes to fill. We sincerely hope there are some budding aboriginal leaders in this province who have or will use Mr. Augustine as a role model and finish his work.

We hope his torch will be carried by others who believe in his goal - that economic independence is the key to aboriginal success.

Rest in peace, Noah Augustine.

News Release

Office of the Premier - New Brunswick

Premier's message on death of former chief of Metepenagiag First Nation 15 November 2010

FREDERICTON (CNB) – The following statement on the death of Noah Augustine, former chief of Metepenagiag First Nation, was issued today by Premier David Alward:

We were saddened this Sunday to learn of the death of well-known New Brunswick Aboriginal leader Noah Augustine.

The former chief of Metepenagiag First Nation distinguished himself in many other roles before his passing at the young age of 39.

Born and raised in Metepenagiag, he came to prominence as a leader in the fight for Aboriginal logging rights in our province. He subsequently became renowned as both a passionate defender of his community and a tireless champion of Aboriginal and treaty rights.

Mr. Augustine also held important positions in the Atlantic Policy Congress, the New Brunswick Native Business Liaison Group and the Union of New Brunswick Indians, among other organizations.

The passing of such a strong leader is a tremendous loss to the people of the Metepenagiag First Nation and all New Brunswickers.

On behalf of the members of our government and our fellow New Brunswickers, I wish to extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends, colleagues and neighbours of Mr. Augustine.

Telegraph Journal (New Brunswick) - Published Friday November 19th, 2010

Native leader remembered as 'force for change'

METEPENAGIAG FIRST NATION - Hundreds of mourners filled St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in this tight-knit aboriginal community on Thursday morning, as dignitaries, family and friends paid their last respects to First Nations leader Noah Augustine.

The 39-year-old former Metepenagiag First Nation chief and native rights activist, who died in a traffic crash on Saturday night, was remembered as a kind father, loving husband and a "force for change."

Every pew in the old wooden church was filled with family, First Nations chiefs from across New Brunswick and other dignitaries, including Premier David Alward, Lieutenant-Governor Graydon Nicholas, Senator Sandra Lovelace Nicholas and former MP Bud Bird, with whom Augustine had co-founded a business liaison group to bring First Nations together with New Brunswick business people.

The church hall next door, where the service was broadcast on a video screen, was also filled to capacity with some mourners standing outside in the cold November wind as they strained to listen to the funeral.

"He was a tireless ambassador for this community and First Nation peoples everywhere," said Richard Lang, a close friend who delivered the eulogy.

At 11 a.m. just as the church bells chimed, the hearse arrived behind an RCMP escort cruiser. Soon afterward, pallbearers carried the coffin inside and then down the aisle.

In a sombre procession, Augustine's common-law wife, Micheline Léger, and other family members took their seats at the front of the church as a handful of First Nation chiefs, including Jesse Simon from Elsipogtog, Candice Paul from St. Mary's and George Ginnish from Eel Ground, filed in as well.

Honorary pallbearers included former New Brunswick MLA and cabinet minister T.J. Burke, who described Augustine as someone whose leadership style he admired.

The hour-long funeral service, presided over by Father Curtis Sappier, included Scripture reading, the singing of How Great Thou Art in the Mi'kmaq language, as well as the playing of a recording of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.

Some mourners quietly cried during the funeral service.

Augustine, who grew up in Metepenagiag First Nation, formerly Red Bank, held various leadership positions over the years, including chief of Metepenagiag First Nation until May of 2010, president of the Union of New Brunswick Indians and co-chair of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs.

He had garnered national attention back in the 1990s when he brought native groups together to fight for aboriginal logging rights in New Brunswick.

But shortly afterward, he was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Eel Ground resident Bruce Barnaby in September 1998.

A jury later acquitted him.

At the funeral on Thursday, it was perhaps the words of a young son saying good-bye to his father that most poignantly captured the loss that will be felt by people whose lives were touched by Augustine.

"My father was a great man," Zachary Simonson, 18, told those in attendance as he stood at the front of the church.

The teenager, dressed in a dark suit while closely resembling and sounding like his father, read a poem written by Augustine.

The poem, entitled Child of a Burning Legacy, begins with "I was born on an Indian reservation" and provides a stark insight into what were some of Augustine's struggles as a First Nations man trying to do right by his people.

"I've fought battles no man has ever won, And I've lost like the rest of them," were Augustine's own words.

Simonson then read a poem he'd written for his father.

That poem, entitled The Man Amidst the Flame, movingly begins the same way as his father's poem: "I was born on an Indian reservation" and ends with a hopeful line: "And the Man amidst the flame has new dreams to share."

Augustine's daughter, Chelsea Karasak, 12, also read a poem, entitled Choices, that she'd written for her father.

"I'm happy to say my daddy made many right choices," she said.

During the ceremony, there was no mention of the deadly crash that took Augustine's life at around 10:20 p.m. on Saturday, when he lost control of his Dodge truck, which struck a tree and then crashed down a steep embankment near Metepenagiag First Nation.

Police say alcohol and speed were factors in the crash and that Augustine wasn't wearing a seatbelt.

A passenger who was travelling with him in the truck is recovering from injuries. Police haven't released that person's name to the public.

At the funeral, longtime friend Timmy O'Shea spoke of the close bond he shared with Augustine since the two were in high school. He referenced his friend's strong will, which, while allowing him to accomplish amazing things, was also what made him not listen "when he needed to the most.

"Noah was a great guy. Rest in peace, buddy," O'Shea said.

Following the interment, which took place alongside the church, the lieutenant-governor, a First Nations member from Tobique, told reporters he was "deeply moved" by Augustine's poem and proposed that it be read in schools for children to learn from the words.

"They were inspiring words," he said. "If they would read these words in our classrooms for our kids, who knows what the future will be?"

Nicholas said he'd known the aboriginal leader since he was his student at St. Thomas University; the two had also crossed paths often over the years.

"Everybody knows he was a visionary," Nicholas said. "The other thing is that he inspired a lot of young people. I think the next generation of young children, future leaders, will see something in that."

While it may be too soon to see clearly what Augustine's legacy will be, Nicholas said, the opening of the Heritage Park at Metepenagiag First Nation, which shows the history of the Mi'kmaq people, is one of his most important contributions.

"To me, that is a big thing in terms of the identity of our people and to encourage others to come here and learn the history," he said.

Elsipogtog First Nation Chief Jesse Simon said Augustine will be missed.

"It's always hard to lose a leader, but it's even harder to lose a friend," he said.

Simon said the two worked closely as chiefs and became close friends.

"We were the young guns coming in," he said, with a laugh. "He would be pretty happy with the turnout here. He enjoyed people getting together so in a way, it's a celebration of his rebirth elsewhere ... The work that he's done will carry on."

Times and Transcript (New Brunswick)

Augustine leaves a legacy

Published Saturday November 20th, 2010

A week ago today, New Brunswick lost a champion. He was a powerful advocate for his people, for his community, for First Nations in New Brunswick, Atlantic Canada and Canada.

Noah Augustine died tragically in a car accident last Saturday evening, not far from his birthplace on the Metepenagiag Reserve, near Miramichi. On Thursday, I attended his funeral in a small Catholic Church on the Reserve. It was an emotional event, overflowing with family, friends, band members, regional chiefs, business associates, politicians, media and his admirers.

The most impressive people at the funeral were his children. Two of the four, his 17-year-old son and his 12-year-old daughter delivered poetic tributes to their father. They were amazing in their maturity, self-confidence and clarity. They are Noah's true legacy, but not his only one.

As a teenager, Noah Augustine gained attention with a paper he wrote on (prescription) drug abuse among native people. At 21, after nine people committed suicide on a neighbouring reserve, he trained as an intervention counsellor and helped focus attention on the issue of native suicide. Two years later, he became the youngest person ever to run for chief of an Indian reserve. He lost by just three votes.

After losing the election, he assumed the role of economic development officer for the reserve. In 1997, he was hired by the provincial government to develop First Nation tourism initiatives. He quit a few months later because "he felt he wasn't helping his people." When a controversial ruling from a New Brunswick judge opened the forests to the province's First Nation peoples, Noah moved in with rousing speeches and terse media quotes to fight what he called a "modern-day war."

"He saw an opportunity and he capitalized on it," said Roger Augustine, former Chief of Staff to the Assembly of First Nations Chief Phil Fontaine and currently Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations representing New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

In 2004, Noah Augustine was elected Chief of the Metepenagiag First Nation at the age of 33. As Chief, he involved himself with aboriginal economic, social and political initiatives. While he was Chief, he was instrumental in reaching a $1.4-million land-claim settlement with the federal government. He opened a $7-million park and interpretive centre to showcase the Mi'kmaq's 3,000-year occupancy of the land, formerly called Red Bank, and he initiated energy and gaming initiatives that could one day bring prosperity to the reserve.

He was president of the Union of New Brunswick Indians and Co-chair of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs. Augustine co-founded New Brunswick's First Nations and Business Liaison Group with Fredericton businessman and former Member of Parliament Bud Bird, an organization that promotes conversation and partnership between First Nations and the New Brunswick business community.

In May, Mr. Augustine was defeated by just 14 votes. He was devastated. People stopped returning his phone calls and he lost his position as Co-Chair of the Atlantic Provinces Policy Conference. Still he didn't give up his vision of making life better for his community and he remained determined to regain his position as Chief.

With success, Mr. Augustine had his demons. In 1999 he killed a man and was charged with murder. He was discharged on the grounds of self-defence. But his bigger demons were life-long.

A dedicated and talented writer, Mr. Augustine wrote about his life, his family and his experiences, in both poetry and prose. His written words provide a window into the inner workings of a man who was exceptionally bright, well educated and passionate in his pursuits. He was a brilliant orator who could speak coherently for extended periods without notes. His passion for community reminds me in some ways of Pierre Elliot Trudeau and his passion for Quebec and its people.

"I was born on an Indian reservation, the child of a burning legacy. I've fought battles no man has ever won and I've lost like the rest of them. I've fought the lion in the jungle, only to feed him his dinner. I rallied the troops on prophetic words of wisdom and they marched forward but before the war even started, a warrior was found dead. He was the only one not listening. I have since learned to listen," wrote Noah Augustine.

That was the Noah Augustine that I knew - a man of principle, a man of purpose and a man who was dedicated to the betterment of his people. Perhaps more importantly, he was a man who had learned to listen. He was a man who had learned to discuss and debate issues.

His cross-cultural friend and mentor was Bud Bird. The legacy of their partnership is the enlightened relationship between First Nations and New Brunswick's business community.

The legacy will become real when that partnership matures.

W.E. (Bill) Belliveau is a Shediac resident and Moncton business consultant. His column appears on this page every Saturday. He can be contacted at bill.bellstrategic@nb.aibn.com