N.B. First Nations activist recalled as a builder

Noah Augustine, a well-known First Nations leader from New Brunswick who died in a weekend crash, is being remembered for fighting for aboriginal logging rights and bringing native and non-native communities closer together.

Augustine, the 39-year-old former chief of the Metepenagiag First Nation in northeastern New Brunswick, died in Red Bank at about 10:20 p.m. on Saturday.

His 2009 Dodge Ram truck left the road, hit a tree and continued down an embankment.

The RCMP said they believe alcohol and speed contributed to Augustine's death. They also said they believe he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. A second person is in the Miramichi hospital recovering from non-life threatening injuries.

Augustine came to national attention as a leader in the fight for aboriginal logging rights in the province before being tried and acquitted of murder in the shooting of Eel Ground resident Bruce Barnaby.

He also oversaw a $1.4-million land claim settlement with the federal government and was pushing for electoral reform. 'It's very sad and a little discouraging to see a relatively young life ended in such an untimely fashion, particularly a life that held so much potential for the future of aboriginal people.'— Bud Bird, former N.B. cabinet minister

T.J. Burke, a friend and former New Brunswick Liberal cabinet minister, said Augustine was a tireless advocate for First Nations people.

"Not only on the spiritual side and the cultural side, but on the economic development side. He wanted to see First Nations people succeed," Burke said.

"And he wanted nothing more for First Nations people than to be treated on an equal footing like everybody else, and to see his community prosper like every other community in Canada."

Augustine's commitment to bringing the First Nations and non-First Nations communities together was also remembered by colleagues, such as Bud Bird.

Bird, a friend and former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, and Augustine founded the First Nation and Business Liaison Group to try and identify economic strategies for the communities.

Bird said Augustine managed to pass his vision for the future on to others in the community.

"It's very sad and a little discouraging to see a relatively young life ended in such an untimely fashion, particularly a life that held so much potential for the future of aboriginal people, in my opinion, in New Brunswick and perhaps even in Canada," Bird said.

During his term as Metepenagiag's chief, the First Nation opened a $7-million park and interpretive centre to showcase the 3,000-year occupancy of the land by the Mi'qmaq people.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2010/11/15/nb-noah-augustine-rem...

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