I am caught right now between heeding or ignoring the usual advice about fanatics and their rantings. Most people figure it is better to ignore the hateful, ignorant ravings of people who spread nasty hate messages against other groups of people like Indigenous peoples or people from other cultures. I used to think that was good advice, because who wants to give those unstable few a bigger platform for their disturbed ideas.
But then it hit me that this advice usually comes from the majority population, who, for the most part, are not the ones directly impacted by the end result of hate propaganda. It also hit me that in this age of social media and kids using the internet at younger and younger ages, that these very public media outlets have the ability to influence and brainwash our youth. Thus, even though there are far too many fanatical groups, commentators and media outlets to monitor (nor would I want to), there are some articles that require a response.
Sun Media, which should rename itself Hate Media recently published a racist article related to the upcoming Assembly of First Nations election. While the Toronto Sun may or may not have written the article itself, it made the decision to publish it. Hate crimes are punishable in Canada - but at the very least they should not be able to profit from their hatred.
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/06/25/compromise-is-chief-priority
"Compromise... is the route Shawn Atleo has been following"
The article appears to support Shawn Atleo as the "compromising" candidate and thus the one who should be elected. This group is supported by Senator Patrick Brazeau who openly endorsed Shawn Atleo as the only candidate that the Harper Conservatives could work with. My issue is not whether or not the right wing contingency in Canada supports Shawn Atleo, my issue is with how they talk about our people and the hatred they invite into our communities by virtue of their propaganda, racism and misinformation.
"Despite billions in taxpayer welfare..."
Every aspect of the way this article is written is meant to promote hatred against First Nations people. It is the tone, the implication, the words and even the facts that are left out that can influence and encourage non-First Nation people to see us in a stereotypical light and treat us with both disdain and lack of compassion. How does this happen? Since contact, the colonizing governments have tried to portray us as less than human. This allowed them to justify in law both the theft of our lands and the control of our people - as if we were incapable of managing our own affairs.
This could not be farther from the truth of course, as we have literally tens of thousands of years of having lived quite well with our own complex governments, laws and justice systems. We also had extensive and profitable trade networks, strong militaries and political skills in alliances and treaty making. We had our own cultures, traditions, languages, practices and beliefs to fill our spirits, teach us how to live up to our responsibilities and to keep us connected to the land, sky, water, people and animals. The ways of our diverse peoples were and are beautiful.
Our ways and our peoples were attacked by those colonizing governments in very direct violent ways (scalping laws, forced sterilizations, military assaults, abuse and murder of our children in residential schools) and we were attacked in less direct but harmful ways (Indian Act, Indian agents, federal and provincial laws outlawing our subsistence activities, ignoring treaties etc). Many people are of the understanding that all of this is history - but the ongoing colonization of our people continues - they just use different names for it.
Today we have theft of children by provincial agencies, the over-representation of our people in jails, murdered and missing First Nation women, and the pre-mature deaths of our people through chronic and severe under-funding of essential programs and services.
http://pi.library.yorku.ca/ojs/index.php/crsp/article/view/35220
"It [Harper] makes a historic apology... and can't win for losing"
Take for example, the Toronto Sun article claims the apology was historic. Yet, the Prime Minister forgot the other half of the apology. Every child knows that you can't apologize without also making amends for your offense. The Prime Minister apologized for the assimilatory foundations upon which residential schools policies were based yet, promptly after the apology funding was cut for Indigenous languages. Our children are still stolen by from our communities by child welfare agencies at rates HIGHER than during the residential school era. What has changed in terms of what the majority of our children learn in provincial schools? Harper hasn`t lost anything - but we have.
"It fronts a reconcilation commission"
Even the words used to describe the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) make suttle negative associations. The Toronto Sun seems to imply that out of the goodness of the Prime Minister's heart, a Truth and Reconciliation was funded. I think the author is forgetting that all of this came about because of the litigation against Canada. These are the facts that ought to be on the table if we are to have a responsible discussion about any of these issues.
Since it is unlikely that these people will stop their campaign to turn public opinion and policy makers against us, we need to occupy the space of educator. The Assembly of First Nations needs to take a stronger public education role in making sure the facts are accessible and that forums are created for informed and fact-based discussions versus allowing the old uneducated right-wing hate debate to dominate.
"Unreasonable demands from aboriginal 'leadership' in cesspool reserves"
It is one thing for us to all have different perspectives, beliefs and interpretations of what we see, hear and experience, but it is quite another to promote blatantly racist and uninformed statements about us. Our youth need to know that the very foundation of race as a biological determinant of personality, intelligence or capacity was discounted both in science and fact decades ago. It is impossible to look at the end result of devastating and often lethal colonial policies forced on our people and imply that we want any of this or that our choices put us where we are today.
How dare they call Attawapiskat a "cesspool" reserve when they know the facts - that many of those residents live in poverty not because they want or choose to, but because of the chronic underfunding of our communities and the government's refusal to share what is ours - the land and resources. Yet, there is no mention of the mining company which overloaded the reserve's underfunded infrastructure and flooded their sewage station and caused back-ups in some of their houses. Where was the amends for that?
"An idiot... and fool"
I don't care who you are, what your background is or what your political stripes are - no one gets to talk about our people this way. We have our strengths and weaknesses like any other collective in the world, but we did not ask for any of this. We are tasked with managing the dysfunction that Canada created and fights hard to maintain today. Our people have tried against all odds to work with Canada. We have survived everything that has been thrown at us - from scalpings to sterilizations to complete control and impoverishment.
And we still sing, we still dance, and we still celebrate who we are as the FIRST PEOPLES of this land - like the Mi'kmaq, Cree, Mohawk, and Maliseet. Despite generations of brainwashing we still fight to protect our ways and our people. None of us are disposable. We are all human beings and if Canada is embarassed by our living conditions they need to do something about it. If they are not, then they need to step aside and let a legitimate government take charge - one that puts the well-being of the people first. Name-calling by Conservative Ministers, Senators or their right-wing media outlets will never cover up their culpability.
"Compromise is chief priority"
We made our compromises when we signed treaties. Those deals are now internationally and constitutionally protected. Those treaties need to be recognized and implemented. Some right-wingers say that treaty implementation is an old argument and that I should give it up. Senator Brazeau said that his government would `never`recognize treaties - important insight on the kind of government we are dealing with and the positions we need to take.
Even those non-treaty Nations made their compromises years ago when they agreed to share, not give up their lands and resources. To ask us to compromise again is to ask us to give up what little we have left. We stand on the strength of our original and prior sovereignty - we need to assert it, live it and protect it. There is no compromise to be had on our sovereignty.
``bangs war drums and blows smoke``
I hope for the sake of our children and their children and their children forever, that we always hear the beat of the drum and honour the pipe ceremonies. Our ways connect us to our ancestors - many of whom gave up their lives to protect our lands. I am proud to be part of those traditions and hope we never compromise on our sovereignty,our treaties, our traditions or the well-being of our people.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
It's Time to Stand Up and Defend our People
It used to be that in the old days, it was only really disturbed or ultra fanatical people that would say overtly crazy, racist things in public. Today, if you read any of the online comments after news articles related to First Nations people, you will see a segment of Canadian society filled with anger, hatred and racism who lack any actual knowledge, context, history or factual basis for their opinions about our issues. That is to be expected given the lack of education in public schools, work places or society in general about who we are as Indigenous peoples.
However, when it comes to educated and experienced Canadian Ministers and politicians - there are no excuses. In fact, each Minister has an army of policy advisors, lawyers, assistants, communications specialists and advisors that fully brief him or her about all the facts, history and context. They don't even have to think for themselves as they have issue binders, speaking notes and press releases written for them. Once in a while though, a Minister gets caught off guard by a reporter and has to speak for him/herself and then their REAL views come out.
I am writing this blog today because the ignorant, racist comments against Indigenous peoples in Canada seem to be increasing by Harper's Conservative Cabinet Ministers. Since they are so well informed about our issues, we cannot excuse them based on ignorance - their words reflect not only their lack of empathy for our peoples, but also their outright disdain for us. I hardly know where to start with this one, but here goes...
Minister Duncan has said a great deal of really dumb things in his tenure as Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) which is likely one of the reasons he is "handled" so obviously by his staff. One of the worst things he has ever said was that he did not consider the devastating loss of language and culture caused by the residential school system to be "cultural genocide".
http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2012/01/13/federal-official-wanted-emails-deleted-outlining-plan-to-stonewall-on-residential-school-genocide-questions/
Of course this ignores the actual realities of residential schools, and of all the people who should know better, it should be the Minister of Indian Affairs.
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/pamela-palmater/2011/11/unbelievable-undeniable-genocide-canada
Then there is his most recent comments about our sovereignty and law-making powers. When asked about over sovereignty, Minister Duncan laughed and said "well, that doesn't really work does it". He went on to say that "we are a federal government" and "that's the way it has to be". This was in response to several First Nations in this country exercising their right to trade tobacco between First Nations.
http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2012/06/01/minister-duncan-dismisses-dakota-claim-theyre-governed-by-law-of-the-land/
It seems to me that First Nations can't ever win in this battle - if we are impoverished our communities are referred to as "human cesspools"...
http://m.torontosun.com/2012/05/18/un-envoy-offers-no-food-for-thought?noimage=true
If we try to hunt and fish to provide for our families, we are stopped by brute force:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsvG4KpFHOA
If we try to engage in inter-First Nation trade of traditional products like tobacco - our right to our livelihood is criminalized:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2012/03/06/mb-dakota-chundee-smokes-raid.html
Canada can't have it both ways. Government can't create laws and policies to keep us in poverty and then complain about the cost of poverty. Similarly, government can't tell us to "pick up our socks" and then arrest us when we find ways to provide for our communities. But, if we think this is bad, it is only going to get worse as governments race to extract as much oil, minerals and riches from our traditional territories as possible with little or no input from us.
Yet, Canada's well-informed Ministers continue to make statements based not on fact, but on their own self-interest or racist views about Indigenous peoples. Look at Minister Aglukkaq's denial of food insecurity in Canada. This Minister comes from the very region which suffers the highest food insecurity in all of Canada and she denied that there was even a problem - alleging that everyone just hunts and fishes for a living.
http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2012/05/16/food-security-not-an-issue-for-aboriginal-people-because-they-hunt-every-day-says-aglukkaq/
But this is just the tip of the iceberg, many other Conservative Ministers have made racist or derogatory comments against our people. Think of Prime Minister Harper's denial of colonialism in Canada, Minister Oliver's description of First Nations people as "dysfunctional" or the very telling Canada-AFN Summit held in January where everyone smiled and shook hands, while Harper outlined his assimilation plan.
Time and again the Harper Conservative government denies Canada's role in our poverty, they try to sugarcoat the past and have put their assimilatory agenda on fast forward. Where is the Assembly of First Nations in all of this? They should be standing up for our people! They should be educating Canadians about the facts and most of all they should do what they were mandated to do: advocate for better conditions in our First Nations and "to protect our succeeding generations from colonialism". It's time the AFN joined all the Chiefs, First Nation organizations and grassroots people in standing up and defending the very strength of our Nations - our sovereignty, land and people.
However, when it comes to educated and experienced Canadian Ministers and politicians - there are no excuses. In fact, each Minister has an army of policy advisors, lawyers, assistants, communications specialists and advisors that fully brief him or her about all the facts, history and context. They don't even have to think for themselves as they have issue binders, speaking notes and press releases written for them. Once in a while though, a Minister gets caught off guard by a reporter and has to speak for him/herself and then their REAL views come out.
I am writing this blog today because the ignorant, racist comments against Indigenous peoples in Canada seem to be increasing by Harper's Conservative Cabinet Ministers. Since they are so well informed about our issues, we cannot excuse them based on ignorance - their words reflect not only their lack of empathy for our peoples, but also their outright disdain for us. I hardly know where to start with this one, but here goes...
Minister Duncan has said a great deal of really dumb things in his tenure as Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) which is likely one of the reasons he is "handled" so obviously by his staff. One of the worst things he has ever said was that he did not consider the devastating loss of language and culture caused by the residential school system to be "cultural genocide".
http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2012/01/13/federal-official-wanted-emails-deleted-outlining-plan-to-stonewall-on-residential-school-genocide-questions/
Of course this ignores the actual realities of residential schools, and of all the people who should know better, it should be the Minister of Indian Affairs.
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/pamela-palmater/2011/11/unbelievable-undeniable-genocide-canada
Then there is his most recent comments about our sovereignty and law-making powers. When asked about over sovereignty, Minister Duncan laughed and said "well, that doesn't really work does it". He went on to say that "we are a federal government" and "that's the way it has to be". This was in response to several First Nations in this country exercising their right to trade tobacco between First Nations.
http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2012/06/01/minister-duncan-dismisses-dakota-claim-theyre-governed-by-law-of-the-land/
It seems to me that First Nations can't ever win in this battle - if we are impoverished our communities are referred to as "human cesspools"...
http://m.torontosun.com/2012/05/18/un-envoy-offers-no-food-for-thought?noimage=true
If we try to hunt and fish to provide for our families, we are stopped by brute force:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsvG4KpFHOA
If we try to engage in inter-First Nation trade of traditional products like tobacco - our right to our livelihood is criminalized:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2012/03/06/mb-dakota-chundee-smokes-raid.html
Canada can't have it both ways. Government can't create laws and policies to keep us in poverty and then complain about the cost of poverty. Similarly, government can't tell us to "pick up our socks" and then arrest us when we find ways to provide for our communities. But, if we think this is bad, it is only going to get worse as governments race to extract as much oil, minerals and riches from our traditional territories as possible with little or no input from us.
Yet, Canada's well-informed Ministers continue to make statements based not on fact, but on their own self-interest or racist views about Indigenous peoples. Look at Minister Aglukkaq's denial of food insecurity in Canada. This Minister comes from the very region which suffers the highest food insecurity in all of Canada and she denied that there was even a problem - alleging that everyone just hunts and fishes for a living.
http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2012/05/16/food-security-not-an-issue-for-aboriginal-people-because-they-hunt-every-day-says-aglukkaq/
But this is just the tip of the iceberg, many other Conservative Ministers have made racist or derogatory comments against our people. Think of Prime Minister Harper's denial of colonialism in Canada, Minister Oliver's description of First Nations people as "dysfunctional" or the very telling Canada-AFN Summit held in January where everyone smiled and shook hands, while Harper outlined his assimilation plan.
Time and again the Harper Conservative government denies Canada's role in our poverty, they try to sugarcoat the past and have put their assimilatory agenda on fast forward. Where is the Assembly of First Nations in all of this? They should be standing up for our people! They should be educating Canadians about the facts and most of all they should do what they were mandated to do: advocate for better conditions in our First Nations and "to protect our succeeding generations from colonialism". It's time the AFN joined all the Chiefs, First Nation organizations and grassroots people in standing up and defending the very strength of our Nations - our sovereignty, land and people.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Assembly of First Nations Election 2012 - What Happens Next?
AFN ELECTION 2012
As I stated in my previous blog, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is having their annual general meeting this July 17-19 in Toronto. This year's assembly is particularly important because Shawn Atleo's term as National Chief is up for election. Usually by this time of year, people are talking about the candidates and whose platform may win the day. However, this year candidates appear to be few and far between. Perhaps it is a little too early to tell, since technically the electoral officer - Loretta Pete Lambert - was only just appointed and nominations only open May 23rd and they officially close June 12.
Contrary to popular belief, one need not be a chief to run for the position of National Chief. The criteria for eligibility is found in the AFN Charter in "Appendix A":
http://www.afn.ca/index.php/en/about-afn/charter-of-the-assembly-of-first-nations
In order to be eligible to run for National Chief, the candidate must meet the following:
(1) be at least 18 years old;
(2) be of First Nations ancestry;
(3) belongs to a specified First Nation community that is in good standing as a member of the AFN.
The nomination form for the candidate must include the signatures of 15 Chiefs of First Nations, but at least 8 of those Chiefs must be from a province or territory other than that from which the candidate comes.
So take me for example and pretend I wanted to run for National Chief. I am above 18 (just barely), I am Mi'kmaw, and I am a member of Eel River Bar First Nation in New Brunswick. So, although I am not currently a Chief, I would technically be eligible to be nominated for National Chief.
The next issue would be one of nominations. Although I now live and work in Ontario, the Charter speaks to the province from which I originate - i.e., New Brunswick. Thus, at least 8 of the 15 Chiefs who would support my nomination would have to be from outside of New Brunswick.
REALITIES OF RUNNING
While these are the technical issues, there are other issues which must be considered - like the funding needed to travel the country to campaign. I have heard from those involved in previous elections that the costs for travel can range anywhere from $75,000 to $200,000 depending on when you start campaigning, how many trips you make and where your regional focus lies. This is a critical issue for anyone but the current incumbent (person who holds the position).
The current National Chief can, as he travels the country for "work", also campaign. His travel is funded by the AFN already, whereas those running against him must adhere to the campaign expense limit of $35,000.00 contained in the AFN Charter. Each candidate must submit a list of expenditures and could be disqualified from running if they fail to do so. If the actual costs are $75,000 and the campaign spending limit is $35,000 this leaves the candidates in a tough financial position. Poor candidates need not apply, unless they have financial backing from others and even then their campaigning is limited.
A candidate could also be disqualified from running is if she or he does not participate in the All-Candidates Open Forum the night before the election. After that, the assembly must keep voting until one candidate reaches the 60% voter support threshold. Usually the candidate with the lowest vote count is dropped from the ballot and the vote is taken again. As a result, this may require multiple ballots until the threshold is made.
The other reality of running in an AFN election is the dirty politics played by the federal government behind the scenes. Individual First Nation communities know all too well how Indian Affairs (INAC) gets involved in elections, favours candidates and tries to influence outcomes. Those candidates that play ball, get rewarded - those that don't sometimes find themselves out before the election is even over. By all accounts, the same can be said of AFN elections.
PLATFORMS
The most important part of the process however is the actual platform upon which each candidate runs. This platform, while general in nature, should be detailed enough to communicate the specific vision or goal of the candidate and how she or he plans to realize that goal or vision. This way, the electors - i.e., the chiefs, can decide (in consultation with their citizens) which plan best suits their communities and Nations.
In my previous blog, I provided my thoughts on Atleo's tenure as national chief and his ideas about where we should be headed.
http://indigenousnationhood.blogspot.ca/2012/03/afn-election-2012-stopping-assimilation.html
It is no secret that I think Atleo's path is by far one of most dangerous one ever proposed by a national chief. The fact that it is endorsed by the most right-wing government in recent years is also cause for concern. I honestly believe that the current "Joint Action Plan" between Canada and Atleo-led AFN appears is a formula for assimilation.
I realize that Atleo came in as NC at one of the worst times politically, and that the job itself is beyond difficult. I also know that there are funding pressures and that resistance to the federal agenda can and does result in funding cuts. I also know that working together in partnership is in keeping with the spirit of the treaties. That being said, simply giving in to Harper's Conservatives will not make any gains for us - politically, legally or otherwise. Rolling over while they impose legislation on us against our will is not the relationship envisioned by the treaties. Ignoring our treaty right to education which was negotiated to ensure our prosperity is a gross violation of even Canada's laws.
We need a change. But the change we need is drastic, it's hard, it will require significant sustained effort and will not produce flashy results. Saving our Indigenous languages for example, takes time, effort and commitment - but within those languages are our entire education systems, governance systems and laws. It is critical to our identities, cultures and spirituality - yet many only give lip service to it.
Making a commitment to protecting our lands means not always buying into the mantra that the only "good" lands are "developed" lands - like those lands that are dead or dying from irreversible damage. Sometimes the temporary jobs and short-term funds are not worth the long-term damage.
Protecting our people means we care enough to bring out our warriors to stop violence against our murdered and missing women and to stop the theft of our children by provincial agencies. We have to find a way to forgive ourselves for the effects of colonization and protect those Indigenous women and children who were excluded from their communities because of federal laws and policies. If we cannot be the soft place to fall for our people, no one will be.
The only platform that should count is the one that reflects the voices of the people, the one that lives up to the sacrifices of our ancestors and the one that lives up to our responsibilities to our future generations. Any platform drafted to "appeal" to governments, "attract" corporations, to "speak" to other politicians, or ensure a political "win" will never be what is in the best interests of our people.
We need to take a stand against genocide and assimilation against our peoples and empower our grassroots people again. Our issues need to be front and centre. We need to bring attention to the crisis in many of our Nations. It's time to push back hard.
The current situation of a potentially unchallenged AFN election is enough to make me want to run for National Chief - not for the "position", but for the people.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/john-ibbitson/shawn-atleo-appears-unchallenged-in-push-for-native-education-reform/article2435466/
The hearts of our women are not on the ground yet - we have the power to help bring back balance to our Nations. We can do anything and change anything we want to - regardless of the size or power of those who wish to eliminate us. Our children need to be reminded that we are a strong, resilient people and we can do this. We just have to be willing to risk losing what Canada holds over us in order to protect what is really important - which is not an office in Ottawa, its our land, people and culture.
As I stated in my previous blog, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is having their annual general meeting this July 17-19 in Toronto. This year's assembly is particularly important because Shawn Atleo's term as National Chief is up for election. Usually by this time of year, people are talking about the candidates and whose platform may win the day. However, this year candidates appear to be few and far between. Perhaps it is a little too early to tell, since technically the electoral officer - Loretta Pete Lambert - was only just appointed and nominations only open May 23rd and they officially close June 12.
Contrary to popular belief, one need not be a chief to run for the position of National Chief. The criteria for eligibility is found in the AFN Charter in "Appendix A":
http://www.afn.ca/index.php/en/about-afn/charter-of-the-assembly-of-first-nations
In order to be eligible to run for National Chief, the candidate must meet the following:
(1) be at least 18 years old;
(2) be of First Nations ancestry;
(3) belongs to a specified First Nation community that is in good standing as a member of the AFN.
The nomination form for the candidate must include the signatures of 15 Chiefs of First Nations, but at least 8 of those Chiefs must be from a province or territory other than that from which the candidate comes.
So take me for example and pretend I wanted to run for National Chief. I am above 18 (just barely), I am Mi'kmaw, and I am a member of Eel River Bar First Nation in New Brunswick. So, although I am not currently a Chief, I would technically be eligible to be nominated for National Chief.
The next issue would be one of nominations. Although I now live and work in Ontario, the Charter speaks to the province from which I originate - i.e., New Brunswick. Thus, at least 8 of the 15 Chiefs who would support my nomination would have to be from outside of New Brunswick.
REALITIES OF RUNNING
While these are the technical issues, there are other issues which must be considered - like the funding needed to travel the country to campaign. I have heard from those involved in previous elections that the costs for travel can range anywhere from $75,000 to $200,000 depending on when you start campaigning, how many trips you make and where your regional focus lies. This is a critical issue for anyone but the current incumbent (person who holds the position).
The current National Chief can, as he travels the country for "work", also campaign. His travel is funded by the AFN already, whereas those running against him must adhere to the campaign expense limit of $35,000.00 contained in the AFN Charter. Each candidate must submit a list of expenditures and could be disqualified from running if they fail to do so. If the actual costs are $75,000 and the campaign spending limit is $35,000 this leaves the candidates in a tough financial position. Poor candidates need not apply, unless they have financial backing from others and even then their campaigning is limited.
A candidate could also be disqualified from running is if she or he does not participate in the All-Candidates Open Forum the night before the election. After that, the assembly must keep voting until one candidate reaches the 60% voter support threshold. Usually the candidate with the lowest vote count is dropped from the ballot and the vote is taken again. As a result, this may require multiple ballots until the threshold is made.
The other reality of running in an AFN election is the dirty politics played by the federal government behind the scenes. Individual First Nation communities know all too well how Indian Affairs (INAC) gets involved in elections, favours candidates and tries to influence outcomes. Those candidates that play ball, get rewarded - those that don't sometimes find themselves out before the election is even over. By all accounts, the same can be said of AFN elections.
PLATFORMS
The most important part of the process however is the actual platform upon which each candidate runs. This platform, while general in nature, should be detailed enough to communicate the specific vision or goal of the candidate and how she or he plans to realize that goal or vision. This way, the electors - i.e., the chiefs, can decide (in consultation with their citizens) which plan best suits their communities and Nations.
In my previous blog, I provided my thoughts on Atleo's tenure as national chief and his ideas about where we should be headed.
http://indigenousnationhood.blogspot.ca/2012/03/afn-election-2012-stopping-assimilation.html
It is no secret that I think Atleo's path is by far one of most dangerous one ever proposed by a national chief. The fact that it is endorsed by the most right-wing government in recent years is also cause for concern. I honestly believe that the current "Joint Action Plan" between Canada and Atleo-led AFN appears is a formula for assimilation.
I realize that Atleo came in as NC at one of the worst times politically, and that the job itself is beyond difficult. I also know that there are funding pressures and that resistance to the federal agenda can and does result in funding cuts. I also know that working together in partnership is in keeping with the spirit of the treaties. That being said, simply giving in to Harper's Conservatives will not make any gains for us - politically, legally or otherwise. Rolling over while they impose legislation on us against our will is not the relationship envisioned by the treaties. Ignoring our treaty right to education which was negotiated to ensure our prosperity is a gross violation of even Canada's laws.
We need a change. But the change we need is drastic, it's hard, it will require significant sustained effort and will not produce flashy results. Saving our Indigenous languages for example, takes time, effort and commitment - but within those languages are our entire education systems, governance systems and laws. It is critical to our identities, cultures and spirituality - yet many only give lip service to it.
Making a commitment to protecting our lands means not always buying into the mantra that the only "good" lands are "developed" lands - like those lands that are dead or dying from irreversible damage. Sometimes the temporary jobs and short-term funds are not worth the long-term damage.
Protecting our people means we care enough to bring out our warriors to stop violence against our murdered and missing women and to stop the theft of our children by provincial agencies. We have to find a way to forgive ourselves for the effects of colonization and protect those Indigenous women and children who were excluded from their communities because of federal laws and policies. If we cannot be the soft place to fall for our people, no one will be.
The only platform that should count is the one that reflects the voices of the people, the one that lives up to the sacrifices of our ancestors and the one that lives up to our responsibilities to our future generations. Any platform drafted to "appeal" to governments, "attract" corporations, to "speak" to other politicians, or ensure a political "win" will never be what is in the best interests of our people.
We need to take a stand against genocide and assimilation against our peoples and empower our grassroots people again. Our issues need to be front and centre. We need to bring attention to the crisis in many of our Nations. It's time to push back hard.
The current situation of a potentially unchallenged AFN election is enough to make me want to run for National Chief - not for the "position", but for the people.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/john-ibbitson/shawn-atleo-appears-unchallenged-in-push-for-native-education-reform/article2435466/
The hearts of our women are not on the ground yet - we have the power to help bring back balance to our Nations. We can do anything and change anything we want to - regardless of the size or power of those who wish to eliminate us. Our children need to be reminded that we are a strong, resilient people and we can do this. We just have to be willing to risk losing what Canada holds over us in order to protect what is really important - which is not an office in Ottawa, its our land, people and culture.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Gatherings, Budgets & Elections: When Do First Nations Children Become a Priority?
I have been watching and listening with interest over the last few weeks about what issues the media outlets have been featuring, as well as what federal, provincial and First Nation politicians have been speaking about. Despite the fact that some very important court rulings have come out which were in favour of First Nations peoples, they seem to have gone largely unnoticed. Similarly, there have been some pretty significant funding cuts to First Nations communities as well as various First Nations organizations, yet the political world has been all but silent on the issue.
This makes me wonder how far gone our current political system must be if we can't celebrate minor victories or use those victories to start pushing back against the Harper Conservatives' (Cons) assimilatory agenda. The so-called Crown-First Nation Gathering (CFNG) was supposed to result in what the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Shawn Atleo called "re-setting the relationship". In his words, this meeting, together with the most recent federal budget, amounted to the kind of "momentum" that indicated Harper was hearing the voices of our people. That is a delusion of epic porportions.
CFNG:
The CFNG was nothing more than Harper confirming the Con's position vis-a-vis First Nations: control and assimilation. Harper confirmed that the Indian Act would stay and even confirmed that new legislation would be imposed on our First Nations which would exact even more federal and soon-to-be provincial control over our communities. This legislation will also dump more liability on our communities and no funding. There are no less than 6 pieces of legislation speeding through the House and Senate or will soon be introduced. The only re-setting of the relationship that happened at the CFNG was that the feds took back their paternalistic control of "Indian Affairs" with little resistance from Atleo.
Federal Budget:
The federal budget was no surprise at all for us grassroots community members. A long term conservative told me that Harper's Cons would never give any additional funds to First Nations communities or organizations and that the best they could "hope" for were minor increases in one area off-set by decreases in another - as the ultimate goal was "integration". This is a fancy new word for assimilation, but since Tom Flanagan wore that word out, no one wants to call it what it is anymore.
The prediction given my that conservative MIB has proven to be true as the federal budget offered ZERO for housing, ZERO for post-secondary education and ZERO for child and family services. What little was offered is countered by First Nation population growth, inflation, the cumulative effect of years of chronic underfunding, and increases in federal bureaucrat salaries and training costs. The pittance given for education amounted to 4% of what was actually needed - this is hardly a "re-setting" the relationship, except but backwards.
AFN Election:
Now we have the AFN election to look forward to in July. Campaigning started at the CFNG and Atleo has been on a whirlwind speaking tour all across the country ever since. He has been downplaying the effect of the disastrous federal budget; ignoring the fact that nothing came out of the National Panel on Education; is being silent on the issue of so many pieces of legislation being rushed through the House and Senate; and opting instead, to speak about reconciliation. All the attention now seems to be on the upcoming election as opposed to what is happening all around the AFN.
The Reality:
If we relied exclusively on sound bites from Atleo, we would never know that the First Nation Statistical Institute, National Aboriginal Health Organization, or the National Centre for First Nations Governance were having all their funding cut and must close their doors. I am not saying that these cuts are good or bad, but how are we as grassroots supposed to know? What did these organizations do or not do for First Nations? Why is the AFN and others silent? How come no one is even talking about it?
We also wouldn't know that the Native Women's Association of Canada and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami had 40% of their health funds cut. There was a small press release about AFN's health funding being cut by 40%, but little more than that. What about the individual First Nations who are reporting that their band funding agreements (BFAs) with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) have been reduced by millions of dollars? Or the fact that INAC has been indicating to First Nations that cuts of 5% and 10% will occur over the next two years to their BFAs? Why is no one explaining this to community members?
Forced "Integration":
The Cons are making good on their promise to not increase funding for essential services and to force our integration into "Canadian society" under the guise of equality, reconciliation, jobs and mortgages. We know they are bullies, we know they have no intention of addressing chronic underfunding let alone recognizing and respecting our treaties, Aboriginal title to our traditional territories, or our inherent right to be self-determining. We also know their plan - (1) increase controls over us through legislation, prisons and child welfare; (2) increase access to our lands and resources through legislation and minimizing our rights and (3) speed up our assimilation through legislation and funding incentives for "willing partners". When will the AFN adjust their strategy and share that with communities? We don't all have to agree, but we should at least be able to discuss our concerns.
The Cons are very good at using financial incentives and disincentives to get the "Indians" to do what they want. Play ball and you might get a Senate seat, a Queen's Jubilee Award, a plush job on some panel, board, commission, port authority, or tribunal. Keeping quiet might mean that only part of your organizational funding will be cut - but make no doubt, it will still be cut. Don't play ball and you could lose all your organizational funding, be vilified in the House of Commons and the media, or be monitored not only by CSIS, but also by INAC's new not-so-covert spy group who spend our money spying on Indigenous women advocates. If you don't act as a "willing partner" there will be no photo-ops, dinners at the PM's house, or lucrative corporate gigs. You will not get special mention in PM speeches or have him attend your events.
But none of those carrots have any meaning, none are lasting and they only accrue to individuals. None of those tokens are helpful for our Nation-building priorities. So, while I have said time and again Canada needs to make a policy choice of getting out of the business of trying to assimilate us, similarly our leaders need to decide whether they stand on their sovereignty and protect our lands nad peoples or whether they will take their chances on INAC's integration policies and the few trinkets offered in return.
In all of this political mess, when do the children become a priority? What about the blatant discrimination against our Indigenous women at the Pickton inquiry? Why are we not celebrating the small victories we have and use those to create our own momentum and start pushing back against Cons' politics? What's the worse that can happen? More funding cuts? How bad does it have to get before we stand up? Our people need to hear their leaders act on their behalf, not make political deals behind closed doors. I'll tell you who is standing up - grassroots people and First Nations communities.
Chief Simon v. INAC
Does anyone recall hearing about INAC trying to reduce the social assistance amounts for First Nations in New Brunswick? Chief Jesse Simon on behalf of Elsipogtog First Nation and the Mi'kmaw First Nations in New Brunswick challenged that heavy-handed federal decision. They applied for an interlocutory injunction (an order from the court) to stop INAC from implementing a decision the Minister made to force First Nations to reduce their social assistance levels to provincial levels. The court noted that this decision was being imposed on a community that already confronts "severe poverty" where 85% of residents are on social assistance.
The Chiefs had previously passed a motion stating they would not be part of assisting INAC in implementing cuts to social welfare programs. They refused to give in to INAC pressure and even vowed legal action if necessary. The court noted that the Chiefs were "justifiably annoyed" that no consultations had taken place and that INAC was going to impose this policy regardless of what the Chiefs said and letters from INAC confirmed this. The difference would be approximately $300 per month less for individual recipients if they used provincial levels, whereas some would lose all their income assistance, like those that live off-reserve or who have to live with others on reserve.
The judge held: "In my view, the estimated decline in income assistance rates under the Policy and the potential for ineligibility will cause emotional and psychological stress amounting to irreparable harm for some Recipients. Individuals who are reliant on income assistance are especially vulnerable even to small changes in the resources available to meet their basic needs". Therefore the judge granted the injunction which prevents INAC from reducing social assistance amounts in New Brunswick until a court has a chance to hear the whole case.
Why has there not been much media coverage or AFN commentary on this case? This issue, while not flashy like a national panel or CFNG, impacts the daily quality of life of many grassroots First Nations peoples in New Brunswick. That is not to say that we should all be focused on social assistance as a means of addressing our Nation-building and decolonization efforts, but the disastrous effects of long-term federal control, the theft of our lands and resources, and the genocidal actions committed against our people has led to such extreme poverty, that the issue merits attention - especially when chronically under-funded First Nations are threatened with even further cuts.
First Nations Child and Family Caring Society v. INAC
Or perhaps some of you have heard of this case? It is a decision that came from the federal court on April 18, 2012. It is a case that challenges the chronic and severe underfunding of child welfare services for First Nations children living on reserve. Cindy Blackstock, who heads the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (FNCFCS) has been championing this issue for years now. She is adamant that First Nations children, the most vulnerable in our society, should not receive less funding simply because they are First Nations peoples. Her tireless efforts, passion and dedication to the children resulted in her filing a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) for discrimination.
http://cas-ncr-nter03.cas-satj.gc.ca/rss/FNCFCS%20decision%2018-04-2012%20ENG.pdf
Blackstock alleged that Canada funds First Nations child welfare at rates far below those of the provinces and that this is discrimination. The CHRC forwarded the complaint to the Tribunal for consideration, but INAC kept trying to find ways to have the complaint thrown out. One of INAC's arguments convinced the Tribunal to do just that. They successfully argued that since First Nations were the only group which receive child welfare funds from the feds, there was no comparator group and thus no discrimination.
The federal court considered the Tribunal's decision and found that it was "unreasonable" and that it in fact erred in law. In the court's opinion, "the Tribunal applied a rigid and formalaic interpretation of the provision - one that is inconsistent with the search for substantive equality mandated by the Canadian Human Rights Act and Canada's equality jurisprudence." What the court is referring to here is the difference between formal and substantive equality. Formal equality means treating everyone the exact same. Substantive equality means providing people with equal opportunity taking into account their differences, many of which are beyond their control.
First Nations are provided with significantly less funding than non-First Nations children in the range of 22%. Some of the services that would prevent children from being removed in the first place are not funded at all. This means that a "disproportionate number of First Nations children are removed from their homes, thus perpetuating the legacy of the residential school system". This has resulted in upwards of 30-40% of all children in care being Aboriginal, despite only being 4% of the total population.
Canada has refused to act despite being aware of the problem and being presented with studies which prove it. Even INAC's own website noted that the high rate of First Nation children in care reflects a lack of prevention services. Finding the Tribunal decision to be unfair and unreasonable, the federal court ordered the Tribunal to rehear the case with a new set of Tribunal members.
While this is a small, interim victory, it means a great deal to First Nations children in care. Federal, provincial and First Nation leaders should be making this a priority issue to be addressed instead of litigated and should at least be talking about the solutions to chronic underfunding with First Nations communities and in the media. We need to be informing our grassroots, building our collective capacity and at least talking about the issues covered in the Simon and FNSFCS cases.
First Nations include everyone:
First Nations include not just Chief and Council, not just well-known First Nation business men or national leaders, but also include those grassroots citizens who live in poverty on social assistance, those who are over-represented in jails, and those who are over-represented in the child welfare system. We cannot forget about our most vulnerable simply because they are out of sight. How many of our citizens were lost to our Nations by the 60's scoop forced adoptions? How many live homeless on the streets of major cities? How many more hundreds of our Indigenous women need to go murdered and missing? Some of youth are forced to sit on waiting lists that are over 10,000 students long hoping for a chance at post-secondary education. Some of our families live in sheds without running water or heat. Where is the action for them?
We Need an Emergency Plan:
We have a crisis of poverty on our hands which requires an immediate action plan that involves the federal, provincial and First Nations governments. We don't need any more studies, panels or commissions - we need action. No one wants to talk about Kelowna and that is fine, but we need an intervention of that magnitude to just deal with the immediate crisis which affects many (not all) of our First Nations.
If I hear another politician stand up and talk about reconciliation or how mining will be the cure for all our woes, I think I might burst. Destroying our lands to provide short-term jobs will never cure the generations of illness caused by past and current colonization. Landing a consulting job with a timber company won't bring back our languages once they are gone. Owning an acre of land in fee simple and having a house with a mortgage won't revive our traditional laws, governing systems and values.
Canada needs to halt its genocidal, assimilatory laws and policies now and national First Nations leaders need to start acting on their responsibility to stand up for those who can't. If the AFN can't come up with a better strategy, they will start to become less and less relevant to not only regional First Nation organizations but to the rising number of grassroots activists who are not going to take much more inaction.
None of us are a "success" until all of our men, women, children, elderly, and the forgotten ones are back under our jurisdiction, protection and love. We suffer collectively as Nations and prosper collectively as Nations.
If any of our leaders need some help, I know a few hundred thousand grassroots people who have unique skills, ideas and aspirations for the future that are well-grounded in our diverse traditional languages, laws, beliefs, and values. Try reaching out. Decolonization is not easy, but it is easier together.
This makes me wonder how far gone our current political system must be if we can't celebrate minor victories or use those victories to start pushing back against the Harper Conservatives' (Cons) assimilatory agenda. The so-called Crown-First Nation Gathering (CFNG) was supposed to result in what the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Shawn Atleo called "re-setting the relationship". In his words, this meeting, together with the most recent federal budget, amounted to the kind of "momentum" that indicated Harper was hearing the voices of our people. That is a delusion of epic porportions.
CFNG:
The CFNG was nothing more than Harper confirming the Con's position vis-a-vis First Nations: control and assimilation. Harper confirmed that the Indian Act would stay and even confirmed that new legislation would be imposed on our First Nations which would exact even more federal and soon-to-be provincial control over our communities. This legislation will also dump more liability on our communities and no funding. There are no less than 6 pieces of legislation speeding through the House and Senate or will soon be introduced. The only re-setting of the relationship that happened at the CFNG was that the feds took back their paternalistic control of "Indian Affairs" with little resistance from Atleo.
Federal Budget:
The federal budget was no surprise at all for us grassroots community members. A long term conservative told me that Harper's Cons would never give any additional funds to First Nations communities or organizations and that the best they could "hope" for were minor increases in one area off-set by decreases in another - as the ultimate goal was "integration". This is a fancy new word for assimilation, but since Tom Flanagan wore that word out, no one wants to call it what it is anymore.
The prediction given my that conservative MIB has proven to be true as the federal budget offered ZERO for housing, ZERO for post-secondary education and ZERO for child and family services. What little was offered is countered by First Nation population growth, inflation, the cumulative effect of years of chronic underfunding, and increases in federal bureaucrat salaries and training costs. The pittance given for education amounted to 4% of what was actually needed - this is hardly a "re-setting" the relationship, except but backwards.
AFN Election:
Now we have the AFN election to look forward to in July. Campaigning started at the CFNG and Atleo has been on a whirlwind speaking tour all across the country ever since. He has been downplaying the effect of the disastrous federal budget; ignoring the fact that nothing came out of the National Panel on Education; is being silent on the issue of so many pieces of legislation being rushed through the House and Senate; and opting instead, to speak about reconciliation. All the attention now seems to be on the upcoming election as opposed to what is happening all around the AFN.
The Reality:
If we relied exclusively on sound bites from Atleo, we would never know that the First Nation Statistical Institute, National Aboriginal Health Organization, or the National Centre for First Nations Governance were having all their funding cut and must close their doors. I am not saying that these cuts are good or bad, but how are we as grassroots supposed to know? What did these organizations do or not do for First Nations? Why is the AFN and others silent? How come no one is even talking about it?
We also wouldn't know that the Native Women's Association of Canada and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami had 40% of their health funds cut. There was a small press release about AFN's health funding being cut by 40%, but little more than that. What about the individual First Nations who are reporting that their band funding agreements (BFAs) with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) have been reduced by millions of dollars? Or the fact that INAC has been indicating to First Nations that cuts of 5% and 10% will occur over the next two years to their BFAs? Why is no one explaining this to community members?
Forced "Integration":
The Cons are making good on their promise to not increase funding for essential services and to force our integration into "Canadian society" under the guise of equality, reconciliation, jobs and mortgages. We know they are bullies, we know they have no intention of addressing chronic underfunding let alone recognizing and respecting our treaties, Aboriginal title to our traditional territories, or our inherent right to be self-determining. We also know their plan - (1) increase controls over us through legislation, prisons and child welfare; (2) increase access to our lands and resources through legislation and minimizing our rights and (3) speed up our assimilation through legislation and funding incentives for "willing partners". When will the AFN adjust their strategy and share that with communities? We don't all have to agree, but we should at least be able to discuss our concerns.
The Cons are very good at using financial incentives and disincentives to get the "Indians" to do what they want. Play ball and you might get a Senate seat, a Queen's Jubilee Award, a plush job on some panel, board, commission, port authority, or tribunal. Keeping quiet might mean that only part of your organizational funding will be cut - but make no doubt, it will still be cut. Don't play ball and you could lose all your organizational funding, be vilified in the House of Commons and the media, or be monitored not only by CSIS, but also by INAC's new not-so-covert spy group who spend our money spying on Indigenous women advocates. If you don't act as a "willing partner" there will be no photo-ops, dinners at the PM's house, or lucrative corporate gigs. You will not get special mention in PM speeches or have him attend your events.
But none of those carrots have any meaning, none are lasting and they only accrue to individuals. None of those tokens are helpful for our Nation-building priorities. So, while I have said time and again Canada needs to make a policy choice of getting out of the business of trying to assimilate us, similarly our leaders need to decide whether they stand on their sovereignty and protect our lands nad peoples or whether they will take their chances on INAC's integration policies and the few trinkets offered in return.
In all of this political mess, when do the children become a priority? What about the blatant discrimination against our Indigenous women at the Pickton inquiry? Why are we not celebrating the small victories we have and use those to create our own momentum and start pushing back against Cons' politics? What's the worse that can happen? More funding cuts? How bad does it have to get before we stand up? Our people need to hear their leaders act on their behalf, not make political deals behind closed doors. I'll tell you who is standing up - grassroots people and First Nations communities.
Chief Simon v. INAC
Does anyone recall hearing about INAC trying to reduce the social assistance amounts for First Nations in New Brunswick? Chief Jesse Simon on behalf of Elsipogtog First Nation and the Mi'kmaw First Nations in New Brunswick challenged that heavy-handed federal decision. They applied for an interlocutory injunction (an order from the court) to stop INAC from implementing a decision the Minister made to force First Nations to reduce their social assistance levels to provincial levels. The court noted that this decision was being imposed on a community that already confronts "severe poverty" where 85% of residents are on social assistance.
The Chiefs had previously passed a motion stating they would not be part of assisting INAC in implementing cuts to social welfare programs. They refused to give in to INAC pressure and even vowed legal action if necessary. The court noted that the Chiefs were "justifiably annoyed" that no consultations had taken place and that INAC was going to impose this policy regardless of what the Chiefs said and letters from INAC confirmed this. The difference would be approximately $300 per month less for individual recipients if they used provincial levels, whereas some would lose all their income assistance, like those that live off-reserve or who have to live with others on reserve.
The judge held: "In my view, the estimated decline in income assistance rates under the Policy and the potential for ineligibility will cause emotional and psychological stress amounting to irreparable harm for some Recipients. Individuals who are reliant on income assistance are especially vulnerable even to small changes in the resources available to meet their basic needs". Therefore the judge granted the injunction which prevents INAC from reducing social assistance amounts in New Brunswick until a court has a chance to hear the whole case.
Why has there not been much media coverage or AFN commentary on this case? This issue, while not flashy like a national panel or CFNG, impacts the daily quality of life of many grassroots First Nations peoples in New Brunswick. That is not to say that we should all be focused on social assistance as a means of addressing our Nation-building and decolonization efforts, but the disastrous effects of long-term federal control, the theft of our lands and resources, and the genocidal actions committed against our people has led to such extreme poverty, that the issue merits attention - especially when chronically under-funded First Nations are threatened with even further cuts.
First Nations Child and Family Caring Society v. INAC
Or perhaps some of you have heard of this case? It is a decision that came from the federal court on April 18, 2012. It is a case that challenges the chronic and severe underfunding of child welfare services for First Nations children living on reserve. Cindy Blackstock, who heads the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (FNCFCS) has been championing this issue for years now. She is adamant that First Nations children, the most vulnerable in our society, should not receive less funding simply because they are First Nations peoples. Her tireless efforts, passion and dedication to the children resulted in her filing a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) for discrimination.
http://cas-ncr-nter03.cas-satj.gc.ca/rss/FNCFCS%20decision%2018-04-2012%20ENG.pdf
Blackstock alleged that Canada funds First Nations child welfare at rates far below those of the provinces and that this is discrimination. The CHRC forwarded the complaint to the Tribunal for consideration, but INAC kept trying to find ways to have the complaint thrown out. One of INAC's arguments convinced the Tribunal to do just that. They successfully argued that since First Nations were the only group which receive child welfare funds from the feds, there was no comparator group and thus no discrimination.
The federal court considered the Tribunal's decision and found that it was "unreasonable" and that it in fact erred in law. In the court's opinion, "the Tribunal applied a rigid and formalaic interpretation of the provision - one that is inconsistent with the search for substantive equality mandated by the Canadian Human Rights Act and Canada's equality jurisprudence." What the court is referring to here is the difference between formal and substantive equality. Formal equality means treating everyone the exact same. Substantive equality means providing people with equal opportunity taking into account their differences, many of which are beyond their control.
First Nations are provided with significantly less funding than non-First Nations children in the range of 22%. Some of the services that would prevent children from being removed in the first place are not funded at all. This means that a "disproportionate number of First Nations children are removed from their homes, thus perpetuating the legacy of the residential school system". This has resulted in upwards of 30-40% of all children in care being Aboriginal, despite only being 4% of the total population.
Canada has refused to act despite being aware of the problem and being presented with studies which prove it. Even INAC's own website noted that the high rate of First Nation children in care reflects a lack of prevention services. Finding the Tribunal decision to be unfair and unreasonable, the federal court ordered the Tribunal to rehear the case with a new set of Tribunal members.
While this is a small, interim victory, it means a great deal to First Nations children in care. Federal, provincial and First Nation leaders should be making this a priority issue to be addressed instead of litigated and should at least be talking about the solutions to chronic underfunding with First Nations communities and in the media. We need to be informing our grassroots, building our collective capacity and at least talking about the issues covered in the Simon and FNSFCS cases.
First Nations include everyone:
First Nations include not just Chief and Council, not just well-known First Nation business men or national leaders, but also include those grassroots citizens who live in poverty on social assistance, those who are over-represented in jails, and those who are over-represented in the child welfare system. We cannot forget about our most vulnerable simply because they are out of sight. How many of our citizens were lost to our Nations by the 60's scoop forced adoptions? How many live homeless on the streets of major cities? How many more hundreds of our Indigenous women need to go murdered and missing? Some of youth are forced to sit on waiting lists that are over 10,000 students long hoping for a chance at post-secondary education. Some of our families live in sheds without running water or heat. Where is the action for them?
We Need an Emergency Plan:
We have a crisis of poverty on our hands which requires an immediate action plan that involves the federal, provincial and First Nations governments. We don't need any more studies, panels or commissions - we need action. No one wants to talk about Kelowna and that is fine, but we need an intervention of that magnitude to just deal with the immediate crisis which affects many (not all) of our First Nations.
If I hear another politician stand up and talk about reconciliation or how mining will be the cure for all our woes, I think I might burst. Destroying our lands to provide short-term jobs will never cure the generations of illness caused by past and current colonization. Landing a consulting job with a timber company won't bring back our languages once they are gone. Owning an acre of land in fee simple and having a house with a mortgage won't revive our traditional laws, governing systems and values.
Canada needs to halt its genocidal, assimilatory laws and policies now and national First Nations leaders need to start acting on their responsibility to stand up for those who can't. If the AFN can't come up with a better strategy, they will start to become less and less relevant to not only regional First Nation organizations but to the rising number of grassroots activists who are not going to take much more inaction.
None of us are a "success" until all of our men, women, children, elderly, and the forgotten ones are back under our jurisdiction, protection and love. We suffer collectively as Nations and prosper collectively as Nations.
If any of our leaders need some help, I know a few hundred thousand grassroots people who have unique skills, ideas and aspirations for the future that are well-grounded in our diverse traditional languages, laws, beliefs, and values. Try reaching out. Decolonization is not easy, but it is easier together.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Low Blows, Threats and Sideswipes - Nothing Can Silence Grassroots First Nations
Welal'in, Woliwon, Nia:wen, Chi Miigwetch, and thank you to all the First Nations people who took the time to write me letters, call me, come visit me in person, or who sent e-mails, Tweets and/or commented on my blog posts, news articles and media. I know how crazy politics makes people feel; how confusing the many conflicting reports, positions and media stories can be; and how hopeless it might feel when you think no one hears your voice.
I lived my whole life as an Indigenous women, a Mi'kmaw, on the outside. I was denied my Indian status for 40 years because of the gender of my grandmother. I was denied band membership for 40 years because my band didn't want to include my family, or families like us. I was denied a voice at the local, regional, provincial, and national First Nation political levels. I know, however, that this is a function of colonization and Canada's control over our communities.
Because of this exclusion, I was never able to take my Mi'kmaw identity or that of my children's for granted. I was always at risk of losing it forever due to some new law, regulation or band rule that could exclude us for any number of reasons. I therefore followed the lead of my brothers and sisters and exercised my voice in whatever venue I could to stand up for our traditional Indigenous identities. This included off-reserve Aboriginal organizations, native friendship centres, Aboriginal women's groups and First Nations organizations.
In the past, I have been kicked out of First Nation political meetings for being too young, for being a woman, for being a non-status Indian, for living off-reserve, or for allegedly not knowing anything about politics. You name it and I have experienced it. I have been forced to sit at the back of the room (if allowed in at all) and have been called every name in the book. This was all because I was exercising my voice - something my father told me was critically important to the well-being of the Mi'kmaq and for all Indigenous peoples.
Nevertheless, this used to really hurt me - a sort of hurt that I can't even explain. It hurt my spirit but I could also feel it deep inside my chest, like a painful pressure that would not go away. It didn't matter how many times my family explained that these people were just angry, disillusioned, hurting or bitter, every single rejection of my identity or my voice created a scar on my heart. I didn't fully understand the concept of colonization at the time.
What I found very confusing was that as I got more involved in Indigenous issues and exercised my voice in a variety of forums, provincial and federal government officials as well as lawyers would treat me the same way that some First Nations politicians did. I was told I could not attend meetings where we were negotiating fishing rights or employment programs for off-reserve Aboriginal peoples because I was too young, I was not really an Indian, I was not an elected official, I had no "expertise", I had no education, I was not a lawyer and so on and so on. There were times when the words used around the table were so vicious, that it took everything in me not to cry.
I used to think that crying would somehow disqualify me from any hope of ever having a real voice in the political, legal, cultural and social issues affecting the Mi'kmaw Nation. I thought that crying would prove that Indigenous women should not be around the table talking politics. I used to wonder if my family encouraged me to attend meetings, protests and all those hard negotiations when I was little just to help me develop a tough outer shell. Its hard to say now, but I will admit, that although I did not cry at the negotiating table, I was crying on the inside.
It seemed like I was not man enough, old enough, educated enough or Indian enough for any of the players around the table. This might explain my ongoing obsession with politics, law and getting an education. I figured maybe they would all run out of reasons if I just addressed them all. At the time, I was still thinking that it was my many deficiencies that were at fault.
I was raised to believe that my purpose in life was to live an honourable life as a Mi'kmaw and do everything in my power to protect that way of life for future generations. I don't know any other way of being or thinking in this world. People can say I have no right to speak because I am an Indigenous woman but I will still speak. Some might say, my opinions don't count because I am not a Chief, but I will still share them. Some might even say that there is no room in First Nations politics for critique, but I will still offer it. Regardless of how many low blows, threats or cowardly sideswipes people might take at me, I have no choice but to keep exercising my voice.
How could I possibly back down when I am so fortunate as to have a warm house, clean running water, healthy food to eat and a good paying job? What excuse could I use to stop advocating on behalf of our grassroots people given that I am so lucky to have both a traditional education (Mi'kmaw teachings) and a formal one (university). Not all of our people are so lucky - many of them don't even have enough hope to survive until tomorrow. I have seen the toll this takes on family members, friends and community members when all hope is lost - depression, addiction, violence, and even suicide.
I don't have the luxury of fading into the background because some Senator, MP, Chief or right-wing lunatic wants to threaten me into silence. What kind of warrior would I be if I did that? If my ancestors can survive scalping laws, residential schools and forced sterilizations, I can survive a little political heat. One of the benefits of my education is that I have also come to learn that we all suffer from being colonized and that some of us are not as far along the road to decolonizing.
Every time someone tells me I am only a section 6(2) Indian and not a real Indian (like presumably a section 6(1)(a) Indian) - I know that is colonization talking. I know that those who exclude off-reserve members, discriminate against Indigenous women or prioritize individual wealth over communal well-being, often don't realize how deeply embedded colonial thinking can be. Decolonization is so important in order to get the colonizer out of our heads once and for all and to build our resistance to Canada's never-ending attempts to assimilate us legally, politically, culturally and spiritually.
Take for example the fact that Canada always demands that we, as Indigenous peoples, speak with "one voice". This is part of their racializing us into one generic category of "Indian". The legal and political category of Indian ignores our very diverse Indigenous Nations, territories, knowledges, languages, cultures, beliefs and practices. We have lived on Turtle Island since time immemorial and never did we ever speak with one voice. We had strategic alliances between individuals Nations when it was mutually beneficial and at other times we went to war to defend our peoples and our territories. The Mohawks have their own voice, as do the Mi'kmaq, the Cree and many others.
I haven't studied or researched one Indigenous Nation yet that did not allow their citizens to be included in the decision-making process, to speak their minds, and have their voices heard and incorporated - all in different ways. Traditionally, some Indigenous Nations were so committed to the principle of exercising the voice of the people and respecting the different political visions and objectives that an entire community could separate into two, to allow both groups to pursue their own objectives, but still within the larger Nation. So when I hear our own people demanding that we all speak with one voice, I shiver at the thought of how we might unify ourselves into oblivion instead of protecting our inherent differences which make us who were are as Indigenous Nations.
I know that it was Canada that imposed these discriminatory laws and concepts on us, excluded our women, changed our leadership to be top down and male-dominated, but we have a choice. We can open our eyes and make the changes we want for our peoples. It won't be easy and the government backlash might even seem intolerable at times, but we have an obligation to give a voice back to our grassroots Indigenous peoples. Our ancestors did not give up their lives so that a few hundred Indigenous peoples could speak for the rest of us. Every single Indigenous person in every Indigenous Nation deserves to be heard. They are entitled to express their pain and frustration at slow progress and entitled to be critical about the current political relationship that is simply not working. They don't need to have Phd's, law degrees or be officially appointed as "critics" to do so.
Grassroots Indigenous peoples hold all the power and yet their views and critiques are often ignored or downplayed. We expect them to be there when our leaders call for a day of action or to stop a pipeline or halt mining - but how often do leaders take the time to listen to them? What about all of our children trapped in the child welfare system, our men and women caught in the prison system or lost on streets in major cities? How many of our leaders have visited a homeless shelter for Native men and heard their stories of pain and their desires to make their communities better? Instead, our grassroots get to see some of their leaders from afar, addressing government officials or corporate Canada in fancy dinners or speaking events.
Over time, I have noticed that many First Nations leaders have come to see the colonization project for the destructive force that it is, and some of those same chiefs that kicked me out of meetings when I was younger are now my good friends. I have also had the privilege of working with many, many First Nations communities and leaders on issues of critical importance to our peoples and have developed great working relationships. They have come to realize that we are on this journey together and all I am trying to do is help and be a part of the solution. Sadly, there remain some on the national political scene who have not moved on and still treat Indigenous women and grassroots peoples like our opinions don't count.
So, my best advice to those individuals who seek to deny me exercising my voice or would deny the voices of other grassroots Indigenous peoples, you can stop with all the insults, taunts, cowardly sideswipes and threats - because the power of the people is where it is at and the sooner you get on board, the faster we can get on with resisting Canada's aggressive assimilatory attacks and re-asserting our sovereignty together.
I lived my whole life as an Indigenous women, a Mi'kmaw, on the outside. I was denied my Indian status for 40 years because of the gender of my grandmother. I was denied band membership for 40 years because my band didn't want to include my family, or families like us. I was denied a voice at the local, regional, provincial, and national First Nation political levels. I know, however, that this is a function of colonization and Canada's control over our communities.
Because of this exclusion, I was never able to take my Mi'kmaw identity or that of my children's for granted. I was always at risk of losing it forever due to some new law, regulation or band rule that could exclude us for any number of reasons. I therefore followed the lead of my brothers and sisters and exercised my voice in whatever venue I could to stand up for our traditional Indigenous identities. This included off-reserve Aboriginal organizations, native friendship centres, Aboriginal women's groups and First Nations organizations.
In the past, I have been kicked out of First Nation political meetings for being too young, for being a woman, for being a non-status Indian, for living off-reserve, or for allegedly not knowing anything about politics. You name it and I have experienced it. I have been forced to sit at the back of the room (if allowed in at all) and have been called every name in the book. This was all because I was exercising my voice - something my father told me was critically important to the well-being of the Mi'kmaq and for all Indigenous peoples.
Nevertheless, this used to really hurt me - a sort of hurt that I can't even explain. It hurt my spirit but I could also feel it deep inside my chest, like a painful pressure that would not go away. It didn't matter how many times my family explained that these people were just angry, disillusioned, hurting or bitter, every single rejection of my identity or my voice created a scar on my heart. I didn't fully understand the concept of colonization at the time.
What I found very confusing was that as I got more involved in Indigenous issues and exercised my voice in a variety of forums, provincial and federal government officials as well as lawyers would treat me the same way that some First Nations politicians did. I was told I could not attend meetings where we were negotiating fishing rights or employment programs for off-reserve Aboriginal peoples because I was too young, I was not really an Indian, I was not an elected official, I had no "expertise", I had no education, I was not a lawyer and so on and so on. There were times when the words used around the table were so vicious, that it took everything in me not to cry.
I used to think that crying would somehow disqualify me from any hope of ever having a real voice in the political, legal, cultural and social issues affecting the Mi'kmaw Nation. I thought that crying would prove that Indigenous women should not be around the table talking politics. I used to wonder if my family encouraged me to attend meetings, protests and all those hard negotiations when I was little just to help me develop a tough outer shell. Its hard to say now, but I will admit, that although I did not cry at the negotiating table, I was crying on the inside.
It seemed like I was not man enough, old enough, educated enough or Indian enough for any of the players around the table. This might explain my ongoing obsession with politics, law and getting an education. I figured maybe they would all run out of reasons if I just addressed them all. At the time, I was still thinking that it was my many deficiencies that were at fault.
I was raised to believe that my purpose in life was to live an honourable life as a Mi'kmaw and do everything in my power to protect that way of life for future generations. I don't know any other way of being or thinking in this world. People can say I have no right to speak because I am an Indigenous woman but I will still speak. Some might say, my opinions don't count because I am not a Chief, but I will still share them. Some might even say that there is no room in First Nations politics for critique, but I will still offer it. Regardless of how many low blows, threats or cowardly sideswipes people might take at me, I have no choice but to keep exercising my voice.
How could I possibly back down when I am so fortunate as to have a warm house, clean running water, healthy food to eat and a good paying job? What excuse could I use to stop advocating on behalf of our grassroots people given that I am so lucky to have both a traditional education (Mi'kmaw teachings) and a formal one (university). Not all of our people are so lucky - many of them don't even have enough hope to survive until tomorrow. I have seen the toll this takes on family members, friends and community members when all hope is lost - depression, addiction, violence, and even suicide.
I don't have the luxury of fading into the background because some Senator, MP, Chief or right-wing lunatic wants to threaten me into silence. What kind of warrior would I be if I did that? If my ancestors can survive scalping laws, residential schools and forced sterilizations, I can survive a little political heat. One of the benefits of my education is that I have also come to learn that we all suffer from being colonized and that some of us are not as far along the road to decolonizing.
Every time someone tells me I am only a section 6(2) Indian and not a real Indian (like presumably a section 6(1)(a) Indian) - I know that is colonization talking. I know that those who exclude off-reserve members, discriminate against Indigenous women or prioritize individual wealth over communal well-being, often don't realize how deeply embedded colonial thinking can be. Decolonization is so important in order to get the colonizer out of our heads once and for all and to build our resistance to Canada's never-ending attempts to assimilate us legally, politically, culturally and spiritually.
Take for example the fact that Canada always demands that we, as Indigenous peoples, speak with "one voice". This is part of their racializing us into one generic category of "Indian". The legal and political category of Indian ignores our very diverse Indigenous Nations, territories, knowledges, languages, cultures, beliefs and practices. We have lived on Turtle Island since time immemorial and never did we ever speak with one voice. We had strategic alliances between individuals Nations when it was mutually beneficial and at other times we went to war to defend our peoples and our territories. The Mohawks have their own voice, as do the Mi'kmaq, the Cree and many others.
I haven't studied or researched one Indigenous Nation yet that did not allow their citizens to be included in the decision-making process, to speak their minds, and have their voices heard and incorporated - all in different ways. Traditionally, some Indigenous Nations were so committed to the principle of exercising the voice of the people and respecting the different political visions and objectives that an entire community could separate into two, to allow both groups to pursue their own objectives, but still within the larger Nation. So when I hear our own people demanding that we all speak with one voice, I shiver at the thought of how we might unify ourselves into oblivion instead of protecting our inherent differences which make us who were are as Indigenous Nations.
I know that it was Canada that imposed these discriminatory laws and concepts on us, excluded our women, changed our leadership to be top down and male-dominated, but we have a choice. We can open our eyes and make the changes we want for our peoples. It won't be easy and the government backlash might even seem intolerable at times, but we have an obligation to give a voice back to our grassroots Indigenous peoples. Our ancestors did not give up their lives so that a few hundred Indigenous peoples could speak for the rest of us. Every single Indigenous person in every Indigenous Nation deserves to be heard. They are entitled to express their pain and frustration at slow progress and entitled to be critical about the current political relationship that is simply not working. They don't need to have Phd's, law degrees or be officially appointed as "critics" to do so.
Grassroots Indigenous peoples hold all the power and yet their views and critiques are often ignored or downplayed. We expect them to be there when our leaders call for a day of action or to stop a pipeline or halt mining - but how often do leaders take the time to listen to them? What about all of our children trapped in the child welfare system, our men and women caught in the prison system or lost on streets in major cities? How many of our leaders have visited a homeless shelter for Native men and heard their stories of pain and their desires to make their communities better? Instead, our grassroots get to see some of their leaders from afar, addressing government officials or corporate Canada in fancy dinners or speaking events.
Over time, I have noticed that many First Nations leaders have come to see the colonization project for the destructive force that it is, and some of those same chiefs that kicked me out of meetings when I was younger are now my good friends. I have also had the privilege of working with many, many First Nations communities and leaders on issues of critical importance to our peoples and have developed great working relationships. They have come to realize that we are on this journey together and all I am trying to do is help and be a part of the solution. Sadly, there remain some on the national political scene who have not moved on and still treat Indigenous women and grassroots peoples like our opinions don't count.
So, my best advice to those individuals who seek to deny me exercising my voice or would deny the voices of other grassroots Indigenous peoples, you can stop with all the insults, taunts, cowardly sideswipes and threats - because the power of the people is where it is at and the sooner you get on board, the faster we can get on with resisting Canada's aggressive assimilatory attacks and re-asserting our sovereignty together.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Federal Budget 2012 - The Battle Lines Have Been Drawn
The Conservative budget was released today with most mainstream political commentators wiping their brows, saying "Phewf, we thought it would be much worse!" People like Kevin O'Leary were asking why the Conservative government didn't go further to open up Canada for international investment. Others were relieved that only 19,200 federal public service jobs would be lost as opposed to the 60,000 that were predicted. Still others were wondering what the streamlined environmental review processes might mean.
http://www.budget.gc.ca/2012/plan/toc-tdm-eng.html
The area with which I am most concerned relates to what was and was not in the budget for Indigenous Peoples. I am not surprised by this budget, in fact, it is just about exactly what I predicted it would be. What I am surprised about is how the Assembly of First Nations' National Chief Shawn Atleo could possibly think this was a good budget.
http://www.afn.ca/index.php/en/news-media/latest-news/afn-national-chief-responds-to-federal-budget-calls-for-continued-work
Atleo says: "The investments in education in today's budget indicate that the voices of our youth are perhaps beginning to be heard...". Well, let's look what was and was not provided for First Nation education:
For elementary and secondary education (k-12), approximately $1.5B in extra funding is needed this year to have an education system almost on par with the provinces. This budget only provided $100M for this year, most of which will go to early literacy (and not in our languages).
For post-secondary education (PSE), we have an estimated need of half a billion dollars for this year as we have no less than 10,000 First Nation students on a waiting list to go to university. This budget appears to provide $0 for PSE.
Atleo says that "First Nations will seize this momentum to move forward to real reform and reconciliation". What momentum? According to the documents the AFN provided, over $6.7B is required this year to properly fund k-12 education and address the cumulative shortfall. The Cons provided only 4% of what is actually needed. I fail to see how this is momentum. The current cap on funding is at 2% - this is but a fraction more.
Let's put these numbers into proper perspective. INAC estimates that it will add approximately 45,000 people as status Indians as a result of the Bill C-3 amendment to the Indian Act. It has also estimated that upwards of 50,000 new status Indians will be added because of the new Qalipu band. This is a total of 95,000 new status Indians to be added to the 704,851 INAC's website claims are currently registered. This is an increase in the registered population of approximately 14% through registration alone. Offering an additional 4% of what is actually needed for the current population for education is an insult, but considering the new population, it is no increase at all.
Given that education is a treaty right, this amounts to an overt violation of First Nations treaties and very clear signal that there will be no future of increased, flexible, permanent funding set aside for First Nations education. The fact that no money was set aside for an increase in PSE is a further sign of things to come. The Cons have drawn their line in the sand and NC Atleo continues as if oblivious to the impending battle.
I don't see any "real reform and reconciliation" in a budget that offers $330M for water infrastructure over 2 years when the actual need is $6.578B. This amounts to approximately 5% of what is actually needed. If it cost your family $20,000 to install plumbing in your house to run water and have proper sanitation, what good would $1,000 do if you didn't have the other $19,000? What kind of reform is that? Again, the Conservatives are laughing in the face of the current crisis of poverty in First Nations while NC Atleo praises them for "real reconciliation".
This year the whole world saw first hand what the crisis in First Nation housing looks like. The pictures from Attawapiskat First Nation showed people living in unheated sheds with no running water. The media frenzy which followed shamed Harper into having a Crown-First Nation Gathering that had been promised several times over his years in office, but which never came to fruition. It was Attawapiskat that brought about that "historic" meeting and not NC Atleo, despite claims otherwise.
Yet, not a single cent was dedicated to address the crisis in First Nation housing. What about this lack of funding for housing speaks of reconciliation? The assimilation scheme of starving the Indians off the reserve is well entrenched in Conservative policy, yet Atleo sees this budget as making "important investments".
I can assure you that I am not seeing monsters where non exist. This assimilation plan for Indians is well-documented in government records and has always been considered by INAC as "the final solution". The Cons are just more aggressive in speeding assimilation along. The budget document focuses on "integration" of Aboriginal peoples into Canadian society - as a labour source, as tax payers and as individual property owners. Even the constitutionally protected right of Indigenous peoples to be specifically consulted and accommodated on their Aboriginal and treaty rights is translated as consultation (no accommodation) that will be "integrated" into current regulatory processes.
But let's look at what is really happening. The Indian Act is staying in place, as confirmed at the CFNG and the current level of federal control over First Nations will not only be maintained, but will be dramatically increased with the suite of legislation it intends to impose on First Nations. This budget confirmed what we already heard in the CFNG:
(1) Non-Indians will gain interests in reserve lands in the matrimonial real property legislation;
(2) Cons will transfer all liability for water and sewer on reserve to First Nations without funding to address the increased standards;
(3) First Nation education legislation will impose increased standards and force provincial partnerships while not providing additional funds;
(4) Reserves will be opened up to privatization (ownership by individuals) to allow mass sales of reserve lands and facilitate extractive industry activities on our lands; and
(5) Accountability legislation to impose standards on First Nations leaders not imposed on Members of Parliament.
Again, I am really confused how any of this screams "reconciliation". In fact, this entire suite of legislation violates our inherent rights to be self-determining and violates our constitutionally protected Aboriginal and treaty rights to govern our own affairs. It also threatens our communally-held traditional lands and current reserve land holdings. It will result in a dumping of liability and no funding to cope with a whole slew of additional regulations and standards that Canada itself can't meet in First Nations now.
In fairness, Atleo did say "First Nations must be at the table on any discussions that could affects our lands, our lives and our rights". Or what? What is Atleo going to do? He certainly has represented ANY kind of threat to the Cons yet, nor has he publicly offered any real resistance to this run-away assimilation train. He also states that he will get clarity of what all this legislation means and ensure First Nations voices are "respected". Really? Our voices have not been during his whole tenure - what makes now any different, except maybe that his election is coming up in July?
The fact is, the AFN knows full well what these proposed pieces of legislation mean as they have already testified before the House and Senate on some of them. The focus should not be in ensuring our voice is "respected", it should be in ensuring that our inherent right to be self-determining is respected, implemented and enforced. Our jurisdiction over our own communities is what needs to be recognized. We don't need 5 more Indian Acts to prescribe how we will live our lives. I don't want my voice to be accommodated in federal legislation - I don't want the federal legislation.
I honestly wish I could find some positive in what NC Atleo is doing on all our behalves, but I just can't. It is not a personal thing, as I don't know him as a person - most of us don't and never will. I don't get to vote in AFN elections, so this is not about voting. I have given the issue a great deal of thought and have spoken to a great many people that I trust about my dilemma in criticizing an organization that is set up to advocate on our behalf. It hurts me to do it, but after much contemplation and soul-searching, I feel like I have no choice.
All we, as grassroots people, have to go by is what Atleo does or does not accomplish for us. The proof is in the outcome and this is not the outcome that will move our Nations forward in decolonizing, healing, rebuilding our languages and cultures and protecting our traditional territories for future generations. While Atleo cannot be blamed for the aggressive assimilation plan of the Cons (and I admit, he has a tough political landscape right now), he is to blame if he does not stand up and actively resist it.
Our people are the ones who live in shacks - now is not the time to tell them their voices are "being heard". Our people are dying pre-mature deaths - now is not the time to promote "reconciliation". Our people see the impending battle - now is not the time to "seek clarity". Our people need a leader - now is not the time to be a politician.
http://www.budget.gc.ca/2012/plan/toc-tdm-eng.html
The area with which I am most concerned relates to what was and was not in the budget for Indigenous Peoples. I am not surprised by this budget, in fact, it is just about exactly what I predicted it would be. What I am surprised about is how the Assembly of First Nations' National Chief Shawn Atleo could possibly think this was a good budget.
http://www.afn.ca/index.php/en/news-media/latest-news/afn-national-chief-responds-to-federal-budget-calls-for-continued-work
Atleo says: "The investments in education in today's budget indicate that the voices of our youth are perhaps beginning to be heard...". Well, let's look what was and was not provided for First Nation education:
For elementary and secondary education (k-12), approximately $1.5B in extra funding is needed this year to have an education system almost on par with the provinces. This budget only provided $100M for this year, most of which will go to early literacy (and not in our languages).
For post-secondary education (PSE), we have an estimated need of half a billion dollars for this year as we have no less than 10,000 First Nation students on a waiting list to go to university. This budget appears to provide $0 for PSE.
Atleo says that "First Nations will seize this momentum to move forward to real reform and reconciliation". What momentum? According to the documents the AFN provided, over $6.7B is required this year to properly fund k-12 education and address the cumulative shortfall. The Cons provided only 4% of what is actually needed. I fail to see how this is momentum. The current cap on funding is at 2% - this is but a fraction more.
Let's put these numbers into proper perspective. INAC estimates that it will add approximately 45,000 people as status Indians as a result of the Bill C-3 amendment to the Indian Act. It has also estimated that upwards of 50,000 new status Indians will be added because of the new Qalipu band. This is a total of 95,000 new status Indians to be added to the 704,851 INAC's website claims are currently registered. This is an increase in the registered population of approximately 14% through registration alone. Offering an additional 4% of what is actually needed for the current population for education is an insult, but considering the new population, it is no increase at all.
Given that education is a treaty right, this amounts to an overt violation of First Nations treaties and very clear signal that there will be no future of increased, flexible, permanent funding set aside for First Nations education. The fact that no money was set aside for an increase in PSE is a further sign of things to come. The Cons have drawn their line in the sand and NC Atleo continues as if oblivious to the impending battle.
I don't see any "real reform and reconciliation" in a budget that offers $330M for water infrastructure over 2 years when the actual need is $6.578B. This amounts to approximately 5% of what is actually needed. If it cost your family $20,000 to install plumbing in your house to run water and have proper sanitation, what good would $1,000 do if you didn't have the other $19,000? What kind of reform is that? Again, the Conservatives are laughing in the face of the current crisis of poverty in First Nations while NC Atleo praises them for "real reconciliation".
This year the whole world saw first hand what the crisis in First Nation housing looks like. The pictures from Attawapiskat First Nation showed people living in unheated sheds with no running water. The media frenzy which followed shamed Harper into having a Crown-First Nation Gathering that had been promised several times over his years in office, but which never came to fruition. It was Attawapiskat that brought about that "historic" meeting and not NC Atleo, despite claims otherwise.
Yet, not a single cent was dedicated to address the crisis in First Nation housing. What about this lack of funding for housing speaks of reconciliation? The assimilation scheme of starving the Indians off the reserve is well entrenched in Conservative policy, yet Atleo sees this budget as making "important investments".
I can assure you that I am not seeing monsters where non exist. This assimilation plan for Indians is well-documented in government records and has always been considered by INAC as "the final solution". The Cons are just more aggressive in speeding assimilation along. The budget document focuses on "integration" of Aboriginal peoples into Canadian society - as a labour source, as tax payers and as individual property owners. Even the constitutionally protected right of Indigenous peoples to be specifically consulted and accommodated on their Aboriginal and treaty rights is translated as consultation (no accommodation) that will be "integrated" into current regulatory processes.
But let's look at what is really happening. The Indian Act is staying in place, as confirmed at the CFNG and the current level of federal control over First Nations will not only be maintained, but will be dramatically increased with the suite of legislation it intends to impose on First Nations. This budget confirmed what we already heard in the CFNG:
(1) Non-Indians will gain interests in reserve lands in the matrimonial real property legislation;
(2) Cons will transfer all liability for water and sewer on reserve to First Nations without funding to address the increased standards;
(3) First Nation education legislation will impose increased standards and force provincial partnerships while not providing additional funds;
(4) Reserves will be opened up to privatization (ownership by individuals) to allow mass sales of reserve lands and facilitate extractive industry activities on our lands; and
(5) Accountability legislation to impose standards on First Nations leaders not imposed on Members of Parliament.
Again, I am really confused how any of this screams "reconciliation". In fact, this entire suite of legislation violates our inherent rights to be self-determining and violates our constitutionally protected Aboriginal and treaty rights to govern our own affairs. It also threatens our communally-held traditional lands and current reserve land holdings. It will result in a dumping of liability and no funding to cope with a whole slew of additional regulations and standards that Canada itself can't meet in First Nations now.
In fairness, Atleo did say "First Nations must be at the table on any discussions that could affects our lands, our lives and our rights". Or what? What is Atleo going to do? He certainly has represented ANY kind of threat to the Cons yet, nor has he publicly offered any real resistance to this run-away assimilation train. He also states that he will get clarity of what all this legislation means and ensure First Nations voices are "respected". Really? Our voices have not been during his whole tenure - what makes now any different, except maybe that his election is coming up in July?
The fact is, the AFN knows full well what these proposed pieces of legislation mean as they have already testified before the House and Senate on some of them. The focus should not be in ensuring our voice is "respected", it should be in ensuring that our inherent right to be self-determining is respected, implemented and enforced. Our jurisdiction over our own communities is what needs to be recognized. We don't need 5 more Indian Acts to prescribe how we will live our lives. I don't want my voice to be accommodated in federal legislation - I don't want the federal legislation.
I honestly wish I could find some positive in what NC Atleo is doing on all our behalves, but I just can't. It is not a personal thing, as I don't know him as a person - most of us don't and never will. I don't get to vote in AFN elections, so this is not about voting. I have given the issue a great deal of thought and have spoken to a great many people that I trust about my dilemma in criticizing an organization that is set up to advocate on our behalf. It hurts me to do it, but after much contemplation and soul-searching, I feel like I have no choice.
All we, as grassroots people, have to go by is what Atleo does or does not accomplish for us. The proof is in the outcome and this is not the outcome that will move our Nations forward in decolonizing, healing, rebuilding our languages and cultures and protecting our traditional territories for future generations. While Atleo cannot be blamed for the aggressive assimilation plan of the Cons (and I admit, he has a tough political landscape right now), he is to blame if he does not stand up and actively resist it.
Our people are the ones who live in shacks - now is not the time to tell them their voices are "being heard". Our people are dying pre-mature deaths - now is not the time to promote "reconciliation". Our people see the impending battle - now is not the time to "seek clarity". Our people need a leader - now is not the time to be a politician.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Maybe Oliver Needs a Job in Mining? Curing Conservative Dysfunction
Conservative Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver announced this week that amendments to Canada's regulatory process are needed to speed up the approvals of mining and other extractive industry projects. Part of his justification for speeding up approvals is to transform "aboriginal communities' which he considers to be "socially dysfunctional". The cure for this alleged social dysfunction is to take even more oil, gas, minerals, and other resources from their territories at a much faster pace.
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Dysfunctional%2Baboriginals%2Bneed%2Bjobs%2BTory/6341582/story.html
As Oliver's heart bled for the poor Indians, he said it was his goal to "give" aboriginals some hope. His plan, in fact, is to "move them from despair to hope" by giving Indians jobs in the extractive industry. I have to agree with Chief Clifton from Gitga'at First Nation that the language was "insulting". I would go further though and say that the language is also consistent with the Conservative's assimilation plan.
http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2012/03/20/are-we-being-assimilated-promo/
Harper made it clear that the objective is to give "individuals" jobs and to keep the Indian Act right where it is and will even impose additional legislation on First Nations to further control our governments and territories. The "problem" as defined by the Conservatives is that we are not fully absorbed into the body politic yet. The problem will never be resolved until Indians are "equal" with Canadians - i.e., have jobs, pay taxes and their communal lands are "open for business" (i.e. resource extraction).
I am always struck when the Conservatives are able to convince the public that the source of the serious housing, water and poverty crisis in First Nations is simply because we don't have jobs. In one line, Oliver is able to discount hundreds of years of brutal colonization and the well-known inter-generational effects of both the historical and ongoing colonial laws and policies imposed on our peoples.
The residential schools system was not an "education policy gone wrong" (Minister Duncan)...
http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2011/10/27/residential-schools-saganashduncan-apologize/
...nor can Harper say (in truth) that Canada has "no history of colonialism".
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/534215/prime-minister-harper-denies-colonialism-in-canada-at-g20
Canada has met every criteria for genocide against Indigenous peoples, the only issue is that Canada is not likely to be charged with the offence any time soon. This does not make it any less genocidal, nor is specific intent for physical destruction necessary.
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/pamela-palmater/2011/11/unbelievable-undeniable-genocide-canada
The laws, policies and political decisions that led to deaths in residential schools, forced sterilizations of Indigenous women, small pox on blankets, and gruesome scalping laws are some of the most destructive genocidal acts, but today we have children taken from our families at higher rates than residential schools, we have Starlight tours and deaths of our people in police custody, we have courts and judges who put our people in jail at higher rates than Canadians, we have hundreds of murdered and missing Indigenous women and the list goes on.
Colonization hasn't stopped, nor is the reason for homelessness in Attawapiskat, contaminated water in Kashechewan or child suicides in Pikangikum due to someone not having a job in the mining industry.
But let's talk social dysfunction for a minute. Here are some dysfunctional social conditions I have noted over the last few years:
(1) Canada has one of the highest child poverty rates and when compared to 17 peer countries ranked at 13;
http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/details/society/child-poverty.aspx
(2) Children account for only 22% of the population, but represent 38% of food bank users;
http://www.campaign2000.ca/whatsnew/releases/MediaReleaseRCNov24En.pdf
(3) Homeless population in Canada is around 300,000 and 1.7 million struggle with housing affordability. 50% of Canadian population lives in fear of poverty and 49% believe they are 1 paycheck from being poverty stricken.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2007/06/26/shelter.html
(4) The "measurable" health-related costs of violence against women in Canada is more than $1.5 billion a year!
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/pubs/women-femmes/violence-eng.php
(5) Meanwhile, some municipal librarians are making 6 figure salaries.
http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/publications/salarydisclosure/2011/munic11a.html
(6) Harper's Conservatives were thrown out of Parliament for contempt.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/957379--committee-finds-harper-government-in-contempt
(7) Conservatives are now implicated in robo-calls which may have impacted their re-election.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/mps-summon-elections-watchdog-to-talk-robo-calls-on-same-day-as-budget/article2379807/
Before Canada starts pointing fingers about our Indigenous Nations being dysfunctional because we don't run to give up our lands in exchange for a mining job, I think politicians better look in their own back yard and clean up their own dysfunction. At least there are historic and ongoing reasons for our poverty - we are managed against our wills by the Canadian government. If Canada can't manage its own affairs without dysfunction, how can it presume to manage ours and not expect the same results?
If there was ever a justification for First Nation jurisdiction over our own lives (aside from sovereignty, treaties, and our right to self-determination) this would be it!
To say that First Nation poverty, cultural trauma, and the inter-generational effects of colonization would be cured by a job in mining is ludicrous. Even just framing the discussion this way presumes that the best First Nations can hope for is a job - as if we don't own the lands they want to mine. These lands are ours and it is up to decide to whether we want own, operate or stop mining on our lands. This is the very essence of Indigenous land title and our right to free, informed and prior consent which is now internationally protected under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Oliver should resign as Minister of Natural Resources and get a job in mining - maybe that will cure his dysfunctional mouth.
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Dysfunctional%2Baboriginals%2Bneed%2Bjobs%2BTory/6341582/story.html
As Oliver's heart bled for the poor Indians, he said it was his goal to "give" aboriginals some hope. His plan, in fact, is to "move them from despair to hope" by giving Indians jobs in the extractive industry. I have to agree with Chief Clifton from Gitga'at First Nation that the language was "insulting". I would go further though and say that the language is also consistent with the Conservative's assimilation plan.
http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2012/03/20/are-we-being-assimilated-promo/
Harper made it clear that the objective is to give "individuals" jobs and to keep the Indian Act right where it is and will even impose additional legislation on First Nations to further control our governments and territories. The "problem" as defined by the Conservatives is that we are not fully absorbed into the body politic yet. The problem will never be resolved until Indians are "equal" with Canadians - i.e., have jobs, pay taxes and their communal lands are "open for business" (i.e. resource extraction).
I am always struck when the Conservatives are able to convince the public that the source of the serious housing, water and poverty crisis in First Nations is simply because we don't have jobs. In one line, Oliver is able to discount hundreds of years of brutal colonization and the well-known inter-generational effects of both the historical and ongoing colonial laws and policies imposed on our peoples.
The residential schools system was not an "education policy gone wrong" (Minister Duncan)...
http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2011/10/27/residential-schools-saganashduncan-apologize/
...nor can Harper say (in truth) that Canada has "no history of colonialism".
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/534215/prime-minister-harper-denies-colonialism-in-canada-at-g20
Canada has met every criteria for genocide against Indigenous peoples, the only issue is that Canada is not likely to be charged with the offence any time soon. This does not make it any less genocidal, nor is specific intent for physical destruction necessary.
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/pamela-palmater/2011/11/unbelievable-undeniable-genocide-canada
The laws, policies and political decisions that led to deaths in residential schools, forced sterilizations of Indigenous women, small pox on blankets, and gruesome scalping laws are some of the most destructive genocidal acts, but today we have children taken from our families at higher rates than residential schools, we have Starlight tours and deaths of our people in police custody, we have courts and judges who put our people in jail at higher rates than Canadians, we have hundreds of murdered and missing Indigenous women and the list goes on.
Colonization hasn't stopped, nor is the reason for homelessness in Attawapiskat, contaminated water in Kashechewan or child suicides in Pikangikum due to someone not having a job in the mining industry.
But let's talk social dysfunction for a minute. Here are some dysfunctional social conditions I have noted over the last few years:
(1) Canada has one of the highest child poverty rates and when compared to 17 peer countries ranked at 13;
http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/details/society/child-poverty.aspx
(2) Children account for only 22% of the population, but represent 38% of food bank users;
http://www.campaign2000.ca/whatsnew/releases/MediaReleaseRCNov24En.pdf
(3) Homeless population in Canada is around 300,000 and 1.7 million struggle with housing affordability. 50% of Canadian population lives in fear of poverty and 49% believe they are 1 paycheck from being poverty stricken.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2007/06/26/shelter.html
(4) The "measurable" health-related costs of violence against women in Canada is more than $1.5 billion a year!
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/pubs/women-femmes/violence-eng.php
(5) Meanwhile, some municipal librarians are making 6 figure salaries.
http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/publications/salarydisclosure/2011/munic11a.html
(6) Harper's Conservatives were thrown out of Parliament for contempt.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/957379--committee-finds-harper-government-in-contempt
(7) Conservatives are now implicated in robo-calls which may have impacted their re-election.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/mps-summon-elections-watchdog-to-talk-robo-calls-on-same-day-as-budget/article2379807/
Before Canada starts pointing fingers about our Indigenous Nations being dysfunctional because we don't run to give up our lands in exchange for a mining job, I think politicians better look in their own back yard and clean up their own dysfunction. At least there are historic and ongoing reasons for our poverty - we are managed against our wills by the Canadian government. If Canada can't manage its own affairs without dysfunction, how can it presume to manage ours and not expect the same results?
If there was ever a justification for First Nation jurisdiction over our own lives (aside from sovereignty, treaties, and our right to self-determination) this would be it!
To say that First Nation poverty, cultural trauma, and the inter-generational effects of colonization would be cured by a job in mining is ludicrous. Even just framing the discussion this way presumes that the best First Nations can hope for is a job - as if we don't own the lands they want to mine. These lands are ours and it is up to decide to whether we want own, operate or stop mining on our lands. This is the very essence of Indigenous land title and our right to free, informed and prior consent which is now internationally protected under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Oliver should resign as Minister of Natural Resources and get a job in mining - maybe that will cure his dysfunctional mouth.
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