Indian Act Rules, tales from Campaign Trail...

Hi Friends

Well as you know I have offered myself for public service to my community, after being nominated, and then seconded...I talked over this amazing turn of events with my husband and sons. Having a budget of zero dollars to mount a run for office, and a distance between my home and the reserve...it was unanimously decided "If you want to,...".
This being decided, I was now ready to take up the challenge.
That first hurdle having been gotten over, it was time for me to introduce myself to the broader community for their scrutiny. I, being a stranger in their midst, claiming kinship with them was in for a hard sell.
I have in the past volunteered in my community, and of course I have run this blog, plus was active both on line and in person, protesting the HST here in Ontario, so I wasn't a complete stranger after all.
The first most astonishing thing I found out about was that the "Indian Act" rules of politics is that an individual can (and some do) run for the position of chief and councilor at the same time!
To me this is like being the back-catcher and the pitcher for the same baseball team, at the same time.
All well and good, I guess, but what happens if you get elected for both?
They (INAC) have thought of that. Should the candidate prove to be popular enough to be elected to both positions, they are not expected to forfeit one for the other, but can (and do) hold these positions, simultaneously. The only proviso is they must declare which one they are holding before the start of any meeting.
This was all explained to me by the Electoral Officer.
I was/am astounded. Democracy as practiced on this Continent was ours...The American constitution was inspired by the Six Nations Confederacy. We all know it, Government of the people, by the people , for the people,
an end to tyrannical monarch rule...
So my question is this! Can things change for the First Nations communities when they are forced to live under such tyranny as is imposed on us by the draconian Indian Act? Have we lost the Utopian ideals of our glorious past? Is it any wonder to you that so many of our Indian Act elected chiefs have no caring or feel for the people they are supposedly leading?
I don't know the answers to these questions. But a good start would be for our Nations to began in earnest to craft their own constitutions, and citizenships codes, and take the power into their own hands and out of Ottawa's once and for all. True Nations with in the Nation of Canada.Then we can get back to our old ways, the noble ways of our ancestors, starting with true democratic governments as was enjoyed in our glorious past.

regards debra