Hi Friends
Well the new parliament is about to resume, and the re-elected Prime Minister has re-Christened Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Canada..
Many in the Indigenous communities are wondering just what this may mean. The government's official response is: the new name makes the department more inclusive of the Innu and Metis as well as the Indians.( One major problem with this thinking is, the other two groups of Indigenous people do not have treaties with the crown, and thus do not have the same relationship that the Indians have.)
I too have my own misgivings over this latest turn by the Harper Conservative government.
Mr. Harper is a former reform party member, who had as it's stated agenda; "One Canada for all." The Reform were always anti-Indian, and the special relationship the First Nations have with the crown. They had actively campaigned on assimilation of all Indians, and an end to the treaties.
We are to become all equal, under his leadership, as to him the Indigenous people having a recognized and unique status here has never sat well. First Nations have been called everything from a drain on the public purse, to communists by the Reform. His right hand man, Tom Flanagan and the Calgary school, were and still are a great influences on him, and his policies.
Prime Minister Harper has never had the luxury of a majority rule before, and this has been a good thing. This is not the case now.
This election has been a game changer in a very frightening way. We here in Canada have lost our three party system, and have been reduced to a two party governance model. The media/corporate Canada has handed a majority to the Harpercons and as the dust settles we are all left to see just how this will change Canada. (Nor am I the only one in my community seeing dark days ahead for the First Nations people.)
I am not a conservative supporter, nor am I a fan of Mr. Harper, and his ideologies. Even with the steading hand of the opposition he was very much one to push his own agenda, and I see no chance of him ever becoming a moderate in his leadership style. That the press would not present an unbiased accounting, has made the entire process of an election laughable at best and has cast them as co-conspirators at worst. I condemn them for the huge dis-service they have done to the voters, and the country as a whole. This is what happens when the robber barons take charge of the press and they lose their freedoms.
As a well known German once said. Ein volk. Ein reich. Ein fuhrer!
At least that is how some of us in the Indigenous community are seeing things. Lets hope we are wrong!
Regards Debra
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
To Be Or Not To Be..Theoretically....
Hi Friends
We here in Canada have just come through an election that is proving to be a game changer in many ways, and yet the same old in so many other ways.
Once again voter apathy has handed the hated Conservatives a mandate to govern this country. This time though , Harper got his coveted majority. Given his past fiscal record, and his huge deficit, his trampling of our constitution and criminal behavior along with his historic contempt of parliament charges, you must be asking "how did this happen?" Two words, voter apathy!
Some didn't vote for all the same old reasons, and will continue to tout these excuses from now till dooms day. I think it was Albert Einstein who said: to do the same thing over and over again, and to expect a different result is the very definition of insanity.
What happened here on election night has scary overtones for all of us, yet will ultimately be so much worse for others. To not vote, was to hand the election to an ideologue with no checks or balances in place. This conservative government is unpopular with most of the people and some even say a majority conservative government could even be characterized as dangerous. I am in the second category.
I used social media, to track the polls and to post platforms of the various parties as well as try to get the message out that this is an important and very needed vote from all who will be impacted most by this party. Voting strategies were set up and posted, and debates were entered into, and past policies looked at and discussed. There were plenty of issues past and present from this Conservative government that showed the complete disregard for the First Nations people. Here was going to be a chance to say, as Elijah Harper had for us during the days of the Meech Lake Accord, NO, you must include us, too! The AFN Grand chief Atleo as well as several regional chiefs took to the airwaves and social media to encourage their citizens get out and vote.
Only one segment of the Indigenous population were saying not to vote. These are the "sovereignists" among us. Their message to me, is not unlike the rich who declare the war, and benefit from it, on the backs of the more impoverished members of their society! None of these blood lusters risk their own skin or progeny. Let the lessor among them do the dirty work! In short these sovergeinists, are not going to be the ones effected by their passive aggressive attitude against those who would vote to try to change their circumstances. The ivory tower sovereignists calling the voters "assimilated" and stating that you are now a Canadian and not a First Nation citizen, is just about as insightful as calling your self sovereign.
Sovereignty is defined as , autonomous, independent, self governing.
I have not seen this, nor have any of these people, NO Indian in Canada has since, at least 1876 when the Indian Act was enacted, and still rules over us to this day! What I have seen is specific legislation, governing us to our ultimate demise as a people.
We were not given the vote until the nineteen sixties, did this mean we were sovereign before that? No. We were and are still thought of as wards of the state. We at one time were not even allowed to chose our own chiefs. That was the job of the Indian Agents, who ruled our communities for the government in Ottawa. At that time if you wanted to vote you had to surrender your status in order to participate. This is not the case today.
We fought in their wars, not as allies, but as subjects, the same as the French were conscripted to. The difference being, the "recognized" second founding nation the government of the day brought in conscription. "Conscription if necessary, but not necessarily conscription" was the catch phrase used, as it was recognized that as Canada was NOT under attack, this was not an ally in that situation. The French made that very clear. If our home land was under attack, then we will defend our home soil. This war is in defense of Britain and NOT our war!
We pay their taxes, we fight their wars, we fill their jails, we lose our children to their system, we live under their laws, yet we are sovereign. What are we protecting by not voting in their system? They have the upper hand and always will, because they even tell us who our citizens are, and have plans to legislate us out of existence. Solved the *Indian Problem* in Canada!
To those who refuse to participate, because all politicians are liars and cheats, okay! To those who don't vote to send your message that the politicians offer you nothing, okay! To those who don't vote to send your message that you are sovergein okay! So now do you think your message was received? With so many showing your dislike of the system in exactly the same way, are you confident that YOUR message was received? It is more likely that the message that the politicians got was that you are satisfied with the status quo or you would have made your displeasure known by exercising your constitutionally protected right, by voting! This post is aimed at the sovergeinists, with your message. Did the Canadian government recognize your message, and are they about to dismantle Indian and Northern Affairs Canada? Message recieved? Because I have not heard that reported in any of the major media outlets yet, or did I miss it?
To those who will try to view this post as me telling you to "get over it" this is not my message, But, more of a "get on with it" so we are still here to see this through to a conclusion that was truly envisioned by our ancestors, and then we have a chance to honor their memory and protect our treaties. To not vote is to spit in the eyes of those who have fought and some who have died in this effort to raise the Nations up.
Quebec got Nation status with in the country of Canada by being at the table. We can too.Those at the table eat the cake, those coming late get left-overs and those who willfully turn away, because the slice wasn't big enough can have the crumbs.
regards Debra
We here in Canada have just come through an election that is proving to be a game changer in many ways, and yet the same old in so many other ways.
Once again voter apathy has handed the hated Conservatives a mandate to govern this country. This time though , Harper got his coveted majority. Given his past fiscal record, and his huge deficit, his trampling of our constitution and criminal behavior along with his historic contempt of parliament charges, you must be asking "how did this happen?" Two words, voter apathy!
Some didn't vote for all the same old reasons, and will continue to tout these excuses from now till dooms day. I think it was Albert Einstein who said: to do the same thing over and over again, and to expect a different result is the very definition of insanity.
What happened here on election night has scary overtones for all of us, yet will ultimately be so much worse for others. To not vote, was to hand the election to an ideologue with no checks or balances in place. This conservative government is unpopular with most of the people and some even say a majority conservative government could even be characterized as dangerous. I am in the second category.
I used social media, to track the polls and to post platforms of the various parties as well as try to get the message out that this is an important and very needed vote from all who will be impacted most by this party. Voting strategies were set up and posted, and debates were entered into, and past policies looked at and discussed. There were plenty of issues past and present from this Conservative government that showed the complete disregard for the First Nations people. Here was going to be a chance to say, as Elijah Harper had for us during the days of the Meech Lake Accord, NO, you must include us, too! The AFN Grand chief Atleo as well as several regional chiefs took to the airwaves and social media to encourage their citizens get out and vote.
Only one segment of the Indigenous population were saying not to vote. These are the "sovereignists" among us. Their message to me, is not unlike the rich who declare the war, and benefit from it, on the backs of the more impoverished members of their society! None of these blood lusters risk their own skin or progeny. Let the lessor among them do the dirty work! In short these sovergeinists, are not going to be the ones effected by their passive aggressive attitude against those who would vote to try to change their circumstances. The ivory tower sovereignists calling the voters "assimilated" and stating that you are now a Canadian and not a First Nation citizen, is just about as insightful as calling your self sovereign.
Sovereignty is defined as , autonomous, independent, self governing.
I have not seen this, nor have any of these people, NO Indian in Canada has since, at least 1876 when the Indian Act was enacted, and still rules over us to this day! What I have seen is specific legislation, governing us to our ultimate demise as a people.
We were not given the vote until the nineteen sixties, did this mean we were sovereign before that? No. We were and are still thought of as wards of the state. We at one time were not even allowed to chose our own chiefs. That was the job of the Indian Agents, who ruled our communities for the government in Ottawa. At that time if you wanted to vote you had to surrender your status in order to participate. This is not the case today.
We fought in their wars, not as allies, but as subjects, the same as the French were conscripted to. The difference being, the "recognized" second founding nation the government of the day brought in conscription. "Conscription if necessary, but not necessarily conscription" was the catch phrase used, as it was recognized that as Canada was NOT under attack, this was not an ally in that situation. The French made that very clear. If our home land was under attack, then we will defend our home soil. This war is in defense of Britain and NOT our war!
We pay their taxes, we fight their wars, we fill their jails, we lose our children to their system, we live under their laws, yet we are sovereign. What are we protecting by not voting in their system? They have the upper hand and always will, because they even tell us who our citizens are, and have plans to legislate us out of existence. Solved the *Indian Problem* in Canada!
To those who refuse to participate, because all politicians are liars and cheats, okay! To those who don't vote to send your message that the politicians offer you nothing, okay! To those who don't vote to send your message that you are sovergein okay! So now do you think your message was received? With so many showing your dislike of the system in exactly the same way, are you confident that YOUR message was received? It is more likely that the message that the politicians got was that you are satisfied with the status quo or you would have made your displeasure known by exercising your constitutionally protected right, by voting! This post is aimed at the sovergeinists, with your message. Did the Canadian government recognize your message, and are they about to dismantle Indian and Northern Affairs Canada? Message recieved? Because I have not heard that reported in any of the major media outlets yet, or did I miss it?
To those who will try to view this post as me telling you to "get over it" this is not my message, But, more of a "get on with it" so we are still here to see this through to a conclusion that was truly envisioned by our ancestors, and then we have a chance to honor their memory and protect our treaties. To not vote is to spit in the eyes of those who have fought and some who have died in this effort to raise the Nations up.
Quebec got Nation status with in the country of Canada by being at the table. We can too.Those at the table eat the cake, those coming late get left-overs and those who willfully turn away, because the slice wasn't big enough can have the crumbs.
regards Debra
Friday, April 15, 2011
Politics and Estranged Bedfellows
Hi Friends
Today I want to talk about a problem as old as democracy itself - voter apathy!
While many around the world are fighting and dying for their chance to democratically elect their leaders, here in Canada I am arguing with many to get out and exercise their democratic rights to do just that.
The last election we had, only 32% came out, so it can honestly be said that it was none-voters who put this government in power. This government ran on open and accountable leadership, along with Senate reform, and of course our Canadian motto of peace, order and good governance!
This has not been what we have gotten at all, in fact many might argue , just the opposite! We have been thrown into this election because of an historic event here in Canada. Our government has been found in contempt of parliament.
Are the people righteously angry, and chomping at the bit to throw these criminals out of power? Not so much from what I can see! The conservative base does seem to be strong, and are for the most part not overly critical of their chosen representatives. Fear and lies, seem to motivate them the most, while others have a defeatist attitude. Voter apathy is an issue among the ones who can afford it the least. The poor and disenfranchised.
There is a reason why the political parties always have something in their platforms for the older citizens, small as it may be, and why there are always tax breaks for the rich, and corporate Canada. These my friends, are the ones who always vote.
As baffled as I am at the Canadian people for not exercising their democratic right to vote, the Indigenous communities really stymie me. I heard all the rhetoric, and even read many opinions on both sides of the issue. Many Indigenous scholars have written of sovereignty ideas espousing non-participation around the Canadian elections, and just as many have given their opinions as to the necessity of our participation in these elections.
Here is just one of the most comprehensive debates on both sides of the coin that I could find.
Now for my musings on this issue.
Duncan Campbell Scott at the inception of the Indian Act, and as First Minister of the newly created department of Indian and Northern Affairs did not mince his words. This was and still is an assimilationist department with legislated assimilationist policies that are still in use by the Canadian government today.
The ghettos that they have force-relocated our people onto, are not Nations, nor do the transfer payments, and the blood quantization of your citizens, all chosen by them, make us anything but wards of the state. The best we can ever hope for at this point in our histories is dual citizenship. We fight in their wars, we pay into their taxation system, we live on land they have chosen for us, carry their designated Indian status cards and live under their Indian Act policies. How does this make us in any way sovereign? Who is the hypocrite or the assimilated in this scenario?
Do I wish it were different? Of course, but as I am a pragmatist I see things more along the lines of those who note that: "Just because you don't take an interest in politics, don't think that politics won't take an interest in you" To have a say in decisions that affect you then you must go out and vote.
To adopt any other notion is what I have seen in many other areas of Indigenous life. Years of paternalistic dominance has effectively blunted our drive and ambition to the point of always awaiting others to solve our problems for us. This is why there is such a flourishing, so called, "Indian Industry". Lawyers, negotiators, consultants...the Bruce Carson's, and his ilk, waiting with bated breath to swoop down on desperate people living in desperate situations...It does not have to be like this, it is time to ride to our own rescue! To stop the exploitation we must engage and participate in the electoral process to have our own say in the legislation that will affect us all!
We also have many Indigenous people running in hopes of being elected in this federal election. To characterize these Indigenous candidates as assimilated is not only wrong, but it is divisive. To do nothing, is to support the status quo, and accept being a beggar in your own country.
If you do not participate, all you get is ignored.
Since we now have the vote, we must use this tool to our advantage.
It took ONE Aboriginal man (participating, by being an M.L A in the Manitoba Legislature...to stop the Meech Lake accord from passing,) His name is Elijah Harper. Elijah Harper, using just one word, while using their rules, and in their government house, stopped the Mulroney Conservative Government, and the ten provincial Premieres in their tracks.
I get angry every time I read judgmental remarks like, if you vote, you are assimilated and should go all the way and not call yourself, Anishinabek or Cree, or Mohawk, because you are now a Canadian. To this I can only respond, you obviously don't know of the contributions of our war hero's, who fought and died for this country, nor do you show proper respect for the residential school educated, Elijah Harper who, through his participation in the Canadian electoral process stood up for ALL of us, and, with the one word, NO, told the Canadian Government they must consider US too!
Regards Debra
Today I want to talk about a problem as old as democracy itself - voter apathy!
While many around the world are fighting and dying for their chance to democratically elect their leaders, here in Canada I am arguing with many to get out and exercise their democratic rights to do just that.
The last election we had, only 32% came out, so it can honestly be said that it was none-voters who put this government in power. This government ran on open and accountable leadership, along with Senate reform, and of course our Canadian motto of peace, order and good governance!
This has not been what we have gotten at all, in fact many might argue , just the opposite! We have been thrown into this election because of an historic event here in Canada. Our government has been found in contempt of parliament.
Are the people righteously angry, and chomping at the bit to throw these criminals out of power? Not so much from what I can see! The conservative base does seem to be strong, and are for the most part not overly critical of their chosen representatives. Fear and lies, seem to motivate them the most, while others have a defeatist attitude. Voter apathy is an issue among the ones who can afford it the least. The poor and disenfranchised.
There is a reason why the political parties always have something in their platforms for the older citizens, small as it may be, and why there are always tax breaks for the rich, and corporate Canada. These my friends, are the ones who always vote.
As baffled as I am at the Canadian people for not exercising their democratic right to vote, the Indigenous communities really stymie me. I heard all the rhetoric, and even read many opinions on both sides of the issue. Many Indigenous scholars have written of sovereignty ideas espousing non-participation around the Canadian elections, and just as many have given their opinions as to the necessity of our participation in these elections.
Here is just one of the most comprehensive debates on both sides of the coin that I could find.
Now for my musings on this issue.
Duncan Campbell Scott at the inception of the Indian Act, and as First Minister of the newly created department of Indian and Northern Affairs did not mince his words. This was and still is an assimilationist department with legislated assimilationist policies that are still in use by the Canadian government today.
The ghettos that they have force-relocated our people onto, are not Nations, nor do the transfer payments, and the blood quantization of your citizens, all chosen by them, make us anything but wards of the state. The best we can ever hope for at this point in our histories is dual citizenship. We fight in their wars, we pay into their taxation system, we live on land they have chosen for us, carry their designated Indian status cards and live under their Indian Act policies. How does this make us in any way sovereign? Who is the hypocrite or the assimilated in this scenario?
Do I wish it were different? Of course, but as I am a pragmatist I see things more along the lines of those who note that: "Just because you don't take an interest in politics, don't think that politics won't take an interest in you" To have a say in decisions that affect you then you must go out and vote.
To adopt any other notion is what I have seen in many other areas of Indigenous life. Years of paternalistic dominance has effectively blunted our drive and ambition to the point of always awaiting others to solve our problems for us. This is why there is such a flourishing, so called, "Indian Industry". Lawyers, negotiators, consultants...the Bruce Carson's, and his ilk, waiting with bated breath to swoop down on desperate people living in desperate situations...It does not have to be like this, it is time to ride to our own rescue! To stop the exploitation we must engage and participate in the electoral process to have our own say in the legislation that will affect us all!
We also have many Indigenous people running in hopes of being elected in this federal election. To characterize these Indigenous candidates as assimilated is not only wrong, but it is divisive. To do nothing, is to support the status quo, and accept being a beggar in your own country.
If you do not participate, all you get is ignored.
Since we now have the vote, we must use this tool to our advantage.
It took ONE Aboriginal man (participating, by being an M.L A in the Manitoba Legislature...to stop the Meech Lake accord from passing,) His name is Elijah Harper. Elijah Harper, using just one word, while using their rules, and in their government house, stopped the Mulroney Conservative Government, and the ten provincial Premieres in their tracks.
I get angry every time I read judgmental remarks like, if you vote, you are assimilated and should go all the way and not call yourself, Anishinabek or Cree, or Mohawk, because you are now a Canadian. To this I can only respond, you obviously don't know of the contributions of our war hero's, who fought and died for this country, nor do you show proper respect for the residential school educated, Elijah Harper who, through his participation in the Canadian electoral process stood up for ALL of us, and, with the one word, NO, told the Canadian Government they must consider US too!
Regards Debra
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Charlie Hunter is Coming Home...
Hi Friends
This is a sort of good news/bad news story.
On March the 5th of this year I read a little human interest story in the Toronto Star newspaper.
This story was of a young boy from a fly-in Cree community who had died tragically while attending a residential school. This accident took place back in the seventies and his remains were interred some two hundred kilometers away. It proved to be too costly for the family from a fly-in community to be able to afford to visit the child's resting place. His aged parents had only ever been able to visit his grave once, since his death, and now in their own twilight years yearned to be able to tend his resting spot.
While the Canadian Government acknowledged the sadness of this situation,( INAC minister John Duncan sent his condolences ) they also made note that there wasn't any money in the budget to repatriate this child's body back home. This after the much ballyhooed apology, where it was said;
that the residential school period was shameful time in our history was at an end.
Well reading this story it was shockingly evident to me that these were words, flowery words, but just words in the end. As the old adage goes, talk is cheap.
To plead poverty when the government had just announced a thirty billion dollar fighter jet contract, and having just spent one billion dollars for security on a week-end summit in Toronto in the past summer, and to the pledging of billions of dollars for the building of more jails, for what even their own minster had called un-reported crime.
Does this sound like a cash poor government to you?
The expense to bring this child's body back to his community would be a sum total of twenty-three thousand dollars. What a chance to show the Canadian people in general, and the Indigenous people in particular that they stand by the apology. That the new relationship with the First Nations would be vastly different than the previously dark one. But it was not to be! The Canadian government held fast to their original statement of this being too expensive for the government to take on.
Today in the Toronto Star a follow up story ran...and it was the good news part of this post.
Charlie is coming home, courtesy of the good citizens who read this story, and were touched by the plight of this family and the apparent heartlessness of this government.
These people gave their own apology, of sorts, to this family, when this government wouldn't.
regards Debra
This is a sort of good news/bad news story.
On March the 5th of this year I read a little human interest story in the Toronto Star newspaper.
This story was of a young boy from a fly-in Cree community who had died tragically while attending a residential school. This accident took place back in the seventies and his remains were interred some two hundred kilometers away. It proved to be too costly for the family from a fly-in community to be able to afford to visit the child's resting place. His aged parents had only ever been able to visit his grave once, since his death, and now in their own twilight years yearned to be able to tend his resting spot.
While the Canadian Government acknowledged the sadness of this situation,( INAC minister John Duncan sent his condolences ) they also made note that there wasn't any money in the budget to repatriate this child's body back home. This after the much ballyhooed apology, where it was said;
that the residential school period was shameful time in our history was at an end.
Well reading this story it was shockingly evident to me that these were words, flowery words, but just words in the end. As the old adage goes, talk is cheap.
To plead poverty when the government had just announced a thirty billion dollar fighter jet contract, and having just spent one billion dollars for security on a week-end summit in Toronto in the past summer, and to the pledging of billions of dollars for the building of more jails, for what even their own minster had called un-reported crime.
Does this sound like a cash poor government to you?
The expense to bring this child's body back to his community would be a sum total of twenty-three thousand dollars. What a chance to show the Canadian people in general, and the Indigenous people in particular that they stand by the apology. That the new relationship with the First Nations would be vastly different than the previously dark one. But it was not to be! The Canadian government held fast to their original statement of this being too expensive for the government to take on.
Today in the Toronto Star a follow up story ran...and it was the good news part of this post.
Charlie is coming home, courtesy of the good citizens who read this story, and were touched by the plight of this family and the apparent heartlessness of this government.
These people gave their own apology, of sorts, to this family, when this government wouldn't.
regards Debra
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Democracy part two
Hi Friends
Democracy is from the Greek word (demokratia) meaning "rule of the people" or (demos) people, (kartos) power. Democracy is defined as a form of political organization in which all the people through consensus (direct referendum) or elected representatives exercise equal control over the matters which effect their common interests.
We, I have mentioned in past posts are rather new to the game of governing, having only secured the right to vote in federal elections since to the nineteen sixties.
This is not a true statement, and let me clarify! We the Indigenous people know democracy very well. It could be argued that its in our very bones. We have, before colonization, had democratic governments, and it is a known fact that the United States government is famously noted to be inspired, by the Six Nations confederacy.
With our long glorious history of people run governments, when and why did we stray so far from our own ideals? Was it the influence of the Indian agents who in the past, chose the chief and councils (usually from the largest families on the reserve, it being easier to control the people if you had the largest family in your pocket..) or as I have heard lamented over and over again that the problem is INAC rules.
To this I say, INAC didn't force any of us to elect the most corrupt in your community, nor did they instruct you to keep these people in power. That was the Indian agents' ways. Nor does INAC encourage those elected to take advantage of their people. That is the option exercised entirely by the unscrupulous chiefs and councilors.
To the tyranny practiced on some reserves today, and to the despots who harass their citizens for wanting better, shame on you!
You have lived down to the very worst of expectations. You have allied with those who seek to continue colonial rule over us. You have armed our common enemy with example after example of why we are unable to rise up, and be our own men and women capable of governing ourselves. You have cemented us as wards of the state through your unmitigated selfishness. You have pulled our children down, made fools of our elders, and the many courageous men and women activists fighting for our human rights and very dignity to be thought of as equals in our own country.
When you conduct yourselves like tyrants who would intimidate those who would disagree with you, you give credence to those who malign us.
When we are seeing other nations around the world rising up to throw off the mantle of tyrannical rule, you and your greed have condemned us to more of the same..thank you to all the chiefs and councils out there who have followed this race to the bottom...you have done us all a huge disservice.
Regards Debra
Democracy is from the Greek word (demokratia) meaning "rule of the people" or (demos) people, (kartos) power. Democracy is defined as a form of political organization in which all the people through consensus (direct referendum) or elected representatives exercise equal control over the matters which effect their common interests.
We, I have mentioned in past posts are rather new to the game of governing, having only secured the right to vote in federal elections since to the nineteen sixties.
This is not a true statement, and let me clarify! We the Indigenous people know democracy very well. It could be argued that its in our very bones. We have, before colonization, had democratic governments, and it is a known fact that the United States government is famously noted to be inspired, by the Six Nations confederacy.
With our long glorious history of people run governments, when and why did we stray so far from our own ideals? Was it the influence of the Indian agents who in the past, chose the chief and councils (usually from the largest families on the reserve, it being easier to control the people if you had the largest family in your pocket..) or as I have heard lamented over and over again that the problem is INAC rules.
To this I say, INAC didn't force any of us to elect the most corrupt in your community, nor did they instruct you to keep these people in power. That was the Indian agents' ways. Nor does INAC encourage those elected to take advantage of their people. That is the option exercised entirely by the unscrupulous chiefs and councilors.
To the tyranny practiced on some reserves today, and to the despots who harass their citizens for wanting better, shame on you!
You have lived down to the very worst of expectations. You have allied with those who seek to continue colonial rule over us. You have armed our common enemy with example after example of why we are unable to rise up, and be our own men and women capable of governing ourselves. You have cemented us as wards of the state through your unmitigated selfishness. You have pulled our children down, made fools of our elders, and the many courageous men and women activists fighting for our human rights and very dignity to be thought of as equals in our own country.
When you conduct yourselves like tyrants who would intimidate those who would disagree with you, you give credence to those who malign us.
When we are seeing other nations around the world rising up to throw off the mantle of tyrannical rule, you and your greed have condemned us to more of the same..thank you to all the chiefs and councils out there who have followed this race to the bottom...you have done us all a huge disservice.
Regards Debra
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Democracy Part 1...
Hi Friends
Well once again our political system is back under the microscope. This time in a community I know quite well; my home reserve.
I have blogged extensively about election reform, and have opined on many of the bad chiefs, and even taken the part of many maligned others, over some questionable behavior.
This time as I mentioned, it will not be such a blind defending or even a carefully criticizing of chiefs and councils that I know only by name or deed. No, this time I will be able to put names and faces together, along with my personal knowledge of the personalities of the individuals involved.
First things first. A news story broke this week in several media outlets about some disgruntled citizens of an Ontario reserve, writing an anonymous letter asking for a forensic audit or RCMP probe of their community after learning that their community faces a cash crunch. Most disturbing to me, as a lover of democracy, was that these community members felt only comfortable enough to be anonymous...This was way more than disheartening to me because, as I have said, I know this community and even ran for council myself in the past election.
I obviously did not succeed, but the people had spoken, and I was excited to have participated in the democratic process. I took away from this experience some new friendships and even met some distant relatives of mine. A win, win, sort of situation for me.
What is happening today however is much sadder than any election loss, for me, could be. What is now going on in my community is about as far away from democracy as you could possibly get. The people are too afraid of their elected officials to pose a direct question, openly, without fear of reprisal, (why else remain anonymous) from their elected government.
Only the most unrepentant of tyrants would not feel shame over this sorry turn of events. As a lover of democracy I urge you to get on with the request of your electorate and put to bed this notion of our reserve being nothing more than a banana republic.
I dare say, if it were me I'd be anxious to get on with this request from my community, if for no other reason, but to clear my good name.
regards Debra
Well once again our political system is back under the microscope. This time in a community I know quite well; my home reserve.
I have blogged extensively about election reform, and have opined on many of the bad chiefs, and even taken the part of many maligned others, over some questionable behavior.
This time as I mentioned, it will not be such a blind defending or even a carefully criticizing of chiefs and councils that I know only by name or deed. No, this time I will be able to put names and faces together, along with my personal knowledge of the personalities of the individuals involved.
First things first. A news story broke this week in several media outlets about some disgruntled citizens of an Ontario reserve, writing an anonymous letter asking for a forensic audit or RCMP probe of their community after learning that their community faces a cash crunch. Most disturbing to me, as a lover of democracy, was that these community members felt only comfortable enough to be anonymous...This was way more than disheartening to me because, as I have said, I know this community and even ran for council myself in the past election.
I obviously did not succeed, but the people had spoken, and I was excited to have participated in the democratic process. I took away from this experience some new friendships and even met some distant relatives of mine. A win, win, sort of situation for me.
What is happening today however is much sadder than any election loss, for me, could be. What is now going on in my community is about as far away from democracy as you could possibly get. The people are too afraid of their elected officials to pose a direct question, openly, without fear of reprisal, (why else remain anonymous) from their elected government.
Only the most unrepentant of tyrants would not feel shame over this sorry turn of events. As a lover of democracy I urge you to get on with the request of your electorate and put to bed this notion of our reserve being nothing more than a banana republic.
I dare say, if it were me I'd be anxious to get on with this request from my community, if for no other reason, but to clear my good name.
regards Debra
Friday, March 4, 2011
The Power of Four...
Hi Friends
I have heard the call from many of our leaders, both at the reserve and national level, espouse the desire to return to our past forms of governing. Something is wrong in Indian country and we want it fixed. "We need it to be fixed" is more how I look at it.
As a blogger I am on the internet a good deal of the time and have encountered many other like minded bloggers trying to enlighten our readers to our collective struggles. We are all, in our own ways, trying to educate as well as seeking our own answers, to ultimately free our communities from the colonized and colonizing ways that were imposed on us. Along with that we are also using the social networking sites to exchange ideas and opine on a variety of topics, all around the state of Indigenous culture.
Many of the so called " facebook warriors " are of the opinion that we must re-invent the wheel , or so it would seem to me, to the end goal of self governance.
Not so, in my opinion. Nor do we have to piece meal our cultures together to find a workable solution.
By that I mean, I have heard plenty of others, who would embrace a hereditary chief system, (not ever having had one in their past) while others want the clan system brought back. Here I must say, these were all workable systems for the past, when all the citizens of any Nation were located in one area. Not so today. We who live off territory, are as concerned for the welfare of our communities as any community member, living on reserve. Their (on reserve) history is our history as well, their discrimination is what we have all experienced, here I will say our struggles are the same! Your wins will be all of ours collectively! We are your community too!
One thing we all do have, both on and off are the four pillars. Our elders, as well as our youth, need the support of the women and our men need the responsibility of interactions with all the others.
This was what the Indigenous culture had, and can have again.
Not all women are nurturing, nor are all youth thirsty for knowledge, and not all elders are wise, neither are all men brave...enough are however to make a nice start.
Years ago I had opportunity to hear a discussion of what makes for the better elder. Is it the elder who has always lived an exemplary life or is it the one who in his/her youth fell off the path and caroused in a more hedonistic manner? It was decided that both had their place. Some wanted to see the end result of good kind living, while others needed someone who had visited the realms they themselves were looking to crawl out of.
There are lessons we could learn from our past, and ways to incorporate them into our society today! Giving and getting respect for and from all pillars within the communities!
regards Debra
I have heard the call from many of our leaders, both at the reserve and national level, espouse the desire to return to our past forms of governing. Something is wrong in Indian country and we want it fixed. "We need it to be fixed" is more how I look at it.
As a blogger I am on the internet a good deal of the time and have encountered many other like minded bloggers trying to enlighten our readers to our collective struggles. We are all, in our own ways, trying to educate as well as seeking our own answers, to ultimately free our communities from the colonized and colonizing ways that were imposed on us. Along with that we are also using the social networking sites to exchange ideas and opine on a variety of topics, all around the state of Indigenous culture.
Many of the so called " facebook warriors " are of the opinion that we must re-invent the wheel , or so it would seem to me, to the end goal of self governance.
Not so, in my opinion. Nor do we have to piece meal our cultures together to find a workable solution.
By that I mean, I have heard plenty of others, who would embrace a hereditary chief system, (not ever having had one in their past) while others want the clan system brought back. Here I must say, these were all workable systems for the past, when all the citizens of any Nation were located in one area. Not so today. We who live off territory, are as concerned for the welfare of our communities as any community member, living on reserve. Their (on reserve) history is our history as well, their discrimination is what we have all experienced, here I will say our struggles are the same! Your wins will be all of ours collectively! We are your community too!
One thing we all do have, both on and off are the four pillars. Our elders, as well as our youth, need the support of the women and our men need the responsibility of interactions with all the others.
This was what the Indigenous culture had, and can have again.
Not all women are nurturing, nor are all youth thirsty for knowledge, and not all elders are wise, neither are all men brave...enough are however to make a nice start.
Years ago I had opportunity to hear a discussion of what makes for the better elder. Is it the elder who has always lived an exemplary life or is it the one who in his/her youth fell off the path and caroused in a more hedonistic manner? It was decided that both had their place. Some wanted to see the end result of good kind living, while others needed someone who had visited the realms they themselves were looking to crawl out of.
There are lessons we could learn from our past, and ways to incorporate them into our society today! Giving and getting respect for and from all pillars within the communities!
regards Debra
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