Tag: First Nations

National Chief Manny Jules: Shared Priorities, Self-Sufficiency & Other Policy Myths

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada’s (INAC’s) recent round of cuts to national Aboriginal organizations, regional First Nation organizations and tribal councils are very telling about the policy direction in which we are headed. This policy direction is most definitely backwards in time – say 50 to 100 years or so. Canada has come nearly full circle in its treatment of Indigenous peoples. Canada went from (1) creating a mythic “race” of Indians to be divided, controlled and assimilated, (2) to recognizing (at least somewhat) that First Nations are diverse, have the inherent right to be self-determining (although limited) and that Aboriginal and treaty rights must be addressed (even though we didn’t agree on how), (3) back to treating all “Indians” as one big problem that needs to be eliminated. http://indigenousnationhood.blogspot.ca/2012/09/harpers-indigenous-manifesto-erasing.html The two major policy objectives of this Harper government have been clear from the very beginning – it is about getting rid of Indians once and for all and turning Canada into one massive extractive industry. Harper is trying to position himself as a world power and he needs our land and resource treasury to do that. If there is one thing you can guarantee about power-mongers is that social justice, the rule of law and consideration for future generations is not consistent with world domination. Harper may have some competition if Mitt Romney is elected as President in the United States, but that is another disaster for another day. http://indigenousnationhood.blogspot.ca/2012/08/pinky-and-brain-comeback-mitt-romneys.html INAC has always used a system of financial rewards and punishments to try to force First Nations into certain policy directions. This is not an easy task. It requires a colossal bureaucracy at INAC to control First Nations, manage their expectations and steer them in the direction which suits the Minister of the day. When you take a Nation’s land, resources and citizens away, then use all the profits to sustain your ever increasing bureaucracy and other pet projects (militaries, submarines and fighter jets) then that Nation is essentially held at ransom. Most, if not all First Nations have at least some citizens who need to eat, access clean water, and have safe, warm housing. If you hold access to those basic human needs over the heads of leadership, their practical choices become quite limited. http://pi.library.yorku.ca/ojs/index.php/crsp/article/viewFile/35220/32057 By keeping First Nations chronically under-funded for all essential human services, they will always be subject, at least in some way, to undue pressure by INAC’s bureaucracy. In some cases, the extent of the poverty is so severe that the situation goes from one of undue duress to what some have called “extortion” (obtaining money or property from someone through coercion, commonly practiced by organized crime). If you bring people to the brink of starvation, disease and hopelessness in order to get their agreement to give up their rights, how is this not at least undue duress? http://www.timescolonist.com/business/Housing+still+major+issue+First+Nations/7139121/story.html Harper’s plan is very clear – eliminating all history, obligations and mention of First Nations from Canada. His former advisor, Tom Flanagan, has tried for years to sell the idea of reinvigorating attempts to assimilate Indians and get rid of reserves, treaty rights and any form of distinct identity. The very racist, derogatory language and ideologies used to try to promote assimilation prevented a much wider audience from listening. Now, with the “new” more fringe right-wing Conservatives in power, they have adapted their tactics. People like Flanagan and Harper use First Nations people to sell their wares now. From Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau who acts as Harper’s mouth piece tearing apart First Nations at every chance he gets, to Manny Jules, head of the First Nation Tax Commission who now promotes the destuction of reserves and the biggest assimilation policy plan created in recent years: the nationalizing of First Nations. http://reviewcanada.ca/reviews/2010/04/01/opportunity-or-temptation/ One need only look at INAC’s recent announcement to see exactly where they get their authority to cut funding to First Nation organizations, the ideology they are using, what their ultimate objective is, and who is benefitting (aka leading the charge). First off, INAC is focusing on what they call “self-sufficiency” which means First Nations that are self-funded. This is ironic, given that all Canadians are funded off the wealth and profits that come from our lands and resources. Were it not for our gas, oil, minerals, fishery, forestry, rivers, trade routes and lands, Canadians would not have such a high standard or living nor would government have the funds to pay for health, education and other services for Canadians. Taxpayers don’t pay our way, we pay THEIR way and we are kept in starvation mode for it. http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1346805886381/1346805926370 So, we know that their ultimate objective it to eventually cut all funding to First Nations and their political organizations and Canada will do this in a dramatic, albeit staged approach. No surprise here, we knew this was coming. The AFN has been woefully inactive on this front hoping the issue would simply go away. Well, it hasn’t and it’s here and we have to face it. INAC’s ideology is also telling – they want to treat all First Nations the same. Regardless of what region, treaty area, territory or Nation we are from, INAC will fund everyone the same. INAC is back using the concept of treating us all as one mythic race of Indians and what is good for one is good for all. We all know that northern communities are not in the same position as those in the south. The poverty levels vary across the country as do the housing crisis, flooding crisis, suicide crisis, water crisis, food insecurity crisis, and education, advocacy, and governance capacities. Mohawks have different laws, rules, cultures, languages and trade systems than do Mi’kmaq, Cree or Anishinabek. Some of us have treaties and others do not. There never was one race of “Indians” and to treat us like that in terms of funding ties our identities to federal laws, policies, recognition systems for one reason only – assimilation. In other words, they legislate who we are, who gets to be us and when we no longer exist. The funding cuts will just help this process along. Provinces and territories ought to take notice as well. Look at how Canada purports to change the constitutional jurisdictional relationship in section 91(24) from “Indians and lands reserved for the Indians” to “only Indians that live on a reserve”. For many communities, this will cut funding even more severely than can be seen in the announcement. First Nations will be assessed based solely on their on-reserve populations, which for many is about half their population. In other cases, some have 80% of their populations off-reserve, but are still responsible for them in a variety of ways. This is also no surprise as Canada has been trying to figure out how to deal with the inevitable court cases which find Indian status (registration) rules to be discriminatory. Their idea to reduce financial obligations is to slowly and quietly transition to an on-reserve population funding model versus a total band membership model. In the announcement, INAC explains that future funding will be based on “our shared priorities”. In case you are wondering where they got their shared priorities one need only refer back to the Crown-First Nations Gathering (CFNG) and the AFN-INAC Joint Action Plan which came out as a result. Harper was very clear in his speech that he would be getting rid of “incentives” (aka funding) and promoting “individuals” (aka breaking up reserves). The whole speech was designed to promote “integration” (aka assimilation). Harper said he would impose a suite of legislation and he is keeping his promises. There should be no shock about what is happening – the only issue is how we deal with it. In this case, the AFN opted to sign a Joint Action Plan, without the consent of the different regions in Canada to do exactly what Harper outlined. http://indigenousnationhood.blogspot.ca/2012_02_01_archive.html This is why INAC now says that they will limit funding to “shared priorities”. Let’s compare Harper’s Speech at the CFNG with the AFN-INAC Joint Action Plan and INAC’s Shared Funding Priorities:

CFNG Gathering Speech	INAC-AFN Joint Action Plan	Shared Funding Priorities
Treaty relationship	Meaningful dialogue on treaties	Consultation on resource development projects (omnibus bill to remove consultation, funding cuts to advisory services)
Change rules in education	National education panel to discuss legislation	Education (education legislation, funding cuts to organizations and for proposal-based program funding)
Change FN accountability	Accountability of FN governments	Governance (accountability legislation, elections legislation, funding cuts to governments, political organizations, advisory services)
Focus on economic development	Unlocking economic potential	Land management (reserve privatization legislation, funding cuts for advisory services, community plans)

Obviously, this is a very brief overview of several detailed documents and is meant in a very general way. Any policy or legal analysis of these documents would be much more sophisticated than can be reasonably presented in a blog (my blogs are already too long). All this to say, that INAC wants First Nations to “seek out new funding sources”. Easy for INAC to say because they have already taken 99.8% of our lands, most of our resources, and many of our people. What would these new funding sources look like? Well, one can imagine corporations like Enbridge and other pipelines, oil and gas companies, hydro companies, mining companies, nuclear or waste disposal companies and others would be a perfect fit.

Canada privatizes our reserves + First Nations need to provide food, water and housing to their citizens = sale of our remaining lands to Enbridge et al.

Just in case First Nations are unsure about how to proceed, they will no longer have funding for organizations to provide advisory services in the areas of economic development, financial management, community planning or governance. But that’s ok, because there is a new National Chief in town, and his name is Manny Jules. Manny Jules and his national organizations will solve all Indian problems – you will have your choice of: (1) Taxes (a) First Nation Tax Commission (Manny Jules) imposing tax regimes on your reserve or (b) Reserve lands becoming provincial lands subject to provincial taxation; (2) Finances (a) First Nations Financial Management Board (Harold Calla) manage your community’s finances or (b) Third party management by any number of high-priced financial consultants (except your own); (3) Economic Development (a) Aboriginal Economic Development Board (Clarence Louis) will advise INAC on how best to develop your reserve lands or (b) INAC will unilaterally unlock your lands and then develop them for you; (4) Reserve Lands (a) First Nations Land Title Institute (Manny’s proposed idea) will take over your reserve lands or (b) Find alternate funding to support your First Nation when INAC cuts all funds; (5) Governance (a) Allow your First Nations to be subsumed under one National Aboriginal Organization or (b) Have all of your political, advisory and governance funding cut by INAC. These are the choices being presented to First Nations by Canada: assimilate or stay on the rez. It is a false choice of course, because there are so many more meaningful options which come from our traditional ways of governing, learning, trading, sustaining, and relating. The hardest choice of all will be deciding to do things differently, doing things our way, and making the necessary short-term sacrifices to ensure the long-term future for our children. This is a sign of things to come – they will cut funding to First Nations even more. They will amend the constitution, they will breach and even try to extinguish our rights and they will do their best to assimilate us. We all own this – we all have a responsibility to make the changes we need. If we don’t care enough about our families, communities and Nations to at least try – no one else will. No one says it will be easy, in fact, I can guarantee it will be hard. We have a lot of work to do to gain back the faith and loyalty of our citizens and conversely, our citizens have work to do in supporting their Nations. We have a lot of issues to deal with internally, but that is our conversation to have amongst ourselves. The frustration of grass roots peoples with their leaders and organizations is very real and must be addressed. The frustration of leaders with Canada and the over-whelming task of trying to solve all the problems alone is also very real. The issue which faces us is not a battle between traditional leaders and Indian Act leaders, between men and women, or between on and off-reserve. The colonizers have done a good job of dividing us, confusing us and aligning us along their own ideologies about class, status, and individualism. If we could forgive ourselves for being colonized and for struggling with decolonization and healing, then the space would open up to work on this problem. We can let Canada’s plan unfold or there is a place where our peoples can meet in the middle, start over, face the problems honestly and openly, and start the healing journey towards changing our communities for the better.

September 10, 2012

First Nations Too Generous Funding Canadian State

Unbelievable! I am not sure how I can be both shocked and not, every time I see an irresponsible poll or article like the one below: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Government+generous+with+aboriginals+Canadians+tell+pollster/6867983/story.html I guess maybe some would say I am too hopeful? That despite all the racism, hatred and lack of compassion shown for our people, that this will change. But I am. I am hopeful because our people are strong, proud and have the power to stand up to this bullying. Canadians can follow the lead of First Nations in resisting and defeating this dictatorial bully government. I KNOW that there are Canadians out there who see what is happening for what it really is: after-the-fact justification for the theft of First Nation lands and resources. Most Canadians know that the right-wing propaganda is just that. What concerns me are all those new Canadians and young Canadians who can and will be influenced by the media’s irresponsible hate messaging. Take this article for example – the statements in the poll would lead respondents into a certain mind frame. The poll options seem to relate to the money spent on First Nation peoples by government. Just think about the messaging. The statements assume that there is money which “belongs” to Canadians that is then “given” to First Nations. Right off the bat, most people who hate paying taxes will latch onto any excuse to justify why they should not pay taxes. If pollsters can find a scapegoat, like First Nations, then they could easily latch onto that as their outlet for tax-frustration with their own government. More than that, thinking about the theme of the questions puts Canadians into the wrong mindset – it provides them with faulty facts – that Canada uses taxpayers money to fund First Nations. The fact is: First Nation lands and resources fund the Canadian, provincial and municipal governments in this country – NOT the other way around. The reason why Canadians have such a high standard of living compared to the rest of the world is because Canada uses our lands and resources to fund them. Although Canadian governments tax their citizens, these taxes come from land use, businesses and jobs all created off the wealth of this country – which belongs to First Nations. This kind of corrupted messaging – that we are somehow living off of Canadian taxpayer-funded welfare – has led to the current state of hatred, racism and lack of compassion for our peoples. This government propaganda forces a wedge between First Nations and Canadians and ensures that there is little public support for addressing the current crisis of poverty in many First Nations. This Harper government, together with its ultra-fanatical right-wing supporters portray First Nations as “soviets”, “communists”, “lazy”, “primitives” and describe our communities as “cesspools”. This tactic is ancient – it tries to link biology to an imagined concept of race and make us appear less than human. Why? So that land theft can be justified. So that government has an excuse to not have to spend any of our own money to address the lethal poverty in our communities. If government can convince Canadians that we are poor because we choose to be, or we commit suicide because we can’t cope with the “modern world” then this lets people feel off the hook. That is why lack of water, food and housing in other countries is considered a crisis in need of UN intervention and millions in Canadian funds to help, but in Canada it is the fault of First Nations – so no assistance. I just published an article called “Stretched Beyond Human Limits: Death by Poverty in First Nations” in the Canadian Review of Social Policy. This journal is a special edition focusing on poverty issues, and because First Nation poverty is so acute in Canada, they have agreed to allow free access to my article so as to raise awareness about the causes, the effects and what can be done to address it. http://pi.library.yorku.ca/ojs/index.php/crsp/article/viewFile/35220/32057 I have been researching the issue of poverty in First Nations for several years now and am part through writing a book on the topic. This article is like a brief overview of the issues that will be covered in this book. The main premise of this article is: “There is evidence showing that there is a direct link between discriminatory federal laws and policies, and the crisis of poverty and preventable deaths in First Nations. Canada controls tyhe lives of First Nations, provides them with inequitable funding that results in conditions of extreme poverty, which the research has shown leads to their premature deaths.” While past governments have tried to various degrees to address the issue, this Harper government has specifically decided to ignore the problem and have even instituted more funding cuts. Now, the news paper article alleges that billions are given to First Nations with no improvements. What Canadians don’t realize is that almost half of that funding goes to support employees of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) many of whom get raises every year, have six figure salaries, paid vacations, trips overseas, go on paid language training for years at a time, get sick days, health coverage and retirement pensions. This giant INAC bureaucracy is well-paid and never has to worry about enough water, food or safe housing. What if that funding went to First Nations to provide their own programs and services? What if INAC employees had to account to US for whether they are working hard enough for our people? What if no results meant that INACers lost their jobs and funding? I am a strong believer in accountability – but it is INAC that is living high on the hog while our people suffer – not us. There are good people that work in government, many have chosen to work there to try to make things better. But they are not the decision-makers – the Harper government’s dictatorial approach to running this country means that Harper calls all the shots. Therefore we need to stand up and demand better. Irresponsible polls like this one do not help advance the issues – nor does it do anything to help us come up with solutions. How could anyone responding to this poll be able to make an informed judgement about whether Canada gives First Nations too much money if they don’t know how much money we get, how that compares to what provinces and municipalities get, and what the money is used for? I could say the exact same thing about Canada – we keep giving the province of Manitoba millions in tax-payer funds but they still have a growing problem with homelessness. Maybe we should cut off Manitoba’s transfer payments? What kind of policy logic is that?? Governments are transferred money from tax revenues to pay for essential social services like health, education and water – this is exactly what happens in First Nations except we are chronically under-funded in comparison. Why are provincial residents entitled to clean water and First Nations are not? We need to start having fact-based discussions around what the issues are and how to address them. Rhetoric and personal opinions do little other than perpetuate misinformation and hatred. Let’s have a real discussion and start treating First Nations like human beings – instead of constantly blaming them for being impacted by federal control. Canada can’t have it both ways – they can’t control every aspect of our communities, chronically underfund them and then deny responsibility for the extreme poverty and pre-mature deaths that result. It’s time for an economic action plan that includes everyone.

July 1, 2012
Sun Media or Hate Media – Racism for Sale

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.

June 26, 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.

April 20, 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.

April 3, 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.

March 30, 2012
Atleo – Bureaucrat Summit: How Bad Does it Have to Get?

There is no question that every government since pre and post-confederation has had a hand in the theft of our Indigenous lands and resources, the control of our citizens and the division of our Nations. Governments now make very public apologies, but still maintain our communities in poverty. There was a small sign of change with the Kelowna Accord, but the Conservatives blew that out of the water once they came to power. There would be no investment in food, water, education or housing for First Nations – not on an assimilationist, radical Conservative watch. However, there is always the pesky media and public to worry about, so after Prime Minister Stephen Harper tore up the Kelowna Accord, he had to save face publicly by making one of his infamous empty promises. Harper promised that instead of $10 billion dollars to address the crisis of poverty in our First Nations, we’d get a First Nation-Crown Summit. I was very skeptical about this “deal” for 2 reasons: (1) it was unilaterally imposed to save face and (2) it didn’t seem like a fair deal to me. This meeting that was promised by Harper and his Conservative government three times, always failed to come to fruition. During this time, and in Harper’s own backyard, we saw the people of Kashechewan First Nation evacuated from their community because they were all sick from the contaminated water due to the chronic underfunding of infrastructure on reserve. We also read the disturbing findings of the Coroner’s Death Report about the epidemic of child suicide at Pikangikum First Nation. If that wasn’t bad enough, Attawapiskat First Nation called a state of emergency for the third time because people had no homes and were living in sheds. Given that the media kept its attention on Attawapiskat for more than 24 hours, Harper was publicly embarrassed. Add to this his ineffective Minister of Indian Affairs, John Duncan who could not help but spew stereotypical and inflammatory remarks about First Nations and Harper was once again forced to do something. This was a very difficult position for him because he has no intention of doing anything for First Nations – so he relied on his post-Kelowna disaster promise: a First Nation-Crown Summit. However, meetings never come together very well when one has no intention of really doing anything at the meeting and you don’t want to meet in the first place. But, it was a meeting none-the-less and it accomplished the task of taking most of the media’s attention away from Attawapiskat and focusing it on the now “historic” meeting between Harper and First Nations. Yet, this historic meeting was not to be as historic as the First Ministers Meetings with First Nations because the provinces would not be in attendance and now, Harper is bailing out as well. The First Nations-Crown Summit agenda that was originally posted on the Assembly of First Nations website showed a day which was mostly taken up with ceremony and political speeches. The minimal time actually dedicated to the meeting with Harper and First Nations was to be top secret and not televised or streamed live on the web for grass roots First Nations or the public to see. There was also to be a complete media black-out as no media were allowed to watch or participate in the meeting. A few strategic locations in Canada were to be set up with cameras so that Chiefs could watch the event, but those locations are also top secret – at least to the media anyway. So, if that were not bad enough, now we have word that Harper won’t even stay long at his own meeting. Harper will not even attend the actual meeting itself – if you can believe that. No, Harper is too busy with his international “jet-setting” to attend a “historic” meeting with First Nations to address issues like Attawapiskat. Instead, National Chief of the AFN Shawn Atleo and 400 Chiefs get to meet with a couple of Cabinet Ministers and a whole lot of federal bureaucrats. So, what will be Atleo’s response? He is after all, the National Chief and the one who must set an example for everyone else. He has not only First Nation Chiefs watching him, but all the grassroots people who live or die by what he does and does not do. We look to our leaders, in all forms, to stand up for us, advocate on our behalf and make sure our voices are heard. Alot is riding on his response to this latest slap in the face by Harper. How will the AFN respond? For those of you concerned about previous comments I have made about Shawn Atleo’s weak leadership, please let me assure you that these comments are not about him as a person. I don’t know him personally. I have met him a few times, and he seems nice enough. My issue is with his job as a leader and as a First Nations person, I am entitled to expect strong leadership from someone who holds such a powerful position. When I critique his politics, it is not lateral violence against him as a person, but instead a call to act responsibly for our people. I always say images shape aspirations. If we see our parents treat us with love and compassion, we are likely to treat others that way. If we see Indigenous professors and University Presidents, then we are more likely to think of those jobs as possible for ourselves. If we see strong Indigenous women leaders, we model the way for our youth to know that they can work for their people regardless of gender. In the same vein, when Atleo acts, he is indirectly telling our First Nation children, youth and young adults what is possible. So, if Atleo sees the Prime Minister: – tear up Kelowna Accord; – watches as Harper refuses to sign the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; – Denies that colonialism ever happened in Canada; – makes amendments to the Indian Act that continue both gender discrimination AND legislative extinction; – blames Attawapiskat for their own suffering and refuses to vist the First Nation; – Does not act when conditions in Pikangikum get so bad that nine year old children commit suicide; – Allows his Minister of Indian Affairs to deny that residential schools were acts of genocide; and – watches Harper duck out of the First Nation-Summit; then does nothing about it – then the message he sends to First Nations children living without water, food or a warm home is that we are not worth standing up for. All the murdered and missing Indigenous women in this country are not worth standing up for. All the Chiefs that have been ignored, insulted, stood up, stone-walled, and belittled are not worth standing up for. After all, if Atleo does not think we are worth standing up for, why would anyone else thing we are worth it? Children will see that their suffering takes a back seat to the risk that by standing up for us like a real leader, Atleo might lose some funding for the AFN. Perhaps the Conservative government might not attend their AGMs for a year or two. Or Harper might even refuse to meet with Atleo for a while. We all know that this is a serious risk. We saw the Native Women’s Association of Canada lose its Sisters in Spirit funding when they brought international attention to Missing and Murdered Indigenous women in Canada. We saw the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society lose their funding when they filed a discrimination complaint against Canada for chronically under-funding child and family services putting our children at risk. But our Indigenous leaders take risks. Our warriors put their lives on the line for our territories and our people. Our ancestors gave up their lives to protect us. We still have our pride, our cultures and our communities because of them. The least Atleo can do is take a risk and finally say enough is enough. – tell Harper that we will not settle for scraps anymore. This First Nation-Crown Summit has now been reduced to an Atleo-Bureaucrat summit where most of the time will be taken in fluffy, empty speeches to make Harper look good, some gift giving and ceremony and then Harper leaves before anyone has a chance to talk about the hard issues. If Atleo would stand for this on behalf of all the Chiefs, this makes me wonder – how bad does it have to get? What would it take for Atleo to say enough? His lack of action and bizarre defense of Harper makes me wonder if Atleo is the new Brazeau? No progress has been made, yet Atleo is always defending the Conservatives. That may have got Brazeau a Senate seat, but it didn’t improve the lives of First Nations people. I guess I’ll get my answer when Atleo responds to this latest development. If he defends Harper’s no-show at the upcoming meeting – I guess there is nothing more I can say about it. We’ll see on the news tonight or tomorrow if he stands up for us or supports Harper. Here’s naively hoping….

January 20, 2012
UPDATED – Harper Hypocrisy: Media Blackout on First Nation – Harper Summit

I am compelled to write this blog before the upcoming meeting between the “Harper Government” (i.e. Harper and a few Cabinet members) and a small contingency of First Nation Chiefs (approximately 100). It has been reported that no provincial premiers will be in attendance, nor will any grass roots Indigenous peoples will invited. I realize that the meeting has not yet happened and may be imprudent to try to guess what will and won’t happen, but the way this meeting is shaping up deserves some consideration. I can understand a meeting being restricted in size in order to address important issues. What makes no sense to me is that the media is severely restricted about what they can and can’t broadcast or attend. The media is allowed to record and broadcast the opening ceremonies, the opening speeches and the scrum (series of questions) afterwards. All the real business in the plenary sessions will be part of a media black-out – no one in the media can see what happens inside. None of this is necessary in an age where web-casting, pod-casting and live-streaming is available on the Internet as well as television broadcasts. This is not only offensive to me as a grass roots Indigenous person, but also seems to me to be the ultimate in Harper hypocrisy. The Harper government has vilified our leaders in the media as being corrupt and not accountable, has tried to impose legislation on them to make them more “open” and “transparent” and even made open, transparent and accountable governments part of the agenda for this meeting. Yet, it is Harper, not First Nations leaders, who is implementing the media black-out for the actual plenary meetings – thereby preventing openness, transparency and accountability. Every time an elected Chief even attempts to make what he/she does open and transparent, Canada, through Indian Affairs, reminds him/her that they are only accountable to Indian Affairs via the Indian Act, and not to their people. How can Harper accuse First Nations of NOT being open when an important meeting like this one will be off-limits to the community members served by those Chiefs? These are the very ways in which Canada sets up our leaders to fail their people every time. How can any grass roots person have an opportunity to judge for themselves what their leaders do on important issues if they are banned from seeing it for themselves? This is an insult to grass roots members and even to the many Chiefs who are not able to attend the meeting. Notice how Harper is dividing Chiefs into elite groups with “access” and those without, and also dividing communities into those with power (Chiefs) and those without (grass roots). Something like this should be open for all to see if they choose. It is not uncommon for some government meetings to be closed to the cameras or the public. One must keep in mind, this is not a confidential Cabinet discussion about an upcoming budget, it is not a meeting to negotiate foreign trade strategy, nor does it involve litigation or even high-stakes negotiations. This is a high-level political meeting more for show than for decision-making. In fact, this meeting has no mandate to do anything at all but talk about what Harper decided was important: education, economic development and accountability. So far, Harper has told the media that First Nations should temper their expectations – that nothing should be expected out of this meeting. But we all know what the real issue is. This meeting would NEVER have even come to fruition, and certainly not on January 24th, 2012, had the politically embarrassing situation in Attawapiskat not hit the headlines in the media and stayed in the media for so long. Harper had promised such a meeting several times before and it never came about. So, we see that this is a meeting not one of choice, but of perceived political necessity – i.e., to save face. Having a meeting for the purposes of saving face politically and to appear as though Harper is taking concrete action on Indigenous issues neither starts the meeting with the right intentions, nor can it be expected to result in any sort of commitment for Indigenous peoples. However, given that the meeting is about saving face, Harper could never allow the public or the international community to see him called out by First Nation leaders about his assimilatory legislative agenda, his purposeful chronic underfunding of essential social services or his complete rejection of Aboriginal and treaty rights. This is the real reason why the meeting is not slated to be broadcast. So, Harper demands transparency on the part of First Nations, but then does not allow to be transparent. He demands openness on the part of Chiefs, but then closes the doors on an important meeting involving the health and well-being of all Indigenous peoples. He demands accountability, but only works with “willing partners” – i.e., those who will support the Conservative agenda. This meeting represents everything that is wrong with Harper – he is a dictator and assimilationist who would enjoy nothing more than to have Indigenous people dance for him, give him gifts in hopes of gaining his favour – an exercise in futility. UPDATE: I have learned that organizations like the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) will be providing a live feed of the three plenary sessions at the Saskatoon Inn so that their community members can watch the proceedings. http://www.fsin.com/index.php/communiques/713-fsin-executive-communique-january-13-2012.html I also understand from the Assembly of First Nations website that they are trying to be inclusive to the Chiefs who cannot attend by setting up certain locations where non-attending Chiefs can view all three plenary sessions. It also looks like the AFN is trying to set up a second Ottawa location (I assume not at the venue) where officials can watch the proceedings. http://www.afn.ca/uploads/files/crown/nc-bulletin_december.pdf I will continue to contact organizations and see if anyone is providing a live-stream feed on the Internet where all grass roots Indigenous peoples can watch what is happening any of the three plenary sessions. It now makes even less sense to me that the media is not allowed in the plenary sessions or that they cannot broadcast the plenary sessions when clearly First Nation organizations are permitted to do so in select locations. I applaud those First Nation organizations like FSIN who will be doing their best to ensure people can see the events, but I am sure they are limited by funding and technology to be able to set up viewing stations on every First Nation in the province. This is something that should be streamed online or at least televised by the Government of Canada, or at least something the media is permitted to do. My biggest concern is that he will propose the following “deals” with “willing partners”. These deals won’t be spelled out in the Summit – but instead key words and phrases will be used to signal where he and his officials are headed. The true extent of the deals will be spelled out in future one on one meetings – how Indian Affairs usually does its business. (1) Education Harper will commit to find “efficiencies” in current funding envelopes (aka no new funding) to fund a First Nation education system as defined by him. This will mean that funding will flow through a national school board system, or similar method that mimics provincial systems or in some way that removes jurisdiction and decision-making away from local First Nations. This will pit individuals versus communities; lump diverse Indigenous Nations like Cree, Mi’kmaq and Mohawk as a generic Indians (again); and ultimately promote the same assimilatory education agenda that is so prevalent in many (not all) provincial school systems. The idea here is to make sure First Nations communities are not in control and that they don’t get to hire education coordinators or provide things like child care for single mothers trying to go to school. The efficiencies found in eliminating local control and related educational services will be used to promote a school board or boards stacked with Conservative supporters and those “willing partners” willing to take power away from First Nation governments and create new forms of power among Conservative Aboriginal elite. (2) Economic Development There is no surprise here either. The language that Harper has been using around this item is very clear as to the end results – “unlocking” the economies of First Nations for the “benefit of all Canadians”. Clearly this relates to continued use of our traditional lands and natural resources for their own government and corporate benefit. Think: oil sands, mining, timber, fishing and international exports and ignore Aboriginal rights, treaty rights, inherent rights, international human and Indigenous rights and so forth. But key words have been used here: “unlocking” is the language used by the most infamous assimilationist, Tom Flanagan, in his newest book: Beyond The Indian Act. It is the same language being used by Manny Jules, head of First Nation Tax Commission, who agrees with Flanagan’s plan to break up reserves into individual pieces of land that can be sold to non-Indians. We only hold less than 0.2% of all land in Canada as reserve lands, yet the 99.8% of our traditional lands will continue to be exploited for the “benefit of all Canadians”. This 99.8% of our lands are not enough for those with a capitalist persuasion. They now want to “unlock” what little we have left and squeeze every ounce of cash out of our reserve lands that they can with no thought for our well-being or future generations. So, any commitments or efficiencies found in other funding envelopes might be used to offer economic development incentives with the condition that support is found for the upcoming First Nation Property Ownership Act or that quick and cheap agreements can be made to forgo land claims. Other legislative initiatives like the matrimonial real property legislation which will open up reserve lands to non-Indians may also fall under this category. (3) First Nation Accountability We all know what this is about. Harper wants his legislation to pass forcing First Nations to publish their salaries. But that is just what we see on the surface, what he is really after and what we will likely never see or hear are the hidden changes to funding agreements, reporting requirements and reporting of business activities that will likely be more invasive, despite the Auditor General’s criticism in this area. I can also see extreme pressure being placed on First Nations to accept the water bill proposed in the last session of Parliament (S-11) where Harper will be able to transfer all costs and liability for water systems onto already underfunded First Nations. There will be no extra money provided for this purpose of course, but the efficiencies found in off-loading the responsibility may be used to provide up-front training and minimal infrastructure investments that will fall apart will lack of stable funding for upkeep and maintenance. It will be stressed that accountability = doing what Harper wants – versus what is best for their communities will be the condition for all future funding. Things like emergency housing or water services will likely be contingent on third party managers or co-managers imposed quietly. This meeting and those that we will never hear about will focus on getting control over the Indian problem. The Indian problem will be resolved in one of two ways: (1) our continued colonization through empowering those Aboriginal people who have internalized colonization and now turn on us, or (2) legislating those Indigenous people who resist colonization and assimilation out of existence – keeping them in constant litigation, medicating them, vilifying them as “radicals”, splitting up families, dividing women from their communities, and over-incarcerating us. If anyone thinks I am being pessimistic – you are welcome to your opinion. However, the writing is clearly on the wall and anyone who expects otherwise will be disappointed. Now, I might stand to be corrected. Harper could make any sort of announcement where I would happily concede the error of my predictions. Harper might announce at this meeting that he will reduce First Nation Poverty in 5-10 years: http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2012/01/12/harper-once-pledged-to-reduce-aboriginal-poverty-in-5-to-10-years/ Oh, wait, he already did that. Ok, Harper might announce that he will speed up land claims with a “revolutionary” new Specific Claims Tribunal: http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2011/05/16/four-years-later-harpers-promised-tribunal-still-mired-in-bureaucracy/ Darn, he did that too, with similar non-results. Sadly, 2, 4 even 6 years later, Harper’s old promises still have not come to fruition. I think if he makes any new promises at this meeting – First Nations might be well-advised to wait and see what concrete actions are actually taken, and not jump too quickly for that “willing partners” name tag. I fully admit that all of this is my best guess based on all my research, education, and experience, but that is all us grass roots people will have, since the actual meeting is off-limits to the majority of us who are affected by their decisions – unless of course we find an organization that is permitted and willing to live-stream the event online for all of us. I will keep looking…

January 18, 2012
When Advocating for First Nations is Considered a National Security Risk

When the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) reported that Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) dedicated countless INAC staff and thousands of dollars to spying on Cindy Blackstock – I think most of us in Turtle Island gave our heads a shake. While it has been known for sometime that Canada spies on our our Indigenous leaders and community members who defend our lands, I don’t think most of us were aware that any First Nation advocate was a target. This is what shocked me the most – that Canada’s “national security” laws are so broad as to make someone like Cindy Blackstock an enemy of the state. http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2011/11/14/federal-aboriginal-affairs-department-spying-on-advocate-for-first-nations-children/ If someone were to ask me who was the LEAST likely to be spied on by Canada, I would have said Cindy Blackstock because for anyone who knows Cindy or her work, they know she is a peaceful, law-abiding citizen with a big heart. Her only alleged “subversive” or “hostile” act against Canada is that peacefully advocates on behalf of the most vulnerable in our society: First Nations children. Cindy does not do her advocacy by riding in on combat helicopters or tanks – but instead runs the First Nation Child and Family Caring Society, donates her free time to spreading information and speak publicly about the realities faced by First Nations children, and is now running the HAVE A HEART campaign to raise money for First Nations children. http://www.fncfcs.com/have-a-heart (I know I include alot of links in my blogs, but please click on the above link and read about the HAVE A HEART campaign and do what you can to support her efforts.) The level to which Cindy was spied on by INAC is also quite surprising. For a department whose mandate it is to improve the lives of First Nations peoples, but claims to have no money for housing, water and basic necessities for First Nations – they sure spent a great deal of time attending Cindy’s events, spying on her personal Facebook page (not her public one), and reporting to both INAC and Justice Canada about her activities. They even violated her most private information by accessing her registration records and that of her family. Incredibly, INAC has been doing this for some time, so the costs must be astronomical. So, what was INAC’s response to all of this? Minister Duncan said there would be a probe into whether or not government officials broke privacy rules. http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2011/11/17/aboriginal-affairs-minister-launches-probe-into-blackstock-spying-affair/ However, it is important to note that the “probe” will be headed by Duncan’s Deputy Minister. Once the public knew that the DM was one of the many INAC employees who were copied on the surveillance reports on Cindy, we knew any “probe” would be a complete sham. For a government that complains about lack of transparency and accountability by First Nations – here INAC is having one of their spies investigate whether they were improperly spying – can anyone guess what the outcome will be? This whole situation made me wonder about my own situation and whether my work qualifies me as “hostile” or “subversive”. My advocacy activities have always been peaceful and mostly consist of volunteer activities like sharing information through social media, speaking engagements, working with individuals and community members on a wide range of Indigenous legal, cultural, social and political issues, training sessions, publications, appearing before the House and Senate on legislation impacting our people and organizing pow wows. I still wondered whether this would garner the attention of the multi-layered, well-funded, spy industry within Canada. So, I made an Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) request to CSIS, INAC, RCMP and DND for any and all records, reports, security assessments, surveillance reports, etc that they might have in relation to me and my work. To date, only CSIS has responded. In the CSIS letter of Dec.8, 2011, they refer to three different types of information: (1) Security Assessments/Advice; (2) CSIS Service Records; and (3) CSIS Investigational records. On the first set of information they provided me with some records of assessments done when I worked at INAC and Justice Canada, but refused to disclose other material, stating: “Portions of the material have been exempted from disclosure by virtue of section 15(1) (as it relates to the efforts of Canada towards detecting, preventing or suppressing subversive or hostile activities) of the Act.” For the second part, they confirmed they have no service records in relation to me (no surprise there) and for the third type of information they stated that they would “neither confirm nor deny that the records you requested exist.” However they did say that even if such records do exist, they would not release them to me anyway as part of their efforts in “detecting, preventing or suppressing subversive or hostile activities”. So, the moral of the story is that they have at least one type of file on me, and that they would not release the whole file so as to protect Canada from my alleged “subversive or hostile” activities. This to me is like being judged without knowing what I am accused of, and then being sentenced to ongoing spying on undisclosed activities for an undetermined amount of time so as to reduce the security risk to Canada in relation to my peaceful Indigenous advocacy activities. http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2012/01/03/indigenous-prof-puzzled-by-csis-answer-to-information-request/ If Canada’s national security laws permit such broad surveillance of our activities – then my question is what First Nation activities are NOT considered a potential threat to Canada? I would like to know how much money across all federal departments are allocated to spying on First Nations people? I would also like to compare that to the costs to provide housing, water and basic necessities of life to First Nations in need. I am guessing that I would not be entitled to this information either. In my previous blogs, I wrote about INAC issuing contracts to people to spy on First Nation elections and Facebook users. More Than Empty Promises https://pampalmater.com/2011/10/more-than-empty-promises-canadas.html Secret Agent Harper https://pampalmater.com/2011/06/secret-agent-harper-conservative-spy.html From Savages to Terrorists https://pampalmater.com/2011_05_01_archive.html Then, The First Nations Strategic Bulletin (FNSB) which came out in December 2011 explained how after the Conservatives came to power, the RCMP created the Aboriginal Joint Intelligence Group (JIG)partnering with the ENERGY and PRIVATE SECTOR to spy on First Nations. First Nations like Six Nations, Tyendinaga and others were all targeted. The JIG was run by RCMP Criminal Intelligence Branch and the RCMP National Security Criminal Investigations (NSCI) which deal with: “threats to national security and criminal extremism or terrorism”. Most shockingly was that FNSB also reported that the RCMP shared their surveillance reports with private businesses and that private businesses shared information with the RCMP about First Nations. The irony of the situation is so outrageous. It was Canada and its Indian agents that were hostile and subversive to our peoples – not the other way around. It is we who have pre-mature deaths, worse health, less education, less employment and less access to land and resources. It is we who continue to suffer the inter-generational effects of their colonial laws and policies which STILL exist today. Can you get any more hostile that the over-apprehension of our children from our communities at 3 times the rate of residential schools? Or that some of federal prisons have 100% Indigenous inmates or that the Indian Act still provides for our legislative extinction dates? Yet, we are supposed to be appeased when representatives of Canada speak about moving forward, looking ahead, and reconciliation. How can First Nations be expected to come to the table with any hope of making real progress when their treaty “partner” comes to the table alleging good faith but with no less than 4 federal departments spying on our people and treating us like we are terrorists on our own lands? But will any of these important issues make it to the agenda for the First Nations-Crown Summit in January? Of course not. In case you haven’t noticed, very little of the core issues are on the table for discussion and resolution. Instead the agenda consists of program areas like economic development, education and accountability – important issues, but all ones which could easily be addressed by directors and a commitment to equitable funding. Issues like self-determination, First Nation jurisdiction, equitable funding, fair share of the land and resources, recognition of our treaties and Indigenous rights are all OFF the agenda. So, I will wait to see what information about my files I get from the RCMP, DND and INAC, and will also wait and see if NC Atleo addresses any of these fundamental relationship issues with Canada. But in the meantime, my bet is on our grass roots people and the youth in turning this situation around and taking back control over our own lives.

January 4, 2012
Justice Minister Vic Toews’ Wilful Blindness to the Ongoing “Crisis” in Justice System

Please tell me that I am not the only one who is shocked by federal Justice Minister Vic Toews’ idiotic comments tonight on APTN News. Did he actually say that there is nothing wrong with our justice system and that our justice system does not discriminate? I can’t even think of a proper descriptor for his comments – ignorant, racist, wilfully blind, pitifully stupid, unprofessional, and irresponsible don’t seem to convey the depth to which his comments are offensive. http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2011/11/28/the-justice-system-doesnt-discriminate-says-justice-minister-toews/ It is as if he has ignored every single justice report, inquiry, and Supreme Court of Canada judgement that has found, based on overwhelming research and evidence, that our justice system does in fact discriminate, especially against Indigenous peoples. However, we all know that as Minister of Justice he knows about all these reports – he has simply chosen to ignore them because it suits the Conservative party’s racist assimilatory policy towards Indigenous peoples. I hardly know where to start. The Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) published in 1996 is one of the most comprehensive studies on the situation of Indigenous peoples in Canada. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/webarchives/20071126051037/http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ch/rcap/sg/cg_e.html In the same year, they released a report entitled: Bridging the Cultural Divide: A Report on Aboriginal People and Criminal Justice in Canada was released which highlighted the numerous problems with the justice system as it relates to Indigenous peoples. Both reports found the fact of over-representation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system to be due in part to ongoing discrimination. Prior to that, in 1989, there was the Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall Prosecution which you will recall was brought about because of the wrongful imprisonment of Donald Marshall Jr simply because he was Mi’kmaq. http://www.gov.ns.ca/just/marshall_inquiry/_docs/Royal%20Commission%20on%20the%20Donald%20Marshall%20Jr%20Prosecution_findings.pdf The inquiry found: “The criminal justice system failed Donald Marshall Jr., at virtually every turn from his arrest and wrongful conviction for murder in 1971 up to, and even beyond, his acquittal by the Court of Appeal in 1983.” They further found that everyone involved, from the police, Marshall’s lawyers, the judges, prosecutors, and appeal judges all failed Marshall because he was “native”. Minister Toews would be shocked to learn that their actions “amounted to a defence of the criminal justice system at the expense of Donald Marshall Jr., in spite of overwhelming evidence that the system itself had failed.” Toews might also be gobsmacked to hear that this inquiry made recommendations to “reduce discrimination in the justice system”. There is also the Report of the Manitoba Justice Inquiry in 1999 which made significant findings in relation to the level of discrimination in the justice system as it relates to Indigenous peoples. http://www.ajic.mb.ca/volume.html They found that there are two primary reasons why Aboriginal peoples are over-represented in the criminal justice system, and both are the result of systemic and ongoing discrimination against Aboriginal peoples. First of all, they found that Aboriginal peoples are more likely to be confronted by the justice system, not because they are culturally pre-disposed to criminal activity, but because of the long history of “discrimination and social inequality that has impoverished Aboriginal people and consigned them to the margins of …society.” However, the Inquiry found that the more serious issue was the ongoing discrimination within the justice system that assumes all people are the same. A system which assumes equality exists “can’t help but discriminate against Aboriginal people”. Just in case there was any doubt about the fact of discrimination in the justice system (which Toews denies), the Inquiry further found that: “Discrimination against Aboriginal people has been a central policy of Canadian governments since Confederation” and “represents a monumental symbol of intolerance”. Aboriginal peoples have been, and continue to be victims of “the openly hostile bigot” and the victims of the systemic discrimination found in our justice system. For Minister Toews to say otherwise is an outright lie according to these legal inquiries, the Supreme Court of Canada and even the Office of the Correctional Investigator. This alone is cause for Minister Toews to submit his resignation because he obviously no longer represents the public interest if he can so openly deny the sickness within the justice system. Most of you will recall the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Gladue. http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1999/1999canlii679/1999canlii679.pdf The TOP COURT in our country found that in addition to Canada being “a world leader in putting people in prison”; the “serious problem of aboriginal overrepresentation in Canadian prisons is well-documented”, the “excessive imprisonment of aboriginal people is only the tip of the iceberg” because “Aboriginal people are overrepresented in virtually all aspects of the system.” The Supreme Court of Canada goes on to explain (so READ carefully Minister Toews), that “there is widespread BIAS against aboriginal people within Canada” such that “this widespread RACISM has translated into systemic DISCRIMINATION in the criminal justice system.” (emphasis added) They also highlight the fact that the drastic level of discrimination and overrepresentation should be considered “a CRISIS in the Canadian criminal justice system”. But, just in case numerous reports, inquiries and court cases from the top court in the land don’t convince you, what about the research and observations of a federal official like the Office of the Correctional Investigator who has been saying for over 15 years that the discrimination at every level of the justice system against Aboriginal peoples is a full-blown CRISIS. http://www.oci-bec.gc.ca/rpt/index-eng.aspx I invite anyone to read any report from any year and you will note that report after report highlights the discrimination, the suffering of Aboriginal peoples by discriminatory laws and policies and the fact that the problem is getting WORSE not better. These reports call the situation: – “discriminatory” (2001); – a “continuing crisis and embarrassment” (2003); – it is a “grave” situation which prevents Aboriginal people from enjoying equality (2005); – the “inequitable results” stem directly from federal policies (2008); – the situation is getting much worse (2009); and – “inequitable outcomes” are the direct result of federal policies and practices (2010). What does this all mean in terms of numbers? Well, Aboriginal peoples are only 4% of the population, but in places like Manitoba Aboriginal men can make up 79% of the prison population. Aboriginal women fare even worse making up to 83% of all prison admissions. http://www.vcn.bc.ca/august10/politics/facts_stats.html However, the situation is getting much worse for Aboriginal women and are expected to have significant increases. In fact, over a 10 year period, the imprisonment of our Aboriginal women rose by 151%. http://elizabethfry.ca/wwdcms/uploads/Aboriginal%20Women.pdf This of course, ONLY reflects what is happening in criminal justice. This does not include all the overt discrimination faced by Aboriginal peoples in the justice system by way of: – murdered and missing Aboriginal women left to die without adequate police attention; – our people who are taken on Starlight tours and left to freeze to death; – our people who are shot to death, beaten to death or tazered unnecessarily; and – the use of CSIS, RCMP, military and now INAC to spy on our people – even those of us who have never committed a criminal act. No one in their right mind could stand before all Canadians and claim that our justice system is not broken and does not discriminate against anyone. Only a right-wing extremeist, drunk with “white privilege” and power would even have the nerve to say something like that and ignore all the evidence to contrary – including evidence that comes from the very justice system he defends. This controversy all comes about over his defence of Bill C-10 – a massive bill that would make numerous amendments to numerous acts – many of which will have devastating consequences on Canadians. It will make minimum prison sentences mandatory and will take away the discretion of judges to find alternatives to prison. It is widely opposed – by organizations like the Canadian Bar Association which represents lawyers in Canada. Their 100-page submission against the Bill highlights the speed at which this omnibus bill (one that makes many changes to many acts) is being considered, the lack of time for study and comment and the overall dangers of the bill. http://www.cba.org/CBA/submissions/PDF/11-45-eng.pdf The following link is to a radio interview where I first talked about Bill S-2 (matrimonial real property on reserve) and then Bill C-10 and how they both relate to the oppression and assimilation of Aboriginal peoples. http://www.radio4all.net/files/fro.macpho@gmail.com/4356-1-InterviewPamelaPalmaterEdited.mp3 I know I ask a great deal of my readers – to read such lengthy blogs, access numerous links and write e-mails to express our concerns regarding endless bills, policies and actions against our peoples. But, most of us have the education, access to internet and computers and ability to do this. Think of all those who can’t, but who will no doubt be the ones to suffer from this ongoing oppression and assimilation of our people. Please write to Minister Toews and tell him to get real, submit his resignation and NOT pass Bill C-10. libmem@parl.gov.ca bqmem@parl.gc.ca cpcmem@parl.gc.ca ndpmem@parl.gc.ca vic.toews@parl.gc.ca Thank you for all your support and for continuing the battle for real justice and equality. For rabble fans, see my blog on rabble.ca.

November 26, 2011