Who's going to PAY for it??

[r.reid]

The Native peopls do NOT want to be treated like the rest of us. They want special privelages. Prime example..."The Saskatchewan public smoking bann". They don't want to follow it, so the province says O.K.. The province does not have the balls to step in and say the magic word of "NO" to them.
Indians do not want to be treated like regular Canadians. They want to be "First Nation Canadians".

They bring the double standards upon themselves and hold us abay with some piece of paper that the English signed X number of years ago.

Maybe instead of complaining that the natives should be treated like everyone else, we should be complaining to be treated more like them. I wonder how far that idea would go?

I don't want to "push" anyones buttons, but I see a problem getting bigger and bigger every year, and the next generation such as myself is going to have to deal with it. Whether it's a touchy subject or not.

[r.reid]

What do you suggest as a way to change the status quo ?

[r.reid]

That is the 6 million dollar question.

Personally, if I were the boss man this is what I'd say,

"O.K....ENOUGH, The past is over. No more free ride on the back of the workin man. You are a Canadian living in Canada, perhaps the best nation in the world. And if you want to be a part of it, your gonna follow the same rules as everyone else. If that's not good enough...then here is a chunk of land to go start your own country. Sink or swim."

That is what I would do.

[r.reid]

And do you really think that any politician will advocate that ? I am willing to bet that people will be having this same discussion fifty years from now !

[cowman]

Actually r.reid raises a good point? The Indian Affairs(or whatever the PC name is today) is basically out of control?
How much money is being spent? And are we getting the desired results?
Are we moving these people ahead?
It is difficult to make a true assessment in Alberta as most of the Indian bands are awash with money because of oil and gas. And yet their communities continue to have major problems with the money seeming to accumulate among a select few? The tribal governments would make even a federal Liberal blush with the corruption, graft and patronage?
I believe in a real democracy you can never have a racial elite? One that, entitles one race to a life on the dole or more rights than anyone else? I really find it funny when a "First Nations" spokesman is blond and blue eyed! As at OKA?
Emerald states very clearly that their is not a politician who will ever tackle this thing...and I suspect she is right? It is a fact that to get elected(which is like winning the lottery) you have to play to the crowd and the crowd are a bunch of brainwashed sheep! Perhaps the time has come when we need to turn politics back into the concept of serving your country instead of getting a cushy job with all the perks? Then, maybe we might get people running who want to do the right thing instead of a bunch of low lifes? The old garbage of you have to pay well or you won't attract the right people has pretty well proven itself wrong? Look at all the gems we have in Ottawa with both feet in the trough? I guess it isn't working!

[cowman]

cowman society did a great disservice to our native population many many years ago. They should have always had to be responsible for their destiny and we took that away. Hauling native kids away from their parents and putting them in residential schools where they were punished for speaking their own language was terribly terribly wrong. Much of what has happened to our native people is the result of the wrong kind of intervention by white man. The federal government was more anxious dole out goods to the first nations people than they were to provide the initiative to ensure that they learned to make it on their own. The oil and gas royalties that many of our native bands receive has been the downfall of many of the young people. To have vast sums of money handed to any eighteen year old would likely see disasterous results in many cases no matter what race or color .
My neice ran the dialysis unit on a reserve for many years, the average age of her patient was 26. Most of whom had ruined their health with alcohol and or drugs. She had to get out of that area of work because it was far too demoralizing to deal with.

[cakadu]

We aren't the only ones who have ruined a race of people. Look at the Aborigines in Australia. They existing for some known 60,000 years before they ever came into contact with a white person. The aborigines over there have many of the same social problems that we do. The only thing they want from the Australian government is to have them apologize for what happened and the government won't because they feel if they do, then it will lead to more.

About a year and a half ago I had the good fortune to travel the Northern Territory as well as Western Australia and saw how many of the aboriginals live now. They have lost most of their desire and/or ability to live off the land like their ancestors did and have huge problems with alcohol - just as the natives have here. There are many dry settlements over there, with hefty fines for bringing in alcohol - something like $300 per CAN of beer that you are caught with.

We would watch as the aborigines gathered out under a tree to talk and to drink and made the conclusion that the only thing different from what "civilized" cultures is the fact that we sit on chairs in a smoky, crowded room, which someone makes us so different.

We do need to find solutions to this problem that will become a generational thing unless someone has the wherewithall to take it on and come up with sustainable solutions. Think about how you would feel if you couldn't get a loan unless the government said that you could and they had to sign the papers for you. Yes, some of us starting out have to get a guarantor, but we don't have to get someone to sign saying that we can have the loan in the first place.

This whole drug and alcohol problem isn't just a native problem either. Look at how many kids we are loosing to crystal meth every day. Could there be a deeper social problem at play here?

[cakadu]

Linda, I have a very dear friend that is metis, her father was treaty and her mother was raised on a reserve but is metis. She has risen above all possible adversity including her brothers suicide mainly brought on due to bullying in school. She is married to a white man and when they were going together his friends in a very well known rural Ab community literally vandalized his vehicles and left horrible racist notes because he was seeing a metis girl.
She now is a well known health practitioner specializing in alternative health care, and has done everything in her power over the years to help metis and first nations young people develop self esteem and feel that they are valued members of society.

I spent some time speaking with several elders of the Siksika nation last fall, and heard of their experiences as young men in residential schools etc. They are adamant that the young people on the reserve now are taught to be proud of their heritage and to do everything they can to make the world a better place not only for first nations but for all people.
As referenced in an earlier post a lot of first nation bands have seen corruption and lack of fiscal responsibility with the resource revenue they receive, but you can be sure that responsibility for these funds was not always in the hands of first nations people. Sometimes bands put their trust in non natives to manage their assets and were victims of some pretty unscrupulous actions.

If society really wants to see changes the first thing we need to do is stop pointing fingers and work with the native population to make changes that will benefit not only their people but Canadians as a whole.

[r.reid]

Well...You asked what I would do..And I told you.

[WoolyBear]

I am sorry emrald1, but I have to disagree about the residential schools. I think that the original intention was to bring the "bush savages" (as they were once refered to)(Please excuse me for repeating that) to a level of education that could advance them to a higher level. Tuberculosis was also running rampant on the northern reserves and while I know that live expectance wasn't great, I can't quote a number.

Sure, there were some perverted souls on staff, but I personally don't believe that it was as bad as the native lawyers are claiming.

Where we go from here is not really up to us, as the educated ones will have their lawyers tying this up in court for years, at TAXPAYERS expense whether the government losses or not.