Class Action

[Horse]

horse if the natives have title to their property where you live they are a minority, unless of course they are Metis.

First Nations people living on reservations do not have title to their land, it is owned by the federal government and managed by band councils etc.

Off reserve natives such as the Smallboy band near Rocky Mountain House may very well have title to their land but it is not considered reservation lands.

[cowman]

If the federal government owns the Indian reserves then I would suggest it is time to give them to the Indians and stop the red ink? Because obviously this is not a winner for the taxpayer of this country?
Maybe the Saskatchewan professor who wrote the paper about how farmers are not viable in Canada and a drain on the economy could be hired to write one on the Indians in Canada? He would probably conclude that they weren't viable and get rid of them in the interests of the Canadian tax payer?
Does that sound reasonable?
I mean at least the farmer produces something called cheap food? What does an Indian Reserve produce?

[cowman]

cowman, it depends on the band. Siksika Nation east of Calgary is a shining example of what natives can do if they are allowed to manage their own lands without too much red tape.
Those folks have an environmental program that is second to none, they have excellent farming operations and an Ag Fieldman that knows his stuff and is respected by his peers across the province.
I have attended seminars on agriculture at Siksika and came away very impressed and thinking that many of us including numerous municipalities should take a page from their book when it comes to protecting the environment and utilizing their own expertise .

The stigma attatched to treaty indians has held many of them back from doing much of anything with the lands they live on. I blame the entire system, and hopefully the conservative government will attempt to revamp it.

Another area that is off topic that needs to be changed is the fact that the NWT etc. do not have control of their resources but have revenue doled out by the feds. This has held back progress in the north, they have the resources but no roads to get at them in many areas.

Being our brothers keeper hasn't worked so its time things were changed.