The Necessities of Life

Just had the opportunity last night to view the film, The Necessities of Life,  at the Festival of Native Film and Culture in Palm Springs, California. This is an extremely moving story about an Inuit man’s struggle to battle Tuberculosis in Quebec City, separated from his family, set adrift within a culture, that feels as foreign to him as it would to any human being just arriving on Mars. Benoit Pilon has done fantastic work directing this film by inspiring each actor to excel in bringing each character to life. The entire cast deserves a round of applause. Definitely a must see.

TRC Interim Report

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Residential Schools released its interim report on February 24, entitled They Came for the Children. The basic conclusions were that the residential school system had been an assault on aboriginal children, culture, families and that the impact of the system was immediate and ongoing. Lastly, the commission concluded that Canadians have been denied full and proper education about this sad chapter in our history.

Even though the Canadian government and the various religious denominations who were involved in operating the system have apologized for the assaults on the aboriginal community and are providing monetary compensation to the survivors, it will never be enough.

However when it comes to the the Canadian public being denied full and proper education on the matter, there is a degree of self serving rhetoric on the part of the TRC, the AFN and other First Nations Organizations who seem to more interested in perpetuating their own beaurocratic agendas for continued funding by acting as gatekeepers regarding just what information will be provided to the public,  particularly young Canadians of high school age who have so many other media distractions vying for their attention.

A journalistic report like this is really just another expensive example of the many that have preceeded it, pretty well saying all the same things. It will be read only by a few academics and maybe by some high school students who will cough back a few answers to pass their exams. The Canadian public will not be any the wiser and it will shortly end up in the dustbin of history.

Yet when given the opportunity to lever a story like Blue Saltwater to engage Canadians on an emotional level and thereby raise awareness about the schools and the sytemic dysfunction they generated within the aboriginal community, the gatekeepers inexplicably remain silent and unsupportive. Why is that?

Similar Problems Suggest Similar Solutions

A deadly crime spree on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, highlights the similarities of crime and drug abuse which also plague reservations in the United States just as they do here in Canada. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/us/wind-river-indian-reservation-where-brutality-is-banal.html?_r=1&sq=Timothy Williams, Indian Reservation&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=print.

Average life spans on American reservations are 49 years, twenty fewer than in Iraq. Unemployment hovers around 80 percent whereas the rate for all Wyoming is 6 percent. Teenagers are twice as likely to kill themselves as their peers elsewhere in Wyoming. The high school drop-out rate is twice the state average. Child abuse, teen pregnancy, sexual assault are endemic. Alcoholism and drug abuse are so prevalent that positive results on drug tests prevent aboriginals from getting jobs on Wyoming’s booming oil fields.

What the hell is wrong with this picture? Why do aboriginals in North America continue to spiral into this endless vortex of hopelessness? What prevents them from thriving like immigrants from war torn countries such as the Vietnamese who faced circumstances that were in many cases far worse than what was ever experienced in residential schools and who find a way to shake off the tragedies of the past and move on.

Are these the same sorry circumstances that resulted in governments setting up the residential schools in the first place? As a way to help  aboriginal kids to escape a culture that does not provide the framework to enable them to earn their place in mainstream society. I pity the kids borne into this cultural prison since there appears to be no way out, except by slitting your own throat or losing your mind in a bag of gas fumes.

 

 

Strombo’s Interview with Shawn Atleo

Asemmbly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo’s interview with George Strombolopolous on CBC television revealed a man with a sharp intellect and clear vision for what will be a brighter future for First Nations people in Canada.http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/canada/shawn-atleo-the-complete-interview.html With a Conservative government majority, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Chief Atleo have the perfect opportunity to dismantle the antiquated Indian Act, replacing it with a new legislative agreement which will provide the framework for First Nations to grow, prosper and become an integral partner in the social fabric of Canada.

Health authority wants more aboriginal employees

The Vancouver Island Health Authority wants to hire an increased number of aboriginals to more closely reflect the numbers of First Nations people living on the island. Eighteen months ago they hired Steve Sxwithul’txw as the authority’s first aboriginal employment advisor.http://www.nanaimobulletin.com/news/137719968.html Guess what Steve?  Unless First Nations youth on the island start improving their graduation rates from high school nothing is going to change.  Secondary institutions can open training spots to First Nations people, but if there are no aboriginal kids as equally qualified as other non-aboriginals, it would be unacceptable to give them the spots since it could affect the quality of patient health-care in the future.

The focus of Steve’s work should be to hold out the carrot to aboriginal youth who are now just entering high school, informing them of the great employment opportunities in health care that await them if they buckle down and prepare themselves for a rewarding future.

Replace the Indian Act – With What?

Both Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo and Herb George, president of the National Centre for First Nations Governance are calling for a “smashing” of the status quo by replacing the Federal Indian Act which has governed aboriginals in Canada since 1876. Herb George says the act is punitive, restrictive, regulatory and an assault on the language and culture of First Nations communities.http://www.thestar.com/article/1121475–aboriginal-crises-are-symptoms-of-a-deep-rooted-problem 

There is no question that a piece of legislation drafted in 1876 must be in need of some serious updating to reflect the changing reality of First Nations affairs in this country. However, with almost 2000 independent First Nations bands in British Columbia alone, all with different priorities and needs, the idea of just smashing the Indian Act seems a little naive without a solid vision about what is to replace it.

Would getting rid of the Act provide more transparent and democratic governance then what now exists under the hereditary chief system where aboriginal people’s lives are controlled by individuals and their relatives who benefit in many ways by an accident of birth? If so, lets put all the cards on the table and get on with it. Until Shawn Atleo and Herb George do more than just complain about the status quo without putting forward any concrete proposals regarding more accountable and responsible self-sustaining forms of governance, the Indian Act will be here for a long time to come.

Aboriginal Housing Solution

Aboriginal communities such as Attawapiskat would be well served if their elected councillors contacted the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition http://www.cvhc.org/index.php?id=19, in southern California. This non-profit housing development corporation was formed in 1982 and since that time has constructed nearly 3000 homes and apartments for low-income households. Their Mutual Self-Help Program seems to be something which could be emulated by First Nations communities all over Canada where the unemployment rate is so high.

In this program, first time homeowners are given the opportunity to help build their own homes and thereby “earn sweat equity”, which can generally add up to be 10 percent of the value of their future home and which becomes the down payment. Families work together to build each others homes under the supervision of construction supervisors with licensed sub-contractors doing the more specialized tasks. In time aboriginal youth could be trained to take over these higher skilled tasks as well which could help solve the abysmal unemployment problem which is soul destroying for aboriginal youth and the primary source of their high suicide rate.

These are the type of real result programs that Band Councils should be initiating rather than wasting time flying back and forth to Ottawa for endless meetings which accomplish nothing.

Wab Kinew,YouTube & Aboriginal Education

Check out Wab’s comments at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlkuRCXdu5A&feature=youtu.be. Wab is an educated, well spoken individual, about as far as one can get from what many would consider a stereotypical Indian guy.  His insightful comments on YouTube speak volumes of how the power of education and technology working hand-in-hand, can bridge the gap between how aboriginal and other Canadians perceive each other.  Well done.

Painkillers and Pitiful Northern Reserves

The recent documentary film called The Life You Want about a young aboriginal woman’s battle to overcome OxyContin addiction really paints a bleak picture of how boring and unhealthy it is to live on an isolated northern reserve.http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Hooked+painkillers+aching+help/5961705/story.html Who wouldn’t want to get zoned out in a pitiful place like that? Maybe it’s time to think about moving to communities where young people can get an education and have something more stimulating to do in their spare time then get stoned.

As usual, band leaders are blaming everyone but themselves for what is going on, even to the point making stupid noises about taking their case to the United Nations. Hello people, it’s time to police yourselves. You can’t tell me that nobody knows who is bringing this stuff into the reserves. Why not follow the example of the Mistawasis First Nation, near Prince Albert and evict the traffickers from your land.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/alberta-first-nation-votes-to-give-band-power-to-evict-gang-members/article2291513/ Then you might find outside agencies more willing to step in and give you a hand.

Aboriginal Education: Opportunity Knocking

Hats off, to courageous and generous individuals like Michelle Durant-Dudley http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/this-teacher-is-on-a-mission-to-educate-first-nations/article2289480/  a teacher, who since 2009 has been volunteering her time to help aboriginal residents of the Wahgoshig First Nation gain their high school diplomas.

When close to $3-billion began to flow into the area with the construction of a gold mine, most of the local aboriginal residents found themselves shut out of the good job opportunities because of lack of education. Ms. Durant-Dudley’s personal mission to improve the quality of life on this reserve has now resulted in producing 40 graduates. She has now been hired by band leaders and provided with  $400,000.00 in funding that came with the mine business, to teach 70 more students enrolled in this year’s program.

The initative is snowballing and other First Nations want in, but the problem is lack of teachers who understand First Nations cultures and values. 

A perfect “opportunity is knocking” for aboriginal youth to fill these roles as teachers and role-models like Ms. Durant-Dudley, leading the way towards the postive change that will come when educational opportunities are provided to the countless bright aboriginal children thirsting for a chance to learn. Hopefully, the best and the brightest of today’s teenagers will “hear the knocking and heed the call”.