Aboriginal leaders can talk all they want about getting rid of the Indian Act, being given more respect by government and taking control of their own destiny, but what they should do is roll up their sleeves, solve some real problems and earn that respect. The housing situation in Attawapiskat is deplorable and disgusting but it has been like that for years like so many other reserves in Canada. Why haven’t aboriginal leaders put the millions of dollars they have been given towards educating their young men and women to become carpenters, plumbers and electricians to build and maintain the housing in their communities? This is the realistic on-the-ground answer to this basic problem but I fear that the continuing inept responses of aboriginal leadership is going to lead to another lost generation. Shame.