Dan Green
Author of Teeth, Lies & Consequences & Blue Saltwater
Catholics Disillusioned and Sad: “Change is Good for the Soul, Donkey”
Feb 27th
The latest revelations of sexual misconduct by two prominent American and British Cardinals are just another part of the sad saga of rot and corruption that has been allowed to fester under flowing cassocks and smokey rituals for centuries. The sadness, disappointment and disillusionment felt by Catholics around the world is overwhelming, whether they are practising or not. When will the clergy get it? This 2000 year old institution, the so-called “Only True Church” is in big need of a shake-up. “Let us pray”, that the new Pope will find the strength, grace and courage to lift Catholicism out of the dark abyss into which it has fallen. Otherwise all bets are off. The very survival of an institution that was initially based upon love, compassion and respect for all human life and which has contributed in so many ways to what is best in Western civilisation, is at stake.
A good place to start would be a reconsideration of the proclamation that priests be male and celibate. Why must the best and brightest youth of the world who want to follow the word and deed of Jesus Christ be disqualified because they are of the female gender or do not want to relinquish their human need and right for loving life-long companionship and family. Change, is the only way to survive and thrive. Maybe that’s what Jesus had in mind when he rode that donkey through all those palm branches on Palm Sunday. Time to make a clean sweep.
Sensationalist Hunger Strike No Answer to Problems of Youth Unemployment
Dec 31st
The latest sensationalist gambit being deployed by Chief Spence from the Attiswapiskat First Nation, does nothing to improve the lives of aboriginal Canadians in Canada. This is the chief who through her questionable council management policies allowed deplorable housing conditions to grow on her turf until Federal emergency shelters had to be shipped up to the isolated northern reserve in the middle of last winter. Really good planning, eh!
Rather than instituting training programs to employ the young people in her community to maintain and build their own housing on a sustainable basis, Chief Spence follows in the steps of Shaun Atleo and the Assembly of First Nations to agitate for more unaccountable political power rather than accomplishing anything of real use on the ground. I’d say, have a good meal, take a hot shower and get back to work. Show us what you can do to create positive change and a brighter future for your young people rather than grandstanding to hide your own shortcomings. Either that, or get out of the way so someone else can lead the way.
Book Signing Event Nov 17
Nov 14th
Drop by and say hello at my upcoming event where I will be signing copies of Blue Saltwater and talking about the story and its characters. This will be held at Indigo Books, Park Royal South Shopping Centre in West Vancouver. You can catch me at the front of the store from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm on Saturday, November 17.
New Paradigm for First Nations Education
Oct 16th
George M. Dawson Secondary School on Haida Gwaii has instituted a new educational program for First Nations Kids from kindergarten to Grade 4 which does away with grades and instead, groups students into reading, writing and math classes based on skill level. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/first-nations-school-teaches-all-the-culture-stuff/article4610998/ They are then tracked weekly, These programs are offered in conjunction with cultural activities under the assumption that promoting culturally responsive education will result in children feeling more valued and appreciated for who they are and more open to learning as they make the transition into the public school system in Grade 5.
Let’s hope they’re on the right track and that accurate, unbiased and transparent monitoring systems will be used to ensure that this becomes an evidence based program that leads to an increase in the number of First Nations Kids who graduate within 6 years of entering grade 8. At this time it stands at only 54% compared with 80% for all students in the public school system.
Good on Chief Matthews and his team of dedicated aboriginal teachers who are pushing the envelope for better educational outcomes. They deserve all the support that we can give them.
The Residential School System: More Victims, Another Perspective
Sep 26th
The Indian Residential School System in Canada lasted almost 150 years. It was funded and operated by the Federal Government and the prominent Christian denominations, the Catholic Church being the most involved. At the time, in European countries including the Colonies of the British Empire and America, it was universally accepted by respected elected government officials, high ranking clergy and in deed, the public at large, that aboriginal societies were to be treated as “simple children” who needed to be aggressively taught the superiority of European ways, not only for their own salvation, but also so that they would assimilate and become productive members of Canadian society. How wrong that philosophy is judged to be today.
How was it that the brightest minds in society deemed what they were doing to be the “righteous and charitable thing to do”, when in retrospect it was a concerted, ill-conceived program of cultural genocide. It is only now that we are beginning to realize the damage that was done over the lifespan of this inherently dysfunctional system which not only tore a generational wound into the culture of aboriginal peoples, but also dehumanized and desensitized so many other victims, the dedicated non-aboriginal priests, nuns and brothers who were drafted to serve on the front lines, and who ultimately became overwhelmed by the burden of psychopathologic stress which led to destructive behaviors like alcoholism, sexual abuse and suicide.
Residential School Abuse Claims Top 3.5 Billion
Jul 30th
As reported in the July 23 issue of the Globe and Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/residential-school-abuse-claims-surpass-estimates/article4436981/, claims for previous residential school abuse could easily top $3.5 billion, far more than the $960 million which was originally budgeted by the federal government. In addition to the Common Experience Payment, which pays former students in accordance to the number of years they spent in the schools, the total compensation awarded to former residential school students could approach $5.4 billion.
With an average settlement of $117,613.00, one would hope that this money is used to provide decent housing along with access to adequate health and educational resources for the survivors and their children. I trust that the leaders of Assembly of First Nations and The Truth and Reconciliation Commission will provide programs to assist the survivors in channelling these resources for the maximum benefit of each individual.
If this $5.4 billion figure amount seems outrageous to the average Canadian taxpayer who may not be aware of the carnage that occurred in the schools, they should obtain a copy of Blue Saltwater and read about what Blue experienced when he was exiled to the St Ignatius Residential School. This surely will change their minds and make it clear that these payments are the least that the government and churches can do to re-mediate the damage and thereby engender a process of reconciliation and growth.
Workfare for Reserves
Jun 3rd
The Federal Conservative government is planning a Workfare Program that would oblige young aboriginals on reserves to undertake job training in return for a welfare cheque. http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/06/01/workfare-for-reserves-tory-plan-ties-benefits-for-aboriginals-to-job-training/.
This new money will be added to the $400 million which is already being spent on aboriginal training programs and it is likely that this additional funding will be warmly received by First Nations leaders. What they may not be as happy about however, is the idea that young band members may have their benefits cut if they don’t sign up for programs.
With aboriginal birth rates soaring well beyond the Canadian norm and current unemployment levels approaching 50% in jurisdictions where the unemployment rate is around 5% (Saskatchewan and Manitoba) , it is irresponsible for First Nations leaders to be resistant to such initiatives.
If these levels of high unemployment are allowed to persist by allowing the status quo of welfare dependency to continue, a smoking time bomb is being primed for 15-20 years in the future when this aboriginal baby boom will arrive at a desolate landscape of hopelessness and unemployment that will breed nothing but trouble in the form of skyrocketing suicide and crime rates.
First Nations leaders must take advantage of this opportunity by partnering with the government to encourage and if necessary, pressure, their young people to take training, get jobs and become self-supporting in order to smash this revolving door of dependence and realize the dream of AFN Chief Shawn Atleo for a future that is not governed by the paternalistic Indian Act.
Youth Community Service Corps
May 18th
A totally apolitical, Youth Community Service Corps should be established to train the thousands of under-served and unemployed aboriginal youth in attainable, practical occupations such as community health care, building construction and maintenance, that will bring immediate tangible benefits to the living conditions within their communities while at the same time providing the participants with both financial and personal incentives that go far beyond what they now receive for hanging around, being depressed and receiving welfare cheques.
For being committed and actively involved in the program, meaningful incentives, public acknowledgement and support by aboriginal leaders and government bureaucrats would provide a public stage whereby participants could become role models for younger individuals to emulate.
To be successful in the long term and to be respected as real and genuine by the youth peer group, the program must avoid the mistakes of the past and not be allowed to be co-opted by groups or individuals with political agendas to advance. It must be designed to provide community driven down-to-earth services, that provide attainable jobs skills which can accomplish attainable goals.
On-the-Job Suicide Prevention
May 16th
Cowichan Tribal Chief Harvey Alphonse reached out for help this week to stem the tidal wave of youth suicides that is overwhelming his community on Vancouver Island.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/cowichan-chief-says-sense-of-hopelessness-leads-to-suicides/article2432906/ Chief Alphonse blames this problem on the intergenerational legacy of residential schools combined with a lack of resources for mental health counseling.. Cowichan acting health director Jennifer Jones says her nine counselors are suffering job related burn-out and is calling for more staff to take a more preventative approach.
All the above may be true, but the primary problem is a youth unemployment rate of 80-90% and the sense of hopelessness it breeds, which will drive any young person towards suicidal depression whether they be aboriginal, white, educated or otherwise. Until this is addressed, nothing will change, no matter how many counselors are hired. Kids need a purpose in life and a reason to feel good about themselves.
Rather than pumping more financial resources into band-aid solutions, government and aboriginal leaders must provide decent paying jobs for these kids. The place to start is in their own backyards where there is a pile of construction, maintenance, electrical and plumbing work that needs to be done. It is sad to think that most of these young people have already dropped out of school and are illiterate. In view of this, a new model of on-the-job training should be started immediately to allow those aboriginal youth who are willing, able and ambitious, to embark on a multi-year program that will begin rewarding them immediately with a graduated pay cheque that will increase in step with their level of achievement. This program would initially emphasize learning by seeing and doing, with most of the classroom work and theory coming later as individuals work their way up the ladder toward fully qualified tradespeople.
Rethinking Remote Reserves
Apr 20th
Under the Indian Act, the Federal government is responsible for funding health, education, police services and child welfare on all reserves in Canada including those with small populations in the north. New research cited by the Assembly of First Nations indicates that children living on these reserves receive less in services than those living off reserves. Why is this? The main reason would seem to be that it is cost prohibitive to provide a variety of comprehensive services to such small populations in such isolated locations. It may be a romantic dream to live off the land as the ancestors did in olden times but those days are past my friends. People living on these reserves suffer from chronic unemployment which leads to all the social ills that plaque these communities today.
There are now three times as many First Nations children being removed from their dysfunctional families than there was at the peak of the residential school system in 1949. There are now 27,500 children in foster care compared to the 8900 who were placed in the schools. This is heartbreaking and it needs to change for the sake of the children.
The AFN, Chief Shawn Atleo and the Federal government must work together to encourage members of these communities to relocate to centers where services can be provided to allow their children to grow and thrive rather than condemning them to live in these desolate depressing outposts, which are literally patches of hell on earth, leading so many young people to snuff out their lives as the only way out.
