LIVING IN RESERVE; BLOG #2085, MAY 12,2017

THE MESSAGE:

Chief Theresa Spence, controversial former head of the Attawapiskat First Nation, earned more than $82,000 tax-free in 2013, an 18.8% increase from 2011. The community still suffers from poor housing and social conditions. 

Historically, in Canada, governments have certainly made a lot of mistakes when dealing with the aboriginal peoples.

1. British and French settlers took over vast quantities of land that was under the domain of aboriginal peoples.

2. British rulers made the mistake of dealing with aboriginals as nations rather than a conquered people. Today we are forced to deal with tribes who refer to themselves as 'First Nations' rather than Canadians.

3. The treaties that came out of early negotiations were short-sighted measures designed to appease diverse tribes of hunter-gatherers by promising payments and land, in exchange for accepting the Crown’s colonization plans. Natives would continue hunting and fishing for sustenance and trade, and receive annual payments from the government.

5. The Indian Act formalized a relationship whereby aboriginals would receive housing, education and medical care. Indians living on reserve do not pay taxes on income generated from government or private sources.

THE BLURB:

KILLING THEM WITH KINDNESS. A FAILED VISION

Today, the very policies that are supposed to assist aboriginals are responsible for the poor living conditions we see on many reserves. Since reserve residents cannot own their own land, stunted economies and poor infrastructure are exactly what we should expect when people are denied basic private-property rights , and forced to live a life of economic dependency.

Under the status quo, many if not all reserves are faced with Third-World living conditions.  Statistics Canada recently released data showing that too many aboriginal children are living with a single parent, and that half of Canada’s foster children under age 14 are of aboriginal decent.

In 1995, the federal government spent $6.2-billion on programs directed toward aboriginal people, up from $1.65-billion in the early 1980s. Since 1995, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development has spent $115-billion. Last year alone, it spent $8.5-billion, with 84% of the money going directly to aboriginals, First Nations governments and programs for natives.  This costly investment has become a welfare trap! It has not and cannot solve the problems on reserves.

Today Canada faces a situation whereby generations of aboriginal people are dependent on government handouts. The federal government must reform the Indian Act to give aboriginals more private-property rights and greater control over their natural resources. so they can create prosperous, sustainable communities that are able to lift residents out of poverty and other social ills. In this way all citizens can be proud to call themselves Canadians.

 

OSOYOOS INDIAN BAND

Located in British Columbia’s southern Okanagan Valley, it’s surrounded by weathered mountains and mirrored lakes and is the hottest and driest part of Canada, a northern extension of the Sonoran Desert, where noonday summer temperatures can hit 38 C. 

The Osoyoos Indian Reserve, in British Columbia's southern Okanagan, spans some 32,000 acres. The  Band is not poor and is generally regarded as the most prosperous First Nation in Canada. It has practically no unemployment among the band’s 520 members. In fact, job-seekers from elsewhere flock in to work at the band’s businesses, which last year saw $26 million in revenue and $2.5 million in net profits. The local school school teaches native heritage and the Okanagan language. 

The Osoyoos Indian Band has a true leader, Chief Clarence Louie. If you ask for an appointment, he sets the tone right off the top. “Be here at 9 o’clock sharp,” he texts. “No Indian time.” Louie is a serious sports fan and his small, cluttered office is plastered with crests, posters and memorabilia of teams like the Chicago Blackhawks and the Washington Redskins. “I like teams with Indian names,” he chuckles.

THE QUESTION:

Is it too late for other bands to start over?

THE LAUREL:

CHIEF CLARENCE LOUIE

THE QUOTE:

“It’s the same story all over Canada,” Louie says, sitting in his office beneath portraits of his heroes Muhammad Ali and Nelson Mandela. “They gave the best land to the European newcomers and stuck the Indians back in the bush and gave them bread and water and a Bible."  CHIEF CLARENCE LOUIE

THE CLIP: