24 July 2008
stormy weather
This sequence of blogs, gentle reader, have their origin in a question posed to Rambling Rose by guests from Germany. Over dinner one German visitor asked, " Now tell us what is it really like to live with "Indians"*? We read about Canada's lazy, drunken Indians all the time." Taken by surprise, RR masked her initial unspoken reaction (uh oh, here we go again-- racism continues alive and well) and wondered how to answer briefly but to foster a different kind of understanding and insight.To challenge the assumption of drunkenness and laziness, RR then narrated the story of the Cree maintenance worker who in the space of three days repaired the plumbing of eight houses on the base whose pipes had frozen during a sudden snap of Arctic chill that had dropped the normally warm temperatures of -35C to a bone-chilling -60C overnight. She forgot to include the telling detail -- that the work was performed in the unheated, unfinished crawl spaces directly above the frozen muskeg. She did, however, relate a common complaint of the Mushkego Cree (Photo 2) i.e. should they go out to acquire education and skills training, it is virtually impossible for them to find employment at home as whatever jobs there are go to friends and family of the owners who are usually from Toronto. Much later, the Cree maintenance manager proudly told her how he had been able to educate four children who are now living and gainfully employed elsewhere in this province.
A week later, RR took her European guests on a sightseeing trip to see some "Indians" (hopefully); their host wondered whether he should provide us with an axe to defend ourselves as we were venturing into "Indian" country. RR demurred; much better to go unarmed as J. Shantz had done when he settled Mennonites in Manitoba (cf. blog). RR took her guests to the Historic Ridge to view the graves of the first white settlers, Betzner and Schoerg, and the seven unmarked graves of the Mississaugas who so willingly assisted the first non-aboriginal settlers in this Region. From thence, the tour proceeded via back roads to the Scottish settlements of Galt and Dumfries Township, to the American settlement of Paris and thence to Brantford to view the memorial to Joseph Brant (photo 1). RR searched in vain for Chiefswood, the childhood home of Canadian poetess Pauline Johnson, gave up that search to proceed to the Royal Chapel of the Mohawks, picnic lunch at Kanata Iroquois Village, and to tour the Woodland Cultural Centre.
At the Royal Chapel, curator Leona Moses narrated the history of the Six Nations by reference to the building and its fixtures as well as its beautiful stained glass windows -- pausing to allow RR to translate her comments into German for our overseas guests. In her comments, Ms. Moses said that 1) Six Nations are unique in that they have a deed to their land; 2) Six Nations served in World War I as allies (not subjects) of Great Britain; and 3) the two-row wampum describes the relationship between our nations and is the reason Six Nations do not vote in Canadian elections.
Thus began this latest RRR (research, reading, writing) project -- so long delayed as RR chose not to deal with the complexities of the Haldimand land grant and the underground issue of racism (fear/hatred arising from ignorance/lack of knowledge) that dogs this issue. One month later, RR continues reading those clippings filed since 2005 and occasionally dipping into her lecture notes from even earlier. What follows is a compendium of a variety of news clippings.
1. "out of sight, out of mind"?
"Aboriginal people have been granted the 102nd spot on a government-sponsored list of 101 things that most define Canada after online respondents pointed out that First Nations people, culture and symbols weren't included in the original tally.....Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse [attributes this omission to] a lack of proper education in Canadian schools about the role First Nations played in building the country [and said that] for many Canadians, aboriginals remain 'out of sight, out of mind.'...Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, an assistant professor of aboriginal studies at the University of Toronto, [provides this comment]: "Aboriginal people were marginalized for so very long that they just aren't seen as part of Canada...We have the dancing, we have all of that stuff, but we don't actually have the understanding the aboriginal people are part of Canada in a very fundamental way. That's some of things that should be talked about on a regular basis and taught in schools." (1)
2. use of lethal force?
Two Mounties [who] were responding to a family fight on the White Bear First Nation near Carlyle
[Saskatchewan] shot and killed a 21-year-old man outside a home --the man was armed with a knife at the time of the incident. Understandably, "residents are upset a Mountie shot the man instead of using some other means of apprehending him. 'They could have used some other kind of force or strategy. They didn't have to kill him...People are way upset... There could have been some other way than to shoot to kill.'' (2)
This incident prompted a plea to Stockwell Day, the federal minister responsible for Public Safety. Another news report tell us: "Chief Lawrence Joseph, head of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, said 'there's a history of an "us versus them" mind set among aboriginal communities and police and the tension between the two has led to too many deadly confrontations.** In general terms, in situations across the country, it appears to be the first option is to apply lethal force and I'm reluctant to see that as the only option. If he's [Prime Minister Stephen Harper] truly, truly sorry about what they've done to First Nations people as a government, I would challenge, encourage and even demand that he come and sit with us and do something to try and alleviate the problems that exist here...Joseph said they've made repeated requests to meet with Day, but those requests have been declined." (3)
Ah yes, this news report made the national press; not so another that continues to haunt RR's memory: this particular shooting death of an aboriginal took place in the Lowlands: the victim was drunk and armed with a shotgun, OPP were called and ended the incident quickly as well as the man's life. Incidents like this normally are kept quiet within the native community; however, in this instance, RR's senior media class was working on variety of projects in workshop setting when all --RR included-- paused to hear 16 year old Jamie question the Cree teacher aide: "Why did the police have to shoot him in the stomach? They could have hit an arm and immobilized him. He was not a dangerous man." Years have passed since then and although RR wrote the necessary recommendations to facilitate Jamie's application to college, RR is left wondering how Jamie processed her and the community's grief and anger over another unnecessarily wasted life...
3. systemic discrimination?
Yes, according to Howard Sabers, federal ombudsman re Correctional Service of Canada, who reported to the House of Commons: a)+21% increase in aboriginal inmates 1996-2004 although decrease in non-aboriginals sentenced to federal penitentiaries; b) +74% increase in aboriginal women; c) 4 in 10 natives in correctional institutions are aged 25 or under & placed in maximum security where they are deprived of the educational and rehabilitation programs they need to win parole. (4)
4. media bias?
Thus far The Record has provided coverage of the Six Nations' rolling protests to stop development on Brantford sites that are subject to land claims by providing two photos. The first photo appeared on 8 Jul 08 and was headlined, "Our patience has run out." The colour photo showed native protesters attempting to take down a locked gate at the Kingspan construction site in Brantford. All in all, it's a rather interesting photo as the chain fence visibly divides the native protesters from the non-aboriginal Kingspan workers on the other side. Record readers wanting full details of that story, however, would need to read all about it elsewhere. (5) One week later on 15 July 2008, The Record followed up on this developing story with another photo headlined "Native protester arrested' --- the photo and caption warranted a full half page in that day's Record. Again visually, the photo was a stunning action shot of two OPP officers successfully bringing a native protester to his knees and handcuffing him. However, the copy revealed a glaring generalization: "Natives in the area are against any new development in the Haldimand tract." ===> Further research revealed the following: "We're continuing to monitor the situation. The underlying issue here is a 200-year-old land claim against the federal government****, so the federal government needs to accelerate the negotiations leading to a resolution of this issue," said Greg Crone, Mr. Bryant's [ON minister for aboriginal affairs] press secretary. (6)
Many of the news stories covering the Brantford native protests suggested that this situation could develop into Caledonia Part 2. Reviewing her notes thus far, RR located a Record editorial that summed up the Caledonia conflict thus: “At heart, the Caledonia crisis is about two things: Who owns the land and how should such disputes, between the aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities, be resolved?...This disagreement...should either go before a judge or negotiators and be resolved peacefully.” (7) As well, the editorial dealt with the Ontario government's decision to purchase the disputed lands to be held in trust in order to facilitate the land claims negotiation process. Per David Ramsay, ON Minister Aboriginal Affairs: deal [i.e. with Henco industries] effectively eliminates one player in a complex dispute in order to cool temperature to make progress in land claims negotiations. (8) When one considers how many parties are involved in these negotiations (federal, provincial, Six Nations elected band council, and the Haudenosaunee traditional council), the provincial government's decision does make sense. However, the Record's editorial staff reached an entirely different conclusion: “the protesters ..have shown their contempt for the laws of Ontario and for the democratically elected government that makes those laws and is given the sacred trust of upholding the rule of law. And with all the spine that can be located in a jellyfish, the provincial government has acquiesced.... All those who live in Waterloo Region within 10 kilometres of the Grand River take note. You live on land the Six Nations once owned and that at least some Six Nations residents claim was not properly sold by their community. What can you count Dalton McGuinty to do if , someday soon, the blockades are raised here?” (7)
Previously the Record published an opinion piece by one of its reporters covering the Caledonia issue: “This is a gang of militant thugs [i.e. the Six Nations radicals] emboldened by the timidity of a province and country paralyzed by political correctness and the fear that one of the occupiers might get hurt.” (9)
Well, the local rag has made its position clear: respect the rule of law or else-- even though that rule of law has yet to honour and expedite the land claims process & to address historical grievances that date back to the original Haldimand Grant of 1784 and historical treaties dating even further back. No wonder, the local resident who relies solely on this paper for his news and opinions feared for RR's safety and advised her to take a battle axe with her. That's incredibly sad and disheartening. We need to step back from the "'us versus them" mentality and begin together to find insight, understanding, and solutions.
Photos copyright Sandamara Images and Melesse 1984- 2008 top to bottom: the Joseph Brant (Thayendaga) sculpture in Brantford ON depicts the wild savage stereotype in vogue at end of last century and still today; stained glass windows in Moosonee Roman Catholic Church depicting Mushkego Cree welcoming the infant Jesus into their lives: RR has fond memories of a deeply moving bilingual (English/Cree) service in this church; dark low-lying storm clouds hang over the Moose River and warn of an upcoming severe snowstorm; thunderhead from the North West Territories moving across north western Alberta followed by brief but heavy, drenching rainstorm quickly followed by brilliant sunshine.
Notes: * the term "Indian" can only be correctly used under the Indian Act to refer to a status Indian as defined by the Act; Canada's indigenous peoples see themselves as First Nations, each of whom have their unique identity: Dene, Mushkego Cree, Ojibway, Mohawk, Tuscarora, etc. Thus, the curator of The Royal Chapel is a Mohawk and member of the Mohawk First Nation.
**" The incidents most responsible for problems between police and aboriginal people
were sparked by the freezing deaths of several Saskatoon-area men, including a 17-year-old, in 1990. A race relations report released by the Saskatoon Police Commission in March 2006 identified a need for aboriginal liaison officers, diversity training and ongoing training for anger management and dispute resolution." (3) cf. Susanne Reber & Robert Renaud, Starlight Tour: The Last, Lonely Night of Neil Stonechild
*** further research revealed that this photo by Christopher Smith was available for purchase from the Brantford Expositor @ $49. 99 ====> would have cost the local rag considerably more to send an investigative reporter next door to get the full story???? thrifty (cheap sensational) journalism at work here? ;
**** Also pertinent here is a Supreme Court ruling that puts the onus on developers/municipalities who have a "duty to consult" with First Nations regarding development on properties where a land claim has been filed. RR has spent considerable time looking for this particular Supreme Court decision as it underlies many of the complex development-related issues being worked through right now; will post same as soon as she locates it in her growing aboriginal issues binder.
Sources: (1) Gregory Bonnell, First Nations initially overlooked in list of things that most define Canada, THE CANADIAN PRESS July 16, 2008; (2) RCMP fatally shoot man on southeast Saskatchewan reserve, THE CANADIAN PRESS June 15, 2008: (3)Aboriginal group demands meeting with federal minister in wake of RCMP shooting, THE CANADIAN PRESS June 15, 2008; (4) Federal justice system treats aboriginal people unfairly, CP 17 October 2006; (5) Six Nations protesters stop work in Brantford 'Today our patience has run out', The Canadian Press July 08, 2008; (6) JOHN PAUL ZRONIK, Natives threaten Caledonia Part 2, Toronto Sun July 15, 2008; (7)Dropping the ball in Caledonia, lead editorial The Record July 8 2006; (8) Ontario to pay $12M for Caledonia lands, CP 23 Jun 06; (9) - Matt Walcoff (opinion piece),:Law no longer rules in Caledonia, The Record 31 May 2006.
Labels: aboriginal, James Bay Lowlands, land claims
14 July 2008
the only game in town
Photos copyright Sandamara Images 1998-2001 top L to R counterclockwise: 1) the Little Bear, the Ontario Northland mixed freight and passenger train crossing the James Bay Lowlands muskeg; 2) car pulling off freight car and down auto ramp; 3) coastal tug pulling loaded barge out Moose River to James Bay; 3) ONR engine at end of steel turning around in order to move freight cars to various locations about town; 4) Gateway crew removing the stabilizing cables to free car from auto-transporter freight car; 5) barge loaded with building supplies for new Northern store in Fort Albany, farther north at junction of the Albany River and James Bay; 6) truck cab moving into position to pull off trailer from rail car in order to move it onto to barge for shipment to another James Bay coastal community. In researching this blog, RR was disappointed to learn that ONR has discontinued the Little Bear train service from Cochrane to Moosonee. Instead the express Polar Bear is now running daily to and from Cochrance; as well, ONR is doing upgrade to the Moose River rail crossing bridge. Such is the impact of the Viktor Diamond Mine project on these coastal communities.
The prompt, gentle reader, for this blog was the following item in the local rag's business section:
There have been rumours that a high-end U.S. department store chain Lord & Taylor, already a minority
shareholder in the Bay, is considering making a bid for the 338-year-old Hudson's Bay Co. Two years ago
it was bought by American entrepreneur Jerry Zucker for $1.1 billion who died three months ago.
"Zucker had enthusiastically set about transforming its Bay division into a more upscale chain, launched
new private labels, empowered store managers to make local purchasing decisions and rejigged
technology in an attempt to move inventory to the shelves faster. He also began modelling the company's
Zellers chain after U.S. discounter Target Corp., creating wider aisles, expanding outlets and selling at
prices that matched those of Wal-Mart Canada Corp., the leader in the discount sector." (1)
So much for RR's self-imposed delusion that she could counter Wal-Mart's globalization grip ( another price drop = loss of quality) by making purchases at Zellers, which she fondly believed remained a Canadian chain. Better late than never, RR decided upon further research that took her back to the "beginning"--the initial contacts between Europeans and Canada's indigenous peoples.
The HBC (full name: the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay)was founded on 2 May 1670 when King Charles granted a charter to his cousin Prince Rupert and his associates. The charter of 1670 made the Hudson's Bay Company 'true and absolute Lordes and Proprietors' of Rupert's Land, the vast drainage area of the Hudson Bay basin. The Company thus formed was to control all lands whose rivers and streams drain into Hudson Bay - all told an area comprising over 1.5 million square miles, stretching from Labrador in the east as far west as the Canadian Rocky Mountains and well south of the present U.S/Canada border. It represented over 40% of modern day Canada. In 1868, the Rupert's Land Act paved the way for the surrender of most of Hudson's Bay Company's lands to the British Crown and their subsequent transfer to Canada. It was during the first 200 years of this company's history that most of the Canada's northern hinterland was mapped as the Company expanded its operations in its never ending search for beaver and other furs to trade. Canada's vast north-western regions were likewise explored and mapped by the rival the North West Company. This rivalry ended when the Bay acquired its competitor in the fur trade. After the surrender of Rupert's Land to the Crown in 1869, the Bay became a national retailing giant --eventually buying out its rival Simpson's (Toronto), Woodward's (Vancouver), and even the lower-end Zellers chain -- founded locally by Walter Zeller, for whom Zeller Drive has been named in Kitchener. In 1987 Hbc sold off its Northern Stores Division to a group of investors including a number of employees. The Inuit Art Marketing Service (IAMS) became part of the new company, which began operating as The North West Company in 1990. *
The Bay assumed a leading role in the promotion and development of Inuit Art. Author, illustrator, sculptor, filmmaker, and arctic naturalist, James Houston traveled into the Canadian Eastern Arctic in
search of a new people and a new land to paint. In 1949 assisted by Norman Ross, Hbc
post Manager in Port Harrison, he began collecting samples of Inuit carvings, which he then marketed
and sold through the Canadian Guild of Crafts in Montreal. The Bay's Inuit art wholesale marketing division continues today in a showroom close to the Pearson International Airport.
During the time of its operations, HBC employees kept detailed records that are now housed in Winnipeg.The Hudsons's Bay Company Archives (HBCA) is a division of the Archives of Manitoba and its staff are employees of the provincial government. Dating from the 1670s to modern times HBCA's collection is
immense - approx. 2 km in linear extent. The collection documents daily events at almost 500 trading
posts as well as voyages in Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic waters. In 2007, this magnificent archival record was included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s(UNESCO) Memory of the World Registry. This honour was noted in a press release: "The Hudson’s Bay Company Archives form a unique record of the heritage of Canada’s west and north and its people including European traders and settlers and First Nations, Inuit and Métis people. They provide insight into the beginnings of our province and nation and the course of their development, and contribute to understanding our land as it is today."
Notes: *the old rivalry between the former fur-trading companies continues as per this blurb on the North West Company's website: "As the oldest retailer on the continent, each twist and turn in our long and colourful history represent valuable lessons and insights gained. And while NWC continues to diversify, flourish and grow from the original Montreal-based partnership of traders in 1779, we've never lost sight of the fact that good business means knowing your customers and meeting their needs. Throughout the 1800's until 1987, NWC has changed hands, names and not surprisingly, the services it provides. 1821 brought the amalgamation of the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company, under the HBC name, creating a fur trading monopoly that covered one-quarter of North America. The enterprise continued as the Fur Trade Department, and then the Northern Stores Division, of Hudson's Bay Company. In 1987, the
Northern Stores Division was acquired by a group of investors including 415 employees."
During the time when RR patronized Northern stores and Canada's first fur trading post, she mistakenly believed that the store's owner was ultimately the venerable Hudson's Bay Co -- RR is still not sure who owns the historic Moose Factory fur trading post although she continues dismayed that this national historic site has not been given the recognition it deserves as it ranks up there with the Plains of Abraham, Forts Langley and Malden, the local Pioneer Memorial Tower in historic significance. She was not alone in that belief as when locals challenged Northern's drastic price hike on a bag of milk the talk was of taking on "the Bay" and dealing with another grievance among many accumulated over the years. Who were the 415 employees who formed the revived North West Company in 1990? were they the local managers of the various Northern stores scattered across northern Canada? and did they continue the old Bay culture and relationships with their customers--primarily aboriginals?
Fast forward to this story gleaned online: " About 60 per cent of Manitoba's 5,000 eligible residential school survivors will receive cheques (averaging $18,000 with maximums as high as $30,000). Northern stores are processing the cheques for a fee of 1.5 per cent, offering $2,500 cash and the option of credit cards, debit cards or store credits. "We're the only game in town... and maybe there are other choices people would like, but that's all we can do. We're not a bank," said Michael McMullen, executive vice-president with the North West Company, which runs 145 Northern stores in Canada, Greenland and Alaska. (2) ===> Appears that after a huge public outcry, Northern stores changed their policy/proposed cash grab & made decision to drop their fee: "North West Company, which owns the Northern chain, never intended to make money on the cheques, executive vice-president Michael McMullen said." (3) Ah yes, exactly what happened with the price hike on milk that Northern abandoned one week later after a similar outcry in Moosonee. We were lucky in Moosonee as some of us were able to order food in from an IGA store in Cochrane at much lower prices than Northern's & took delivery directly off a box car every Wednesday evening.
Sources: (1)Romina Maurino, New rumours that Hudson's Bay faces demise, The Canadian Press July 11, 2008; (2) Alexandra Paul, Residential school survivors gouged? Northern stores charge 1.5% cheque fee & follow up story, North West nixes fees for survivors' cheques, Winnipeg Free Press, 6 and 8 December 2007.
Labels: history, James Bay Lowlands
13 July 2008
the question of rights
Aboriginal (Indian, Inuit and Metis) rights are based on the prior occupancy of land as the legal basis to the right. This legal basis is in stark contrast to what is known as the historical "doctrine of discovery and conquest" as basis to a legal right to land ownership. This concept of aboriginal rights refers to rights "above and beyond full citizenship" in the Canadian state; hence, aboriginals have special status and constitute a distinct society in Canada as they are both inside and outside of the institution of Canada. This special status has been enshrined in the Canadian Constitution by 1) The Royal Proclamation of 1763; 2) the British North America Act 1967; and 3) the Charter of Freedoms and Rights (Canada Constitution Act) 1982. The legal concept of aboriginal rights originally applied only to status Indians but now include the Metis as of the Manitoba Act and the Inuit after Rupert's Purchase in 1870.
Aboriginal property rights and title are held by the collective and include reserve lands held by the Crown. Aboriginals also hold usufructuary rights i.e. rights to the use of land for traditional and cultural activities. The following political rights are guaranteed to our aboriginal peoples in our Constitution: a) self government; b) tax exemption; c) mobility; d) protection by Crown; and e) the treaty/land claim process.
There are two land claim processes currently being followed: a) specific land claim that deals with violations of the original treaties negotiated; b) comprehensive to deal with lands that have not been surrendered that has as its goal the extinguishment* of an aboriginal claim to land but can include: resource revenue sharing & surface rights; environmental screening, economic development; self-government re culture, education and health but loss of tax exemption; harvester's income from forest & fishing and creation of joint management boards. --*Extinguishment clause reads thus: "do hereby cede, release, surrender and convey all rights, titles and interest if any forever to all lands and waters..."
"Treaties between the Crown and First Nations are solemn agreements
that set out promises, obligations, and benefits for both parties...
Treaties are constitutionally protected.
The Constitution Act recognizes and affirms treaty rights."
--Sheila Fraser, Auditor General for Canada
that set out promises, obligations, and benefits for both parties...
Treaties are constitutionally protected.
The Constitution Act recognizes and affirms treaty rights."
--Sheila Fraser, Auditor General for Canada
Source: the above information has been taken directly from lecture notes by Professor Peter Kulchyski, Native Studies 200: Native Politics and Communities, Spring 1999 Trent University: lectures and course given at Dolores Echum High School, Moose Factory Island Indian Reserve. At the time, Professor Kulchyski was chair of Trent University's Native Studies department. Throughout his professional career, Professor Kulchyski has been actively involved as a consultant in the land claims process throughout Canada.
"Canada has acknowledged its failure to meet treaty land obligations for land,
and its desire to fulfill these obligations, by signing treaty land entitlement agreements with First Nations... We believe the Department's [i.e. Indian and Northern Affairs]progress is inconsistent with Canada's commitments to meet its obligations to First Nations."--Sheila Fraser, Auditor General for Canada
and its desire to fulfill these obligations, by signing treaty land entitlement agreements with First Nations... We believe the Department's [i.e. Indian and Northern Affairs]progress is inconsistent with Canada's commitments to meet its obligations to First Nations."--Sheila Fraser, Auditor General for Canada
Most recently, the federal government enacted legislation to speed up the land claims process: The Specific Claims Tribunal Act received Royal Assent in June of 2008. This independent tribunal accountable to Parliament will be composed of six full-time sitting superior court judges and will be able to make binding decisions where specific claims under $150,000,000 have been rejected for negotiations. The tribunal will look "strictly at questions of law and fact to determine whether Canada has an outstanding legal obligation under the Act." At present, 131 specific claims are under negotiation.
"These different versions of procedures....have frustrated First Nations because
the Department does not always clearly communicate to First Nations
which process is being applied...,
where First Nations are in the process,
and what the next steps are and when they are to be completed."
--Sheila Fraser, Auditor General for Canada
For the record, the current "new" Harper federal government was one of 4 nations that refused to sign the non-binding United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (passed 143-4 with Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the United States opposed & 11 countries abstaining from vote). Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl defended Canada's position thus: a)the provision that laws affecting aboriginals should only be passed with prior consent of First Nations was simply "not doable...as requires consultation with 650 First Nations"; b) the UN declaration says aboriginals "have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions" was "unworkable" and the federal Minister's opinion. Not so, in the opinion of John Paul, Atlantic Policy Congress: "It [UN declaration] recognizes who we are , that we have these fundamental rights. To us, it's like the U. S. Declaration of Independence, because it lays out a number of inalienable truths about us as aboriginal people in the world." Source: Canada votes 'no' to UN resolution on native rights, CP 14 September 2007.the Department does not always clearly communicate to First Nations
which process is being applied...,
where First Nations are in the process,
and what the next steps are and when they are to be completed."
--Sheila Fraser, Auditor General for Canada
Photos copyright Sandamara Images 1998-2001 top L to R clockwise: 1) Moose River moving north east to confluence with James Bay; 2) northern boreal forest in autumn; 3) Moose River at Moosonee: Cree freighter canoes and Ontario Northland ferry take cargo across the river to Moose Factory Island; 4) the muskeg at the end of steel (Ontario Northland Railway) which is the starting point for the winter road up the Coast to Attawapiskat.
Labels: aboriginal, land claims, politics
06 July 2008
the (long overdue) apology
Prime Minister Stephen Harper made political hay* twice this past month-- first, by delivering the long-awaited apology to survivors of the residential school system and second, by reference to it in his Canada Day remarks.1. Excerpt from the formal apology:
“In the 1870s, the federal government, partly in order to meet its obligation to educate aboriginal children, began to play a role in the development and administration of these schools. Two primary objectives of the residential schools system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture. These objectives were based on the assumption aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, ‘to kill the Indian in the child.' Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country...........We now recognize that, in separating children from their families, we undermined the ability of many to
adequately parent their own children and sowed the seeds for generations to follow and we apologize for having done this..........We now recognize that, far too often, these institutions gave rise to abuse or neglect and were inadequately controlled, and we apologize for failing to protect you. Not only did you suffer these abuses as children, but as you became parents, you were powerless to protect your own children from suffering the same experience, and for this we are sorry. The burden of this experience has been on your shoulders for far too long. The burden is properly ours as a government, and as a country. The government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly. We are sorry." (1)
“Basically, the goal was to take the Indian out of the Indian.”
--Matthew Coon Come, former chief of the
Assembly of First Nations (2)
“Basically, the goal was to take the Indian out of the Indian.”
--Matthew Coon Come, former chief of the
Assembly of First Nations (2)
2. Background to this apology:
About 150,000 native children were removed from their homes and communities and sent to residential schools for over a century. Schools were government funded, but run by the Anglican, Roman Catholic, United and Presbyterian churches. It is estimated that more than 80,000 are still living. The schools opened in the 1870s and the last closed in 1996. About 130 schools operated in every province except
New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Ottawa acknowledged in 1998 that physical and sexual abuse was rampant in the once-mandatory institutions. Bewildered children, many of whom did not speak English and had been forcibly taken from their homes, were harshly
punished and sometimes beaten for speaking their languages. Others were subjected to the sadistic attacks of sexual predators, some of whom terrorized the youngsters in their care for decades with impunity."
"Compensation: After a decade of court cases, the federal government established a $2-billion compensation fund. About 80,000 survivors are eligible for compensation payments averaging about $28,000.Details: $10,000 lump sum payment, in addition to $3,000 for every year they spent in the
institutions. Approximately $1.3 billion has been distributed. The government also set up a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission that will open next week and is to travel the country to hear stories about the
impact of the schools." (2)
"To have a government today say, finally,yes, something was horribly wrong to treat us
as less than human ...
I need that.
Now, there's no turning back. They can never deny
what has happened to us."
--Stephen Kakfwi, former premier of the Northwest
Territories who spent most of his childhood in a residential school. (3)
3. Effect of this policy?
Chief David Walkem of the Cook's Ferry Indian Band near Spence's Bridge, B.C. said his father was the youngest of 13 children and did not attend residential school. "But I was still subjected to the loss of culture and language. He refused to teach us our language because he saw what it did to his brothers." Locally, Donna Dubie who runs a traditional healing centre to treat what it considers the legacy of "massive dysfunction" caused by residential schools -- broken families, addiction and physical abuse summed up the trans-generational legacy: her father spent nine years in the 1920s at the Mohawk Institute, a school for Six Nations children. She says her dad's time there destroyed him, giving her a childhood of abuse at the hands of a parent who drank every day. "All the horrendous things that happened to him, he brought into his parenting skills.” (4)
"Brave survivors, through telling their stories,
have stripped white supremacy of its legitimacy.
Never again
will this House consider us the Indian Problem just for being who we are.
We are, and always have been,
an indispensable part of the Canadian identity.'
--Phil Fontaine, national Chief of Assembly of First Nations (5)
4. Historical rationale?
“In order for the Europeans -- English, French, whatever -- to own the country, they had to take it from the natives who were living here...the effect was the same: natives shoved off the land into reserves, offered the choice of assimilation or poverty... The residential schools program... was only part of the program aimed at eliminating Indian culture and completing the European domination of the country.” (6)
That was then, but now? "However, if the apology and the response by Canadian society fail to resonate in real public discourse, I doubt this truth and reconciliation process is going to be anything but a bureaucratic exercise in parading one segment of society's pain through another exercise in public humiliation." (6)
5. The way ahead?" Instead [the apology] begs to be a catalyst for new openness in repairing systemic failures that limit aboriginal aspirations and should make the rest of us squirm. More troubling still are the underlying politics of indifference. No matter how full the apology, the foot-dragging and institutional meanness that preceded it make a different point. The political cost of government lassitude is so low that Third World reserve conditions can be tolerated just as residential school abuses were ignored... The prime minister who rose to yesterday's occasion is also the one who stooped to let the Kelowna Accord lapse. While the merits of the 10-year, $5 billion federal-provincial health, housing and education plan will never be proven; First Nations know it as another broken promise." (7)
Even as the Prime Minister was making the most of this past month's photo opps, careful readers would have noted the Harper government's priorities from this news item: "Details of the $490 billion Canada First Defence Strategy [were released quietly at seven o'clock at night by posting on Ministry of Defence website]: 20-year plan includes an annual spending increase of two per cent starting in 2011 that will boost the defence budget to $30 billion in 2027-28 from the current level of $18 billion. The funding includes $20 billion for new aircraft, tanks and ships, in addition to$15 billion in transport planes, trucks and helicopters that had been purchased earlier. The price tag includes a projection of $250 billion to recruit 70,000 regular and 30,000 reserve force personnel, along with $140 billion for spare parts, maintenance and training." (8)
Notes: *Recently The Record pushed for integration/not assimilation of newcomers to Canada: " For immigrants to feel welcome, to feel they belong and are invested in Canadian society, they need to be able to thrive, so they have the energy and opportunity to contribute. That means they need meaningful work, to have their credentials recognized if they arrive here with skills, and be able to integrate into Canadian society. We stress the word integrate, which is to become an equal and full part of a whole, and which is quite different from assimilate ." (9)
All photos copyright to Sandamara Images 1967-2008, top to bottom: 1. RCMP parade past Parliament Buildings during the summer; various western municipalities contract out policing requirements to the RCMP; 2. St. Thomas Anglican Church, Moose Factory Island, ON: known as the carpenter's church, this church was built by the Hudson's Bay Co ship's carpenter as part of its strategy to use the church to elicit the co-operation of Canada's indigenous peoples; 3. Hudson's Bay Co. Moose Factory buildings on Moose Factory Island predate much of Canada's history; at the time, the Hudson's Bay Company of Adventurers received a Royal Charter to exploit for the fur trade what was historically known as Rupert's Land. To do so, the HBC relied on the Woodland Cree and repaid them in trinkets, baubles, and even whiskey. 4. the Roman Catholic Church in Assumption, now Habay Indian Reserve in northwestern Alberta, approximately 75 miles north east of the oil town, Rainbow Lake. RCMP policing this northwestern region are stationed at Habay--behind a barbed wire fence--who needs protection here? why? 5. Welcome sign and tipi to Moose Factory island and the Moose Factory Island Indian Reserve-- created by Treaty 9 in 1908.
Sources: (1) Sue Bailey. Canada apologizes, The Canadian Press June 12, 2008; (2) Emily Mathieu, Apology 'is not going to fix what happened' The Star Jun 12, 2008; (3) Sylvia Strojek, Heads bow, tears flow as natives hear Harper apologize for residential schools, THE CANADIAN PRESS June 11, 2008; (4)Greg Mercer, Abuse left a legacy of 'massive dysfunction', The Record June 12, 2008; (5) Linda Diebel, Harper 'sorry' for native residential schools, The Star Jun 12, 2008; (6)Sara Mainville , Reconciliation or pain and humiliation, The Star Jun 11, 2008; (7)JAMES TRAVERS, Apology was eloquent, moving, and long overdue, The Record June 12, 2008; (8) Alison Auld, MacKay reveals details of defence plan, The Canadian Press June 21, 2008; (9) The changing face of Canada, lead editorial THE RECORD April 05, 2008.
Labels: aboriginal, history, politics
02 July 2008
who will pay the piper?
Worth pondering:
"Canada's most conservative government in two generations is ploddingly, subtly, changing the way the country is governed. 'They are very, very quietly, behind all these smokescreens, making all these changes to the way government operates,' says Heather MacIvor, a political scientist...at the University of Windsor. The Conservatives have now cut taxes, including the GST, and raised spending, especially on provincial transfers and the military, to the point that Canada's budgetary surplus is balanced on a wire. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's February budget projected a razor-thin operating surplus of just $1.3 billion in 2009, the smallest since 1998.'The most important (policy change) is just this: limiting the fiscal capacity of future governments,' said MacIvor.'They've deliberately thrown away much of the federal spending power.'" (1)
genuine peace...
..." the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children, not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women, not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.
So, let us not be blind to our differences, but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal. "-- J F Kennedy, President of United States, speech American University Washington, D.C. June 10, 1963
Labels: pensees
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