First Nation University, well worth saving

As you may or may not know, First Nation University in Regina may be forced to close its doors due to the down right nasty spending habits, ok, let's just say it, theft of "tax payers money" The board has since been disbanded because funding has been cut at multiple levels. Let me start out by saying let's cut funding to all levels of government. If you have been following the news lately here in Nova Scotia,you will get what I mean. After all, $8000+ generators wired up to your home is not exactly above board, nor are the plasma televisions, $2000+ digital cameras, or 3 ipods all bought on the same day. Anyhow, this university is well worth saving, as it is providing the same thing each and every university out there provides, education...and yes culture. This culture comes in a slightly different package and here is where some of the public problems start. Comments I have been reading include verbal diarrhea such as "get an honest education that is actually recognized world-wide"(interesting seeing how the writer spelled recognized wrong), "why should my tax dollars go to help someone learn their culture?" cash in your child tax credits and welfare cheques to pay for it" What people forget to realize, or are so oblivious to the ocean of whiteness we live in, is that this school is teaching the exact same things. One can go to school at FNUC and get their education while at the same time, learn about their culture. They can read FN authors, learn about FN music, ceremonies, and traditional elder teachings. This is the same stuff that is taught, as one poster put it, at "normal" universities. Think about it, at say, Acadia, you learn about white writers, white music, white history, white thinkers, but we do not names these white, we simply call them music, literature, history, philosophy. We have all read Shakespeare, Longfellow, Blake, etc. These are considered classics. I ask, classics to who? Personally I find them quite boring and stuffy...but some folks like them. This university has gone through hell due to its leadership, we all know that, but do not knock the education provided, just because it does not fit your culture, does not mean it is not good. Who is to say one is better than the other, other than being better for the individual. Please save First Nation University.

Reality check

I wanted to do a fact sheet so people would know exactly what First Nation people of Canada live through, but figured why reinvent the wheel (which by the way is less than half as old as the current oldest evidence of people living in Nova Scotia). Thanks to the Assembly of First Nations, here is a breakdown of facts that very few Canadians know:

The Reality for First Nations in Canada

First Nations people in Canada…

Live in Third World conditions:

· First Nations living conditions or quality of life ranks 63^rd, or amongst Third World conditions, according to an Indian and Northern Affairs Canada study that applied First Nations-specific statistics to the Human Development Index created by the United Nations.[1]

· Canada dropped from first to eighth as the best country in the world to live primarily due to housing and health conditions in First Nations communities.

· The First Nations’ infant mortality rate is 1.5 times higher than the Canadian infant mortality rate.[2]

· A study by Indian Affairs (the “Community Well-being Index”) assessed quality of life in 4,685 Canadian communities based on education, labour force activity, income and housing. There was only one First Nation community in the Top 100. There were 92 First Nations in the Bottom 100. Half of all First Nations communities score in the lower range of the index compared with 3% of other Canadian communities.

Die earlier than other Canadians:

· A First Nations man will die 7.4 years earlier than a non-Aboriginal Canadian. A First Nations woman will die 5.2 years earlier than her non-Aboriginal counterpart (life expectancy for First Nations citizens is estimated at 68.9 years for males and 76.6 years for females).[3]

Face increased rates of suicide, diabetes, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS:

· The First Nations suicide rate is more than twice the Canadian rate. Suicide is now among the leading causes of death among First Nations between the ages of 10 and 24, with the rate estimated to be five to six times higher than that of non-Aboriginal youth.[4]

· The prevalence of diabetes among First Nations is at least three times the national average, with high rates across all age groups.[5]

· Tuberculosis rates for First Nations populations on-reserve are 8 to 10 times higher than those for the Canadian population.[6]

· Aboriginal peoples make up only 5% of the total population in Canada but represent 16% of new HIV infections. Of these, 45% are women and 40% are under 30 years old. HIV/AIDS cases among Aboriginal peoples have increased steadily over the past decade.[7]

Face a crisis in housing and living conditions:

· Health Canada states that as of May 2003, 12% of First Nations communities had to boil their drinking water and approximately ¼ of water treatment systems on-reserve pose a high risk to human health.

· Almost 25% of First Nations water infrastructures are at high risk of contamination.[8]

· Housing density is twice that of the general population. Nearly 1 in 4 First Nations adults live in crowded homes.[9] 423,000 people live in 89,000 overcrowded, substandard and rapidly deteriorating housing units.

· Almost half of the existing housing stock requires renovations.[10]

· 5,486 of the 88,485 houses on-reserve are without sewage service.

· Mold contaminates almost half of First Nations households.[11]

· More than 100 First Nations communities are under a Boil Water Advisory for drinking water.[12]

· Core funding to support on-reserve housing has remained unchanged for 20 years.

· Almost half of First Nations people residing off-reserve live in poor quality housing that is below standard. Most First Nations homes off-reserve are crowded.

· First Nations have limited access to affordable housing: 73% are in core need, most are spending more than the standard of 30% of their income on rent.

Are not attaining education levels equal to other Canadians, even though most First Nations are under the age of 25 and represent the workforce of tomorrow:

· There has been literally no progress over the last four years in closing the gap in high school graduation rates between First Nations and other Canadians. At the current rate, it will take 28 years for First Nations to catch-up to the non-Aboriginal population.[13]

· About 70% of First Nations students on-reserve will never complete high school.[14] Graduation rates for the on-reserve population range from 28.9%-32.1% annually.

· 10,000 First Nations students who are eligible and looking to attend post-secondary education are on waiting lists because of under-funding.

· The number of post-secondary students has been declining in recent years. In 1998-99, participation rates of Registered Indians was at a high of 27,157 but dropped to 25,075 in 2002-03.

· About 27% of the First Nations population between 15 and 44 years of age hold a post-secondary certificate, diploma, or degree, compared with 46% of the Canadian population within the same age group.[15]

Lack jobs and economic opportunities:

· Unemployment rates for all Aboriginal groups continue to be at least double the rate of the non-Aboriginal population. Registered Indians have the highest unemployment rate of any Aboriginal group, at 27%.[16]

· Registered Indians have the lowest labour force participation rate of any Aboriginal group, with a rate of 54%.[17]

Yet First Nations receive less from all levels of government than non-Aboriginal Canadians:

· The average Canadian gets services from the federal, provincial and municipal governments at an amount that is almost two-and-a-half times greater than that received by First Nations citizens.

· In 1996, the federal government capped funding increases for Indian Affairs’ core programs at 2% a year, which does not keep pace with inflation or the growing First Nations population. A recent Indian Affairs study found that the gap in “quality of life” between First Nations and Canadians stopped narrowing in 1996.

---

[1] Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), 1998. The Human Development Index examines per capita income, education levels and life expectancy to compare the world’s countries.

[2] Statistics Canada; Health Canada, Healthy Canadians, A Federal Report on Comparable Health Indicators, 2002

[3] INAC, 2002

[4] Health Canada, Health Sectoral Session Background Paper, October 2004

[5] Health Canada, Diabetes Among Aboriginal People in Canada: The Evidence, March 2000

[6] Health Canada, A Statistical Profile on the Health of First Nations in Canada, March 2003

[7] Health Canada, FNIHB Community Programs Annual Review 1999-2000, August 2000

[8] Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

[9] First Nations Centre, National Aboriginal Health Organization, Preliminary Findings of the First Nations Regional Longitudinal Health Survey 2002-2003, November 2004

[10] 2003 Report of the Auditor General of Canada

[11] Regional Longitudinal Health Survey, National Aboriginal Health Organization

[12] Health Canada

[13] 2004 Report of the Auditor General of Canada

[14] INAC, Nominal Roll 1994-2000

[15] 2004 Report of the Auditor General of Canada

[16] Statistics Canada, DIAND Core Census Tabulations, 1996, T-11

[17] Ibid.

The Bear Facts

First of all, I apologize. This is so off topic. I must start by saying I am by no means against hunting. It has long been a means for my ancestors to survive for thousands and thousands of years. I for one, do not partake in the annual hunt as hundreds of thousands of folks in Canada and the US do each year. The closest I get to hunting for my own food, is fighting over the marked down steak at Superstore with twenty other hungry bbq warriors. My fish either comes in a beautiful garment made of beer, flour and a few other ingredients...or laying on a cedar bed with a quilt of dill, red onions and little bit of olive oil. I do, however, love the wilderness. When I am out walking through the woods, trail or no trail, I always keep one thing in mind. No matter how much I feel at home surrounded by the trees and animals, I am trespassing in their backyard. So when I read an article like the one on the CBC website August 14 "12 killed bears were a threat to public", I am sadened. As the urban sprawl continues throughtout Canada, we have to keep in mind, for every foot we expand, two feet are taken from the homes of wildlife. We take our garbage, dump it right in the middle of the bear's livingroom and when they come around because of all the food smells, we consider them dangerous and kill them. We all seem to suffer from the not in my backyard mentality. News for everyone, it is the bear's backyard as well. Over the past number of years, the number of bear attacks are increasing. Are the bears to blame for this? Or are we to blame for taking away the bears territory. Now I know, a lot of people are going to disagree with this and say that we are human, the bears are animals, we have a right to the land. I can not remember seeing a story about a group of bears clearcutting a forest to make way for a new bear mall. I can not remember a story of a new bear open pit mine opening up. And I sure as hell ca not rememeber a story of a group of bears wanting to bury toxic chemicles in the Canada Shied area. I ask you, who is the smater being, us or the bears?
Speaking of woods, have you ever noticed how unhealty a forest of only one type of tree looks? Let's say for example, you take a wood lot and cut down everything but red spruce. Notice what happens. The ground cover starts to change. Eventually there will be no low ground coverage to hide the small animals, no will there be anything for the small animals to eat. Everything will be covered with a blanket of moss, with an occassionla fern. Is t his a healty forest? No. So what does this tell us? In order for a forest to be healthy, there needs to be a large mixutre of trees, some softwood, some hardwood, and all the various ground covers. When forests are mixed like this, you end up with a more balanced environment. Hmm...sounds a lot like us. Let's take our lesson for the day from trees. If we have only one homogenous group of people living together, is this a good thing? How boring would that be if everyone was the same? Would we survive? Probably. Would we thrive? Probable not. Would we be missing something? Absolutely...what that is, is for you to figure out. I know. (I guess this was not as off topic as I thought)

Inclusion, not just for school

When you mention inclusion in schools to most parents, the conversation always falls to the outdated “Special Ed” classroom. Parents look at this in one of two ways: This is so great for my child, or my child will suffer from this. From my experience, the latter is usually the parent of a child who would not have fallen into the category of “Special Ed”. These parents fail to see the benefits of inclusion in the classroom. If these parents would get the opportunity, as I did, to see 60 elementary students forming a circle around one child (who without inclusion would not have had the opportunity to go camping) and cheering her name as she climbed a tree, they would see the benefits that all children get from inclusion.
When society thinks about inclusion, I believe this is the topic that is at the front. However, inclusion goes far beyond the classroom, and far beyond abilities. First Nations (FN) have never been included in mainstream society. As a matter of fact, when it comes to FN, the opposite holds true, exclusion. For many years, up to and including today, the Federal Department that is in charge of the “health and welfare” of FN people, the Department of Northern and Indian Affairs, employed very few FN people. Decisions are made without consultation of First Nations people themselves over and over again. Relocations such as James Bay, bending of their own rules, as in the case of Indianbrook Fisheries, mandated two year elections (the main reason very few enterprises will negotiate with FN governments), Residential schools ( I use the term schools lightly, prisons fits better), have all done nothing but help build a distrust of Mainstream society in FN communities. A lack of understanding of FN issues, life, culture, and society, from mainstream Canada has led to mistrust, cultural stereotypes, animosity, and sometimes hatred from mainstream Canada towards FN people. So, where do we go from here?
Education is the key. A strong understanding of the lives of FN people. An understanding of what it is like to be a stranger in the land your ancestors walked on for thousands of years. An understanding of the system we have to navigate constantly to get through this life. A willingness to forget all the things you THINK you know, and replace it with things you DO know. A willingness to see that Canada has a system set up that has two sets of rules, one for FN people and one for the rest of Canada. A willingness to understand that if we live in our communities, we can not start a business, as we are unable to build equity in homes we are not allowed to own, unlike mainstream Canada. A willingness to understand that the drug and alcohol abuse is a mechanism to deal with the pain and hurt mainstream Canada caused with Residential schools (and remember, not just the survivors are hurting, three generations and counting are suffering due to the abuse their grandparents and great grandparents suffered) A willingness to let our voices be heard in decisions that affect us (for the first time in the history of this country, June 11, 2008 was the first time a FN organization was invited, no, allowed in the House of Commons)
It is time for inclusion of FN in the Canadian society, but mainstream Canada, please remember, we do not want you to say we can be included, we do not want your permission to be included, we just want it to happen.

Ethnic cleansing in Grade 4?

A class in a school in New Brunswick has made the news because one grade 4 student was upset about a recent exercise the teacher assigned (see story here). The students were asked a question based on the following scenario: Imagine an Acadian francophone on a planet with an anglophone, a black African, a Chinese person, and an Aboriginal person. The planet is going to explode and you can only fit 3 people in the rocket. You have 10 minutes to decide. Which three should be saved? Are you kidding me? Why is it a grade 4 student (who is adopted from Ethiopia, and from the interview I heard on the radio yesterday, one of the only children of colour in the school) the only one to see the problem with this exercise. The teacher saw nothing wrong with it. The principal, during an interview, said there was nothing wrong with the exercise. Some of the conversations created between the students were great. Some students said the francophone, anglophone, and aboriginal should be saved, because they can communicate. some said the same group should be saved because they were the first ones here (who is teaching history in this school and whose history are they teaching?) This exercise is wrong on so many levels. With so little information given to the students, their decisions had to be made on stereotypes and outward appearance. This sounds like a training exercise for genocide 101. How can anyone justify and defend this exercise. Remember the most dangerous people are those who think they know what they don't know