Real people are involved. Real solutions are needed … not just more talk.

Past and Present ... the First Nations people
of British Columbia.  What is their future?

Type in the search term “first nations reserve problems” with Google, and immediately there are literally hundreds of thousands of results that come up.   

Titles of websites, news stories, studies, editorial commentaries and more … and they include these words and headlines …

• Urban First Nations Population Also Struggle With Poverty, Illness, and Hunger …
• MD says First Nations must find ways to curb alcohol use …
• First Nations water problems persist …
• Improving education on reserves …
• Suicide among Canada’s First Nation population …  
• First Nations on reserve have a rate of diabetes three to five times higher …
• First Nations struggling with governance problems …  
• The need to deal with the problems of on-reserve housing has been well documented 
• Sending cash to reserves no solution for deep-rooted problems …
• An Indian Industry has emerged amid the wreckage of many Canadian reserves …

And the Canadian Mental Health Association has these damming words to say:

Aboriginal people experience a broad range of health issues, and have the poorest health levels in the country. Aboriginal people have shorter life expectancies, experience more violent and accidental deaths, have higher infant mortality rates and suffer from more chronic health conditions.  Aboriginal people are also more likely to face inadequate nutrition, substandard housing and sanitation conditions, unemployment and poverty, and discrimination and racism, all important factors in maintaining health and wellness.

In the History of Canada Online website, I found an introduction to a section entitled First Nations: Health and Demographics; this is what it had to say:

Aboriginal health issues are an important concern. Many of the health problems that Aboriginal peoples deal with are related to the living conditions on some (not all) reserves, and the generally lower income levels of Aboriginals compared to other Canadians. The result of these and other factors is that Aboriginal peoples generally suffer from more health related problems than non-Aboriginal people.

There is a danger when reading about the health problems of Aboriginal people to see this as only an ‘Indian problem.’ Such an attitude overlooks that major factors in most health issues are income, poverty and education levels. Health problems in any isolated communities tend to be higher compared to more affluent and educated parts of Canada Higher rates of health problems amongst Aboriginal peoples is due to their living conditions and other social and economic factors.

I have brought these things up, and presented them, because as a news story in the Globe and Mail stated; “In Attawapiskat, deep-rooted problems won't disappear in an instant”. 

During the past week and a half the community of Attawapiskat has been a leading story in the news.  It is a tragedy because real people are involved.  Real solutions are needed … not just more talk.

There are actually good ideas coming forward … three just in the past week.  Perhaps these, and other stories and ideas, just may become the genesis to creating some kind of resolution to resolving these long-standing problems.

Give cash to individual natives to stop the waste (Guest Column)

… Indian people control less than 10 per cent of their budgets and less than 20 per cent of the total budget of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada ever reaches them … AANDC spends huge amounts to control Indian people … growth in population of Indian peoples has created an expanding base for the AANDC-associated industry with no product. Huge profits are made off the suffering of Indian people and AANDC has been in control of it the way a drug lord is in control...

The greatest moral challenge in Canadian politics

Who is at fault? It is us, dear reader. It is every voter who fails to forcefully say to our politicians, “Fix this!”  Our politicians are not fools. They recognize a hornet’s nest when they see one. There is no upside to entering this battle, with a certain downside of being called a racist and practising “cultural genocide” if one asks hard questions and tackles root causes…

Ottawa proposes first nations property ownership

… there are about 10 communities out of the more than 600 first nation reserves in Canada that are ready to move in this direction, while others are expressing interest.  Mr. Jules said that in light of the current focus on aboriginal issues triggered by the attention on the living conditions in Attawapiskat, he’s hopeful that now is a good time to push for change.  “Because reserves are owned by the federal government, it limits the marketability of the land,” he said.

We (yes I said "WE") cannot take the problems that have plagued First Nations people for generations, and fix them with the wave of magic wand … nor can they be ‘fixed’ by just spending more money.  There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution.

That's why it's good to see thought being put into what may be real solutions.

I'm Alan Forseth in Kamloops ... with the thoughts of one conservative.