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:

Good government is important to us all ... especially for the future of our own kids and grandkids

Recently, a classmate from my school days in Williams Lake said to me:

“Facebook is supposed to be a pleasant social networking site to share your daily life, keep track of old friends and family. It is not a political forum to share all of your beliefs with the world. I'm sure you have a nice life besides politics but no one would ever know that”

I thought about that for a while, and then responded by saying,

I appreciate your comments.  There is a lot that makes up my social life ... music I love ... family ... daily things like the paint job currently underway ... getting out on my bike … and ... politics which is bred into me cause it goes back 3 or 4 generations. Politics is a big part of what I talk about ... but it is important to me and that's why I talk about it. Until a year ago I had become part of the 50% that had pretty much given up --- BUT when we end up with those kind of numbers that keep growing, eventually we will end up with anarchy or a government we are surprised to have and that dictates everything we can or cannot do. I hope you can humour me in my passion ... good government is important to us all ... especially for the future of our own kids and grandkids :)

I have been thinking about this brief conversation since then, and I know why.  When it comes to having a social conscience, a lot of what this government is doing is wrong, and I believe it is important that people know about it.

And it’s not just me thinking and saying that what they are doing is wrong; the following are just a few of the voices that are trying to get that news out to each of us.  I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read on …