Aboriginal communities are out of sight from most Canadians. Our family spent two weeks one summer on Vancouver Island. My children were hoping to see the people who made the wonderful totem poles of Stanley Park. We didn't see a single Aboriginal person in our travels.
I understand better now, after a frustrating drive back and forth on the same highway this summer looking for the Nanoose Band Reserve near Lantzville, B.C. There aren't many off ramps for reserves.
Few of the communities I visited this year, as part of my research on addiction among Aboriginal people, are marked on road maps, or signposted on provincial highways. Not even the largest reserve in Manitoba — Sagkeeng, population 3,000.
To get there I drove a couple of hours from Winnipeg to the Pine Falls turnoff. A gas station attendant pointed me towards town and said "drive that way." I drove past prosperous middle-class homes. The source of wealth — a large paper mill. Alongside it are railway tracks. On the other side of the tracks is a long line of cookie-cutter CMHC bungalows stretching as far as the eye can see.
I knew I was on the reserve because I'd also run out of pavement. This was the pattern wherever I travelled and I began to see the lack of pavement as a metaphor for neglect. Neighbours to reserves have told me over the years, "pavement isn't a priority for them." Or, "I guess they've got other priorities." The assumption is, Aboriginal people choose bad roads.
The Aboriginal community has been fighting assumptions for more than a century, most of them about the money — "our money," as one friend pointed out — being spent on their welfare and problems. This year, it is about $9 billion, out of Canada's total budget of $227 billion.
Sometimes the money doesn't make it to them. In 2005, $700 million was allocated for Aboriginal health care, but the money never left Ottawa. The bill to free up this money was not passed before the Liberal government fell. Yet that same year, $2.6 billion was fast-tracked for Newfoundland after Premier Danny Williams insisted on getting a fair share of offshore oil and gas revenues. The message: There are twice as many Aboriginal people in this country as there are Newfoundlanders, but they don't count as much.
1) do you think we should care more about aboriganals?
2) why do you think the aboriganals have been ignored?
3) do you think the aboriganals should move forward or continue to be a devoted and mystical group
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8 comments:
I definitly agree with Saad about the calling the aboriginals a "mystical group". Though I really don't like this article in the first place. Very boring for me. Even though I have read it through twice. It was not my kind of artcilce and I would definitly give it a one out of five. Maybe other people will like it more than me. Thank you for sharing that with me: Amz
Also with calling them a "mystical group" Conrad, it is also a very rasist comment!
1) Yes, they are also Canadian citizens, so they have equal rights!
2) Because they stay inside their own community.
3) I don't think you or I or anybody has the right to call aboriginals a "mystical group" as you reffered to.
I do agree with saad and amz of calling them a 'mystical group'.I think the aboriginals are ignord, because no one really cares because there not in por community. I defently think that the aboriginals should never be ignord, and we should care more about them
I agree with Saad's very good report on the Aboriginals and how they are ignoded. Thank you Saad for the very good report.
I definitly agree with Amz and Saad about calling the aboriginals a "mystical group". I found this Article good but a bit boring.Thanks for sharing that with me!
Great artical. like i have said in previous comments, immagrents should be equals with us
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