Posts by marmot

it's a recent documentary that premiered at the sundance film festival last year.. it shows how the american evangelical right wing christian groups has changed the face of uganda by sending missionaries there, setting up churches, and indoctrinating ugandans with their brand of christianity.

marmot

I tried watching but seeing those religious zealots getting all religious-y made me ill, so I had to stop. Same thing happened when I tried to watch "Waiting for Armageddon", also on Netflix.

52

Who knows when Native Americans was granted citizenship?? Very strange.

by jam in

jw
friends

how can one not be a citizen of their own land??.

yes the act of 1924 granted u.s citizenship to those native .

americans who were not already u.s. citizens.. prior to the passage of the indian citizens act of 1924, nearly .

marmot

In no way did I belittle the Irish, I just stated (correctly I might add) that they still have a country and their own independence in determining immigration laws.

How you perceive that as belittling is beyond me.

52

Who knows when Native Americans was granted citizenship?? Very strange.

by jam in

jw
friends

how can one not be a citizen of their own land??.

yes the act of 1924 granted u.s citizenship to those native .

americans who were not already u.s. citizens.. prior to the passage of the indian citizens act of 1924, nearly .

marmot

And I said my KIDS would lose their rights if I marry out. Bill C-31 is designed to keep people on-reserve or fade nations into non-existence.

Also reading comprehension counts, Talesin, I clearly stated that alcohol sensitivity among natives is a myth on page 1.

52

Who knows when Native Americans was granted citizenship?? Very strange.

by jam in

jw
friends

how can one not be a citizen of their own land??.

yes the act of 1924 granted u.s citizenship to those native .

americans who were not already u.s. citizens.. prior to the passage of the indian citizens act of 1924, nearly .

marmot

The whole purpose of my response to this thread IS bitterness about the attitudes of the general Canadian population towards natives.

I got a University education, I live off-reserve, I pay taxes yet one of the first responses in this thread referred to natives as drunken whores who live off the government teat.

This is far from an isolated sentiment, and the other common attitude like yours is the "just get over it" camp. People like you just want quiet little Indians to be part of Canadian society without pesky sovereignty or independence. Assimilation is the name of the game.

You say it's the fault of corrupt native government, the entire chief and council system is a product of the paternalistic Indian Act.

52

Who knows when Native Americans was granted citizenship?? Very strange.

by jam in

jw
friends

how can one not be a citizen of their own land??.

yes the act of 1924 granted u.s citizenship to those native .

americans who were not already u.s. citizens.. prior to the passage of the indian citizens act of 1924, nearly .

marmot

Sammie, if you bothered to read this whole thread you would have seen that I posted about Chief Clarence on page 1.

I am very pro-economic development.

You also mention the Irish. Last time I checked they still had a country and a language. If I wanted I could immigrate to Ireland, send my kids to Gaelic school and they would "become" Irish. Can't do that on a reserve. Thanks to the Indian Act, if you move off the reserve and marry out, your kids cease being native and relinquish all rights.

We are denied our land and denied our self-determination as a people in the hope that we'll just fade away and be assimilated.

52

Who knows when Native Americans was granted citizenship?? Very strange.

by jam in

jw
friends

how can one not be a citizen of their own land??.

yes the act of 1924 granted u.s citizenship to those native .

americans who were not already u.s. citizens.. prior to the passage of the indian citizens act of 1924, nearly .

marmot

Canada's aboriginal well-being efforts 'insufficient,' UN envoy says

UN factfinder urges Ottawa to call national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women May 12, 2014 10:53 PM ET Susana Mas, CBC News

Canada has made "notable efforts" to improve the social and economic well-being of indigenous people, but needs to do much more to improve their overall living conditions, says a report by a United Nations human rights envoy.

"There are daunting challenges and in many respects… there is a crisis among aboriginal communities in terms of their basic necessities," said James Anaya, the UN's special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, in an interview with CBC News on Monday.

"The numerous initiatives that have been taken at the federal and provincial-territorial levels to address the problems faced by indigenous peoples have been insufficient," Anaya said in his report.

The UN envoy found that:

The "well-being gap" between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people in Canada is not improving.
Treaty and aboriginal claims remain "persistently" unresolved.
Indigenous women and girls "remain vulnerable to abuse."
There appear to be "high levels of distrust" among aboriginal people toward all levels of government.

Anaya spent nine days last October visiting aboriginal communities and their leaders as well as government representatives across Canada to compile the report.

He urges the federal government to:

Consult aboriginal people and address any "any outstanding concerns" related to Bill C-33, the government's First Nations education bill
Launch "a comprehensive, nationwide inquiry" into the issue of missing and murdered aboriginal women.
Ensure the mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is extended "for as long as may be necessary" for it to complete its work.
Take "urgent action" to address the housing crisis both on and off reserves.
Provide "sufficient funding" for services both on and off reserves, including in areas of education, health and child welfare.
Work with provincial and aboriginal governments to improve "their co-ordination in the delivery of services."

'Positive steps'

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt said in a written statement issued Monday that "despite these challenges, the federal government has taken many steps "to improve the overall well-being and prosperity of aboriginal people in Canada."

"Our government is proud of the effective and incremental steps taken in partnership with aboriginal communities. We are committed to continuing to work with our partners to make significant progress in improving the lives of aboriginal people in Canada. We will review the report carefully to determine how we can best address the recommendations," Valcourt said.

Anaya does acknowledge in his report that Canada has taken "positive steps" to improve the relationship with aboriginal people, such as:

Canada has made "notable efforts" to address treaty and aboriginal claims and to improve the social and economic well-being of indigenous people.
Canada has "adopted the goal of reconciliation" to repair the legacy of past injustices and taken steps toward that goal.
Canada has put in place "numerous laws, policies and programs," which, at least in theory, "can be pointed to as good practices."
Canada was one of the first countries to enshrine indigenous peoples' rights in its Constitution.

"Despite positive steps, daunting challenges remain. Canada faces a continuing crisis when it comes to the situation of indigenous peoples of the country," Anaya said.

Critics call for a national inquiry

Monday’s UN report comes at a fragile time for relations between the federal government and First Nations.

The government put “on hold” its prized but controversial First Nations education bill following the sudden resignation of Shawn Atleo as national chief for the Assembly of First Nations.

Bill C-33 will remain on hold until the AFN “clarifies” its position on the bill, which it is expected to do during a special assembly of national chiefs in Ottawa on May 27.

While the federal government has to date refused to launch a national inquiry into the case of missing and murdered aboriginal women, the RCMP said this month there are about 1,186 recorded incidents by police of aboriginal homicides and unresolved missing women investigations.

That report is expected to be released soon.

Both the NDP and Liberals are calling on the government to heed Anaya's recommendations and launch a national public inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.

NDP aboriginal affairs critic Jean Crowder blamed the federal government for not taking more action sooner.

"Study after study, report after report find that investments are needed to improve the quality of life for indigenous peoples in Canada, especially in housing, child welfare and education, yet this government continues to let funding trickle out."

Carolyn Bennett, the Liberal critic for aboriginal affairs, said in a written statement that Anaya's report reflects "the serious and persistent crisis in outcomes for indigenous peoples in this country."

“The government needs to engage with indigenous peoples as partners to create real progress on the appalling conditions for far too many of these communities," Bennett said.

Pipeline concerns

The report also recommends the government get consent from aboriginal groups before moving forward with resource extraction projects on land subject to aboriginal claims. That would include pipeline projects currently in the works, such as Enbridge's controversial Northern Gateway pipeline.

"While indigenous peoples potentially have much to gain from resource development within their territories, they also face the highest risks to their health, economy, and cultural identity from any associated environmental degradation," reads the unedited version of the preliminary report.

"Perhaps more importantly, indigenous nations’ efforts to protect their long-term interests in lands and resources often fit uneasily into the efforts by private non-indigenous companies, with the backing of the federal and provincial governments, to move forward with natural resource projects."

According to the aboriginal affairs minister, "the responsible development of our natural resources is good for all Canadians and provides an unprecedented opportunity for First Nations."

"In fact, over 32,000 First Nations people are employed in the natural resources sector, making it the largest private employer of First Nations people in Canada. Over $650 billion worth of major projects are projected in the next 10 years and First Nations communities are well positioned to benefit from these opportunities," Valcourt said in a written statement on Monday.

Anaya said that the concerns of aboriginal people merit "higher priority" at all levels of government noting that the relationship between aboriginal people and the government is perhaps even more "strained" since the last UN special rapporteur visited in 2003.

52

Who knows when Native Americans was granted citizenship?? Very strange.

by jam in

jw
friends

how can one not be a citizen of their own land??.

yes the act of 1924 granted u.s citizenship to those native .

americans who were not already u.s. citizens.. prior to the passage of the indian citizens act of 1924, nearly .

marmot

And I grow weary of being told that natives are shiftless tax-exempt drunks. None of the stuff I posted is taught in history classes to Canadian children. Do you think the Jews should just "get over" the holocaust and blacks shouldn't be taught about the slave trade?

There are horrible things that were deliberately done to natives just a single generation ago, I'm sooooo sorry if that makes you feel uncomfortable in your maple-leaf Ivory Tower.

52

Who knows when Native Americans was granted citizenship?? Very strange.

by jam in

jw
friends

how can one not be a citizen of their own land??.

yes the act of 1924 granted u.s citizenship to those native .

americans who were not already u.s. citizens.. prior to the passage of the indian citizens act of 1924, nearly .

marmot

Nunavut and the Inuit are not considered "natives" by the government. They don't fall under the oppressive Indian act and for the large part they were left alone to practice their way of life, unlike natives who actually lived where white people wanted to.