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Crisis? What crisis?
Monday, November 8th, 2010
Nov 07 2010
At the heart of the systemic flaws with the current system is the Indian Act itself, a piece of colonial legislation passed by Parliament in October 1876 as a means to protect, civilize and assimilate the Indian population. “I’m not a great defender of the Indian Act,” Duncan, who has been minister for three months, said. “No Indian Affairs minister could have a greater legacy than to be the one to say, ‘I got rid of the Indian Act.’ “There’s no consensus (on a) way to get there right now.”… “We have bought into the need for reconciliation,” Duncan said. “We know we can’t move forward without doing that.”
Tags: Indigenous, poverty, rights, standard of living
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An Indian Industry has emerged amid the wreckage of many Canadian reserves
Sunday, October 31st, 2010
Oct 30 2010
Relying on census data, Indian Affairs researchers have developed a “Community Well-Being Index” — a spreadsheet that gives every community, native and non-native alike, scores on education, employment, housing and income. Among the bottom 100 communities on that list, 96 are First Nations. Yet senior executives within Indian Affairs are loath to acknowledge what their own statisticians have discovered: that the gap between well-being on reserves and in the rest of Canada has been growing since 1996… As the disparity between the First Nations and the rest of Canada grows, so does this Indian industry built to combat it.
Tags: featured, Indigenous, poverty, rights, standard of living
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A history of missteps [policy re: First Nations]
Sunday, October 31st, 2010
Oct 30 2010
Status Indians are falling further behind other Canadians in quality of life. The Star investigates the gap, which continues to grow along with the federal bureaucracy focused on Indian issues [This article provides a chronological summary of key points in Canadian policy dealing with indigenous peoples.]
Tags: Indigenous, participation, rights, standard of living
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Ottawa still failing to deal with First Nations’ Dilemmas
Sunday, October 31st, 2010
Oct 30 2010
… the 1996 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples — a 4,000 page document on Canada’s systemic mistreatment of its native peoples… made more than 400 recommendations… “The commission has given Canadians a challenge to turn their relationship with aboriginal peoples from a serious and growing problem into an asset,” a November 1996 Toronto Star editorial declared. “Just how we handle that challenge will say much about us as a nation.” Fourteen years and three prime ministers later, the five-volume report and most of its clarion calls to action remain unfulfilled.
Tags: Indigenous, rights, standard of living
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