[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Some of us know a fair bit. I'm part native, my dad is a Metis elder, I've worked for the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, and lived and worked as a journalist in a native community in the North. I've read treaties, sat in on land claims negotiations, covered band elections, and taken part in a round dance under the northern lights.

And the narrative you tell is hardly the whole picture - it's just as simplistic as they're all lazy bums.



We spend billions. Canada is responsible for providing health care and education to the bands is signed treaties with for As long as the sun shines the river flows and the grass grows. That's a legal commitment all Canadians needs to recognize, and moral commitment.

However, you can't just throw money at toxic communities and expect them to become healthy. Some of the wealthiest bands in Canada have the worst drug, gang, and suicide problems.

Take native housing. Much of it is in deplorable condition. But that's owing largely to A) the extreme isolation of many communities, and the corresponding extremely high cost of construction and maintenance, and B) in the absence of private ownership there's no incentive to take care of homes, so they quickly get trashed. Suggestions to encourage private ownership of native housing are unwelcome, which is unsurprising given the power band leaders derive from allocating housing.



The problem is that there really isn't any pubic debate on native issues in Canada. The only acceptable comment any non-Native Canada is allowed to make on the subject today is that everything was the fault of the Europeans and we need to spend more money. And when we don't allow open and public debate, people get resentful and pissed off in the anonymous forums where they can express themselves.

The saddest part is you had to preface this comment with that because otherwise you'd be considered a horrible racist even though everything you said should be largely uncontroversial.