Corruption hurts us all in many ways

Page 4

As an Aboriginal person, I find myself questioning more and more what direction we are taking as a people. Recently, certain events have made me question the role of our leadership.

Are we under the correct leadership? What defines good leadership for us today?

I guess it always leads back to the question: traditional leadership or leadership accustomed to the new society we live in?

When I think of traditional leadership, it brings me back to traits and qualities which make our people noble and respected. The qualities of honesty, of familial priority, of placing the good of the people first, of our Creator, the respect for the medicine, the eagle feathers and the prayers. It may sound like a lot to look for but I don't think it's too much to ask for.

In today's society, we often are caught up in the cynical "rat race" of finishing first, acquiring wealth and living a good life. The simplest things are quite often lost. Such as simply being grateful to have a picnic with loved ones or spending time listening to the Elders or enjoying a powwow. It's little things such as these that many leaders forget.

Simply put, many of our leaders are Aboriginal people governing under a non-Aboriginal set of rules and regulations. The system wasn't created according to our traditional values or morals. Furthermore, we as people have had no say as to how it should have been implemented.

Only recently have we come to effect major change and worked ourselves into a position to ask ourselves questions about self government.

Questions such as: Are we ready? How shall our justice system run? How much shall we let tradition influence us? What goals do we want to accomplish as a people?

All those questions relate to our future - and more important - the future of our children and grandchildren. It is never an easy task to decide our future as individuals, and even less easy to determine our future as peoples. The most we can ask any of our leaders is to keep asking themselves these questions, to hold on to as much as they can to our traditional ways, and to keep our ideals strong.

Too many of us lose our idealism and dreams as we age. A sad occurrence, I find, that happens much too often. We lose that which is pure and virginal in our way of thinking. As Aboriginal people, we must stay firm in the common dream of prosperity for our children and culture. We must encourage each other through ceremonies, powwows, dry dances, sweats and anything else that calls to the old ways. Only through this can we influence future leaders and keep their connection to their heritage alive, a responsibility that cannot be taken lightly by anyone, young or old.

As a 22 year-old, I admittedly have little experience to draw upon to write such words. I am not an eloquent speaker, so I can write only from the heart. It angers me to hear about the leaders, both past and present, who have neglected their duties to our people and have, in some cases, betrayed us. Some, because of political connections, have faced little retribution and in my opinion, are to be scorned. On the flip side, there have been many influential leaders and positive role models we can look to. People who have clung to the old ways in their hearts and have won respect many times over. I congratulate and applaud heartily such people.

As an Aboriginal youth, I feel that we have to continue to move forward and explore while remembering who we are. We have to keep in mind that we are not presently governed under our own rules and we must continue to seek change toward self government.

Gone are the ways of revolution or active resistance, for we must strive to effect change from within the very system that governs us now. Again, this is where our traditional leaders are needed.

On such an aggressive ending, I can only repeat the anger and betrayal I felt at learning of corrupt Aboriginal leaders. I am told that such things happen often in day-to-day life, that many people look only to their on well-being and that many leaders make mistakes.

Yes, leaders will make mistakes, but there are mistakes and there are crimes. Crimes against the people who put them in office. Crimes that should be punished severely, as such crimes reflect upon not only our leaders but also upon us as people.

I have heard racists remark that if we are unable to pick effective leaders, we are certainly unable to govern ourselves. Such remarks have left me without a response and have only served to steel my resolve that we need to elect chiefs who cling to old ways and customs.