Misinformation provided by mainstream media

Page 5

Dear Editor:

I am writing in response to the recent misleading articles, written in newspapers throughout Canada, about Aboriginal peoples' fiscal responsibility.

As the Grand Chief of the Anishinabek Nation, I feel I can discuss the issue with authority. The articles tend to paint Aboriginal communities with the same brush. Our communities are as diverse as Canada from the east to the west. It is impossible to assume that all communities handle their fiscal matters in the same way.

The Canadian public has a right to know that the Anishinabek people signed treaties on a nation to nation basis. We were never compensated for our treaties as the Canadian government broke them. The money for compensation of our treaties needs to be revisited by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Canada.

We signed treaties that stated we had the right to our lands and resources on the land. We, for example, have never received the compensation from mining companies paid to the provincial government money to mine on our traditional lands. According to our treaties, that money was supposed to be returned to us through increases to annuities which never occurred. This money could have been used to create an economic infrastructure in our communities.

Tom Flanagan wrote in the Globe and Mail, that one of our biggest problems was the lack of taxation in our communities as he believes we need to find other sources of capital other than money from the federal government's transfer payments.

He, however, failed to mention that according to the federal government's imposed Indian Act we are not allowed to use our land as collateral to start economic development.

People cannot ask for bank loans without collateral. Even though we own the land we cannot use it to become self-sufficient. Further, arguments that First Nations are exempt from taxation are without merit. The 60 per cent of First Nations people who live off-reserve pay taxes in some form or another, either through property taxes, sales taxes or income taxes. How much money would be generated from First Nations where unemployment rates are upwards of 70 per cent at any rate?

Flanagan also implies that communities are run inefficiently. The turnover rate in Ontario for band chiefs and councilors is extremely high because administrative costs are minimal. The band councils try to keep the administrative costs down so they use every cent to create economic growth in their communities. Further, the Indian Act has legislated that two year terms be imposed on First Nations. It is the imposition of this foreign system of governance that has been one of the most destructive forces in our communities. When systems of governance that reflect our traditional values are restored, only then will we see improvements in this difficult situation.

Even with the devoted work of the administrator our work is an uphill battle. Our people live in Third World conditions because of the Indian Act. This act was created to assimilate Native people into dominant society. After reading some parts of the Indian Act, it is amazing to see the progress that our people have made. One section from the Indian Act made it illegal for our people to attend university. If we did we were forbidden from returning to our communities . Another section made it illegal to leave our communities without the written permission of the government's agent in our communities. Sections such as these made it hard for us to create an economic base. The Indian Act still exists so it is amazing to see the progress made. We cannot turn 150 years of oppressive legislation around in 10 or 20 years, nor should people such as Tom Flanagan expect us to. Tom Flanagan could gain a more balanced account of Native history by consulting Native studies departments at universities or by contacting Native organizations.

To create economic development in our communities, as Mr. Flanagan would like us to, we have to be able to d so in a way where we are presented with opportunities. We cannot do this without revisiting the treaties that we signed: the same treaties, which stated we would help develop Canada along with the British. Instead we were forced to the corner of our homes.

Sincerely,

Vernon Roote,

Grand Council Chief

Anishinabek Nation