Take time to reflect on our future

Page 6

Dear Editor:

As we look over 400 years of contact and review our present situation, we need to ask ourselves a few fundamental questions: Where are we? Who are we? Are we still the people we claim to be?

I think an obvious answer to that last question is no, we are not. That is not necessarily a bad thing, because now you are looking at the core of nationhood, and that is how do we choose to govern ourselves as a true nation or nations?

Look at the present path that we are on in order to achieve this goal of nationhood. Why is it we allow ourselves to be dictated to on the terms and conditions of our own government? Why is it that we consciously follow the dictates of federal and provincial governments through various acts of legislation and enter into negotiations regarding the terms and conditions of our governmental structure and still have the nerve to call ourselves a free people?

How many times have "we" heard our leaders proclaim that it is we who will determine our own destiny? Who are the we they are alluding to in their bread and butter speeches? Are we the people who are of Aboriginal descent, the ellusive "we" spoken of by political leaders across this land, who are the ones who will determine this future destiny? If so, does the present structure allow for our direct participation in the process to achieve that goal of self-determination or self-government?

The only thing being offered is a delegated model of self-government that does not recognize our inherent right of self determination. Look at the present delegated models of government that we function under today. They are either formed under the provincial society's acts (tribal councils) or modeled on the British parliamentary system, such as a national organization. We, as individuals or the people they say they represent, are not given the right (obligation is an even better word) to choose who will be our leader. Instead, we opt for a European model, based on privilege, exclusion and reliance on others, to choose the leaders at the highest level. Why are we allowing this to happen? That is our obligation as individuals to make that choice or decision, and in the end, it is we who are responsible for those who we choose to represent.

In turn the leaders must prove to us they are worthy of their positions and not be based on how many compromises are made with other leaders with sometimes less than worthy political results that sometimes affect us all.

We have an obligation to prepare for the coming of the next generation, and that generation is under 34 years of age, which constitutes the largest segment of our population, accounting for 60- to 75-per cent of the total. If we break this down even further the largest population is under 14 years of age and will in some provinces account for 45 per cent of the general population. This same population will account for 24 per cent of the workforce in Canada.

We must start to believe that we are much more than mere powerless individuals, and start to believe that we have the responsibility to act. We have to believe that only we are going to change our present situation, regardless of how we got here.

Never in our history have we allowed ourselves to be labeled victims except by our own device. Never in our history have we allowed others in to even think that they have a right to provide for us. Why do we allow this today? What is worse, we have grown to expect it.

An example of a free-minded people comes from the Apache war shaman Geronimo, who, after listening to an American general trying to entice him to surrender his people for two mules, farm implements, seed, 40 acres of land and monthly rations, replied, "you have no right to feed us no matter how good the food is."

His statement can be applied to any instance. We have to believe in us and no one else. We can not continue to believe in what we are presently told by the federal and provincial government. We cannot depend oncourts to make the final decisions on how we govern ourselves.

Why is it that every government in the world has the opportunity to adopt and adapt to change except Indigenous government? The only plausible answer is because we allow it and I'm sorry to say that is by choice-our choice.

Byron Louis

councilor Okanagan Band

Syilx Nation