Harper to meet with Chief Spence/First Nations leaders

[zzontar]

You oh so priviledged money-suckers ... with your oh so special social programs for every conceivable thing just don't get it, do you? Subsidized child care, subsidized sports programs, subsidized meal programs in schools, energy credits, "green initiative" grants, tax breaks for group sports, tax breaks for arts and cultural classes, homeowner grants and on and on ....

You stand up and yowl like tomcats when you decide you want something funded by governments but if the FN people do it you spit on them. When governments break their word to you, you bellyache and bi!ch and go out on strike, but when governments break their word to the FN people, you say they deserve nothing. You disgust me.

I don't think the way you howl when non-natives want subsidies and entitlements but think that natives should have subsidies and entitlements is any better.

[Snman]

Obviously you don't know your history j watson...

Really? What did I miss? Tell me.

[grammafreddy]

I don't think the way you howl when non-natives want subsidies and entitlements but think that natives should have subsidies and entitlements is any better.

You missed my point (no surprise there).

What makes you think non-natives should get subsidies, grants, tax credits, hand-outs, etc but not the natives?

[ticat900]

I don't think the way you howl when non-natives want subsidies and entitlements but think that natives should have subsidies and entitlements is any better.[/quote]

You missed my point (no surprise there).

What makes you think non-natives should get subsidies, grants, tax credits, hand-outs, etc but not the natives?[/quote]

gramma your missing something for sure and thats obvious. The indians already get like literaly BILLIONS of dollars in cash
aid and then billions in tax releifs, welfare, etc etc etc its not like their not getting more than they deserve.They are and we as a canadian society are totally fed up with the free ride their getting.Its their own stupidy and ignorance that has put them in any situation they find themselves in

AS one of their own has publicaly decried"

Chief Clarence Louie said to their own
"'If your life sucks, it's because you suck. Quit your sniffling. Join the real world. Go to school, or get a job. Get off of welfare. Get off your butt. Our ancestors.worked for a living. So should you"

[zzontar]

You missed my point (no surprise there).

What makes you think non-natives should get subsidies, grants, tax credits, hand-outs, etc but not the natives?

I don't. I think everyone should be equally entitled as well as equally paying taxes. I guess one has to look at the percentage of status natives who receive extra assistance as compared to the percentage of non-natives who are receiving extra assistance and then look at how much both are costing.

[grammafreddy]

You missed my point (no surprise there).

What makes you think non-natives should get subsidies, grants, tax credits, hand-outs, etc but not the natives?

I don't. I think everyone should be equally entitled as well as equally paying taxes. I guess one has to look at the percentage of status natives who receive extra assistance as compared to the percentage of non-natives who are receiving extra assistance and then look at how much both are costing.

Now, you see ... what you think of as non-natives who get subsidies you think of as the poor folks who are on welfare, etc.

What about all the other non-natives and all the subsidies they get? The ones who are not on welfare or EI or on pensions? The ones who work and still get subsidies, grants, tax credits, etc??? The ones like perhaps ... you?

[coffeeFreak]

I don't. I think everyone should be equally entitled as well as equally paying taxes.

Unless a person is a Status First Nations working ON a reserve, Aboriginal people pay income tax just like everyone else.

[coffeeFreak]

Really? What did I miss? Tell me.

Sovereignty and Resistance
by Ellen Gabriel

Since the beginning of contact, Aboriginal peoples and Europeans have been at odds with one another. This is due, in part, to the differing ways Aboriginal peoples and Europeans view land and resources. It is also due to the fact that Europeans and their descendants refuse to recognize the sovereignty of Aboriginal peoples and rights to their lands. This refusal occurs in spite of the fact that Aboriginal right to land is protected under section 35 of the Canadian constitution.

Most Canadians have been taught in schools that Aboriginal peoples were conquered and surrendered their rights to their lands. This belief, however, is a fallacy not a truth.

The papal bull decreed by Pope Alexander VI, Inter Caetera, May 4, 1493, stated that representatives of the monarchy of Portugal, and later Spain, could declare lands for the Crown if they were occupied by heathens – non-Christians. Many other European countries with links to the papacy utilized papal bulls in their claims to land in the Americas.

Hence the struggle began for Aboriginal peoples to not only defend their lands but themselves as well. Aboriginal peoples have been taught that their lands have never been surrendered but that their ancestors agreed to allow Europeans to partake in the beautiful bounties of the land. The early treaties are a testament to this fact since these were agreements of peaceful coexistence between various Aboriginal nations and Europeans. Sadly, Europeans did not respect these treaties and even misinterpreted some as the surrendering of land.

In Canada, the Indian Act contains policies and programs that are designed to “control” the lives of Aboriginal peoples. Since its inception, Aboriginal peoples have been resisting the imposed laws that were designed not only to control but to destroy the social, spiritual and political fabric of Aboriginal nations. One need only look to the history of residential schools in Canada to see the manifestation of these acts of genocide against Aboriginal peoples.

In order to fully comprehend this phenomenon, imagine for a minute a foreign government entering Canada and imposing by force its own laws, language, culture, customs and spirituality upon Canadians. And what if this foreign government decreed as well that their system of government was far more superior to Canada’s and that Canadians would either have to convert or perish? This is the essence of the relationship between Canada and Aboriginal peoples.

Even more reprehensible is the fact that many Aboriginal nations who were once allies of countries such as England, Holland, France and the United States suddenly became “wards of the state”?! This due to the racist attitudes of people who viewed Aboriginal peoples as less than human and the Indian Act that has forced Aboriginal peoples to still be wards of the state in Canadian law.

That is the cause of events like Restigouche, the “Oka Crisis,” which happened in the Mohawk communities of Kanehsatà:ke and Kahnawà:ke, Ipperwash, the Oldman River Dam of the Peigan Nation of Alberta, Haida Gwaii, Six Nations/Caledonia and numerous other blockades happening right across Canada.

Blockades and other acts of “resistance” reflect the frustration and disgust of Aboriginal peoples with how Canada has dealt with long-standing historical grievances concerning land rights. These very same blockades are also symbolic of the mistrust that Aboriginal peoples have towards the Canadian government. Sadly, it has been demonstrated time and time again that it is only through the creation of blockades that governments will sit down with Aboriginal leaders to negotiate disputes.

However, rather than examining the deeper issue of land rights Canada always argues that it cannot negotiate while blockades exist. The criteria of “land claims” by the Government of Canada require that Aboriginal nations prove occupation of disputed lands from time immemorial. Such criteria are difficult to challenge since our history and arguments are based upon oral traditions which have yet to be validated as a legitimate source by the Supreme Court of Canada.The situation is all the more frustrating considering that Aboriginal nations are forced to present their arguments of land rights to the very nation that they are having a conflict with. It’s like asking a friend whom you have a dispute with to settle the argument. Would that seem fair to you?!As we progress into the future there are a few statistics that will make one understand the reasons why Aboriginal peoples are frustrated with how matters are dealt with by the Government of Canada:

[list=]In the United Nations Human Development Report 2003, which is used to assess standard of living, Canada ranked 8th in the world. When this formula is applied to Registered Indians, Canada is ranked 48th in the world.
Health: A disproportionate number of Aboriginal peoples in Canada live below the poverty line, and there is a housing crisis. There is a large gap between the health of Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian population. Our life expectancy is 6.4 years less than that of Canadians. Furthermore, Aboriginal peoples are 1.5 times more likely to have heart disease, 4 times more likely to have diabetes and 6 times more likely to contract tuberculosis. We have a higher incidence of AIDs and suicide is a leading cause of death for our youth.
The Auditor General of Canada, Sheila Fraser, estimates that it will take Canada 200 years to settle all “land claims” at the current rate that Canada “resolves” land disputes.[/list]

Freedom and democracy are two factors in a nation’s life that perpetuate a healthy growth of its people. Oppression has been the constant in Aboriginal peoples’ relationship with Canada. It has also been instrumental in the destruction and loss of peoples’ traditions, language, spirituality and political structures. Aboriginal peoples will continue to fight and resist, utilizing the means available to them, until a relationship based upon mutual respect, integrity and honesty is achieved. Until then, the world will see more acts of resistance to achieve a form of sovereignty that will allow our nations to flourish.

http://www3.nfb.ca/enclasse/doclens/visau/index.php?mode=theme&language=english&theme=30665&film=16933&excerpt=612110&submode=about&expmode=1

[Snman]

Why would I expect anything else from Ellen Gabriel? Blah blah blah Ellen.

[kibbs]

awesome post coffee freak ,its elementary dear watson

[Snman]

Blah blah blah, kibbs. You probably like to hear yourself talk.

[kibbs]

Blah blah blah, kibbs. You probably like to hear yourself talk.

i think right you are my dear watson ,i have made nearly 500 heart felt posts in just over 60 days compared to your near 200 in six years .this topic is one of my favorite because it creates awareness to the little guy and gives me hope that through social media ,little brother can stand up to big brother.

[zzontar]

Unless a person is a Status First Nations working ON a reserve, Aboriginal people pay income tax just like everyone else.

Like I said, I think EVERYONE should have to pay taxes... even working on a reserve... even shopping on a reserve. Believe me, even native Italians, Germans, Swedes. Australians etc, etc, have to pay taxes on their native land... it's how it works in the rest of the world, no other nation demands land just because their ancestors lived there. I've asked this many times and surprise surprise, I still haven't had a response. "Does anyone think the natives would have preferred that people just emigrated here like anywhere, so things now would be basically the same except everyone would be equal?"

[daw14]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDa8YDb3Ag4

Doesn't this say something ?

[kibbs]

urprise surprise, I still haven't had a response. "Does anyone think the natives would have preferred that people just emigrated here like anywhere, so things now would be basically the same except everyone would be equal?"

do you mean if we came here and asked how much for the land ,and we were told its not for sale it is for everyone to share and we said ok and did not put them on reserves .or the way americans emigrated and were even more brutal.in the war of 1812 the natives helped fight the americans to help build this nation and when they tried to get there promised land a whole large territory they were betrayed and put on reserves .so i think yes they would have preferred to share the land peacefully in the first place.long live the memory of Tecumseh.