June 21st: National Aboriginal Day

Canada has declared June 21st--the first day of summer--National Aboriginal Day. This day was created to recognize the unparalleled contributions Indians, Inuit, and Metis have made to the development of Canada. The day is an opportunity for all Canadians, especially young people, to learn more about the Aboriginal Cultural heritages of Canada. The designation of National Aboriginal Day also supports global initiatives to commemorate the International Decade of the World's Indiginous Peoples.

The federal government website is here.

(You may have noticed that I haven't been posting lately... I've been working toward a personal deadline which blogging was distracting me from achieving. My apologies for getting this up here late.)

Land claims backlog

(Photo: Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Jim Prentice, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.)

PM Harper today announced a tribunal of independent judges to take care of the backlog of native land claims.

From the news release: "Today's announcement is a positive response to what our people have advocated for decades and is a testament to the perseverance and dedication of our people," said National Chief Phil Fontaine. "The government's commitment to our full engagement in implementing this important initiative will be key to its success."

As this is hardly the first time government has made a big announcement to improve the quality of life for Canada's First Nationspeoples, let's hope the intent is sincere and this tribunal does what it is supposed to do.

Read all about it here.

Colleen

Tracking candidates stands on the issues

Waiting for me in my inbox this morning was an email from ONE, the campaign to make poverty history. (You can access the ONE website through the rotating banner at the top of this page.) The message was an invitation to sign up for a teleconference to discuss the launch of a campaign to "make every 2008 presidential candidate take a clear position on extreme poverty and global disease. "

According to the email: "We are just days away from launching an aggressive field effort, placing ads on the air, and launching a new website that will track the '08 candidates on the ground and on the issues like AIDS, malaria, access to clean water, and universal basic education.

"But to reach the widest audience possible, we need to tap in the power of the ONE community. I need you to share your vision for an America that leads the global fight to end extreme poverty and disease. So on Monday I'll be kicking-off ONE Vote '08 by hosting a conference call with Senator Tom Daschle, Senator Bill Frist, and you."

Whether you're interested in the ideals of ONE or not, the notion of tracking candidates stands and making those public is a great idea. It accomplishes a couple of things. It provides a focal point for public interest; it keeps the issue in the media; it allows people to easily compare candidates stances; and it makes the candidates aware of public interest.

If you're interested, Sign up for the conference call Monday, June 11th at 7:30 pm eastern time.

Colleen

BBC poll on world influence

Earlier this year the BBC World Service conducted a poll of 28,000 people in 27 countries to determine how 12 countries lined up in terms of their negative and positive influence on world events.

Canada was ranked the most positively influential country in the world. (It tied with Japan in positive votes but had fewer negative votes.)

This is important because we Canadians don't often see ourselves as leaders of world opinion. It's time that we begin to not only recognize the influence we can have and to wield this influence with vigour.

Canada has made the mistake of aligning too closely with the U.S. of late and we need to pull back from this position and return to one of friendly distance.

At the current G-8, as one example, the environment stands to take a hit if Canada backs the U.S.' desire to forgo caps on carbon emissions. Canada has already backed out of its support of Kyoto. It's not too fantastic to state that continuing along this trajectory would be fatal.

Canada has always been a strong player on the international stage. It's time to get back there.

Colleen

Poll chart

Full poll results

U.S. prosecutor targeted for supporting Native American voters' rights

There's an interesting post on John's site regarding a U.S. attorney who was targeted to be fired for spending too much time on Native American issues.

Here's the news article from the L.A. Times.

Minnesota case fits the pattern in flap over firing of U.S. attorneys

A prosecutor apparently targeted for firing had supported Native American voters' rights.

By Tom Hamburger, Times Staff Writer
May 31, 2007

WASHINGTON — For more than 15 years, clean-cut, square-jawed Tom Heffelfinger was the embodiment of a tough Republican prosecutor. Named U.S. attorney for Minnesota in 1991, he won a series of high-profile white-collar crime and gun and explosives cases. By the time Heffelfinger resigned last year, his office had collected a string of awards and commendations from the Justice Department.

So it came as a surprise — and something of a mystery — when he turned up on a list of U.S. attorneys who had been targeted for firing.

Part of the reason, government documents and other evidence suggest, is that he tried to protect voting rights for Native Americans.

For more on the story read here.

Another reason to hate your dentist

The rate of tooth decay in Alaskan Native villages is 2.5 times the national average and access to dental care is severely limited because of distances and the number of dentists willing to work in remote areas. So, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium decided to start a program to train local people as dental health aide therapists to do some of the work dentists do (extractions, fillings, crowns, etc.) and also to educate their people about good oral hygiene and diet (native teeth were relatively healthy until the white diet and all its sugar was introduced, along with the bacteria that reacts with sugar to cause tooth decay.)

Dental therapists have been around for 80 years in New Zealand, 35 years in Canada, and exist in every industrialized nation in the world... except the U.S.

Instead of applauding a plan initiated, developed and paid for by Natives to help end a Native public heath crisis, the American Dental Association FILES A LAW SUIT against the new therapists and the consortium to try to stop it.

Links:

Background on dental crisis

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium

American Dental Association (go to Press Kit for info on the legal suit)

U.S. Public Health Service


It's already working everywhere else in the world so, of course time and effort will be spent in court.

Is it just me or do Native people have to fight for every single piece of their lives no matter how small? It seems to me that white society would prefer to spend money on lawyers rather than on improving living conditions or other opportunities for improvement. (Would you drink a glass of water on a reserve?) We are hemorrhaging money to the legal system and the only winners are the lawyers.

Colleen

Ipperwash Findings: Give the land back

(Photo: Sam George calls for Mike Harris to apologize.)


The results of the inquiry into the 1995 shooting of Dudley George by an OPP sniper are "a damning indictment" says Julian Falconer, a lawyer for the Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto.

"The government of former Ontario premier Mike Harris, Ottawa and the OPP [Ontario Provincial Police] all bear responsibility for events that led to the 1995 death of Dudley George, the head of the Ipperwash inquiry said Thursday [May 31, 2007.]" (CBC)

"The provincial government could have appointed a mediator or negotiator at any time, but did not," [Commissioner Sidney] Linden wrote. "The premier could have urged patience, rather than speed."

Commissioner Linden blames the OPP for racism and the government for "successive neglects" in failing to return the land to the Stony Point tribe.

The report's recommendations:

• The disputed land should be returned immediately to the Stony Point First Nation, which should also receive compensation.
  
• Ontario should establish a permanent, independent and impartial agency to facilitate and oversee the settling of land and treaty claims.
  
• Ontario should improve public education about its land claim policies as well as aboriginal burial and heritage sites.
  
• Access to the Ontario land claims process should depend on whether the documentation filed by the First Nations provides clear evidence that there's been a breach of the legal obligations of the Crown.
  
• The OPP should establish a formal consultation committee with major aboriginal organizations in Ontario.
  
• Provincial police should establish an internal process to ensure racist and culturally insensitive behaviour by police is dealt with publicly.
  
• The province should establish and fund an Ontario Aboriginal Reconciliation Fund.

It will be very interesting to see how quickly the current provincial government follows up on these recommendations. Premier McGinty was quick to call the inquiry -- probably hoping to tarnish his predecessor, Mike Harris. Now that the ball is in his court, we'll see how anxious he is to see justice done.

It's too bad that someone had to die before the government (regardless of its political bent) does the right thing.

For more information on the report go here.

Colleen