grainfedprairieboy grainfedprairieboy:
Has the time come to explore the dismantling of Canada’s Indian Reserves?
A few arguments in favour:
-Canada’s reserves are home to the highest crime rates per capita in Canada.
-Native self-governance so far has been a failure marked by nepotism and corruption.
-There are more natives with claims against the Residential Schools then actually attended illustrating the culture of perceived persecution.
-Canada’s reserves sit in third-world squalor despite the amazing generosity of the Canadian taxpayer.
-Race based reserves breed more race based laws such as BC’s race based fishery, Alberta’s race based tax laws and race based reserve membership laws and prevent equal participation in society of all Canadians.
-Singling out Indians for preferential status while making new immigrants bore the cost is extremely unfair.
-The argument that agreements can’t be changed is counter to Canada’s culture and history of overturning laws and traditions to appease the social flavour of the moment.
-The welfare mentality on reserves breeds economic apathy and cultures social dependency.
-Life expectancy on reserves is less then for natives on non-reserves.
-Reserves do not allow for property rights preventing multi-generational wealth transfer, equity leveraging and other financial empowerment.
-Residents of reserves experience significantly higher rates of suicide, depression and other sociological disorders
The current generation on the reserve is a write off. Subsequent generations should be fully integrated into Canadian society as full and equal participants.
To those who would suppress meaningful debate on the issue of Apartheid through accusations of racism I ask you this; ta'n(i)te' e'tohte'yan, ke'kwa'n (ka'-)wa'pahtaman, ke'kwa'n ke'-to'taman wa'pahke'!
Hinsi,
I have to say that the reserve system was quite ridiculous from the very beginning. The government was trying to isolate the Indians because of cultural differences yet made every effort to suppress Native culture, that includes making various aspects of it illegal. To this day, assimilation is certainly not at the forefront of the government's dealings with Indians, but integration is all the more difficult. Like Grainfed pointed out, some Indians cannot get off reserves because of finances as well as reserve regulations. However, I cannot fully support the complete elimination of reserves for fear that too many of our people will become permantly lost to White culture, and that this would hinder any existence of self government by the nations. At the same time though, many of the Nations' council's are corrupte, and are in desperate need of reforming themselves. I see the first step for my cousins to take in improving their living is the reforming of their councils into more traditional democratic forms, where there is both more flexibility and capacity for criticisme from the people.
In regard to the point made on crime on reserves, there are a wide variety of reasons why this is, the least of wich is that they live on reserves. Aboriginals have just as much crime trouble anywhere else. Try finding a stat that tells how much crime per aboriginal in a city occurs, you'll probably find similar statistics.
I have already commented on Native self government, but historically every other people on the planet has encountered this at somepoint. Consider the quite recent sponsorship scandal.
"...despite the amazing generosity of the Canadian taxpayer", I believe that the lack of successful results is the product of programs designed not to solve any long term problems for aboriginals, but simply to temporarily satisfy them, much like the "bribing of Quebec" mentioned on another thread. Though, I am forced once again to reference the corruption in modern Indian and Metis governments.
Race based systems are wrong, I agree, but how else to prevent the ultimate assimilation of the people? And the laws regarding hunting and fishing are for the protection of a culture, and all Canadians should have the right to protect their culture.
"Canadian traditions" are irrelevant in dealing with Indian affaires.
$1:
The welfare mentality on reserves breeds economic apathy and cultures social dependency.
I agree, I see this as very much the breed of losing our culture, trying to regain it and not knowing precisely what it is. This also ties into crime.
I'm not completely sure about reserve property systems, but I know that before the government we were more or less commies.
$1:
-Residents of reserves experience significantly higher rates of suicide, depression and other sociological disorders
Once again I see that this point has little to do with living on reserves, but if we die young as Indians, then I don't mind at all.
$1:
The current generation on the reserve is a write off. Subsequent generations should be fully integrated into Canadian society as full and equal participants.
I agree that we should be integrated, but not those of us who don't want to, many of the Cree of Quebec for example who still live very traditional lifestyles.
I'll have to ask my grandma about your statement in Cree, to be honest, my families forgotten almost all Cree and French since living in the city.
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I think he wanted us all to live on ashrams. But as I guess you are from the west do not start jumping up and down with joy. I also lump that crazy old fool John Diefenbaker in as a loser. He gave away our independance from the United States and our defense industry. 
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