Blood Tribe members should ask questions

LETTERS

We, the Blood Tribe, are now under a bylaw where non-natives are paying a fee to enter into our community. Along with this is the confusion of who is exempt from this law, and bringing chaos to the delivery of services; namely, those essential services for our people.

Under the Indian Act, as Aboriginal people have argued, they possess an “inherent right of self-government” and that this right best expresses their selfgoverning objectives and aspirations. Our leaders took this upon themselves to impose this bylaw under the selected provisions of ss.81-83 of the Indian Act relating to powers of a Band Council. 81 (1) The council of a band may make bylaws not inconsistent with this Act or with any regulation made by the Governor in Council or the minister, for any or all of the following purposes, namely a-r of provisions.

The concerns coming forth from community members are: is this bylaw going to deter the drug problem? Or is it a form of taxation to recover deficits accumulated by previous leaderships? The issue of taxation and Indians, both the ability of Indians to tax and to be taxed, focuses on the legal distinction of Indians living and working on-reserve from the rest of Canadian society.

Currently, governments in Canada recognize only the statute-based Indian personal property tax exemption found in s.87 of the Federal Indian Act. Section 87 exempts Indians from taxation of: (a) the interest of an Indian or a band in reserve lands or surrendered lands and (b) the personal property of an Indian or a band situated on a reserve.

A further dimension of Aboriginal title is the fact it is held communally. Aboriginal title cannot be held by individual Aboriginal persons; it is a collective right to land held by all members of an Aboriginal nation. Decisions with respect to that land are also made by that community. This is another feature of Aboriginal title which is of its own kind and distinguishes it from normal property interests.

This brings to question of the five per cent and 19 per cent deductions on the landholders from their crop shares; we as tribal members should be asking questions and be well informed of what our leaders are imposing on the people of the Blood Tribe.

Mike Day Chief

Blood Reserve