Some don’t understand First Nations issues
RE: MONSEF FIELDS QUESTIONS FROM LOCAL SENIORS, JULY 28,
Sadly, but not unexpectedly, my fellow senior citizens are showing their lack of understanding re the true history of our relationship with the First Peoples in this country we call Canada. I would suggest they begin to consult with their grandchildren who are, hopefully, being taught that true history by teachers in today’s public and Catholic school boards.
There are also a number of opportunities for seniors to learn the truth about our Treaty-toTreaty relationship with the
First Nations, Inuit and Metis people within whose territories we now make our homes, some of us for many generations. We need to learn that money paid to First Nations by the Federal government, “from taxpayers’ money,” represents, in part, payback time to First Peoples for the largesse we have received from them through resource developments over several hundred years, which has been of immense benefit to our wellbeing while leaving our host people across Turtle Island living under colonial, assimilationist policies which have devastated their lives and results in them, even today, living under conditions which are not tolerated within our “non-Indigenous” society.
The sovereignty of First Nations, confirmed in many ways through the Canadian Constitution, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and many court decisions, as well as other legal documents, precludes our “right” to ask for accountability from them. That right resides within their own sovereign constituencies.
The First Peoples are willing to help us re-learn our history, and many within our faith groups and the community, offer various kinds of learning opportunities which can open new worlds of understanding and solidarity. Watch media outlets for information, including the chance to attend powwows, the First Peoples’ invitation to us to begin to learn about their heritage and traditions, in respect, peace, justice and friendship. Jean Koning, Water St.