Aboriginal Day

When European people began exploring the unknown world back in the 14th century North and South America were settled by numerous Aboriginal groups of people that today we recognize as First  Nations.It did not take very long before these civilizations were in conflict with the invaders and because of their superior strength whole Nations were conquered and practically wiped out.

The Spanish were the worst as they came for gold and a flawed idea that their religion was superior  so the slaughter began. The French and English came to the Northern areas and met with the same results but the First Nations survived. The Aboriginal peoples survived the diseases,the slaughter and the reservations imposed on the people who settled and owned the land.Now after hundreds of years we recognize the wasteful policies of the past and the lost potential that could have realized had we worked with these talented and strong cultures. Instead we have ignored their value and placed these people on reservations where it was impossible for them to grow in dignity and become part of the national fabric.

Now we realize that the First Nations are not going to go away and are growing in numbers faster than any other ethnic group . In spite of this we the Canadian people through our federal government still keep these, our fellow Canadians on reserves, in conditions that can only be compared to as third world citizens. The United Nations inspector made a report that should have  shamed our government but instead the government attacked the messenger from the UN.

There are some bright spots with our Aboriginal people but more negative than positive. Canada can somehow find $35,000,000,000 for a fighter aircraft that we do not need and cannot provide clean water, housing, schooling and medical services to our First Nations citizens. Shame.

I have seen first hand what can be done with resource when I worked in the Arctic Territory, Nunavut. Strong leadership from within the Inuit community have made conditions better for their people.There are still problems but most of them have being addressed. The forgotten Aboriginals in the near north of our provinces suffer poverty and the children are growing up in a society which gives little value to their worth.

What a shame that we are crying for more immigrants to fill jobs when we have nearly a million first nations people who are mostly unemployed. What a waste of human resources. It will not be too long before some western cities will have a majority of their population from first nations communities. We must solve this shameful situation and return the Aboriginal people to their rightful status. The Aboriginal peoples have to show more leadership and the communities who have done so are doing better.Because they have been put down for such a long time our hope for the future is through the youth who must be educated so they can compete in the fast world of Canadian society.

On this special day set aside to recognize Aboriginal peoples and their place in Canadian society let us try to understand the plight of these our oldest settlers on this land that we must share. Together we can make a difference if we care.