There are now many examples of policies introduced by the federal government that will have significant implications for Indigenous sovereignty, preservation of language and culture, environmental protection and social and economic inclusion.
Indigenous issues
Ten years ago, the provincial government made the welcome decision to provide greater opportunities for First Nations to participate in and benefit from forestry operations in British Columbia.
The result was a flurry of new resource and revenue sharing agreements between the government and numerous First Nations that underscored the government’s commitment to enter a “new relationship” with the province’s first peoples.
Darrell Chippeway together with film maker Darryl Nepinak interview key Aboriginal leaders regarding the formation of many key Aboriginal organizations in Winnipeg.
Shortly before the May election, the provincial government withdrew legislation that could have handed de facto control of publicly owned forestlands to a handful of forest companies.
The contentious sections of the bill were dropped amid a swelling chorus of questions about why such a gift would be bestowed without any debate about what it meant for our shared lands and resources.
More than 10 years after its creation, although it has a government, policies and legislation in place which officially attempt to support Inuktitut, Nunavut lacks two essential features of any sustainable society: the protection of its language, and its own education system.
They were kids when they started. Teenagers locked up in the youth detention centre, watching movies about American street gangs. Soon they realized that if they stood up for each other, and worked together, it was easier to survive. They said, “Hey, maybe we should form a gang, just like in the movies.” Soon they had a name and insignias. “What colour should our rags be?” That’s obvious, one said: “Indians wear red!” Once they were a gang, they weren’t pushed around as much. They resisted. They had power. It felt good. Little else had felt good in their lives.
Doctors are demonstrating their ethical duty to patients by working towards a society in which everyone has an opportunity to lead a healthy life.
A recent CCPA study showing the extent of First Nations poverty in Canada provides yet more evidence that Canada is failing Aboriginal people. Fully 50 percent of status First Nations children in Canada live in poverty as measured by the Low Income Measure (LIM). In Manitoba the situation is particularly dire with 62 percent living in poverty.
This is unacceptable as a matter of basic social justice and human rights. But it is also a major concern for the future of our economy.
This useful collection brings together the reflections and perspectives of practising professionals in the field of Indigenous education. By sharing their own learning journeys and discussing teaching and leadership activities, the twelve contributors demonstrate their own efforts to work within dominant and dominating structures to strengthen and improve educational programming for Indigenous students.
In January, one of the world's most sophisticated deep-sea drilling vessels, the $540-million Chikyu, left the Japanese Port of Shimizu destined for a distant point in the Phillippine Sea.
The voyage marked a milestone in what by then was an 18-year, $700-million research and development effort aimed at one day weaning Japan off of its dependence on oil, natural gas and coal imports.