Native People

I was watching The Agenda while working out. It was rather interesting.

The Debate: Aboriginals and The Economy
So often we hear debates over historical issues: susceptibility to disease (lately, H1N1), about whites invading territories, relegating First Nations to reserves. Treaty rights that have been abused. The social issues that First Nations face in terms of water, poverty, addictions, and living conditions. One of the favourite books that illustrates the rascism of our past: Raisin Wine, click the link for my book review.

We hear about the issues First Nations face, and seldom the important developments, like healing circles, Aboriginal Sentencing Circles, the respect for the earth, decision making by consensus, matriarchal governments, the IAF, the great growth in the type and quality of First Nations Educational programs. Of course, this relates to the lack of media attention in Central and Northern Ontario.

Many Aboriginal communities have created work. Wahta, a Bala First Nation community, are strong founding people who work in trades and run a fabulous community centre. I bought the book they published about the history of their reserve, which is a difficult story to read, but one which must be read.

Wahta Mohawks They have two big businesses: bottled water and cranberries.

Programs that operate from the office include Governance, Employment and Training, Housing, Health, Education, Children's services and Library. The Wahta Mohawks own and operate Ontario's largest cranberry farm. The Iroquois Cranberry Growers have 68 acres of cranberries and also produces cranberry products including juice and sauces.

Wahta Springs :: The Purest Source of Water Wahta Springs (Wahta meaning 'sugar maple') is located in Muskoka, Ontario, atop the Precambrian Shield. Dotted with lakes and rocky outcrops.

Wahta land claim settled - Parry Sound The settlement of a land claim dating back to 1918 was announced by Chief Blaine Commandant of the Wahta Mohawks, the Minister of Indian Affairs.

The statistics:

Average income of Canadians, $35,501. Average income of aboriginal people: $23,935.
The first figure is the approximate income of those in Muskoka, which in turn is about $15,000 less than the province average of $50,000.

I wonder about the statistics. I know that those in Northern Ontario have different issues than those in central and southern climes. And I am not sure that you can compare them. We need to respect the differences, recognize them, and work together to find an understanding of the way to move forward together.

Finding food is different in the norht. Many around here (Central Ontario) hunt and fish and fill their freezers. Yet finding milk is a more difficult and expensive prospect. Some communities are fly-in only in winter. Some rely on ice bridges, which are having difficulties with Climate Change since the ice freezes later and is less stable.

What most interested me about this program was "Adele", who is the Manager of Aboriginal Affairs for Musselwhite mine in northern Ontario. As a fly-in, fly-out underground mining operation located 500km north of Thunder Bay, it is remote. The only way in, efficiently, is by air. My brother works there and he flies to Hamilton, to Thunder Bay, to the Lake Opapimiskan airport (see the red A!). The mine is a 7-8 hour drive (480 km N as the crow flies) from Thunder Bay. They are difficult working conditions. Two weeks in, 12-hour shifts, and two weeks home. Rather difficult building a family life around this schedule.

To get to my point, what I wanted to laud is their Impact Benefit Agreement of 1992. It is one of the first in Canada. It is an agreement that the mine will work with local First Nations groups. They agree to respect traditional knowledge, facilitate inspections and monitoring of the mine, and offer employment, training and revenue sharing with First nations. Let us hope that things are changing, as First Nations are learning more about themselves and redefining themselves.

There are about 40 Impact Benefit Agreements (IBA) currently signed in the province. There are opportunities for First Nations and 15,000 jobs available in the mining field.
Anyone potentially affected by the mine development would attend the IBA consultations, including:

• Chiefs or mayors;
• Band councils and band members;
• Aboriginal community organizations;
• Renewable resource boards/committees;
• Aboriginal land corporations;
• Local and regional governments;
• Community members;
• Non-governmental organizations (NGOs); and
• Media.

The full kit is here:

Mining Information Kit for Aboriginal Communities: MINE DEVELOPMENT

The future is brighter than that which history attests foreshadows, and I hope that things will change.