Education… Who’s Education ?

Of course education is assimilative – in the societies of the colonizers.

But education in indigenous cultures is liberating.

The choice is yours. Pick the kind of education you want for yourselves.

– Rarihokwats

Apparently Canadian women have a way to go…

Canada lags behind countries like Burundi, Latvia and Guyana when it comes to how much political power women wield relative to men, a new report suggests..

And…?

Not to be facetious  or anything but this could be interpreted to suggest  that lousy  governance is not the sole domain of  males,and or negated by  “gender equality” planned or otherwise..

Occupy Wall Street ?…nawww Occupy the Rez

Red Man Laughing ,gets it right on the Occupy Wall Street Movement,does this   movement(s)  have any value ? Perhaps,as far as raising awareness goes,a good thing.  BUT  that said ,will OWS actually change anything at the local level where we ALL  live,work,raise our families,love,suffer,die …that is where real change begins & ends.

Indeed is the OWS movement – in general -even relevant to  Canada , personally I think not.

Watch EP#5 @ podcasts (12 minutes in for thoughts on OWS ) Red Man Laughing.com

P.S This is not about finger pointing , at the end of the day each of us have to arrive at our own conclusions.

You know you are a lackey …

Or incredibly  naive when…

You go along with the Conservatives’ tough on crime bill’ , being a member of an oppressed people & a woman to boot – in this case Inuit.

The fact that the so called justice system locks up Aboriginal Indigenous Peoples – Inuit,First Nations & Metis -  at  much higher rates than the general population -nine times higher, higher yet for indigenous women- seems to fly clear over Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq head.

She opines-with the standard  canard ,”if you do the crime you had better be prepared to do the time “. Because it’s that simple right…zzzzz. That said I do believe in self responsibility , individuals should expect to be held accountable for their actions.

The point being that when it comes to the issue of crime & justice  within Indigenous communities – & in general -  the issue(s) are much more complex. In that they are influenced by factors that disproportionately affect  Indigenous Peoples at much higher rates  than  the general population,e.g  poverty ,social exclusion etc...

Indeed many, many  of the injustices  faced by Aboriginal Peoples have been knowingly perpetrated  on Aboriginal indigenous Peoples by Anglo -settler governments . One need only look at the racist thinking and policies that are built into the  Indian Act . An act that denies First Nations peoples &  Metis people the most basic rights common to other peoples the world over.

Like really ,how can one possibly overlook that whole colonialism / settler state thing that Canada has going on ?

The irony is rich indeed when the very government -which is part & parcel of the very  system that perpetuates  & excuses these injustice-turns around and  talks of  justice & or taking responsibility for ones actions.

Context is everything.

 

Treaty Talks or Sham Talks ?

Silly me and  I thought treaty talks actually meant something…

HTG’s human rights complaint charges that under Canada’s Comprehensive Land Claims Policy, relied upon by the government since 1973 in negotiating treaties with First Nations, so-called “private lands” owned by the large timber, mineral and real estate development companies are “off the table.” The government refuses to negotiate over the return or replacement of these lands, and, under its land claims policy, will not discuss compensation at the treaty table.  HTG also charges that Canada refuses to consult with HTG, as required under well-established principles of international human rights law, before allowing the forestry companies to permanently destroy their lands and resources, with no benefits provided to the HTG First Nations.

Which begs the question what exactly is on the table or up for negotiations ? And why would any First Nation bother with “treaty talks” ? Indeed it’s like a big f@#k you  followed up with a , this is how it’s gonna go.

Further more  who is claiming who’s land , seems to me it’s the settler state with the land claims ,i.e it’s claiming other peoples lands. O, arrogance thy name is an Anglo settler state.

And so it goes, “the more things change the more they stay the same”.

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