A third way: for many decades Ottawa's approach to First Nations was to absorb them into mainstream society. In response to Native pressure, the federal government moved towards nationhood, treaties, land claims, and self-government for Aboriginal Peoples. Neither approach has been successful in dealing with First Nations' problems. Is it time to move to plan C?

The Indian Act is now well past its best-before date. The act was crafted in the Victorian era by people who had the best of intentions. It was supposed to protect Native People from thieving crooks. There were plenty of people ready to try and steal what remained of the Indians' once-vast territories; those areas set aside by treaties. The Act has been tweaked and revised several times, but its core provisions remain much the same.

Here's what former deputy minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Harry Swain, has written about the Indian Act.

"It defines who 'Indians' are to establish eligibility for land and services but, in the process, separates people who have 'status' under the act and their cousins who do not. It imposes a primitive form of European democracy on Indian bands, without recognizing traditional forms of governance. In reserving to the Crown the management of Indian lands and resources in order to prevent theft, it condemns those it governs to a life without those property rights that are the foundation of the prosperity of all other Canadian households."

So, if the chief bureaucrat in charge of administering the Indian Act thinks it's less than worthless why does it survive?

For one thing it's a political hot potato. Robert Nault found this out to his cost. In June 2002, Mr. Nault was the Indian Affairs Minister, when he introduced the First Nations Governance Act. This was a plan to change the 19th century. Indian Act and make it relevant to the 21st century.

Under the new law, Aboriginal Canadians would no longer be exempt from the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Native bands would have to develop a more democratic system of choosing their leaders. Band members living off reserve would have the right to vote in band council elections. The leaders would also have to set up clear rules about how they could spend their grants from Ottawa, and outside auditors would have the right to examine band accounts. The changes also would have made band councils more accountable.

The proposal blew up in Mr. Nault's face. Opposition was nearly universal among First Nations; and plenty of outside observers also found a lot to criticize. Much of the resistance resulted from the way the change was handled. Aboriginals felt the authorities were, yet again, telling them that they knew what was best for them. Band chiefs and councillors didn't much like the plan because it is from the Indian Act that they get their power.

In the end, the First Nations Governance Act did not survive the change of prime ministership from Jean Chretien to Paul Martin in December 2004. Robert Nault's career as a cabinet minister came to an end at the same time.

However, another change of prime minister brings another change of direction. Newly elected Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, during the election campaign, that he would reintroduce the main elements of The First Nations Governance Act. He will likely face the same resistance from First Nations that defeated Robert Nault's plan.

The Indian Act remains, although most people who have anything to do with it wish it didn't. The problem is no one seems able to come up with an alternative that pleases everybody.

A similar situation holds true with reserves. Aboriginal People never wanted the reserves in the first place; they wanted to remain on their land and live as they always had done. The European conquerors had other plans. They wanted the land on which they could settle Europe's surplus population. Because of the huge imbalance of power, the Native People of North America had to accept what the Europeans offered them. What they were offered was a few scraps of land nobody else wanted at the time.

At first, the reserves were administered by Indian agents.

These were people appointed by Ottawa to oversee the lives of First Nations based on the assumption that they could not possibly look after themselves. (The fact that they had success fully done this for thousands of years seems to have been overlooked,) No doubt some Indian agents were dedicated men who worked hard to better the lives of their charges. Unfortunately, not all agents worked from noble motives.

A major revision of the Indian Act in 1951 began the transfer of administrative power to Native People. Since the 1960s, band chiefs and councillors have been told they are leaders of self-governing "nations." But, most of the reserves are not nations; their isolation, tiny populations, poor economic prospects, and a host of other disadvantages mean they will never be nations. They will always remain dependent on funds from outside, non-Aboriginal sources.

Commenting in The Globe and Mail columnist Jeffrey Simpson observes that throwing more money at the reserves means creating "... communities such as the eventual new Kashechewan," he wrote in November 2005, "built on higher, better ground with improved public services but beset with most of the same problems that flow from 87 percent unemployment."

Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had a stab at a different approach in 1969. Along with his then-Indian Affairs Minister Jean Chretien, Mr. Trudeau suggested dismantling the reserves. They saw the squalid living conditions on reserves as an insult to equality; a system that segregated an ethnic minority from mainstream society.

In The Globe and Mail Julius Strauss described how they proposed "an end to the reserve system and scrapping the notion of Status Indians altogether, tearing up the turn-of-the-century treaties that enshrined their rights. In return, Ottawa offered to pour money into a 25-year program aimed at educating Aboriginals, improving their housing and health care, and raising their living standards to that of the Canadian majority."

Their plan was to help Canada's First Nations integrate with all of Canada's other peoples.

But, the two Liberals dropped the project when Native leaders saw it as an attempt to end their traditional way of life. Lysiane Gagnon of La Presse explains another reason why the plan was shelved: "Predictably, the Trudeau government project was met with deep hostility by First Nations chiefs and band councils: Such a move would have stripped them of their role and privileges, [because] the reserves are their power bases."

So, just as with the Indian Act, a dysfunctional reserve system keeps limping along because there is no alternative that can be agreed upon.

Most Native People have declared the reserves a failure by moving off them. Seven out of ten Native Indians do not live on reserves. They have voted with their feet to go to where the work is.

On reserves, a small number of people can make money from band administration. A few might scratch out an existence from the land by guiding and trapping, but this would be a subsistence living only: vastly different from a 21st century lifestyle.

The reality of the world is that we live in a cash economy and without cash there is no economy. Unless reserves are lucky enough to be sitting on some exploitable natural resource their economic future is bleak. The economy of Canada is in its cities where the demand is for high skill levels achieved through formal education or training.

For Aboriginal People to enjoy a lifestyle similar to the average in Canada they must likely accept a greater degree of integration into mainstream society. For them to continue living a traditional, rural lifestyle means continuing to live below the poverty line.

A small number of reserves have been successful in Canada's mainstream economic life. The Osoyoos band in British Columbia is blessed with 13,000 hectares of land in the Okanagan Valley. Located in vacation country, the Osoyoos band operates a golf course, winery, and campground.

In Quebec, the Huron Wendat Nation owns land in Quebec City and has developed a tourist park with an historical village.

The Mohawks of Kahnawake are not without their problems but do quite well. Just 10 kilometres outside Montreal the reserve has a very active on-line gambling and casino business.

Gambling is also the foundation of Casino Rama's success. Just north of Orillia in Ontario's cottage country, Casino Rama claims to be the country's largest single employer of Native People. In addition to the casino, there is a 5,000-seat theatre and a 300-room hotel. The financial rewards, which are counted in the hundreds of millions of dollars, are shared among all Ontario's First Nations.

Back in British Columbia, the Squamish Nation Capilano Reserve, which is located within West Vancouver includes a commercial enterprise know as Park Royal Shopping Centre.

What all these reserves have in common is a good location close to a major urban centre. For remote reserves such as Pukatawagan, Manitoba or Nikaneet, Saskatchewan the people must leave in order to earn a decent wage.

Going down the road and leaving the reserve is not a cure-all. Many Native People find the best they can hope for is to live in a ghetto in a major city. They usually lack the education to land a good job; a lot of those that have some education come up against the barrier of racism.

But, others do make it in ways that would be impossible on the reserves. For example, people aged 15 to 24 living on Saskatchewan's reserves suffer an unemployment rate of 89 percent. For the 24- to 64-year-old age group the unemployment rate is better at 30 percent. But, for Saskatchewan's off-reserve Indians aged 24 to 64 the unemployment rate is down to 16 percent. That's still about three times higher than the province's overall unemployment rate, but it's better than on the reserves.

Health outcomes appear to be better off reserve as well. A 2004 Statistics Canada study found that 83 percent of off-reserve Aboriginal parents rated the health of their children as very. good or excellent. Among non-Aboriginal parents the figure was 90 percent. Again, off-reserve First Nations people are behind the general population but ahead of the atrocious health conditions on many reserves.

Off-reserve conditions need to be improved even more for First Nations people. Some people are trying to do this in Winnipeg. The Roseau River First Nation is in the process of trying to turn the old St. Boniface Stockyards into an urban, Native reserve. The band wants to buy about eight hectares of the disused Canada Packers site and create an industrial park. The plan is for the profits flowing from the park to be re-invested in such developments as a skilled-trades training centre and Aboriginal legislative building.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs says that 27 percent of its First Nation citizenship lives in Winnipeg. But, almost two thirds of those people live in poverty. They need training and jobs, something the industrial park offers hope of providing. Chief Terrance Nelson of the Roseau band believes that's where the future lies.

"We need to be able to look after ourselves," he told The Globe and Mail. "We can talk about being a government or a nation state all we want. But, if the cheque is still coming from the government of Canada and that's all we're dependent upon, then we are not a nation."

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES:

1. In November 2005, Andre Picard wrote in The Globe and Mail: 'Take disparate groups of nomads, plunk them on land nobody else wants. Pack them like sardines into shoddy houses that become mould infested. Don't bother too much about infrastructure--just dump sewage in the river where people draw their water. Strip away language and cultural heritage and ship the kids to faraway residential schools so family life disintegrates. Don't concern yourself with unemployment--it's easier to create dependency with government handouts that ensure people remain poor. Make health-care services hard to access. Ensure even care for something as elemental as giving birth is a plane ride away. Keep food scarce and expensive. Subsidize only alcohol. Create an environment so unpalatable that drug abuse, criminality, and suicide seem like the most appealing options in a young person's life." Mr. Picard says this has been Canada's First Nations policy for decades. Over the top? You decide.

2. A 1921 government document explained the philosophy behind the reserve system: "It was designed in order to protect the Indians from encroachment, and to provide a sort of sanctuary where they could develop unmolested until advancing civilization had made possible their absorption into the general body of the citizens." What went wrong?

3, In her 2005 book, Bitter Embrace (ISBN: 0771080603), author Maggie Siggins describes the history of relations between the Cree of Pelican Narrows, Saskatchewan and mainstream society. Assign a group of students to read the book and present a report to class.

4. Grand Chief Stan Beardy of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation of Ontario has written: "Our very existence is dependant on our relationship to the land and our identity is drawn from this relationship. We believe the land and water around it contain all that we need to survive, grow, and prosper." How can this life view be reconciled with Canada's modern, post-industrial society? Discuss.

FACT FILE

Percentage of Canadian population of Native ancestry: 3.3%

Percentage of the February 2005 federal budget allocated to Native issues: 1.3%

In 2005, Statistics Canada reported that one in five residents of Saskatchewan will be of Native origin within a decade. By 2045, 32 percent of the province's population will be Aboriginal.

An 1880 amendment to the Indian Act declared that any First Nations person who obtained a university degree would be given the right to vote.

Websites

National Centre for First Nations Governance--http:// www.fngovernance.org/

First Nations Index--http:// www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/sm/a-z/ index_e.html

Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples--http://www. ainc-inac.gc.ca/ch/rcap/ index_e.html

PROMISES, PROMISES

First Nations people can be excused if they treat Oftawa's promises with skepticism. They've heard it all before.

"There are Native Peoples across the land who are still in search of a better life for themselves and their children."

Throne Speech--1977

"[The government's] goal is to work with Canada's Aboriginal Peoples so that they control their own lives, can contribute to Canadian prosperity, and can share fully in it."

Throne Speech--1991

"The government will forge a new partnership with Aboriginal Peoples ..."

Throne Speech--1994

"The government is committed to strengthening its relationship with Aboriginal People ... And it will work to ensure that basic needs are met for jobs, health, education, housing, and infrastructure ..."

Throne Speech--2001

"We must do more to ensure that Canada's prosperity is shared by Canada's Aboriginal People."

Throne Speech--2004

CITIZENS PLUS

Political scientist Alan Cairns has a suggestion about Aboriginal policy that he says would involve less pain and disruption than anything tried so far. The details are found in his 2000 book Citizens Plus (ISBN: 0774807679).

He traces the development of policy towards Aboriginals since the arrival of Europeans. From contact to the 1960s the belief was that First Nations people "would die out or they would merge into and disappear in the majority of the population." The reverse happened and the Native population grew.

In the 1960s, the idea of parallel development took hold. This has grown into the concept of self-government and "nationhood." But, Canada would be ungovernable if it involved relations among Ottawa and 630 "national" bands, says Mr. Cairns.

He recommends creating a society in which Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians are bound together as a community of citizens, united in sharing. First Nations people should be full Canadian citizens with additional rights--citizens plus, as he puts it.

He argues that differences should be acknowledged, but not at the expense of common identity and common interests.

AGENDA FOR CHANGE

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples started its work in 1991. Five years, 4,000 pages, and $60 million later it issued its report. There were 400 recommendations including:

* Setting up an Aboriginal Parliament to serve as a branch of government alongside the federal and provincial levels;

* Scrapping the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs;

* Basing relations between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians on original treaties and establish a tribunal to negotiate outstanding land claims;

* Increasing spending on reserves in the areas of housing, education, and health care;

* Opening a Native university: and,

* Compensating First Nations properly for resources taken out of the ground.

For almost 10 years, the commission's report was ignored. Some elements of the recommendations surfaced at the Kelowna Summit in November 2005, however, the change of government puts those in doubt.

TICKING BOMB?

At what point do Canada's First Nations run out of patience? They have heard over and over again promises that their lives are going to be improved. Yet, the huge majority of them remain at the margins of society.

The Native population is the fastest growing segment of Canadian society. In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the population explosion among First Nations means that both provinces will have an Aboriginal majority in the future.

As the average age of all Canadians rises, that of the Aboriginal population is getting younger. Today, half of Canada's First Nations people are under the age of 25, and almost 60 percent do not graduate from high school. On reserves, many of these young people are growing up amid poverty, alcoholism, and family violence. From that experience emerge people who are bitter, disengaged, undereducated, and violent. This is precisely the toxic cocktail of social ills that has produced the urban gang violence in some immigrant communities in Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and other cities.

Many experts fear the consequences of large numbers of young, Native people migrating to Canada's cities. With underprivileged backgrounds, they could find a home in urban street gangs with others who have given up hope of ever making it in mainstream society. Of course, many already have bought into the gang culture and joined gangs such Red Alert, Indian Posse, Red Posse, and the Native Syndicate.