From Oka to Okanagan: former Prime Minister Paul Martin, the 13 provincial and territorial premiers, and Native leaders gathered in British Columbia's beautiful Okanagan Valley, hoping to come up with a plan to end the terrible living conditions among Canada's First Nations People.

The goal of the meeting was ambitious: make a 10-year commitment to raising the standard of living of Aboriginal Canadians so that it would be equal to all other Canadians.

The catalog of issues needing attention is large: health, education, economic development, relationships between government and Aboriginals, and housing. Despite this comprehensive agenda there was a bit of grumbling from a number of Native leaders. They wanted to get some action on treaty rights and self-government. These are the people who signed treaties with Ottawa between 1871 and 1921. Under these agreements, the federal government gained large tracts of land in the Prairies, the North, and northwestern Ontario.

For more than three decades negotiations on these and other treaties have been underway. Topics such as self-government and Aboriginal rights are very complex. For some Native leaders they are the most important issues that need to be dealt with.

Bill Evans spoke for Manitoba's Native leaders. He said all band chiefs are confronted with poverty, poor quality water, unemployment, and sub-standard housing problems. These have to be dealt with, he agreed, but not at the expense of treaty rights. He didn't think exchanging some of those rights for money to solve social problems was a good trade.

The Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador believed it had sniffed out a conspiracy. It refused to attend the meeting saying the federal government is trying to offload its responsibility for Aboriginals onto the provinces. About 200 other bands boycotted the event.

However, the absences and the small peeves didn't upset the general mood of goodwill in Kelowna. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine set the tone. In his opening remarks he said: "My message to Canada and all of you gathered here today is straightforward.

"Poverty among First Nations can be eliminated. Eliminating it requires respect, dignity, and the willingness to empower First Nations people.

"This goal is achievable in the near--not the distant--future.

"It is my firm belief ... that collectively we can succeed in realizing this absolutely necessary goal. It is long overdue.

"And, when we do eliminate First Nations poverty in Canada, Canada as a whole will benefit as much as First Nation peoples and communities.

"I also firmly believe that Canadians want this as much as First Nations people do."

After two days of talks, Mr. Fontaine was jubilant. He called the meeting a breakthrough for his people. "All of the targets we've set are achievable," he said. "We're driving this process and we're forcing government to respond to our plan." Speaking for Canada's quarter of a million Metis, Clement Chartier echoed Chief Fontaine's words. He said the conference was a turning point for the Metis.

What fills these and many other Aboriginal leaders with hope is the First Nations Implementation Plan, which was agreed to at the close of the Kelowna gathering. In broad terms this is a $5 billion program to "close the gap between Aboriginal peoples and other Canadians in education, health, housing, and economic opportunities." That's what the Prime Minister's Office said of the deal. The plan includes:

* $1.8 billion for education, to create school systems, train more Aboriginal teachers, and identify children with special needs;

* $1.6 billion for housing, including $400 million to address the need for clean water in many remote communities;

* $1.3 billion for health services; and,

* $200 million for economic development.

Let's look at some of these proposals in more depth.

EDUCATION

As is the case everywhere, the best route to getting out of poverty is education. Without education people are trapped in dead-end, low-paying jobs or no job at all. The opposite is almost always true; the higher the level of an individual's education the higher the income.

The information on First Nations is not encouraging. Currently, 41 percent of Status Indians have graduated from high school. For Canada as a whole the comparative figure is 69 percent.

In 2001, 23 percent of Aboriginal Peoples aged 18 to 29 reported having completed postsecondary education. Compare that with the rest of Canada where the figure is 43 percent.

The dropout rate prior to Grade nine is 18 percent among Indians and three percent among all Canadians.

A couple of individual examples are typical of the difficulties that have to be overcome:

* The fly-in reserve of North Caribou Lake is 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. Of the 135 children in the reserve's school, 68 have special needs and most students are three grade levels behind the provincial average in reading;

* At the Walpole Island Elementary School in southwestern Ontario less than 10 percent of Grade 3 and Grade 6 students were able to pass the province's math and reading tests in 2003.

Why are Native people so far behind in education? They are exposed to a combination of disadvantages that would cause just about anybody to fail.

On-reserve schools are often rundown and overcrowded. It is common for such schools to be dosed down for a month or more at a time because of mould or heating or water-supply failures. Often the community lacks the skills to fix the problems and doesn't have the money to bring in outside experts.

Many of these problems are caused by years of under-funding by Ottawa.

But, for many First Nations students, the troubles start long-before they settle in to kindergarten. Poverty and the social ills that go with it are familiar features on reserves. Substance abuse, poor nutrition, overcrowded living conditions, family violence, inadequate sanitation, and other horrors occur among First Nations people far more frequently than in the rest of Canada.

Parents are their children's first teachers. The nurturing, or lack of it, that goes on in the family prior to kindergarten has a profound effect on later development. Children that are read to several times a day do much better in early grades than those who are not read to. Preschoolers learn from their parents about trust, bonding with others, intellectual and social skills, and values. Neglected and abused children develop poorly in those areas.

Far too many Aboriginal children get a very bad start in their home environment. It's hard to be an A student when you live in a dysfunctional family.

Having painted a bleak picture of the current state of Native education in Canada, it is important to note there has been a lot of progress already. In 1952, only two First Nations people were enrolled in Canadian universities. By 1969, that had grown to 100 students. Today, it's close to 30,000.

The First Nations Implementation Plan is supposed to build on that. How?

* Spend an additional $100 million over the next five years on existing programs for Aboriginal children;

* Invest "$1.05 billion over the next five years to promote education innovation on-reserve, including assistance to establish a network of First Nations school systems, with regional school authorities administered under First Nations jurisdictions and enhancements for First Nations basic education services." The goals are: 22,000 more Aboriginal high school graduates over the next five years and 110,000 more in 10 years;

* Broadband access to the Internet will be extended to 250 more remote communities, allowing students access to on-line learning opportunities;

* Another $150 million will go towards off-reserve programs within the public school system; and,

* Putting $500 million into bursaries, scholarships, and apprenticeships with the goals of increasing the number of postsecondary graduates by 14,800 over the next five years and 37,000 more in 10 years.

Ottawa says there will be other announcements in the future.

HOUSING

The current housing shortage on reserves is estimated at between 20,000 and 35,000 units. The shortfall is growing by 2,200 homes a year. However, that doesn't tell the whole story because many of the houses on reserves are sub-standard and overcrowded. An Auditor-General's report in 2003 said that 44 percent of on-reserve housing was in need of major repair. Off reserve, Canada's Aboriginal People often live in overcrowded and squalid dwellings.

Core housing needs define minimum standards for sanitation, crowding, affordability, and such. In 2001, nearly 24 percent of non-reserve First Nations, Metis, and Inuit households were living in conditions that fell below core housing need minimums. For all Canadians, the figure is 13.5%.

The problems of Native housing are in good part the result of federal neglect. Because of their low incomes Native People are heavily dependent on rent-subsidized housing. In 1994, Ottawa cut funding for new, subsidized housing as a deficit reduction measure. First Nations people have borne the brunt of the cut.

Ed Tanner is executive director of the Manitoba Urban Native Housing Association. In 2005, he wrote in The Winnipeg Free Press that, "Between 1994 and 2004, no new urban Aboriginal housing units were built in the province. The number of families on waiting fists for the 1,400 social housing units man aged by urban Aboriginal housing organizations in Manitoba has grown to 4,000 families, including approximately 15,000 children.

"Many Aboriginal families in the city of Winnipeg are forced to move frequently because of inadequate housing and have to transfer their children in and out of schools. More than half of the students of inner-city schools in Winnipeg transfer in and out of the school over the course of the school year. It is not uncommon for a young child to be in five schools by the time he or she is in Grade 2 or Grade 3."

With so many Native People on the bottom rung of the housing ladder the smallest misfortune is enough to shake them off the ladder altogether. Statistics on homelessness are notoriously unreliable, but the federal government does admit that, "The rate of homelessness among Aboriginal People is alarmingly high compared with that for other Canadians."

On reserve the tradition has been for communal ownership. The federal government owns the land and the band council manages the housing with money from Ottawa. Families then pay rent for their homes to the band council. The Auditor-General pointed out in 2003 that this system is one reason on-reserve housing has become run-down. "Many occupants," wrote Sheila Fraser, "do not consider it their responsibility to meet their housing needs," while, "many occupants carry out little maintenance, repair, or renovation." It should be pointed out that a lot of Native People lack the money to pay for materials and also lack the skills to use them properly. The band council itself may be in the same position.

That said, one of the major solutions proposed at Kelowna is the development of private ownership of Aboriginal housing. The First Nations Implementation Plan calls for "$600 million to support market-based approaches and the transformation of social housing on reserve." The Assembly of First Nations has embraced this idea although, in the past, it wasn't keen on it. The AFN view used to be that allowing private ownership would let Ottawa off the hook of its treaty obligations to provide shelter for Aboriginals.

There are examples of how home ownership can benefit Native communities. Ouje-Bougoumou is an isolated Cree settlement 725 kilometres north of Montreal. Until the early 1990s, the Cree of Ouje-Bougoumou lived in dilapidated homes similar to the ones seen on reserves across Canada.

The band council took the initiative to persuade Quebec City and Ottawa to fund construction of a new village that would feature private home ownership. The cost of buying a house is geared to income, so no family is saddled with unmanageable mortgage payments. As the mortgages are repaid, the money is put back into building more homes for sale.

Ouje-Bougoumou is so successful the United Nations has designated it as one of 50 model communities worldwide.

Other parts of the Kelowna agreement are:

* "$300 million to support new federal/provincial/territorial partnership agreements for Aboriginal housing off-reserve;

* "$300 million for northern housing partnerships; and,

* "$400 million for water and other infrastructure as well as an acceleration of the First Nations Water Management Strategy to regulate water quality on reserves and work with First Nations communities to ensure training for operators."

All this is supposed to bring about major improvements. Ottawa says it will reduce the on reserve housing shortage by "40 percent over the next five years and by 80 percent within 10 years.

For those living off reserve "the government of Canada will work with provinces and territories to provide access to housing to approximately 17,000 households." There is supposed to be no difference between Native and non-Native housing off reserves by 2016.

HEALTH

By almost every measure of health care Canada's Native People are behind the rest of the population--often, way behind.

* The incidence of infant mortality is almost 20 percent higher than in the rest of Canada;

* Aboriginal people are three times more likely to have Type 2 diabetes;

* Tuberculosis infection rates are eight to 10 times higher among First Nations people;

* The suicide rate among young Aboriginal women is seven times higher than the national average: among young men it is five times higher;

* Aboriginal women face more than double the risk of contracting HIV than non-Aboriginal women; and,

* While 3.3% of Canada's population is of First Nations heritage, 15 percent of new HIV and AIDS infections occur in

Aboriginal People.

All this adds up to a life expectancy among Native Canadians that is seven years shorter than for all Canadians.

Of course, improving First Nations health care and outcomes was on the table at the Kelowna Summit. Here's what the leaders agreed to.

"Targets have been established with Aboriginal leaders to reduce infant mortality, youth suicide, childhood obesity, and diabetes by 20 percent in five years, and 50 percent in 10 years. The government of Canada committed to doubting the number of health professionals in 10 years from the present level of 150 physicians and 1,200 nurses."

And, that carries a price tag of $1.3 billion over the next five years.

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES

The unemployment rate among Aboriginal Peoples is 19.1%, while the national rate is 7.4%. On reserves, the unemployment rate is about 29 percent, four times the Canadian unemployment rate. On some reserves the unemployment rate is 80 percent or higher.

Across the country the median income for all Canadians (i.e. half are above and half below this figure) is $25,000 a year. For Canadians of Aboriginal ancestry, the median income is $16,000.

In remote, fly-in reserves the opportunities for employment are very limited. In reserves closer to Canada's main centres of population the chances of landing a job are much better. Native People still face discrimination that keeps them out of some jobs and lack of education and training that keeps them out of many others.

The First Nations Implementation Plan sketched a number of ways for closing the gap between Native and non-Native economic opportunities.

"The government of Canada will work to increase Aboriginal employment levels by 30 percent over the next five years and by 50 percent within 10 years." There will be a $200 million investment developing First Nations industrial and commercial activities. The Siksika Nation, an hour's drive east of Calgary, is said to be a model to follow. Siksika Resource Developments Limited is a First Nations company set up to manage the development of a 50-hectare business park on the reserve. This development is now in its early stages of construction. Meanwhile, the Siksika Vacation Resorts Company Limited operates a 300-lot cottage subdivision, nine-hole golf course, pro shop, restaurant, and lounge on 130 hectares of land next to the Bow River.

But do government hand outs help? Grand Chief Stan Beardy of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), which represents 49 northern reserves, including Kashechewan, thinks they don't. He says that, in the long run, government hand outs are not the answer to the problems faced by First Nations. With many First Nation reserves still virtual welfare ghettoes he says, "We'll continue to be a burden to society as long as we're denied economic opportunity."

Chief Beardy says private companies draw about $20 billion a year from NAN territory through mining, logging, and tourism, yet First Nations receive less than two percent back in transfer payments.

He says Ottawa must enforce Section 35 of the Constitution and enable First Nations to share in the economic prosperity of the lands on which they live. "We're looking for economic participation," he says. "We're looking to share in resources, not more hand outs."

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES:

1. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has proposed radical changes in funding for Canada's First Nations. It suggests that instead of making grants to band councils for distribution to the people, Ottawa should send money direct to individual Native People. The band councils could then raise the funds they need by taxing their own people. Applying resources directly to people would get around often inefficient and sometimes corrupt band council bureaucracies. Discuss.

2. During the 2006 election campaign, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives said they would scrap the Kelowna agreement, but promised to come up with their own plan that accomplished the same objectives. Open a media file to check on what has happened since the swearing in of the new government.

3. Invite a spokesperson from a local friendship centre to speak to the class about living conditions for First Nations people both on and off reserve.

FACT FILE

According to The Globe and Mail, "Currently, more than 500 on-reserve schools operate in a legal vacuum with no national standards or curriculum."

In April 2000, Canada's Auditor-General reported that "At the current rate of progress, it will take over 20 years for [First Nations people] to reach parity in academic achievement with other Canadians."

In 2005, the United Nations ranked Canada as the fifth most desirable country in the world in which to live. However, it ranked the Canada's First Nations in 65th place, putting them behind Cuba, Bulgaria, and Libya.

In the 2001 census, 24 percent of Canada's Native people reported that they had enough knowledge of an Aboriginal language to carry on conversation. This was down from 29 percent in 1996.

Websites

Congress of Aboriginal Peoples--http://www.abopeoples.org/mainmenu.html

First Nations Implementation Plan--http://www.ainc-inac. gc.ca/nr/prs/sd2005/02749bk_e.html

National Aboriginal Health Organization--http://www. naho.ca/english/

National Aboriginal Housing Association--http://www. aboriginalhousing.org/EN/ index.html

THIRD WORLD

Phil Fontaine is head of the Assembly of First Nations, an umbrella group that represents Canada's Native peoples. Prior to the Kelowna Summit he wrote in the Canadian edition of time Magazine: "Canada has a Third World in its front yard and back alleys. That is a national tragedy and an international embarrassment."

However, a number of Third World countries have made a lot of progress in improving their living standards. Perhaps, what worked for them can work for Native Canadians. Globe and Mail columnist John Ibbitson says the most successful Third World governments have been the ones that emphasize the basics of education, health care, infrastructure, and security. "Within that framework," writes Mr. Ibbitson, "they leave each individual free to make their own way. You'll find the results in Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Chile, and a score of other successes."

He says that what doesn't work is focussing on issues such as self-governance and sovereignty.

CHANGES OF DIRECTION

Education for Indians by non-Indians began during the colonization of North America in the 1600s. At that time, the mission school was the place of learning. It was eventually replaced by larger, more centralized residential schools that began to appear during the first half of the 1800s. Most of the residential schools were operated by Christian religious orders under contract to the federal government.

Many of the residential schools were terrible places where children were punished for speaking their Native languages. Many Aboriginal children also suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their teachers.

During the 1950s, First Nations leaders started to push for change. Eventually, the residential schools were closed and education provided by Ottawa in federal schools on reserves. These were added to by off-reserve provincial schools. Agreements were signed with the provinces to cover the costs of educating First Nations students who attended provincial schools.

In recent years, however, more and more on-reserve schools have come under the control of First Nations departments of education. Today, practically all on-reserve schools are managed by First Nations while funding from Ottawa continues.

WATER IS LIFE

Traditional Indigenous teachings throughout the world equate water with life. At an Indigenous Water Rights Forum in Pinawa, Manitoba in 2004, Cree doctoral student Darlene Sanderson spoke about this: "From the teachings of the Elders we learn that: Water is life; and Water is sacred; Water is the life breath of the Creator."

Sadly, reserve water supplies are often contaminated. A National Aboriginal Health Organization paper in 2002 put some numbers on the concerns of First Nations residents:

* About one-third (32.2%) of First Nations adults consider their household water unsafe to drink;

* Seven in ten adults (70.8%) resorted to alternative sources for drinking water; and,

* The most common alternate source of drinking water was bottled water, mentioned by 61.7% of all respondents. This compares with 35 percent of Canadians who report drinking bottled water at least once a week.

LEFT OUT?

Beverly Jacobs (below), President of the Native Women's Association, came close to walking out of the Kelowna Summit in protest. She was angry that nothing in the final agreement dealt with the problem of violence against Native women. The Sisters in Spirit (http://www. sistersinspirit.ca/enghome.htm) campaign estimates that 500 Aboriginal women have gone missing in the past 20 years.

In Vancouver, "More than 50 women went missing from the city's Downtown Eastside. Two thirds were Aboriginal, and most were young. These were poor women, involved in the sex trade. They struggled with drugs and alcohol. Some suffered from the effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and many were victims of childhood sexual abuse. It is believed that many grew up in foster homes."

For years, police in Vancouver did little to investigate these disappearances until it dawned on authorities that a serial killer might be on the loose. There have been similar problems in other Canadian cities.

Ms. Jacobs changed her mind about walking out of the Kelowna gathering after Prime Minister Paul Martin promised to hold a summit on Native women's issues.

URBAN RESERVES

Saskatoon is the first city to have an urban reserve, the Muskeg Lake Urban Reserve.

In 1988, a parcel of 14 hectares within the City of Saskatoon was bought by the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. It was going to be turned into a commercial urban reserve.

Some complex legal problems had to be overcome. Under a province-wide agreement, the land use and development of this urban reserve would essentially be the same as if the site were not reserve land. This allows First Nations to govern the land through their own law-making system, while assuring consistent land use and development throughout the city. Saskatoon provides services such as fire protection and snow clearing while the band pays for these through an annual fee that gets around the tax-exempt status of reserves.

The Muskeg Lake Band put up three buildings on the previously vacant land. The site is now home to many businesses, providing employment for several hundred people, most of them First Nations. The venture has been so successful that Saskatoon has five more urban reserve proposals in the pipeline. In addition, Native People from all over Canada are visiting the reserve to pick up tips on developing similar projects in their own regions.

FIRST NATIONS DATABANK

Number of First Nations communities: 630

People of Aboriginal origin living on reserve: 285,625

People of Aboriginal origin living off reserve: 1,034,260

Total population of Canada: 31,414,000

Total people of Aboriginal origin: 1,319,890

Number of North American Indians: 957,650

Number of Metis: 266,020

Number of Inuit: 51,390

People of more than one Aboriginal origin: 44,835

Source: 2001 Census