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Attawapiskat
Dec. 1st, 2011 07:52 pmSo, Canada has a dirty little secret. Hidden in squalid pockets in unwanted, frequently toxic bits of land, is our Third World, our oppressed, our colonized, the living fallout that we don't really teach about in Canadian History classes.
Recently, the Cree people of Attawapiskat issued a desperate cry for help that, at first, went unheeded. The only politicians to take notice were NDP (bless 'em, especially Fellow Worker Charlie Angus); the Red Cross had to go in before Emperor Harper decided to give a shit. And what a shit he gave! He put put the blame squarely on First Nations leaders, stuck the reserve under third-party management, and questioned where the $90 million that the community supposedly got from the Feds went.
The inhuman conditions in Attawapiskat—undrinkable water, toxic gas under the elementary school, buckets for toilets—aren't really unusual in First Nations communities. White Canadians like to pretend that it's the fault of corrupt First Nations leaders, but then, they also like to pretend that there aren't mass graves housing the bodies of kidnapped children on the grounds of residential schools. So, you know. White Canadians like to think that they're tolerant and blameless and enlightened, and get rather ornery if you remind them that their country is built on the bodies of its indigenous people.
But I digress. Attawapiskat. If you read the comments on any article about it, you'll notice a lot of victim-blaming, and over and over again the question: Where did that $90 million go?
I was pleased to find someone who did the research and has some answers. She has some hard figures on the cost of building houses, repairing existing buildings, education, health, and how federal dollars are actually spent (hint: the band can't do anything without government permission).
Feel free to spread that last link around. The average Canadian—myself included—really doesn't know very much about how federal funding to First Nations communities actually works, or understands a single thing about conditions on these reserves.
Incidentally, there may be a reason why we're hearing about this particular struggling community and not the others.
This is one of the least horrible pictures I've seen from Attawapiskat. I'll spare you the others; you can Google them if you want.
Recently, the Cree people of Attawapiskat issued a desperate cry for help that, at first, went unheeded. The only politicians to take notice were NDP (bless 'em, especially Fellow Worker Charlie Angus); the Red Cross had to go in before Emperor Harper decided to give a shit. And what a shit he gave! He put put the blame squarely on First Nations leaders, stuck the reserve under third-party management, and questioned where the $90 million that the community supposedly got from the Feds went.
The inhuman conditions in Attawapiskat—undrinkable water, toxic gas under the elementary school, buckets for toilets—aren't really unusual in First Nations communities. White Canadians like to pretend that it's the fault of corrupt First Nations leaders, but then, they also like to pretend that there aren't mass graves housing the bodies of kidnapped children on the grounds of residential schools. So, you know. White Canadians like to think that they're tolerant and blameless and enlightened, and get rather ornery if you remind them that their country is built on the bodies of its indigenous people.
But I digress. Attawapiskat. If you read the comments on any article about it, you'll notice a lot of victim-blaming, and over and over again the question: Where did that $90 million go?
I was pleased to find someone who did the research and has some answers. She has some hard figures on the cost of building houses, repairing existing buildings, education, health, and how federal dollars are actually spent (hint: the band can't do anything without government permission).
Feel free to spread that last link around. The average Canadian—myself included—really doesn't know very much about how federal funding to First Nations communities actually works, or understands a single thing about conditions on these reserves.
Incidentally, there may be a reason why we're hearing about this particular struggling community and not the others.
This is one of the least horrible pictures I've seen from Attawapiskat. I'll spare you the others; you can Google them if you want.
