The Treaties are nation to nation agreements between First Nations and the British Crown who are sovereign nations. The Treaties are agreements that cannot be altered or broken by one side of the two Nations. The spirit and intent of the Treaty agreements meant that First Nations peoples would share the land, but retain their inherent rights to lands and resources. Instead, First Nations have experienced a history of colonization which has resulted in outstanding land claims, lack of resources and unequal funding for services such as education and housing.
The state of Canada has become one of the wealthiest countries in the world by using the land and resources. Canadian mining, logging, oil and fishing companies are the most powerful in the world due to land and resources. Some of the poorest First Nations communities (such as Attawapiskat) have mines or other developments on their land but do not get a share of the profit. The taking of resources has left many lands and waters poisoned – the animals and plants are dying in many areas in Canada. We cannot live without the land and water. We have laws older than this colonial government about how to live with the land.
Currently, this government is trying to pass many laws so that reserve lands can also be bought and sold by big companies to get profit from resources. They are promising to share this time…Why would these promises be different from past promises? We will be left with nothing but poisoned water, land and air. This is an attempt to take away sovereignty and the inherent right to land and resources from First Nations peoples.
There are many examples of other countries moving towards sustainability, and we must demand sustainable development as well. We believe in healthy, just, equitable and sustainable communities and have a vision and plan of how to build them.
Please join us in creating this vision.
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We intend to establish our right to control Borders against “Babylon” the Beast.
details follow
Haa! Ho!
We have a system where we go to the polls and elect the next dictator for our country. That dictator is allowed to go unchallenged for 5 years at which point we are allowed to go back to the polls and either vote in another dictator or keep the same one we have. I believe that politicians should be forced to not only gain support of the majority, they should be forced to keep it at all times. That would fix a majority of the problems we have with our government. It would ensure that everyone is treated equally. The problem is the politicians won’t adhere to such rules without it being forced on them. They don’t want anyone to tell them what to do when they are elected. Least of all your average everyday citizen. And there lies the problem. The only way to fix this is bring in full binding referendum and recall legislation. Limit their power. Embed that in the constitution and make sure it can never be changed.
The system we live under is designed to breed corruption. We’ve seen examples of it from time to time. It doesn’t matter if its a Liberal government, a conservative government or even an NDP government. They all want to be at the public trough and they are all evil in their own way. Its this outdated system we live in that is creating this problem. A system that’s been twisted to favour the rich and those who seek power. And yes the rich for sure don’t want to change it. They benefit from it the most.
So what do we do? We have to band together in solidarity. Both Native and Non-Native. We need to find a way to change the system. Or build a new system. Build one with the controls that we need so that the people of this country don’t get rail roaded again.
The fact is all Canadians are under siege from big business. From the moment we leave Post-Secondary Institutions we are in servitude with debt. Governments (Corporation- elites) would like to see us (Canadian citizens and First Nations) divided and arguing against each other. They purposely do this to distract from what is really going on in this country which has been a pillaging of the public commons for their own personal wealth.
Gutting Environmental Regulations or undermining Treaty Rights are just a means to an ends for these Corporate entities.
Is Canada a corporate plutocracy?
“Plutocracy” defines a society or a system ruled and dominated by the small minority of the wealthiest citizens.
Canada’s richest 1 percent grabbed one-third of all income growth since 1987.
A study published last week shows that social inequality in Canada has now reached levels unseen since the 1920s.
I want to state what I believe is the main reason why we don’t have a democracy anymore. It’s because Big Business has established themselves as the policy makers in this country. We do not elect them. They are not accountable to us. However, they have the ear of probably at least 95% of our elected officials. They are, in effect, the puppet masters. Their involvement in Canadian politics (all levels of Canadian politics) is not all that transparent, although in some ways it is blatant. It’s hard to believe perhaps – and that is why their control has slipped by us. I will share what I have learned so far in order to get the ball rolling. It will hopefully help us start understanding why politicians do what they do; make decisions that benefit the filthy rich corporate players and undermine the rest of us, and especially the environment and the poor. And another question; why do politicians these days come from and return to the business world instead of the legal world or wherever they used to come from? Once you start thinking about it, the government’s strict adherence to right-wing corporate ideology, which is totally un-patriotic, only makes sense in light of the fact that they and the business elite are one and the same.
There is a group in Canada called the BCNI: Business Council on National Issues (Now renamed CCCE). I think most of us don’t know about this group; I only recently found out about them. Here are some main points (all quotes are taken from Tony Clarke’s 1997 book, Silent Coup):
-The BCNI was formed in April, 1977, by Canada’s top business leaders (lead by W.O. Taits, CEO of Imperial Oil and Alf Powis, CEO of Noranda Mines) to act as a streamlined, effective business lobby with the purpose of essentially wresting power away from the government in favour of a free-market system in which corporations would no longer be held in check. Its contempory in the US was the Business Round Table, out to accomplish the same goals.
sources
http://democracyunderfire.blogspot.ca/2009/03/canada-is-corporate-plutocracy.html
List of wealthiest Canadians
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadians_by_net_worth
List of largest public companies in Canada by profit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_public_companies_in_Canada_by_profit
http://democracyunderfire.blogspot.ca/2009/03/canada-is-corporate-plutocracy.html
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2010/12/cana-d09.html
That system is scheduled to complete its purpose as the global indigenous movement develops the people’s hearts and minds. it is treachery to advocate any relationship with the Aryan, white Supremecist Party now attempting to complete the capitailist culture world wide.
Land, hands and love, not money, weapons and death.
I hope I didn’t offend anyone, my opinion is my own and I alone cannot change much, if we want change to happen we need to work together, the voices of one may drown out in the back but the voices of many will be heard, even stronger are our collective actions, I’m saddened by the events that ended in violence, police corruption or a few who responded badly to the heightened emotions of the moment. Lets work to keep our protests peaceful, have trusted individuals record events so that if the police do try to corrupt our actions then we will not be portrayed as violent, the last thing we need is the media undermining our efforts with reports of violence and chaos. We must keep our image a strong and impenetrable one, violence will cause other races to fear us and if we are to make our movement work we must include as many people other than Aboriginals as we can because their strength can be helpful in achieving our goals. You get a bunch of middle-class white people at a peaceful protest you can bet your a** they won’t be shooting tasters into the crowds, or macing crowds of immigrants walking among the masses of Aboriginal people. We all know the games the police and governments play, now its our turn to come back with one hell of a defence!!!
Second, do you know the definition of independent? you cannot have sovereignty if you rely on government handouts. Many First Nations communities complain that they don’t get as much money as other communities for school.. But wait, I thought these were independent nations? A nation that does not provide all basic necessities cannot claim to have sovereignty over their land. Thus the term failed state.
Where do you think this money comes from? It’s not free.
all they want is their rights to land and the gov’t to stop screwing them over.
you should really be ashamed with yourself and the Canadian gov’t for treating our first nations, inuit and metis populations with disrespect and prejudice.
b) Are you (INM) upset you are not receiving money, or that you feel the government is doing this behind your back? Keep in mind the treaties only offer you the right to be consulted. Clearly you are not exercising, nor do you have the right to soverignity over these lands.
Still yet to here answers to these questions. Until I do, INM and most every other FN movement has only my skepticism.