A good friend of mine has been known to say, "I can be bought, it's just that no one has met my price yet." I'm still not sure if he means no one will ever meet his price or he's just being honest. Either way, he makes me laugh. What doesn't make me laugh is the thought of government-funded youth organizing.
The reason I bring it up is because of the debate that ensued after a chief at the recent BC-AFN assembly in Kamloops spontaneously moved a motion to take $1 million from the $100 million and give it to the youth. There was a lot of excitement and debate - very emotional and suspiciously indicative of some guilt and then someone suggested $2 million! In the end, saner heads, or mean-youth-hatin' heads, (depending on your perspective) prevailed and they decided to first develop an overall plan and terms of reference before carving up the loot.
I'm not so concerned about the debate. You already know that I am very skeptical of this trojan horse. What I did find interesting and disconcerting was the online debate by the young people after the fact. Almost all of the young people (I'm 32 by the way) were coming from a place of exclusion and criticism of their greedy older political elders. While I can appreciate this perspective, what struck me most about the dialogue was a strong sense of "when do we get ours?" Sound familiar?
I guess it should not come as a surprise. The parents have cut their teeth in an environment of government-funded (faux) aboriginal dissent. Why should the kids be any different? But kids are supposed to be different. They are supposed to rebel. No? I'm all for finding resources for all of our people, old and young alike and I agree that most young people are left out but damn, what I foresee now is a line-up at the trough.
In my research and experience, I have found that government-funded dissent has never been meaningful or effective for Indigenous people. It has only acted as a means of co-optation and pressure-release. It seems like a no-brainer, but maybe only to a somewhat alienated "radical" like me. Perhaps I had a naive and romantic view of "youth."
I know that compromise is preached by many an astute and reasonable person, but I believe that all of us, young and old need to "check" ourselves. What are we prepared to compromise? How long-term is our vision? Are we really thinking, planning and acting with generations in mind? I know it sounds crazy in today's capitalist dogma, consumer culture, but if we are to remain true to our Indigenous principles and values, we must really change the way we organize and live. The road to Indigenous emancipation is not paved with INAC loonies.
If even ONE person agrees with me, gimme some love...lol. Tell me I am not insane. Post a comment.
W
Only when the last tree has died
and the last river been poisoned
and the last fish been caught
will we realise we cannot eat money
-Cree saying
8 comments:
Your not insane! I completely agree with you.
Here is one of my thoughts: if BC really wanted to establish a new relationship with us they would look at our real needs and instead of giving us money to 'work with them' why not kick the people off our land and give it back to us.
When I hear my community express their needs they don't talk about wanting money instead they want their land back. Until that is done there will be no peace!
Syey'u from Valdes :)
It's interesting that there is a correlation between BC giving $100 M and the Chiefs wanting to give the youth $1M - that's the strongest indicator yet that a large percentage of our chiefs have been bought.
While you said I could just reply with 'word', I would like to add that you are most certainly not crazy. I agree with you wholeheartedly that for the most part, 'we' are NOT thinking with generations in mind.
If we were to be granted a moment to speak with our children's children, what would they say to us? How could we justify ourselves to them? I have found myself contemplating those two simple questions lately...we're so caught up in getting a bigger piece of the pie, that we can be oblivious to the fact that maybe we should just throw the pie out and eat fish :I
em
Dubya -
Please remember that that conversation took place in a forum that did not meaningfully engage/ensure that youth had a proper voice at the level of discussion.
Rather, in my own personal opinion, a small selection of youth whom have been misguided in terms of becoming co-opted, good "Aboriginal citizens" within the meaning of S. 35 and not identifying with an Indigenous form of self-identity.
Kind of funny that Chiefs would all of the sudden throw out numbers of how much should go to Youth, attempt to plan for Youth, believe that they represent Youth without actually ever consulting with those Youth, to whom they profess to represent, let alone bring one of their own Youth to sit at the provincial level with all of those Chiefs gathered at the BC-AFN. Kind of reeks of guilty consciences of elected Indian Act Chiefs, does it not ?
You cannot placate one's sense of fairness and justice with $1M or $2M, especially when one considers our Indigenous demographics that approximately half of our Nations are under the age of 25. Kind of a sick irony that 1% of the almighty allocated New Relationship Fund would go to our most marginalized, impoverished and exploited members of our Nations. Yes, seems like a token gesture, almost grandiose of scale.
And for those "youth" that spoke at the forum. If us "adults" need to always be cognizant of the fact that we are borrowing the Earth from our children, then they themselves must consider those future generations as well and ensure their statements are held to the same level of solemn responsibility to safeguard the rights of those generations who have yet to come.
X.
"If you stick a knife nine inches into my back and pull it out three inches, that is not progress. Even if you pull it all the way out, that is not progress. Progress is healing the wound..."
--El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X)
Asalaam aleikum brother or sister anonymous
Money is a tool to tempt and seduce the weak and greedy minded. Money is not what indigenous people have been striving for rather we want our land and our freedom. How much land we can buy with $100,000,000.00?
PAWA
We must always think about the consequences from our actions - especially those where youth will see what we do, hear what we say, and then interpret and react to our show. I can't forget learn from us either.
There is much work to be done between the generations, like: making decisions and actions together with one mind, both old and young. Like practicing and living a recipricol relationship with one another, with complete acknowledgement and respect for each other. Ohhh, I can go on and on.
So in this case, I see it as US verses THEM. They get money. We wait for an answer. -- We have a voice. They have a reaction. They make a decision, have a vote. We tag along with their outcome.
If youth recieved those monies, cycles of dysfunction would perpetrate for another generation because youth are still working in isolation from everyone else with no intergenerational and collaborative effort.
Some youth would make decisions on the spending of the money as representatives of all other youth, whom who don't know what the money is spent on or how those processes were made, don't know how to get involved meaningfully, and aren't communicated with properly. All this will breed the same environment that we live in today - corruptionist actions with money, continued working in isolation, teaching the next generation to do the same. Maybe thats the worst case scenerio, or maybe its exactly what would happen.
I guess on this one I feel that money will help some projects, but who learns from it in the end? And is it what youth need to focus on right now? Or should it be something else...
Sku'sgluums
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