Recently a grad student in journalism at Concordia University contacted me to ask a few questions about the state of drinking water in First Nations communities. I’d been meaning to eventually write a piece on the issue, but her shock at what she had been learning reminded me yet again that many Canadians are totally…
Category: First Nations
Indigenous resurgence has a sense of humour
If you don’t know the name Ryan McMahon yet, then we can’t be friends. But don’t worry! It’s the kind of thing that can be fixed! Our friendship can be saved! Now that we’ve dodged that bullet, I’d like to share something pretty special with you. I got to watch the man eat crepes at…
White paper, what paper?
If you hang around native people long enough, you’ll probably hear references to white paper, and it might have you scratching your head. The trick is to capitalise the words. They’re talking about THE White Paper. Now, that still won’t clarify much for you. A White Paper is essentially a federal government policy document, presented…
The Free Housing for Natives Myth.
One of the most prevalent and enduring myths out there is that aboriginal peoples receive ‘free housing’. A lot of Canadians hold on to some very strong preconceived notions about aboriginal housing, all of which can be explored in some detail, but for the purpose of this article I’m going to focus specifically on this…
Attawapiskat: A study in the need to openly address misunderstandings.
Remember when entire families in a remote northern community were living in severely inadequate shelters in the wintertime, and the federal government reacted to this emergency quickly, and with compassion? I don’t either. What I do remember, is Prime Minister Stephen Harper making a claim about $90 million dollars, adding official legitimacy to an already…