Exciting Olympics for First Nations

Why not, after all? What's good enough for Tibetan activists enraged by China's brutal crackdown on Tibet nationalism, love of their spiritual leader and yearning for their Buddhist traditions to be free, should be good enough for Canada's First Nations peoples - to use that same theatre as a wake-up call to Canada. First things first, after all. No nation should ever consider the luxury of hosting horrendously costly Olympics Games before attending to primary social and human rights needs among its peoples.

So if it works for Tibet, demonstrating to the world that as highly respected as the International Olympics Games are for showcasing the ultimate athletic prowess and capabilities among countries' athletes, their outrageous cost to mount, taking away from a country's resources to attend to national priorities are not a reasonable option. When the City of Montreal won the Olympics away back in 1976, then Mayor Drapeau prided himself on his catch, while downgrading the necessity for the city to fund needed infrastructure, including a wastewater system.

That's clearly an instance, much repeated elsewhere in the world, where priority is given to the cachet of turning world attention on a certain geography, with the hopes of spurring pride in country, and tourism giving big pay-back on the original investment. When the municipal, provincial and federal support of mounting such a prestigious venue for an international event of great renown takes precedence over looking after the practical needs of the city and its people, it's unfortunate. And rarely ever does anticipated pay-back adequately recompense for the original cost in mounting the Olympics extravaganza.

But when a country with a reputation for human rights abuses like China is awarded the Olympic Games, there's another, entirely different issue at the forefront. The venue for the Olympic Games should never be seen by the rewarded country as an opportunity to show the world that she has arrived - despite egregious human rights violations. Once awarded, however, the die is cast, and the event should move forward - in the hopes that the country, in this case China, will feel it expedient in the future to relax its life-destroying constrictions on minority rights.

And then there's Canada. Self-effacing, good old Canada, a world middle-power, yet getting up there with the big boys. Doesn't every country have its dark little corners seldom visited, requiring urgent attention to clear away the cobwebs of inequity? For Canada it's her aboriginal populations, and the dire straits most aboriginal tribes living in traditional tribal areas, "Indian reservations" live in. Canada's indigenous peoples have suffered far too long. From government neglect, and from the fall-out of the inattention of their own national chiefs.

The Assembly of First Nations in Canada has called for a "peaceful day of rallies and marches" on May 29 to highlight the outstanding needs of Canada's native populations. Far too many aboriginal Canadians live in dire poverty, whether it's on one of Canada's many underfunded reserves, or within urban centres. The problem is they've had a poor head-start. Their education systems within the native communities are inadequate, and mark an outrageous discrepancy between the early head-start opportunities for native children as opposed to all other Canadian children.

With the exception of the Province of British Columbia, where funding from all levels of government for native school funding should match that in the public sector elsewhere, aboriginal children's educational structures are significantly underfunded throughout Canada. There's an outstanding discrepancy of at least two thousand dollars per child in funding for education between what is spent per student for aboriginal youth as opposed to other Canadian children.

Good teachers with appropriate accreditation will not be recompensed as well teaching on reserves as they will be elsewhere, in other communities. The school facilities themselves are comparably inadequate. Teaching materials are inferior and less plentiful within reserves with limited funding. Children living in poverty have enough difficulties to begin with, they're harder to motivate and enthuse, they have less pride in educational achievement, and don't value the scant opportunities available to them.

These failures translate in early school drop outs, not to mention poor test scoring by students opting to stay within the education system. Disaffected youth, not valuing an unequal education turn more readily to drugs, alcohol and gang activities leading to anti-social and criminal behaviours. This, at a time when the country desperately needs a growing workforce and counts on immigration to expand the potential for future workers. While completely ignoring the potential of a large and growing youth population in the aboriginal community - outpacing other Canadians through their higher birthrate.

There are solutions, but they'll ultimately call for aboriginals to realize that celebration of a way of life long past is no way to live meaningful lives. The culture of the reservation with its own inbred inequities, favouritism, funding wastage, has done nothing to benefit them in the past, and isn't likely to improve in the future. Aboriginals must see the necessity to integrate into the larger Canadian community - without the need to surrender the celebration of traditional culture. But it must be a background celebration. Life on reserves does nothing fundamentally useful in teaching the young traditional ways of life.

The society that once was is no more. It must move into the 21st Century along with other Canadians. Opportunities to advance themselves will not be offered without some move on the part of aboriginals to advance themselves - out of poverty and into a future of accomplishments. This prospect doesn't appear to appeal particularly to the Assembly of First Nations; they remain steadfastly committed to the status quo, where the national chiefs gravely propose what the government should dispose and dispense.

Under the current structures of top-down administration through national chiefs looking after their fiefdoms, offering economic opportunities to family members and friends, extending their influence where it will most benefit themselves, and ignoring the plight of most of their constituents, they do no honour to themselves, and simply do not answer to the needs of their people. So go ahead, have those peaceful rallies and marches, but be prepared also to re-examine their own agendas honestly and forthrightly.

It's not just increased funding from the coffers of provincial and federal governments that will advance opportunities for Canada's indigenous populations. The status quo can not and should not continue - it's a festering wound in the side of the country, crippling the country's pride in self, and degrading a proud people who surely deserve better than to continue being stuck away in reserves, unable to reach independence and a firm future for themselves and their offspring.