Re-Victimization

"The chiefs-in-assembly will not accept the apology as catch-all recognition for all federal policy past, present and ongoing which have and continue to negatively impact Aboriginal Peoples.
"The chiefs-in-assembly call on the federal government to work immediately to provide Indian residential school survivors, First Nation Commission full and complete access to all records held by the federal government on experiments conducted on aboriginal communities and aboriginal children in residential schools."
Petition, Assembly of First Nations

The disgustingly appalling revelations that came out of a report on a study of nutritional supplements in Canada during the WWII years, implicating government scientists in using aboriginal children in residential schools as living laboratory subjects shocked all Canadians. Impoverished, starving, vulnerable people used as guinea pigs in withholding nutrition. The reaction from the country's largest aboriginal group was predictable. But then, in a sense, why shouldn't they be outraged; Canada's long and unfortunate history with its indigenous peoples gives no credit to the country as a whole.

The tedious and acrimonious adversarial relations between native groups and governments at every level is surely destined to come to an amicable end, however grudgingly, at some time in the foreseeable future. Why not soon? Each side, as it were, has been blaming and hammering at the other for quite long enough. Reasonableness is the only attribute that appears to be missing from each side. Government has the dual responsibility of finally arriving at a compromise that would suit First Nations demands without entirely beggaring the treasury.

Canadians at large are fatigued psychologically by the endless battling between the two, and would simply like to do what is right and get everything over with. Aboriginal communities languish in the hope that settlement will result in an absolute and positive change in their lives. The adversarial continues to take precedence over the practical. If militant First Nations had their way the entire half-continent would simply be yanked like a treasured rug out from under the feet of the European usurpers, seen by them as unentitled "occupiers" of land that was not theirs and which was acquired through trickery and force in equal measure.

In the process of which aboriginals were deprived of their natural and authentic manner of life, living off the land, on the land that they shared. Of course nothing is ever as simple or as idealistic as it is painted by those anxious to score points. First Nations peoples often faced seasonal starvation before the advent of European incursion. Wars between tribes were common enough, and if nature didn't set out to conquer peoples' aspirations to survive extreme misfortune, then wars did their part. The arrival of white Europeans represented just yet another historical migration that resulted in indigenous upheaval.

And it is now long past time to finalize a satisfactory -- or at the very least an acceptable -- solution to this ongoing sparring blame-game and circling for advantage. It is past time for each side to no longer be cagey and unapproachable, balk at making sacrifices in their positions that would make a true cooperative agreement possible. National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Shawn Atleo cannot be faulted for manoeuvring in an impossible situation; to placate the demands of his own national adversaries while attempting to negotiate advantageously with government.

Emotions are hard to set aside at any time; in the constantly emotional chaos that attends centuries of grievance even more so. But if they are not nudged away to make room for practical solutions to long-outstanding treaty solutions nothing of any meaningful substance will ever save everyone from these dramatic escalations of blame, claims and dysfunction.