My repugnance towards INAC - part 1

	I want to get rid of the Indian problem. I do not think as a matter of fact, that the country ought to continuously protect a class of people who are able to stand alone… Our objective is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question, and no Indian Department, that is the whole object of this Bill.
Duncan Campbell Scott

My concern has always been with the power in which Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) controls every aspect of the Indian. In Canada a non-Indian has several levels of government representation used in a democratic forum to differentiate responsibilities as well creating a system of checks and balances. An Indian has one totalitarian authority, INAC, which is controlled by the Canadian government.

If Indians did have a democratic representation within the Indian community there would be more funds allocated to address socioeconomic problems. I'm just throwing this out there but if all bands suffered from lack of funding and then all requested more funding shouldn't that show what the people demand from the Indian government? Wouldn't intense economic stimulation by the government occur to address primary areas of concern like education, health care, housing, infrastructure etc. (remember how the Canadian government recently injected funds into the financial system to stimulate economy -  A personal note, Calgary got some really nice new highways and bridges while some Indians do not have proper drinking water...). In a public forum this is constant struggle as Indians voice in high numbers what is needed socially, politically and economically but never receive a democratic response.

In Canada when people want action from the government they voice their demands and eventually with enough pressure changes occurs. Greatest good for the greatest number within the structure of a nation. That's democracy however utilitarian it may seem.

In the Indian Nation this does not occur. Their voice is silenced by the will of another nation, Canada. The Canadian voice is louder, harsher and does not like to take responsibility for the words they utter. Canadian voice is tool which shouts racial stereotypes defining a  group, chastising them and removing the human element from their identity.

Indians are not as special as the Canadian government sets out in the constitution. The government of Indian identity has never been established or resurrected to the strength it once had. The main antagonist towards the Indian Nation is Canadian government. Remember the Canadian government systematically extinguished any Indian form of power and if it had its way the Indian identity. Thus, the Indian Nation does not have the power to properly answer the call to it's people.

The Canadian government states it can take on this paternal role for Aboriginals. Also, the government allows for the future of Aboriginals to have the right to self determination and self government but does not cede its authority or power which is needed for this to occur. In essence the Canadian government tells the Indian government "you are free to do what we tell you" (Bill Hicks, Revelations).

The lands are to held in trust by the Canadian government and not for the Canadian government to use as they please. Department of Mines and Resources, Department of the Interior, and Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development are but a few titles the totalitarian branch of the Canadian government has labeled itself. The history of the branch is to control lands and resources advance the Canadian Nation whilst holding back the Indian Nation.

Follow the UN Charter of Indigenous Rights and there can be working ground between nations.

Otherwise, Indians in Canada are just the "other" to be controlled by the state and demonized.



Migwetch and thank you.

-Adam

National Archives of Canada, Record Group 10, vol 6810, file 470-2-3, vol 7, pp. 55 (L-3) and 63 (N-3). For a more accessible source see: John Leslie, The Historical Development of the Indian Act, second edition (Ottawa: Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Treaties and Historical Research Branch, 1978). 114.

 Bill Hicks - Revelations (1993)