Natives in no hurry

Opinion
Barry Artiste, Now Public Contributor

First Nations Human Rights are a double edged sword, on one hand Women hold a positon of power and respect when they become elders and can even be voted as a Chief, a title that carries weight and is not just a token position.  But then if a Woman from the First Nations community marries outside her clan, she loses everything including her children rights to status within the community.  It has also been said if a divorce ensues the woman gets nothing, regardless what the courts decree if it is on Band Land.  Governments have no search or seizure entitlements on First Nations property, hence it is very hard for employed First Nations to secure bank loans without assets outside the First Nations Community.  This is financial discrimination , but on the other hand  banks have discriminated for much less.

My Final Thought.

As I had said before, there is a time when First Nations, like any other close knit community needs to go outside their community to find a suitable spouse to ensure band longevity. Failure to do so will eventually result in marriages between relatives, which will  in effect  cause  declining birth rates or worse birth defects in the community.  Not a desirable trait when your looking at maintaining your communities longevity.

Aboriginal leaders have had 30 years to prepare for the day when human rights legislation would apply to reserves, giving natives the same protections as other Canadians.

But our aboriginal citizens still aren't ready to drag themselves out of the 19th century, never mind into the 21st.

Last week, the House of Commons aboriginal affairs committee torpedoed Tory hopes to move along a bill that would apply human rights law to the antiquated and racist Indian Act.

The opposition-driven committee voted 7-4 to delay Bill C-44 for 10 months so "proper consultations" can take place.

"Human rights rammed down a community's throats are not human rights," Liberal aboriginal affairs critic Anita Neville declared at the Thursday hearing.

I'm sure that will comfort the scores of natives -- mostly women, I'd guess -- who have been discriminated against by native bands over the decades and have, practically speaking, no recourse in getting a fair hearing.[/q]